Music news paper

What are you getting ready to record? Are you with a rap group? Are you a solo singer or rapper? Maybe you are just recording an instrumental tape? So how do you know what beats to purchase? Do you know what to look for or what to ask when purchasing making this purchase? This article will give you 5 items to check on or ask when purchasing beats.

• What style of music are you creating?

You want to make sure that your selection of matches the style of music that you are creating. If you are creating a jazz piece, you probably don’t want to use a gangsta beat. Are you a singer looking for a something to go with your song? The same as in the other example, if you are singing, you probably won’t want a hip hop beat that is all drums with no other instruments.

• Be sure to understand the terms of your purchase

When you purchase beats, you must make sure that you know how you can use them. For example, when working on a solo album you might want to use them in your album. You want to make sure that you can use these on the album if you intend to sell. Maybe you found a beat that you really liked, and you decided that you wanted to use that as one of the selections on the album that will be commercially available - This may not be allowed, so you must make sure you know how you can and cannot use these.

• Be sure to know the different rights available for the beats

There are different rights available. You can have non-exclusive rights or exclusive rights to them. You want to make sure which rights you have with the purchase of your desired set of beats. Very briefly, if you have exclusive rights, no one else will be able to use them other than you.

• Are there any other fees involved with your purchase?

You want to make sure that you are aware of any royalty fees, publishing fees or any limit on the number of units you can sell if you use the beats on an album. Try to get at least 5,000-10,000 units allowed royalty free to allow you to build a base.

• Ask about samples and copyrights

If you are using any samples, you must make sure the owners of the copyright have approved the use of the samples. If you need to do this, you can find out how to get hold of the songwriter by visiting the copyright website. Once you get the information, you need to write to the songwriter to get permission to use the sample. Just remember that if you don’t take this precaution, you are always liable for a lawsuit if you use the sample in music that you eventually sell for profit.

In conclusion, when you go to make this purchase, remember that there is more to it than just liking the sound. Check your style, your rights, copyright issues and your fees and terms. Doing some of these things will help you make a knowledgeable purchase of your favorite beats.

Ear Training

Ear training (both relative pitch & perfect pitch) is essential for all musicians, songwriters, composers, and singers to better their skills.

The PurePitchMethod Audio Course For Ear Training

The PurePitchMethod ear training audio course is available for instant download online. It includes a manual and many audio files (in mp3 format) which can be downloaded and played on the computer. These files could also be put onto an mp3 player (such as a Zune or an iPod) or burned onto a CD for your convenience. In order to learn perfect pitch & relative pitch using this course all one really has to do is follow the manual and listen to the audio course. It includes testing so you can have proof of your improvement.

Similar Programs On Tape & CD

Prior to the internet revolution an ear training audio course like this would set you back at least a few hundred dollars. But one of the great things about the internet is that it’s done away with the need for a lot of the materials and the shipping. Now you can just download these files directly to your computer which saves a lot of money. Because of that you can get it for much less than you would have had to pay for such a course on tape or CD in the past.

What Is Relative Pitch?

This is the ability to discern the relationship between two or more notes. Such as being able to tell what kind of chord someone is playing (like a “Major 7th”) but not necessarily knowing what chord it is (ie “G Major 7th.”) Another example of this type of ability is to know what the relationship between two notes is. For example a “perfect fifth” or a “minor third.” Relative pitch is essential for all musicians.

What Is Perfect Pitch?

This is the ability to know exactly what a note is without hearing any reference note. In other words you could walk into a room “cold” and hear a single note on a piano and know instantly what note it is. This is a great skill which in the past was thought to be only for those who were “born with it.” But it’s now known that using PurePitchMethod you can actually develop this skill even if you were not born with it.

Sinatra. The name? What does it conjure? Well, for myself and millions of Italian-Americans over the years, the name Sinatra conjures mostly love, warmth, happiness, pride. The emotions one ever really needs. To be happy, content, and feel Love. These are the things that are important. These, good health, family togetherness.

My love of Frank Sinatra, the man and his music began when I was a young boy growing up in East Rutherford,

New Jersey. As far back as I can remember, my mother used to play all his wonderful recordings. She’d play the records on her RCA Victor Record Player. Songs like Strangers in the Night, The Summer Wind, Lady is a Tramp, Fly Me to the Moon, Come Fly with Me, and so many more. She played Frank all the time, along with Sammy, Dino, Elvis, Al Martino, Nat King Cole, and Tony Bennett. Those were her favorites and Frank Sinatra was always number one to my Mom and the entire Bellino family.

