4 Tips For Songwriting

If you are looking for tips for songwriting, then you have came to the right place! Not everyone can create award winning music, because it takes a special talent, and a lot of work. Do you have the ambition it takes to become a song writer? If you can honestly answer that question with a yes, then you should follow your dream and do everything it takes to become successful.

Below, you will find 4 tips for songwriting.

Tip #1: Use Emotions.

People enjoy listening to music that has emotion. Whether the song is about a woman, a guy, love in general, and even anger. People love songs they can relate to. It helps some people through problems, if they are upset about something, or when they are mad over something. If a person is in love, they might even dedicate your song to a loved one.

Tip #2: Song Structure.

Song structure is a very important part of a song, which most writers already know. Without a good structure, the song is just words. It can be put into a storybook layout, where the song tells a story, or it can just be about something or someone.

Tip #3: Try To Be Different From Other Artists.

Try to remember there are a lot of artists out there, in the world. Anyone can copy from another person and try to duplicate their style, or even try their best to improve it in some way. When you are original and you can offer something different, it's a lot easier to succeed and stay at the top. People look for different types of music, all the time, and the studio managers know this. It's why they look for talent inside of people.

Tip #4: Keeping Up On Songwriting Skills.

A lot of songwriters think they have everything they need to make great songs, but majority of them are wrong. A true songwriter stays ahead of their competition, and staying sharp with their skills. Also, they always look for the newest and best material to help them, when it comes to making songs. They are constantly researching for better ways to help them. This takes a lot of dedication and devotion. It's how they succeed, in this field.

Hopefully, the 4 tips on songwriting I have listed above has helped you. Just try to do your best, always stay positive, and keep believing in yourself. Don't let failing bring you down, because we all fail through out life. Once you succeed and start making great songs, it will be worth everything you have fought for.

Joe Nobles enjoys helping people with their musical talents, and doing what he can to help others succeed in life. He has found one of the Best Tips For Songwriting is believing in yourself, and trying as hard as you can to pursue the dream you have always wanted in your life. For more valuable tips on songwriting, please visit: http://www.squidoo.com/tipsforsongwriting

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Easy Ways to Care for Your Guitar

You've picked out your favorite guitar from the shop. You've brought it home and given it a name. We all have names for our guitars, right? Now you want to learn how to keep your baby in good condition forever.

Think of your guitar like white wine, conditioned properly it'll taste better in 20 years. Follow these tips below and you'll find that the wood aging process will help your guitar sound better than when you purchased it.

Guitar Maintenance 101

The Strings

Taking care of the guitar strings is important. It'll keep your guitar sounding great for months and save you money from purchasing new strings. That being said you should replace your strings before recording music, before live performances (except if you are touring then maybe every few concerts) and anytime when the sound of your guitar seems dull.

To maintain your stings be sure to wipe them down with a cloth after playing. This will remove any oil and debris that has gotten onto the string while playing. There are conditioners you can use but they aren't necessary.

It's also a good idea to wipe down the back of the neck of the guitar at this time.

The fretboard

Maintaining the fretboard can be tricky but your best plan of attack is to clean it when replacing the strings. For this a thorough scrubbing is needed to get the junk out from the crevasses between the frets and the wood surface. Use a damp cloth for this job but be sure to dry out the wood. For this task I recommend a conditioner. It'll help the wood keep the moisture it needs and can provide an extra layer of protection from dirt and grime.

The body of the guitar

This is the easiest part. A simple wipe down of the surface should do you. Every few months it's also a good idea to use a conditioner here as well.

Hardware

On the electric guitar you'll have more to do here then on the acoustic guitar. This first thing for you to do is to make sure all screws, nuts and bolts are tightened. Careful not to over-tighten as this can damage sensitive parts. Your second task is to polish the metallic parts. A wipe with a damp cloth should be enough but you can get metal polish as well. Be sure to test an area first.

Storage

This last maintenance tip is probably the most important but one that many of beginning music students are unaware of. Storage of a guitar can make or brake it's sound. This is because wood is quite sensitive to changes in weather. These tips work well for anyone but are most important for those who live in Northern climates such as Canada because of the extreme weather changes.

Just like white wine in the summer you'll want to keep your guitar in a cool and dry place. Leaving it in the sun is a bad idea. So is leaving it in your car.

The winter is almost the opposite. Keep it in a warm place that is shielded from the elements. You also want to keep the humidity at a consistent level. A good option for this is a sound hole humidifier.

Well, there you have it guitar maintenance 101. You are now ready to rock.

Jordan Stevens continues to inspire people to play music and perform at their best. His music can be heard on the Internet, in short films and on corporate phone systems. He is the Chief Noisemaker at CJSmusic and in his spare time he loves to swim with the fishes in the sea.

If you'd like to learn how to create a brand that will stand out and be heard, check out cjsmusic.ca

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Blues Guitar Lessons

What is Blues?

Blues is a musical genre or musical form originated from work songs, spirituals and field hollers of African American community. The blues musical form is present in all types of Music including jazz, rock & roll and rhythms. Blues musical genre can be played in different instruments like Guitar, Saxophone, Drums, Trumpet and Trombone. Blues is exemplified using different chord progressions, of which the 12 bar Blues chord progressions are very common.

Want Blues Guitar Lessons?

Are you interested in playing blues musical form on your Guitar? Then you have to learn and practice the blues guitar in between lessons. The guitar lessons are available to play different styles of blues like Chicago blues, slow blues, funky blues, jazz blues, boogaloo and much more. You can learn all these styles with various chords and progressions by going through the lessons mentioned below:

Blues Guitar Beginner Lessons

If you are a beginner in learning, then start with beginner lessons including rhythm, minor rhythm, shuffle rhythm, scales, intro licks and basic licks. When you are done with these lessons, begin with blues solos lessons. Then you can proceed with intermediate lessons including two chord licks, low string solo and swing solo.

