T H E

M O T I V A T E D
M U S I C I A N
GET ON TRACK, STAY ON TRACK

f e a t u r i n g a l a n p a s q u a
MYMUSICMASTERCLASS.COM JANUARY 2021
 WHAT'S GOING ON?

If you’re reading this you made it

through 2020 and hopefully had a nice holiday season
despite the obvious current state of the world.

Congratulations for gritting it out and Happy New Year!

I’m hopeful that 2021 will slowly start to turn the

corner and that we are on our way to recovery.
Let’s make sure to start this year off right.
So if you were in a funk or a cycle of procrastination,
this is the time to break out of it.

Let’s get moving in the right direction

so we can stay on course in the new year!

MMMC | 01
 YOU’LL NEVER
GET BORED WHEN
YOU TRY
SOMETHING NEW.
THERE’S REALLY
NO LIMIT
TO WHAT YOU
CAN DO.

DR. SEUSS

MMMC | 02
WIPING
THE
SLATE
CLEAN
“IF YOU ARE DEPRESSED, YOU
ARE LIVING IN THE PAST, IF YOU
ARE ANXIOUS, YOU ARE LIVING
IN THE FUTURE, IF YOU ARE AT
PEACE, YOU ARE LIVING IN THE
PRESENT.” LAO TZU
MMMC | 03
We recently released a podcast on
perception and how it’s very
important to live in the now. 
Being “present” is so important in
both our lives and in our music.
In life, ruminating about the past
or the future too much can cause a
disconnect to the present moment.
If you are too caught up with
yesterday or tomorrow, you will
miss out on the most beautiful and
fruitful things happening right in
front of your eyes.
Now, I realize that 2020 was a
disaster and it’s going to be hard
to get over it, but we all need to
find a way to wipe the slate clean
and start again for 2021. In music,
the same logic applies. If you are
thinking about a mistake you just
made while on stage, instead of
what is currently happening
around you, you’re bound to “mess
up again” due to your lack of
controlled focus. Even if you don’t
make another error, your
performance will likely be stale
and uninspired due to you not
being in the moment. The time to
analyze your performance is after
the gig, not during it and that’s
why recordings are so helpful.
As for the future, it is certainly
important to think ahead musically
so that you are prepared for
changes in songs, harmonies,
sections, etc. That being said, you
don’t want to attach any stress or
negative energy towards that
thought process. For instance, if
you know that the bridge of the
song you are playing contains a
very technical line, you have to
find a way to relax while
anticipating the event. Also, if you
start thinking about one lick or
phrase you really want to insert
into your solo (let’s say 16
measures ahead) when you finally
play it, it will most likely feel
forced and uninspired.
 S O ,
H O W D O W E
B E C O M E
M O R E
P R E S E N T ?

Well, you want to be able to center yourself

on command and live in the now. This is not
easy and it will take practice, but you will
see the rewards in your music and your
everyday life.  I recommend doing daily
check-ins with yourself in order to integrate
this feeling. So, at random points during
your day, stop what you’re doing for 5
minutes (or less if you don’t have much time)
and look around. Take in everything within
your environment and observe what’s going
on. What’s the weather? What do the clouds
look like? What is that person on the bench
wearing? What are the details of that
painting on the wall? What is the pattern of
the floor tiles? What sounds do you hear?
How does your body feel? These are just
examples, but the idea is simply to pay
attention to every detail in your
surroundings for a short period. If you do
this multiple times per day, it will help you
get to that present place quicker both in life
and in your musical situations. 

If you’re interested in pursuing more in

terms of grounding work, you can also try
the “5-4-3-2-1 Coping Technique”. This
therapeutic method is used a lot in mental
health and it takes you through your five
senses to help remind you of the present. It
is calming and helpful in stressful situations.

MMMC | 04
LOOK
Look around for 5 things that you can see, and say
them out loud (if possible). For instance, you might
say, I see a door, I see a guitar, I see a water cup, etc.

FEEL
Pay attention to your body and find 4 things that you
can feel, and say them out loud (if possible). For
instance, you might say, I feel the chair against my
back, I feel wind on my face, I feel my feet on the
ground, etc.

