Where can you find an open mic in Barcelona? Matt Kaplan scours Barcelona for the best places to find an underground jam session and explains why it’s a rare and often impromptu phenomenon in the Catalan Capital.
Spain has an unbelievably rich culture of music and with it, comes a deep appreciation for its affect. From flamenco tablaos, to classical guitar concerts in the Palau de la Música Catalana, or even jazz combos in the Harlem Jazz Club, the streets are filled with music around every corner. With that being the case, why is so hard to find venues to play live music as an amateur musician? These events usually happen on a weekly or monthly basis in a bar or café and are called open mic nights (micros abiertos) or live jam sessions.
(Alfa Bar)
The reason for the difficulty in finding a suitable location is due to the strict noise pollution laws and regulations in Barcelona. Another factor has to do with the amount of space a venue has to offer. As most people from Barcelona would know, space is a precious commodity and for bars and cafés, there are many safety regulations involved. According to Azucena Milcó, project manager at Sound Diplomacy, the legislation that permits live music was considering smaller music in the same light as the more famous clubs. Here we have a problem. It gives the venues extra taxes, occupancy limitations, and restrictions that are not relative; that is to say for example that a smaller venue would have to pay for the same amount of soundproofing that a larger club would. Even with some monetary grants from the city council, these types of restrictions have pushed a lot of very popular “underground” venues out of the live music industry.
The good news is that with all of this in mind, I have been able to find a handful of venues that still offer you the opportunity to get out for a night to show off your developing talent. Two that I would recommend are the open mics at Alfa Bar or Freedonia. If you are interested in any of these options, I have placed the information below. Alfa Bar requires that you sign up ahead of time and both events are free to participate. Keep in mind that if you attend, these events are sometimes not just for music! It is very common for open mics to be open to all types of artistry including poetry and spoken word, comedy, and more. Enjoy these opportunities to get out there and play!
EDIT – our Instrument Rental Website has updated the list, here are a few more places that offer jam sessions and open mic nights for those of you interested in playing your instrument! Don’t forget to jump over to the Shine Instrument Rental blog, to see other interesting events and happenings in Barcelona for Musicians.
For a number of months, the Shine school of Music in Barcelona at Estudio Shine has been offering students the opportunity to play as part of a group. These musical combos have been headed up by our teacher Gian Carlo Scevola, an accomplished musician with many years of experience playing in bands and combos. Gian Carlos’ band The Kennficks performs regularly in Barcelona, and Gian Carlo has been instrumental in offering his guidance and support to students who wish to create their own bands.
Performing together, especially with a variety of instruments, imparts a valuable learning experience to the student. Not only are the group combos fun, but the music created has added dimension, allowing students to work together on different instruments and learn from each other.
Gian Carlo has worked with our other teachers to provide a dynamic platform in which our students can benefit greatly from a shared experience of music.
Most recently the school showcased a number of performances by the various combos at Estudio Shine at the annual school concert. Students sang and played a variety of musical pieces with very successful results. Guitar, piano, saxophone, and clarinet captivated the audience and we hope to continue creating more groups with interested students.
Please contact the school or Gian Carlo, if you are interested in performing in part of one of Estudio Shine’s combo groups.
Check back to our Youtube later, as we keep posting videos from the concert.
Our much anticipated annual Estudio Shine student concert is Tomorrow!
The concert will take place on Saturday 13th of June at Bar Lliure, in Teatre Lliure (c/ Montseny, 47, Barcelona, very close to Estudio Shine – Map ).
We believe that the concert is a great chance to share the work you have been doing during the year with your relatives, teachers, friends and colleagues. Furthermore, this is an opportunity to experience the feeling of accomplishment of playing in front of an audience!
The concert will be split into two, with a pause in between for lunch. From 12noon until 1:30pm we will have the concert for our youngest students and then, at 3pm a concert for our adult students. In any case, you are welcome to attend both of them, even if you or your children are not playing. Students who play should come before the concert starts.
Posted in Concerts, Guitar |
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Have you ever wanted to know what it might be like to audition for a world famous band? Recently I read the account of American guitarist Ben Levin as he relived his experience of auditioning to be a musician for Lady Gaga on her international arena tour. It’s a fascinating telling of how he prepared for the audition and what he learned during the experience. He writes a great account of things you may be interested to note, if you ever find yourself in a similar position.
“I walked up to the amp, plugged in, and stated in a monotone, ‘Hello my name is Ben Levin and I am going play ‘Summerboy’ by Lady Gaga.’ Then I screamed, ‘ONE!!!!!! TWO!!!!! THREE!!!!! FOUR!!!!!!!!’ and began to play ‘Summerboy’ as if it was a cut off of a Rage Against The Machine record.” Ben writes. Check out the full story on his here, and don’t forget to leave him a comment if you enjoyed his tale. What famous band would dream of playing for?
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Many of us wish to play our favourite songs, but where can you find reliable chords and tabs for guitar online? With a little searching you can almost find everything you need and we are here to help. The following short list show some places you can look for the piece of music you want to try to master. Remember that the chords and tabs are not always the original, so you may have to improve on them yourself.
If you are a student of Shine School of Guitar, you can always work on a piece with your teacher. They have years of experience both writing original music and, you can be sure, hunting for tabs to practise for themselves!
TOP 5 ONLINE GUITAR TAB & CHORD RESOURCES:
OLGA The Online Guitar Archive– The original (and first) online resource for tablature. The website is no longer updated. This is an archive of the archive. Songsterr – You have to have a subscription, but you can also access this on your mobile phone. Very handy! Jellynote – A nicely designed website with over 150 000 songs available. If you sign up, there are also many excellent practise exercises available. Chordie – plenty of chords, tabs with lyrics on this website. The pages are also easy to print for playing. Beginner Guitar HQ – explains with images how to start playing chords. Cifra Club – a Brazilian website, available in both Spanish and Portuguese, the website has many useful videos showing tabs while they are being played on guitar. You will find all kinds of Brazilian and Spanish music, as well as popular songs. The website also has downloads for your phone.
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