Blues Guitar Lead Lessons

When you have learnt beginner guitar, you can proceed with the lead lessons to master in blues. The lead lessons include blues licks and solos, classic blues licks, classic double stop licks, bends, movable blues, Jody's shuffle and much more. You have to also concentrate on lessons related to blues rhythm, blues turnaround and acoustic.

Learn all guitar lessons with full care and master them. No doubt that you will soon become a best Guitarist like B.B. King, Leadbelly and Eric Clapton.

It is advisable that you practice the guitar daily to become the guitar player that you have always dreamed of. If you can only practice for five minutes of guitar each day this is far better than practicing for thirty five minutes every single week! It all comes down to hands on time with your guitar, the more you practice in between your guitar lessons the better.

It is not essential to own the custome Les Paul or Strat guitar in order to get the sound of your dream guitar player, the attitude of the player is far more important. Listen to what your teacher says during your blues guitar lessons for the best chance of success.

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Starting Music As An Adult

Hands up if you tried to learn music when you were a kid, and gave up after a while. Didn't like it? Didn't like having to practise? People said something negative? Too hard? Clashed with footie or basketball? The dog ate your theory homework?

Distant memories

Hands up if you're older now, perhaps in your 30s, 40s or 50s. You like music, and you wish you could play, even a bit, just for yourself. But you can't remember how music works. That's a treble clef, right? What's that other thing there? I'll screw up for sure...

Learning music in mid-life is a great thing to do. Most people like music, and even if you only play for yourself when everyone's out, it's an achievement. Lots of people get to their 30s and 40s and think something's missing. Often that thing can be music.

Stimulating the brain

But there are other good things about learning music later. Science is finding that new neural pathways are stimulated. For Alzheimer's prevention, the rule is "use it or lose it". Learning music is like learning a new language. If you could play when you were a child, then it will come back to you gradually. If you never learned, then there's a new, exciting world out there. Even if you've had a stroke, learning to play tunes on a keyboard with one hand could be really exciting and great therapy.

There are a wide range of books for piano, guitar and other instruments out there that were written for adults. Adult tutors are available for most instruments from your local music store.

What to play?

Piano and guitar are common choices. Piano probably because there's one in the house, or an electronic keyboard kicking around that the teenagers have left behind. Maybe guitar appeals because it's portable and you can sing along to your favourite songs as you strum. But you could try flute, sax, recorder, viola da gamba or any number of other instruments. It depends on your budget, time, teacher availability, how close the neighbours are and your personal preference. I don't suggest taking up bagpipes in a high rise.

Buying the instrument

If you buy a bad instrument, you'll always regret it. If you don't have a piano, guitar or other instrument yet, seek advice from a teacher, not a music store. They're there to sell instruments, and usually not look after your long-term musical aspirations, though there could be exceptions. You might find some facility for renting an instrument, which is ideal. But bear in mind that a $200 keyboard is a toy, not a piano, and there is a VAST difference in what can be achieved or learned.

Be the role model

Another benefit is that if you learn music as a parent of small children, you can act as a role model and get the kids more interested. Having music as a natural part of your family life and introducing a wide range of sounds and musical genres helps to broaden everyone's mind and enjoyment. One great thing is that you can experience some of the "speed humps" in the learning process first hand, and be more understanding of the process, or be able to explain it to your child. It's also great to be able to supervise practice from a more knowledgeable point of view.

Find the right teacher

For an adult, the challenge is to find a teacher who is committed to make learning interesting, flexible enough to go with your interests, and who gives positive feedback. Think about what YOU want from piano lessons and don't be afraid to discuss it first with a prospective teacher. Sometimes your second or third choice of teacher may be best for you. Conversely, the first person you find may not seem ideal at first, but may have valuable learning experiences for you. Someone who plays and teaches with passion can be an exciting and challenging musical mentor.

How often are lessons?

Generally weekly lessons give you the best results. When people try fortnightly lessons, they often don't practice much during the first week, then madly try to catch up, having forgotten what the teacher said in the last lesson, or worse, they come to the lesson without having done anything at all. This is a waste of your money and teacher's time and gets very frustrating. Commit to weekly lessons and you'll see a lot more progress. Also bring a cheap notebook to lessons and write down lots of notes for practice. Ask for a practice schedule.

What about online music lessons?

I don't recommend them. There's a lot of potential for misunderstanding, or technical mistakes which are very hard to correct. I haven't seen any good results from using them. Your teacher is (or should be) trained to watch everything from posture to tone production, integrate theory and general knowledge into your training, and be a mentor, advising you on all sorts of musical things. Lessons can be a lot of fun, and I think the interaction with other people is priceless.

Set realistic goals

If you're an older starter, you need to set some realistic goals. You could decide you want to join the opera, and maybe if you work hard enough, have great talent and a great teacher you might make it, but it's generally unlikely. You could just want to play a couple of pieces for yourself, or supervise the kids' practice, or you might want to join a local amateur music group and have fun playing with others. Think about it and discuss it with your teacher. Check the local paper for musical opportunities to work towards.

Go for it!

(c) Patrice Connelly, 2011

Patrice Connelly is an Australian musician who specialises in early music, and teaches piano, viola da gamba, music theory and history. She has an M.Mus (Hons) degree in musicology from the University of Sydney. Her business Saraband Music imports/exports, wholesales/retails and publishes sheet music, and she is involved in research, writing, editing, speaking and teaching music. Visit the Saraband Music website at http://www.saraband.com.au/

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Teach Yourself to Play Music - A Very Basic Lesson for Music and Piano

Finding your way round on the piano is not difficult; all you need to know is one note. With this key note, excuse the pun, you can find every note on the piano. So I can tell you that this key note is the Middle C. To find this key note look to the two black keys left of centre on your keyboard, now the white key left of these two black keys is the Middle C.

From one elusive note, Middle C, this enables you to find every note on the bass and treble lines of your sheet music. These notes that you have on your sheet music relate to the piano by way of the white keys of the keyboard. Using the same process that we used on the sheet music you can find and name every white key on the keyboard. But first you need locate the middle C on your keyboard.

