Links:

This is a list of links that may be valuable:

Performance opportunities, education, and venues in the state of New Mexico:

• Youth Jazz Collaborative of New Mexico: A not-for-profit music ensemble for middle- and high-school students based in Albuquerque, NM. https://youthjazznm.org/

• New Mexico Jazz Workshop: A performance venue and rehearsal space that offers educational and various other opportunities to musicians. https://nmjazz.org/

• Outpost Performance Space: A local venue that offers classes and a vast array of performance opportunities and live shows throughout the year: https://outpostspace.org/

Nationwide Opportunities:

• Oberlin College Sonic Arts Workshop: A music production, synthesis, and sound design workshop. https://www.oberlin.edu/summer-programs/sonic-arts-workshop

• Berklee Film, TV, and Video Game Scoring Summer Program: Designed for ages 14+. https://summer.berklee.edu/programs/film-tv-and-game-scoring-program-in-los-angeles

• Eastman Summer Jazz Studies: A phenomenal jazz program for high-school students. https://summer.esm.rochester.edu/course/summer-jazz-studies/

• The National Foundation for the Advancement of Artists (YoungArts): An organization that holds a yearly competition, the YoungArts competition, covering virtually every artistic medium, including music. https://youngarts.org/

Music Production Resources and Software:

• Orchestral Tools: Manufacturer of high-quality orchestral sample libraries. https://www.orchestraltools.com/store/home

  • Their free collection: https://www.orchestraltools.com/sinefactory

• Native Instruments: Manufacturer of various virtual instruments and audio hardware. https://www.native-instruments.com/en/

• Band-in-a-box: A versatile tool for creating professional-sounding backing tracks and arrangements. https://www.pgmusic.com/

• Melda Production: Offers a vast array of audio plugins and instruments. https://www.meldaproduction.com/

Books:

Music-related books:

• Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio by Mike Senior: A fantastic book that covers all facets of the audio mixing process, from studio monitor setups to advanced compression techniques. Great for beginners as well as experienced audio engineers.

• Recording Secrets for the Small Studio by Mike Senior: Like Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio, this book is oriented towards both novices and professionals alike and discusses various recording techniques, from simple mic setups for guitar and piano to advanced Decca tree setups for orchestral recording.

• The Mixing Engineer’s Handbook by Bobby Owsinski: A comprehensive guide to mixing audio. The book details the most common mistakes of an amateur engineer, and offers solutions to these pitfalls. Additionally, the book discusses the six mix elements—balance, panorama, frequency range, dimension, dynamics, and interest.

• 101 Montunos by Rebeca Mauleón-Santana: An amazing guide to the Montuno, the basic piano pattern played in Salsa/Son music. To me though, this book isn’t limited to pianists. Guitarists, bassists, and even drummers can learn from the material presented in this book.

• The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire by Ted Gioia: One of the most well-known guides to the jazz repertoire, this book has gone through numerous editions and gets better with every one. Gioia gives short, yet comprehensive, descriptions of nearly every jazz standard a musician is likely to encounter, with suggested recordings of each one.

• Complete Guide to Film Scoring: The Art and Business or Writing Music for Movies and TV by Richard Davis: A fantastic introduction to the film music industry, with in-depth chapters on all facets of the film composing process, including spotting, orchestration, and the business side of media composition.

• Scoring the Screen: The Secret Language of Film Music by Andy Hill: This masterfully-crafted book analyzes countless film and television scores from a musical perspective, from Bernard Herrmann’s famous score for Vertigo, to John Powell’s score for How to Train Your Dragon. It is one of few books that analyzes film scores purely from a musical standpoint, and is well worth a read for those wanting to take a deep dive into the world of media composing.

Miscellaneous Works:

• Stranger in the Shogun’s City by Amy Stanley: I first encountered this work in a college course, and it has stuck with me. A powerful, masterfully-written story of a Japanese woman, Tsuneno, as she faces the challenges of life in the Edo period. Despite the inherent setbacks of society, she leaves her rural village where she grew up to explore the wonders of Edo (what is now Tokyo).

• Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond: This ethnography describes several families as they struggle to afford and retain safe, comfortable housing. Inspired by many years of research, especially in Milwaukee, WI, the book underscores the importance of secure housing in every city.

• Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko: A novel that follows the story of Tayo as he struggles to find a place in society while suffering from post-traumatic stress. Truly a captivating work of literature, the novel reminds readers to recognize the immense suffering many people endure, particularly servicepeople returning from a war.

• China in Ten Words by Yu Hua: Hua’s work depicts the nation of China using ten words, in turn portraying ten themes. He derives these from his personal experiences in various regions of the country at every stage of his life. Reading this book is essential to exploring all possible perspectives of an entity—whether that be a nation, business, or virtually any organized body—and to think critically about the broader cultural and historical significance.

Links to Friends’ Sites:

• John Funkhouser, pianist, bassist, and educator: https://www.johnfunkhouser.com/

• Jim Balagurchik, pianist, composer, and educator: http://jimbalagurchik.com/bio/

• Alex Murzyn, saxophonist and educator: http://www.alexmurzyn.com/

• Nick Dal Canto, saxophonist, educator: https://www.nickdcmusic.com/

• John Rangel, pianist, producer, and composer: http://www.johnrangel.com/