Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Choosing a Music Teacher

By Sam Salmon

Tip! Write Music From The Heart.

Although it is quite possible to teach yourself how to play an instrument, the advances that you can make with a good music teacher and following a course of structured lessons can not be overvalued. Don't be afraid to make that call to a teacher and discuss your needs. As adults it can be hard to take that first step, but playing music is undeniably good for the soul, and you shouldn't allow yourself to miss out on the opportunity to feel happier and learn something new.

Tip! Knowing music theory will help you recreate the sounds you enjoy in your favorite songs. Those fabulous chord progressions.

Before you make that call it helps to know what style of music you would like to learn so you can discuss this with a prospective music teacher. Learning a style you enjoy helps you to stay motivated and make you want to keep practicing. It will also help your teacher to tailor the lessons to suit you.

Music teachers can be found in the local papers, Yellow Pages and Thompson Local as well as on the internet. Go to Google and type in "music teachers in ��" and add your town and county. Another good source is your local music shop. They usually know the local teachers personally, or know of the good ones from word of mouth from their customers.

There are a number of things to consider when choosing a music teacher, and price should really NOT be one of them. Four lessons a month with an adequate teacher who is cheap may not be as beneficial to you as twice a month with a superior but more expensive teacher. It's true that more expensive is not always better, but an excellent teacher will have no problem finding students prepared to pay a higher rate.

Tip! Search engine (SE): Search engines like Yahoo, MSN and Google are the most important tools that can help you to find free sheet music. The problem is, most people don't know how to effectively search for the information they need from the SE.

You can expect to pay anywhere from �12 to �30 an hour, though many teachers offer half hour lessons which may well be better for people early into their instrument playing. Ask if there is the possibility of group lessons, if this suits you. This can seriously help reduce the costs for those on tight budget. Those who have family constraints or transport problems might want to consider having a teacher come to their home.

Tip! ) GOOD MELODY. Commercial music is characterized by good melodies (i.

Any good teacher will be happy to talk to you about the possibility of teaching you and should be happy to answer your questions.

* Ask if you can sit in on a lesson. This is especially good if you're thinking of taking group lessons.

* Avoid teachers who are not �fun'. Playing an instrument should be fun not a chore. If you don't find learning with a particular teacher fun, move on. It should not be work, otherwise you'd work an instrument not play it

* Ask if you can tape record any lessons you have. A teacher who is confident in their teaching methods will have no problem with this, and you will have a source of reference to help you in your practice.

* Never be afraid to ask what their professional and educational experience is. While qualifications may not be everything you should expect a music teacher to have taken their music exams in the instrument or instruments they teach. Also find out how long they've been teaching and the kind of people they teach. For example - do they teach adults and children? References can be asked for, but none come higher than personal recommendation from a happy student.

Tip! Be able to modulate: You will be able to, with a few quick moves of the fingers, move your music into a new key with a succession of notes so pleasing to the ear it will bring a smile to your listeners faces.

* Ask how much practice is expected of you, and find out if there will be opportunities to perform in the future, especially if you are learning an instrument that plays as part of large band or orchestra.

Tip! Expand your creativity, and ear for music.

Which ever path you go down, the bottom line is practice practice practice. Little and often is always better than spending 4 hours the day before your next lesson trying to practice what you were shown last lesson! It never fools the teacher and all you do is waste your own money and time. Things sink in better if practiced a little everyday anyway. To spend 10 minutes several times a day working on something you find particularly difficult can often achieve better results than 2 hours in one sitting.

Tip! Pop Music Is Not Art.

Sam Salmon runs http://www.iwantedtobeapopstar.co.uk helping amateur musicians find others to play with.

Choosing a Music Teacher

By Sam Salmon

Tip! Provide ways for people to purchase your music from your myspace page.

Although it is quite possible to teach yourself how to play an instrument, the advances that you can make with a good music teacher and following a course of structured lessons can not be overvalued. Don't be afraid to make that call to a teacher and discuss your needs. As adults it can be hard to take that first step, but playing music is undeniably good for the soul, and you shouldn't allow yourself to miss out on the opportunity to feel happier and learn something new.

Before you make that call it helps to know what style of music you would like to learn so you can discuss this with a prospective music teacher. Learning a style you enjoy helps you to stay motivated and make you want to keep practicing. It will also help your teacher to tailor the lessons to suit you.

Music teachers can be found in the local papers, Yellow Pages and Thompson Local as well as on the internet. Go to Google and type in "music teachers in ��" and add your town and county. Another good source is your local music shop. They usually know the local teachers personally, or know of the good ones from word of mouth from their customers.

