History Of The ACOUSTIC GUITAR

The acoustic guitar usually involves the following musical instruments:

Nylon and gut stringed guitars:

Taylor steel-string guitar. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

• Renaissance guitar

• Romantic guitar

• Classical guitar

Steel stringed guitars:

• Twelve string guitar

• Steel-string acoustic guitar

• Archtop guitar

• Battente guitar

Acoustic bass guitar

Russian guitar

Other instruments:

• Harp guitar

• Banjo guitar

• Guitar lute

The guitar can be divided into two categories, acoustic and electric

An acoustic guitar is not dependant on any external device for amplification. The shape and resonance itself have the ability to create acoustic amplification. Today there are many acoustic guitars available with built-in electronics and power to enable amplification.

Acoustic electric guitars

Some steel-string acoustic guitars are fitted with pickups as an alternative to using a different microphone. These are called electric acoustic guitars and are regarded as acoustic guitar rather than electric guitars. It should not be confused with hollow body electric guitars, which are more of electric guitars fitted with hollow sound chambers.

Free acoustic guitar lessons

There several free acoustic guitar lessons available online for beginners. The free guitar lessons are designed for guitarists of all playing abilities.

Acoustic guitar magazine

The acoustic guitar magazine is for acoustic guitar players, from beginners to performing as a professional. The magazine usually contains free acoustic and electric guitar lessons, tutorials and videos for both beginner and professional. Some of the great magazines include Flatpicking guitar magazine and Acoustic guitar.

Vintage acoustic guitars

Veteran musicians know firsthand that vintage acoustic guitars simply sound and feel better than their contemporary counterparts.

Vintage acoustic guitar body shape:

Steel-stringed vintage acoustic guitars come in two general body shapes.

Flattop vintage acoustic guitars - As the name suggests, flattop vintage acoustic guitars feature a flattop body. If you play blues, folk, bluegrass, or rock, flattops, which were pioneered by Martin, will suit you best.

Archtop vintage acoustic guitars - In contrast, archtop vintage acoustic guitars have a curved top and a hollow body. If you’re a jazz or country player, then look for archtops, which were invented by Gibson. (The most sought-after Gibson archtops are the larger models dating from the early 1930s to 1959.)

Acoustic guitar notes

A musical note is a tone. However, a musical-note tone comes from a small collection of tones that are pleasing to the human brain when used together. For example, you might pick a set of tones at the following frequencies:

• 264 Hz

• 297 Hz

• 330 Hz

• 352 Hz

Acoustic guitar reviews

Yamaha LLX-500C Acoustic/Electric Guitar

Price ranges from $2,399 or higher.

The Yamaha LLX-500C is hand built in Yamaha’s Japan factory. Features include a solid spruce top, mahogany neck, and solid rosewood back and sides. The headstock and neck of the guitar are attractive trim in ivoroid binding, and the Yamaha name on the headstock just look great. Unlike many acoustic electric, the Yamaha LLX-500C sides are solid instead of laminated.

Guild F50R Jumbo Acoustic Guitar

Price ranges from $2,499 or higher.

The F50R is based on the original F50 specification from 1960s to 1980s. The Guild F50R features an ebony fretboard and a rosewood bridge. Neck dimensions include a 25.6-inch scale and a slightly narrower-than-normal width of 1.69 inches. The F50R does not lack for fine details - the fret board has eye-catching abalone and mother-of-pearl inlays and two racing stripes that run from nut to sound-hole.

Acoustic Guitar Tabs

A tablature is a form of musical notation, which tells players where to place their fingers on a particular instrument rather than which pitches to play. Tablature is mostly seen for fretted stringed instruments, in which context it is usually called tab for short. It is frequently used for the guitar, bass and lute. But in principle it can be used for any fretted instrument includes banjo and viola da gamba.

Acoustic Guitar Strings

Guitar strings are strung parallel to the neck, whose surface is covered by the fingerboard. By depressing a string against the fingerboard, the effective length of the string can be changed, which in turn changes the frequency at which the string will vibrate when plucked. Guitarists typically use one hand to pluck the strings and the other to depress the strings against the fretboard.

The strings may be plucked using either fingers or a plectrum. The sound of a guitar is either mechanically or electronically, forming two categories of guitar: acoustic or electric.

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GEORGE GERSHWIN - Prolific Songwriter and Musical Maestro

George Gershwin (1898 – 1937), an American composer 

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

George Gershwin was born on the 26th of September, 1986 in Brooklyn, New York. His roots were a mix of Ukrainian and Jewish roots, from Russia. The key to his interest was a violin recital by his childhood pal Max Rozen. He liked what he had heard. His parents bought a piano for his brother and future lyricist, Ira Gershwin. He took it from there and took to it more than his brother Ira.

Gershwin came from a family that had music in their blood. In addition to his brother getting into music, his sister too, started taking it up early in life but gave it up in favor of family life. Gershwin was tutored by a number of tutors who didn't make much of an impact on him and his music until he met his last piano teacher - Charles Hambitzer. Hambitzer taught him the proper way of playing the piano.

Paving his knowledge of European music history, introduced him to the music of the past and encouraged him to attend a concert when he could. When he eventually did this, he was quick at reproducing the same music note of note after returning home after the concert. He also studied with Rubin Goldmark and Henry Cowell.

