WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A dozen members of the House of Representatives have added their support to a resolution opposing "any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge" on local broadcast radio stations. The Local Radio Freedom Act (LRFA), which signals members of Congress's opposition to any potential legislation that imposes new performance royalties on broadcast radio stations for music airplay, now has 181 cosponsors in the House and 22 in the Senate.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In response to President Joe Biden nominating Jessica Rosenworcel as chairwoman of the Federal Communications Commission and Gigi Sohn as commissioner, the following statement can be attributed to NAB President and CEO Gordon Smith:

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Eleven members of the House of Representatives and two Senators have added their support to a resolution opposing "any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge" on local broadcast radio stations. The Local Radio Freedom Act (LRFA), which signals members of Congress's opposition to any potential legislation that imposes new performance royalties on broadcast radio stations for music airplay, now has 198 cosponsors in the House and 24 in the Senate.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In response to the nomination of Gigi Sohn as a commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the following statement can be attributed to National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) President and CEO Gordon Smith:

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Eleven members of the House of Representatives have added their support to a resolution opposing "any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge" on local broadcast radio stations. The Local Radio Freedom Act (LRFA), which signals members of Congress's opposition to any potential legislation that imposes new performance royalties on broadcast radio stations for music airplay, now has 208 cosponsors in the House and 24 in the Senate.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In response to the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the following statement can be attributed to NAB President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt:

Washington, D.C. -- Social media star and fitness instructor Cody Rigsby will discuss his focus on making exercise fun and Peloton’s impact on the multi-billion-dollar fitness industry during an NAB Show Main Stage session titled “You’re Doing Great, Boo: A Conversation With Cody Rigsby” on Tuesday, April 26 at 3:30 p.m. in Las Vegas, Nev.

Washington, D.C. -- NAB Show, the premier event for media, entertainment and technology professionals, today announced the formation of a National Advisory Council for Web3. The Council will provide guidance and expertise on developing relevant education content around the implications of new technologies, content models and consumer behaviors driven by the next generation of the Internet. The 12-member group includes media and entertainment professionals, technology executives and platform providers from across the media landscape.

Washington, D.C. -- Sophi.io, a suite of artificial intelligence (AI)-powered solutions that help content publishers identify and leverage the value of their content, has joined PILOT, an initiative of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) bringing together a coalition of innovators, educators and advocates dedicated to advancing broadcast technologies and cultivating new media opportunities. 

Washington, D.C. -- NAB Show’s Cine Consortium revealed its new Cine Live program featuring sessions focused on cinematic storytelling experiences in live production. Open to all NAB Show badge holders, Cine Live will take place in the new Create Inspiration Theater in Central Hall. The hour-long sessions kick off daily April 24 – 27 at 10:45 a.m.

Washington, D.C. -- PILOT, the innovation wing of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), today announced the development of a NextGen TV Transmission ID (TxID) table for voluntary use by broadcasters using the ATSC 3.0 transmission standard. The table and TxID codes can be used to identify individual transmissions for testing, measurement, interference identification and other differentiation purposes.

Washington, D.C. – The National Association of Broadcasters Leadership Foundation (NABLF), in partnership with Hearst Television, announced a new fellowship program honoring the legacy of distinguished broadcast professional Emerson Coleman last night at the Celebration of Service to America Awards. Through the Emerson Coleman Fellowship (ECF), NABLF and Hearst Television will work to create a more diverse workforce at every level of the broadcast industry that is representative of the communities served. 

Washington, D.C.– The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) today announced the launch of a public service campaign to further support children displaced by the war in Ukraine. The campaign will run on World Refugee Day (June 20) and all proceeds will be donated to UNICEF USA to support UNICEF’s emergency response and humanitarian work in Ukraine and neighboring countries.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated the Federal Communications Commission’s foreign sponsorship identification rule that had required radio and TV broadcasters to undertake independent investigations by searching federal government databases for information about the sponsors of programming. As NAB argued, the Court held that federal law only authorizes the Commission to require stations to obtain sponsorship identification information from their own employees and from program sponsors, not from any other sources.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In response to the passing of Broadcasters Foundation of America President Jim Thompson, the following statement can be attributed to NAB President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt:

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A bipartisan majority of the House of Representatives are now cosponsoring the Local Radio Freedom Act, a resolution opposing "any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge" on local broadcast radio stations. The Local Radio Freedom Act (LRFA), which signals members of Congress's opposition to any potential legislation that imposes new performance royalties on broadcast radio stations for music airplay, now has 222 cosponsors in the House and 28 in the Senate.

