Music and Music Enjoy your Life With Music

A Real Guitar Hero Has This Skill - Do You?

2009-08-02T18:40:00.000-07:00

by Donovan Lanier
So you went from mastering the video game to playing guitar for real, but don't think you are ready for a record deal just yet. This article will tell you what you absolutely must learn to earn the credentials of a real "Guitar Hero."

What you learn in this brief article will enable you to amp up your credibility as a musician, gain deeper respect from your band members, and win the hearts of your fans. Keep reading to discover how to go from "Guitar Novice" to "Guitar Hero".

There are countless guitars in homes across the nation, but there are comparatively few true guitarists. What is it that separates the hobby musician from a true guitar player? The biggest difference is that serious players have the ability to play by ear the songs they hear. They can discern notes and chords from things listened to on their CD's or on MP3 players, then mentally transcribe the song and play it themselves.

Think about all those aspiring musicians out there who are dependent on the guitar tablature printed in magazines or downloaded from the worldwide web. Imagine an aspiring "Guitar Hero" going in for an audition and being asked to play back a piece of previously recorded music he's just heard. His reply? "Sure, ok.... where's the tab?" He would be laughed right out of the building! Would you blame them? Don't get me wrong, guitar tab is a good place to start, but serious musicians understand that they must progress beyond that point.

The Bottom Line is: If you want to be seen as a serious guitarist, then you must commit to ear training.

Ear training is the cornerstone of a good musical career and can not be ignored if you want real credibility. Ear training shows a level of professionalism and dedication not seen in the hobby player. The good news is that with the right training, you can cultivate this skill and use it to your advantage. Learning to play by ear will take your music and technical abilities to new heights.

Do yourself a favor and commit to developing the ability to play music "by ear". Earn yourself the right to be called a "Guitar Hero". The resource links will point you in the right direction.

20 Essential Acoustic Guitar Tips for the Beginner

2009-06-28T23:24:00.000-07:00

By: Ralph Serpe

Acoustic guitar lessons online are not difficult to come by. There are many sites offering free tips and lessons for the beginner, but it can be rather difficult sifting through pages of content to find direct answers to some of the most basic questions beginners have. I researched many of the frequently asked questions that beginners have and created this list of quick acoustic guitar lessons and tips to make life a bit easier for you. I do hope this helps.

1 - Learn how to play the acoustic guitar with both your fingers and your pick. Practice using both. This will make you a more versatile player.

2 - Learn how to use a capo. A capo is a clamp that you can apply to different frets of your guitar to change the pitch. You will definitely need to become familiar with this wonderful tool. If you do not already own one, head out to your local music store and buy one today.

3 - Make sure you choose the right guitar for your size. Guitars come in different sizes from classic to jumbo. It is very important that you find a guitar size that you are comfortable playing.

4 - Learn how to change your strings and change them often. If you do not know how to change your guitar strings yet, stop what you are doing and search for articles and videos online right now. This is very important.

5 - Wash your hands before you play and clean your strings after you play. Dirt and oils from your fingers and hands can wear down your strings.

6 - Build up those calluses. Many beginners complain of pain in their fingertips when first starting out. This is normal and will go away after you have been playing for a little while and start to form calluses. The more often you practice the faster you will build up calluses.

7 - Learn how to tune your guitar. Make sure your guitar is in tune before you start every practice session. Tuning your guitar is really quite easy. You can either purchase one of those small battery powered guitar tuners, or you can tune your guitar online. Just do a search at your favorite search engine using the key phrase "online guitar tuner" and you will find many helpful sites on this topic.

8 - Use YouTube to find free acoustic guitar lessons. Everyone is now familiar with the site YouTube. They have a huge variety of free lessons. Two providers of free lessons that I recommend you check out are: "Next Level Guitar" (goes by the user name "rockongoodpeople") and "Justinguitar.com" (goes by the username "JustinSandercoeSongs"). They offer some of the best free online acoustic guitar lessons. Highly recommended.

9 - Find a good guitar teacher. While it is possible to learn at your own pace at home using free lessons online, books and home study courses, nothing will replace a guitar teacher. A guitar teacher will help keep you from forming bad guitar playing habits and praise you when you are making progress.

10 - Stretch and warm up your hands and fingers before each playing session. This is important. Proper warm up and stretching exercises are essential in helping you avoid injury and improving your guitar playing. For more information on stretching and warm up exercises, do a search on Google using the key phrase: "guitar warm up". You will find plenty of tutorials on this subject.

11 - Learn music theory. I know music theory can be boring and difficult, but it is essential learning if you want to become a good guitar player.

12 - Learn about the parts of your guitar. Spend as much time as possible familiarizing yourself with all the various parts of your guitar and how it is constructed.

13 - Learn how to practice. This may seem obvious, but you would be surprised how many guitarists are not practicing correctly. There is definitely a right and a wrong way to practice. Make sure you understand how to make the best out of your practice sessions.

14 - Keep your finger nails on your fretting hand trimmed. Your fingernails on your fretting hand must be kept short. If not, they will most certainly make playing more difficult as they will prevent your fingers from pushing down the strings properly.

15 - Don't over do it. If you are experiencing any pain or discomfort during your playing or practice session, then stop and take a break.

16 - Try and learn something new. If you continually do the same thing, day after day, then your guitar playing will become stagnant and you will not progress.

17 - Join discussion forums online. Search for guitar discussion forums online and begin discussions with experienced and professional guitarists.

18 - Listen to a variety of different music. Not just your favorite styles either. You would be surprised at how much this can influence your guitar playing.

19 - Learn alternate ways to tune your guitar. Not every song is played in standard tuning.

20 - Go to live performances. This will give you a chance to get up close and personal with the musicians enabling you to see first hand how a professional plays.

The Essentials of Buying a Used Guitar

2009-06-15T06:05:00.000-07:00

by: George Stanley

Buying a guitar can be a sizable investment. Like other items, the better the guitar the higher the price. A cheap guitar, whether used or new, will probably disappoint you at some point in time. If the cost of a new guitar is simply out of your price range, try visiting the local pawn shops to see what they have to offer.

One thing to think about, however, if you are going to visit a pawn shop, is how knowledgeable the owner is about guitars. Does the pawn shop owner play guitar, or do they just deal in guitars for some quick cash? If you can find a pawn shop operated by an honest guitar player, you are truly in luck!

One particular place to always inspect when considering a used guitar is the spot where the heel of the neck joins the body of the guitar. A lot of tension is placed on the guitar from the strings and the weakest point is where the neck and body connect. Over time, the glue becomes loose and the neck separates from the body at the heel.

Sometimes, just leaving a guitar in a hot car trunk can soften the glue enough for this damage to take place. The bad news is that this repair is not a simple, easy job for a luthier (guitar repairman) to correct. So be sure to look carefully at this area before buying a guitar as many pawn shops do not offer any sort of guarantee for your purchase.

Look the guitar over for other signs of repairs, too. Anywhere the instrument is glued should be looked at carefully. Some acoustic and semi-hollow body guitars split around the edges of the body.

Another part to be aware of because it can wear out is the tuning machine. The tuning machines are what keeps the guitar in tune. If they are not tight or they wiggle you might want to look at another guitar. However, the tuning machine can usually be replaced without any great skill, but check on the prices for the tuning machines before you buy. You might even be able to use this as a bargaining tool to get a better price.

Brand name can indicate a high quality used instrument, but there are many well known guitar manufacturers that also produce low end guitars. So, do a little research about models. For instance, you might track down a certain model number and with some online research, find out that a guitar you thought to be only about ten years old might really be about 35 years old. Or you may find out that the name brand guitar is priced high at the pawn shop, but actually the guitar is a low end model that you could buy new for the same price.

About The Author

George loves to play guitar and is basically self taught. He has created two sites to help budding guitarist. The first deals with How to Read Guitar Notes athttp://www.HowtoReadGuitarNotes.com and the second shows How to Read Guitar Chords at http://www.howtoreadguitarchords.com .

Visit the author's web site at:
http://www.howtoreadguitarnotes.com

The Blues Solo And How To Approach It

2009-06-15T06:02:00.000-07:00

by Ricky Sharples

You want to get off to a good start as a blues guitar player, you will need five notes. Well, five notes in any key. The five notes you will need is a scale called the minor pentatonic. If you are playing in the key of E the notes you are going to be using are E G A B D.

The minor pentatonic scale and the changing relationships between those five notes will enable you to give your guitar playing the distinctive blues flavor. Get to know this scale by experimenting with simple tunes. You can make them up for yourself and play them up and down the guitar neck.

As you spend some time playing your own tunes you can listen to CDs of the great blues guitarists. Get familiar with how you are using the five notes of the minor pentatonic scale and see how the guitarists of the twenties, thirties, forties, fifties and sixties used them. See how those old bues guitar players played inside the scale and how they ventured outside it to add some spice to the blues. Listen to how they used slides, hammer-ons and pull-offs as well as up and down picking.

If you like the licks you are hearing in the work of the great blues guitarists, teach them to yourself. You need to be careful here. Your aim is not to duplicate note-for-note the licks of the greats, but you need to tap into the mood of their playing and see how it connects with your mood. Don't be afraid to leave some empty spaces. You don't have to fill your blues solos with notes.

Next, you can start getting into mixing the major pentatonic scale with the minor pentatonic. You will find that blues guitar players of the past did that to great effect. So, still playing in the key of E, but now mixing the minor and major pentatonic, you get the notes E F# G G# A B C# D. An important element of blues music is the flattened fifth note. It can be overused, so just look at it as another tool to help you learn to speak blues. So with the flattened fifth added, your notes are E F# G G# A Bb B C# D.

Now you have a bunch of notes that, played one after the other, will sound pretty ordinary. Go back and start experimenting with those notes. Make up some more tunes. Listen again to the big-time blues guitar players. Learn which notes are your bread and butter and which of these notes are to be used a little more sparingly.

If you want a little help to start you off, try using licks in the major pentatonic scale over the I and V chords. You might notice your minor notes go well with your IV chord.

Do you want to learn to play the guitar? Learn How To Play A Guitar For Free is a constantly updated blog which contains all the resources you need for: learning to play solo guitar, how to learn guitar chords, how to learn to read and play easy acoustic guitar tabs, finding a free online guitar tuner, looking for free guitar lessons online, and how to learn guitar scales.

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Guitar Plectrums & Guitar Strings

2009-06-15T06:01:00.000-07:00

There is a wealth of guitar accessories available and many manufacturers make the same type of product. Many products come do the same thing but have large differences in price point so this can sometimes be confusing for many new guitarists.

The old saying "You get what you pay for" does ring true in some circumstances but the volume and quality of guitar accessories available are ever becoming harder to distinguish. For example: If you were buying a product made of a solid wood, this would cost much more than a product made of plywood, why? Simply because the raw materials are more expensive.

The guitar accessories I am going to talk about are guitar plectrums and guitar strings. Guitar Plectrums (Picks) are usually small triangular pieces of plastic that you use to strike the strings of your guitar with. Plectrums have many different thicknesses, materials, and sizes that all factor into the job they do, these variants create a different sound. More thinner and flexible plectrums generally are best suited to playing rhythm guitar, as they pass the strings quickly with less resistance. You’ll also hear a lot more of a flicking sound (a little like a scratch) as they pass over the string that is to some, desirable. This only really happens with the thinnest of plectrums.

The thicker picks can be used more for lead guitar playing, as they produce a good amount of attack. They generally produce a more even sound and you get less flicking sound as they pass the strings. However, the sound you produce will differ, dependant on how hard your plectrum grip is. If you have a rigid grip a thinner plectrum may be beneficial as trying to play fast with a thick plectrum could be tricky.

The plectrums I use are the Dava Control’s. The have a thinner central area that alters how hard the pick is dependant of how close to the tip you hold it. So I suppose you could call it a combination thickness plectrum. Guitar Plectrums only cost a few pence anyway so I would recommend getting a few different ones and try them out to see what you like best.

Guitar Strings come in different gauges, the first question you will be asked when you go into a music shop to buy a replacement set of strings is "what gauge do you want?"

String gauge affects the tone and the playability of your guitar. If you have a higher gauge string, there is greater tension. Heavy gauge strings generate a higher volume, however the greater the tension, the more finger pressure is needed to fret the strings properly. One major benefit of higher tension strings is that they vibrate in a shallower fashion, which allows closer adjustment to the fret board before getting string buzzes. A pretty standard Acoustic guitar string gauge is 12-54, and 9-42 on electric guitars. Altering your string gauge may require adjustment to your guitar in order to maintain the same action (Height between the string and fret board). On the flip side, lower string tension will cause the strings to lie lower which may result in buzzing, but if you already have a high action then you could solve that problem with a new set of strings.

I actually prefer a medium gauge (a set of 10’s) string as it produces a more reliable string bend. The ones I use are the D’addario XL’s 10- 46 (regular light gauge) on my electric guitars and on my acoustic guitars I always use Brass wound D’addario EJ16 Light (Gauge 12-53). Brass strings produce a rich bright tonality that lasts well.

Created by JamesBB.com, the online guitar lessons resource site. We provide a wealth of knowledge and experience to all levels and ages of guitar player.

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Beatles For Classical Guitar

2009-06-15T05:59:00.000-07:00

One of the big events in fingerstyle guitar playing many years ago was the publication of a music book called "Beatles For Classical Guitar". This was the world's first attempt to mix the simplicity of the Beatles' tunes with the complexity of classical guitar technique.

One of the first things that fingerpicking guitar players who were not trained in classical guitar playing noticed was that the fingerings to some of the tunes were much more difficult to execute than they had been used to. But no pain, no gain. The trickier arrangements indicated how much more musical richness had been found in these more complicated arrangements of familiar songs.

Some guitar players thought that a book of classical guitar arrangements of the work of The Beatles was just a gimmick. They expected that a minimal amount of work went into these arrangements just to produce popular music for the "egghead market". In fact the songs are all substantial arrangements that many classical guitarists find extremely satisfying to play.

People who loved the Beatles' music found that the songs had not been rendered unrecognizable in the process of arranging them for fingerpicking. The songs were arranged for guitar players who could read standard musical notation and they were not the kind of arrangements that could be played right through on sight the first time you saw them. The pieces asked you to pay some attention and make some effort. Once you get the feel of the way the songs have been interpreted you can let your familiarity with the songs guide you as you play.

Some guitar players are going to feel cheated by the fact that there are not tabs but the pieces are a bit too complicated to be translated into tab effectively. Guitarists who are used to playing using sheet music will be gratified that the music is not made more complicated by the addition of a tab line.

Here is the list of songs:

Across The Universe Ask Me Why Come Together Cry Baby Cry Day Tripper For No One From Me To You Hello, Goodbye Here Comes The Sun I Don't Want To Spoil The Party I Will I'll Follow The Sun I'm A Loser I'm Happy Just To Dance With You I'm Only Sleeping I'm So Tired In My Life The Long And Winding Road Maxwell's Silver Hammer No Reply Nowhere Man P.S. I Love You Penny Lane Something Things We Said Today This Boy (Ringo's Theme) Two Of Us While My Guitar Gently Weeps Yesterday You're Going To Lose That Girl

You might be surprised by the inclusion of some of the tunes in a collection of guitar solos. So go ahead and try them out.

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Write Music That Appeals To Peoples Emotions

2009-06-09T00:15:00.000-07:00

By: Richie Gilbert

Whether you choose to write music first or start with the lyrics, please remember one thing: The melody is always king!

I want to explain why I believe that statement to be true.

I know when it comes to songwriting all of the elements must fit together just so. There has to be a perfect marriage of lyric, melody, structure and feel. That is the hallmark of a great song.

But I have heard too many songs that seem to focus primarily on the lyrics. The writer has poured out his or her soul to create a truly touching and beautiful story. Then those wonderful lyrics are paired with a mediocre, or even (gasp!) boring melody.

The result? A mediocre, boring song!

Those lyrics might work wonderfully on their own. But a monotonous unimaginative melody drags them down.

Appeal To The Emotions

As a songwriter, writing melody that appeals to the emotions of your listeners should be your top priority.

Why?

