Musicians Archives - Alan Cross' A Journal of Musical Things

Wednesday, May 31, 2023

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The Toronto Songwriting School is gearing up again

April 25, 2023April 25, 2023 Alan Cross 1 Comment Lyrics and Landmarks, Songwriting School, Toronto

[Another story from correspondent Elisa FG. – AC] Cat. Rat. Hat. Chat. It takes a lot more than rhyming some

Here’s a fun behind-the-scenes look at the Foo Fighters 606 Studios

March 30, 2023March 30, 2023 Alan Cross 0 Comments 606 Studios, Drums, Foo Fighters

The Foo Fighters HQ is hidden in plain sight on the periphery of a residential area of Van Nuys, California.

What are the greatest opening lines to songs?

January 31, 2023January 31, 2023 Alan Cross 9 Comments Lyrics, Opening Lines, Songwriting

Composers often agonize over lyrics, hoping to come up with an opening line that will grab the listener. My all

There’s more to sounding like Eddie Van Halen than playing Eddie’s guitar

January 12, 2023January 12, 2023 Alan Cross 0 Comments Eddie Van Halen, Guitar Playing, Guitarists, Jared James Nichols

The same musical instrument can sound different depending on who’s playing it. As a way of illustrating that, blues guitarist

This dude has a singing voice that extends over six octaves

January 3, 2023January 3, 2023 Alan Cross 92 Comments

That’s a pretty impressive headline, isn’t it? And while six octaves is an amazing range, this dude is far from

This trained opera singer analyzes Kate Bush in “Running Up That Hill”

August 9, 2022August 9, 2022 Alan Cross 0 Comments Charismatic Voice, Kate Bush, Running Up That Hill

Kate Bush is still having her Stranger Things moment, so it seems entirely appropriate for The Charismatic Voice to take

printed musical note page

This video explains why it’s so hard to talk about how music sounds

July 6, 2022July 6, 2022 Alan Cross 0 Comments Music, Music Theory, Rock Songs

Language often fails us when it comes to explaining why a rock song sounds like, well, a rock song. This

Music News Musicians

Pop and Dance: Men Without Hats’ biggest hits going to Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame

September 4, 2020September 4, 2020 Amber Healy 0 Comments 80s Music, Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, Men Without Hats, Nostalgia, Pop Goes the World, pop hits, Safety Dance

Break out your best ‘80s moves and turn up the volume on your old boombox, the Canadian Songwriters Hall of

Here’s what David Bowie and others sounded like at band practice

March 27, 2020March 26, 2020 Alan Cross 0 Comments David Bowie

There’s a reason a lot of acts won’t allow people into their rehearsal space. They’d rather no one hear them

Music News Musicians

Arkells are offering online music lessons during this time of self-isolation

March 19, 2020March 18, 2020 Alan Cross 0 Comments Arkells, Coronavirus, Music Lessons

Trust the Arkells to be as positive as possible in every conceivable situation. Since so people are stuck at home,

Music History Musicians

A non-coronavirus story featuring some cool Beatles material

March 19, 2020March 18, 2020 Alan Cross 0 Comments Beatles, Help, Isolated Tracks, Revolution

While any coronavirus news is important, we also need to take a break once in a while. This is one

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