To find this Middle C however we must look at the pattern of the black keys. You will see that they alternate from two together to three together. Now if we place a finger in the centre of our keyboard or piano, you will see a set of two black keys to the left of centre. The white key to the left of these twin black keys is the Middle C. To help you find it easy if you remember that the white key at the centre of every twin black keys is always the note D.

This shows that the nearest C to the centre of your keyboard is slightly left of centre. It is called the Middle C because of its location in sheet music. At this moment do not concern yourself further with the black keys. Now you have your Middle C, to the right of the Middle C is the treble staff or stave of your sheet music and to the left is the bass staff or stave of your sheet music.

With this knowledge and using white notes only, you should be able to play and name every note on the keyboard, from Middle C, go right to D, E, F, G, A, B, C, D and so on to the end of your keyboard, then from the Middle C again go left in reverse alphabet mode to B, A, G, F, E, D, C and so on to the left end of your keyboard. Play and say these notes out loud often and in different order in your practice and you will soon be able to find them at will.

Summing up, in this article, Teach Yourself to Play Music - A Very Basic Lesson for Music and Piano; we found Middle C on our sheet music and from there we found all the notes for the treble and all the notes for the base. Transferring that knowledge to the piano we found Middle C and from there we found all the notes to the right, the treble notes, all the notes to the left, the bass notes and played and named every white key on our keyboard. This has been a very basic lesson in music but I truly hope that it helped to demystify the piano and music in general.

My name is Ken Aindow and I too am a Budding Piano Player. I have always wanted to play music, but never realised just how easy it was to learn until now. From the article above you will now know how easy it is for you to each yourself to play music. If you wish to follow up on this type of easy lessons please feel free to visit my website - Teach Yourself To Play Music. for more free lessons and advice on where to go next.

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How To Tune Drums

So many times I hear students tell me that they need a new snare drum or that their toms are terrible. Sometimes it might be true but before they raid their parent's bank accounts I always offer to check out their existing drums. Often it's a simple case of a poorly tuned drum.

HEADS

If anything does need replacing, it is generally the drum head rather than the drum. Heads reach a point where they are impossible to tune and this will happen more quickly if you're a hard hitter.

When selecting heads, there are many on offer but discussing this in detail is for another article. As a general rule, the thinner heads resonate more freely and therefore offer more tone. These are better for recording purposes and include the likes of Evans G1, Remo Diplomat or Remo Ambassador.

Thicker heads offer more durability so if you're practising at home, or doing rock gigs and can't afford to keep replacing your split Ambassadors, these are worth checking out. For recording purposes they are less useful as they lack the tone and vibrancy of their thinner counterparts. Such options include the Evans G2, Evans EC2, Remo Emporer, and Remo pinstripe.

The bottom head is known as the resonant head. So to allow it to resonate, it is much thinner. Remo Diplomats and the like are great for toms. With the snare drum, some drummers use batter heads on the bottom but many will use the purpose made resonant heads offered by all the top brands.

TUNING

Before putting the new head on, make sure you have cleaned the debris and dust from the inside of the shell and around the bearing edges. Check that the bearing edges are in good condition as any imperfections will result in impossible tuning. If they are damaged, find a music shop that will recut them.

1. Place the head on your drum, place the rim on the head and slot the tension rods down into the lugs. Some people lubricate the tension rods with Vaseline.

2. Tighten each tension rod with your fingers. Always move across the drum and never to the tension rod next to where you started. If you begin at the 12 o'clock position, the next tension rod to be tuned is the one at 6 o'clock (see diagram above). Next you do the one at 1 o'clock, then 7 o'clock, etc. This allows the tension to be spread evenly around the drum.

3. Now, using the drum key start back at 12 o'clock and turn it 180 degrees. Now go round the drum, crisscrossing again with the half turn on each tension rod.

4. Repeat step 3 until the drum is close to the pitch that you want. You will want to do much smaller increments when it is close to the desired sound. Consider a 90 degree or 45 degree turn on each tension rod.

If it is a new head you will want to seat the drum head. Place one hand on the centre of the drum palm down. Place the other hand over it as if giving CPR. Push down fairly hard until you hear a terrifying splitting sound. Now relax, you haven't broken the head. You've just broken it in, allowing the bond between the glue and the rim to stretch to the shape of the drum. This would have happened anyway once you started smacking it with a wooden stick and it would have gone out of tune. Now tune it back up and it should stay there.

FINE TUNING

We are now close to being fully tuned but there is one more stage. To fine tune the drum you must tap the head an inch in from each tension rod. The pitch should be identical on each. That means the drum is evenly tuned. If one area is different in pitch, tweak it with the drum key and use your ear to listen until each part of the drum sounds even. Voila!

SNARE

Generally considered the most important drum of the drum kit, it is also very personal. Listen to ten great drummers and you will hear ten different snare sounds. This is affected by the snare drum shell material, snare heads, bearing edges, tuning, snare strand tension, playing style, and so on. You must find the right head combination and tuning for your own playing.

If the snare is buzzing, there are some solutions you can try:

1. Detune the lugs either side of the snares. You must then tighten the other lugs to compensate. This is the snare (bottom) head only, not the batter head.

2. Tune the batter head, or snare head to a different pitch.

3. Retune the high tom to a different pitch if that drum is causing the sympathetic frequency response.

4. Some drummers tape the snares to the drum head at either end. Experiment with this.

5. If all else fails, smash it with a sledge hammer in an uncontrolled fit of anger and then calmly begin to tune your spare snare drum and hope for better results.

TOMS

These require the same technique as above but the relationships between each tom is important here. Many drummers tune toms a fourth apart. You can use a piano to get an idea of how this interval sounds. Some drummers are very specific and tune to exact pitches whereas others are happy with the approximate sound of the fourth. At the piano, hit a C note. Then go down and hit a G and then finally the D. That is the sound you want to aim for.

