 Eight-minute insights into music composition, arranging and performance. Ever wonder how a band creates its unique "sound," or what makes a particular song so distinctive? Login to Add this to your PlaylistPrimary Format :
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Halloween Music
Just in time for All Hallow's Eve, our resident Scare Queen (and senior classical music analyst) Michelle Alexander looks at some of the scariest music ever written, ranging from the ominous organ music of Bach and Beethoven through Liszt and then into 20th Century composers like George Crumb and Gyorgy Ligeti. She thrusts her hands into the muck of musical fright and dredges up the dissonance and challenged expectations that make for aural horror. (9 mins.)
Here's the link to H ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
Jamming, part 2
Part two of our Improv show, in which we explore directed improvisation and how musicians support each other when in the sea of spontaneity: Guitarist Lebo from ALO (Animal Liberation Orchestra), pianist Trevor Garrod from Tea Leaf Green (pictured here), and guitarist Jeremy Korpas from Big Light. Recorded and edited by Tyler Brown at Bellboy Recording in Richmond CA. (20 mins.)
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Jamming
Three Left Coast jamband heavyweights weigh in on the art and science of purposeful improvisation: Guitarist Lebo from ALO (Animal Liberation Orchestra) (far left, pictured here), pianist Trevor Garrod from Tea Leaf Green (center right), and guitarist Jeremy Korpas from Big Light (far right). Recorded and edited by Tyler Brown at Bellboy Recording in Richmond CA. (20 mins.)
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The Art of Sampling
The three members of hip hop group V.E.R.A. Clique, one producer/beatmaker (Dan Craig) and two MCs (Anderson Ray and Macsen Apollo) join producer/beatmaker Johnny Igaz to talk about sampling. We look at hardware vs. software sampling, hear how different drum tones are layered to make for fuller hits, and dissect a sampled production. Craig and Igaz both work here at Pandora as well. (11 mins.)
That link above is to V.E.R.A. Clique's site, but this one is to their Pandora artist ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
Famous Rock Drummers
Session drummer Jeff Anthony returns to shine a light on some of his drumming heroes. Here, we look at the patterns and hitting styles used by some of rock music's most distinctive percussion players, including Dave Grohl from the Foo Fighters (and Nirvana and Probot and occasionally from Queens of the Stone Age), John Bonham from Led Zeppelin, Stewart Copeland from the Police, Vinnie Colaiuta of Frank Zappa's Joe's Garage and countless other albums, and Neil Peart from Rush. R ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
Room Acoustics
Singer and composer Melody Parker also works as an architectural acoustician with Charles M. Salter Associates, and here we talk with her about the the evolution of room acoustics, from its origin through several eras of composition. (13 mins.)
Recorded and edited by Eric Schurig.
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Pre-production
As the one-man band of Palefighter, Matthew Carano has learned a lot about how to streamline the recording process, and how to use pre-production to his benefit. In this show, we'll focus on sketching and recording demos, and how to sculpt a song as it goes through its various incarnations and drafts. Recorded and edited by Tyler Brown at Bellboy Recording in Richmond CA. (10 mins.)
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The Marriage of Classical and Jazz, part 1
Pianist Bill Mays has had an illustrious career mixing jazz improvisation with classical composition, and his albums in the third-stream movement have helped move the genre forward. Here Pandora's Steve Ginsberg and I talk with Mays about the relationship between classical and jazz, and about Mays' history with both, starting with the night he heard Miles Davis live in the late 1950s. The music in this piece is provided by the Inventions Trio, featuring Marvin Stamm on trumpet a ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
The Marriage of Classical and Jazz, part 2
Pianist Bill Mays returns to lead us step by step through a recent composition of his called "Fantasy, Movement One." He shows us the motifs and elements as they progress, calls out where improvisation led the players away from the printed notes, and introduces us to the tones of the other musicians on the session, who are Alisa Horn on cello and Marvin Stamm on trumpet and flugelhorn. (9 mins.)
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The Art of Sampling
The three members of hip hop group V.E.R.A. Clique, one producer/beatmaker (Dan Craig) and two MCs (Anderson Ray and Macsen Apollo) join producer/beatmaker Johnny Igaz to talk about sampling. We look at hardware vs. software sampling, hear how different drum tones are layered to make for fuller hits, and dissect a sampled production. Craig and Igaz both work here at Pandora as well. (11 mins.)