When 15, George quit school and started working at Jerome H. Remick and Company as a "song-plugger" where he took a salary of $15 a week. His first commercial success was tasted with Rialto Ripples in 1917 but he really hit it big time in 1919 with his composition Swanee, which shot him to fame all over the United States.

In 1916, he worked with Aeolian Company and Standard Music Rolls doing the recording and arranging piano rolls. There is no official count of the rolls that he came up with, but it is said that he has hundreds of piano rolls to his credit. He credited his work here with a number of aliases - some which were Fred Murtha and Bert Wynn. He made rolls for reproducing pianos made by Duo-Art and Welte Mignon. He had a small little stint getting into vaudevilles playing pieces by Nora Bayes and Louise Dresser most often at the vaudeville shows that he performed at.

In 1924, he and brother Ira worked on their first musical together - a comedy - Lady be Good. The songs from Lady Be Good - Fascinating Rhythm and the title track Lady Be Good - were soon to be standards. Then on, a string of musical followed with most of them being very successful. Some of them are Girl Crazy, Strike Up the Band, Funny Face, Show Girl and Oh, Kay!. From among these, Girl Crazy became the first ever musical to win a Pulitzer Prize apart from spurning the hits I Got Rhythm and Of Thee I Sing.

The same year he made music for a musical, he also composed his first classical piece - Rhapsody In Blue. The piece was, orchestrated by Ferde Grofe, played by Paul Whiteman's band. He tried a hand at learning something from greats like Nadia Boulanger and Maurice Ravel, but Ravel rejected the proposition to teach him saying that bring his technique mainstream would ruin his jazz specialty.

His stay there inspired the piece An American In Paris. The piece didn't do well at the press and with critics when he played for the first time on the 13th of April in Carnegie Hall. But it, like some of his other early hits, became many jazz band's standard repertoires.

After getting fed up with the music scene in Paris, he decided to return home to the United States. His best was yet to come. Two years before his death in 1937, he composed his most appreciated work yet. Porgy and Bess premiered on Broadway in 1935.

In 1937, Gershwin began complaining of being able to smell burnt rubber and of headaches. He was diagnosed with a condition of a brain tumor called glioblastoma multiforme. Despite the condition, he continued to work. He played with the San Francisco Philharmonic Orchestra in the same year.

This was his last performance before he collapsed and died and dies while working on the score of The Goldwyn Follies.

Two months after his death, the score of They Can't Take That Away From Me, from the film Shall We Dance won the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

By Duane ShinnArticle Source: EzineArticles

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Learn to Play the FLUTE - Find Out How Easy it Is!

Yankees considered education very much the study of music. Most children learned to play the flute 

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

You can learn to play the flute through a variety of ways, not just the traditional private lessons once a week for 30 minutes or one hour.  If you're an adult beginner, this style of flute lessons is very difficult, sometimes impossible to stick with.

You're busy with work, taking care of your family, and all the other activities that adults have to deal with.

And how about finding free, uninterrupted practice time?  No wonder adults want to give up before they even start!

And it's too bad, too, because the dream of many adults is to learn to play the flute.  For whatever reason, an adult didn't learn to play the flute as a young person in school.  Maybe they thought the band was dumb, faced peer pressure not to be in a band, their school schedule didn't permit it, or their family couldn't afford to have them play in the band.

No need to wait any longer!  Today you can take flute lessons on the internet!  Your lesson time is whenever is convenient for you.  Break free from that rigid schedule the teacher sets up.

Sure I understand that teachers' time is valuable.  If someone sets up a lesson time, then the teacher should be paid for that time.  Otherwise, a teacher couldn't stay in business.  But if that schedule is too constrictive for the adult student, well, the adult student will probably not start to learn to play the flute or quit.

  Somebody is always throwing a monkey wrench into adults' schedules:  the boss, children's school, or any number of small crises that pop up.

On-line lessons are a convenient way to learn to play the flute.  Fire them up whenever you're ready!

Are you worried that these prerecorded lessons won't cover the topics you have questions about?  Learning to play the flute is pretty basic and there is a very good possibility that everything you need to know has already been addressed.  If not, e-mail the teacher or web site owner and ask for another lesson on that trouble spot.

Hey, don't give up that dream! If you want to learn to play the flute, you still can!  Turn on your computer and get out your flute--it's your lesson time!

Article Directory: EzineArticles

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Learning to Enjoy MARIMBAS

Folk marimba with gourds, Highland Guatemala (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Marimbas are wooden keyboard instruments in the percussion family of instruments. Players usually strike the keys with two - four mallets and one instrument may be played by one or two players; depending on the orchestral piece, you may even see three or more marimbists playing the same instrument. Marimbas are wooden instruments that resemble xylophones and they accentuate the unique harmonies and rhythms of the music. 

Other instruments in the percussion family include such instruments as cymbals, chimes, the triangle, bells, to name just a few. The marimba is a pitched percussion instrument. Other pitched percussion instrument examples include the timpani, the vibraphone, the glockenspiel, and chimes

Marimbas are used mainly for 20th Century music orchestral music, usually, as a sound effect or as a solo instrument. The marimba actually had long solos in the soundtrack to the film American Beauty.

The marimba keys are arranged like the keys of a piano and they may have as many as 4 - 5.5 octaves of professional Orff-style marimba bars. The bars are tapped to play the notes, similar to the xylophone. Marimba bars are finely crafted from hardwoods such as rosewood, mahogany and padouk. The keys are fine-tuned to reflect the tones played in African societies.

