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thoughts, sounds and images from geren w mortensen jr

Category Archives: sounds

creativeLIVE: Live, Worldwide Creative Classroom

October 31st, 2011

I recently learned about an interesting new web community called creativeLIVE that is offering a creative approach to creative training seminars. While I’ve yet to “attend” one of their offerings due to scheduling conflicts, the folks they’ve been attracting to lead these virtual retreats are pretty impressive — Rick Sammon, Bambi Cantrell and Zack Arias are among the photographers involved — and there are “courses” on all manner of creative pursuits, although photographers have been the most prolific thus far.

creativeLIVE

creativeLIVE

About creativeLIVE (from creativelive.com):

creativeLIVE is about providing the best free, live creative education on the web. From our studio in Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood, we offer free online workshops in photography, video, web and graphic design, app development and a wide array of other creative topics.

All of our live creative workshops are available to watch for free in realtime. Once a live workshop is over, we edit the best of this content into easily downloadable files available for purchase through our online store. It’s that simple.

At our core, we’re a dedicated group of creative-minded individuals. Our aim is to work with the very best instructors who want to share their knowledge and creative expertise with the world.

On The Hunt: Keyboard Amps

July 13th, 2011

I’m sort of in the market for a new keyboard amp. Don’t get me wrong; my current amp, a Peavey KB3, is an awesome amp. It’s got plenty of power. It sounds great. It’s got plenty of inputs. It’s got every feature I could want in a keyboard amp, including a special monitoring input that allows me to use it as a keyboard mixer/amp and a monitor wedge at the same time. And, it was reasonably priced. What more could I possibly want, for goodness sake?!?

Simple.

Controls on the face of the amp, not on the top all the way at the back, where I can’t see them easily when I reach to make a quick adjustment. See, I either raise my amp off the floor behind me, so it’s closer to my head, or angle it back on a floor stand, so that the speaker is facing up like a floor wedge. That way, I can hear what I’m playing, as opposed to shooting the sound past my knees.

Controls on modestly-priced (sub-$300) amps were on the front, once upon a time. My first keyboard amp (Peavey KB100) and my second keyboard amp (Peavey KB/A60) had front-facing controls. So, what’s with the trend to put them at the back? Just because Roland (undoubtedly, the makers the most popular series of keyboard amps out there) has been putting them back there for years, it’s not necessarily a good idea.

So, how ’bout it, friends. Any ideas on a comparable amp that has its knobbies on the front, where I can see ‘em, that won’t break the bank?

Practicing … and Learning

June 5th, 2011

I’ve been struggling with an inability to quickly learn and remember songs. I’ve put it down to ADD, along with my difficulties with effective reading. So, when I stumbled across this article, my interest was naturally piqued.

Apparently, there is a definite wrong way to practice, and it seems to me that it’s the way that most of us have been taught to practice! Described as “mindless practice,” during which we repeat the same things over and over. Or, we play through a song until we come to a trouble spot, and fight through it again and again until we get it right. The problem with this approach is that it’s boring, and it could actually make you more prone to mistakes! And so, it becomes rather a waste of time!

The article goes on to discuss a deliberate, systematic, mindful practice routine. It’s a good read for anyone, like me, who would like to be able to make better use of their limited practice time.

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thoughts, sounds and images from geren w mortensen jr