LISTEN
Listen for 3 sounds and say them out loud (if possible).
For instance, you might say, I hear the air-conditioner,
I hear music, I hear a stream, etc.

SMELL
Say two things you can smell and say them out loud
(if possible). For instance, I smell fresh flowers, I smell
someone’s perfume, I smell cookies, etc.

TASTE
Say one thing you can taste out loud (if possible). If
you can’t taste anything at that moment, then say
your favorite thing to taste.

MMMC | 05
 DO NOT DWELL
IN THE PAST, DO
NOT DREAM OF
THE FUTURE,
CONCENTRATE
THE MIND ON
THE PRESENT
MOMENT.

BUDDHA
MMMC | 06
 THINKING
SMALL
"PLAYING LIVE IS ONE THING. PLAYING UNDER A
MICROSCOPE IS ANOTHER."
STEVE LUKATHER

Since I’m a science hobbyist (and an all-around nerd), I was

recently looking up something related to quantum physics
and I thought of an interesting parallel to music and life.
So, we (humans) are made of skin, bones, organs, etc. If we
zoom in, we see cells, bacteria and more. If we zoom in
even more, we see molecules and then atoms. If we look
even closer, we’ll find proton and neutrons and then finally
elementary particles like electrons, quarks, etc. Yup, this is
pretty damn small and I promise I’m going to relate this to
music.

MMMC | 07

When I was at Manhattan School of Music pursuing
a degree in jazz performance (bass), I was
practicing about 6-8 hours a day (and obviously
playing with others as well). I started to have
serious pain and was diagnosed with tendonitis in
both wrists/hands. I went to many doctors and
they gave me anti-inflammatory drugs. They also
prescribed physical therapy to strengthen the
muscles around the tendons, but I wasn’t really
recovering.
Why? Because, I was applying band aids to a
problem that was much more fundamental. Of
course, if you take huge amounts of anti-
inflammatory drugs, the swelling will go down.
And PT will help with the problem to a certain
extent, but if you have not addressed the
underlying cause of the inflammation, it will always
be a crack in the foundation.
So, what did I do? I broke down my technique into
tiny pieces until I got to the fundamental
problems.
MMMC | 08
The angle of my arm, the tension of my shoulder
and hands, posture, everything I could think of!
When I finally rectified these “quantum” problems, I
could suddenly play with better tone, more fluent
technique, more endurance and most importantly
with no pain! Technical feats that used to be
impossible for me on the instrument, became
attainable due to me fixing the core issue.
Many artists on our site take this same approach to
mastering their instruments. The best musicians in
the world seem to working on the simplest
concepts regularly. Horn players often play long
tones for long periods of time. Bass players,
guitarists, pianists, whoever, seem to always go
back to the basics, because if the foundation is
solid, all the other stuff will fall in line.
On one of our podcasts, renowned guitarist Larry
Koonse talked about this idea: He said that when
musicians struggle with a piece of music or a
concept, it’s typically because their technical
foundation is not solid enough. Once you address
that structural fault, the more advanced concepts
will flow much easier. Without a strong core you’re
simply not ready to frame the walls and ultimately
build the house :).
Here's another way to think about it.
When you mix a track of music, you
want to solo every track and make
sure it sounds good by itself before
trying to mix it in with the rest. And
to be honest, this process starts way
before the mix in the tracking phase.
Every building block has to be equally
solid.

Anyway, back to the mix. You have to

address any issues with the core tracks
in order to build a solid foundation.
When you are producing a song and
feel that something is missing, instead
of adding 15 supporting tracks, try
taking a look at the fundamental parts
first. Make sure they’re solid and see if
they need fixing. When you take this
approach you will often find that you
need to subtract instead of add.

When you’re composing, the same

logic applies and 1 simple idea is
often more powerful than 5 ideas at
once. If you feel your piece of music
is lacking something, you need to
address the core before you start
applying band aids and making a
mess in general.