For marimbas in the United States, the resonators under the wooden bars are usually metal and most likely aluminum. They are hollow metal pipes of different lengths with holes covered by thin cellophane (similar to the West African balafon). This is so that when the marimba is struck, you can hear the buzzing sound characteristic of these instruments.

The mallets generally have wooden shafts but may be made of fiberglass, as well. Rattan shafts are also available and they have a little bit of "give" to them while other materials do not. Depending on training and preference, a marimbist may like the flexible shaft better than the ones with no "give" or vice versa. The material that actually strikes the key is usually some type of rubber wrapped in yarn. The marimba keys themselves will define which type of mallet is used on which part of the keyboard. The harder mallets are usually used to strike the high notes and the softer mallets for the lower notes. This is particularly important in playing the marimba because a mallet that is too hard for the keys it strikes may damage the instrument.

Most marimba music calls for several mallets to be used in one composition. It is not uncommon to find 2-3 players stationed at the marimba during a performance. Because two or three people will wield four to six mallets, it is possible to hear beautiful chords coming from the instrument. Many marimba players also play with more than one mallet in each hand. Different methods have also been developed to hold the mallets necessary for a piece of music in one hand. The Burton grip and the Musser-Stevens grip are the two common methods of gripping multiple mallets and each has its advantages and disadvantages.

The repertoires of bands in the United-States tend to overlap, probably due to the fact that most of the marimba music is composed by the Zimbabwean musician Dumisani Maraire. He is one of the key people who first brought Zimbabwean music to the West, moving to and working at the University of Washington in 1968. He was a master at playing an instrument known as the mbira which greatly resembles a small hand-held instrument known as the thumb piano.

A marimba is an expensive but beautiful instrument. Professional marimbas start in the $2,000 range for a used instrument. They add an open tone to many different compositions that make them very unique and sought after in the instrument family.

By Lisa Moore - Article Source: EzineArticles

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WAGNER's Goetterdaemmerung in Melbourne

Richard Wagner, (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Goetterdaemmerung as it happened

Wagner's Goetterdaemmerung completes the operatic tetralogy 'The Ring of the Nibelung', an allegory of greed and power set to addictive music of considerable complexity. In a nutshell: Siegfried, after rejecting his betrothed Bruennhilde, succumbs through Hagen's treachery to the curse Alberich has put on the ring, whereupon Bruennhilde returns the ring to the Rhine and causes the destruction of Valhalla, the new home of the corrupted gods.

The Goetterdaemmerung broadcast from Melbourne (13.12.13, the final night of the third Melbourne cycle) is very disappointing so far, not matching up to the hype at all. Pietari Inkinen's orchestral opening had no mystery. Tired, unruly, small voices were not able to convince in the Prologue. The orchestra was much too prominent. Siegfried's horn call lacked boisterous enthusiasm and the performance of his Rhine journey by the orchestra was pedestrian. Hagen and Gunther have redeemed things vocally somewhat in Act I and the blood-brotherhood duet between Siegfried and Gunther was powerfully delivered. Bruennhilde's sister Waltraute (Deborah Humble) at last injected some drama into the proceedings.

I am hoping for mystery at the beginning of Act II. In the event, at least on the radio, Warwick Fyfe as Alberich has a live presence, no figment of the sleepy Hagen's imagination. He makes Alberich's complex music portray sharply the dwarf's dangerous and elemental nature.

Hagen's famous call to the vassals was tremulous, but introduced real excitement into the wedding and revenge scenes. Susan Bullock as Bruennhilde sounded genuinely shocked and distressed. Barry Ryan's regal anger as Gunther was also evident. The revenge trio was a vocal and dramatic climax to the Act.

Superb singing from the Rhine maidens at the beginning of Act III. Apparently, they are dressed like Follies; I think I am glad I can't see the production (I'm watching The Ashes cricket concurrently, with the TV's sound off).

Siegfried's Erzaehlung is going very well (I'm taking a leaf out of a cricket commentator's book); Stefan Vinke has now warmed up vocally, and the orchestral accompaniment has receded into the background: perhaps he's right at the front of the stage.

Hagen's 'Meineid raechte ich' descended totally into melodrama, but Vinke has restored the intensity with the conclusion of his monologue. The orchestra have at last excelled themselves in Siegfried's funeral music and Susan Bullock has found opportunities for a chamber-music restraint, rich with sorrow. Her Immolation is shaping up to be the emotional and vocal high point of the performance. The orchestral playing at the conclusion, offering hope for the future of mankind, is powerful and convincing.

What a trajectory. Rather like Australia's first innings in Perth.

By Antony Ransome - Antony Ransome, opera singer and writer. Article Source: EzineArticles

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SALSA DANCING Burns Calories

Salsa dancing (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Experts agree that dancing salsa can burn up to 10 calories per minute. But best of all, salsa dancing is easy to do. It’s an excellent workout exercise that combines aerobic and anaerobic training.

Let me explain the difference between the two…

Aerobic – Specifically refers to the use of the same large muscle group, rhythmically, for a period of 15 to 20 minutes or longer while maintaining 60-80% of your maximum heart rate. Basically it’s doing an activity for a long period of time at low intensity. Activities using aerobic exercise include jogging, swimming, walking, biking and cross-country skiing.

