How to Play Slide Guitar.

Slide Guitar - Photo: Wikimedia

Don’t you just love the distinctive sound of a slide guitar, whether it’s on a country tune or the down and dirty blues?  There has been a renewed interest in slide and bottleneck guitar playing in the last few years, and the new country music has adopted the sound big-time.

I was intimidated when I first put a slide on my little finger, it was awkward, and the sound I made was horrible. I did not have anybody to show me how to dampen the strings, what scales sounded good in standard tuning, and not a clue as to all of the “open-tunings” that are available to both fingerstyle and slide playing.

Actually playing with a slide can be very easy, and beginners can get some really cool sounds with a bit of practice.  I would recommend tuning to an open D or open G at first.   The open tuning approach gives nice major chord sounds up and down the neck, and allows for some easy fingering and ability to play songs right away.  That’s the reason for playing right?  Exercises and scales have their place but most people I know that started to play guitar, want to learn some songs.

First, start with a slide or “bottleneck” as many refer to when describing the tube that you wear on your finger.  The choices are many, the material is endless, and the type of tone they produce is just as varied. You will be the ultimate judge of the tone and sound you create. 

The two basic materials are either glass or metal, with ceramic coming in a distant third. Can’t really say I have a favorite type of slide. I have just about one of every kind you can think of, I prefer glass on electric guitar and steel or brass on acoustic guitar.

One tip that is guaranteed to help give you better TONE is going for very dense material.  Get a thick or heavy glass slide, as this will increase sustain and fatten up your sound.  My preference is hand blown leaded glass, but very hard to find in the US, as it is illegal to use leaded glass for manufacturing. I got mine from a vendor in the UK. 

The preferred finger is the pinkie on your fretting hand, but lots of players use their ring or even the middle finger. The advantage of using your little finger is that it gives you the most fretting possibilities, but some claim you give up some control.  The main thing is just try on a bunch of slides and go for what feels good to you!

Once you have found a slide just have some fun running it up and down the strings.  More than likely you can make some awful noise, the task is how you can quiet down all of that excessive noise and get some soulful sound coming from your guitar.

Let's start with an open tuning; my preference is open G tuning. 

Drop your fat or lower E string down to a D pitch.  You can use the 4th string or D to tune to. Then tune the A string down G and you can use the 3rd or G to tune to as well. The last string you have to detune is the bottom E or 1st string.  Tune it to D as well, then when you strum your guitar it plays a G major chord and sounds really sweet.

Your guitar sound now is tuned D-G-D-G-B-D as opposed to the regular tuning of E-A-D-G-B-E.

Open G tuning. It's a favorite among slide guitarists, because it gives you a wide-open major chord on any fret, and it allows an easy alternating bass because the root (the main note of the chord, G if it's a G chord, for example) is on the fifth string while the fifth (D if it's a G chord, for example) is on the sixth and the fourth.  Both slide and non-slide players also appreciate the fact that open G also enables you to play a standard blues line with relative ease!

One of the most crucial aspects of getting good clean sound is the use of damping behind the slide.  Master this technique and you will be amazed how good the sound of you slide on steel strings will be.

I suggest that you lay your fretting fingers flat on the neck just behind the slide, and use slight pressure on the strings with the slide.  Not too heavy, as you do not want to hit the fret but not so light that you get no sound either. Just experiment a little and you will find the right pressure to use.

You also want to play just over the fret and not behind as this will give you the best intonation.  This also takes some practice but with some careful listening, you will know when you are on the pitch.  Mater this technique and you will be beyond most occasional players.

I have a website devoted to slide guitar and links to many resource and reviews of video lessons on slide playing.  I think the sound of slide guitar is the most human-like of any instrument and allows the guitarist to express an amazing range of emotion and feeling on the guitar.

Peace   

Author: Dennis Tryon

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Humor Under The KEYBOARD

Bruce Hornsby performing on a Steinway concert grand piano.
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

For me, the piano is the symbol of what is stiff, proper and elegant. It doesn't have faults, it is perfect. Pianists are the most perfectionist people in the world. They should not and can not make mistakes especially when performing. That is how I viewed the piano and the pianists. But then, I just found out I was wrong. A few types of research and I have once again proven that appearances can be deceiving.

The pianists we see play appear to be the most formal and respectable stars on the stage. They hold the power and the breadth of the audiences. They could look intimidating in their formal suits not to mention the authority and the air of arrogance they exude while on stage. They can be captivating.

But before we forget, these pianists are also human. And humans do make mistakes. Most of these mistakes can be frustrating and depressing. But then, there are also mistakes that are amusing and could also be totally hilarious. It shows how fun could be inserted even in the most seemingly stuffy and proper event.