Tip! Original musical themes that still evoke familiar tunes. One of the many benefits of royalty free music is that is an inexpensive way for film producers and directors to use original-sounding production music in their films, television programs and video projects.

There are a number of things to consider when choosing a music teacher, and price should really NOT be one of them. Four lessons a month with an adequate teacher who is cheap may not be as beneficial to you as twice a month with a superior but more expensive teacher. It's true that more expensive is not always better, but an excellent teacher will have no problem finding students prepared to pay a higher rate.

You can expect to pay anywhere from �12 to �30 an hour, though many teachers offer half hour lessons which may well be better for people early into their instrument playing. Ask if there is the possibility of group lessons, if this suits you. This can seriously help reduce the costs for those on tight budget. Those who have family constraints or transport problems might want to consider having a teacher come to their home.

Any good teacher will be happy to talk to you about the possibility of teaching you and should be happy to answer your questions.

Tip! Notation software: Notation software really makes finding sheet music easy as pie! There are excellent notation software in the market that do a very good job in transcribing the Midi files into sheet music. The whole process is very simple and easy.

* Ask if you can sit in on a lesson. This is especially good if you're thinking of taking group lessons.

* Avoid teachers who are not �fun'. Playing an instrument should be fun not a chore. If you don't find learning with a particular teacher fun, move on. It should not be work, otherwise you'd work an instrument not play it

* Ask if you can tape record any lessons you have. A teacher who is confident in their teaching methods will have no problem with this, and you will have a source of reference to help you in your practice.

* Never be afraid to ask what their professional and educational experience is. While qualifications may not be everything you should expect a music teacher to have taken their music exams in the instrument or instruments they teach. Also find out how long they've been teaching and the kind of people they teach. For example - do they teach adults and children? References can be asked for, but none come higher than personal recommendation from a happy student.

Tip! Carefully select a forum community you can settle into for the long haul. Take your time researching them by reading existing posts, and making sure conversations, and music styles, meet your learning goals and objectives before making your selection.

* Ask how much practice is expected of you, and find out if there will be opportunities to perform in the future, especially if you are learning an instrument that plays as part of large band or orchestra.

Which ever path you go down, the bottom line is practice practice practice. Little and often is always better than spending 4 hours the day before your next lesson trying to practice what you were shown last lesson! It never fools the teacher and all you do is waste your own money and time. Things sink in better if practiced a little everyday anyway. To spend 10 minutes several times a day working on something you find particularly difficult can often achieve better results than 2 hours in one sitting.

Sam Salmon runs http://www.iwantedtobeapopstar.co.uk helping amateur musicians find others to play with.

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Hip Hop Music

By Angelee Davis

Tip! After the first 8-bar section is complete (or incomplete, it doesn't matter) I'll write down another 8 or 4-bar phrase and listen for the next section of music - if there is a next section. If something comes I follow the same procedure as above.

Hip Hop music is popular with today's youth. The Hip Hop audience ranges in age from the very young to the seasoned at heart. The messages in the music are clear and often depict life in the real world. Most artist use their own life experiences to tell stories that reflect what their world is like. Hip Hop music is a venue that gives the artist an opportunity to "tell it like it is". Many of today's youth find that through the sounds and messages of Hip Hop they are able to see reflections of themselves and the world around them.

Although some of the messages conveyed by Hip Hop are viewed as negative, it must be understood that the lyrics in these songs are someone's reality. Hip Hop artist sing about what they have seen and many of their personal experiences. Unfortunately, many of their experiences are not so pretty. Other Hip Hop songs carry a positive message and force the listener to think and dream beyond their current situation. Hip Hop music has taken America by a storm and it will continue to influence our youth. We must all these free expression and the growth of Hip Hop music because what we hear is relative to what's going on in the world today.

Tip! The prosecution has to able to prove, with adequate evidence, that the IP address used for music downloads can be linked to the person accused of illegal content sharing. There is a growing concern for 'privacy'.

GMP Records, Inc. http://www.godmadeitpossible4me.com also check out http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/deepcover

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

MP3 Music Technology

By Olivia Andrews

Tip! Kool Karaoke Jukebox Now the name Kool is very appropriate for this site! It's not only got every type of music there is right down to the kids and adult contemporary, it's an easy site to navigate with all kinds of features. Try out songs for free and decide what it is you really like.

Earlier form of music players required moving parts to read enclosed data on a tape or CD whereas MP3 players use solid state memory. An MP3 player is more of a data storage device with an embedded software application that enables users to transfer MP3 files to that player. MP3 players include some utilities to copy music from CD or websites and then organize them and create custom list of songs in the order you want to hear them. Such list of songs is called a "play list".