Because it's the melody that our brains latch onto first. A melody on it's own can make you cry, laugh and everything in between. It truly can be a direct communication to the soul. An interesting mood-evoking melody commands our attention. It makes us sit up and take notice.

Only then do we start to pay attention to the storyline. To the lyrics. And if those lyrics are top-notch: Bingo! You've hit the jackpot.

Write Lyrics As Good As Your Melody

Now, this scenario can also be looked at from the opposite side:

You write music that is truly inspiring. You then settle for the first lyrics that pop into your head. You don't bother rewriting those lyrics. You figure that since they fit the melody and tell the story they are good enough.

I did this for years! And I was always secretly embarrassed by my lyrics.

As songwriters, we must strive for that perfect balance. And it takes time and effort to master. (I'm still working on completing my apprenticeship!)

Work On Your Weakest Skill

If you only want to write music or you only want to write lyrics, that's okay. Collaborating with writers who excel at what you do not is a great way to write songs. If you love to write melody, find yourself a great lyricist. Or vice-versa.

Most of us are better at one aspect of songwriting than we are at others.

For me, it's always been writing melody that seems to come naturally. As a lead guitarist I usually opted for the slow, melodic, soulful lead over the fast shred. Through the years I've written quite a few instrumentals that I am proud of.

Lyrics have always been a struggle for me. That's why I tend to spend a lot more time working on the words to my new songs than I do the melody.

But I spend quite a bit of time on writing melody too! Because I understand how important a great melody is.

Listen To Your Melodies

Listen to the melodies you are writing. Are they as strong as your lyrics? Perhaps more importantly, can they stand on their own?

A melody should be able to stand on it's own. It should be moving, interesting, somewhat predictable and a little surprising at the same time.

I say somewhat predictable because we need familiarity. If every line goes off in a completely different direction you will lose most listeners.

People must have something that they can grasp onto immediately. Especially in the chorus.

So go and write music that moves you. If you do this, you can be sure that it will move others too.

Happy melody writing!

Richie Gilbert has been passionate about writing songs for many years. He spends too much time in his home recording studio, and is active in pitching his songs to music publishers. To learn more about the craft and business of songwriting, please visit his website at http://www.inspired-songwriting-tips.com

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Learn To Play A Guitar For Free - Assembling Your Tools

2009-06-09T00:14:00.000-07:00

By: Ricky Sharples

When you decide that you want to learn to play guitar you are starting out on a journey. Every day you need to continue and you need to be able to practice and experiment without the help of a teacher who is being paid to keep you on track, correct your mistakes and reassure you when you are feeling like you are getting nowhere in your guitar playing. So you need some tools that you can get from the internet for free and you need to remember to use these tools, otherwise you will find your guitar playing getting stale or stopping altogether.

Let's start with the next best thing to having a teacher helping you. Guitar forums. There are lots of them on the net, some specializing in particular guitar playing styles, some with boards for focusing on aspects of guitar that need special attention. The members of guitar forums are a mix of newbies and seasoned guitarists. They all have one thing in common in that they have been where you are now. They know the difficulties of learning the basics of guitar and they are more than willing to help new guitarists get over the first bumps on the road.

Forums are driven by member participation, so once you join, you will find that there is a place for newcomers to introduce themselves. You would usually go to that thread and write a little about yourself and then visit the other threads to see what the forum has to offer you.

The next thing you need to do is find yourself some videos to watch on sites like YouTube. To take advantage of the enormous number of guitar video lessons available for free on the internet, you need to be very focused on what style of music you want to play. Have a list of songs and start looking for videos that teach you to play them. As you go along you will also get to know the names of some guitar playing techniques that you need to learn and you should look for video lessons on these. There is no guitar technique that is really hard to learn; they all just take practice. The thing is though, explaining how to do them is not too easy. With learning to play guitar a video is worth a thousand words.

As you get to become clear on what kind of guitar music you want to play, you can do internet searches for tabs and chords for your favorite songs. There are many sites that archive free guitar tabs and you will have no trouble finding and downloading the material you need to get you started on playing. One thing to remember is that sometimes when a guitarist posts a video on YouTube he will provide a link to his own site where he has made tabs available for you, so check out the info printed alongside the video.

The rest of the tools you need are bits of software that are essential for helping you learn to play guitar. You can get free metronomes and guitar tuners from the internet. You just download them for free and install them. If you do a search for them the first results you get are usually the big software download sites, so you should have no problems with viruses or spyware. There are also guitar tab editors that you can get for free or on a trial basis. Some of the trials are unlimited timewise but some of the features are disabled.

Tab editors enable you to read the tabs and hear the tablature as MIDI files. GuitarPro is a good one that is free and you will find many GuitarPro files for songs and instrumental pieces in all guitar genres.

The Burning Desire To Play Jazz Piano

2009-06-05T09:55:00.000-07:00

by: Peter Hostage

Exploring jazz Piano

The professional jazz pianist is expected to know the styles and techniques developed through the history of jazz. What sets the jazz musician apart is the need for excellent improvisational skills in melody and harmony.

The element of improvisation in jazz piano gives the pianist a sense of freedom of expression not found with other styles of music. Though the pianist must know "the rules," those rules can easily be broken in an artistic and creative way. How the jazz pianist applies or breaks those rules becomes part of their own personal style.

Jazz Piano Styles

When you discover all the different styles of jazz piano, one can begin to appreciate the variations in rhythm and discern between the different feelings that each type can offer a listener.

Below are brief introductions of the four main jazz styles and how they relate to piano jazz as we have come to know it and love it today.

Early Jazz

Piano has been an important part of jazz music since its beginning in the 1890's. Before jazz became widespread, Ragtime enjoyed popularity as one of the first music crazes of the modern era.

During this Ragtime era, piano music was the one of the most popular forms of entertainment in the U.S. The ragtime craze helped to fuel the sales of pianos, especially in the North.

Jazz developed as various styles of African-American music mixed and mingled in New Orleans in the first decades of the 20th century. Blues, spirituals, ragtime, band music, and European music melted together to form what is called America's first genuine original art form. What separates Ragtime from jazz is the fact that jazz is not notated, and ragtime doesn't "swing".

Storyville was an area of New Orleans where some local places showcased small bands, and some that would just have a solo pianist. As World War I broke out, Storyville was reported as a threat to the health of or soldiers, and closed it was down. Without this venue, many of those musicians looking for work elsewhere. Jazz was soon off and running, the craze was ablaze.

Stride Piano

In the 20's, a new jazz piano style started to emerge. Stride had the bass/chord left hand pattern of ragtime, but the swing of jazz in the right hand. The pianist performed all the elements of a band: the rhythm, the bass, the chords and the melody, usually at a frenzied pace.

The style evolved from the solo pianist's desire to keep the party going. The outlets these parties provided were the main source of entertainment for many Americans.

Swing Piano

In the swing era, which lasted from the twenties into the forties, sometimes the pianist played only sporadically and sparsely, adding an extra "frill" on top of the arrangement. At the time, swing was the most popular music in America.

Be Bop and Hard Bop

The Be-Bop era evolved as a reaction to the tightly controlled arranged sound of the swing bands. There was a major change in the evolution of jazz piano. The pianist didn't have to keep playing a steady rhythmic beat, but could now convey the rhythm and harmony by just using parts of the chords. The melodies became more angular and soon became featured in New York City, mostly in the clubs on 52nd St.

In the mid fifties, jazz saw new styles emerging. The pianists could use all of the techniques in jazz to develop a style, including elements of stride, swing blues and gospel.

Moving Forward

Since the early 60's, jazz piano has taken on many facets. Jazz has become wide open to interpretation, and the contemporary jazz pianist is able to grasp inspiration from many avenues.

Yes, jazz piano does pull at the heartstrings of many of us. I suggest you take some time each day to find your “jazz ear” so that you are able to feel the passion that jazz will add to your lifestyle.

With such an array of styles to emulate, and have fun with, many inspired listeners soon develop a passion to learn how to play the piano for themselves. There is nothing more satisfying than feeling the jazz beneath your fingertips.

The cost of a jazz pianist is not about the expenditure money for lessons, it's more about the time that you spend dedicating yourself to learning jazz piano, and having fun on your journey. The benefits are too great to go into on this brief article. Let’s just say, it’s definitely worth it all.

About The Author

Peter Hostage is a pianist and singer specializing in jazz, blues and swing. Peter shares his passion and knowledge on his website, http://www.teach-me-piano.com.

Visit his site where you, too, can learn to play jazz piano online.

Acoustic Guitar Dvd Lessons : The fastest way to start playing

2009-06-05T09:54:00.000-07:00

by: Tavares Gooden

Now, There are lots of free resources on the web to get you started such as websites like about.com and ehow.com that can help with chords and notes and such. It can be free, but that doesn't mean that it's quality information that will build you into a well rounded musician. Use your best judgment and you should be fine.

With these you can learn picking patterns that you can apply to any songs you learn. You will also be able to pick up tabs for bluegrass fiddle tunes you can learn to play on the guitar. You can sing the blues. SECOND rule: Get a GUITAR Blues accordion players just don't make it big you know? Ever heard of a blues cellist? Me neither. These days, the easiest way to do that, to start your blues guitar lessons, is to get acoustic guitar dvds lessons instead of hiring a teacher. There's probably a dozen or more other programs you can download that will show you the blues scales (or jazz scales, rock scales). They run about $20 to 50, depending on how in depth and how much you want to learn (still cheaper than hiring a tutor)

Here's a few suggestions from a wide range of artists and genres. "Big Yellow Taxi" by Joni Mitchell, "More Than Words" by Extreme, "Under The Bridge" by Red Hot Chilli Peppers, "Yellow Submarine" by The Beatles, "House Of The Rising Sun" by The Animals, "Wild Thing" by The Troggs and "Runaway" by The Corrs. These are songs that everybody in the world knows the words to, or at least they can fake it.

The guitarist could be heard playing the odd bass run but apart from that he was in the background. These are songs that everybody in the world knows the words to, or at least they can fake it. Some artists that are always popular at singalongs are James Taylor, Leonard Cohen and Greenday. Oh, and maybe Suzanne Vega. Billy Joel's "Piano Man" and "Captain Jack" are songs that get a crowd going but maybe you need some advanced skills for those, so get acoustic guitar lessons dvd

You can be as basic or as flashy as you like because the songs stand up by themselves with just basic accompaniment or you can use any of the classical guitar style arrangements that you can find in music shops. Practice doing alternate up and down strokes slowly and smoothly using a metronome to keep time. For bluegrass picking use a heavy gauge pick but as with everything, you should try different ones out till you find what's right for you. You will see and hear that a lot of bluegrass guitar playing consists of the guitarist playing bass notes and strumming in between.

Now, this is the point where practicing the guitar can be like a diet...it works for a little while, and yet you eventually fall back into the old habits that you are used to. Dieting is not what we want here. Look, you need to get yourself guitar for dummies dvds to show you the scales. They won't help your broken heart, they won't BUY you a guitar...but if you got those first two covered, then all you need to do is learn the scales right? Don't turn your guitar practice time into extended guitar solos. If you have a track of say, six minutes at your disposal, use it to practice licks and short solo breaks, the age of the twenty minute solo is long gone.

About The Author

Everything they never told you about acoustic guitar revealed! For more insider tips and information be sure and check out acoustic guitar dvd lessons

Visit the author's web site at:
http://acousticguitarlessonsdvd.wetpaint.com

Learning The Guitar Online - The Facts

2009-06-01T09:01:00.000-07:00

by: Liam Gibson

From absolute beginners to seasoned players, the internet has opened up a whole new media for those who wish to play the guitar. Many people today are utilizing the easy availability of online sites in order to learn to play the guitar.

The media of the streaming video has allowed people to learn from the comfort of their own front room, at any time of the day or night, whenever they like. Not only that, but it has blossomed into a huge industry - there are a massive amount of sites that you can visit that promise to teach you a very high standard of guitar tutorials. In this article, we will explore some of the advantages of the online tutorial, and some of the things that they can offer you if you are considering learning to play the guitar.

1) Its convenient

You really can learn wherever and whenever you want. Just as more and more everyday experiences are becoming more and more convenient (such as grocery shopping, for example), and learning the guitar is no different. We are lucky to live in such a time when the easy availability of goods and services is part of our social make-up.

Now you can learn for a few minutes at a time if you so wish, and even fit learning to play the guitar around other activities. Traditionally, guitar students would commute to an instructor's studio - taking into account the journey time and travel inconvenience it usually meant putting an evening or an afternoon aside for a lesson.

2) You get to choose your instructor

Instead of just taking lessons from someone who is closest to your home or more convenient for you to get to, this way you can take a look at their biographies, sample lessons and other relevant details. This is a huge advantage, as you will be learning from someone who best fits your particular needs. With the majority of online tutorial sites, you can select from a variety of instructors.

Taking lessons from two or three instructors will give you a good sense of balance and you may even learn better doing it this way - don't have to stick to just one instructor. Some of them are more hands on, whilst others favor a more visual approach, it's worth trying out different instructors to find one that best suits your learning style.

3) Flexibility

Rather than in a one-to-one situation where you often find that you can only learn what the instructor wants to teach you, you have the flexibility to choose what you learn. With an online program, you get to learn what you want to learn.

4) Affordability

The whole business premise of the online tutorial is that they can provide more lessons for less money. In order to learn to play the guitar, a lot of people don't want to spend a whole lot of money. The math is relatively simple: if 100 members of a particular site pay $10 each, then the site generates $1000. This revenue can then be used to film and produce even more lessons.

For a one-on-one instructor, you will realistically be expecting to pay something in the region of $40 per half hour lesson. Therefore, the value of the online tutorial becomes clear - you can get full membership to a lot of the sites for the same price (around $40), which will give you an almost endless amount of lessons.

The only significant downfall when it comes to online learning, is that there is no-one there to ask a question to when you get stuck. It can seem a little frustrating at times when you come across something that you don't understand. This, however, is a pretty small disadvantage when you consider all the benefits of learning to play the guitar online.

About The Author

Liam Gibson of http://www.ReviewsMetro.com/learnguitar, specializes in helping aspiring guitarists get the info that they need to make the right choices. Liam, a stage guitarist himself, leads his team of guitar experts to constantly review new courses and products in the market and make sure you get the best value products that work for you. Check out his honest and unbiased independent reviews of the best guitar courses and products at http://www.ReviewsMetro.com/learnguitar. You can also get his free guitar lessons online there too.

Learn To Play Blues Guitar Solos And Make Them Yours

2009-06-01T09:00:00.000-07:00

By: Ricky Sharples

When you first think about learning to play blues guitar solos you will be faced with wanting to play the blues like the guitar players of the past, but at the same time you don't want to just play their material note for note. The sooner you get rid of the idea that you have to be original right off the bat, the sooner you will be really original. By learning the riffs and licks of B.B. King, Eric Clapton or Duane Allman you are giving yourself something to play. And as you play this music that other guitar players have recorded, you are developing your own style. You don't have your own voice to start with, you need to play other people's stuff to develop yourself.

So put aside your ideas that guitar players start off with their own material, and start learning the solos of whatever guitar players you admire from their records. Learn simple licks at first. The first thing you might discover that surprises you is that the solos of the great blues guitarists is not rocket science. Great music does not have to be hard to play.

So you don't need an amazing guitar technique to start learning blues but you do need to work on how you play. For this you need to record yourself playing. Do it often and listen to it closely. The way you sit or stand as you play, the way you hold the pick, the amount of force you put into your strokes and whether you use up or down strokes. All of these things are important to whether your playing sounds right.

If you think you need improvement, get some advice. Ask other guitar players what they think. Do some busking, get some reactions from your audience. Record a video of your playing, post it on YouTube and get some comments. Go on guitar forums, post the link to your video and ask for feedback.

But before you do any of that, you need to have some basic guitar chops. I said before you don't need an advanced technique, but you need to be good enough to play with a little authority. You need to pass your enthusiasm for the music onto your listeners. If you are hesitant and worrying about making a mistake, you need some more hours of practice till you get past that stage.

One thing blues guitar solos are not is the guitar player's effects and equipment. If you want to use a certain sound for your playing, that's fine but when you are learning solos, concentrate on learning the music, do not worry about the sound at this stage of your learning. After all, when Eric Clapton stopped playing through Marshall amps or using the wah-wah pedal, it didn't mean he had stopped playing the blues. So a certain guitar sound does not make the blues.