Here are some examples:

When asked for their definition of a piano, some famous musicians and musical enthusiasts have some famous replies:

· For David W. Barber (The Musician's Dictionary), a piano is a cumbersome piece of furniture found in many homes, where playing it ensures the early departure of unwanted guests.

· Piano (n.) is a parlor utensil for subduing the impertinent visitor. It is operated by depressing the keys of the machine and the spirits of the audience, according to Ambrose Bierce, an American journalist (The Devil's Dictionary).

· A piano tuner is a person employed to come into the home, rearrange the furniture, and annoy the cat. The tuner's chief purpose is to ascertain the breaking point of the piano's strings.

Though these definitions may sound humorous, you can never miss the ironies in it. Coming from people who live and breathe the piano, these definitions seem odd.

Here's more - when asked about their secrets in playing, you would certainly be surprised at how simple their secrets can be, and definitely applicable.

· Australian pianist Artur Schnabel said, "I always make sure that the lid over the keyboard is open before I start to play".

· "Nothing soothes me more after a long and maddening course of pianoforte recitals than to sit and have my teeth drilled", said George Bernard Shaw, a writer, and a music critic.

I definitely agree with Artur Schnabel's top secret! I wonder why George found it relaxing to have his teeth drilled after hearing the pianoforte recitals. Check out more of the piano's funny side:

· Bob Hope, an American comedian commented on fellow comedian Phyllis Diller on her playing the piano: "When she started to play, Steinway himself came down personally and rubbed his name off the piano."

· A band teacher recalled the title of the song "Claire de Lune" played by a student as "Claire de Loonie".

· The audiences at a piano recital were appalled when a telephone rang just off stage. Without missing a note, the soloist glanced toward the wings and called, "If that's my agent, tell him I'm working!"

Now, let's check out some famous questions and answers in the funny world of the piano:

· What do you get when you drop a piano down a mine shaft? A flat minor

· What do you get when you drop a piano on an army base? A flat major

· Why is an 11-foot concert grand better than a studio upright? Because it makes a much bigger kaboom when dropped over a cliff.

· Why was the piano invented? So that the musician would have a place to put his beer.

· Why did they say that the pianist had fingers like lightning? They never struck the same place twice.

· What did they find when they dug up Beethoven's grave? He was decomposing.

· Why did Mozart kill his chicken? Because they always ran around going, "Bach! Bach! Bach!"

· Imagine a singer, a piano player, a bass player and a drummer sitting around the table. Now if you drop a hundred-dollar bill right in the middle and tell them they're free to take it, who's getting it? The piano player. Because the bass player is too slow, for the winger it's too little money and the drummer didn't get the assignment.

Now that we've seen the humor under they keyboards, the piano and the pianists are not as elusive as they seem to be. It is just like discovering a new type of music. The piano and the pianist can take not just the breath out of the audiences but also the laughter as they present not only fine music but terrific humor as well. Having fun is what life is all about.

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The Development of BLUES MUSIC

John Lee Hooker at the Long Beach Blues Festival (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Jazz, rock music and country and western are just some of the styles that owe a lot of their progression from the original blues. The contribution of Blues music to the development of many other genres of music is very significant. Blues was originally grown out of the hardships endured by many generations of African Americans and first arose from the rural Mississippi region, around about the time of the dawn of the 20th century. The style developed from work shouts (known as Arhoolie) and became the vocal narrative style that we associate with blues music today.

The industry was progressing, and by the 1920's Blues music was also developing - affecting the everyday lives of people involved. There was by this time a very particular style, based around a three-line stanza. The stanza contained just one line of verse, repeated, and then finished with a final line of rhyming verse.

The style also included a repeating blues chord progression, which was the basis of the harmony. The usual rule of thumb was a 12-bar pattern utilizing the 3 major chords of a scale. The text was set to a 12-bar chorus, and typically was between four and eight stanzas in length.

In typical cases, the melody is formed by flattened third, fifth and seventh notes of the major scale. The outcome is the 'bent' notes that lend Blues music that distinctive sound - the bittersweet emotional impact that lacks in other genres. For the majority of blues music, the focus is on the vocals - contradicting the fact that performers will often improvise instrumental solos over the Blues chord progressions.

Country Blues

Many itinerant musicians (the majority of which were men), traveled from one community to the next, singing songs that focused on love, freedom, sex and the general sorrows of life. Often referred to as 'Delta Blues' (in tribute to the Mississippi Delta were they first originated), country blues arose from the Southern rural experience, particularly influenced by the impact of emancipation.