That link above is to V.E.R.A. Clique's site, but this one is to their Pandora artist ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
The Basics of Vocal Harmony
In the first installment of our podcast, Pandora music analyst Kevin Seal (of Griddle) works with Greg and Kelly from the San Francisco band 20 Minute Loop to lead you through the basics of vocal harmony: tutti harmony, unison singing, parallel and contrary motion, call and response and more. Take a peek under the hood with us and listen to the Basics of Vocal Harmony (9 mins.)
Once you've listened to the podcast, you might want to check out the vocal harmony examples on the next ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
Drums and Drumming, Part I
The second edition of our music series explores drum grooves and the techniques drummers use to get "that sound." Pandora's host Kevin Seal and Pandora music analyst Jeff Anthony show how a basic backbeat can go from disco to hard rock with the subtlest of changes. Learn how drummers use the kick drum, snare and hi-hat to make a groove really groove. (8 mins.)
On the next page, see a list of the musical terms defined in this podcast, check out pictures of Jeff demonstrating his ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
Electric Guitar Effects
The third episode in Pandora's podcast series demonstrates how pedal-board trickery makes for distinctive guitar styles. Host Kevin Seal talks with Pandora music analyst Patrick Greene about the tremolo of Dick Dale's surf guitar, the distortion of Jimi Hendrix, the wah-wah of the funk masters, and the delay of U2's the Edge. (9 mins.)
On the next page, see a list of the musical terms discussed in this podcast, check out pictures of Patrick kicking his stompboxes, and listen to ex ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
Recording Vocals
Neo-soul chanteuse Ariah Firefly appears for the fourth episode in Pandora's podcast series, and she and host Kevin Seal explore the recording of vocals. They talk about natural reverb, plosives, and background vocalizing, and compare condenser and dynamic microphones. They also discuss proper mic technique, and the different pattern settings that change a microphone's sound. (8 mins.)
On the next page, see a list of the musical terms defined in this podcast, check out pictures ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
Elements of Salsa
Pandora music analyst, trumpeter and bandleader Marina Garza of Orquesta D'Soul comes in to talk about salsa music in Episode Five. She and Kevin are joined by Orquesta D'Soul's bassist Mike Lazarus, pianist Jason Moen and percussionist Patricio Angulo (on timbales, bells and congas). They break down the different percussive patterns played in mambo and salsa, look into the music's Cuban roots in cha and son, and show the 2:3 and 3:2 son clave patterns that form the backbone of ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
Drums and Drumming, Part II
Back by popular demand, session drummer and Pandora music analyst Jeff Anthony joins host Kevin Seal to look at swing and shuffle, and how those are applied in country, blues, jazz and reggae (8 mins.)
This episode works best if you've heard "Drums and Drumming, Pt. I," so you may want a quick refresher.
On the next page, see a list of the musical terms discussed in this episode, check out pictures of Jeff's stick and brush techniques, and listen to audio examples from classic song ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
Pedal Point
In the seventh installment of our podcast, host Kevin Seal talks with Pandora music analyst Michelle Alexander about pedal point. Michelle and Kevin perform live examples, and explore the ways that composers from Beethoven to Pete Townshend to Prince have used this technique to build tension, create drama, or establish a feeling of triumph and joy. Take a peek under the hood with us and listen to Pedal Point (9 mins.)
On the next page, you can check out the audio examples, see ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
Reggae, Ska, Rocksteady and Dub
In episode eight, the Soul Captives show host Kevin Seal how to bubble and skank. They lay out the differences between bluebeat, ska, rocksteady, early reggae, roots reggae, and dub, while providing historical context. Guitarist and Pandora engineer Vic Wong mixes a live dub session for us, after he and organist (and pianist and Pandora music analyst) Ray Jacildo, drummer Jayme Arredondo, and bassist Mark Allen-Piccolo (pictured) perform in a variety of Jamaican rhythmic feels. ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
Upright Bass
Pandora Podcast Nine catches up with Seth Ford-Young and his standup acoustic bass. You can hear Seth's upright playing on the latest Tom Waits album, Orphans. In this show, he and Kevin Seal talk about arpeggiated bass lines, bowed bass, and how to get percussive sounds by smacking the strings. They also talk about how bassists choose their notes when improvising a walking bass line in jazz or blues. So much variety can be plucked out of just those four strings. (10 min.)
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Song Lyrics
Many listeners have requested a show about lyrics, and in Episode Ten, we step up to the plate. Pandora's music curator, Michael Zapruder, talks with host Kevin Seal about ways that words intersect with melodies. They play examples showing how complex music often calls for simpler language, and vice versa. After touching on devices that writers like Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen have used in their literary lyrics, they explore how character studies and personae hav ... Listen | Listen in your iPhone | Download | View full cache | Visit Website
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