The man sang with so much emotion that you could actually feel it within yourself, the feelings and emotions he was trying to convey. He tried, he always succeeded. Whether he was singing a fun happy song like “Luck Be a Lady,” or “I’ve Got the World on a String.” But most of all the incredible way he sang a torch song. Phenomenal.

Songs of lost love and bittersweet romances like “You and Me,” as you listen, you feel it, the pain, the sorrow of a bittersweet Love lost.

They say the reason he had this very special touch with torch songs was that as he song these songs, he’d always think of the greatest love of all and the Lost Love,

Ava Gardner, “The proverbial girl that got away.”

The man had such a way with lyrics and music, he’d take those songs and make them his own. These songs were, still are, and always will be wonderful such “Wonderful Gifts” to the World, to his hundreds of millions of fans. They are a part of history, left to mankind, to eternity. How wonderful. Lucky we all are.

Italian-Americans are deeply proud that he was one of their own. He was an Icon, The Twentieth Century’s greatest entertainer, a National Treasure and source of pride. Someone whom Italians-Americans looked-up-to and were proud of, to brag about. He was of Italian blood, that our roots were from the same place, as well as so many of our forbearer’s of Italy to precede us, people like;

Leonardo Da Vinci, Bruneleschi, Verrazzano, Columbus, Marconi, and Michael Angelo. There was Joe Di Maggio, Dean Martin, Tony Bennett, Al Pacino, Francis Ford Copola, Robert Mondavi, Jake La Motta, Rocky Marciano, and so many more, and of all those incredible people, Sinatra was tops. He still is.

There was nobody quite like Frank, who gave you such wonderful feelings and emotions whenever you listened to him, or watched him in movies like “Kings Go Forth” or his Oscar winning performance as Maggio in “From Here to Eternity”.

If you were ever fortunate enough to see him perform live, it was an experience like no other. You know how he makes you feel so good when you listen to one of his beautiful recordings? Well multiply that by 100 and you just start to understand. The feelings one felt at a Sinatra Concert were oh so magical. euphoric feelings you’d get the same euphoric feeling that you got as a child on Christmas Night opening your presents. Do you remember? Only seeing Sinatra “Live” was so much better.

When you went to a Sinatra Concert there would be so much love, joy, happiness, and adulation for the man that you could literally feel it in the air. It made you shiver and sent chills up and down your spine. “Truly.” People would be screaming out, “We love you Frank”, men and women, and he’d reply back, “I love you too”, in a way, only Frank could do. He truly did love and appreciate his fans and had such a wonderful rapport with his audience. Frank would always say such warm and wonderful things as he performed. It was amazing. As they say, “You could feel the Love”.

There have been so many great performers over the years, but there never was, there is not now, and there will never ever be another quite like that man, Francis Albert Sinatra. Never, ever!!!

I’ve been a tremendous fan of his since early childhood. I grew up listening to the Beatles, Elvis, The Rolling Stones, all the great Motown and Philadelphia Sound artists, as well as many other Rock and Pop Stars. Along with the Pop, R&B, and Rock music that most kids of my age would listen to, I added artists of my parents generation; like Sinatra, the rest of the Rat Pack, Louis Armstrong, Bobby Darin, and others that most children and young adults my age hardly ever listened to unless they were the chosen few who had the good taste and capacity to appreciate musicians like Armstrong, Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald and others. It didn’t matter if you were of the generation or not.

When I was in high school, I had a few friends who were heavily into Sinatra as-well. Other kids thought he was boring and old-fashioned. We knew better! We were all of Italian descent and we were proud of him and of ourselves that although we were from another era, we were sophisticated enough, at such young ages to appreciate great performers of our parents and grandparents generation. We were cool and we knew it! We looked at ourselves as The Jr. Rat Pack, Cool and Sophisticated!!!

The sad day in which Frank Sinatra passed away, I received four messages of condolence, one from my sister Barbara, one from my brother-in-law Noel, one from my friend Selena, and one from my good buddy James Starace. That’s how much I loved the man, and all my friends and family knew it, thus the messages of condolence. I wouldn’t be surprised if that happened to a million other Sinatra fans.

We were blessed with his presence for a long time. We still are, through all his fabulous recordings and the memories they evoke of old girlfriends, of our mothers, fathers, and of Frank.

I made sure that I went to see the man perform live on seven extraordinary occasions. These concerts hold many wonderful memories that I will have for the rest of my life, along with the numerous dinners with friends and family spent listening to his incomparable recordings and having Sinatra Parties on Saturday nights when WNEW AM in New York used to have a show every Saturday night for years called “Saturday with Sinatra”, as only New Yorkers could do, New Yorkers being Franks most loyal fans. The show was hosted by Sid Marxs. Sid and some of his special guest would tell all sorts of wonderful stories about Frank. There would be guests who knew Frank personally, as well as listeners who would call in and tell stories of how they fell in love listening to Sinatra or how they met him one time, or of performances that they went to. The show was three hours of listening to Sinatra’s incomparable music and of stories and antidotes of “The Man.”