Article Source: http://www.ArticleBiz.com

How To Fix Acoustic Guitar Buzz

2009-06-01T08:58:00.000-07:00

By: Gyorgy Huba

There are many bits on an acoustic guitar that can rattle against each other to make a buzzing noise. Most can be easily fixed once you become aware of them but tracking that guitar buzz down can be a problem if you don't know where to look.

The first place to look for the cause of buzzing guitar is the guitar player. If you are not pressing down on the strings with the correct amount of pressure, the strings will buzz or sound muffled. This might not be entirely your fault if the guitar's action is too low. If the strings are too close to the frets you will get a buzz that no amount of pressure on the strings will fix.

To fix low action on an acoustic guitar is a matter of going to a guitar store and getting a bridge bone that will lift the strings higher. If the notches in the guitar nut are too deep this will also cause buzzing but that is the least likely cause unless someone deliberately cut the notches deeper. If the slots in the nut are too wide, this will also cause a buzz. A quick fix for low action is a match stick slipped under the bridge bone. If you find the guitar too hard to play now, it's because you have made the action too high.

If the guitar is old, you may have frets that are too worn. This will make the strings buzz against the higher frets. All the frets on the guitar need to be the same height.

If you are using strings that have balls on the ends, check that the balls are tight up against the bridge. If you find one that is not, unwind the string and reseat the ball so it is snug. The loose ends of nylon strings can also buzz against the bridge so if you have a classical style guitar, check the ends of the strings lying against the bridge.

The machine heads - the tuners at the top of the neck - can become loose with age, rattle around. It is probably best to not get involved in repairing them. Just buy a new set.

If you have checked all these parts without identifying the cause of the buzz, take your guitar to a luthier or a local guitar dealer to get it checked out. Sometimes there can be loose parts on an acoustic guitar that are not readily accessible that might need some guitar surgery to fix.

Newbie guitar players are flocking to Guitar How-To for the free articles, tutorials and videos on every aspect of guitar playing you can think of. Fast track your guitar expertise now at http://guitar-how-to.com/

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A New Way to Read Tabs?

2009-06-01T08:56:00.000-07:00

by: Jonathan J. Brett

Recently, I read an article written by someone called the “Guitar Tab Guru” about using a form of TAB that uses letters rather than numbers. He said it was a variation of Lute Tabs, where letters represented the fret positions rather than numbers. (He explained it as a=1, b=2, c=3, etc.) His method, however, used letter names to coincide with the proper note positions on the fret board, such as an F being where an F is located (ex. First fret, first string) and a G being where a G is (ex. Third fret, third string). He then divided the fret board into three separate sections to learn, so that once memorized, the guitarist would be able to locate all of the natural notes on their fret board. Once you can locate the natural notes, the sharps and flats are easily found by raising or lowering the note by a fret accordingly.

I found this article to be particularly helpful in that naming the notes on the fret board has always been a challenge for me. It’s not often that a guitarist is quizzed on note locations, but on rare occasion I have needed to find specific notes that I simply couldn’t locate easily. I could find the notes given enough time to figure it out, but every time wished I could do it automatically, without hesitation. This was particularly embarrassing when I first started teaching guitar lessons, and I had students who could name notes better than I could! I have gotten better, but have always seemed to struggle with this facet of my playing and teaching.

The Guitar Tab Guru article was actually quite helpful to me, helping me learn the troublesome spots higher up the neck. I actually recognized the patterns that he used as modal scales, something that I am quite familiar with. This made learning this technique much, much easier, and I would recommend reviewing your modes first to help you along the way.

The first position uses the Phrygian mode, and uses open strings for the lowest notes. The second position is at the fifth fret and is the Aeolian mode, and the third is at the tenth fret and uses the Dorian mode. For anyone not familiar with these modes, please research them and learn them, as they are very helpful in learning the notes on your fret board this way. This may seem like a lot of work, but it really is relatively easy. I know that www.guitartabguru.com has a lot of other articles about everything guitar, so maybe you could even find one on there.

Once you can identify the notes on your fret board, you will find that you can create more interesting music, as you can quickly come up with the proper notes for any song you are playing, changing positions all up the fret board. I hope you find this information infinitely useful! To check out the article yourself go tohttp://www.guitartabguru.com/Exclusive-Guitar-Tab-Guru-Article.html .

Happy Practicing!

About The Author

Jonathan J. Brett is a guitar instructor and business owner. He has recently been asked to be an editor for www.guitartabguru.com after submitting articles on numerous guitar related subjects.

3 Reasons Why You May Not Be Getting Big Results From Taking Guitar Lessons

2009-06-01T08:54:00.000-07:00

by: Tom Hess

Have you ever tried taking guitar lessons and ended up quitting in frustration, because you felt you weren’t making enough progress? Or perhaps you have considered taking guitar lessons but because someone you know had a disappointing experience with a guitar teacher, you began to doubt if lessons are worth investing your time and money. This perception prevents you from getting all that you want from your guitar lessons.

There can be many reasons why people quit guitar lessons. Sometimes it is because the teacher failed to inspire you, or because the lessons weren’t focused enough on your specific musical goals, or because the teacher was only mediocre and didn’t know how to help you achieve a specific result. (To avoid this problem download this free guide about how to choose a guitar teacher:http://www.tomhess.net/HowToChooseAGuitarTeacher.aspx) However, another (often misunderstood) reason might be that your own approach to guitar lessons wasn’t as effective as it needed to be in order for you to make real progress.

After teaching tens of thousands of music lessons to all types of guitarists and also mentoring guitar teachers around the world on how to teach more effectively, I began to notice similar and consistent patterns used by most students for learning to play guitar.

I also noticed that the specific approach the students applied to studying with a teacher had a direct influence on their progress. Very often 2 different people can get very different results by studying with the same guitar teacher, because the ways in which the students approached the learning process in general are very different. For example, one student believed that he knew better than the teacher did about how to reach his musical goals and resisted some of the instruction his teacher was giving him. It later became very clear to him that he did not know better. Click on the link to hear his story about how he failed to improve his guitar skills:http://tomhess.net/GetGuitarLessonsMistake.aspx. The other student soaked up everything his teacher was instructing him to do and quickly became a world class guitar virtuoso.

I have found there are 3 types of students who become easily frustrated with their guitar lessons. As you read the rest of this article, be honest and ask yourself if any of these 3 descriptions sound like you. I’ll be the first to admit that at one point I had the characteristics of each of the “ineffective student behaviors” presented below. Looking back many years later, I now understand that one of the reasons why it took me as long as it did to master the guitar (more than 20 years), was due to my own inefficient approaches to learning when I began the journey.

The “Teach me something new today” student type.

You may think it is common sense that guitar lessons should consist mainly of presenting new content, and expect that the guitar teacher’s primary job is to show you things that are “new” to you. However, if we examine this approach a bit deeper, you will see that focusing “only” on seeking out new information will not bring big results long term.

First of all, too much new content quickly leads to overwhelm and burn out (and does not allow enough time to apply the information you are learning). This feeling of overwhelm is what causes you to become frustrated and quit lessons (or worse yet, quit guitar). Second, simply “learning new things” does not lead to mastery. I have had many students come to me being able to do some cool things on guitar. For example, they may have good technique, or a good understanding of how music works, or have good ears. But more often than not, their ability to APPLY and INTEGRATE what they “know” to playing music was very poor. At this point, “learning more new things” is not going to help these students to significantly advance their guitar playing. Simply being “aware” of a concept is not enough. You don’t truly “know” something until you can apply and integrate it with your other musical skills fluently.

This type of training in applying and integrating what you know is probably the single most valuable thing you get out of music lessons and is one area of musical development that is almost universally lacking in many guitarists. This results in massive frustration and disappointment that many guitar players often experience (but often do not realize WHY they are frustrated).

When you take lessons for the first time, you may think that it is great that your teacher shows you something new in each lesson. But if your teacher does nothing else than “show you things”, then as more lessons go by, you will start to notice that you are not really making any significant progress (because no application and integration is taking place). Most people will quit lessons at this point, and will continue to perpetuate the myth that guitar lessons are ineffective, without really understanding the real reasons for their lack of progress.

The type of student who is only interested in learning new things, typically does not stick with guitar lessons for very long. If a guitar teacher begins to talk about a concept the student may already be familiar with, the lesson is perceived to be a waste of time. Because these students may have heard about this concept from somewhere else, they believe that they “already know it”.

Of course, receiving new information is a part of any comprehensive lesson plan (and certainly you will learn a lot of new things by taking lessons), but it is the order in which this information is presented, and the way you are trained to USE, APPLY and INTEGRATE that information that makes guitar lessons with a good teacher so valuable. If learning “raw data” in a linear fashion (and practicing) was all it took to become a great musician, then anyone could buy some books and after studying them for a few years and practicing on his/her own become a highly advanced guitarist. Of course most of the time, this doesn’t happen.

The moral of the story here is to remember that you came to your teacher to learn and grow as a guitar player. In order for this to actually happen you will need to have some patience through the process and realize that sometimes when you ‘think you know something’, you in fact may not really know it yet to the point that you can apply it and integrate it with your other musical skills.

“The Perfectionist”

The next type of student wants to master every little thing their teacher presents in a lesson (or that they discover on their own) before working on anything else. While on the surface this seems like a good idea, it is far from the most efficient approach to becoming a great musician. Learning music is best done in a non-linear approach, meaning that multiple things should be worked on simultaneously without stressing out about totally mastering everything in a linear order. Discover more about why the typical linear approach guitar players follow often fails in this video about how to master the guitar: http://www.tomhess.net/LinearVsGeometricApproach.aspx.

I like to compare learning music to baking a cake. You don’t make a cake by cooking one ingredient at a time and then finally putting them together when each one is ready. If you baked your cake in this way, it would take you a long time to finish and more importantly the cake would not taste as good as when the ingredients are cooked together!

The same goes for musical skills. If you waited until you became a great virtuoso master of technique before beginning to work on (mastering) music theory, then turning to songwriting, and then switching to improvising, it could take you many decades to finally become really good and your skills would not likely be integrated together. What I recommend to you is to follow a non-linear approach (as described in the video above). When learning a new skill, don’t wait until you completely master it; only make sure that you have the fundamentals down and begin immediately to look for contexts to apply it. Then work on integrating this new skill with everything else that you know how to do/play. Application and integration are unique skills that must be practiced separately. This key link will enable you to go from being “the student” who is able to “do lots of things” on the guitar, to becoming a great player who can use all of his musical skills to achieve complete musical expression.

This (non-linear) approach will also prevent you from getting out of balance with your skills and at any level of your musical development, you will be able to apply and integrate everything you know. It is important to note that a ‘non-linear approach’ is not an ‘illogical’ approach. So if you are looking for a systematic and logical approach to learning guitar, you should understand that this systematic, geometric (non-linear) strategy IS in fact the most effective, most efficient and most logical path possible.

The challenger

This personality type often comes out in a player who has been playing for a while and has studied with other guitar teachers in the past. This student may come into their first lesson full of preconceived ideas about what lessons should be like, and dictating to the teacher what and how to teach. I should clarify here that I am not talking about asking questions when you don’t understand something or telling your teacher about your goals. There is a big difference between doing that, and trying to dictate to the teacher what and how to teach. If the student knew that much more about teaching than the teacher, then the student would BE the teacher, right? If you know how to successfully learn guitar on your own and you are TRULY happy with your progress without a teacher, then maybe you don’t need guitar lessons. But if you seek help from a qualified guitar teacher, this means you realized that whatever you were doing on your own wasn’t working as well as you wanted it to. Therefore, you should accept the fact (or at least the high probability) that your guitar teacher knows many times more about guitar playing and teaching guitar than you do and can successfully teach you to play well. (Otherwise, why would you give the teacher your money?) Of course not all guitar teachers are the same, and some are much more qualified to teach than others. If you follow the advice I give in the guide for choosing a guitar teacher, you will be sure to find the best teacher for you.

I always tell my students that in order for them to receive the most benefit from working with me, it is their job to articulate to me their specific musical goals and list their musical challenges. Then it is MY job to come up with the most effective strategy possible to solve their problems and get them to their stated goals as quickly as possible. But in order for that to happen, they need to have faith in me as a teacher, and commit themselves to moving forward together through the learning and training process. My most satisfied and advanced students all followed this advice.

If your guitar teacher has already created many great musicians, chances are, he knows what he is doing and will be able to help you as well. But his ability to help you will be limited (and the process will take much longer), if you constantly challenge everything he tells you to do. Again, asking questions about something you don’t understand is normal, and is part of the learning process. But creating the overall lesson plan is your teacher’s primary responsibility, not yours.

If you recognize yourself as one of the student types described above, think about your current approach to learning guitar and change your mindset. On the surface it may seem like a small action to take, but the difference this can make to your guitar playing may be greater than you have ever even imagined before!

Want to know how to choose the right teacher for you? Download the free guide on how to choose a guitar teacher: http://www.tomhess.net/HowToChooseAGuitarTeacher.aspx

About The Author

Tom Hess is a professional touring guitarist and recording artist. He teaches guitar players around the world via online guitar lessons (http://tomhess.net/CorrespondenceGuitarLessons.aspx, Visithttp://www.tomhess.net to get free guitar playing tips(http://tomhess.net/FreeGuitarPlayingTips.aspx), assessments, surveys, mini courses and more.

Practical Sheet Music: Music Teachers Resources

2009-05-30T18:20:00.000-07:00

By: Earl Marsden

Are you a music teacher who has been dedicated and committed into passionate yet effective teaching to future music specialists? Do you have such passion and heart for teaching music to all learners as well as the beginners? If yes, you certainly have to be informed and updated with the latest music teachers’ resources, trends and techniques. In this page, you will learn the importance of virtual sheet music as one of the innovative and efficient music teachers’ resources.

Sheet Music Defined
Primarily, sheet music is defined as either manually or digitally printed form of musical notation. In the advent of internet and technology, access to musical notation may also include downloading from online sites and presentation on computer screens – modifying the traditional medium of sheet music. Sheet music generally refers to the print publication of commercial music in concurrence of newly released films, show, record albums and other music-related events.

Uses of Sheet Music
As sheet music can be handed out as individual pieces or collections, it is being utilized as a record, a guide, a means to perform or any musical pieces. Understanding sheet music demands a special form of skill and literacy – the ability to read and get familiarize with musical notation. That is why it is important to your music students to get into both modern and conventional sheet music as well as acquire the necessary skills to adopt and apply such beyond the learning process.

Effective Sheet Music 101
As people always settle and go for convenience, it will also be applicable to integrate the use of Internet and other means of technological innovation into a variety of teaching and learning strategies. Sheet music may now be accessed virtually either through downloads, video streaming and many others. This will surely make your students in music be more inspired to learn their musical pieces as well as stay more motivated in participating in their activities in the music classroom or studio. As each sheet music now comes in different formats, types and styles, each learner will certainly appreciate your resources and strategies.

These kinds of sheet music – modern or classical can also be good for beginners as they come in categorized and organized packages: per instrument or by complexity. Music teachers may now search on the net the latest sheet music available as well as the corresponding effective and efficient trends and methods to teach each. Sheet music is considered as effective music teachers’ resources and tools that students will surely look forward to and enjoy.

Both inspirational and instructional, music teachers’ resources must be comprised of fun, entertaining and motivating techniques and tools that are all aimed towards the betterment of each music student. Nowadays, there have been a wide variety of available software and reliable websites that can help most music teachers around the globe reach academic superiority.

So, what are you waiting for? Click your way to digital sheet music and music teachers resources to give your students what exactly they deserve – working all the possibilities towards the excellence to music education. Enjoy each musical teaching and learning experience today!