This is a good process to integrate into

your life. If you run across a problem,
always try to search for the cause of
the problem before adding a quick fix.
We've included a worksheet to help
get you to the quantum realm. Enjoy!

MMMC | 09
 YOU ARE
NEVER TOO
OLD TO SET
ANOTHER
GOAL OR TO
DREAM A NEW
DREAM.

C.S. LEWIS

MMMC | 10
 GETTING THE
MOST OUT OF
YOUR AUDIO
Before we get started you may want to
check out the back issues and read the
other 2 parts of this article. Also, since
we’re going to be talking about basic
mixing techniques here, it’s important to
note there are several different
philosophies about the subject. The
following is the way I approach mixing
and it’s always served me well; whether
producing my own material for
broadcast/TV/film or working with other
artists, mixing/producing their music.

OK, enough with the disclaimer…let’s go!

So, you have several tracks filled with

audio files on your DAW. What now? The
first thing I do is add a simple 6 band EQ
in slot 1 of every track. Don’t EQ anything
yet, just leave it there as the first plugin in
your effects chain. Next, I put a simple
compressor in the second slot (of every
track), making it the second effect in your
chain.  NOTE: Don’t even turn these
things on yet, you are just setting up your
template. Also, I tend to avoid using
multiband compressors unless the track
was recorded very poorly and desperately
needs an audio doctor . Multiband
compressors can quickly destroy your
mix if used improperly. So again, keep it
simple.

MMMC | 11
Now it’s time to solo some tracks and see what we
have going on. If I’m working with a standard 4-
piece band recording, I typically start with the
drums. I’ll solo the kick drum and add a little
compression to it. The amount I add depends on
the type of music and what my ears are telling me,
but in general less is more. I’m not a fan of
overdoing compression unless I’m going for the
“squashed” and loud vibe.
Now it’s important to note that effect settings are
an art and an endless rabbit hole, so you’ll have to
do some reading and experimentation to see what
works for you. Essentially, your compressor should
have 5 main parts; threshold, attack, release, ratio
and output gain.
If we go back to the soloed kick drum example, I
will start with a ratio of around 2.5-3. Then I’ll set
both the attack and release to a very quick speed
(use your ears) since a bass drum is a percussive
instrument with very little decay. The threshold is
next and I’ll adjust it so that the kick drum is barely
activating the compressor.
Lastly, you can adjust the output gain on the
compressor or in the mixer itself depending on
preference. This is my starting point and I tweak
from here. Now listen to the soloed track. Does it
need a little more evening out? If so, compress it a
little more. If it sounds too squashed or artificial for
your tastes, back off. You have to listen and truly
understand what every control on the compressor
does. Take your time with it and experiment.
Now listen to the sound of the drum. Does it sound
thin, too bassy, ringy? This is where EQ comes in,
but you have to be very careful with it. The first
thing to understand is that not everything may
need EQ. I mean, I typically do small things on
almost every track, but they are very small
adjustments and sometimes it’s simply not needed.
And that’s a good mindset to have. Don’t just start
adding frequencies because you read about it in a
Reddit thread or saw it in a YouTube video. Listen
for what the track needs and always subtract first if
you need to fix something.
If the kick is too boomy, find the culprit frequency
by raising it first and then once you’ve identified it,