Sinatra was loved all over the world, and people could tell you all sorts of interesting antidotes pertaining to all parts of the globe. I have a particular interesting memory of him combined with a great food and wine trip in Italy. I was in the small wine town of Greve in Chianti Classico, Italy having a nice little dinner with my pal Jimmy Starace. We were in this great little Enoteca eating the famed local salumi and Paparadelle with Wild Boar Ragu. We were a bit surprised (I don’t know why) to hear Sinatra and Billy Holiday recordings playing at this little place. The owner walked by to see how we were doing. I gave him a thumbs-up and told him, “Great music”.

“You like Billy Holiday?” he inquired. We had a nice little conversation with him about Billy, Sinatra, and wine. He told us that he had lived and worked in for a few years and worked in New York for a few years. This guy was a big fan of Frank, Billy, and New York City. So, that’s Frank for you, loved the World over, even in little towns like Greve in Chianti.

Music has changed a lot in the last few years. It’s no longer about heartfelt lyrics or creative and original riffs that keep one’s head nodding in appreciation. Most music today is pre-packaged marketing, with cookie cutter magazine ready pretty faces and tracks meant to be sampled repeatedly in clubs. Whether the songs are actually danceable music selections is optional. As long as the bass allows for a lot of bumping and grinding on the floor, that’s all that’s apparently needed.

So has real music completely gone the way of the endangered species list? You can still find quality bands out there, and experiencing Los Angeles based Dig Jelly is one of those creative oases in the previously mentioned aural desert.

Dig Jelly has been around for a few years now, first starting as the pop-rock band “Rayko” (named after the lead singer Rayko), then evolving into the punk rock Dig Jelly. The sound has evolved from a more pop friendly sound to something that you can genuinely bang your head to. The album “Paranoize” is the group’s sophomore effort, and offers further refinement into the group’s evolution.

To listen to the album and see the group play in a venue are two completely different creatures. Live, the energy is raw and infectious, with Rayko taking the center stage. The lead singer is not an easy entity to define. When this beautiful, diminutive Japanese girl takes the stage, she can simultaneously sing like an angel and scream like the devil. Her vocal range is undeniably impressive, and is hauntingly melodic during some of the slower songs. Rayko also writes the majority of the band’s music and plays guitar, showing off that she is much more than just a pretty face.

However, no one singer/songwriter can embody an entire band alone, and in Dig Jelly’s case, the rest of the group maintains the sound like a well-run ship. Whether it’s the strong lead guitar of Robby Lochner, the frantic pace of Rain Balen’s bass playing, or the driving drum beats of Joey Felix, the group plays as one, complementing each other’s performance with a unified sound that is given strength by each of its members.

The “Paranoize” album brings that live venue sound to its album, but now sounds more refined, less raw. Part of experiencing Dig Jelly is feeding off the energy the members exhibit onstage, and while the majority of the songs have been played throughout the groups’ last year of shows, but the music’s strength is not diminished for the album, and still maintains a fresh feel. The songs are undeniably catchy, and the lyrics are insightful and deep, if one is clever enough to understand the further personal meanings.

As with “For Your Inner Angry Child (the group’s first outing), the music is filled with catchy riffs and music that definitely keeps one’s body moving during listening. Some of the stand-out songs include the hard hitting “S.L.A.M.”, the catchy riffs of “Time Is Up”, and a solid showcase of Rayko’s vocal range in “Silver”. As mentioned before, fans of Dig Jelly will be familiar with the material from the shows, but the album versions have a sense of an “alternate take” to the sound. There are some little differences, but it actually works in this outing.

With only 10 songs, the second outing has a few less tracks than the first album, but the quality of the music more than makes up for it. It’s a comforting sign that there are still bands out there that are actually interested in “creating” music, as opposed to simply “manufacturing” it. If there was any common sense left in the music world, we’d be hearing more music like this play on the radio waves instead of the thinly veiled commercials that are shamefully passed off as “music” these days.

“Paranoize” is a solid second effort by Dig Jelly, and the only way one could not get into the hard-hitting sound is if they were paralyzed or dead inside.

Highly Recommended.