Anaerobic - Anaerobic activity refers to activities that are short in duration and high in intensity. Some anaerobic activities include: weight lifting, sprinting, racquetball, downhill skiing, softball, soccer and football. Its high intensity and works the muscles quickly and rigorously.

Aerobic refers to air or oxygen. To easily remember the difference between aerobic and anaerobic exercise just think that since aerobic is air or oxygen, that these types of activities should allow you to speak while performing the activity without gasping for air. If you are gasping for air during your activity you are most likely working anaerobically – which means faster, harder and at a higher intensity.

The continual movement of the salsa dance style steadily burns calories but also tones the body – most specifically the legs. But not only does it tone the body but it also adds strength to muscles without the high impact of most other exercises like weight training or running.

Salsa is also an excellent exercise choice because it combines individual dance routines that can also be paired up with a partner. Actually, salsa dancing can be practiced alone and then adding a partner for added excitement. The social charm that partnered with salsa dancing has is very appealing.

A night of dancing is an excellent workout. If you are just learning to salsa dance you most likely will be working anaerobically. But as you advance to quicker salsa movements that are more complex like the professional salsa dancers twirling through the air with jumps and intense spins requiring strength, you will most likely be working your body anaerobically. This means that your muscles are working at a high-intensity level.

In general, salsa dancing is an excellent workout. You’ll get fit, more toned and look better but also have fun while you’re doing it! Start joining the salsa craze now by visiting www.salsadancedvd.com

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COMPOSING for the Beginning Band

Perhaps there is no greater challenge to a serious composer of school band sheet music than creating an interesting and challenging composition for either the young band or the beginning band.   Composing for these groups is not the focus of the university composition programs.  The education of the composer in major universities covers all aspects of music composition from learning to write Bach style fugues to film scoring.  

The set of skills that the band music composer obtains at the university is complex and complete, but writing band music for beginning band requires composers to develop a new mindset.    Composers must write motifs, rhythms, and forms that are clearly understandable to young band students and to put those elements together in a way that will motivate beginning band students to work hard and learn more.  It is not easy to write sheet music that will energize young band students and at the same time meet the restrictions of the first or second year learning levels.

An example of band music that does meet the requirements of a successful beginning band composition is “Abacus” by Tom Tucker of PDF Band Music.  A quick look at the score of “Abacus” reveals that no instrument range exceeds the notes learned by an average beginning band student.    Clarinet parts to not cross the “break” and the highest note for trumpet is fourth line “D”.  Rhythmically this sheet music does have some sixteenth notes in the percussion parts, but in all other parts, the most complex rhythm is eighth notes.

The middle section of “Abacus” is interesting because of the variety of time signatures.  Beginning with a two-measure phrase in ¾ time the melodic line ascends stepwise up to a major fifth.  The ¾ measures are followed by a measure of 4/4 time and then a measure of 2/4 time.  The dynamic changes from pianissimo to forte and the variety of time signatures give this section of “Abacus” a unique flavor and yet, it is very playable by beginning band students.

“Abacus” is an excellent example of how band sheet music can be composed in such a way that the beginning band student, the conductor, and the audience feel they are performing and listening to sheet music of merit.

Much of the challenge of energizing young band students to continue to musically achieve is on the shoulders of band music composers.   There has never been a better time for composers of band sheet music to publish because of the growing number of online music publishing websites such as PDFBandMusic.com.

Thomas Tucker is the author of this article on Band sheet music. Find more information about the Beginning band here. Article Directory: Article Dashboard

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Classical GUITAR

Classical guitar - Photo by ljguitar 

Although the precise origins of the classical guitar are open to debate, there is plenty of evidence of the existence of similar instruments dating back as early as 5000 years ago. The idea of a hollow body with tensed strings anchored between two points is seen in many instruments, including the violin family, sitar, piano and harp; they all use the string’s vibrations to resonate the body and produce sounds. However, because the guitar is fretted, it allows pitch-perfect chords to be played over six strings, which differentiates it from the unfretted (and often bowed) violin family.

The guitar as we know it today started to take shape during the Renaissance and the Baroque period when it was used mainly as an accompaniment. Cousins of the guitar are the mandolin, balalaika, banjo and lute. There are enough similarities between these instruments to relate them all, but to give a guitar a unique definition, it would be a six-string, fretted instrument tuned between low E (a thirteenth below Middle C) and the E two octaves above. Of course – these are merely the open-string tunings. Notes approaching two octaves above this are achievable through fretting. This tuning allows the guitar’s whole range to be represented on the treble clef, albeit with three ledger lines for the lowest notes.

Playing the classical guitar

The classical guitar is played in the seated position, the curvy shape of the body helping to keep it steady by resting on the thigh. Right-handed players fret with their left hand and pluck with their right, and the highest toned strings are nearest to the ground. If a purely rhythmic sound is required, the guitar can be played using a plectrum strummed across all or some of the strings; the plectrum can also be used to pick out monophonic melodies. More expert players will use their fingers, however. This allows very complex tunes to be played, with bass notes and melodies plating simultaneously. In the hands of a true virtuoso, it can sound to the untrained ear like several musicians are playing at once. Chords can still be played with the fingers, either by simultaneously plucking multiple strings with various fingers or stroking the strings and taking advantage of the instrument’s sustain. Playing with the fingernails gives a sharp, almost rasping sound, whereas playing with the soft front of the finger gives a softer tone.