More articles about sheet music and teaching tips may be found on this music teacher’s resources. – Earl Marsden

Music Teacher Articles

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Learning To Play The Guitar At Home - 3 Ways To Learn

2009-05-30T18:12:00.000-07:00

By: Sam Marks

So you want to learn to play the guitar, but for whatever reason, seeing a private teacher isn't an option for you? Don't worry – it's perfectly possible to become a great guitarist by learning at home. If you choose to go this route, here are some tips to consider:

Choose Your Instruction Carefully
People teach themselves to play the guitar using a variety of methods. All can be effective (at least to some degree), and you'll need to choose the one that is best suited to your personality and resources. The basic options are:

Playing Along With Music You Like
Many guitarists have picked up their skills by playing along to their favourite records. Playing by ear is a very valuable skill to have, and this type of practice should always be part of your routine. But if you really want to develop into a well-rounded guitarist, you'll also need some more formal instruction, so you can learn scales and other technical exercises, music theory etc. This could come from tutor books and/or from online lessons.

Guitar Tutor Books & DVDs
Go to Amazon or any music store and you'll find a bewildering array of guitar instruction books and DVDs. These can be a great way to learn – you can go at your own pace, and the good ones will provide thorough explanations of all of the concepts you need to learn, along with clear diagrams/photos, and exercises and tunes to play through. Many books also include CDs which help you hear how the music should be played, and which you can jam along with. On the plus side, books are usually relatively inexpensive, and can cover a lot of ground. On the other hand, some people find it difficult to learn from a book, and do better with video or other modalities.

Online Guitar Lessons
In recent years online guitar instruction has become increasingly popular, and today there is a wide variety of sites offering instruction in the form of videos, written material, audio recordings and software. These online lessons can be a great way to learn, as the choice of media can really help to present the material in a more useful way than books alone. Some of the course providers charge a fee (generally a one-time payment for lifetime access), whereas others are free. Among both types, the quality is very variable, so if you opt to go this route, make sure that the person doing the teaching is both a skilled guitarist and a competent teacher, and that their materials are well put together. If you have a course in mind, it's always a good idea to Google for reviews, so you can read about other peoples experiences with it before investing your time and maybe money too.

So as you can see, there are lots of different options available to those wishing to teach themselves to play guitar, and whatever your circumstances and personal preferences, you're sure to find one to suit!

Find out more about how to play guitar at my site, which has tips for beginners and more advanced guitarists. If you're looking for a professionally produced, fun and affordable online guitar course which will help you develop a solid foundation and some impressive skills, I recommend checking out this one, which offers introductory lessons for free.

Article Source: http://www.ArticleBiz.com

Understanding The Basic Guitar Types

2009-05-28T07:42:00.000-07:00

by: George Stanley

If you are inexperienced, one guitar is the same as any other. Of course, there is the obvious difference between an acoustic guitar and an electric guitar. But, aside from this main characteristic there are many important differences in guitars. The importance of these variations are determined by the style of music to be played. For example, country musicians will use a different type of guitar than a classical musician or even a rock guitarist. And jazz players will use a different style of guitar than either of the three above. Another important distinction of electric guitars is that some have a hollow body and some have a solid body. Each type of body delivers its own unique sound.

Acoustic Guitar Body Styles

Classical guitars have a very wide fingerboard and use nylon strings and, since a pick isn't used on a classical guitar, it doesn't have a pick guard. Usually, the classical guitar rests on the left knee with the neck angled up. It is not necessary to play them this way but that is the traditional position. The wide fingerboard makes it easier to place your fingers on a string without touching the other strings. Plus, the nylon strings aren't as hard on the fingers while plucking them or creating notes on the neck.

The dreadnought is a large six string guitar and is the style that is typically used for country and other styles of music. A jumbo guitar is a bit larger than a dreadnought and is more curvy and rounded. Some basic guitars are smaller in size. Guitars called 1/2 or 3/4 guitars are designed for small children. Also, some guitars designed for travel and back packers are more compact in size.

A cutaway guitar is one that has part of the body cut away where the neck joins the body so the player can get to the higher frets. These guitars are often equipped to be amplified.

Electric Guitar Body Styles

Blues and Jazz guitar players often play an f hole guitar with an arched top. The "f" hole are two "f" shaped holes in the top of the guitar. These guitars are hollow bodied or semi-hollow bodied and are usually thinner than an acoustic. They are equipped to be amplified.

Electric guitars with solid bodies can have a variety of different shapes. Many have the traditional guitar shape but some look like arrows or squares even circles and many others.

Guitars typically have either six or twelve strings. The most common guitar is a six string. The twelve string duplicates the all of the strings with the lower four pairs being an octave different.

About The Author

George Stanley loves to play the guitar. If learning to play guitar is your dream then vist http://www.howtoreadguitarnotes.com and learn How to Read Guitar Notes. You can also visit http://www.howtoreadguitarchords.com and learn How to Read Guitar Chords

Blogs in Music Education – Great Teacher Resources

2009-05-28T07:37:00.000-07:00

Educators, school administrators and curriculum developers around the globe work hand-in-hand to improve the kind of teaching styles and techniques they have for their learners. One great way that they think would benefit majority of the students is the integration of technology – innovative and effective ways to make both teaching and learning fun and enjoyable.

Likewise, in the music education setting, music teachers and facilitators have integrated various means of innovation and technology such as the use of online learning and communication through the power of Internet as well as the inclusion of writing and reading blogs related to learning and teaching music. With these kinds of music teacher resources, both the teachers and the learners experience the convenience, the fun and the excitement of music in a general perspective.

Initially, the word blog comes from the key terms web log, which is referred to as a web-based application where the authors write and post articles or anything that interests him. This is also considered to be an online diary or journal of many students, writers and professionals all over the world. In the advent of this innovative way of expressing oneself, blog has grown and turned into an effective and practical music teacher resource where millions of individuals from different interests use to communicate and learn.

Over the years, blogging in teaching and learning music has been proven beneficial to create an environment or an online community where good discussions reign at all times. It is also true that music teachers are introducing and incorporating new kinds of technologies into the classroom.

With this objective, a wide variety of music teacher resources has been utilized and developed all for the betterment of music education. This may even include not only such improvement in the means of learning, but also a change in people's attitude to teaching or learning.

Blogs as means of teaching and learning can be a useful tool for both students and teachers. Through this, they can keep in touch anywhere at anytime via online – providing a way to communicate openly without overspending and necessarily having to meet face to face. Educational blogs create a new kind of classroom where students and teachers can meet beyond the four walls of the classroom and go further the boundaries of the school yard, improving their skills through continuous communication.

When music students are being exposed to writing and reading musical and educational blogs, they tend to have the possibility to effectively interact with the other students and be able to explore knowledge, ideas and skills in music. Therefore, using blogs helps the student bloggers in their daily activities; thus, it also increases their levels of interests and motivation. Participating and communicating more in online activities, students can surely enjoy each social interaction experience.

In a world that is constantly changing, it is riskier to plan, control, and do little than to continuously try things out. So make your music students involve with various innovative and effective music teacher resources. Make your active learners write, read and participate in music-related blogs today! Enjoy each blogging experience and see a more positive result on the academic excellence of these bunches of students.

This music teacher resources blog provides helpful tips for teaching, practicing, performing, managing your music studio, music teacher software reviews, and more. – Earl Marsden

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‘10 Bands you MUST listen to in 2009’

2009-05-28T07:35:00.000-07:00

By: James Hay

1-Agnostic Mountain Gospel Choir; S.A.P. Recordings

As wonderful & curiously obscure as the name suggests, AMGC are the last staunch advocates of a musical tradition quickly disappearing. Whereas many supposed ‘Americana’ outfits are indulging in ‘countrified’ pop, AMGC are delving into America’s musical roots taking Americana to a whole new, highly antiquated, level. Each song is a cataclysmically clear observation of the human condition, as raw and dusty as the Mid-America itself.

2-Blood Red Shoes; V2

Blood Red Shoes consist of the song-writing partnership forged between the bands only two members; Laura-Mary Carter & Steven Ansell. Emphasised by their inclination towards relatively linear musical narratives, the main distinction being between ‘Noise’ & ‘Noisier’, Blood Red Shoes are oddly reminiscent of a stripped-down Velvet Underground. With a follow-up to 2008’s ‘Box of Secrets’ rumoured to be coming to light this year, Blood Red Shoes should be overwhelming a major festival stage near you!

3-School of Language; Memphis Industries

School of Language is strangely hypnotic, oddly effervescent invention from the creative powerhouse behind Field Music, David Brewis. Like a slow running locomotive, Brewis’ creations grow from the smallest musical fragment, gaining immense momentum, until reaching invigorating height then relinquishing again, back into the mist of Brewis’ inventiveness from whence they came. With a small UK tour scheduled School of Language could prove to be one of the most reclusively electrifying live acts of the year.

4-Anthony & The Johnsons; Secretly Canadian/Rough Trade

Despite a Mercury Music Prize and infinite critical acclaim, Anthony & The Johnsons are still one of the most unjustifiably commercially underrated acts in recent memory. With the 2009 release of ‘The Crying Light’ we see The Johnsons strike an altogether more upbeat chord. The trademark melancholy is still present, yet there are moments of undeniable warmth & tenderness, far more consumer friendly than the unrepentant despondency of The Johnsons previous offerings.

5-Lisa Hannigan; Lisa Hannigan

You might recognise Hannigan as the sultry songstress whose presence edified Damien Rice’s otherwise relatively insipid debut. Since her untimely departure from Rice’s backing band, Hannigan has begun to flourish as an artist in her own right, and seems all the better for it. Hannigan’s innocuous refrains instantly lift you from the unsympathetic monotony of Winter, her gentile aura enveloping you wholly. Hannigan’s latest LP, ‘Sea Sew’, will be an album to warm to during the coldest Sundays of February, while all around is frostbitten.

6-Brakes; FatCat Records

Brakes are one of those delightfully abrasive bands who can effortlessly interweave soothing melodies with crashing upheaval to create a burgeoning, unstoppable monolith that one doesn’t know whether to dance to, or run away from. Currently on tour promoting their latest full-length, ‘Touchdown’, Brakes’ quirky pop idealism will undoubtedly warrant a definably brief blast in which all hearing ability will be lost, all pop sensibilities will be questioned & all non-believers will be converted.

7-Ant3lop3; DISCHORD

One could argue that Ant3lop3 fit the DISCHORD paradigm perfectly; the progressive time signatures, the tortuous repetitive guitar lines & oblique world outlook, and I suppose such arguments would be right, but where Ant3lop3 really come into there own is in the live setting. Each song becomes an event, swirling masterfully between Ant3lop3’s three, Mike Andre gestating uncomfortably as the lyrics pour from him with such intensity it almost looks as if such action is actually proving harmful. It may be some time before we see Ant3lop3 on our shores again, but it will unquestionably be worth the wait.

8-The Last Republic; Unsigned

As a perfect example of the Indie ethic, The Last Republic have been honing their own brand of ambient dissonance for what seems like a lifetime. With several name changes, a van wistfully named ‘Thunderchild’ and an impressive array of gigs up and down the country, it finally seems The Last Republic have grown out of youthful pomposity, into fully fledged artistic maturity. The bands rigorous attention to detail ensures a highly polished live show which will hopefully come to national precedence through 2009.

9-Jeff Finlin; Yep!

Jeff Finlin is the constant purveyor of American road-worn minimalism, his songs as deeply etched as the lines upon his face. With his sixth release ‘Ballad of a Plain Man’, Finlin cements his place among the undergrowth of American literary greats. Jeff is one of the best songwriters never heard of. Immediately accessible, so many off ‘Ballad of a Plain Man’ are identifiably multi-layered and worthy of countless listens, yet never overly intrusive, it’s easy to see why Bruce Springsteen sites Finlin as one of his favourite songwriters.

10-Hem; Waveland Records

The dreamy soundscapes created by Hem are equally as beautiful as they are fragile. Centred on Sally Ellyson’s dulcet vocals are often reminiscent of pre-WWII jazz recordings, whilst the background musicality slips between genres, delicately finding something which is problematic to define. Every vignette is steeped in a dense summer mist, the perfect soundtrack to those long, dry summer afternoons.

The Top Reasons To Learn To Play The Piano

2009-05-27T04:55:00.000-07:00

by: Lauren Paltrow

Below we have put together just 10 of the many reasons to learn to play. The piano is a marvelous musical instrument Also, it’s one of the best things that you can do for yourself- it can make you feel great, and it’s not as difficult as you might think! There’s no-one who doesn’t appreciate the incredible sound that can come from those ivories! If you have even the slightest inclination towards learning, then there’s no reason not to.

1) With the advancements in communication and the easy availability of multi-media, playing the piano is incredibly easy. There really are no obstacles in your way. Consider professional teachers, online tutorials, or you can even learn now by watching a DVD!

2) For the cost of a good meal in a restaurant, you can buy a really good standard instruction DVD or a tutorial book. The cost of learning to play has also gone down considerably over recent years. Think of the DVD as your own private teacher at your beck and call 24 hours a day! Personally, I prefer the DVD route, as you can learn to play at your own leisure – you can pause to make a cup of tea whenever you want, and you can learn at your own pace. Also, you’ll find that the vast majority of the good standard course books are these days accompanied with their own audio cd, which is always a help.

3) Sharing. It’s a real treat to be able to share music with those around you – loved ones such as grandchildren, children or that very special someone. It’s a wonderful gift to give someone.

4) A quick visit to your local library will present you with sheet music for all levels of expertise. You can even go online and print off sheet music – some websites even let you listen to the music online as you play, so you can get a real feel for the song. Have you got a favorite song? Then playing the piano will enable you to play it and hear it any time you want! If you’re like me, then you will have listened to a song and then thought to yourself that you wished you could play that! What, exactly is it that is stopping you from doing so?

5) Entertainment! For hundreds of years the music of the piano has brought people together – imagine if you could initiate a sing-song with your family! There’s really nothing better for that bonding experience. To take it a level further, get them to join in – there is a great deal of music that can be played by two people at once – believe me when I say it really is a special experience for all the family.

6) Lifetime guarantee! It’s like riding a bike – when you know, you know. And even better than riding a bike – you never need to stop! When you’re ninety years of age, a ride around the block on a bicycle may present a bit of a challenge – not so the piano. Also, the longer you play, the more you are able to learn.

7) Versatility. The piano itself is a massively versatile instrument – one of the few instruments that you can play simultaneous notes on without to much difficulty. This is often why the piano is chosen as the instrument of choice for composers – it’s like having your own mini-orchestra.

8) You will find yourself understanding how music is put together, and this in itself will give you a much better idea of what exactly the composer was trying to get across. When you play an instrument such as the piano, you will find you have a much better understanding of the music you hear every day. You may even surprise yourself by thinking up better ways to play, or even to improve it!

9) Its physically easy! Other instruments (such as the violin or the guitar) take a degree of flexibility and exertion. The piano, however, requires none of these. Like we mentioned earlier, people play the piano expertly well into their nineties – they can because the physical toll on the body is absolutely minimal.

10) The tradition of the piano is well-founded. Almost any concert you go, anywhere and at any time will have a keyboard somewhere on the stage. The piano has also influenced countless genres of music, and has also given rise to many more since it first arrived on the scene 250 years ago.

You won’t regret it! I promise you that learning the piano will be one of the best things you ever do for yourself. We could go on forever, and I’m sure you can think of some that we haven’t mentioned. These, of course, are just a few of the reasons to learn the piano. I urge you to do it, even if you have only the slightest inclination somewhere in the back of your mind.

About The Author

Lauren Paltrow of http://www.ReviewsMetro.com/learnpiano, specializes in helping aspiring pianists get the info that they need to make the right choices. Lauren leads her team of piano experts in constantly reviewing new courses and products in the market to make sure you get the best value products that work for you. Check out her honest and unbiased independent reviews of the best piano courses and products at http://www.ReviewsMetro.com/learnpiano. You can also get her free piano lessons online there too.

Choosing A Guitar – A Guide

2009-05-27T04:53:00.000-07:00

by: Liam Gibson

If you have no friends who can play to ask for advice, or, like I was, you are not all that clued up about the genre, then buying your first guitar can be a difficult task. Probably the first obstacle you will have to face when you decide to learn to play the guitar is buying one to start with.

Many people, me included, make the mistake of buying a nice economical purchase to start learning on, and find that it does not even come close to meeting their needs. Also, a lot of people take the advice of the shop assistant, which can often turn out to be a little misguided and driven by his desire to make a sale rather than getting the best deal for yourself.