Classic Blues

African Americans began to migrate, mainly looking for work. Areas such as Memphis and New Orleans began to become more populated, and these people brought their own brand of music with them. As they settled in these areas, it led to Blues music becoming much more urban-orientated. The music evolved as their way of life evolved. Male or female vocalists began to appear more regularly, and there was now the addition of a single piano.

The audience also grew, and Blues became more mainstream. Throughout the country as a whole, Blues music could now be heard in dancehalls and barrooms. The music industry as a whole started to take note, and more and more compositions and marketing arrangements emerged, as people began to take notice. The popularity of this kind of music grew exponentially. What would become known as Classic Blues became so popular that many songs were released with the word 'blues' in the title to capitalize on this, even though they bared little or no relation to the style of music.

Electric Blues

Its center, previously clustered around Memphis and New Orleans, began to migrate, and soon cities such as Chicago became the central point of much of the music. The appetite for the style of music known as the Blues was quite voracious.

The end of the Second World War brought a new revival into the genre, and artists began to develop the music, primarily through adding a bit of extra emphasis on the bass drums and cranking up the guitar sounds. Artists like Elvis and Bill Haley began to incorporate the Blues methods into their own unique brand of rock n roll. By the 1950's this style was no longer centered around the African American community and was universally practiced across all races.

The influence that Blues music has had on the music industry as a whole is undisputed, and yet Blues music is still evolving, still developing, and still evoking the stirrings of the soul to anyone who cares to listen! The incorporation of the Blues style into different genres still exists today, and Blues music in its own right continues to go from strength to strength - many top-selling artists maintain the original styles.

By Liam Gibson - Article Source: EzineArticles

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Health Benefits from DANCING

Young couple dancing the cha-cha-cha at a junior Latin dance competition
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Want to stay fit?? Love dancing?? 

Dancing is the most enjoyable and exciting form of exercise. It keeps our mood happy and gives us fun. Dancing has many health benefits. According to some research in the USA, dancing helps in keeping us healthy as we grow old. It strengthens our muscles and keeps us fit. 

The researchers recommend opting for dance classes. The dance lovers can opt for any kind of dance style depending on their interest and dedication. There is a wide range of dance forms today like- ballet, salsa, tap dance, jazz, hip-hop, lyrical, street dance and the list is endless. It is said that the dances which involve steps help in increasing our brain power and makes our memory sharp. Also, dance helps in avoiding serious health problems like dementia, Alzheimer, osteoporosis etc. People these days replace exercise and aerobics with dance. It helps in increasing our stamina and makes our body more flexible. Not only this but dancing helps in boosting our self-esteem and confidence. 

Basically, dance appeals more to women but nowadays, even men are performing various dance forms and that too with elegance and style. The ballroom dancing has become a popular dance style among both men and women. Different types of dancing are significant in different ways like-

• Belly dancing helps in solving back problems and exercises our abdominal muscles.
• Ballroom dancing helps in proper regulation of the heart.
• Salsa, a Latin dance form helps in maintaining low blood pressure and control cholesterol.
• Jazz dance helps in isolating the various parts of our body.

Different dance forms will give you different health benefits. They help in keeping your body toned from head to toe. Today people of all age groups are opting for dance to keep themselves fit and healthy.

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MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Of The Renaissance, The Ancestor Of Modern Musical Instruments

Wind instruments in the Musical Instrument Museum, Brussels, Belgium. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Renaissance is an important time period of history; the word means in French “rebirth” and is very appropriate to define the most spectacular historical age in Italy. Western Europe was also influenced by its main features, the revival of learning based on classical sources (Greek and Latin), and the rise of papal patronage, the development of perspective and great advancements of science. 

Albrecht Durer was the first to describe Italian art as “renaissance”. Giorgio Vasari, Giotto, Masaccio, Brunelleschi and Donatello are developing the painting art to the perfection. Leonardo da Vinci, a great scientist, painter and sculptor, Michelangelo developed their awesome art on the desire to study the nature.

The Renaissance was a great period for musical instruments. Renaissance music is represented by liturgical forms. Composers of sacred music began to adopt new forms, such as “Madrigal” and use improved musical instruments of the Renaissance. Sacred new genres appeared; the madrigal spirituale, the laude, the mass and the motet. Instrumental music was composed for viol or recorder. Most popular genres were the toccata, the ricercar, the prelude, and the canzona. The great idea of polyphonies, the basis of today’s music, is coming from those great times.