NAB Show New York attendees will have the opportunity to interact directly with exhibiting companies about their brands and products through sessions on the Tech Chat Stage, part of a new immersive show floor experience. NAB Show New York returns in-person October 19-20, 2022 at the Javits Center.

Washington, D.C.— The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), the premier advocacy association for America’s broadcasters, and NAB Show, the preeminent global trade show driving the evolution of media and entertainment, are celebrating their centennial year in 2023 with activities, events and a commemorative website.

Washington, D.C.— NAB Show is collaborating with StoryTech to launch three unique attendees tour experiences at the 2023 NAB Show in Las Vegas. The tours explore three central themes: managing data, innovation in virtual production and the evolution of video. Group and individual tours are offered Sunday, April 16 through Tuesday, April 18 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A bipartisan coalition of 117 members of the House of Representatives introduced a resolution in Congress today opposing "any new performance fee, tax, royalty or other charge" on local broadcast radio stations. The Local Radio Freedom Act (LRFA) signals policymakers’ opposition to any potential legislation that would impose new performance fees on broadcast radio stations for music airplay.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Broadcaster associations representing all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia have unanimously approved a resolution opposing "any new performance fee, tax, royalty or other charge relating to the public performance of sound recordings" on local broadcast radio stations.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Twelve members of the House of Representatives and one senator have added their support to a resolution opposing "any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge" on local broadcast radio stations. The Local Radio Freedom Act (LRFA), which signals the opposition of members of Congress to any potential legislation that imposes new performance royalties on broadcast radio stations for music airplay, now has 167 cosponsors in the House and 21 in the Senate.

The 2023 NAB Show will host the 4th Global Next Gen Broadcasting Conference, co-produced by NAB and the Korea Radio Promotion Association (RAPA) on Sunday, April 16 from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm PT in Room W208/209 in the Las Vegas Convention West Hall.

WASHINGTON, DC -- The National Association of Broadcasters Leadership Foundation’s (NABLF) inaugural Emerson Coleman Fellowship class met for the first time in-person at Hearst Tower in New York City last week. During the opening session, program participants had the opportunity to participate in TV upfronts, hear from industry executives and attend a live taping of the Tamron Hall show.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Twenty-one members of the House of Representatives and two senators have added their support to a resolution opposing "any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge" on local broadcast radio stations. The Local Radio Freedom Act (LRFA), which signals the opposition of members of Congress to any potential legislation that imposes new performance royalties on broadcast radio stations for music airplay, now has 188 cosponsors in the House and 23 in the Senate.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Perry Sook, chairman and chief executive officer of Nexstar Media Group, was elected chairman of the NAB Joint Board of Directors, NAB announced today. Sook takes over from David Santrella, chief executive officer of Salem Media Group, whose term expired.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In response to the Federal Communications Commission's approval of an order allowing existing channel 6 low power television stations to continue to provide analog FM radio service, the following statement can be attributed to NAB Senior Vice President of Communications Alex Siciliano:

Washington, D.C. – In response to Meta blocking news on Facebook and Instagram for Canadian users after the passage of Canada’s Online News Act, the following joint statement can be attributed to NAB President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt and CAB President Kevin Desjardins:

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- More than 200 members of the House of Representatives and 24 senators are now supporting a resolution opposing "any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge" on local broadcast radio stations. The Local Radio Freedom Act (LRFA), which signals the opposition of members of Congress to any potential legislation that imposes new performance royalties on broadcast radio stations for music airplay, now has 202 cosponsors in the House and 24 in the Senate.

The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) announced Donnie Simpson as the 2024 NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame inductee for radio. Simpson, a legendary media trailblazer and award-winning program director, will be inducted at the Achievement in Broadcasting event at NAB Show, Monday, April 15, 2024, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) will present the Television Chairman’s Award to award-winning talk show host, actor, producer and recording artist, Jennifer Hudson. The ceremony will take place on the Main Stage at NAB Show during the We Are Broadcasters session on Tuesday, April 16 at 9:30 a.m.