The following are all questions that you really need to know the answers to before you step foot into a guitar shop. If you are in this situation, and are looking seriously into the possibility of buying a guitar in order to learn, then there are a few things that you should be considering before you depart with your hard-earned cash.

1. What style of music do you want to play?

It may sound quite obvious to say that an electric guitar is more suited to rock music whereas an acoustic guitar is better for strumming and singing along. However, many people make this mistake. Make sure you keep this in mind so that you don’t get pressured into buying something that will not be suitable for your needs. You will know what you want to play, and what you want to learn.

2. What sort of budget do you have?

What you are doing when you buy your first guitar is investing – you are investing in yourself and your own musical development. This should be considered as you set about finalizing exactly how much you want to spend. If you have never played guitar before, then spending thousands of dollars on a top quality instrument is probably not the way to go. Realistically, to begin with, you should be looking at paying somewhere in the region of $250-$300 (US) for a decent electric guitar, and around $150 (US) for an acoustic.

Now that you have decided on the style of music and how much you want to pay, then you need to take a look at the guitars available and ask yourself which one you want!! This is a tricky bit, and to get it right will take a little time – but remember that this is an investment into your musical future – the time taken is worth it! Bear in mind the points below.

• Try before you buy. Try as many guitars as you want! Buying your first guitar is a little like buying a new car – you wouldn’t just take the first one you see, right? There’s also no reason why, at this stage, you shouldn’t be looking at guitars that might be outside of your budget – by doing this you will be getting a good idea of the range available to you, and the big differences that exist from one guitar to another.

• Pay special attention to the playability of the frets. Take a look at each fret, and play a note on each. If you listen to the sound that this produces, you may find that there is a small buzzing sound – if this is the case, then it means that the action of the guitar is not set properly. It could even point to a case of poor workmanship on the instrument. Also, look at the condition of the frets – are they worn out? Do they show signs of excessive usage?

• Many people buy guitars online, and it can be a quick and easy way to purchase your first guitar. The advantages of this are that it can be cheaper than a high street store, and it will often arrive straight to your door. If this is a road you wish to go down, then make sure that you fully check out the reviews of that particular guitar, and look at the user reviews as well to get a better idea of whether this guitar is right for you.

• Be comfortable! Make sure you select a guitar that you like, and that you feel comfortable with. If you find one that fits you like a glove and makes a sound that you genuinely enjoy, then there is a much higher chance that that guitar will stay with you for a much longer time.

Whatever you do, do not get pressured into spending more than you want to append, as this will breed resentment before you have even begun. For the beginner attempting to learn to play the guitar for the first time, then you should be considering all of the above before you start. Playing the guitar really can be a wonderful pastime, always rewarding and great fun to boot.

Copyright 2009 Liam Gibson (Pro Guitarist)

About The Author

Learn By Ear - How To Play The Piano

2009-05-27T04:49:00.000-07:00

by: Lauren Paltrow

The majority of the workings of the human ear are muscle, and, just like any other muscle in the human body, it can be trained to work even more efficiently. Your ear is a marvellous organ - the human ear can identify literally thousands of different sounds.

For some people, playing the piano by ear comes quite naturally - they know as soon as they hear a particular series of notes or chords how that combination was played and where the persons hands were on the keyboard. By hearing the same piece of music over and over again you will find it much easier to recognise. Think of it like training a dog - the more you shout a command at the dog, the more it gets used to hearing it and what the necessary response is.

If you got a (very patient) friend to sit at your piano for two days straight and play nothing but major thirds (for example C and E or F and A, etc), your ear would be trained for the sound. Then, the next time you are walking down the street and you hear a car horn, I bet you would immediately identify that sound as a major third (this is because the vast majority of car horns are "factory-tuned" to a major third).

It can be done, and it can be done relatively easily. Once your ear is actually trained to identify these certain sounds, you'll be amazed at how much you recognise them as they occur everyday life all around you. Train whistles, car horns, even tannoy announcements! If you can identify a train whistle as producing a tritone portamento descending, then do you see how easy it would be to learn to play the piano by ear?

It can be difficult to find a friend who doesn't mind playing the same chords over and over again whilst you listen, so the best solution to this that we have found is get hold of a tape recorder, and record the music. If you can find a recorder with a numerical counter on it, all the better, as you are then able to rewind to any specific spot you like. This is really the initial step - you have to listen to the sounds in order to be able to recognize them.

When teaching, most piano teachers prefer to begin with melodic intervals such as skips of a major third or a perfect sixth, so this is a reasonable place for you to start also. Chord progressions can be more fun than the melodic intervals (and will keep you a little more engaged).

Training your ear to recognize specific sounds and thus transferring them onto the piano is a time-honored tradition that has served many people well in the past. It can be done, and it can be done relatively simply. There's no reason that you cannot do it yourself - learning to play the piano could not be simpler!

Copyright 2008 Lauren Paltrow

About The Author

What’s The Best Way To Care For My Guitar?

2009-05-27T04:48:00.000-07:00

by: Liam Gibson

In order to enjoy the full life and playability of your instrument, it is paramount that you keep it is the best possible condition. Often, it can come secondary to playing, but if you want to continue to play for a longer time, then keeping it in the best condition is vital. We have assembled the best ways to keep it in perfect condition – follow these tips and your guitar will last as long as want it to!

• Post-practice

A common problem amongst guitarists is the deterioration of the strings. If they start to rust they become much rougher, and also will be more likely to cut into your fingers. If your fingers are cut, then you are not going to be able to play as well, so it’s vital to make sure you don’t get to this stage. All you need to do is as soon as you have finished practicing, take a soft cloth and gently clean the strings.

This very simple action will rid your strings of all the dirt, oil and sweat that accumulates. Another good idea is, before you case your guitar, to apply a layer of conditioner. You can pick these up for less than ten dollars, so they are relatively cheap and are great for preventing the oxidization of the strings which causes them to rust.

• Clean the fretboard

The next time you change your strings, take a look at the fretboards and clean them with a damp cloth. As well as the strings, there can often be an accumulation of dirt and grease around the fretboards. If unchecked, this can damage the sound of the guitar, and eventually the integrity of the instrument.

• Care for your body!

All you need to do is polish it regularly with a lint-free cloth. Make sure you use only guitar-specific polishes – some of the more widely available household polishes are more likely to be abrasive and cause some serious damage. A lot of people neglect the body of the guitar as they focus too much on the strings and the fretboard. Whilst these do need a lot of attention, paying a bit of attention to the body of your guitar will prolong its life by a large factor.

• Storage

Whilst most guitars are tolerant to a range of temperatures, excessive moisture will cause swelling which in turn causes the wood to warp and affects the overall sound. For ideal conditions, you should be looking at storing your guitar at around 50% humidity and a temperature of around 25 degrees C. Your guitar is a very sensitive instrument, and is extremely sensitive to the environment in which it is stored. Wood is a porous substance, which means it can absorb moisture.

• Scratches

It may sound obvious, but you’d be amazed at how many people have made this mistake! Before you even start to play, make sure you have removed all your jewellery and other accoutrements that may damage your guitar. The obvious things are things like bracelets and rings, but I have also seen expensive guitars scratched badly by something as simple as a belt buckle!

You can prolong the lifespan of your guitar by applying simple common sense in the majority of cases. It’s not really rocket science – and if you treat your guitar with the respect that it deserves then you will find the rewards are much higher.

Copyright 2009 Liam Gibson

About The Author

Mp3 Players’ Music Downloads For Everyone

2009-05-27T04:28:00.000-07:00

By: Zalatoy Vato

If downloading music has been your passion, then you must have faced several problems while downloading. The biggest problem that is faced in music search is the proper place to get the music of choice. A search may yield several results, but when you actually visit the site, you are disappointed. Maybe either the specific music is not present there or even if it is present it required several searches and clicks, until you were frustrated with the entire process. This is the main problem of many people who are searching top music of the year or any kind of music of their choice. Today teenagers and youngsters are almost addicted to mp3 player’s music downloads and often they exchange their music collection among themselves. There is no better way to remain happy, than to listen to the best music of your choice. But in all this what happens when you do not get the music of your choice.

In our fast and stressful life today, most of us do not have so much time to search several hours for our popular music in the net. We often search for good quality mp3 downloads and in an easy way. Keeping in mind the requirements of so many users, there are many companies who have come up with their own versions of top music download. In these websites you will find music of your choice, from national to international music. Wermp3 is one such online destination which provides music for every music lover. There is a variety of music from hard rock, techno, punk/new wave, pop rock, dance, roc, rap and pop. You just name the music and you will get it in this online store. Not only this, you can get yourself registered in this online music store. If you are worried about the payment terms, then you shouldn’t worry, as you can make payment with your credit card. To download music to mp3 player you need to visit the download section of the website and follow the instructions that are required while downloading. It is easy and hassle free and completely secure. This website has become popular among the music lovers in a very short duration of time, mainly because of its huge selection and some popular top music. Nowhere in the internet will you be able to find such a huge selection of music download and that too at such easy pricing methods. What more can you ask for?

So, the next time when you are thinking of some top music download, just think about some of the best websites, from where you can download music. It is easy and convenient for every user. Keeping in mind the requirements of all its users, it is indeed easy to navigate in the website and unlike other sites; here you will get the music of your choice within just a few clicks. You will not be forwarded from one section to another to get your favorite download. Just try out and feel the difference.

Wermp3 is a top music download site for soundtrack downloads and new music. Music lovers can listen to millions of songs and the latest music at Wermp3.

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Lead Guitar Solos And The Guitarists Who Played Them

2009-05-27T04:24:00.000-07:00

By: Ricky Sharples

In the early hours of the morning have you ever wondered where the great lead guitar solos came from and how did the guitar solo get firmly wedged into today's popular music? Did it all start with Chuck Berry in the nineteen fifties or with The Yardbirds or The Rolling Stones in the sixties? Or did it all start with the guitar solo in Rock Around The Clock by Bill Hayley And The Comets?

Of course before rock and roll took off as a musical force, Les Paul who was one of the earliest electric guitar players. The team of Les Paul and his wife Mary Ford made many records and had their own TV series, and most of the songs included a guitar solo in some form. But I don't think I have ever read of any lead guitarist being inspired by the solos of Les Paul.

You could change the question to "who was the first guitar player to make his lead guitar solos stand out noticeably?" Chuck Berry and Carl Perkins certainly made their own distinctive impressions during the early years of rock and roll but the nineteen sixties really brought the electric guitar into its own as a solo instrument through performers like The Shadows, The Ventures and Dick Dale. There were also the simple but exciting instrumentals of Link Wray and Duane Eddy. Probably a contributing factor to the age of the guitar instrumental was that, apart from Hank Marvin of The Shadows, none of these guitar players could sing. The era of the guitar instrumental filled the three or four years before The Beatles and The Stones changed the face of music entirely.

By the time Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton emerged as the original guitar heroes, the instrumental groups had come and gone but they were very real influence on the guitarists of the late sixties.

George Harrison's guitar solos with The Beatles were always very tuneful but a lot of people say that George himself was not very good at composing solos and he just played what Lennon and McCartney suggested to him. The riffs on Day Tripper and Ticket To Ride are said to be the work of John Lennon.

The element of rock and roll that we refer to as the riff has been around for many years. The guitar was brought out of the jazz band rhythm section by men like Charlie Christian and Django Reinhardt.

Once Jimi Hendrix had arrived on the scene it seemed as though every rock and roll guitar player had the world's permission to create lead guitar solos. And they are still doing it.

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How To Be Good At Gigs - A Guitar Player's Guide

2009-05-21T22:34:00.000-07:00

By: Gyorgy Huba

A guitar player needs tips that center around your first gig or two because you need to open up avenues of communication that you are not used to using. You communicate with your audience through your guitar playing but you also need to communicate with the management of the bar or venue you are playing at by being on time and ready and willing to play.

If you have a band, here is the first tip: there is never any excuse for being late for a gig. The world is full of clever means of communication so there is no one who is totally out of reach. If you are experiencing a delay, let the other members of your band and the management waiting for you at the gig know what is happening.

Even if you all have your own means of transport the band should travel to the gig together. You don't need to own a bus but you could each take your own cars and travel together and park near each other. It may seem silly but it's part of being professional. If you are all at the gig together, you can be ready to start sound checks and equipment checks.

You need to have your list of songs written out so that the band doesn't have to engage in meaningful conversation to work out what number you're playing next. You don't have to memorize the list of songs but the list needs to be somewhere that everybody can see it.

As a guitarist, you probably are aware of the need to have an instrument available to play on occasions when you are being paid to play it. Imagine the consternation you will feel if your guitar turns out to be suffering from a malady during your finest solo. If it can go wrong, it will, so if at all possible, keep a spare guitar handy.

The backup guitar needs to be ready to play so you don't add insult to injury by having to spend endless moments getting it out of the case and tuning it up. If you have to make the changeover while a song is going on it will look very cool if it is seamless.

If the bass guitarist needs to change a string do you have a song to do that doesn't need a bass? Think about it. The same with the lead guitar and the rhythm guitar and, of course, the tambourine might have a bell malfunction. If string changing songs are included in the rehearsals, then when a string does break, your readiness will impress the audience and venue management.

Batteries - can't live without 'em, shouldn't run the effects off 'em. The battery is meant to back up the mains power so do not rely on it to run your effects pedal. Last but not least, it's not cool to be stoned at a gig. Well, maybe it is but it's more professional not to be.

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Learn How To Read Music - For Your Own Sake

2009-05-21T22:31:00.000-07:00

By: Gyorgy Huba

You possibly had to take an aptitude test while you were at school. It told you if you were going to be a janitor or a brain surgeon. You can use similar principles to tell if you are able to learn how to read music. Some people have musical aptitude and others have none. That doesn't mean that you can't learn how to read music, just that you might have to work harder to do it.

Maybe you do not have the ability to read sheet music at present but somehow your friends and family are always talking about how you have an affinity for music. Perhaps the guitar, the piano, the violin and the triangle are closed books to you. You are able to talk about music with passion but somehow the time or the opportunity to learn music have not been available for you to spread your musical wings.

Can you remember melodies that you hear once? Are you able to make up tunes of your own in a special place in your head? Maybe you CAN play a musical instrument but have never had the need or the time to learn musical theory. If you can answer yes to these questions without crossing your fingers behind your back, the chances are you have a natural affinity with music.

So is there something else you need to storm the chambers of music and lift the sheets to see what's under them? As I said, even if you think of yourself as a musical no-talent you can still learn to read music. The harmonies and melodies produced by learned musical ability are just as sweet as those produced by natural musical talent. You enjoyment of music and your need to make your own determine if you have in-born musical ability.

Think about learning to read music as another skill. If you learned to operate a computer or a motor vehicle, you will probably be able to learn to read music and play a guitar or another musical instrument. The same principles apply to learning music as apply to your hobby or career.

If for some reason you were not able to learn music during your childhood or didn't keep up with the lessons you did take, it is not too late to keep developing your music skills. It is apparently easier to learn things like music when you are a kid, but if you really want to learn, you can learn. As you grew up you acquired the knowledge of what a musical background can do for a person. This is the kind of motivation that kids do not have access to but you can use it as your driving force.

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Learn Guitar - Tab Or Sheet Music?

2009-05-21T22:16:00.000-07:00

By: Ricky Sharples

Many guitarists are adamant that the only way to learn guitar is by learning to read sheet music. Some even go so far as to say that if all guitar tab was removed from the world the level of guitar playing would be much higher. The main objection to that idea is that many famous guitar players never learnt to read sheet music. Some even have trouble with tab. Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Tommy Emmanuel and Jeff Beck are shining examples. Of course, all these guitarists were following their own idiosyncratic ways of expressing themselves through the guitar rather than learning a broad range of music but there are still those who are thinking of a whole world of music that is closed to people who have not learnt to read notation. What would possibly be raised if tab were eliminated would be the level of communication between guitarists because we would all be speaking the same language.

But it is highly unlikely that guitar players who have more of an instinctive approach to the guitar will ever take the trouble to learn theory and standard music notation. At the same time the people who have made the effort to learn to read music will continue to feel that they have a greater understanding of the guitar and the ability to learn new music faster than guitarists who do not have a background of theory at their fingertips.