The most important is that most of the musical modern instruments have evolved from the musical instruments of the Renaissance. Many popular musical instruments, such as flute, oboe, trumpet, trombone, and guitar can be traced back to the Renaissance. Wind instruments are really related to this period. Many musical instruments of the Renaissance were made out of wood, such as shawm, flute, recorder or sackbut. The shawm is the first oboe; it is also the ancestor of English horn and bassoon. All these musical instruments of the Renaissance were played with a double reed. The shawm produces really loud sounds, the kortholt, and the dulcian too. All those musical instruments of the Renaissance are using a reed-cap and have a two and one half octave range.

The cornetts were also very popular during the Renaissance; all of them were made out of wood. Today the trumpets are made out of brass. Musical instruments of the Renaissance such as cornetts coma in three types: the curved cornett, the mute cornett, and the straight cornett. The recorder, the flute, and the transverse wee also very popular during the Renaissance, because they were easy to play.

The transverse flute was the first musical instrument of the Renaissance where the vibrato can be used. Today vibrato is used on a large scale of musical instruments.

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Soothing Music: The NATIVE AMERICAN FLUTE

Photo  by wplynn 

Native Americans are eager to share their ancestry with their families and friends. One of the ways they do this is through their music, particularly through the music of the Native American flute They want to ensure that their children have a strong link with their ancient culture, and music is an excellent way to teach non-Native Americans about this culture as well.

Mothers of small children often find that Native American flute music is very soothing for their babies. It seems to have a tranquil and calming effect on children. Songs played on the Native American flute can be introduced during naptime and before bedtime to calm children down. The music often puts children to sleep within just a few minutes. Experts have also recommended Native American flute music to families with small babies that have a hard time getting to sleep.

This music also represents an excellent tool for calming down a baby in situations where there may be difficult transitions for such young children, such as when many visitors come to the home. It is often difficult for small babies to adjust to the confusion and noise created by a large number of people at special occasions, and playing Native American flute music can help to calm a baby down in these circumstances.

The music of the Native American flute is very soft, and it creates a wonderful, soothing background for many situations. It is just the sound of keeping babies calm when there are a lot of people in the environment. Babies seem to focus on the flute sounds instead of on the loud noises generated by crowds. Having flute music playing in a room makes it easier for them to adjust to visitors.

Of course, adults will also enjoy the music of the Native American flute. It is easy to find interesting and unique Native American flute music on the Internet since many online stores offer selections of alternative music. It is also possible to purchase Native American flutes and sheet music. Several vendors offer musical compositions for the flute, and they sell Native American flutes as well.

Native American flute music is an excellent way to learn about and enjoy the special features of Native American culture. And since songs are often linked to memories, this music offers a good way to preserve the memory of special times.

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JOHN PHILIP SOUSA - From Marching Band Composer To American Hero

Sousa was appointed as the 17th leader of the Marine Corps Band on
1 October 1880, serving in this position until 30 July 1892.
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Sarasota is a city located on the central west coast of Florida. In 1962, the Sarasota Mobile Home Park Auditorium was built as a meeting place for mobile home park residents. The auditorium is now used mostly as a leased facility by the public for dances, band concerts, meetings and private parties. The room has a well maintained three thousand square foot wood floor suitable for dances and meetings, and there is a large well-lit stage for bands or performances.

The Sarasota Mobile Home Band is one of the best established marching bands in the area and frequently performs at the auditorium. In 1993, they earned national acclaim as they were presented with the Sudler Silver Scroll - an award which recognises and honours those community bands that have demonstrated particularly high standards of excellence in concert activities over a period of several years; and which have played a significant and leading role in the cultural and musical environment in their respective communities, by the John Philip Sousa Foundation.

The John Philip Sousa Foundation is a non-profit making organization dedicated to the promotion of marching band music across the globe. The foundation administers a number of projects and awards supporting high-quality band performance, conducting, and composition.

The foundation takes its name from John Philip Sousa, a prominent composer of American band music in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. John Philip Sousa was born in Washington, D. C. on November 6, 1854. At age 13, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Band as a "boy" (apprentice) musician, but he also continued his private music studies, where he learned violin, harmony, and composition. After being discharged from the marines, he performed as a violinist and conductor in various theatre orchestras in Washington and Philadelphia.

By 1880, his fame as a conductor, composer, and arranger had been established and he was appointed the leader of the U.S. Marine Band and held this position for 12 years, eventually molding the band into the finest military band in the world. He resigned from the Marine Corps in 1892 to form his own civilian band, who in a matter of months had assumed a position of equality with the finest symphony orchestras of the day.

