Answer: In the short term? Yes. Long term? Probably not.

I base my answers on my own recent experiences with new gear and gadgets, the lastest of which is the “BeatBuddy” pedal drum machine. The BeatBuddy is a drum machine in stomp box form. It is ideal for guitarists, since we are already used to using our feet to control many aspects of our playing (just look at the typical guitarist’s pedal board). The BeatBuddy comes with lots of different drum sets and “songs” based on a myriad of genres. If you haven’t already seen the many videos demonstrating this device, just Google it and you’ll find plenty.

Beat Buddy Pedal Drum Machine

So, I finally got my hands on one of these units and have been having a blast with it. I’m not really a gigging musician, these days. I mainly bought the BeatBuddy to create quality drum tracks for my recordings. Plus, the device is proving to be a big help in creativity by letting me jam along with lots of different drum rhythms that I would not normally be using for creating songs. My creative output has indeed increased since I received the BeatBuddy. At the time of this writing, the first 4 songs in my ReverbNation playlist were created with BeatBuddy drum tracks. I haven’t had this kind of creative boost since I bought a looper pedal!

Ditto Looper

So why are gadgets only a short-term creative boost? Well, the newness wears off. But I think the BeatBuddy will become an integrated part of my creative process – much like the looper pedal. So the temporary boost in creativity may wear off, but the other benefits will remain. Namely, an overall improvement in the quality of my music.

-JRE

It’s hard to be an instrumentalist

Nowadays, if you’re not a singer / songwriter or rapper, your music just won’t get many plays. Long gone are the days when you could turn on the radio and hear an instrumental song on the top 40. Oh, there are a few exceptions, I guess. If you are a fret board acrobat, you can still get a following. I’m no acrobat or shredder – just an instrumental songwriter.

Yes, I used to write songs with lyrics and I actually sang them. I can carry a tune and even used to sing in choir at church, but I don’t have a soloist’s voice. These days, I just prefer to express myself through my guitars. Maybe one day I’ll get inspired to write some more lyrics to one of my songs. Until then, I’ll let my guitars do my speaking. The question is: “Is anybody listening?”

-JRE