Music & MP3 Information

Why Learning How to Improvise is So Important

Imagine asking a beginning writer to write a short story from scratch. Our writer does not yet have much experience in writing but accepts the challenge and begins to plunge ahead.

Just 3 Chords? No Way!

A student wrote me an email about the lesson "Ocean Dreams." Here it is:

How to Use the Entire Piano Keyboard

There are 88 keys on the piano keyboard. Most pianists use about 1/3 of this number most of the time. Why?

Most people these days would associate singing with the popular music they see and hear on the radio and tv. This can make you feel like its beyond you, like it's some form of high skill that you need to be born with. A natural talent if you like. In fact singing is much more a part of our everyday lives than you might realize, and it can be a tonic for an improved state of mind and recipe for stress reduction and better health.

50 Cent G Unit

His lockjaw delivery makes him look as gangsta as Marlon "the Godfather" Brando, but 50 Cent is no actor, folks. In fact, his unique articulation has to do with a hole in his jaw, the result of having taken a bullet in the face (along with eight other shots taken to the rest of his body). He managed to defeat the odds by leaving the street hustle behind before it was too late, transforming his life of crime into a profession in rhyme. Whether rapping about the streets, the clubs, or even certain candy shops, 50 has quickly emerged as one of hip-hop's most dominant and talked about superstars to date.

50 Cent

More so than any other music since the blues, hip-hop is all about stories. And its stories are both criminal minded and grand, making them enthralling and unbelievable, but also making them only as interesting and convincing as the teller. That's why, despite being blackballed by the industry, without a major-label recording contract, heads still gravitated to Jamaica, Queens' realest son, 50 Cent, like the planets to the sun. 50 Cent, born Curtis Jackson 26 years ago, is the real deal, the genuine article. He's a man of the streets, intimately familiar with its codes and its violence, but still, 50, an incredibly intelligent and deliberate man, holds himself with a regal air as if above the pettiness which surrounds him. Born into a notorious Queens drug dynasty during the late '70s, 50 Cent lost those closest to him at an early age. Raised without a father, 50's mother, whose name carried weight in the street (hint, hint, dummies), was found dead under mysterious circumstances before he could hit his teens. The orphaned youth was taken in by his grandparents, who provided for 50. But his desire for things would drive him to the block.

Recording Vocals at Home

Anyone who has recorded vocals to tape knows there is a difference between a heart-felt performance, and something that does not quite cut it! There are certain steps that I take to ensure that my own performances are the best I can muster.

How To Make a Fortune Teaching Piano (or Guitar, or Drums, or Singing, or?) To Beginners

?But I?m not in it for the money? you say.

If Seals Can Sing, Why Cant You?

It sounds like a side show, doesn?t it? It does to me. But it?s true; researchers have discovered that some varieties of seals really do sing. Indeed, male leopard seals have been heard singing complex melodies in their lonely search for a mate. Likewise, male Weddell seals, which are a very social creature, lure their mate by improvising original melodies the way a master musician would in front of an audience.

How to Stop Thinking and Start Playing

Learning how to improvise is confusing for most. The sheer number of choices becomes a burden. Should I play this note? What chord next? Where do I go from here? All valid questions newbies (and oldbies) at improvisation sometimes ask themselves.

Where To Download Music On The Internet

Virtually all of you have probably heard of the RIAA's quest to crush online music piracy. The illegal sharing of copyrighted songs via the MP3 format on top the Internet costs the music industry billions of dollars. This is conventionally done applying illegal file sharing programs like KaZaa and iMesh. This article explores the legal ways to download and enjoy music from the Internet.

Five Great Practice Ideas I Learned From My Piano Students!

Sometimes the teacher learns more from the student than the student does from the teacher. Hopefully, not too often, but today I would like to share with you some great practicing ideas that have come from my piano students over the years:

Solid-Bodied Gretsch Corvette Guitar

The Solid-bodied Corvette (not to be confused with the Corvette hollow-body arch-top electric, produced from 1955-1959) was Gretsch's answer to the Les Paul Jr. by Gibson. Introduced in 1961, the Corvette Solid-body was a small, light-weight, comfortable electric guitar that was just right for the budding musician.

Guitar Humidification

Problems with humidity can lead to heartbreak for the classical (or other) guitarist. Excessive humidity or dryness can ruin an instrument probably quicker than you think.

Avoiding Injuries When Playing Guitar

To avoid any sort of injuries when playing guitar a common sense approach is recommended. Just what do I mean by that?