Washington, D.C. – The Library of American Broadcasting Foundation (LABF) today announced Emmy Award-winning broadcaster, author and philanthropist Soledad O’Brien as the third annual Insight Award recipient. O’Brien will be honored during the NAB Show Welcome, April 15 at 9:30 a.m. PT.

Washington – NAB Show launches exciting new content open to all attendees that pulls back the curtain on Hollywood. This series includes insightful presentations, interviews and discussions led by industry veterans, providing valuable knowledge on various aspects of filmmaking for a deeper understanding of the content creation process.

The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) announced today that Kirsten Donaldson has joined NAB as vice president of public policy. Donaldson will report to Shawn Donilon, executive vice president of Government Relations.

Today, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) announced the appointment of Nexstar Media Group, Inc., President and Chief Operating Officer Michael Biard to its Television Board of Directors, effective immediately. Television Board Chair Pat LaPlatney made the appointment in accordance with NAB by-laws.

Washington, D.C. – The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) today announced a sweeping election preparedness initiative designed to provide broadcasters with the critical resources, tools and training needed to navigate the complexities of the 2024 election cycle. As the voice for America’s broadcasters, NAB is supporting its members as they work to deliver accurate and reliable election coverage across all platforms.

Washington, D.C.— NAB Show New York, set for Oct. 9-10 (Education Oct. 8-10) at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, will energize the news and sports industries with the latest trends and technology. Held in the epicenter of live production, the event is perfectly timed as the broadcast, media and entertainment industry prepares for key moments such as the 2024 presidential election and the major fall sports seasons. Industry leaders will gather to explore key innovations and strategies reshaping how content is created, distributed and monetized in today’s fast-evolving media landscape.

If you are like most choir directors one of the things you do everyday and even multiple times a day if you teach multiple classes is Warm-ups. Here are the best 4 warm up resources that I have found.


      1. The Complete Choral Warm-Up Book By Robinson, Russell/ Althouse, Jay 

Yet again, Mr. Ransley delivers another awesome Pentatonic guitar lesson. If you haven't yet checked out part 1 of Robert's Pentatonic lesson, I highly recommend that you check that one out first, before continuing with this one. You can find the first installment here. I'll now turn over the reins - enjoy!

Pentatonic Scales (lesson 2)
(For any instrument)

Hi all,
Robert here with the second part to the pentatonic lesson. I hope you got a grasp on lesson one because this lesson is a direct continuation. Enjoy it and remember if you have any questions place them in any comment section of www.bluesandjazzguitar.blogspot.com. Have fun!

What follows is the superimposing of a major pentatonic scale, whose root will change, over a static root. This will produce the relationship of:

Maj. Pent.
Static root

The major pentatonic scale will ascend by half step and we will analyze the resulting tones when played over a fundamental static bass note (root).

At this point I will refer to all non chord tones (2nds, 4ths and 6ths) as their compound interval equivalent (9ths, 11ths and 13ths). These are also known as the extensions of the chord or scale. So:

2nds = 9ths
4ths = 11ths
6ths = 13ths

Let’s start with C major pentatonic (1, 9, 3, 5, 13) over a root C or mathematically I/I (Maj. Pent./Fundamental static root)



Note that in the “fraction” I/I, the fact that both roman numbers are the same simply means that the roots are the same. The roman number on the left will be the major pentatonic scale and it shares the same root as the roman number on the right which is the fundamental bass note.

Now, we want to analyze this relationship and see the resulting tones to determine over what chord(s) it will fit.



So, when a C note is sounding in the bass and you play a C maj. pent. scale, the resulting tones are those listed above the scale. We need to see which notes are chord tones (part of the structure of the chord), that way we’ll know what type of chord it fits. Chord tones in this case are 1 = Root; 3 = Major 3rd; 5 = Perfect 5th. A clear major triad is formed inside the structure of a (or any) major pentatonic scale. So this scale must sound good over a C major chord. The 9th and 13th are the extensions or color tones.