You could say that the bottom line is what works for the individual. If you can play guitar but can't read music, does that make you an inferior guitarist? A weakness with learning from tabs is that timing and rhythm can't be learnt from tabs but some people write tabs incorporating the elements of sheet music notation that show note values and timing, and this kind of notation is very easy to learn.

There are those guitar players who see sheet music notation as a language that was invented by keyboard players and is not very well suited to the guitar. It should be noted that without learning musical theory as well, learning to read music is just a part of the language of music and is not a great deal more useful than tabs. Also the amount of music theory a guitarist learns is in proportion to his interest in music in general but will not necessarily make him a better guitar player than a guy who doesn't read music.

It has often been pointed out by guitar players who play in an open or alternate tuning that if you are used to reading and playing music in standard tuning you might find it very difficult to sight read a piece written in an alternate tuning using standard musical notation. If this is true it would suggest that reading standard music is not the key to universal understanding of the guitar.

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Songwriting Techniques To Help You Write A Killer Title

2009-05-19T20:06:00.000-07:00

By: Richie Gilbert

Here are some fun songwriting techniques and exercises to help generate ideas for a great title.

As a songwriter you know how important the title is. A clever, catchy title intrigues us and arouses our curiosity. Choose a weak or mediocre title and your song may not even get listened to.

Besides, a killer title is much easier to write a great song from. Try these out...

The Dictionary Game

I learned this idea from reading hit songwriter Molly-Anne Leiken's book "How To Write a Hit Song".

Open up your dictionary and put your finger on the page. Choose the closest picture noun to your fingertip and write it down on a piece of paper under "nouns". Do this ten times using a different first letter for each.

Then do this ten more times choosing adjectives that you might use in conversation. When you have your list mix and match the adjectives with the nouns. Try each adjective with each noun.

Many of the pairings will be silly or nonsense, but you will also find some very interesting ones that spark your imagination.

One of my recent dictionary games produced the title "Scarlet Tears", which turned into a song about an adulterous wife ashamed of her extra-marital activities.

Collect Newspaper Headlines

Pink Floyd's "Atom Heart Mother" supposedly came from a newspaper headline read by Floyd's Roger Waters.

Look closely at the paper every day for short and punchy headlines. Newspaper reporters and editors choose their headlines for impact. A story headline serves the same purpose as a song title. To draw us in and make us want to read/listen.

When you read them, think of them as song titles. Write down the ones that appeal to you, and collect them in a notebook.

Listen To What People Say

Listen to the conversations around you. You can find some great lyric ideas from listening to how people talk. The best lyrics are usually the ones that sound the most natural, like the spoken word. And there are many song titles to be found in the expressions and sayings people use.

Take Every Day Phrases And Twist Them

When people hear something other than what they expect, they sit up and take notice. A title that shocks a little is a great title. A common phrase such as "first-time home buyer" could become "First-Time Home Wrecker". Make a great country song!

Play around with one of these songwriting techniques today and try writing a song. Remember to have fun with it. Songwriting should be fun.

Richie Gilbert has been passionate about writing songs for many years. He spends too much time in his home recording studio, and is active in pitching his songs to music publishers.

To learn more about the craft and business of songwriting, please visit his website athttp://www.inspired-songwriting-tips.com

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Easy Tips on How to Learn to Play the Guitar

2009-05-18T20:24:00.000-07:00

By: Michiel Van Kets

Many people dream of being able to master a musical instrument and a popular choice is often an acoustic or an electric guitar. Learning to play should be fun and enjoyable, there are plenty of helpful tips with free chords and music to be found online that can get you started in your new interest.

For a beginner, there is no need to go out and buy an expensive model the first thing you do, wait until you have learnt enough to be able to play it with some degree of proficiency and developed your style before investing big.

For learning any new skill motivation and dedication will be important, holding the guitar correctly, and learning the chords will all come with practice. Once you have learned some basic chords you can start to play some popular songs. This will make the whole experience much more gratifying.

There are various options in how a person learns to play and which you opt for will probably depend on how much time you have. You will find Guitar teachers in the local paper or ads in local music shops. There are plenty of books out there for beginners demonstrating fretting chords and some easy to play songs to begin with.

First things first, you have to learn how to play the basic chords. It is easy to practice them once you know them and you will be surprised how many popular songs that only use these basic chords. When forming the chords with your left hand (or visa versa if you are left handed) it is important to press down hard otherwise the note won’t sound as it should. These are called your fret fingers and they will get sore at first until they get calluses on them. Practice different chords until it becomes quite easy to switch between them.

Set some time aside each day for practice, this is usually a good way to learn; just 15-20 minutes should suffice as long as it is regular. Even if you think you are too busy or too tired try to maintain your practice as you otherwise you will slip into bad habits and the guitar will end up in a corner gathering dust.

After you have mastered a few chords move onto learning some easy songs as this will make it as lot more interesting and fun than simply playing the same chords over and over again. You will in your local music shop be able to find some easy, well known songs, or just go online and find the sheet music you desire. Don’t pick to difficult songs in the beginning otherwise you will get disheartened.

Before going out and spending a lot of money for music sheets and books check online as there are lots that can be downloaded these days. Free guitar chords and free guitar tabs are not hard to find. Advice on how to string your guitar and tune it, strumming patters and instructions for a guitar pedalbord is other valuable information to be found online.

It takes a lot of motivation and patience to become adept at playing the guitar, if you enjoy it and find yourself improving then don’t give up as it will get easier the more you practice. You could also employ the services of a music teacher to start you off; this might save you time and beginner’s frustration. They will often design a course of study specifically for you, or you could even join a local class and meet some new friends who are interested in the same kind of music.

How To Take Care Of Your Acoustic Guitar

2009-05-17T04:30:00.000-07:00

By: Gyorgy Huba

When you buy an acoustic guitar you tend to be distracted with learning how to play it and you can forget to think about how to take care of it. Here is a quick rundown on how to take care of your acoustic guitar. YOur acoustic guitar is a delicate instrument held together by a balance of tensions coming from different directions and some glue.

When you are sitting playing your guitar you will possibly find in hot weather that you forearm sticks to the front of the guitar. Not only is this awkward when you are trying to play but it could leave a mark in the wood of your guitar. If you do not want to wear a shirt with long sleeves while you play your acoustic guitar, try and put a clean cloth between the body of the guitar and the body of the guitarist.

Although you may be sorely tempted, do not polish your acoustic guitar. A lot of guitars have a very thin finish and will not take any kind of polish that contains abrasive materials. Also if your polish is the white kind it could get into the cracks in the wood and draw attention to them.

If you use a wax polish ti could form a thick layer over the wood in a short time. It is very tedious and in the long run, futile to be polishing a layer of wax instead of the actual wood. Try to avoid this. If you use an oil base polish it will tend to darken the wood of your guitar. The use of an oily polish could ultimately lead to the guitar developing cracks.

The grease from your fingers gets transferred to the guitar strings so part of taking care of your acoustic guitar involves wiping the strings and the body of the guitar with a lint-free cloth. Make sure it's clean.

Many guitarists will recommend applying lemon oil to the ebony fingerboard of your guitar. The truth is that once it has left the factory the fingerboard is in as good a shape as it is going to get and no amount of lemon oil is going to improve it, even though it does give it a nice sheen for about thirty seconds after you put it on.

So you see that you don't really need to know much to know how to take care of your acoustic guitar but you do need to care a lot.

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Will Computers Replace Musicians?

2009-05-17T04:27:00.000-07:00

By: Francis Beaudry

Computer audio technology has made huge advances over the past several years. It is now quite possible for entire orchestras or small ensembles to be duplicated in a studio using just one simple keyboard or computer. Processing power has made it possible to store actual audio frequencies of various instruments and then to adjust them for pitch, resulting in a melodious playback that would be identical in frequency to the original sound.

So, what does this mean for the future of instrumentalists? Like assembly line workers in an auto plant, will musicians be replaced by computers? Does the future look bleak for those who are studying to be professional musicians?

The answer is a resounding, "NO!"

There are several reasons why the future is looking even brighter for those who would endeavor to study musical performance. Now is not the time to give up on your dreams and, in fact, it seems that the study of being a musical performer could never be more important. Here are 5 of those reasons:

1) Humans are not perfect. At first glance, this may not seem like a valid reason – or perhaps a reason supporting the opposite view. However, it is the imperfect, subjective, and unique quality of a human being that makes a human performance more fascinating and satisfying than that of a computer. The risk of making a mistake lends a hand to the level of appreciation that an audience has for a human performer. Sometimes, in fact, it is the poor tone or the wrong notes that truly give a performance emotion. One needs only to consider the sour notes that come from your child's first recital or the Jr. High band's first concert. We wouldn't have it any other way! Yes – it is true that computer experts are working on "humanizing" electronic performances. But success in this field seems a long way off.

2) What you see is what you get. Imagine if you will the excitement of walking through the doors of Carnegie Hall, taking your seat, watching the lights dim, and hearing the applause as a concert is about to begin. The curtain opens and there before your eyes is a small table with a computer and a set of speakers. What you are hearing could be a marvelous rendition of a symphony or an opera. But honestly – are you there only for the sound? What is the performance without the visual? Nothing beats the beauty and grandeur of an entire symphony playing together. The bows of the violins are completely in sync with one another. The cymbal player is reaching high in the air to emphasize the crash. The soloist is swaying to the rhythm of the melody. The visual is key to excitement and without it you have nothing!

3) Comraderie and identification. Ask any musician today about what they feel is their most favorite aspect of being a musician, and they will tell you that it is the friendships and bonds that form as a result of performing together and learning together. There is nothing like a stellar performance that causes a performing group to become joined together as a team. Even the audience, many of whom are most likely musicians, becomes entranced with the performance as if they are playing along in their minds. Children look at and hear the performers and dream of one day becoming a musical star. Adults look at and hear the performers and dream also – perhaps of one day reaching that level of ability, or perhaps of the time when they themselves could play that piece.

4) The amazing human ear. Yes – technology has advanced and unbelievable things have been accomplished with musical software. However, at this point anyway, it is still possible for the human ear to detect the differences between human and electronic. There are subtle nuances in tone and style that give away an electronic performance – or even a recording of that performance. People are no doubt fooled every day when they hear the accompaniment to a television commercial or the background score to a movie but, for the most part, it is still possible to tell the difference. Of course, this is the one things that is most likely to change as technology progresses. Perhaps we may be saying something completely different in the near future.

5) Music is fun! OK – so even if all the above reasons are not valid, the sheer enjoyment of playing an instrument will never be replaced by "playing" a computer. During times of stress and times of grief, the musician will quickly resort to the therapy offered by playing songs to an audience of one. During times of celebration and joy, there is no better method for shouting a cheer than to express it in music. Of course, perhaps most importantly, during times of worship, there is no more appropriate expression of love and service than to offer a song of praise.

Yes – technology is moving ahead. No – technology will not replace the musician. Perhaps some jobs will be lost in the commercial world or in the studio when budgets are tight. But the world of the human musician is ever expanding and the need to continue training and raising new musicians will never end.

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Francis Beaudry is currently the conductor of two orchestras. He is a writer and arranger and has published musical works for choir and orchestra. In addition he is the president of TheMaxZone.com, an online musical accessories superstore offering instrument accessories, musical accessories.

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What Type Of Guitar Lessons Should I Get?

2009-05-15T10:22:00.000-07:00

By: Ricky Sharples

With a need to find some guitar lessons and a bewildering array of guitar styles to choose from, how do you decide what type of guitar lessons to get? There's classical, pop, jazz, rock and all variations in between, so what do you use as a basis for choosing your guitar style?

If you decide to learn pop, rock or jazz you will be getting coaching in scales and chords that you will eventually be using to compose your own songs and improvise your own guitar solos. Classical guitar will require you to learn to read music and at the beginning at least, what you learn will not be used for improvisation or composition. But classical guitar will teach you some advanced techniques and with those techniques you will have the freedom to play without the accompaniment of another musician.

Although classical guitar was originally developed to play the music of past centuries and the classical music of the early twentieth century, a lot of popular music has been arranged for classical guitar, notably the songs of The Beatles. Of course if you go to the trouble of learning musical theory and classical guitar techniques, other styes of guitar will be quite easy to play - at least form a technical point of view.

One way of learning about the different genres of guitar music and to learn songs and instrumental pieces quickly, is to download tablature editor software like TablEdit or GuitarPro. These programs play tabs as MIDI files and display them in tab and conventional sheet music. Using these guitar software programs you can hear what unfamiliar music sounds like and decide whether you want to play them or not. Having the MIDI files hand in hand with the tab you are learning makes the process of learning new songs much easier.

A piece of guitar philosophy that novice guitarists rarely get to hear is the idea of learning relatively few pieces of music and playing them well rather than learning hundreds of pieces and playing them in a half-assed fashion. The fact is if you learn a limited number of songs at the beginning of your career will give you a musical grounding that will enable you to expand your repertoire with a deeper understanding of how your repertoire fits together and relates to various styles of music.

Whenever the subject of discussion is the type of guitar lessons to get somebody always suggests just follow your own interests. Sometimes this is not a great deal of help. I hope that this article has given you some information that you can use to help you decide between what you need to learn and what you would like to learn.

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Increased Popularity for Musicians

2009-05-14T22:25:00.000-07:00

By: Jeffrey Solochek

No more do Musicians have to deal with the limitations that a social network site like MySpace or Youtube gives them. Now they can get hundreds of friend requests per day and alongside this they will also get a lot of people listening to their Music.

A Garage Band sets up their profile on sites like MySpace and Youtube because they know it is necessary to go beyond their local audience. Unless they have a lot of time on their hands to perform this task all their profile is is dead real estate on these sites. Since the creation of the World Wide Web no longer does a local band have to remain as just a local band. Nowadays they can upload video's and music for the rest of the world.

On MySpace they can actively send out up to 49 friend requests per day so at the end of 1 month on MySpace they may be able to build up a network of friends of maybe 1500 provided they have the time to send out 49 friend requests per day. Youtube will not even allow you to issue out friend requests.

A new service has evolved which helps these garage bands build up their fan base and increases the bands music plays. The company was created after several of their clients told them of the problem they were having with performing these tasks themselves. Now because of this new company a band can do what they do best and that is to create new music.

This new service that is available to these garage bands will now perform the work that is required to get more people to listen to their music and then to request that they be added to you friend network. No longer will the band need to send out requests for new friend but instead the band will get hundreds of people requesting to be added as a friend to their network.

This new service, company, is made up of people that know how to advertise for these garage bands. They will do the work so that the garage band can now concentrate on what they do best creating new music. This new service will be able to help you build up large network of fans that will be playing your music and telling their friends about you.

No longer do these garage bands have to resort to using black hat software to increase their network or to increase their music plays on sites like MySpace and Youtube. FriendZoogle will now do what they do best and advertise your band out to increase the number of music plays for your songs and then they will do their best to get you people requesting to join your network of friends because they enjoy your music.

FriendZoogle is not software that you download and they can only take on a limited number of new clients each month. So you need to go talk to the other members of your band, throw away any of the ideas of buying some black hat solution and at least sign up for a trial of FriendZoogle so they can do what they know how to do best.

Jeffrey A. Solochek grew up in WhiteFish Bay, Wisconsin but now resides in Brunswick, Georgia. He is an established authority on his niches of life, business, and marketing. Mr Solochek has a lot of great experiences and he writes about everything leaving out any sugarcoating. All his writings containsNo BS, No Fluff

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How Long Does It Take To Learn Guitar?

2009-05-14T22:07:00.000-07:00

By: Ricky Sharples

The age-old question, "how long does it take to learn guitar?". It's natural when starting on a course of learning to ask how long it will take. If you are starting to learn guitar you will be undergoing some changes in the way you spend your time, the way your muscles feel and the way you feel about learning how to play guitar. Right at the start of the course the boring and painful bits are making themselves felt and the rewards are not appearing yet. So how long does it take?