The MP3 player is the combination of various technologies and its components are not only revolutionary but also prove to be a great consumer product. If you wish to store music as well allow the user to hear the songs played and for this the player first pulls the song from its memory, then decompresses the MP3 encoding, runs the decompressed bytes through a digital to analog converter and amplifies the analog signal allowing the song to be heard.

Tip! Real music management agencies handle business at the office, not at the gig. Professional music managers understand that live shows are the best possible marketing opportunities for bands to grow their audience and sell their merchandise.

There are different stuffs or components but these could vary as the basic parts of a typical MP3 player. This includes data port, memory, microprocessor, digital signal processor, display, playback controls, audio port, amplifier and power supply.

The player is plugged into the port of your computer or a parallel port to transfer data. Port based players transfer data much faster than those using the parallel port. Memory types include internal flash memory, compact flash cards, smart media cards, memory stick and internal micro drive.

Except the last one, all the above mentioned players are of solid state memory and the advantage of solid state memory is that there are no moving parts that mean better reliability and music without any skips. Mp3 players also contain tiny hard disk drives that could store 10 to 150times more than flash memory devices.

The microprocessor is the brain of any player and monitors user input through the playback controls and displays information about the current song on the LCD panel and then sends directions to the chip that informs exactly how the audio is processed. It pulls the song data from memory and apply any special effects and streams to the amplifier. It runs a decompression algorithm that compresses MP3 files and then turns back the bytes into sound waves.

Tip! After the first 8-bar section is complete (or incomplete, it doesn't matter) I'll write down another 8 or 4-bar phrase and listen for the next section of music - if there is a next section. If something comes I follow the same procedure as above.

The amplifier also boosts the strength of the signal and then sends it to the audio port whereby you can attach the pair of headphones. Most of the MP3 players are powered by battery.

Olivia Andrews, writing for Free Download MP3 Song is a freelance journalist and has written many reviews on subjects such as finance, education, health, entertainment, music, gifts, crafts, travel, apparels and mobile phones.

Sunday, October 15, 2006

Blues Music History

By Werner Wichmann

Tip! Write and sell an eBook about your music expertise.

Blues is probably the purest American music ever produced - and along with its jazz counterpart - is the only true American music form. Its roots lie in the work songs of West African slaves in the South. When they toiled hard in the fields of South plantation owners, these slaves built a �call and response' method of singing, thus lending rhythm to the drudgery of their lives. These came to be called �field hollers' and became the basis of all blues music to follow. After the Civil War ended, the blacks could either work as field labor or become traveling minstrels. So quite a few ended up being the latter - performing at all-nighters, fish-frys and juke joints, relying on their stamina and mental repertoire of many blues songs.

Powerful Blues Music Is Officially Born

While the lyrics of blues songs seem soulful and sad, the music itself is quite powerful and emotive - filled with rhythm and celebrating the life of black Americans. What makes this kind of music appealing is its reflection of their daily lives, talking about sex, drinking, poverty, love lost, hard labor - anything they experienced.

Tip! ) WELL-PRODUCED. Coming from an R&B background where producers are a pivotal part of commercial music success, I did not realizeuntil I became a consultant that many rock bands don't utilize, nor value producers like R&B music acts.

Among the first documented blues is W C Handy's �Memphis Blues� in 1909. The music grew in popularity and when the 78-RPM phonograph came in the late 1920's Paramount, Aristocrat and other record labels recorded some of the famous country blues artists. Around 1941-1943, field recordings of blues men were made in their surroundings by famous blues folklorist Alan Lomax. This is significant because that's how the white folks got introduced to the blues. Budding artists got exposure to some national record labels.

Blues Travels North

The blacks migrated North during the Great Depression along the route of the Illinois Central Railroad toward Chicago, bringing with them blues music. With huge crowds gathering to enjoy this, performers like Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf switched to electric guitars and also included drum sets to their bands. This became even more powerful than the original blues. There was a lull until the late 1950's when The Kingston Trio recorded the chart topper, Tom Dooley, and gave birth to the folk revival in 1958. The Newport Folk Festival then brought back folk and blues music to the white American people till 1966.

What followed later was a merging of blues with rock - forming the rock blues bands of the 1960s and 1970s. Some artists faithful to the form were The Rolling Stones, John Mayall, Led Zeppelin.

Tip! Karaoke Sing N Burn You get 5 free Karaoke files to get you going and you can add as many as you like for a very nominal fee. Whether you are looking for holiday music, religious music, or some of the Beatles favorite tunes a quick search will reveal plenty of choices.

