Finding YOUR instrument
Posted by RJ Benjamin in musically speaking on 11 December, 2011
I’m a vocalist who has always loved musical instruments. I play the piano more so because it was the instrument that was at my disposal from a young age. Vocally I would be classed as a bass/baritone & I’ve always loved the bass guitar, yet I don’t play it & I’ll always wonder if, had I been a young boy with the opportunity to learn bass guitar, that would have been MY instrument.
It’s been said before that every person out there can find their instrument. An instrument that they resonate towards & simply by picking it up, they realize that this is the one for them. I often wonder in South Africa with immense amount of musicality I see in the less affluent areas how many great musicians there could be if they had the opportunity to discover what musical instrument fits them the best. Most will never play an instrument in their lives. It is my great hope that in the future years, this will change.
I spoke to my right hand man, multi-instrumentalist, producer & musical director Chad Alexander about finding your Instrument. Considering how it seems like he has found the ability to play not just piano competently but sing & play guitar & bass too (& he could be a drummer & a trumpet player too with a little work), I thought his insights into this would be best.
Chad began by saying “I don’t think everyone is born with that ability, however I do strongly believe that even if you’re not born with the ability, if you put your mind to it, you certainly can find the instrument that fits your personality”. Based on my experience I asked him how one would go about finding their instrument.
He said “listen to all types of music, feel which genre moves you. Purchase yourself a few CDs, take risks, don’t go for the conventional Then I would advise going to see live shows of the music you’ve purchased so as to bring to life the music you’ve now grown accustomed to & believe me, live music will change your life!”.
I was curious about his ability to play many instruments unlike us mere mortals. “I discovered that how I taught myself to play the very first instrument, piano, I could simply use the same principles & discipline to play any instrument!” says Chad. It takes great discipline to play an instrument on singers not being able to play an instrument, Chad went on to say “playing an instrument will help the singer decipher music much better, especially when having to adapt to many genres. Singers have a bad rep when it comes to instrumentalists because they tend to ignore all the hard work of having to compose, play & arrange music. By playing an instrument, it will allow you to understand how music functions as a whole. Singers often find they can do more vocally & understand when to do less & they can communicate better with instrumentalists.
Lastly I asked asked about new technology in music: “Anything that can be used to make sound could be used as an instrument, but simply because the person uses the instrument, doesn’t necessarily make them musicians. As long as there’s sound music will prevail, whether it’s good or bad!”
Friday Free track download – “You Don’t Have to Know” (from The Hope Project)
Posted by RJ Benjamin in Friday free download on 4 November, 2011
This is the only Gospel song I have recorded for an upcoming soundtrack album entitled The Hope Project.
Written by Andile Masuku, produced by myself & Chadwin Alexander.
Friday Free track download – “If I Gave You”
Posted by RJ Benjamin in Friday free download, musings on 28 October, 2011
” If I Gave You” – co-written by RJ Benjamin & Hlubi Kwebulana.
The lyrics are based on a poem of Antonio Lyons which were-interpreted & added melody.
Friday Free track download – “So Nervous” by Jarrid John
Posted by RJ Benjamin in musings on 21 October, 2011
I wrote & co-produced this track with Chad Alexander for an artist named Jarrid John. Jarrid has had reservations about releasing his music & I’m curious to hear what you think of it so please give me some feedback.
Get it (right-click and choose “Save As” or “Download Link”)
Conversation with the Jaziel Brothers
Posted by RJ Benjamin in Friday free download, musings on 18 October, 2011
RJ – We all know of course you’re brothers, but where does “Jaziel” come from?
Jaziel Bro’s – Jaziel is a Hebrew word that means “God’s comfort and natured” because of our faith and belief in God we chose a name that would best represent who we are and what we want to communicate through our music
RJ – Who were the local stars you looked up to growing up?
Jaziel Bro’s – Brenda Fassie Caiphus Semenya and Ringo
RJ - Being a music producer and songwriter myself, I have seen the benefits in creating a credible brand. How has creating hits for the likes of Lesego and Kelly Khumalo helped your own careers as the Jaziel Brothers?
Jaziel Bro’s – It really set us apart and made it easier for us to able to tell our story in our albums because we wanted our work to speak for us and to introduce our sound gradually.
RJ – In a country dominated by programmed and synthesized music, you have maintained an authentic sound still utilizing live instrumentation. Where do you see the future of South African music going?
Jaziel Bro’s – We still believe that there is a lot of potential and there many talented musicians in the industry who can still maintain the pureness, culture & heritage of the our music without it losing its authenticity and expand it but education is very important that creative people use what they love as a business.
RJ – It’s hard to box-in your style. Some people call it Afro-Pop, some say Gospel. How would you describe your music?
Jaziel Bro’s – We do Afro Pop which has a lot of soul and in our albums we always add a gospel song.
RJ – Any upcoming albums and collaborations in the near future?
Jaziel Bro’s – At the moment we are currently promoting our second album “The Journey” we also have projects like Bongi & Collin gospel duo under Jaziel Music who won Sama award for Best Urban Gospel and Trezpass young talented rap artist. Maybe a collaboration with you.
RJ – In a world where the selling of music is constantly changing, how are you getting your music out there in light of the decline of CD sales?