Let me start by showing you what chords correspond to each tone of a major scale:

1 tone - Major
2 tone - minor
3 tone - minor
4 tone - Major
5 tone - Major (dominant)
6 tone - minor
7 tone - Half Diminished

To understand the chart above, you must understand that each tone of a major scale has a chord that goes along with it. For example, the following is a C major scale:

(C — D — E — F — G — A — B — C)

Each tone above has a matching chord. Simply add the endings of the chart above to the scale as shown below:

C MAJOR
D MINOR
E MINOR
F MAJOR
G MAJOR / DOM
A MINOR
B HALF-DIMINISHED

To further understand progressions, let us number each chord:

1 = C Major
2 = D minor
3 = E minor
4 = F Major
5 = G dominant
6 = A minor
7 = B half - diminished
8 = C Major

Now, to create a 2-5-1 chord progression (or any numbered chord progression), simply take the 2, 5, and 1 chord out of the entire series of chords above. That is, we would not use the 3,4, 6, or 7th chord.

The 2 chord is D minor; the 5 chord is G dominant; and the 1 chord is C Major.

Here is the most basic 2-5-1 chord progression:

Dmin — Gdom — Cmaj

min = minor
dom = dominant
Maj = major

D minor chord = (D) + (F) + (A)

G dominant chord = (G) + (B) + (D) + (F)

C Major chord = (C) + (E) + (G)

Example: To play a D minor chord simply play all three of the notes shown above at the same time (D+F+A)

Progressions are just a way to get the harmony to support the melody. In any key if your melody sticks to the key you are in:

I chord will harmonize three notes, V chord will harmonize two additional notes and the IV chord will harmonize the remaining two notes. So the I IV V chords will harmonize every note in a given melody providing it stays in key.

You can replace the 2 chord for the 4 chord. So now we get the 2 5 1. You can expand the one chord if you are sitting on it for a while and can play different bass notes under to help create motion. That is where we get the 1 3 6 2 5 1.

The 6 chord and the 3 chord fill in for the 1 chord. And the 7 fills in for the 5 chord. The 6 chord can also lead to the 4 chord. All this may seem confusing but it all starts with the one chord, the 5 chord and the 4r chord.

If you just use these three chords you can play with most songs.

When you get more advance you can use the 2 5 1 as a little intro to each new chord you will play. So to introduce the one chord you play 2 5 and then 1. When you want to go to the four chord, you introduce it by playing a 2 5 1 in the key of the 4 chord.

So, if you were in the key of C and you want to go to the F, you introduce the F by playing G min7, C7 and Fmaj (2 5 1)

So, now you have it! 2 5 1 are derived from 4 5 1 and they have over time become embellishments and static chords to rest on to support the melody. For more educational music resources visit my website or stop by my blog!

“Country Blues” is rural music. The music is played on the acoustic guitar although; some folks have taken this music to new heights, not necessarily good or bad, just different. Musical groups and musicians such as, “The Rolling Stones”, Eric Clapton and many other rock groups from the past and present gave a new and better insight to “Country Blues” than the original artist could have ever hoped for by promoting themselves. We have to thank all of the folks who recorded these tunes in the past and have helped to preserved them in the “Library of Congress” for all to enjoy. You can read about how the music was preserved by researching Alan and John Lomax.

The Fingerpicking style of “Country Blues” is played using the thumb on the bass strings. The thumb keeps timing and rhythm using the bass strings while the first and second fingers play the melody. Some of “The Old Blues Masters” used only the index finger to play the melody such as Rev. Gary Davis. These are the fingers that are used to pluck the strings on the right hand, that is, if you are right handed- reversed if you’re not. The beat is generally a one, two beat using the thumb and the melody can be any tune that one can develop. This is the “Country Blues” Fingerpicking style technique.

The chords used to play “Country Blues” - played with the left hand on the guitar- are very easy at first. That is, they are usually a one, four, five progression such as C, F and G or, G, C and D to make up the song’s chord sequence. One can play thousands of songs by knowing how to play a three chord progression. Listening to Mississippi John Hurt, one of “The Old Blues Masters” would be a good beginning to get the feel of what “Country Blues” is all about. Most of his songs are relatively easy compared to the likes of Rev. Gary Davis or Blind Blake- easy is relative, remember this!

Before you attempt to try to learn how to play “Country Blues” it is very important that you listen to the music. I have spent most of my life listening to and playing this and other genres of “Traditional American Folk Music” (acoustic guitar music). I strongly suggest that you purchase a CD of Mississippi John Hurt and listen to it until your ears fall off. Only then should you begin to attempt to play this music. Knowing theses songs inside and out will be of great value to you. Sing the songs to yourself, in your car and maybe in the woods if you have a bad voice. In fact, you should practice singing the songs so that you won’t have such a difficult time on the guitar when you think you are ready to learn to play this music. YouTube has many old videos of the “Old Blues Masters” that you can watch and listen to while you anticipate how you will ever learn to play this Fingerpicking technique.