Composers of classical guitar music

The rich history of the guitar and its forebears means that many composers have written music that can be played on a modern guitar with some degree of success. J.S. Bach is perhaps the most well known, and his many pieces written for the lute and even the cello and violin have found their way onto the classical guitarist’s repertoire. Bach was predated by Dowland and Narvaez, and his contemporary Scarlatti wrote some enduring music that works well on the guitar. In more modern times, Villa-Lobos, Rodrigo and Segovia have written music specifically to be played on the guitar, and Stanley Myers’ classical guitar theme tune to The Deer Hunter proved to be hugely popular.

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What Are the Top 5 Easy and Quality Collections for the ORGAN From the Romantic Period?

Photo of Jeanne Rongier’s 1885 painting “César Franck at the console of the organ at St. Clotilde Basilica, Paris, 1885”. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Many famous organ pieces from the Romantic period are inaccessible for organists whose technical skills are not yet fully developed. Such works usually have the advanced pedal part, thick chromatic texture requiring constant use of finger substitution which is necessary to achieve the perfect legato touch. Yet many organists are in need to identify the compositions which could easily be played after a little practice. In this article, I will provide a list of 5 collections from the Romantic period which is easy to learn and wonderful to listen to.

1) “Practical Organist” by Alexander Guilmant. A superior collection by the “Alexander the Great” of the organ which can be played either on the organ with or without the pedal division, as well as on the harmonium. Here organists will find fine short compositions suitable for liturgical organ playing, such as communions, versets, offertories, marches, postludes etc. Every piece is skillfully composed and could also be used for recitals. Perfect as a preparation for more advanced organ sonatas by Guilmant.

2) “L’Organiste” by Cesar Franck. This collection contains 7 suites of 7 pieces each intended to play on the organ or harmonium. Every suite uses different major and minor keys. Shorter works are wonderful for liturgical service playing while the larger concluding pieces at the end of each suite might sound very well during recitals as well. Perfect as preparation for longer works of the founder of the French symphonic organ school.

3) “Heures Mystiques” by Leon Boellmann. In this collection, you will find a wealth of easy and delightful short versets which you can use at various places in a liturgical setting. If you like the Suite Gothique of this French composer, these versets will serve perfectly as a preparation.

4) “Music for Organ” by Jacques Lemmens. This Belgian composer is responsible for creating the first modern highly influential organ method “Ecole d”Orgue”. He methodically presents his system of playing legato on the organ which was successfully used by the later French composers, such as Franck, Widor, Vierne, and others. Like other authors of the time, Lemmens provided many versets, pieces for offertory, communion, and other liturgical occasions.

5) “Organiste Moderne” by Louis-James-Alfred Lefebure-Wely. The music of the favorite organ demonstrator of the most significant French organ builder of the period, Aristide Cavaille-Coll is very charming. The composer employs the popular harmonic language of the time which is similar to the operatic style. For today’s audiences, his music is very delightful to hear. At the same time, these pieces are easy enough to be playable by organists who have a small amount of piano background. Pedal part is easy as well.

If you regularly practice the pieces from the above collections, you will improve your legato technique and prepare for more advanced compositions from the Romantic period.

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” http://www.organduo.lt/organ-tutorial.html in which I will show you my EXACT steps, techniques, and methods that I use to practice, learn and master any piece of organ music. Article Source: EzineArticles

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How to Play PIANO TABS - An Easy to Use Technique to Quickly Get Better at Playing Piano Tabs

Learning how to play piano tabs is great for beginner piano players who don't know how to read sheet music. These tabs will give you the ability to read music without having to look at or use a manuscript paper.

To learn how to play piano tabs you can do so by playing a song with a traditional piano tab line. One such song is the "Mary had a little lamb" song, as it has one of the most basic tab lines for the piano.

Get the tab line from this song and practice playing the song. To start playing the song you should begin on the fourth octave of the piano.

The fourth octave of the keyboard is what the number 4 represents in the beginning line of this song. The numbers are instructing what octave to play in the beginning with the lowest "c" on your keyboard.

Now the next step is to count the beats in each measure. The dash marks in the tab represent a half step. You should begin at the "c" which is at the first line. Now you must count each note and dash mark. Take the note of the horizontal lines and these lines separate each measure.

When you count the dashes and letters you will notice that the line above has four counts for every measure. Read the notes in the piano tab as the notes you'll play. Every lower case letter in a tab represents the exact note.

Every upper case letter you see in the tabs of the piano represent a sharp note. Practicing the tab line in this basic song is an easy and effective technique to learn how to play piano tabs.

Article Directory: EzineArticles

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3 Stages in Learning to Play VIOLIN

Photo by Artotem

Tackling a skill like "learning to play the violin" can seem like a daunting task. However, in reality, learning to play violin falls into just three stages. There's the beginner stage, where you're just learning finger placements, postures and playing basic music. There's the intermediate level, where you're becoming comfortable with the instrument and you're learning to play music that really shines. Finally, there's the advanced to mastery stage where you're truly bringing something unique to the world. Read on to learn how to advance through these stages as quickly as possible.

Stage #1 - The Beginner Stage

The first state is the beginner stage. The most important thing to watch out for in this stage is that you instill good habits and have fun while learning.

The two biggest mistakes people make are not having good posture, not getting the fundamentals or not caring for their instrument right from the get-go. On an emotional level, people can get discouraged if they're not learning to love the learning process in the beginning.