The relationship between the resonant and batter head is also important and, again, down to personal preference. As a general rule, the batter head primarily affects the tone, while the resonant head affects the note length. If the batter head is tensioned differently to the resonant head, it will decrease the resonance but may cause a pitch bend effect in the note sustain, which can be undesirable. Tuned to the same tension and the resonance might be too long. It's a case of trial and error to find your preference.

BASS DRUM

In many styles, the bass drum is the easiest to tune as us drummers tend to muffle it to get that thud sound. Some drummers simply finger tighten each lug so that the wrinkles are only just taken out. Some use the drum key and go much tighter. Regarding muffling, some heads such as the Evans E-mad have their own integrated muffling systems. However, often something is placed inside the drum to achieve that dead sound depending on how much boom each drummer wishes to retain.

This might be a pillow, a towel, an EQ cushion (which is basically a more expensive pillow sold by drum head manufacturers) or a dead body (just testing if you're concentrating!). Play around and see what works for you in your particular setting.

TO TAPE OR NOT TO TAPE?

Over the years many different materials have been placed upon drums to achieve certain sounds. These range from gaffa tape, paper towels, wallets, cigarette packets, tea towels, and anything else that does the job. Purpose made solutions include the O-rings and Moon Gel, both of which should be part of any drummers tool box to help control unwanted overtones if and when they arise in different studios or concert halls.

My opinion is that you shouldn't get caught thinking that the use of such techniques are needed in reaction to your inadequacy to tune a drum. If it helps achieve the best sound which ultimately helps you to offer the best drum track that the artist, producer or client is looking for, then do it. Every room causes the drum to react differently and your combination of drums/heads might just need a little helping hand for certain styles in certain situations. Do what you can to get a great sound.

I hope this guide helps a little but there really is no substitute to learning your own way through trial and error. Put in the effort to discover what works, make your mistakes, and learn from them. Whatever you do, don't shy away from it or your drums will never sound their best.

For further drumming advice articles, click HERE

Matt Dean is a professional drummer, tutor and author. He publishes a FREE drum blog full or articles, video lessons and other drumming resources.
http://www.mattdeanworld.co.uk/

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Audio Engineering Courses Are a Must for Those Interested in a Career in the Studio or On Tour

Audio engineering courses will prove to be invaluable for those looking to start a career in the entertainment industry. These courses will teach the tricks of the trade when it comes to recording an album, producing a live show or tour, or even post-production audio for film and television. When choosing the right audio engineering program, it is important to find a program that combines a solid educational curriculum with hands-on experience.

While many students are indeed future professional audio engineers, the rate of artists and producers signing up is on the rise. Sound engineering courses allow an artist to take full control of their projects, or at the very least, communicate their ideas effectively to the engineers.

Worthwhile audio engineering courses feature state-of-the-art studios and industry-standard equipment, such as DigiDesign, SSL, and Neve, designed for the purpose of tracking, overdubbing, and mixing. DigiDesign produces software that serves as a flexible method of practicing, studying, experimenting, and recording at any time, day or night; 24-hour access to the lab is a must. DigiDesign training programs, which are included as part of reputable audio engineering courses, will prepare students for the Pro Tools Operator exam.

Passing this exam allows an engineer to operate the Pro Tools|HD® system in any post-production environment. A reputable program will guarantee studio internships for its students; the practical professional experience gained as an engineering assistant in a top recording studio is unparalleled.

Networking is a huge part of starting a career in this highly competitive field - it's all about who the sound engineer knows, and who knows the him - so making a mark as an intern will serve as a great way for a student to brand herself as a future candidate for full-time employment.

One of the more popular pieces of audio software on the market today is Apple's Logic. When it comes to digital audio production, editing, and sequencing, Logic is used extensively by post-production facilities, studios, arrangers, composers, and other major production companies. Therefore, a reputable audio engineering program will be an authorized Apple training center for Logic. Completing the program and passing the exam will entitle the student to a certificate from Apple as well as a credit on Apple's website as an authorized Logic expert.

Once the audio engineering courses have been completed, students will be prepared to enter the music industry via a wide variety of positions. Live sound engineers, assistant engineers, post-production engineers, sound designers, studio technicians, mastering engineers, studio designers, and more entry-level positions are available to those who have received a certificate in audio engineering.

For those who are interested in movies and television, audio recording and production training is comprehensive. Recording, editing, and mixing music, dialogue, and sound effects will also be possible with classes in location sound recording, ADR recording and editing, Foley recording and editing, and background and sound effects editing.

For those who wish to become a much-needed commodity for touring musicians, audio engineering courses in sound reinforcement, live recording and mixing, console operation, monitors, lighting and video, and stage and tour management is a must. Whether one wants to master an album in the studio, promote the album on tour, or use the songs in a major motion picture, studying and perfecting the craft at a reputable music academy provides the tools needed to make these dreams a reality.

Resource Box:

Musicians Institute, a music school located at the heart of Hollywood, stands as a venue for aspiring and professional artists to master their crafts. Whether a student is taking a vocal, guitar, drums, keys, bass, or music business course in the school, they will receive a music education designed to develop them as well-rounded artists. For more details on the various musical and technical programs offered at MI, call 1-800-255-7529 or visit MI.edu.

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5 Tips You Can Use Today When Learning Your First Chords

Learning your first guitar chords can be very challenging. In fact most beginners quit because playing chords is so difficult at first. So what can you do to stop yourself from quitting? I've listed a few helpful tips that will help to not only keep you on track but also prevent you from giving up on your dream of learning to play guitar.

Tip #1
Practice for no longer than fifteen minutes a day.
Many people when first starting out want to practice for an hour a day. This is a bad idea. Your fingertips need time to build up calluses and might start bleeding if you push yourself too hard. Ideally you should practice until your fingers start to really hurt, usually within first fifteen minutes, and no more!