The Sousa band traveled the world in 1910 and 1911, made four additional tours of Europe, and annual tours of America. Although Sousa is stereotyped as a march composer, he composed music of many forms, including fifteen operettas. He was an indefatigable worker, proclaiming "when you hear of Sousa retiring, you will hear of Sousa dead". This prediction came true when he died suddenly following a band rehearsal in Reading, Pennsylvania on March 6, 1932.

"The Stars And Stripes Forever" is widely regarded to be Sousa's magnum opus, and following an act of Congress, it became the national march of the United States.

There are many hotels in Sarasota available for anyone wishing to catch the Sudler Silver Scroll winning Sarasota Mobile Home Band in concert.

By Andrew Regan Andrew Regan is an online, freelance author from Scotland. He is a keen rugby player and enjoys traveling. Article Source: EzineArticles

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VIOLIN Scales For Beginners

Violin First Position Fingerings (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If you just started playing the violin a few weeks ago, violin scales can be a real pain! While it may seem as simple and essential as forming a coherent sentence to someone with years of experience, it is very complex to a new violinist. The best thing a new violin player can do in this situation is starting slow and move up. No one wants to be caught in a situation where you are overwhelmed and frustrated on the violin! Here are the best violin scales to practice for beginners and how to master them without frustration.

The first is the G major scale. This is one of the most basic and essential of all violin scales because it only has one sharp in the key signature and starts on an open string. Starting on an open string makes the notes much easier to play, and so long as you remain in one octave, you should have absolutely no problem mastering this violin technique. Start on G and play up 8 notes until you are playing the next octave up on G with the third finger. Don't forget to play the F as a sharp so that you have a leading tone to the last G!

The next scale is D. Here is what's interesting about the next scale: you can use the exact same fingering pattern on this scale as with the original, the only difference being you are playing it on a D instead of a G. So play this scale all the way up one octave with one-two sharps, one being F and the other being C. This will create a very open sounding major scale that will flow nicely along the string and have a positive energy to it.

Last scale up is A. This one is the exact same idea, which is why I recommend learning these three scales in tandem with each other. They are so easy to learn when they each sound the same and have the same fingering! Play the exact same major scale fingering pattern only with 3 sharps instead of 2. This will produce the same sounding scale and the exact same whole step and half step pattern, but be tied down to a different string. This whole introduction to scales is designed to be very similar in order to help your mind lockdown on the overall pattern when it comes to violin scales.

All major scales have the same essential pattern, just on a different note. Playing scales that have the same fingering over and over until your mind understands them will help you to grasp this concept. Don't allow yourself to be too confused by sharps or flats! Stick to an essential understanding of violin playing when it comes to scales and focus on the fingerings themselves and not too much on the key signature.

If you still struggle with this, I recommend getting a good violin teacher to help you. Violin scales can be very challenging, but your desire to work at it and the teacher you have are directly related to your overall success rate. Keep this in mind and keep at it!

By Eric Conklin - Article Source: EzineArticles

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DOUBLE BASS - Music-Instruments of the World

DOUBLE BASS - Music-Instruments of the World

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ORGAN MUSIC: About Toccata and Fugue in F Major, BWV 540 by JS BACH

A portrait which may show Bach in 1750 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Although the most popular of all organ toccatas by Johann Sebastian Bach is the legendary Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565, perhaps even more masterful is the splendid and brilliant Toccata and Fugue in F Major, BWV 540. This composition might have been created in Weimar when the true compositional style of a master composer was formed. Virtuosic Toccata and Fugue in F Major usually is a true technical and mental challenge for many skilled organists. If performed well, it is a real treat for every organ music lover and listener. Otherwise, it has the potential to create a sense boredom.

The Toccata leaves the impression of a chase between voices and begins with a prolonged and playful two-voice canon over a long tonic pedal point (Idea A). After this canon, Bach writes another virtuosic episode - a pedal solo in the tonic key which leads to a cadence in the Dominant - C major. Now the voice parts switch places and the canon begins all over again, only this time in the Dominant key (C major). These two sections serve to establish both the Tonic and the Dominant keys and have a function, similar to the North German Passaggio in a Praeludium.

After this episode, the chase stops but all voices begin a long and tiring journey (for the performer, that is) through various related keys in descending and ascending sequences (Idea B based on arpeggio figure). Through the course of this Toccata, canonic idea A and sequential idea B alternate and create an intriguing structural balance. In developing the idea A, Bach evidently shows his mastery of a double and sometimes even triple invertible counterpoint at the interval of an octave. This basically is a technique allowing voice switching. It only works if the composer uses the suitable intervals (most of the time thirds and sixths, avoiding fifths which in inversion become a forbidden fourth). Suspensions of a second and seventh are welcomed in this technique, too.