Having good examples is crucial for this stage. In particular, watching videos of violinists playing can really help internalize the violin posture.

Stage #2 - The Intermediate Stage

The intermediate stage is when you really start to learn how to play great music.

At the beginning of this stage, you'll still be consciously moving your fingers and having to think through your music. As you advance through this stage, notes will simply become music and the movement of your fingers will become automatic. Your violin will become an extension of you.

As you reach the end of the intermediate stage, you'll be at a level that's equivalent to getting a "masters" in playing the violin. You'll know most of what can be taught by someone else to you.

You can play beautifully, you can play songs from music sheets, you know all the fundamentals by heart and you're just a great musician.

Stage #3 - The Advanced to Mastery Level

This stage is the "Ph.D." stage. At this point, the instrument truly becomes an expression of you.

Have you ever heard someone playing at such a level that you could truly hear the emotions flow through the music? Have you heard people play the classics with their own personal twist added that really makes it come alive?

That's the final stage of learning the violin. At this point, you're not just learning how to replicate other people's music. You're learning to use the violin as an expression of yourself.

Getting through these stages can be tough without a guide. Especially the beginning stages are difficult to navigate without having good violin instruction. Having a detailed step by step guides can make a big difference. One great way to guide yourself through the process is with detailed online videos.

Article Directory: EzineArticles

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Background history of LIL WAYNE

Lil Wayne at the Beacon Theatre. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Lil Wayne is originally named as Dwayne Michael Carter Jr, he was born in the year 1982, at Louisiana, the USA, he is a Grammy-nominated rapper. Lil Wayne began rapping at the block parties when he was a child. His first hip-hop contact was Cash Money records. 

Lil Wayne is known for his freestyle abilities in singing, although he has a talent he wasn’t signed at first with Lil Slim, Lil Wayne uses to record freestyles and haunted cash money offices almost every day. 

In the year 1997, Lil Wayne first debut was released, the record was a great success and earned huge fans for Lil Wayne from south and Midwest. His next debut, Guerilla warfare was released in the year 1998, followed by the next release in the year 2003 which Let Em Burn. 

In the year 1999, Wayne decided to launch his own career with the new release of “Than Block is Hot”, and then it went on to some releases of three albums after that. In 2004, Lil Wayne was known to be perfected in the trade of singing and earned popularity amongst teenagers during 2004-2006.

Lil Wayne has earned a lot since he first started his debut as a singer in the rappers industry, In spite of much competition in the Industry he earned his caliber and came through in his career. 

Lil Wayne being involved in drugs was arrested a few times, but his weaknesses don’t come as a hindrance to his singing career where he has performed his best and is well known amongst the younger public.

More Information: (Wikipedia 2019)

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Why SINGERS Must Conduct Band SOUND CHECK

Photo by ibm4381

When your band and you as the lead singer use electronic musical instruments such as the electric guitar, electric bass or the microphone etc, conducting a sound check is necessary to balance the sound of the instruments and your voice.

Your band members will sound check their own instruments and their systems such as the monitor first and then you, the singer or the vocal section will do your own sound check last once the sound system for the musical instruments is already well balanced. Soundcheck in this sequence will enable you to hear how you sound when you are actually singing with your band.

At the sound check, make sure that your microphone is free from its stand if you want to move around or dance during your singing performance. Also, ask the sound equipment technicians for a monitor to be placed in front of you so that you can hear yourself sing. If you can get your hands on a pair of sound monitor earpiece, that will be better because this will give you more room to prance around and entertain your audience and fans.

How to sound check the singer's microphone?

Your singing voice when produced by the microphone should be louder and above the sounds produced by the band so that your voice can carry the songs well and able to portray your feel, song interpretation and emotions clearly. Sometimes, this may result in loud feedbacks (that loud piercing screeching sound produced by the microphone) so much so that your sound technician or yourself must know where the maximum volume can be before the irritating screeching feedback occurs. The sound technician should mark this threshold on his soundboard control.

During the crescendo parts of songs, move away from the microphone so that you do not trigger feedback and move back in again during the softer part of the songs. By doing this, you are not only able to control feedbacks, but you will also not irritate sensitive audience who may not enjoy loud singing. On the other hand, when the singing is soft and you are far away from your audience, they may not be able to make out what you are singing and that is why you need to move closer to the microphone when the interpretation of the song calls for you to sing softly.

It is important to watch out for consonants or lyrics beginning with 'P's and 'B's. When you are singing loudly into the microphone, these consonants may cause explosive pop sounds on the microphone. If you think 'M', you will be able to prevent 'please' and 'baby' exploding out of the speakers.

The final sound check

At the end of the sound check session, you and your band must run through a couple of songs. This is done not only because you want to hear whether the sound is good from the audience perspective but also whether all your band members can hear themselves, the band as a whole and sound from their monitors.

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Harmonicas: Finding the Harp that Fits Your Needs

Harmonica Blues Harp - Photo: Pixabay

Harmonicas are wonderful musical instruments. They're versatile, they're relatively inexpensive, they fit in your pocket, and their music can evoke a wide range of feelings. Harmonicas - or harps, as they are commonly called - are used in a wide variety of musical genres, such as bluegrass, the blues, folk, rock, country, Gospel, jazz, and even Classical music. 

If you want to learn to play the harp and are planning to take instruction, you should understand the different types of harmonicas that are available. The leading makers of harmonicas include Suzuki, Hering, Hohner, and Bushman. Beyond brands, though, there are other differences you should know about.