In lesson 3 we’ll start to compare this scale with other roots and you’ll see all the neat sounds it produces! ‘Til then, bye…

When I first started getting into recording my own music, I tried every way to find the best free solutions in recording software. I can remember like yesterday, scouring the internet for the most mediocre of recording programs. I would download and use them, but still the results were always limited, and probably because of the times. Now why did I choose to do this? well the reason back then was because I didn't know anything about recording my music, and especially not by way of direct, digital methods, so I didn't want to waste any money at this time.

I can now honestly say that I am a proud owner of Ableton Live, which I use religiously, and would recommend to absolutely anyone. However, the program is a little pricey AND it requires months of experimentation just to get the basics down. Is this recording program worth all the money and effort? yes it is, but a lot of people want something that they can use immediately, without having to spend hundreds of hours devoting their time to reading through training manuals, and investing just as much time by way of trial and error.

I recently found a great solution to this problem. Though this is a guitar
instructional blog, I have no problem talking about recording software or anything related, because recording your own music also benefits the expansion of learning and recording musical art, well....duh!

There is a beat creation program that is now available called Sonic Producer. This beats program, mainly assists a musician in creating music of a hip hop or rap flavor, which you would think would only benefit those who are interested in hip hop music or similar styles. I beg to differ.

I have a drum set, yet I do not have the space, amount of mics, equipment, nor acoustic set up to facilitate the process of recording live drums. This is great if you have a drummer to work with, but if you are an independent guitar player such as myself, and you want an easy solution, then a recording program like Sonic Producer is the way to go.

I do have Ableton Live which is in my opinion the most phenomenal recording program ever to grace the face of the planet, and is pretty much the cream of the crop for beats, but I know that it isn't the cheapest solution. With the release of Sonic Producer, I can seriously say that this is the cheapest solution for creating backing tracks to compose to or jam over that I have ever seen. Sonic Producer contains thousands of samples to work off of, and if you are more traditional, you don't just have to work with new age hip hop beat sounds. Yes, it can deliver exactly what you want, no matter what your style is. Its 30 bucks!!! my God!!

I can't believe this, because anything of this high caliber is always in the multi-hundred dollar price range. I'm really thrilled, because though it can't do what a program such as Reason or Ableton can do, it isn't that far away from the quality of these programs.

I look at it this way, and from the perspective of a mainly lead guitar player - the drums and bass are the bones of the song, and the rhythm guitar is the meat. What's the candy of this operation? lead guitar of course! It doesn't matter what your deal is, you gotta have the bones to make this music thing work. Sure, you can turn the bones into the candy of your masterpiece, but you still gotta have 'em!

There is nothing tastier than creating raw beats to either practice guitar over, or to recording with. How do you think I practice or find inspiration? I gotta have beats and bass!! with my recording program, it takes me five minutes to get a good, basic backing track down. Sometimes I just practice over a set of drum beats, but a lot of times it amounts to a complete song.

I also like the fact that Sonic Producer is so easy to use, and it the necessity of it easily fits in with other plugins or bits of recording software.

If you feel that rhythmic backing tracks are what is lacking in your arsenal, then definitely check out Sonic Producer.

I keep receiving questions about writing songs and/or guitar solos, and I get a lot of difficult questions in my inbox ;)

I was recently asked to do a series of videos, outlining how I go about writing a guitar solo, with effects and so forth. I decided to accept the challenge, though this is a very difficult thing to do. To turn on a camera, suddenly become inventive, and explain what is going on is a sure pathway to a headache, and today I definitely have one, but none the less - I delivered.

So in this next 3 videos I explain how I go about song writing and adding a guitar solo. I explained this to the best of my capabilities, using some common sense, and a little improvisation, but there is a lot of good information in this video series, and I do reveal some of my secrets that normally I wouldn't.

Hope this helps you out a lot and please enjoy - it took me 6 hours to make these 3 videos. Parts 2 and 3 are on the way.

Ok, so in the first installment, we laid down a basic drum beat, and added some cool sounding chords, keeping in mind a more interesting rhythmic structure.

Now we need some sort of a melody/intro to what will be our guitar solo. You will see in the video that I settled upon the D Natural Minor scale to line up with our chords, the first chord being D minor.

We'll also make good use of Duo harmony, where we take to melodic phrases and harmonize them with each other. You can find a lesson explaining the process of Duo Harmony by way of that link.

In the video we'll also go over note arrangement a little bit, which is very important for a melodic sounding solo. I won't give it all away, because you can certainly watch the video for yourself, but part 3 will be coming out shortly, which is where it gets really good.