Because of repeating two musical ideas, this Toccata shows the influence of the Italian Ritornello form. Bach learned to use this form in Weimar from transcribing for the keyboard the concertos of Vivaldi and his contemporaries.

The fugue, on the other hand, provides a welcomed relaxation for the organist from the technical point of view. However, Bach provides another challenge, e.g. old-fashioned "Palestrina" style fugue with alla breve meter (cut-time) in Style antico (the old style). This is a double fugue, which means that a composer has to develop two musical themes. Both of the themes must work in invertible counterpoint with each other. In the exposition and counter-exposition of the first theme, Bach develops the solemn, slow, and vocal musical idea in all four voices.

The second theme appears to be playful, dance-like, which reminds of a Baroque dance Gavotte. During this section, the pedal part remains silent and waits for its entrance until the powerful combination of both themes towards the close of a fugue. While listening to the fugue in this wonderful video, feel free to count the number of appearances of the first theme.

By Vidas Pinkevicius By the way, do you want to learn to play the King of Instruments - the pipe organ? If so, download my FREE video guide: "How to Master Any Organ Composition" here: http://www.organduo.lt/organ-tutorial.html Article Source: EzineArticles

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The Keyboard Sonatas of MOZART

Family portrait: Maria Anna ("Nannerl") Mozart,
her brother Wolfgang, their mother Anna Maria (medallion) and father, Leopold Mozart
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Mozart, born in Salzburg on January 27, 1756, was christened Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus. Born on the feast day of St. John Chrysostomus, his first two names honored the saint, and Theophilus came from Johannes Theophilus Pergmayr, his Godfather. Theophilus is Gottlieb in German, a name Mozart sometimes used, and Amadeus is Italian, the name Mozart preferred and the name with which he is identified by in the world of music.

Leopold, Mozart's father, was a fine musician and had a wide reputation as a wonderful violin teacher. It is he who was Mozart's first music instructor and who introduced Mozart to the public. At the age of five, with his father's guidance, Mozart began to give performances.

Mozart was a prolific composer of opera, keyboard works, vocal pieces, symphonies and chamber music. He was a gifted pianist, violinist, and conductor. Nearly all of his compositions were commissioned works, no commission being too small or too large. Mozart's music is a depiction of the man himself, ranging in moods of comical, noble tragedy, simplistic elegance, courtly majesty and heroic works full of the spirit of freedom.

In December of 1774, Mozart traveled to Munich where he composed a set of six sonatas, K. 282 in E-flat Major included. These six sonatas represent Mozart's earliest surviving works in this genre. Mozart's early works are a light, cheerful style associated with the Galant movement in Italy. The Galant movement was an emphasis on classical simplicity (such as less ornamentation, an increase in the importance of the melody, musical phrases of a regular length and so forth), as compared to the complexity and ornate nature of the Baroque era.

Mozart also modeled his compositional style after many of his contemporaries, including Carl Phillip Emanuel Bach, Johann Christian Bach, and Franz Joseph Haydn. It is Haydn's influence that is particularly noted in K. 280, 281, and 282.

Mozart's keyboard sonatas were not originally intended for the concert platform, but instead for a more private context. They were valuable tools for teaching and they also provided repertoire material for Mozart's performances in the homes of patrons.

The Sonata in E-flat Major, K. 282, begins atypically with an Adagio movement. The movement is in a two-part form or binary form. This first movement, in the key of B-flat Major, is very expressive melodically and demonstrates a strong interplay between forte and piano.

The second movement consists of two minuetts, in the keys of B-flat and E-flat Major. The first of the two minuetts is simple, yet energetic, and reminiscent of Haydn's style. The second of the minuetts has a livelier left-hand accompaniment and "snap-rhythms." This second movement also exhibits the same striking contrasts between forte and piano.

The third movement, in the key of E-flat Major, is in miniature sonata allegro form with a very short development and a full recapitulation. The upbeat motive recurs in a variety of forms, giving an impression of compact unity to the whole movement. This motive also serves as the thematic basis for the development section. The recapitulation begins exactly as the exposition. The coda, tail/ending extends the opportunity to show off the pianist's technical ability and ends almost as an afterthought. It is as though the pianist has stopped, but the music continues on.

By Cindy Lee Smith Find quality resources for piano teachers, students, and parents at Piano Discoveries. http://www.pianodiscoveries.com Article Source: EzineArticles

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Exploring REGGAETON Music and Dances

Photo  by ElNene2k13 

Reggaeton is a type of urban music that has become widespread in popularity among young music lovers in Latin America, North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Reggaeton music originated in Panama and caters to Hispanic youth, with rapping and singing often in Spanish. The music is a blend of Jamaican style music such as dancehall and reggae and Latin America style music such as salsa, bomba, plena, merengue, bachata, hip hop, bolero, R&B, and Latin pop.

