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Song of the Week

Written by: Ben Joe at 11:29 pm · in Safari, Music, Songs of the Week

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Ah yes, creepy crawlies. Who wouldn’t find some on Safari ? A nice spooky sound and some critters falling on your head - and mud between your toes (oh no!). I hear Ben Joe loves the bugs.

creepy crawlieCheck out this song of the week. While you’re at it - order your copy of the new CD: Soundzania On Safari for only $6 (limited time).

 
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Until next time -

Ben Joe


Written by: Duke at 11:42 pm · in Safari, Music, Songs of the Week

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Howdy. I’m Duke Ulaylee and I get to post the song of the week this week, yeah!

I told Ben Joe I want to be a reporter when I grow-up. He said “I can help you practice. Will you write a story about new music we make here in Soundzania?”

I said “Certainly!” I hope you like my first attempt:

mmm, mmm, Cottage CheeseI walked through town the other day. I heard Ace Guitar playing something new. “Ace,” I said “please tell me about the song you’re playing.”

“Well,” Ace said “this is a song about a father and a son. The son really likes cottage cheese because he can eat it with any meal. The father doesn’t like cottage cheese because it it spills and is so difficult to clean.”

Ace will share his new song with his friends. If they like it, they will help him make a recording. If the recording is good, maybe Ben Joe and Mandy Lynn will play it on their radio show.

I’ll keep you posted. For now, give it a listen and let us know what you think. As usual, the full song can be heard at the top of the page at soundzania.com this week.

Duke

 
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Written by: Ben Joe at 8:17 pm · in Safari, Music, Songs of the Week

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fingersUniquely individual. Lee wrote the lyrics on this one. It makes me think about the numerous ways we are different and the equally numerous ways we are the same. Makes me wanna say “one love”. Peace Lee

Ben Joe

 
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Written by: Ben Joe at 9:03 pm · in Music, Citizens

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We have a winner! A few days ago we posted the question in our newsletter asking if anyone could tell us what a schisma is. Some good internet searchers turned up the right answers and we’re going to recognize 2 winners - Mike Sherman and Mike Benton. The web has a lot of articles discussing the musical term “schisma”. It is something I understood about tuning musical instruments for long time, but never knew it had a name.

schismaSimply speaking, it is the difference between tuning the D above a G so the two sound great, and tuning that D to sound good across all scales and keys. In other words, today’s instruments tune every note an equal distance from each other and that even distance is slightly smaller than the distance your ear wants to hear a perfect fifth. This distance is a SCHISMA.

Want to try it ?? Want to hear a schisma ?

You’ll need a tuner, and a guitar (or any other tunable instrument). Play a G and verify it is in tune with your tuner. Now play the D above that G at the same time and tune the D to sound perfect to your ear. This is a perfect fifth and it ought to sound good to the ear. Now check that D against your tuner. It will be sharp - by just a schisma ! What? Crazy.

Congratulations Mike and Mike ! You will be one of the first to recieve the new Safari CD once it is available !

Ben Joe


Written by: Ben Joe at 8:30 am · in Sales, Newsletters, Safari, Music, News

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Hello again - Ben Joe here, bringing you another newsletter from Soundzania. We’ve got songs, a sale and maybe even a new instrument!

Songs
We’re working hard on the new CD we plan on releasing in December - in fact - we’re posting a new song every week to give everyone a sneak listen to the album ! You heard it - we post a full copy of a song every week at Soundzania.com. Just check out the link at the top of the page when you visit Soundzania.com.

A Sale
Mandy Lynn has made some fabulous tie-dye Soundzania shirts for you all, and guess what - they’re on a huge sale just for October! Yup, every shirt is $5 off. So, instead of the usual $12.95 - now they’re just $7.95 - a very nice price for a t-shirt! Order yours today - just enter “OCTOBER” as a coupon code during checkout.

the schismaA New Instrument?
Well, maybe not completely new… but definitely fun. We are making a fun new instrument in Soundzania. Its a super-controllable-highly-interactive-sound-making-apparatus - and we affectionately refer to it as the SCHISMA. The name is actually a musical term, and if you’re the first person to explain it to me, you’ll score yourself a free copy of the upcoming CD !

Well, thats it for now, hopefully we’ll get to see the SCHISMA in action this weekend at a block party in Del Ray. Drop us a line if you want to come by.

Until next time….

Ben Joe


Written by: Ben Joe at 9:51 pm · in Safari, Music, Songs of the Week

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The TriangleMy Crazy Uncle… don’t we all have one? or are one? I was one for a long time for my 6 nieces and nephews. I’m sure this song will ring true with them. Its always fun for kids to know an adult or two that are just a little “different” than the others.

The lyrics were written by Andy Berry and this is another installment of the song of the week. I hope you enjoy the sample below. If you want the full version, it is at the top of the page on soundzania.com.

Until next time….

Ben

 
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Written by: Ben Joe at 10:48 pm · in Safari, Music, Songs of the Week

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The BanjoThis week’s installment highlights “Pancakes are Impatient”, a silly tune about a very serious issue - pancakes left on the plate. As you may know, pancakes are indeed impatient and they very much do not like to wait. So, without further ado, I bring you the song of the week: Pancakes are Impatient !

 
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The full song can be played at Soundzania.com at the top of the page this week only !


Written by: Ben Joe at 12:31 am · in Safari, Music, News

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We’ve recorded another song - Individual. This one was by Lee Parker - words and basic music. A lot of interesting voices on this one. It also has some fun percussion with the cowbell and floor tom. the tom that plays on individualIt might be the song of the week next week, we’ll see. Anyway, the point of the song is that we are all individuals, but how… how can that be with 7 billion people ?? How can we actually be unique? On the flip side, there are tons of things we share and make us all alike. My favorite line in this song is “if I say I love you will you say you love me too”. Nice touch Lee ! Yes, we all need some of the same things don’t we :)

Take care - and until next time….keep the safari going

Ben Joe

 
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Written by: Ben Joe at 8:36 am · in Music

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I’ve added another little game to Soundzania.com. Sound Check provides you 2 controls… each one plays the same song, the trick is to try to get the two going in the same place at the same time so they sound as one. Or, you could just play around to see what other interesting timings you can come up with. Its sure to be a fun little diversion.

Enjoy !

Ben


Written by: Ben Joe at 8:32 pm · in Safari, Music, Songs of the Week

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This is the first in a series of posts that will reveal some of the coming album from Soundzania. Each week (or so) we will post another track from the upcoming album. You can listen to the track by clicking on the play button at the top of the page (the link changes each week though) !!

Building Blocks was written by Lee Parker and was extremely fun to record! The crunch sound you hear is actually a slew of lincoln logs being thrown about in a big plastic bin. Each toss is different… it was recorded live, so I had to throw those lincoln logs for the entire song… my arms got tired :)This one has been a clear favorite with my kids for the past month… but recently another track has displaced it… more on that track later!

Stay tuned and enjoy the sneak listen! Ben Joe

 
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