To some degree it depends on how old you are when you start to learn guitar. If you start in your late teens, as many people do, it could take some weeks before you are able to play a few chords and begin to play some easy guitar-accompanied songs. At this age you will possibly have friends who can help you with guitar tips if you don't actually have a teacher. Once you are over the first hump of learning chords you will start to feel that you are developing your own individual understanding of the guitar.

Some people will learn guitar at music school for a couple of years. This will mean taking the guitar a little more seriously and learning a great number of chords and some music theory. You will be learning the guitar from books and DVDs, maybe augmented by some online guitar lessons. You will realize that the guitar is a fairly difficult instrument to learn if you are planning on really mastering it. Playing a few chords for some easy songs is okay but it could take years to get your head around reading sheet music and understanding guitar music theory.

You could speed up your progress by taking advantage f the enormous number of guitar lesson videos and written tutorials available on line. But no matter how much help you have your progress is not going to be rapid. There's no magic bullet, you will learn guitar at your own pace, whatever that happens to be.

Some people concentrate on learning the notes on the guitar fretboard - where all the notes are located. If you use this approach you could stick with learning where all the natural notes are because once you know those, the sharps and flats will be obvious. Once you have an understanding of the major and minor scales and how their intervals work, you should be able to play in all keys.

You will also learn about barre chords. This is a technically demanding part of your quest to learn guitar and many people tend to shy away from it, but once you get the idea of the basic chord shapes that you can move up and down the fretboard, it will not be so daunting.

For many, many guitar players the minor pentatonic scale is the beginning, middle and end of learning guitar. If you know the root note of your song or chord you can match it with a minor pentatonic scale. So you are using five notes to compose and improvise guitar solos. What this means is that inside of a year you should have a reasonable mastery of the guitar and the question of how long does it take to learn guitar has changed for you because you know that every time you play you learn something new.

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Website Maintenance and Content Management

2009-05-13T06:28:00.000-07:00

By: Christel Lumabas

You listen to the classic tunes of the Beatles. All is well and good, when you accidentally hit the switch button of your player, changing your "Yellow Submarine" to Green Day’s latest album. Reacting as if holding on a hot pot, you immediately turn the volume down and breathe a sigh of relief. Or not. Ten minutes past the song, you feel that something isn’t right. Even if you love the Green Day album, you just cannot seem to listen to it anymore. You then shut the player off feeling tired and confused. This scenario usually happens when one switches from classic songs to modern ones. This experience is what people call overcompression of the dynamic range. Hail to the loudness war.

The loudness war, or what audiophiles refer to as an assault on music, has been an open secret of the recording industry for nearly the past two decades and has gotten more attention in recent years as CDs have pushed the limits when it comes to loudness, thanks to the ever-changing digital technology. The "war" points out the competition among record companies to make louder and louder albums. But this loudness war could be doing more damage than what meets the ears—this could also be responsible for halting technological advances in sound quality for years to come.

Music is very similar to speech, being dynamic and all. There are quiet, also loud moments that serve to emphasize each other and relate their meanings through their relative levels of soundness. For example, when a person shouts, the loudness of the shout brings out a message of urgency, anger, or surprise. When the dynamic ranges of songs are heavily reduced for the sake of achieving loudness, the sound becomes similar to someone shouting constantly. Not only is all impact lost, but the constant level of the sound becomes fatiguing to the ears. So the question still remains: why is achieving greater loudness so important that the natural flow of music has been so readily given up? The answer goes way back to the time of the vinyl records.

Loudness of songs has always been a desirable quality for popular music. The louder the song is, the more it stands out from ambient noise and the more it grabs the attention. Studies in the field of psychoacoustics (how humans perceive sound) shows that people judges the loudness of a sound based on its average loudness, not the peak loudness. Back in the early 1960s, record labels began engaging in a loudness battle ever since they observed that louder songs in jukeboxes tended to collect more attention than quieter ones. To be competitive, record companies wanted to raise the loudness of their songs. But the vinyl’s physical properties halted the engineer’s ability to increase the loudness. Since there is a limit on the amount of surface per vinyl disc, gaining loudness means sacrificing playing time. In order to save the cost of manufacturing an excessive number of vinyl discs per album, playing time usually won out over loudness.

The loudness war can end and give rise to the next generation of high-fidelity audio all depends on the attitude of the consumer. Unlike the CD and DVD video, there is no overwhelming industrial push toward the next level of sound quality. How songs and albums will sound depends on whether or not the listener actually cares about the complexity of the music.

Music Business in a Box is a music business resource that helps you everything you need to get your music career started. Music Business in a Box offers music business handbook and career guide from popular music authors like Doc Holliday, L.T Hutton and Ron Berkowitz, music course, music techniques, music teaching tips and more. Visit http://www.mbib.com or dial 888-463-1479 or 888-470-6599

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Making Money Online With Music - The Other Side of the Story

2009-05-09T07:00:00.000-07:00

By Spiro Poulis

From simple web articles to eBooks with hundreds to thousands of pages, many people are increasingly finding it easy to start their own business online and have given rise to "infoprenuers".

One of the easiest ways to make money online that is becoming increasingly popular these days is to get royalty free music with resell rights. This way, the infoprenuer is not only able to make use of the tracks either for their site or for advertisement purposes, they are also able to make money from the various royalty free music with resell rights. But what really is royalty free music with resell rights?

How do you make money from it? As most of you might be aware of, securing rights to use commercial music can be quite time-consuming and heavy on the pocket. Royalty free music makes it easier for majority of companies and individuals to make use of sound clips or music tracks without dealing with copyright infringement. Its affordability makes it doubly popular with those who are on a tight budget.

Now, since royalty free music is more accessible and easier on the pocket, some companies have come up with a collection of this music. The tracks that can be found in these libraries usually are from up-and-coming artists and composers which lends to the superior quality of the music.

Some of these companies allow only a certain number of downloads of tracks to ensure that their products are not saturated too much while others regularly update their libraries to ensure fresh content. These libraries are then resold to various infopreneurs.

These infopreneurs can be individuals wanting to make some money or they could be small time companies who are riding on the popularity of reselling and would like to include music to their product line. The infopreneurs can make money from these royalty free music by allowing people to download single tracks for a fee or by repackaging the sound tracks and letting people resell their packages.

Usually, master resellers only need these infopreneurs to indicate in their site where the music came from and who the composer is. People who engage in music with resell rights do not even need to pay for their own web site. They could resell their tracks from various social networking sites as well as from their own blog.

Some even make use of subdomains that could support secured download as well as instant download as soon as payment has been verified.

If you are someone on the lookout for a business that would need only a small investment, then royalty free music could just be the right product for you. Be an infopreneur and start earning your own money. Find out more atProPlayMusic.com

African American Music; The History Of

2009-05-09T06:53:00.000-07:00

By Yaya Diallo

When I saw this title, I was afraid and I’m still afraid regarding my opinion about the subject. The subject is complex and difficult so I cannot resolve it overnight. I am an African. I do things the African way. I cannot write about African American music like a Western scholar. In my culture we live the past and the future in the present. When I listen to some African American music I can feel the past, the present and the future all at the same time. Now, the best way for me to handle this subject is to work by questions and answers.

[Question] Yaya! Who do you think you are?

Yaya Diallo - I don't think! I am Farafin, which means I am a dark skin man. The word Africa is the Arabic name for our continent. In Bambara we call the so-called "Africa" Farafina. Farafina means the land of dark skin people. I am from Farafina and I am proud of it. I don't want to be somebody else. People in general say African American. I would say American Farafin, which means dark skin human being who lives in America.

[Question] What is your African background?

Yaya Diallo - I come from far away. I was born in 1946 in Fienso (French Sudan), now Mali. My parents were nomadic. When I was very young I used to travel a lot. I grew up in the bush far from any western civilization. The music that I heard was very traditional and played live. I did not have a radio or TV. I had the opportunity to listen to the music of the different ethnic groups from the Ivory Coast, Burkina and Ghana. In some villages I heard Muslim songs coming from the mosques. By night, I would enjoy the frog symphonic orchestras. From 1946 to 1960 I was living in complete nature. My musical training is a long story but you can learn more from my book The Healing Drum.

[Question] What are your feelings about the civilized world?

Yaya Diallo - In the city I had strange feelings. I saw people listen to music through what I thought was two kinds of boxes. The first was a radio. You could change the singer with the tuning button, I thought. The second needed records. It read 78, 45 and 33 1/2. You had to adjust everything with something but I did not have a clue as to what. Even still, the only music that I heard was the Beatles, Rolling Stones and Johnny Holliday.

[Question] What do you think about the word African American?

Yaya Diallo - Dark skin people living in America are not different from people I met in Africa (Farafina). To me they are just different ethnic groups like the Yoruba, the Bantou, the Zoulou or the Touareg. Africa is not one culture. We have thousands and thousands of languages and different music. My wife is an African American from Louisville, KY. Her mother is from Dark Corner, MS and her father from Jackson, TN. Like my wife and family there was one African American man, James Brown, who saved my life with his music.

[Question] How can an African American man save the life of a traditional African?

Yaya Diallo - In 1967 I left my country to go to Montreal, Canada. On my way, in Paris, I saw a big picture of James Brown in the Olympia Theater. In my mind I thought, "Oh! A black man in Olympia in Paris, France." In Montreal I was looking for a place to dance or listen to the music that I loved. One day I found a radio station that played black music. I heard James Brown and felt at home.

[Question] What do you think about African American music?

Yaya Diallo - I always say that I don't think, I feel. When we talk about African American music we talk about Spirituals, Blues, Funk, Jazz, Gospel, Rap, dance music, etc. I want to talk on each one by one.

When people in Canada were dancing the twist, jerk and go-go, in my country a French man named Johnny Holliday was playing bad versions of Wilson Pickett and Ray Charles’ music in French. In America I found out this French man was a robber. He stole the music, sang it in French and looked like a genius for us Africans.

[Question] What did you feel when you started to dance?

Yaya Diallo - I used to go out to dance to Wilson Pickett, James Brown, and Sly and the Family Stone’s music. For me they were Africans. They had good beats, good feelings and most important, African Soul. I did not feel that from Chinese or European music. In the 70s I discovered the Funk music, The O'Jays, Parliament, Ohio Players, Kool and the Gang and JR Walker and the All Stars. I felt I was at home when I knew the Motown Family (Smokey Robinson, Diana Ross and the Supremes, the Temptations and Stevie Wonder). I could survive because I had those kinds of musicians.

[Question] In terms of music, what is the link between African and African Americans?

Yaya Diallo - African Americans are Africans from the village and sadly they just don't know it! When you listen to the music you can find out. Kool and The Gang played Funky Stuff. When you listen to the drum part you will get the Dounouba part of the dance Sounou. Sounou was played in the 15th century and today is the dance young people love. In Africa we learn the past in the present and teach it to the next generation. The African Americans sometimes do not know how African they are.

[Question] Why can you say that they are African?

Yaya Diallo - The first time I heard the Four Tops I thought I was listening to the Bambara Farmers in the evening after a hard working day. The Temptations reminded me of the men Fire dancers and singers. I can listen to Temptations but I am afraid to see them. I am not initiated to the Fire dance and the music brings out memories about the secret ceremonies that happened afar in the village. Aretha Franklin is for me a great Djeli-mousso coming from the Empire of Mali in the 13th century. When I listen to African American music I don't worry about the meaning, only what I feel.

[Question] What do you think about Jazz?

Yaya Diallo - Really, to tell the truth, I don't feel jazz. Many people coming from Africa feel the same way. I learned about jazz in 1980 when I recorded my first album, Nangape, on Onzou Records. That opened the door for me with jazz. Jazz magazines like Cadence and Down Beat wrote articles on me like I was a "jazz man." I was invited to do workshops at the Creative Music Studio in Woodstock, NY. I met jazz big names like Art Blakey. He said, "Yaya is the only African that I can jazz, that I can play with and be comfortable." I completed a trio with Don Cherry and Ed Blackwell in the Symphony Space in New York.

[Question] What about Gospel?

Yaya Diallo - To me gospel means religion or church but my father-in-law changed my mind. When going to church with him I saw a big band and a big choir. People were singing and I forgot that I was in church. I was surprised; I saw ladies in a trance like in my village but they called it shouting. This reminded me of the Mania Secret Society where only woman go into a trance when praising god (See The Healing Drum).

[Question] What is rap?

Yaya Diallo - I love rap! I use to lie about buying rap and say that it was for my children. Rap is the old tradition of the Fulani people in Mali. It tells life stories through poetry that is recited quickly. Nomadic people have to explain their daily journey through this same quick form, but without the foul language. Today, the young people think that they have reinvented the wheel.

[Question] Yaya, what is wrong with African American music today?

Yaya Diallo - Today everything is easy. Instead of buying a drum set you buy a drum machine. Computers do everything. You can get almost every sound by pressing a button. This is the type of world that we live in today. The young Africans love it like we used to love James Brown. Time is the only thing that has changed!

[Question] How did African American music change American Society?

Yaya Diallo - We changed everything! We changed the style of dance; we created new sounds, new styles, and new way to dress ... EVERYTHING! Country music is the white version of the Blues. Rock-n-roll comes from our music. People forget that Jimmie Hendricks was a Blues player that just changed his sound and look. Without James Brown, Sly and Family Stone and the Motown Family there would be no Madonna, no Celiene Dion, no techno, and no disco. African Americans brought this to the world. It is sad because people do not recognize it. We changed the world and it will never be the same again.

[Question] How do people know you in America?

Yaya Diallo - I am the author of two books, The Healing Drum and At the Threshold of the African Soul. I have four CDs, Nanagape, The Healing Drum, Dombaa Folee, and Dounoukan. I thank Onzou Records, the first company that trusted me to make my first album in 1980. That was not easy!

"The History of African American Music" by Malian musician/author Yaya Diallo was written to celebrate Black History Month. The article is translated into English by LaKesha Churn and edited for English grammar and clarification by Stephen Conroy, Producer/Publisher of the independent label to first produce Yaya Diallo in 1980 on Onzou records, http://www.onzou.com

LIFE OF MUSIC

2009-05-09T06:51:00.000-07:00

by MAY S. SMITH

Music has been a part of our lives and is embedded within our soul. For centuries, it has become the outlet of human heart and the expression of one's feelings. Most of us experienced music since birth as our mothers would sing us lullabies to put us to sleep. Our mother's voice would always be a pleasant music to our ears.

Music evolved from time to time. Classic music has to give way to the new era of music. A new genre is created which each of them would define the current generation. Not only that the kind of music changes or evolved, the gadgets also evolve as the world become more advanced in terms of technology. In the past we only have radios. But now we have CD playes, MP3, iPod, etc. and this would change the way we connect with music.

Humans spend tons of time and energy, and, yes, a lot of money on musical endeavors. Researches have been conducted to understand the reasons behind the need of humans for music. But to the common person it is the thing that inspires us to reach the stars or lifts us up when we're down, the solace when we're heartbroken or in grief, the outburst when we are angry or the festive beat of the drums when we are jubilant. And of course, what would love be without a love song behind every couple. Indeed, millions of love songs have been made for everyone.

The excitement of listening to a new song and of musicians wanting to create a mark in the history of music will always keep the music industry up and beating. People will readily spend their money for a good musical treat, be it going to a concert, buying the newest CD on the shelf or simply downloading it over the internet to the ever handy mp3 player. It is a beautiful fact that music is deeply ingrained in our culture which profoundly affects our values and quality of life. And so the music goes on.

May Smith is an SEO professional. She manages websites about orange county piano lessons, and san diego guitar lessons. Visit these websites to learn more about these topics.

Using Music on a Website and Your Taste

2009-05-09T06:25:00.000-07:00

By Geoff White

I have always taken the simple approach to using music on a website. That is, if there's a radio application wherein I can put music samples, I will. I don't have any real knowledge beyond that for putting music into sites. I know that for a time, while I was writing MySpace blogs regularly, music became an integral part of the writing process and most of the time one (or more) songs would end up in my blog just to set a mood for the piece of writing I showcased there.

The beauty of using music on a website is that it anchors your audience to an ambiance that you, the web master, set as tone for the surfer. The detriment? It tells these web surfers how they should feel when going into a site, which runs the risk of turning them off and reducing your web traffic.