Reggaeton music boasts its own specific rhythm and beat. The rhythm of reggaeton is often referred to as "Dem Bow." The name Dem Bow references the title of a dancehall song from the 1990s by Shabba Ranks. Though the music genre of reggaeton is mostly associated with Puerto Rico (where this style of music was popularized and became famous), the lyrics are more hip-hop type lyrics than dancehall. 

The Beat of Reggaeton

It's the reggaeton beat, or Dem Bow, that drives the music and dances. The beat is described as a drum-machine track that originated with Jamaican dancehall rhythm. Reggaeton combines a syncopated snare and steady kick drum to create an unusual rhythm. There's a 4/4 beat emphasized by the kick drum, and the snare starts with the "and" of the 3rd 8th note and right on the 4th 8th note. There are about 95 beats per minute, and the result is a magnified "boom-ch-boom-chick" sounding beat.

Reggaeton beat sounds are usually synthesized electronically. There are also simple melodies created with electronic instruments, keyboards, and electric guitars. The beats are versatile and can be based on the bolero, hip-hop, salsa, merengue, bachata, or other similar beats. 

The Reggaeton Dance

Sensual (and controversial) dancing can often be seen in reggaeton clubs or on music videos. The perreo type dance is a form of grinding dance derived from Puerto Rico. The dance puts women in control of the dance and is very provocative in its nature. Perreo moves are popular in dancehall, rhythm and blues, and hip-hop music as well. A slightly calmer form of reggaeton dancing is cumbia, which was originally a folk dance and music from Colombia. Like perreo, the cumbia dance is flirtatious in nature with the women luring the men toward them and then pushing them away.

Some of the leading artists in reggaeton include CandyMan, Esko, Fito Blanko, Nicky Jam, La Fabrica, Don Miguelo, Daddy Yankee, De la Ghetto, DJ Blass, Baby Rasta & Gringo, Don Chezina, Lito & Polaco, Eddie Dee, Adassa, El Chombo, and Tony Touch. Some popular producers of reggaeton music are Eliel, Luny Tunes, and Noriega.

With the widespread popularity of reggaeton music, there are now many radio stations specializing in this type of music. There are also online radio venues where fans can download music, listen online, or watch the reggaeton music video of choice. The major benefit of online radio is fans can listen to their favorite music or watch their favorite videos around the clock.

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Theater Arts – Italian Opera

Le Prophète : illustration de presse de la scène du couronnement lors de la création londonienne de l'oeuvre au Royal Italian Opera (1849)
Photo: Wikimedia

Italian opera is the earliest known opera form. Although the Greek and Roman Theater had inspired it, it inspired many countries around the world, including most of Europe. Some say that the word opera has been derived from the Italian words “Opera in Musica” which means work in music. The evidence of the very first opera performed in Italy was at the wedding of Marie de Medici and Henry IV of France. The Italian opera had three stages namely the baroque, the romantic and the modern. 

Baroque period is the name of that period of Italian opera that originated in Italy in the beginning of the 17th century. The voice used was very high pitched along with the instrumental music. This style was known as monody and was developed by Giulio Caccini and Jacopo Peri. It was reflected in the opera Euridice that was based on the story of Eurydice and Orpheus. When there were no dialogues during the performance, there were songs with music. This type of opera inspired many other writes, one of them was Claudio Monteverdi who wrote La Favola D’Orfeo that had the monody style. It was his first play and it still is famous with the audience today. Monteverdi worked hard on synchronizing instrumental music with the words and showed this effort in Mantua, with large choruses with nearly forty instruments that created a really good effect.  He was named as the Maestro Da Cappella in Venice in the year 1613.

The first opera house for the public was opened in the year 1637. Monteverdi wrote many compositions for this theater and his works L’Incoronazione di Poppea and I Ritomo d’Ullise in Patria were prominent out of the many. He even brought the Bel Canto and Buffa styles into Italian opera. Bel canto had a more even tone and eased the singing stress. Buffa had more comic touch with amusing and mocking elements. All these acted as the stepping-stone for many other later composers. At the end of the century, there were three hundred and fifty opera created for the theaters of Venice alone. Many young artists were inspired to work in these theaters and bring out their talents. People came from outside Italy too.    

In the 19th century, romantic opera began to rise and Gioacchino Rossini was responsible for it. The romantic opera involved lots of emotions and imagination along with lots of music and arias. This music was so fine that it overshadowed the blunders in the stories. His composures such as La Cenerentola and Barber of Seville are famous until today. Many others such as Vincenzo Bellini, Giuseppe Verdi, and Gaetano Donizetti followed him.  