drop it only about -2 or -3db. How does it sound?
Make small changes, not big ones, because if you
start making all these huge tweaks before you hear
the full mix, it will be a hot mess by the time you put
everything together. Also, during this whole process
I start panning things so they sound more natural to
me.
I typically like music to sound like it does on the
stage so I will do a preliminary pan of the drum
overheads (left and right) and the kick and snare
will be dead center. If you have other drum mics for
hi hats or toms, I pan them as well, but not 100% to
the sides. I like to visualize sitting in front of the
stage and how the drums are set up. I often try to
simulate that spatial concept.
NOTE: There are other panning philosophies that
are very effective too, but this is the most common.
MMMC | 12
In this 4-piece band situation, I will solo
every drum track separately and then start
combining them together to make sure
they compliment each other. Then I make
some more tweaks. Eventually I have the
drums the way I like. Then I solo the bass
and make sure it sounds great. Now solo
all the drums and bass together. Do they
sound good? Do the bass drum and the
bass sound good together or do you need
to apply some EQ to make them
complimentary. Tweak sounds and
volumes accordingly until you have a solid
drum and bass mix. NOTE: I typically pan
the bass center unless I’m doing
something specific like a vintage jazz mix,
etc. In that case, the drums would be
panned differently too.
Now for the chordal instruments. Your
panning will be very important here as
well and you’ll have to get creative if you
have a couple guitars and keys, etc. Make
sure everything has its own space. Panning
is one of the most important things in
mixing and not panning effectively will
make the whole production sound
amateurish. Adjust the settings on the
compressors for every soloed instrument
you tweak and understand that every
instrument and part may have different
requirements.
For instance, a guitar part with a very
staccato feel will most likely need fast
attack and release while a more ambient
guitar part will benefit from a longer
attack and release. Or maybe you have a
sound that has a sharp attack, but lasts a
long time. In that case, short attack and
longer release might sound best. Again,
use your ears and experiment.
Once you’ve done this preliminary work
you can start putting things together.
You’ll go back to your EQs and
compressors in this stage if you realize you
need to tweak any sounds. Maybe you did
too much EQing and compressing in the
first stage and now that you hear
everything together, it’s sounding strange
to you. Or maybe you need to add a little
something extra or different. Also, it’s
important to note that if you hear 2
instruments competing for the same sonic
spot in the mix, meaning their frequencies
are similar and getting muddy, look at the
panning first. If you’re able to pan away 2
instruments that have a similar frequency
range, you might not have to scoop out as
much with the EQ which will make your
mix sound fuller. This whole process of
panning, EQ and compression is super
important and worth taking time to fully
explore.
As you’ve probably realized, there is more
to mixing than this, but that’s all for this
edition. Next month we can explore
some of the other steps in the mixing
process like reverb, sends, master bus
concepts, etc. Happy mixing!
MMMC | 13
 FEATURED CATS
Many of the elite musicians we film at My
Music Masterclass talk about how they like to
practice new things to stay current.  Many also
say that they are always checking out the B C
young cats to see what new sounds are MANJUNATH
becoming part of the musical landscape. 