Tip #2
Never skip a day of practice.
This is very important. In fact if you can't find fifteen minutes a day every day in your busy lifestyle, you might as well save yourself the trouble and don't even attempt to learn guitar. And I mean every day. Why? You need to build muscle memory in your fingers and that takes time and repetition. If you skip even a day of practice it can and usually does send you way back in your progress. So all this hard work you've been putting into it is worthless. Unless you practice every day!

Tip #3
Keep a daily log of your progress.
This is more for motivational purposes. Seeing how much you have improved overtime is a huge ego booster and helps to put the fire back into the whole learning guitar process. It's a good idea to go even farther and video record all of your practices. You will get such a kick out of it when you go back and see just how bad you were in the beginning. That's what I did and it helped me to keep going.

Tip #4
Join forums.
Join guitar forums for support. Guitar forums have hundreds of people going through the same pain as you are. You can get a lot of helpful tips if you run into trouble when learning something and the emotional support you get from your piers doesn't hurt either.

Tip #5
Make sure your guitar is always properly tuned.
This is a no brainer. But for some reason so many beginners, me included, forget about something so crucial to your success in learning guitar. In fact many people think their playing skills suck when in reality their guitar is out of tune. Simple, right?

There is an easy way to learn How To Play Guitar. I get all of my lessons from Guitarzonline. They have a lot of helpful information like Learn Guitar Chords, How Long Does It Take To Learn Guitar and even offer free lessons for beginners. If you're interested in learning guitar you should check their site out. You will be glad you did.

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How A Good Guitar Teacher Will Help New And Experienced Guitarists

Learning to play guitar just like learning any music instrument can be difficult, you will hear lots of people give advice about regular practice and how spending just 20 minutes a day will make a huge difference. Practicing guitar regularly will of course help you to progress but it is also important to know what to practice. It's no good just sitting and playing something you know over and over again, it's also no good endlessly trying to play something that your skills haven't developed enough for. Practicing something you already know will make you better at it but it will also become very boring and practicing to play something that your guitar skills are simply not ready for will make you extremely frustrated.

So how does someone who wants to learn to play guitar decide just what they should spend their practice sessions playing, this is where a guitar teacher comes in, having a good guitar teacher to keep you focussed on developing the right skills at the right pace is essential, we have all heard of great guitar players who were self taught such as Hillel Slovak from the Red Hot Chilli Peppers & Jimi Hendrix who learnt his style just by experimenting, believe me these are the exception, most guitar players do have a tutor at some stage to help them develop their playing skills.

A guitar teacher is much more than just someone who will to show you all the chords and how to play them well. A good guitar instructor can act as a mentor, someone who will push you to excel & perfect your skills to be better than even you could have thought. They can teach you to open your mind to different sounds and tones and allow to find your own path to making music.

Having a guitar teacher from the outset will help you to learn in a structured way, concentrating on refining key areas of your play and structuring your learning will make sure you are learning the right things at the right time, when you first start to play it is also important to have a guitar teacher who can explain things clearly to you and help you to understand where to focus on to improve your guitar playing, these are the things you will be practicing outside of your lessons to help you progress in to a competent guitar player.

A guitar teacher will also be there to help you over those difficult periods that every musician comes across when we feel like we have hit a wall and can't seem to learn a certain technique, your guitar tutor will help you get past these hurdles and encourage you to stay focussed. Before you know it the wall is past and you find you can competently play the guitar lick or difficult chord you thought seemed impossible.

I have been playing guitar now for over three years, when I first started playing I thought I would be able to teach myself but quickly realised that their were only certain things that I could learn without the guidance of a good guitar teacher. My first guitar teacher didn't work out for me so I moved on to my current one who I have been with for three years and I am still learning and being taught new guitar techniques that improve my playing. If you are a beginner setting out to learn to play guitar a teacher will be invaluable, if you are a more experienced player who is looking to develop their playing skills further a guitar teacher will undoubtedly speed up the learning process.

Steve Spinks is a guitar player based in Brighton, Sussex. Steve has been playing guitar for three years and strives to become a better guitarist.
Guitar Lessons Brighton

Guitar Teacher Brighton

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Best Guitar Amplifier for College

When you're going to college, you need an amp that will let you rock out without raising the ire of your roommate or neighbors. Luckily, there are plenty of impressive amps that both sound good at lower volumes and can hang with a band if necessary. We've compiled a list of five, but there are certainly more out there if you look.

We already covered some good beginner amps elsewhere. Any of those would suffice as dorm room amps if you're on a really tight budget. However, there are some little amps out there that sound every bit as good as the big expensive amps. Every amp on this list is driven by tubes, as opposed to the solid-state amps on the beginner list. Without going into too much detail here, tube amps are generally considered the superior type of amplification. The difference in sound his hard to explain, but you'll likely be able to hear it if you ever sit down and compare tube amps to solid-state amps side-by-side.

Marshall Class 5

Only five watts, you say? You'll be surprised by the wallop packed by this little combo amp from Marshall. The tone is sweet, the overdrive is crunchy, and this amp can certainly compete with a drummer in a small venue or practice setting. It even has a headphone jack for silent practice sessions.

VHT Special 6

At six watts, this boutique VHT amp isn't much more powerful than the Marshall, but again, looks can be deceiving. These amps are hand-wired and made in small quantities, yet the price doesn't reflect that level high level of craftsmanship. The point-to-point wiring system used to build these amps also means they're easy to modify, which manufacturer VHT seems to encourage.

Orange Tiny Terror

The Orange Tiny Terror is renowned for its signature Orange distortion and is the most popular tube amp in Orange's line. Its fans love its no-frills design (only 3 knobs, no extraneous effects) and the amount of sound it can put out despite its size. Overdrive the tubes in this amp and you'll be rewarded with classic British crunch for far less money than the price of a stack. It also offers the option of switching from 15 to 7 watts, to make achieving the crunchy sound that much easier at low volumes.