The harmonica that most people are familiar with is the ten-hole "Blues Harp." Each of the holes has two reeds, which are tuned to play different notes. Blues harps come in virtually every key, and each harmonica can play 19 musical notes. 

Blues harps are a subcategory of diatonic harmonicas, so named because of the two reeds in each hole. Diatonic harmonics generally play only one key. Another type of diatonic harmonica is the octave harmonica, which is tuned so that each hole plays the same note, only an octave apart from one another. The tremolo harmonica also has two reeds, but one plays a slightly flat note and the other plays a slightly sharp note.  

A different category of harmonica is the chromatic harmonica. These harmonicas typically have twelve, fourteen, or sixteen holes, and four reeds per hole. They also have a sliding bar that moves the air from the mouthpiece to a specific reed plate. Chromatic harmonicas are most often used in jazz and Classical music. 

Harmonica Instruction

When you learn to play the harmonica, you'll first be taught how to breathe correctly. Because successfully playing the harmonica involves both breathing out and breathing in, it's important to breathe from your diaphragm. You'll also learn how to correctly hold the harmonica, how to move it, and how to position your lips so you'll achieve the right notes. You'll also learn harmonica tablature, or tabs, which in instruction that replaces the need for learning to read music. Harmonica tabs tell you what actions you need to take, such as blowing in the fifth and sixth holes, rather than simply showing you music notation. For example, tablature might indicate an upward arrow with a number above it, indicating that you need to blow on that numbered hole, followed by a downward area with a number on top, indicating that you need to inhale on that hole. Tabs make learning to play the harmonica much easier than learning to play other instruments. 

Choosing a Harp

Most harmonica instruction is given in the key of C, so it's probably best to buy a diatonic or Blues harp in the key of C. Most experts recommend that beginners purchase harmonicas with plastic or aluminum combs (the body of the harmonica) rather than wood. Plastic and metal are both more comfortable and more durable. However, you should be aware that, over time, you'll probably buy and try several different brands of harmonicas. Each person is unique, and each has to find the harmonica that is the best fit for his or her playing style.

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IAN BROWN - The World Is Yours

Ian Brown -  Photo: Wikimedia

As it is well-known talented bands consist of talented musicians. But it is also known that talents of these particular musicians are not necessarily equally strong. The situation when a few people become famous at the expense of one person's abilities is pretty typical. But while the band lives the audience grasps its members as something whole and indivisible, not always of course but if one of them messes the things up all the rest are blamed too. However, everything takes its places after the band splits and its ex-members start making different efforts as solo artists. And it is here where true abilities of ex-superstars become apparent. As a rule, only one survives. 

So it happened to a well-known band The Stone Roses, which managed to influence a whole cohort of British brit pop and indie acts with only two albums. The Stone Roses had two bright leaders guitarist John Squire and vocalist Ian Brown. When The Stone Roses broke up in 1996 the general consensus was that it would be John Squire who should be the most successful solo act. He wrote the songs, played guitar like a god and even designed the sleeves for the albums. But as the time has shown this opinion was inaccurate. Indeed, Squire didn't quit the music and even recorded a number of albums but the result that he has achieved during post The Stone Roses era is simply not able to hold the candle to Ian Brown's achievements.

Golden Greats (Ian Brown album)
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Cult figure

In contrast to all the other members of The Stone Roses Ian Brown used his fame, brought by the band's two memorable albums, as a jumping-off place for his future solo career. His name is still standing in close connection with The Stone Roses but for the majority of the people, Ian Brown of today is a separate artistic unit. He's got four successful albums behind him, he has worked with many notable musicians, he regularly gives concerts in different points of the planet and in fact he is a real cult figure for many young indie rockers. Thus, for example, Arctic Monkeys' frontman Alex Turner has stated that Ian Brown as the band's musical hero.

In a word, Ian Brown just keeps on developing so far and the main thing is that he does it free and easy, taking his fame as true luck. His fifth album released this year is called The World Is Yours. This is a full-fledged studio record, which proves one more time that Ian Brown knows how to keep up with times. At his 44 he still sounds amazingly fresh and even modern and of course, you can always feel his perennial musical experience at that.

Professional confidence and a fresh flavor of today

Ian Brown's good point is that he never tries to copy somebody else's ideas, he's got his own and fairly recognizable style and doesn't want to change it, he simply adds new colors and observes what comes out of it. In this sense, The World Is Yours takes a position of an album with a post-classic sound. Brown always loved two things: good beat and massive keyboards, therefore any production exploring he used to make concerned mostly these very things. This time around the situation looks as follows: beat sound dense, velvet and not as synthesized as it was on some of his previous records. The sounding keeps the balance somewhere between good pop rock and modern Hip Hop production. It is fairly audible on the title track for instance.

The keyboards remain almost unchanged but only because Brown decided to use a huge amount of orchestral instruments on this record. They sound pretty appropriate and never spoil the rock spirit. It all imparts some sort of soundtrack flavor to the record, well, at least when you listen to, let's say, On Track you have a feeling that a helicopter with James Bond aboard is about to fly by your window or that Frodo Baggins is going to enter your room when you have Sister Rose playing. But as it was said earlier the orchestration never kills the rock constituent of the album.