SANTIAGO
LARA

NME

B C Manjunath
A talented and exciting
konnakol artist who has been
This is important work for musicians because making waves.
although there are only 12 notes in western Santiago Lara
music, techniques and sounds evolve.  So if you Currently respected as one of
the most important names in
want to continue working in the scene and the new generation of Spanish
remaining relevant across generations, you guitarists.

must stay aware of what’s trending in music.  NME

In this section we feature artists who in our Andrea Cimitan, better known
by his stage name NME, is an
opinion are doing some really cool stuff!  Here Italian beatboxer and looper.
are this month’s picks…

MMMC | 14
 We humans want to feel something when we listen to

GETTING music, and if we don’t feel it, we tune out. This is why
it’s so important to get under the surface of your
musical heroes' work to see what really makes it

TO THE
special.

I would suggest transcribing some music, for

instance a solo. Once you notate it and play it on

SOURCE your instrument, don’t stop there. You need to go

deeper. Listen for the beat placement, tone,
articulation, phrase length, dynamics, etc.

We all listen to and learn from our personal musical

heroes. While it’s important to transcribe and take
pieces from these masters, it’s also imperative that we
find the soul in what they’re doing. In my case, I have
very broad musical tastes and my biggest criteria for
liking music is intention and execution. I love when I
can tell that a musician is completely hearing and
feeling what they are doing. This is why I can listen to
John Coltrane play a million notes and it doesn’t sound
busy to me, while another extremely skilled musician
in the same context may sound like they’re playing too
much. Another example is Grant Green who is one of
my favorite guitarists of all time. He didn’t have the
technique of George Benson (who I also love) for You might think this is the last step, but there’s still
example, but his feel, sound and vibe were more to explore. Once you’re gotten to the point
unparalleled. Or how about Alan Holdsworth, Eddie where you think you have nailed every detail, record
Van Halen, Jimi Hendrix, Django Reinhard, Chet Atkins, yourself performing the transcription. Then, A/B
Paco De Lucia, etc.? I could keep going because I have your new recording with the original and listen to
a lot of guitar favorites, but my point is that if you listen them back-to-back. Be really honest here and assess
to any of these musicians, they sound authentic and if you truly captured the essence you were after. If
amazing. So, what’s the common bond here? not, listen to the original recording over and over
until you find it. Once this process is completed,
It's all about authenticity. If you are completely improvise your own solo using the essence of this
committed to a musical choice, it will work because of musician without using any of the artist’s signature
your conviction. Of course, you can’t please everyone licks. Record this solo and listen back. How does it
and if you play something incredibly dissonant, some sound? Can you hear and feel the vibe of the original
may disapprove. But, in general, if you go for it, your musician? By putting in this work you will be
musical ideas will connect with people. developing your own style without imitating your
heroes. Your sound will ultimately be an
amalgamation of all of your musical influences and
the more digging you do, the more unique you will be
musically. Good luck and enjoy the journey!
MMMC | 15
 I TRY TO PLAY
THE BARE
ESSENCE,
TO LET
EVERYTHING
BE JUST WHAT
IT'S SUPPOSED
TO BE.

DIZZY GILLESPIE

MMMC | 16
 ALAN PASQUA

5
QUESTIONS

What have you been listening to

recently?

Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff,
Stravinsky, Monteverdi,
Hank Jones, Abbey
Lincoln, Jaki Byard,
George Russell, Bill Evans
Town Hall & Roberto
Murolo.
MMMC | 17
What are 5 of your favorite albums of all time and what
is so special about them?
George Russell/Bill Evans - Living Time
John Coltrane - Transition
Herbie Hancock - Crossings
Larry Young - Unity
The Count Basie Story

THEY ALL SWING!!!!!

What are you currently working on in the practice room?

Learning how to play the piano.

Using far less pedal to achieve greater clarity.

What younger or up-and-coming musicians are you

digging right now?

Ambrose
How are you staying sane in this quarantine and do you
have any tips for other musicians currently in isolation?

Breathe, focus on the light at the end of the tunnel,

prepare now for the day when things return to being
somewhat normal, don’t wait until then because it will
be too late.
Check out Alan's new songbook:
The Alan Pasqua Songbook
MMMC | 18
The
Name
Game
Ron Jones (composer of Family Guy,
etc.) had some great advice in his
masterclass, “How to be a Successful
Composer”. The entire masterclass is
pure gold for all musicians (not just
composers), but I want to talk about
one of his specific points.

Ron says that when we musicians go

out to a gathering or event, we need to
meet as many people as possible, and
ultimately make friends. Friends in
turn will be the ones to get you gigs, so
this is a big deal. He says that you
should make a game out of it, meaning
you go out and see how many people
you can meet and how much you can
remember about them (names, jobs,
hobbies, pets, children, instruments,
whatever). If you come home with a
bunch of new names, info and friends,
you win the game :). By doing this
work, you will be making friends and
paying attention to others instead of
yourself. This is how it's done!
MMMC | 9
Discounts
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Site-wide Discount:
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Alan Pasqua Discount:

15% off all of Alan's Masterclasses. Check them out
HERE!
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EXP: 01/31/2021 @11:59 EST
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Ron Jones Discount:

15% off Ron's "HOW TO BE A SUCCESSFUL
COMPOSER" masterclass. Check out the video
HERE!
COUPON CODE: RONJONES21
EXP: 01/31/2021 @11:59 EST
NOTE: Cannot be combined with other offers.

MMMC | 20
 CONCLUSION
We hope you all had a great holiday
season and we’re looking forward to a
better 2021. Let’s get started on the
right foot and stay on track. Also, we’d
love to hear from you, so please email
us with any questions or topic ideas
you might have. If we use your topic or
question in the issue, we’ll give you a
$10 gift card for
MyMusicMasterclass.com. WooHoo!

MMMC EDITION 007