Web traffic is, of course, the key to building a website. For some web sites music simply distracts the prospective surer from the information or products you choose to put onto the site. For others (possibly like this one,) music is the engine that drives it. When I'm writing, I like to ad music as it reflects my mood while writing it. I don't know whetyher there has been a direct corollary with the kind of music I've used with the amount of traffic I've gathered on any of my sites. If I were a statistician, I could help you: I'm not.

As to the aesthetics, I'd say your use of music on your site is ultimately up to you. There are a slew of reliable resources that give advice on the ways and amounts of music one can use on a site, along with relevant copyright laws. We suggest that you search for those uses and enjoy the music as you hear it.

For more help with using music on websitescheck out this guide to royalty free music.

5 Ways to Learn to Play Guitar

2009-05-06T21:08:00.000-07:00

By Darren MacFadyen

There's a song that says it's a long way to the top if you want to rock and roll. Well, you could add that it's an even longer way if you are still trying to decide which method will be best to learn the instrument that is going to take you to the top. With that in mind, here are five methods of learning that may get you pickin' and grinnin' or shredding and headbanging in no time!

Private Lessons - This would be the ideal way to learn to play the guitar, assuming that you can find the right teacher. There really is no substitute for the one on one attention you would receive during a private lesson. The instructor can custom design your lessons for you based on what you want to learn and can modify those lessons on a week to week basis based on your progress. The greatest advantage of the private lessons is having your teachers' undivided attention. The ability to get instant clarification on something you may feel is unclear is the greatest advantage of a private lesson. The cost of the lessons can make this learning method tough for some with an average half hour lesson costing anywhere from $15 - $30.

CD Lessons - The beauty of instructional CDs is in their availability and the fact that they come in nearly any style you can think of. The advantage of this style of learning is that it's a one time cost and then you can listen to the CD as often as you want at any time you want. Part of the instructional disc that are not clear can be replayed as many times as necessary. The disadvantages might be in how limited the discs can be. The songs being taught on the disc may not be the ones you want to learn and the instruction is more general without any way of knowing what your degree of knowledge or proficiency is with the guitar.

DVD Lessons - We could pretty much say "see above" for this, because an instructional DVD includes all the good and bad points of the CD instruction. Where a DVD holds a distinct advantage over the CD though is that you cansee what the instructor is doing. Visual learning goes a long way toward answering the questions burning in your mind.

Music Books - Music books are a time-honored way to learn how to play guitar. You can find more books on more different styles than most any other way to learn. Higher end books may require you to be proficient in reading music if you do not know the song you are learning. Simpler books will include tablature that is easy to figure out for even novice players, but they are just that, simpler books designed for easy guitar playing. These books may not be technically accurate so you may not be able to recreate a note perfect version of the songs, instead learning the basic structure and arrangement of the songs. One drawback for learning from books is understanding the nuances and dynamics of the songs within. If you aren't overly familiar with the songs, recreating the feel of the songs may be difficult.

Internet - The Internet is a wonderful resource for learning to play guitar. There are many websites that will show you how to play the exact notes your favorite guitarist plays. Finding those sites may be a bit of a challenge. Anyone who has attempted to learn off the internet will agree that there is a lot of misinformation available so finding accurate transcriptions can prove to be difficult. Once you do though you really get the best of all worlds. Instantly accessible information that you can see, hear and read as well.

Whichever method of learning that you decide on is up to you, but getting started is the key. Once you learn to play guitar you will be in for a lifetime of enjoyment playing music.

I am proud to call myself an "ex"beginner guitarist. I've got a pocket full of chords and a head full of ideas. Now I need some earplugs and the amp turned up to 11! Get jammin' with me, this site totally helped me out: http://www.squidoo.com/easybeginnerguitarlessons

Piano Lessons - Beginners For Adults With Easy and Modern Piano Instruction Systems and E-Books

2009-05-06T21:02:00.000-07:00

By Mike Shaw

For many people, being able to play the piano is a dream come true because not only does playing on the piano in a social gathering look elegant, it is a difficult art to master and is regarded as a great accomplishment, especially for the fairer sex. In fact, in the 18th and 19th centuries, young ladies were forced to learn the piano to impress prospective bridegrooms and their families.

However in case of formal piano instruction, where a student has to rely on piano instruction books, the introduction to various types of confusing finger exercises, drills, limitless scales, notations through dry endless boring instructions can turn out to be killjoy and spoilsport. The reason why traditional books on piano instructions have lost their charm is because they concentrate only on finger exercises of a technical variety that can make your fingers dance to the tune of your mind's instructions and how to read music from score that is printed.

All these are true even in case of piano lessons beginners. It is because of these mindless hard exercises that many people lose their enthusiasm for learning piano very soon and give up learning altogether. These are the greatest limitations of conventional piano instruction books. That is why it is necessary for adult piano lessons beginners' courses to be simple, easy, fun and enjoyable and the exercises should include popular music pieces and interactive quizzes as well.

A piano lessons beginner's course should also concentrate on play from chord symbols and play by ear and other such similar techniques. This is where online piano lessons aimed at beginners score over their traditional counterparts.
The components described above are all included in online piano lessons' beginners courses while the structured patterns of conventional piano instruction have been retained, thus making online piano lessons a blend of the best of both worlds.

On top of this, many websites offer their piano lessons beginners' courses at a very reasonable cost to promote their site.

About The Author
Mike has worked for many years as a professional keyboard player and in between gigs has taught hundreds of students to play the piano, organ and keyboard.

To find out more about modern piano instruction for Piano Lessons Beginners including adults and children click the above link to read my reviews of the top courses available. If you need a piano or keyboard to learn on, check out our selection of new and usedPianos, Keyboards And Organs.

Finding it Hard to Make Music

2009-05-06T20:49:00.000-07:00

By Jefferson Baileyy

Do you want to learn how to produce, construct and master your own music? Do you want to be able to create releasable music from home or even make a business out of mastering other peoples music? Well it can be done and you can learn everything from home and it only takes a matter of weeks. Anybody girl or guy can learn how to produce music however you need to learn how to produce music from a professional or you will get lost confused and even produce poor quality music.

The best recommended way to learn how to produce music is to learn from some body, you may live in an area that has no producers but only there are some of the best industry standard professionals that can teach you everything you need to know and beyond that. They will teach you all the tricks of the charts to create music the listeners wants to her, all of the methods and ways the radio stations will like your music. Music Production is something that has to be mastered and learning from a professional is a highly recommended way to go about it, if you want to learn a new job you will want to get trained right? It's the same for music production.

Learning to produce Hip-hop, R&B and even Pop is something that has high competition and you will need to be better than the rest. You will need to know as much more information about the industry than the others because knowledge is power and you need knowledge to survive in the music industry. You also need that talent that you need to learn and you will succeed.

Learn How To Produce Music From A Professional

More For Information Visit http://www.musicproducerpro.net

Good Luck

J Bailey

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jefferson_Baileyy

Watch Movies Online With Movies Planet - The Answer to All Your Prayers

2009-05-05T06:27:00.000-07:00

If you are a movie lover, this site is the answer to all your prayers. You can watch movies online, download movies, watch videos and get the latest news on TV shows and download movies on this site. You can send and receive e mails and comments and see previews of the latest movies on this site. This site has also made it easier for you to download movies and watch videos with full privacy of your home.

Online trading of movies has also been on the rise and this site just adds to the existing facilities on offer. You do not have to visit your neighborhood video store for the latest movies any more. Just browse through the online movies on offer, download them and burn them on to a DVD or cd at home!

With the wide varieties of free videos on offer, you can have a fun time right at home. The facilities at this site are easy to understand and very interactive. You can browse through the various categories of online movies on offer, so that you don’t miss out on your favorite film. You can even go through the most popular movies on this site, because the visitors to this site are provided with an opportunity to rate the movies they see.

You can get the latest on your favorite TV and movie stars, right on this site. This is great entertainment when you have some spare time and want to catch up with the latest on movies and TV shows. You can watch movies online, download movies and also watch videos of your favorite shows at a click. You can get the latest new on film actors, movie stars and directors, right here. Want some more fun? Check out the hit movies at the box office and make a note of them.

The best thing about this site is the unquestionable level of picture quality you get. Now you can download movies and not worry about getting a doubtful quality! The picture and sound is one of the best on offer and you need not worry about marring your experience of these free videos with a lack of quality.
by movie planet
You can watch free movies that have DVD class pictures only on moviesplanet.com. The site is user friendly and you can just go to the areas of your interest and bypass fields which are of no interest for you.

Not only do you get online movies that can be downloaded, you can even get movies on demand. The only thing you have to do is to send a request to the site and it is yours, isn’t that amazing?

There are also other attractive options you might want to take a look at. You can add application links, reviews, your personal collections and your polls on your favorites. The best news is that this site is absolutely safe. You don’t need to watch out for violation of your privacy as we don’t share your information with anyone. So, go ahead and have fun- movies and TV shows now have a new address- moviesplanet.com!

Creative Zen Software - Download Your Favorite Zen Movies, Music, And Software

2009-05-05T05:52:00.000-07:00

by steve somerton

If you have been surfing around trying to find the information to download creative zen software, then you are not alone. A lot of people are in the same situation as you are. You can download software for your creative zen for a price, or you can download it for free. Then there is a third option. You can download all of the software you want. The music, the movies and videos, but with care. Everything is not as it may seem.

Downloading all the free stuff from a free download site does have some strings attached to it. Many of the free sites have pop-ups and spyware looking for you. You will leave yourself wide open when you visit these free sites that offer software. When your computer becomes infected with spyware or adware, you have no choice but to shut down your operation and finding someone to fix your computer.

Once your identity has been hacked, this opens up a whole world of problems that offsets any advantages to getting your free creative zen software. Now you have to be more concerned about real disaster. Any financial information you have is now at risk of being exploited.

Because of the risks involved with visiting these "so called" free download sites, this is not really an option anyone should take. The possible disadvantages far out weigh any advantages you may have considered. These free sites should never be an option. Take this off your list.

Paying for your downloads is a better option to consider when going after a few of your favorite songs you have been trying to find. At least you will get them without having to worry about being hacked and disgraced. Because there are not very many pay per sites available that cater to zen software, your choices are limited. Also, if you want to really load up, the price will be steep without question.

The last option is by far the best route to getting all of the software for your creative zen you ever thought possible.

Join a software download site. The cost is going to be your one time membership fee. After this is paid, you are a full member and can download as much as your heart desires for free. Yes, that is right - free. You do not need a calculator to add up your savings by going this option. Unlimited downloads for a one time membership fee suddenly looks very attractive now.

Over five million active users that belong to these memberships sites cannot be wrong. Isn't it time you began to think about your options?

For a list of the top downloads sites check out: http://www.CreativeZenDownloads.com

Another highly recommended site to check out is http://www.Zen-Xpress.com

Steve Somerton writes informative articles on various subjects including Creative Zen Software - Download Your Favorite Zen Movies, Music, And Software. You are allowed to publish this article in its entirety provided that author's name, bio and website links must remain intact and included with every reproduction.

Download Movies Music Games And Shows

2009-05-03T09:11:00.000-07:00

by Luis Aguirre

Downloading. This has become the tool of choice for people who want their favorite shows, movies, music and even games...fast. The time when companies like Blockbuster and Hollywood Video ruled the movie and game section is now coming to an end. Online video game and movie companies are now taking things to the next level, people don't want to get in their car and drive to the store and rent a movie or game and then return it when you are done with it. No, you want to sit at home and watch the movie right away, and the only thing you should be getting up for is the popcorn.

Downloading a movie is much better than renting one. Getting your favorite music or game has always come natural to the younger generation of our time, problem is you gotta know where to look. Most will search on Google for their favorite game or movie, when all you need to do is become a member of a website that provides this kind of service for a small monthly or yearly charge. Imagine just having to search for your favorite movie and then clicking a button and in minutes if not sooner, you have what you want at your fingertips. The information era is making everything easier, movies are clearer, games look and perform better, music is crisper.

Having one of the most well put-together databases on the web takes some serious work. Searching for movies shouldn't have to be like pulling teeth from a T-Rex. Mp3 downloads have gotten a bad reputation in the past 10 years, from illegally downloading them from networks like Morpheus or Kazaa to Napster (which is now legitimate). Companies like Apple have gotten into the mainstream of things and started to offer good, solid alternatives to downloading music illegally.

Games are another phenomenon that is taking the country by storm. Online gaming and console gaming is getting bigger and bigger, with consoles like the PlayStation 3, X-Box and Wii there is no end in sight. Games are getting faster, look better, and they clearly outperform their older counterparts a million times over.

TV Shows are another thing people want to own, but they are getting expensive to purchase in bulk. If you want a whole season of a show then you better be able to pony up the cash for it. They can cost as much as $100 for a single season, and if you love a show and it keeps going for 10-11-12 seasons then it can get pricy real fast. Most of the time, you wont need to buy whole seasons, just the episodes you want to watch.

All of this and more can be obtained if you just know where to look, companies that offer that kind of downloading capability don't have crappy video or audio quality, most of it is either higher than TV or PC quality..leading into Hi-Def or higher.

Tips To Find A Legal Music Download Site

2009-05-03T09:05:00.000-07:00

by Thomas Martin

Below I will talk about my top 10 tips to help you find a legal music download site. Hopefully they will help you divert away from illegal download sites.

1. Pay for use

This is one of the most effective ways to identify whether a site is legal or not. Look for download sites that charge you per song, or per month or per year.

If you see a site offering free music downloads for a certain trial period, then this doesnt necessarily mean that the site is legal. Many legal sites use this as an enticement, so do not be put off by that.

2. Size Limits

A legal music download site generally distributes music from reputable labels and artists. This means that you will not find a wide range of mixes and custom files that will almost certainly slow down your connection, and therefore take forever to download. Moreover, if these files are small it assures the music retail industry that the music site is actually selling real legal music, and not the massive files associated with computer games and movies etc

3. Volume limits

Legal music download sites usually distribute their material on a per song basis. One of the major advantages of buying your music online is that you dont have to spend $17 for an entire album if you only want 3 or 4 songs. Legal music sites will actually setup download limits as well as transfer rate limits. As a result, this prevents dishonest customers from setting up their computers to copy hundreds of files in a few hours.

4. Larger databases, Larger costs

The larger the databases that the legal download sites have, the more it will actually cost you. This can actually lead to paying a bit more than a normal CD in the shop IF the store has literally hundreds and hundreds of thousands of songs because they could cost between $1 - $3. Therefore, dont go for the exceptionally large databases. The reason why these sites are more expensive than the illegal music sites is because they are obliged to give a portion of their fees back to the recording industry.

5. Limited Choice

Most of the legal music download sites dont have the capacity or copyright authority to distribute hundreds of millions of songs. The songs are stored on servers with a finite amount of space unlike the tangled web of computer to computer file transfers from the illegal sites.

The other reason for the limited choice is that it is highly unlikely that they will get an agreement from every single record label to distribute their music online.

The quality of every online music catalog depends on the Music Studios that are providing the material. Established, and therefore popular artists usually switch labels at least once during their singing career. So you might have access to their newer materials, but not the older songs, or vice versa.

6. No Adware or Spyware

Legal music download sites like their offline retail counterparts are getting an actual fee for their service. They dont want to scam or upset their customers by placing dangerous and annoying spyware and adware programs on their computers.

7. Music Only

The fact is that a legal music download site will only have music on it to download. This means that you wont be able to download computer games, movies or anything else like this.

8. Copyright Notice

A clearly written copyright notice should be provided on the site stating:

a) The nature of the site owners authorization to distribute legal music files online

b) What you can do with the files once you have paid for them

c) Any limitations on either party as far as use and distribution of the files.

9. No file sharing allowed

You are only allowed to use the files for personal use. Unlike a CD (physical product) you cannot purchase songs, use them and then sell them to another party or distribute them free of charge to friends, family, web surfers etc.

10. Backed by a big label?

Most of the legal music download sites are backed by at least one major music label. People are looking for songs that are popular, on the radio, playing in the clubs or on MTV. All of that commercial material comes out of the studio system. If the label does not provide the material, subject to fees, taxes and copyright notices, then the site cannot legally distribute them.