Archive for December, 2008

Learn the Violin - You Don’t Need to Be in School to Learn This Wonderful Instrument

Wednesday, December 31st, 2008

One of the most exciting things I have done is to learn to play an instrument. It was my favorite elective I had in school. Something about playing made me feel good inside and gave me peace. I am sure anyone who played an instrument feels the same way I do.

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Learn to Play the Violin - Some of the Things You Need to Know

Tuesday, December 30th, 2008

Playing the violin can be a great experience, but if your not taught properly it is not very easy to learn. You must learn the sound of the notes, how to hold the violin, and how to use the strings to finger your notes.

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Oliver Concert

Monday, December 29th, 2008

This is a British musical that made a first ever appearance in the year 1960. Its composition and the lyrics have been given by Lionel Bart. It enjoyed a very long and a fulfilling run that was made into a movie that was directed by Carol Reed in 1968. The theme and the story of this musical has been loosely based o the theme of the Oliver Twist that was authored by Charles Dickens. This particular musical was a debut adaptation of the mentioned and much popular Charles Dickens novel that went on to be amongst the top stage hits of its times. Its adaptation of the novel is what contributed to its success.

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Some Things You Might Now Know About Lil Wayne

Sunday, December 28th, 2008

Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. (born September 27, 1982), better known by his stage name Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. Formerly a member of the rap group the Hot Boys, he joined the Cash Money Records collective as a teenager. He worked with B.G. on the album True Story and eventually recorded for the label. Get It How U Live, released in 1997, was Lil Wayne’s first album with Hot Boys, and Tha Block is Hot, his solo debut, came out 1999. Block debuted in the top ten on the American Billboard 200 chart and Lil Wayne was nominated for “Best New Artist” from The Source magazine the same year. Following this success, Wayne soon featured on other rappers’ singles, including “Bling Bling” by B.G. and “#1 Stunna” by the Big Tymers in 2000.

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Music Review of in Ghost Colours by Cut Copy

Saturday, December 27th, 2008

“Cut Copy” is 3 piece band from Melbourne, Australia. Their music genres include Alternative Dance, Electropop and Dance Punk. Cut Copy consist of Dan Whitford (The Founder of Cut Copy), Tim Hoey and Mitchell Dean Scott. Former member, Bennett Foddy left Cut Copy in 2004 for further education. Cut Copy have toured with some indie big names like Franz Ferdinand, Junior Senior, Bloc Party and others. One of their hit single, “Lights and Music” was featured in FIFA 09. Hm, listening to Cut Copy while play FIFA, not bad at all. In Ghost Colours by Cut Copy sounds very futuristic, think of 3 Daft Punks playing together, the result that you would get is Cut Copy!

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Printable Sheet Music

Friday, December 26th, 2008

The internet has been a revelation for many different people; musicians and music teachers among them. In years gone by finding a single piece of sheet music at an affordable price was a relatively simple task that did not require running all over town. Today that task is becoming an increasingly more difficult and expensive venture. The internet and online music stores have simplified significantly the search for sheet music with the advent of printable sheet music. Whether it be a beginning French horn student, an advanced piano player, or a string quartet looking for an appropriate piece of music there is a website that can help locate the piece and allow for instant downloading and/or printing of the music. Whether it be a Beethoven Sonata, some easy listening music, and the latest pop tunes; or a simple treble clef piece to the full orchestral composition the internet has it all.

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How to Hold a Guitar Pick - 3 Top Tips For Holding a Guitar Pick the Right Way

Thursday, December 25th, 2008

Do you constantly drop your pick while you’re playing?

Sometimes you might be strumming along to a song and you feel the pick ever so slowly slipping from you hands, until eventually it’s gone.

It can be infuriating especially when you can do all the hard stuff like playing chords and strumming.

So what’s the solution to this irritating problem?

Here are 3 steps to holding the pick correctly.

Choose The Right Pick Type.

If you’re just starting out it’s important to get a pick of medium thickness.

Very thin picks tend to be flimsy and of little use when you’re strumming. Hard picks tend to strike the strings a little too hard for a beginner.

One of my favourite picks when I started learning guitars was the Dunlop 0.6mm nylon. It’s nicely textured, easy to hold and it’s not too hard but gives a good sound.

Only Use 2 Fingers To Hold the Guitar Pick

Many new guitarists make the mistake of using 3 fingers to hold the pick.

Although some great guitarists do this (e.g. Van Halen) you are only making things harder for yourself. For more advanced techniques like tapping and pinch harmonics it’s useful to have an extra finger available

Don’t Hold The Guitar Pick With Your Finger Tips.

This is another common mistake among new guitarists.