Giuseppe Verdi changed the way opera was written at that time. Nabucco was his first work and it was a very big success because of the great choruses along with enormous liveliness in the music. He even wrote Va pensiero, a chorus presentation to inspire the warriors at the time of Italian independence struggle. The works, which followed this had a more patriotic theme and were also based on older romantic works. He began to venture into different musical forms and finally his creation Otello replaced Rossini’s opera. His last work Falstaff finally changed the conventional form of theater and made music and words more free-flowing. 

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GIACOMO PUCCINI - Musical Unifier

Puccini  (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Giacomo Puccini was born on December 22, 1958. His hometown was Lucca, Italy, a charming town in Tuscany surrounded by Roman walls. His family had a long lineage of musicians and he soon became an organist at a local church. He was inspired to write opera after seeing a production of Aida. He had to walk almost twenty miles to Pisa to see it. It is fitting that Aida was his inspiration. Written by the current reigning king of Italian opera, Giuseppe Verdi, it marked a turning point in that composer's musical language in which he started broadening his horizons eastwards- towards German specifically and Richard Wagner. Puccini would continue to both embrace Italian style but expose himself to the musical language of the Germans, French and new sounds that were coming out of the Orient.

It is also very fitting that his first successful opera, Manon Lescaut, was written in 1893. That happened to be the same year that Verdi wrote his last opera, Falstaff. Although Falstaff is unquestionably a masterpiece, listeners of the day must have found it to be somewhat old-fashioned after hearing Manon Lescaut. Puccini takes the story of the courtesan and creates voluptuous sonorities. He employs new instruments and chords not to mention a compelling sense of drama.

Manon Lescaut now behind him, he turned to a story by Murger about a bunch of bohemians. Written in 1896, La Boheme would become one of the most popular opera ever. It was revolutionary in its day for the naturalness in which the characters spoke. Instead of gods and goddesses, these characters dealt with banal issues such as paying the rent. In other words real life. This was a part of a movement in Italian literature called verissmo. (I pagliacci and Cavalleria rusticana are other examples.) Boheme was lauded for its musical language and its gripping theater. The story is about a seamstress who meets a young poet and embarks on a love affair despite knowing that she is dying of consumption. Although many find the Broadway musical Rent to be a bastardization of this opera, it is an effect updating because T.B. was a very stigmatized disease in its day much like AIDS was in the 80s.

in 1900 Puccini wrote Tosca a bloody opera about corruption and abuse of power. The opera comes from a play by Victorien Sardou written specifically for the legendary actress Sarah Bernhardt. The character of Tosca seems a good fit for any prima donna because, in part, it is about a prima donna. Puccini at this point was becoming interested in the new sounds that came were coming out of France at the time, notably orientalism. In an opera that takes place in Rome, he had almost no opportunity to use it in a credible way. The did manage to insert a whole tone scale, a sequence of notes that is now a cliche for Chinese music.

He had no trouble incorporating orientalism in his next opera, Madama Butterfly. Written in 1904 the premiere was one of those legendary disasters that can only happen in opera. The public didn't seem to want to give it a chance. It may be apocryphal, but the story goes that Arturo Toscanini was both conducting the premiere and having an affair with the soprano. In act II when Butterfly brings out the illegitimate son she had by Pinkerton, the American soldier, a heckler screamed out "It's Toscanini's." Needless to say, there was no way to restore order after that. Puccini went on to revive it twice in the ensuing months and its final version has become a beloved favorite. Hearing the original version it is plain to see that it is flawed. It is a testament to Puccini's humility that he would take that disaster and try to examine how he may have failed as a composer and try to improve his work.

His last major premiere was Turandot. Taking place in mythical China this was the perfect opportunity for him to explore new sounds and create atmosphere. The story centers around an icy princess who has a penchant for decapitating her suitors. One eventually wins her over and they live happily ever after. Dramatically the work is flawed but in terms of glitzy theatrical spectacles, there is nothing better. It includes the great tenor opera "Nessun Dorma." Puccini never completely the opera. The task went to Franco Alfano. Toscanini was disappointed with it and revised his version giving us what we recognize today.

Puccini dies in 1924. A chronic chain smoker, it was throat cancer that did him in. It is ironic that someone so devoted to the human voice should die such a way. The passage of time has not diminished the immediacy and timelessness of his operas.

By Sammy Higgins Sammy Higgins lives in New York where collects opera CDs. Article Source: EzineArticles

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