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Interested in Improving the Sound of Your Stereo? Consider Records
Introduced in 1982, the compact disc was intended to provide better sound than the 40-year-old long-play record album, popularly known as the LP. Using a laser rather than a diamond needle for playback the compact disc was smaller, more convenient to use, and less susceptible to damage than the LP. A bonus was that the format was said to offer "perfect sound forever." "Forever" isn't that long these days; improvements in digital sound have come along in the last twenty years and the music industry introduced two new formats this decade that are designed to improve upon the "perfect" sound of the compact disc. Those formats are the Super Audio Compact Disc (SACD) and DVD Audio (DVD-A.) Over the years, various audio publications have criticized the sound of compact discs, describing the sound as "harsh", "brittle" or "sterile" compared to the sound of the LP. After years of research, SACD and DVD-A were introduced several years ago and introduced sound that was said to be cleaner and more natural than that of the compact disc. In addition, these formats offered multi-channel sound, and artists such as Pink Floyd offered special multi-channel versions of their albums to entice sales. It hasn't worked, and sales of both formats peaked in 2003. What is interesting, however, is that both formats still trail the LP in sales!According to the Recording Industry Association of America, the combined sales of SACD and DVD-A were less than those of the LP in 2004. The music industry is in a slump at the moment, and sales of all formats were down last year. But sales of LPs were down 13% from 2003, while combined SACD and DVD-A sales were down 33%. It would appear that the new formats are failing, even though they are said to be superior to the compact disc. The LP, on the other hand, continues to have steady sales. While the major labels are still somewhat hesitant to release new product in LP form, labels that specialize in reissuing older material, such as Classic Records, are releasing as much product as their manufacturing capacity will permit. It is worth noting that much of this reissued product comes in the form of high-quality, limited edition LP pressings that often carry premium prices of up to $50 per title. Why are records continuing to sell while the new formats fail? There are several reasons why records are outselling the new, "superior" digital disc formats: Format wars. Like VHS vs. Beta in the 1970's, the SACD and DVD-A formats are largely incompatible. While players have been introduced that will play either one, most players play either one format or the other. Worse, neither one will play on a traditional CD player. You must replace your player to play either one.Multichannel sound is difficult to use and requires purchasing new amplification equipment. SACD and DVD-A both have multichannel capabilities, but neither format's players have digital outputs. Both must be connected to amplifiers or receivers with special SACD or DVD-A analog inputs. Most of the music fans who preferred the sound of records to compact discs still prefer the sound of records to either SACD or DVD-A. Most will agree that while the new formats sound better than compact discs, the unique "digital" sound of compact discs is still there. Many listeners aren't interested in sound quality. Arguments can always be made about the sound of compact disc vs records vs SACD vs DVD-A, but millions of consumers are content to listen to music in MP3 format on portable players. MP3 format is inherently inferior in sound quality to all of the other formats, but MP3 players are selling as fast as companies can make them.The day will never come when records again become the dominant music format. The convenience of portable players for CD, SACD, and DVD-A discs and MP3 files outweighs the advantages in sound quality that records offer over those formats. Nevertheless, it appears that a small but steady market for records remains very real, and that that market exceeds that of the new "improved" SACD and DVD-A formats, which will probably soon go the way of the forgotten Elcassette, Minidisc, and 4 track tape formats of the past.

How Much of Your Potential Will You Release?
Do you ever feel there is an inner voice speaking to you, telling you that you're not very good, or you can't do it, or there's just not enough confidence and repertoire with you? This is the voice that calls itself "I" right? Let's refer to this as Self 1, and Self 2 as the normal you, the real you that has the masses of potential.

Flaming Guitars! Minarik Fuels The Excitement Of A New Generation Of Musicians
Celebrating an endorsement between G-Man Music and the fiery axe-makers known as Minarik Guitars, Scott G (The G-Man) reviews the Minarik Inferno X-treme.

How to Create an Original Melody
Here's a method I use that works. First, sit down at your piano or keyboard and just improvise. I suggest improvising first because music that is created in this way is at its freshest. It's not adulterated or thought up. It is pure inspiration. Now, there will come times during improvisation where you may say to yourself, "this is nice and I'd like to develop it." You see, now you have an original melody to develop.

Prepare for the Master (CD Mastering)
Many artists are still confused as to what goes on during a mastering session. This article will try to shed some light on the last step before fame and riches (well, at least the last step before duplication), and help you with preparing your music before sending to a mastering studio.