Fender Blues Junior

These little 15-watt amps are, according to Fender, the best-selling tube amps in the world. They boast the styling and sound of the bigger Fender Hot Rod amp series, but they come with the added benefits of being cheaper and smaller. It doesn't get much better than the signature American tube sound of a Fender Blues Junior.

Bugera V-22

Weighing in at 22 watts, the Bugera is the biggest amp on this list. It comes with classy vintage-inspired styling features, including a cool blue jewel light, and also has a smooth-sounding digital reverb. These amps are built in China by Behringer, a well-known sound equipment manufacturer.

In conclusion, a good amp for college is an amp that is compact and offers great tone. However, students may not even be able to afford these amps. If you're really hurting for cash, any of these best beginner amps would do the job just as well for a good college amp.

Cheap Guitarists.com offers news, articles, reviews, and sales for the budget minded guitarist. For newbies, we also provide information on the best beginner's guitars.

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Enrolling in a Bachelor of Music Program Is the Next Step on the Journey That Began in a Garage Band

Most kids are not introduced to the art of playing music through a bachelor of music program. Perhaps they took beginner's lessons when they were young, perhaps they joined the school band in middle school, and if they fall in love with the craft, they may have chosen to form a band with friends.

While playing the same chords over and over again down in Joe's Garage might be a good way to have fun and meet girls, but the best way to grow as a musician and an artist however, - is to obtain a bachelor of music degree. Whether a musician plays the guitar, keyboard, bass, drums, or if he or she is a singer, there is a customized curriculum designed specifically for each instrument that provides the training needed for them to become the player they have always dreamed of becoming. And for those more interested in the business of show, majoring in music business, audio engineering, and film production gives an insider's perspective on what goes on behind the scenes in the industry.

The most compelling reason to make the scholarly leap from amateur musician to student would be the access to professional musicians. There is simply no substitute for a bachelor of music program where students learn from - and play in front of - polished musicians who were once in their shoes. Guitarists, drummers, bassists, vocalists, and keyboardists can expect a performance-based program that emphasizes professional, technical, and creative development.

Frequent clinics and concerts allow the chance to actually see and hear the lessons learned earlier that day in the classroom. Other than perfecting their paradiddles, drummers can expect an immersion into electronic drumming, loops and sequencing, and digital recording. Similarly, keyboardists must be able to not only play the instrument, but take advantage of the instrument's capabilities for sampling, production, digital recording, arranging, and drum programming. A contemporary music institute introduces students to an extremely wide variety of music genres, including jazz, funk, R&B, blues, country, rock, fusion, Latin, and Afro-Cuban styles, among others.

Playing an instrument and writing songs and lyrics is only one-half of show business. There is a great deal more action going on behind the scenes than most audience members ever realize. Receiving a bachelor of music in audio engineering or the music business itself will provide insight into the process of bringing an independent artist to the market.

Marketing and promotion, contracts, personal management, and music publishing are all vital skills to have when an artist decides to take their future into their own hands, start their own record label, or sign other artists with the potential for success. Maybe she will even manage her own artistic career. A film production program will turn an amateur into a professional filmmaker before he knows it. Courses on screenwriting, storyboarding, lighting, cinematography, set design, directing, editing, and VFX creation will show the filmmaker what needs to be done to bring his personal vision to the silver screen.

Whether as a musician, a businessman, or a filmmaker, studying under the tutelage of the professionals is the best way to become immersed into a world that may have previously only existed down in a friend's garage.

Resource Box:

Musicians Institute, a music school located at the heart of Hollywood, stands as a venue for aspiring and professional artists to master their crafts. Whether a student is taking a vocal, guitar, drums, keys, bass, or music business course in the school, they will receive a music education designed to develop them as well-rounded artists. For more details on the various musical and technical programs offered at MI, call 1-800-255-7529 or visit MI.edu.

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Can Anybody Learn How To Sing Opera? Settling The Great Controversy

In the last few years there's been an explosion of interest among the general population in learning how to sing opera. Sure, opera has been a popular art form since its inception but the pop and rock music takeover made the world forget about opera for a while. Even in Europe, where opera singing is greatly admired by the majority of the population, pop and rock concerts sell out while opera houses struggle with ticket sales.

In some countries, such as the United States, most people think of opera singing as some kind of weird, pompous activity that old people go to the theatre to hear. But this attitude is changing at light speed. In an ironic turn of events, opera has slipped into the mainstream of music.

Several famous opera singers such as Pavarotti began to sing pop sings and widely known folk tunes in massive concert halls and arenas and taped their performances to reach even more listeners. Whether they did it to reach more people with their music or because pop pays so well, a lot of these opera singers did renditions of popular songs in an operatic vocal style, which was strange to opera devotees and unusual for pop lovers. Some diehards of each genre considered it a sell-out to mix two totally different styles together. Others responded by saying music is music is music.

In the last couple of years, opera singing and pop have begun to coexist thanks to stars that can do both almost equally well. Singers such as Sarah Brightman, Andrea Bocelli, Josh Groban, The King's Singers and many other talented individuals regularly mix opera and pop songs into their set lists and audiences that used to snicker at opera are now thrilled by the unique, powerful sound.

But can just about anybody learn how to sing opera or is it only meant for the select few who are born with a special talent that the rest of us just don't have? Ever since a British cell phone salesman named Paul Potts and a middle-aged homebody named Susan Boyle won Britain's Got Talent with their operatic crooning, people have been wondering if they too could learn to use their voices in such a spectacular fashion.

So let's settle the debate, shall we? Can ANYBODY learn how to sing opera? The answer is yes! First of all, who am I to say so? I'm a tone-deaf teenage turned opera singer and vocal coach who, like many people, thought singing operatically was a God-given gift until I simply began learning how it's done. I won't bore you with my story because I'd much rather just teach you the basics of opera singing so that you can apply them right away and begin to transform your voice!