When you hold the pick make sure you are holding it between the edge of your thumb and the edge of your index finger.

When you hold the pick with the tip of your thumb you have less control and you are far more likely to drop it.

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Violin Lessons Online Can Save You a Lot of Money Compared to a Violin Tutor

Wednesday, December 24th, 2008

Have you always wondered what it would be like to learn how to play the violin? You love beautiful music and think the violin is the most beautiful type of music you like to listen to. I am sure you are also wondering about the time and expense of learning. Instead of using an instructor to come to your house or hiring someone to teach you face-to-face, you can always take the lessons online.

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10 Play by Ear Guitar Tips

Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008

If you would like to learn or improve your play by ear guitar skills so you can listen to any song, recognize the guitar parts, then play them yourself - I have 10 tips for you that you’ll like.

Please let me explain that I have applied this technique to learning to play new songs for many years & I knew it really worked from way back in 1990 when Extreme’s More Than Words was released, but no-one seemed to be able to play it like it just like it truly sounded.

I sat next to my cd player for probably more hours than I care to remember, but totally mastered it, then over the next few days/weeks managed to play the lot in one go. It was my showpiece for years. I would still play it identically today, because there’s nothing that needs to change!

You too can experience the same benefits I’ve enjoyed with almost any song you’re technically capable of playing, but hopefully in a lot less time than it took me, as I was just making the technique up as I went along. If follow these tips, you will be able to :

  • avoid the need to spend money on music books & tabs
  • avoid learning to read music or tabs (I have simply never needed to learn it)
  • play really random or brand new songs as soon as you want whilst others wait for tabs
  • play them better than the rest

So, here they are, Top 10 Tips to improve your to Play By Ear Guitar Skills to so you can blow your mates away :

  1. Pick a track that sounds unique and one that you will be able to handle so that it will stand out. (Extreme’s More Than Words was a great example back then)
  2. Break the song down into chunks & treat each section as a full track in itself.
  3. Keep practising the first chunk (ie. the intro) until you’re happy it sounds right.
  4. Listen closely to your guitar as you play along with the chunk trying to pick out any key notes that are missing from what you are doing.
  5. Try and stretch a finger or reshape your hand to incorporate that key note as well. This is one of the most exciting parts, as you will discover different ways of playing chords and also some brilliantly unique chords that you will never see in books. (This will eventually take your jamming and stuff to a whole new dimension.)
  6. Use youtube as a template! Since it’s arrival, youtube has made me feel like I’m cheating! Even if you only need it as a guide to where the guitarist’s hand is on the neck of the guitar, you won’t waste any time in the wrong areas.
  7. Youtube Live footage tend to be better to crack a song. You might not be able to see intricate fingerwork too much, but as you’re aiming to be a play by ear guitar specialist, that just won’t matter. But don’t lose focus from the studio recording which is what everyone will recognise, there may be embelishments on there that you would miss on a live performance.
  8. Regularly replay from the start of the track so that by the time you’ve finished, the first half will have become second nature.
  9. Soak up the satisfaction from what you have just achieved.
  10. And the last Play By Ear Guitar Tip is simply - Show it off to everyone!

If you don’t feel that you’re ready to be able to do this, there are methods so you can train your ear to do the basics.

You will get so much pleasure from it and be the envy of those that can’t. It’s a bit of a catch 22 if you can’t already do this, but you can pay for a course which includes the software and methods to help you learn. Remember that you will never need to spend a penny on books or tabs and learn whatever you choose - like I have. There are only positives to learning this Play By Ear Guitar technique - it just rules.

With the right method, you will progress faster than you will have imagined possible, So, today, do something to get yourself moving quicker along the path to guitardom! Click Here to get the wheels in motion and find out more about comparing the free courses to a highly respected budget course called Jamorama which at the moment includes GuitEar It, the software to train your ear to pick out chords. Do you want to rebase and relearn correctly with consistent techniques from scratch.

I have tried to put my view on things as a guitarist of 25 years and help similar people to me get to where I am in much less than it took me!

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Music of Brazil

Monday, December 22nd, 2008

Brazil, the fifth largest country in South America, is a land rich in history, mystique and exceptions to the rule. Founded as a Portuguese colony in 1500 that was later known as the Empire of Brazil, it became a republic in 1889 and is now known as the Federative Republic of Brazil. Its official language is Portuguese, which is spoken by nearly the entire population - and the only Portuguese-speaking nation in Latin America - making its natural and cultural identity very distinct from its Spanish-speaking neighbors. Brazilian Portuguese is also different from that spoken in Portugal. It is fitting that the Museum of the Portuguese Language in Brazil ’s capital São Paulo is the first language museum in the world.

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