This is part 3 of our constructing a guitar solo lesson, which by the way I totally forgot to post on the site, so I'm sorry for this. Anyways, as promised - this is where things start to get really good - hope you enjoy, and I don't apologize for the off colored comment at the end ;)

Before I begin, I wish that I could give you some sort of formula for transcribing guitar parts from songs, but I really can't because its done on intuition and from focus. Plus, I have no idea what song or what type of music you may be interested in tackling.

However, I am well aware that many guitar players, both young and old are out right intimidated by the thought of, or word of "transcribing".

As someone who continues to do it to this day, I have learned quite a bit about doing so, and have been proven time and time again that there are tricks that can aid you. I will do my best to help you, but first, why should a guitar player learn to transcribe music?

First, in my opinion, the ultimate goal of any musician should be to find their own voice, and throwing away the tabs and buckling down will unlock the whole world for you. Everything that I teach by way of videos, article lessons, or even rants was born from trying to figure it out on my own. I can't even begin to emphasize this, and words cannot describe.

Second - even if you simply wish to play pre-written songs for the rest of your life, learning them the old fashioned way makes things like soloing, and improvising a total synch. If someone puts you on the spot in front of a bunch of people and you are expected to learn a song right then and there, as that person is playing it, it will be no problem anymore.

So now we begin...

STEP ONE

The first thing is where DO you begin? most people could listen to one note, and they can't picture where its at, and so they assume that its going to be anywhere, and yet it is in one
specific place as expected.

If you do the math, you've got 6 strings, and on a full 24 fret guitar, 2 octaves per string. Let's take a random note. Say G#. On the low E string alone there will be 2 G#'s - remember, two
octaves per string. Now you've got 6 strings - 2 x 6 = 12. So you've got 12 of each note on the guitar - pretty cool.

Even if your guitar doesn't have 24 frets, thinking like this makes playing so much easier.

Now, let's imagine the fretboard as being divided into 4 sections.

We'll say that from frets 0 to 6 are section 1, 6 - 12 are section 2, 12 - 18 are section 3, and 18 - 24 are section 4.

There is a HUGE difference in pitch when a note like G# is played in section 1, 2, 3, or 4. Its the same note, but the sharpness grows as you move on up the neck. By the way, we're not just sectioning off one string, we're handling all of them.

I don't expect you to get it right away, but playing around with this mindset could very well mean that you will be able to go to the correct area of the fretboard, even if you don't have
perfect pitch and know what note it is that you are trying to find.

STEP TWO

Since man does not sport monstrous hands, nor 13 fingers on each hand, you can pretty much assume that the next set of notes will be in close proximity to the one that you first found. The first note by the way gets it started. In my opinion, if you can find the very first note of a guitar solo or melody, you can crack the code for the entire thing.

You should put a LOT of emphasis on that very first note and remember where its at, because if you get lost - this is your starting point again.

The next question to ask yourself is, are the next notes higher or lower, and how much so?

Let's say that you've come to the conclusion that the next note is lower. Even if you have to do half steps, or one fret at a time to find that next note - do it. Once you find the next note, again - lock it in. Go back and play those 2 notes over and over again. We'll worry about the mechanics
of how the notes are played/expressed later.

Even for me, if I encounter a song that's pretty fast and hard to keep up with I will tend to have trouble, but you and me both have a secret weapon. The pause button on our computer or CD player. where ever you are at in the song, hit the pause button immediately after the part that's got you hung up. Don't let those other sounds interfere and throw you off. One block at a time.

Though this process might seem confusing now, if you take my advice of breaking it down, over time it will tend to happen on auto pilot. Hope this helps - best of luck.

I've got a pretty cool (I think) sweep picking lesson that I just added to GSS.com. It is definitely directed towards beginners, but advanced players can get some good out of it too.

It starts off with a more manageable pattern, and then expands into something really hot at the end. I've been jamming with this one a lot late because I think its a lot of fun to play. Its very simple in sound - nothing too fancy, and its not a barre sweep either, so it may be a little easier for some of you to tackle.

Read through the text guide, which explains how to develop and practice it. If you like it, let me know and we'll work on some more sweeps together! I bet we can get pretty crazy with this stuff ;)