The World Is Yours is probably the most proper rock album recorded with classical instruments, everything sounds really measured and balanced. The album as a whole has a very warm and massive sound, it is pretty hard to attach it to any concrete genre but saying it in simple terms The World Is Yours is a mature alternative rock with a notable influence of Hip Hop. Overall The World Is Yours is a very felicitous disc - it is both interesting and accessible, you can feel professional confidence and a fresh flavor of today. It is quite possible that it has some disadvantages too but you have to be Ian Brown's real hater to dig them out. If you are not one of them then you'll certainly like this album. In a word, give it a chance; it is worthy of your attention indeed.

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PLAY PIANO in a Flash – Is it Possible?

Piano, keys (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Is it really possible to learn to play piano in a flash? That would be impossible because according to some expert pianists, it took them years to learn their lessons and play effectively. However, there is one way to improve your learning process in a flash.

You might be wondering how, right? Well, it is really simple. You have to take note of your posture. This is very important when playing the piano. Try to observe pianists; they have great postures and they seem to play with ease at all times. Without proper posture, you will not learn the basic playing techniques and even if you do, you can’t play the instrument comfortably.

Some say that it is easier to teach children when it comes to posture but even if you’re an adult, you can still improve your posture. If you can do this, you can play comfortably and with flexibility.

1. Try to imagine yourself sitting and you’re about to play the piano. See yourself as a giraffe; feeling as if your neck and head can reach the ceiling.

2. The next thing that you have to do is to stretch your arms. Try to imagine that the arms are the wings of an angel. Stretch your arms to the sides until your elbows are horizontally pointed.

3. Now, focus your attention to your hands. Look at your fingers. Move them just like the legs of a spider. Walk each of your fingers to the piano keys.

4. You have to sit on the bench with ease and confidence. Try to think that you’re the best pianist there is and that you know all your pieces well.

5. When sitting on the bench, your elbows should be located right in front of the stomach. Stretch your arms until your fingers touch the piano keys. Never scoot forward. Sit as if you’re glued to the bench.

Did you notice anything on the five posture pointers mentioned? Which word is used many times? The word ‘imagine’ is used most of the time. This is very effective especially if you’re still a child but it can also work for adults. Try using your imagination. This way, your body and mind will connect instantly and you can play naturally.

The next time you practice on your piano, try to follow these pointers. Follow them one by one until you finally learn. These pointers are truly effective if you can follow properly. Even your piano teacher or instruction manuals will say the same thing. Here’s a question for you – have you ever seen a pianist who slouches? That would be quite funny and irritating, right?

Start by learning to have a good posture. This is one of the starting points to learn to play the piano in a flash. But all the other lessons should be taken one step at a time. You have to retain all the lessons. That is why you have to review your past lessons often to make sure that you still know them. You can’t simply forget past lessons because you will need them in the future lessons that you’re going to have.

The truth is, you can’t play piano in a flash. But with a little improvement in terms of your posture, you can go a long way. Take note of your posture now and check if you have a good one.

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The World of TRUMPET MUTES

Trumpet with paper straight mute inserted; below are (left to right) straight, wah-wah (Harmon), and cup mutes. - (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Trumpet players always like gadgets, and mutes are gadgets that we actually need. It's always interesting to experiment with the different sounds you can produce. There are so many mutes on the market, it's hard to keep them straight, no pun intended. If you are really into trumpet accessories, you can collect mutes for the rest of your life and never be finished. Every year, manufacturers come out with new brands and varieties.

When all is said and done, you will need three basic mutes...a straight mute, a cup mute, and a Harmon-style or Wah-Wah mute. The Harmon style mute is the one that is the most fun. My trumpet teacher used to tell us that if we left our mutes at home, we had left half of our horn at home. They were that important.

The first category is straight mutes. These are the basic mute used in trumpet playing the most often, and usually should be the first mute you purchase. If the music says "muted" or "con sordino", it means with a straight mute. Many parents will go and purchase the cheapest mute they can find. Metal straight mutest sound much better than others for most circumstances. Make sure you research mutes before you buy one. Whatever mute you decide to get, you want to try and match the rest of your section because they all sound different. The most popular brands used today are the Tom Crown, Leblanc Vacchiano, Jo-Ral, and Dennis Wick. I have around ten different straight mutes that all produce different sounds that I use for different circumstances.

Next, we have cup mutes and Harmon Style Mutes. These resemble a straight mute but have a cup at the end that changes the sound. The Harmon or Wah-Wah Style mute is a totally different sounding mute. I've also seen them called the Wow-Wow, and Jo-Ral calls theirs a Bubble Mute. The Harmon Brand mute is the one that started it all. In fact, regardless of the brand, they are usually called a Harmon Mute. The Harmon Brand is still a good mute, but most professional players play other brands.

A plunger is another one to keep handy if you play in a jazz band. You can purchase one made for trumpet playing, but I just use a normal sink plunger with the handle removed. A sink plunger is smaller than a regular toilet plunger and it works better for the trumpet. Save the toilet ones for the trombone players.

The last category of mutes I think a trumpet player should always have is a practice mute. With a good one, you can practice in a hotel room at 3:00am and not disturb anyone. There are numerous ones on the market today. That used to be very different. When I was in college, there were only a couple available, and only one of them was good. Practice mutes are a great thing to have, but they are not something that you should use all the time. The back-pressure is different than an open trumpet, and prolonged use could cause problems with your playing.

Harry Richardson - Article Directory: EzineArticles

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