You see, everybody is born with the same vocal equipment. We all have legs and we can all run, right? Likewise, we all have voice boxes and we can all learn to coordinate the muscles involved in singing to produce an operatic sound. Now it IS true that to become an elite opera singer such as Pavarotti or Renee Fleming there's a lot of luck, talent and hard work involved. But for the average lover of opera singing who wants to sing at home, for friend and family and maybe even on the local stage, the missing ingredient is simply learning operatic technique and practicing it consistently!

Learning to sing opera starts with a few basic rules that all successful and competent opera singers follow. The first and most important rule of opera singing is to keep the larynx in a low position. The larynx, which is another name for the voicebox or Adam's apple, is the bump found on the front of the neck that moves up and down when you speak and when you swallow. Women, you have these as well. If you put your hand on your throat and swallow a few times, you'll feel the larynx move very distinctly.

A huge part of that rich, operatic sound is the result of simply keeping the voicebox in a low position during singing. How do you accomplish this? Well, it might take some time to train your larynx to stay put but here's an exercise you can use to begin training it right now!

Put your hand on your throat and yawn. You'll notice that when you yawn, your larynx sinks to a low position. Do it a few more times and now take notice of the role that your tongue is playing in lowering the larynx. Your tongue is actually moving back and down and nudging the larynx into this low position. Your job now is to monitor the voicebox whenever you're singing.

As you sing higher notes, you'll notice that your larynx has a tendency to want to rise. Gently ease it down and try again. It may take a few months to almost a year to master this across your entire singing range depending on how many bad vocal habits you've acquired in the past. But once you do, you'll be able to produce an operatic sound on command!

The second crucial part of learning how to sing opera is something called "placement". This refers to where you direct the sounds you produce inside your head. Your head is basically a resonating cavity. If you think of it as a house with several rooms, one room would be the throat, another would be the the nose, another is the mouth and so on. The idea is to "open" all the doors in the house and make sure the notes you sing ring equally in each of the rooms. Why equally? Because if you trap the sound in the nose and close all the other doors, your sound will be nasal and lacking in warmth.

So how do you achieve good vocal placement? It all begins with becoming aware of something called the mask, which is basically the front part of your face. If you close your mouth and hum at a normal volume, you'll notice a buzz in the front part of your face. The area where you're feeling the buzz is called the mask! Now practice getting the buzz going and slowly opening your mouth. As you open your mouth, keep the sound vibrating in that same front area. It should feel like your nose, teeth and even your eyes are buzzing.

Singing operatically requires you to sing into the mask at all times because it's vital for singing in tune, singing fast runs, acquiring vibrato and gives the sound a clear, crisp that carries without the need for a microphone.

I've seen people from very different walks of life, with widely varying intelligence go a very long way thanks to good instruction, stubbornness and daily practice. I hope you realize that even though this is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of operatic technique, just about can learn how to sing opera.

Vic Dorfman is a professional opera singer and vocal coach who teaches people of all ages and skill levels around the world how to sing opera and how to become an opera singer.

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Four Effective Ways To Learn Guitar

Be it for the influence of rock music and dreams of becoming a rock superstar or just to fill in those leisurely hours, playing the guitar has become very appealing for many people the world over. The guitar itself is quite an easy instrument to learn but what can be an easy task for some can also be a tedious task for others. Luckily there are various way to learn the guitar and surely you can find one that suites you the best. Listed below are 4 of the most effective ways.

1. Learning by Ear

Learning the guitar by ear can be very fun and effective, especially if you are an intuitive person. Learning by ear is not as hard as it use to be several years ago. With the modern slowing down recordings technology today, anybody can learn to play by ears with a bit of effort.

2. Learning From Guitar Instructional Books

Books use to be the best choice for study in the past before we have the internet. However, there's been great development in guitar instructional book today that you can find thousands of quality guitar instructional books on the market. They range from the complete beginner to the advance player and in any musical style. There's also books that comes with audio CD and this will surely help you understand the material presented in the book easier and faster.

3. Video Guitar Lessons

Video guitar lessons are great especially if you need coaching but want to learn at your own pace. They are available on DVDs in any music store as well as online. Some of the online video guitar lessons are even free and you can learn straight from your browser without the need of a DVD player. Video lessons can be more dynamic and you'll have a better chance to stay focus with the lessons as you'll be inspired with the visual experience. Perhaps the only downside of video lessons is that you can't communicate with your instructor for any difficulties that you might encounter.

4. Private Lessons With A Guitar Teacher

If you can allocate a time for a private guitar class, finding a guitar teacher is another great option. It may cost you a bit of investment but you can benefit from the personalized attention and useful feedback that a teacher could provide. When you're dealing with a real person like a guitar teacher, he or she can customize a teaching program to best suite your needs. You will always have someone to correct your mistake on the spot before it turn into a bad playing habit plus, you'll be surprise of how a bit of motivation from a good guitar teacher can keep you focus with your goal to be good with the instrument.

Playing the guitar is a fun and rewarding experience. It does take effort, time and patient before you can rip the reward but with these learning options that are available to you, there is no reason for you not to succeed.

Eddie Kisah is a guitar teacher and the webmaster for his website edguitar.com. Visit his website for free guitar lessons at http://www.edguitar.com/.

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5 Techniques You Must Learn to Play Piano

"The piano is a complicated instrument."

This, or some variation of this, is what I hear from many students who are just starting out on the piano. If we break it down playing the piano is quite simple. Like many long term goals it is always easier to break down the task into small chunks.

In this post I'll show you 5 quick and easy techniques you need in order to play piano. Master these and you'll be well on your way to stardom.

The Techniques

1. Legato Playing
Legato is a musical term for playing smoothly. In other words, you need to connect all of the notes together. Legato notes are notated with a line over the top of each note. Looks like a rainbow connecting all of the notes.

The best way to start learning legato playing is to do the Yellow Pages walk. As one finger goes up the other should be going down.

2. Staccato Playing
Just the opposite of playing notes in a legato fashion is to play notes staccato. These notes are indicated by a dot above or below the note depending on where the note is placed on the staff. Staccato notes are short and crisp.