The Life and Music of Beatle George Harrison
Propelled into fame as one of the Beatles, along with Paul McCartney, John Lennon, and Ringo Starr, George Harrison was known as the "quiet one" of the group, and also as the "spiritual one." He was the lead guitarist.

Why Play Guitar?
As a full-time guitar instructor, I am constantly faced with people in all walks of life who, for all different kinds of reasons, believe that playing the guitar will add something to their lives. Most people that are just starting the guitar for the first time are young (pre-university) although certainly not all. One of my favorite students last year was a 65-year-old retiree who wanted to learn enough to be able to start a bar band with his friends.

RAP Music and Brain Washing Issues
I am not sure if anyone has been watching out there, about the types of music that we are listening to. Let us look at them for a minute. Our grandparents listen to music like; "Happy Days are Here Again, the Skies Above Are Clear Again." Kids today listen to RAP, which actually starts with a 'C' except the 'C' is silent in this new spelling and pronunciation. Its really, CRAP. A radio station in TX is actually called K-RAP. Perfect.

Learn To Play The Piano Better By Learning To Arrange Chords & Chord Progressions
Piano arranging is the process by which you take a written piece of music and rework it with chords, adding new bass accompaniment, fills, or even slightly altering the song's structure. And while it's a process that takes years to truly master, anyone with a basic education in piano and a working knowledge of a few key techniques can create an inventive, satisfying arrangement. It all boils down to one thing: chord recognition. And anyone who plays a little piano can learn piano chords to add excitement to their piano playing.

Piano Lessons For Adults: More Fun, Easier, & Faster Than Piano Lessons For Kids
Piano lessons for adults is generally LOTS more fun than it is for kids, primarily because the only adults that play piano are people who really want to, which is certainly not true of most kids that take piano lessons because their parents want them to.

Right Hand Guitar Playing Tip
This lesson can open for you a secret of high-speed guitar playing. If take the given technique for 2-3 weeks you'll feel progress in high-speed playing of complex passages.

A Brief History of Fender Guitars
Perhaps no other guitar maker has touched the hearts of so many players and collectors as Fender. By producing excellent guitars at reasonable prices, Fender has been the instrument of choice for many guitarists throughout the world. Both the famous and not so famous have relied on Fender guitars to define their signature sounds.

Pakistani Pop Music
Pakistan is blessed with talent and when we talk about Pakistani Music, you can never stop picking up one of the best Pakistani pop song uptill now because there are number of such hit songs nobody can judge the best one in past decades such as "Dil Dil Pakistan" , "Huwa Huwa", "Mehndi ki Raat", "Na Kaho", "Dil Haray", "Ankhain Milanay Walay", "Wakt", "Neeli Neeli Ankhain", "Jaisay Chao Jeo", "Garuj Burus", "No More", "Ankhoun ki Sagar", "Na Tu Aigi", "Addat" left the audience agape and many more. Our artists' are popular all over the world. Many new talented artists in Pakistan are still working hard to bring quality Pakistani music.

Who?s Playing What? A Guide To The Guitars Of The Pros
Eric Clapton performs his slow-handed magic on his. Even with just nine fingers, Jerry Garcia kept countless Deadheads dancing as he played with his. At the mere sight of his, the King of Rock-n-Roll could make a grown woman faint. Of course, I'm talking about guitars. Professional musicians have been stroking and strumming, picking and playing the world's greatest guitars and making the world's greatest music. If you want to play like the pros, you're going to need to know what guitars are rocking their worlds.

Music for Cross Cultural Accelerated Learning
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Creating Caverns - an Improvisation Exercise
In a recent post to my Yahoo group, I mentioned that I created the piece "Caverns" using one chord. I'd like to explain how I accomplished this.

Piano on the Right-Side of the Brain
Some of you may remember a book titled "Drawing on the Right-Side of the Brain" by Betty Edwards.

Piano Teachers - Whats Wrong with Them?
Most of us like to use what we learn right away. So why is it that most piano teachers tell you you can't really play music until you learn 2 years of theory or more? What hogwash!

The Post-rock Revolution (Explosions in the sky)
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Memorizing Music - How Is It Best Achieved?
When memorizing music there are several things you can do that will make your job that much easier. Memorizing music is important as most people know you play better when having the music in your head rather than having your head in the music. So where to start when memorizing music effectively?

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