Types of Blues Music

There are four types of blues music. The Deltas blues is said to be the original - being played by the black men from the Mississippi delta region, using the piano or harmonica. The style was a call and response lyrical framing. Then we have the Chicago Blues, which used electric amplification of voice using mics, drum sets and electric guitars. The Texas Blues are similar to the Chicago blues. In the early 1960s originated the Blues-rock, which was directly influenced by the Delta and Chicago blues.

by

Werner Wichmann - http://www.electricguitarz.com

Thursday, October 12, 2006

Hawaiian Music: What is it?

By Gail Leino

Tip! Real music management agencies will never, ever ask you for money up front. Managers make commission on their clients' earnings, and experienced managers understand that an unknown artist doesn't have much money.

Hawaiian Music has been developed over the years as a kind of melting pot of sounds from around the world. As such much of the Hawaiian Music that we associate with the islands is composed of a few basic native Hawaiian elements with other cultural influences woven into it.

Contemporary Hawaiian Music often contains one or several of the following; a Ukulele, a guitar, double-bass, steel guitar, slack-key guitar, falsetto or high pitched singing, chanting, and native instruments such as the Pahu or a shark-skin covered drum, and the hanu ihu or the nose flute. Many of the listed items came to Hawaii with Merchants and Missionaries, even the falsetto singing style was learned from missionaries who first taught Hawaiians how to sing the hymnals. Chanting is traditionally used in Hawaiian music. Most of the introduced musical instruments have been adapted by the Hawaiians.

Tip! Good � make that excellent -- sound quality. The sound quality of the music you are listening to will be the first and most noticeable element.

Slack-Key guitar is a tuning technique developed on the islands that leaves one or more of the strings on a guitar slackened. This can allow for longer bass notes that continue while the other strings are being plucked. It is an entirely unique method for playing the guitar. The steel guitar was actually invented by a Hawaiian and the Ukulele is a modified form of an instrument that was brought over by the Portuguese.

Much Hawaiian Music has a wide range of flavors too. You will find Hawaiian Music with a Jazzy influence or rock, blues, country and even reggae and the Hapa-Haole sounds often found in Don Ho's Greatest Hits Album or the song Blue Hawaii. Some other album's thought to be solidly Hawaiian Music are Hapa-Hapa, Ke Alaula, and Guava Jam.

Tip! Instruments that sound true-to-life. Similar to excellent sound quality, the best royalty free music ideally uses real instruments and not those that are synthesized.

The truth is that Hawaiian Music may best be described as whatever sounds and stylings that remind one of the Islands. So if you want to listen to Elvis's Blue Hawaii at your Luau go ahead.

Mrs. Party... Gail Leino is the internet's leading authority on selecting the best possible party supplies, using proper etiquette and manners while also teaching organizational skills and fun facts. Luau Party Supplies, decorations, favors, paper goods, centerpieces and scene setters. Plus, free party games, printable activities, coloring pages, word find to help complete your event.

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Country Music

By Ross Bainbridge

Tip! Notation software: Notation software really makes finding sheet music easy as pie! There are excellent notation software in the market that do a very good job in transcribing the Midi files into sheet music. The whole process is very simple and easy.

Country music is an amalgam of popular musical forms that has its roots in traditional folk music from the South. Country music is a catchall for the Nashville sound, bluegrass, western ballads, swing, Cajun, honky tonk, Appalachian, rockabilly and jug band music.

Although there are various styles of country music, it is unique in the way its style is executed. Many songs are recorded to fit the style of country music and those who sing it. Famous country music singers include Bob Wills, Willie Nelson and George Strait. Country music listeners are mesmerized by the rhythms and the structures of the chords. In fact there are many songs that are adapted to suit the country music style like the Milk Cow Blues tune - an early blues tune composed by Kokomo Arnold. Famous singers like Bob Wills, Willie Nelson, and George Strait have all sung their own versions of the Milk Cow Blues Tune.

It was in 1924, when Vernon Dalhart recorded �The Wreck of Old 97,� that Country music really took off. At that time other singers like Riley Pucket, Fiddling John Carson and Charlie Poole joined the country western scene, further popularizing the music. The popularity of country music continues to grow.

Tip! Carefully select a forum community you can settle into for the long haul. Take your time researching them by reading existing posts, and making sure conversations, and music styles, meet your learning goals and objectives before making your selection.

Country music has its share of male and female singers who, through the years, have contributed greatly to the long-standing popularity of this music. They include well-known artists like, Johnny Cash, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Dixie Chicks, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Patty Loveless, Barbara Mandrell, Lonestar, Shania Twain, Dwight Yoakam and many others.

Country Music provides detailed information on Country Music, Country Music Lyrics, Country Music CDs, Country Music Videoes and more. Country Music is affiliated with Classical Music Downloads.