Jaziel Bro’s – We travel a lot and we realized since we interact a lot with people who love our music we always make sure that we have CD’s with us and we are looking at finding better ways for our music to be more accessible.
RJ – You have consistently been successful at the SAMA Awards and are proof that you don’t need to be part of the biggest record companies to do so. If you were to change anything about the SAMA’s what would it be and why?
Jaziel Bro’s – We would appreciate that organizers put more effort & detail in the execution of how the artists are presented and showcased musically on the night through their performance like they do with the actual producing of the awards themselves you will always find the best directors or producers in tv production at the Sama’s but music & artists are not given the best attention in the planning.
Taking care of the one voice you have
Posted by RJ Benjamin in musically speaking, musings on 14 October, 2011
This year marks the tenth year of my teaching career. Over the years I’ve taught young & old, talented & not-so-talented, the not-so-famous, the not-yet famous & the now-very famous as far as SA celebrities go. I’ve observed the singing careers of every major SA artist that’s come onto the scene in the last 10 years & I’ve noticed that most do NOT take care of their voices.
It’s a reflection of the SA music industry as a whole & in comparing it to the SA sports industry, a clear picture is painted. Arts in SA is not as well supported as is sports. I’d be the 1st to raise my concerns about this. I can only speak for the music industry but from that perspective, if we are not taking ourselves seriously as singers, why should government or anyone else take us seriously?
Here’s what I know. The majority of top SA singers do not warm up their voices before performances among other lifestyle choices that cause damage to the voice. Many of you may be asking well why should they?
Here’s why: the voice, like any other part of the body needs to be warmed up before it is used. It may seem to the listener that it’s an effortless exercise but performing solidly for an hour or more is as taxing on the voice of a professional singer as any professional sport would be taxing on the body of a sports-person. What do we know about the professional sports world? We know they stretch & warm up before every game, some even warm down. We also know they go through rigorous training daily. For the most part, our SA singers are not doing this & to argue they can’t afford coaches on a daily basis is fair but for singers, it is easy to find singing exercises at the click of a button. At the very least all professional SA singers should be warming up. If you need exercise, contact me, I will gladly help!
What could be the effect of not warming before every performance? In the short term, none of us will notice a difference however it’s a long term problem. Many of you can go through your SA music collection, pick an artist & listen to their body of work. I have noticed that some artists voices have audibly changed over a 10-year period… 10 years??? Considering this is supposed to be a life-long career, 10 years should just be the start of a career & the harsh reality is without the voice that made you famous in the 1st place, you have no career as a singer… unless you’re planning on miming for the rest of your life.
Friday Free track download – “Thinkin’ About You”
Posted by RJ Benjamin in Friday free download on 14 October, 2011
FREE DOWNLOAD:
Written & Performed by Sibongile Mlotshwa, she brings you Gospel but with a neo-soul twist. For all those people who love Praise & Worship & love their soul music too!
Produced by Myself & Chad Alexander
What does it mean to “sing off-key”?
Posted by RJ Benjamin in musically speaking on 9 September, 2011
‘Inside’ – sorry for the delay
Posted by RJ Benjamin in musings on 9 September, 2011
This is long overdue but I’m sure what I have to say will appease some who read this.
I’m sure many people are wondering where the final album I said would be released in Feb 2011 is? 1stly I must say a big sorry to everyone for the delay of this release.
In a way I blame falling in love & spending 2 months of the year in London & traveling. The advantage of spending time outside of South Africa was I had time to reflect on the future. It also forced me to accept that although I had publicly stated I would release in Feb 2011, I could not rush this process if I wanted to put out the best quality album.
The good news is, the production for my final album Inside is done. The album is now in the process of being mixed & mastered. Ironically, the release of Inside will now be in Feb 2012. In the next few months I’ll be putting some footage on YouTube of some of the recording sessions & hopefully releasing some singles on radio.
Again, sorry for the delay but I can promise when you listen to the final product you’ll agree it was worth the wait.
South African music: where to from here?
Posted by RJ Benjamin in musings on 22 August, 2011
Since I last had my rant about what the point would be in studying music in SA, I’ve engaged in many conversations & fierce debates about whether I’m right or wrong. What has become clear is that more musicians in South Africa agree with me than disagree.
It’s a relief to know that I am not the only one who feels we need to re-educate the youth if there is any hope in the survival of live music.
It’s not hard to see a post-apocalyptic SA (maybe even… world), say 20 years in the future where instruments are merely antique ornaments in people’s houses but no-one anywhere knows how to actually play one. How many kids in 2011 would rather invest in some CDJs as opposed to a violin or trumpet?
I certainly can’t blame the youth for not wanting to pick up an instrument or for the lack of understanding & appreciation of playing & mastering an instrument. I don’t think we’ll be seeing more music education in our schools, at least not from the governments side & therefore it’s up to the current musicians in South Africa & maybe even abroad to ensure we do not suffer a musical apocalypse.
I’m making it my life’s official mission to set up programs & workshops that will reach every school in South Africa. I am already in the process of recruiting some of SA’s best musicians to assist. I’m also going to approach touring international artists & ask that they run workshops in less fortunate areas.
If you, like me would like to know that the future of live music in SA is in safe hands, follow me on twitter – @RJBenjamin or become a fan on Facebook (facebook.com/RJBenjamin) & together, let’s start a music revolution!
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