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All posts by admin
Holland Dozier Holland-Motown Writers/Producers speak on their music contributions
Stevie Wonder’s youtube Songs in the key of life part 5
Larry Dunn- Earth, Wind and Fire Keyboardist-Ahead of his time
Check out the keyboard player of Earth, Wind and Fire, Larry Dunn. This man was truly ahead of his time, yet he was always quiet and humble, a compliment to his character. How many songs featured his genius style of playing that left so many other keyboard players using his style as a template for solos and song chord structures. He has a few video on Youtube, but this does not show enough of the talent this man has showed over the past thirty (30) years, or his musical creative genius! I was amazed at some of the licks and his interlude which was magical for the era. I can still listen to his interlude today and find inspiration! Again, he was ahead of his time. Larry, EWF would not have been the successful, great band it was without your contributions! Thank you, so much for the creative listening, nurturing and magical flow, that you allowed to be fulfilled.
Earth, Wind and Fire Music Arranger Charles Stephney
Check out the Youtube video of Earth, Wind and Fire’s Maurice White and other band members testimonial to the work of Charles Stephney leading to their crossover success in the 70’s. His musical and vocal arrangements took them to another level-as their guitar player states, along with Ramsey Lewis and many others. The Keyboard player Larry Dunn and Phillip Bailey also give him credit and praise. Check out the arrangements this man contributed to not only EWF, but Minnie Ripperton, Rotary Connection, and many other artists and labels during that era. He passed early, leaving us all wondering what amazing arrangements he would have continued to elevate to another level had he still been with us. Again, like I gave Kudos to Maurice White, I also must give the same to Mr. Charles Stephney. Check out the video on Youtube of him-type in Charles Setphney and it will show a limited selection of this man’s great contribution to the music industry! Thank you so much for you contributions Mr. Stephney and God bless your legacy and may you, as Quincy Jones, continue to inspire many more arrangers and producers in the industry!
Basic music rhythm track recording
Bass, Drums, guitar and keyboard– is the basic rhythm section that I always use. Being a keyboard player, I usually start with my keyboard and my left hand playing the bass lines. I combine chord structures and lead vocal parts with my right hand or overdub the lead part. I then work on the drum parts consisting of bass drum, snare, high hat and floor toms. I then add the rhythm guitar and bass drum. Once I have these basic tracks sequenced, I then work on adding additional instrumental parts or vocals. As you can hear with my tracks, a lot of times I will hear how the vocal musical notes should flow, even without completing the lyrics-which usually takes me longest to complete. This is just my system and not everyone uses the same system as I, but this has worked for me for over thirty years. I do all of the parts on my Studio 440 Sequencer by Sequential Circuits, even though I have an Akai MPC 3000 (I just love the sound and feel of the 440). However, the Studio 440 only allows you to record eight tracks, which is it’s limitation, but I simply record the eight tracks onto Logic Pro on my Mac G5, and once these tracks are recorded onto the computer, I can dub in as many additional tracks as I need!
Earth, Wind and Fire’s Founder Maurice White
Shout out to all. We need prayers for strength, love and encouragement to Earth, Wind and Fire’s founder and leader, Maurice White. We all miss seeing him perform with the group and give him love and support for his health challenges. Maurice’s group, along with our departed arranger Mr. Charles Stepney gave us all so much inspiration! I don’t know about you guys, but this group was the most positive, loving and spiritual group that I have ever witnessed. Maurice, you contributed so much to so many, all over the planet! God bless you always.
International Keywords and Marketing
Is the same talent that was discovered by Motown Records in the 60’s still available in Detroit today?
Think about it! We need to start a co-op record label that rewards any and all who provide new talent that results in major CD/DVD sales. There are just as many talented vocalists and musicians out there today that were available to Berry Gordy in the 60’s. We just have to do the same thing that Berry Gordy did. Recognize, develop and market new talent, both for musical recordings and videos. In fact, it would be much easier to produce, record and market new talent today than it has ever been! Berry recognized that there was a market that was untapped that, if properly developed and promoted, could be million sellers-and he did. Anyone can put out a CD or Video today, due to the technology and the internet. Do you realize that you could market your own artists anywhere in the planet with the push of a button? Yes, it would require translating the language of the videos, but perhaps not! Look and how many American artists are moving millions of CDs/DVDs all over the planet in English! It seems that the language does not matter, in fact, there is no language barrier! Check out how many English artists are touring and selling more units overseas than in the continental US-its mind blowing. Even the Chinese are buying American rap artists material, and learning to speak the same slang. We must take advantage of the internet to get that free exposure that was never available in the past. I have people listening to my music from all over the planet!
Keyword searches is the magic! So, base your keyword hits so that they will not only get hits in the US, but worldwide. Perhaps there is a universal translator software product available that will allow you to tap into foreign search engines-hmm, sounds like an opportunity to me!