To play a staccato note put a block eraser on your wrist. Quickly flick your wrist as you play a note. The eraser should end up on your piano's music stand.

3. Scales
Most students find scales to be boring, we've shown how you can practice scales for fun. Either way scales makeup a large portion of how music is structured. Because of this it is important for you to master this technique.

Think slow an controlled when you first start learning scales. Master the five finger scales first then move onto full octave scales and eventually multiple octave scales. Practice scales in as many different touches and rhythms as you can think of. Remember, slow and controlled.

4. Arpeggios
Arpeggios allow you to span the keyboard quickly. Played expertly with the pedal it can have a harp sound. Arpeggios take the form of a chord but are played in a scale type fashion.

Once you develop flexibility in your hand arpeggios will become easier. Your first task is to learn how to cross your thumb under your hand. Try to keep your muscles loose as you play. Start slow to build confidence. Continue to think of your legato technique. It will also benefit you to do these in staccato form once in a while.

5. Dynamics
We're not talking about physics here...Well maybe we are.

Dynamics are indications in the music about how loud or soft to play. It is notated through a system of symbols that I will cover in a future blog post.

Dynamics are largely controlled by the weight and speed of which you play a note. If you want to play softly then play with less weight and less speed. The opposite would be true for loud dynamics. You should practice this technique while practicing the other techniques. For example, when you play a scale start soft and gradually get louder.

Bonus Technique
6. The Pedal
My students love when they first get to use the pedal. It's a good part of what gives the piano its characteristic sound. The pedal I am going to talk about is the pedal on the right. It is called the sustain pedal. Its job is to bring the dampers off of the strings and let the sound ring, hence the name sustain.

To practice this I recommend counting a simple rhythm and playing the pedal on a predetermined beat. For example, bring the pedal up on beat one and put it down on beat two then hold it for beats three and four..

Jordan Stevens has been instrumental in inspiring people of all ages to learn music and perform at their best. He is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario and Mohawk College where he studied piano and composition. Experience, knowledge and a crazy amount of patience is what sets him apart from his peers. Get a free 5 minute video music lesson at cjsmusic.ca

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The Differences Between Taking Drumming Lessons Online Versus A Private Instructor

Taking drum lessons on the Internet has become more and more popular among students eager to learn how to play, as the benefits of this method of drum instruction become more accessible. While just a few years ago, learning a musical instrument over the Web seemed inferior to one-on-one private lessons, today's technology and more reliable Internet connections have made learning the drums online a great alternative. There are free lessons as well as paid lessons available, and a large selection of drum instructors for all ages and levels.

What makes traditional private instruction that different from online drum tutorials? Aside from the physical and readily obvious differences, there are some others that require a closer look in order for you to better make a decision regarding which path to take in learning to play this instrument.

Lesson Structure

Generally speaking, one-on-one instrument lessons are reliable when it comes to lesson organization. Most private music instructors also customize the lessons to better fit the student's learning style, skill, age, etc. Also, because there is direct personal contact between instructor and student, any changes can be made immediately. On the other hand, some online resources for drum lessons may not be as reliable in providing the right progression of drum theory and knowledge to beginners, or perhaps have a very general lesson structure that does not really cater to specific needs of some students. This is why careful consideration must be made before signing up for any online drum lessons.

Practice Routines

If you have a private drum instructor, you are personally instructed to practice for a certain amount of time every week in between lessons. Online drum courses let the student decide how much and when to practice, as well as which lessons to focus on. While some people can effectively work on their own and practice what they learned, others need the guidance and monitoring of someone else so they do not get sidetracked or end up developing poor habits.

Accountability

Another thing a beginner has to keep in mind with online music lessons is the importance of responsibility to self. Because there is no private instructor to check the student's progress weekly, there is the temptation to put off practicing or learning new content. Learning the drums online requires additional effort to stay on track and keep up with the course in order to progress further with the material.

Overwhelmed by all the drum lessons choices?

Don't worry, that's understandable because with all these options in drum lessons online comes the responsibility of making the right choice. We have put together reviews, specifications, and comparisons of some of the most widely-used online drum lesson programs on the Web and on DVD today, and you can visit our website, http://www.drumlessondvd.org/, to get more information about that. As music enthusiasts ourselves, we know and understand what you need, so check out the site today!

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Learn to Sing Today! Be an X-Factor Finalist

Learning to sing from scratch.

Singing in the shower is one thing, but learning to sing in concert with a group or as a soloist is another.

If you've always dreamed of becoming a singer, you don't have to be a "natural born" vocalist to accomplish your goal. You only need the desire and dedication to learn. But, do you have what it takes to learn to sing?

Nowadays, taking basic singing lessons is a necessity if you want to be a professional singer, even to those born with great singing talent. Hiring a voice teacher can truly help you improve on areas that need specific attention.

Apart from improving your skills, it also promotes confidence that is very important in attaining stage presence and better projection.

Another advantage of having studied singing is during casting auditions. Informing the judges that you are undergoing formal voice training should give you additional advantage over the other aspirants.

Singers and Voice Training

Have you ever wondered how a professional vocalist can sing high or low., loudly or softly, and never appear to be straining? Nine times out often, they weren't born knowing how to do this. They trained their voice until they were able to reach their maximum vocal potential. Whether it was through a personal voice trainer, a singing manual or an online singing course, somehow they graduated from simply singing around the house to training their voice for optimal performance.

You can improve your tone quality by correcting the muscles that is involved in the process of singing. You must sing without the tightened feeling under your chin to have good quality of tone. There are specific techniques to eliminate this and to learn how to sing in a relaxed state.

Another basic technique is to learn tone placement. This is done by singing some basic vowels sounds EE - EH - AH - OH - OO. By practicing this voice mechanics, you can eventually learn different placements for several voice styling effects and interpretations for popular genres like jazz, rock, country etc.

Breathing Lessons

The most vital foundation when singing is to breathe properly. Each tone created should be carried on the airflow when breathing. The more you are able to control that air flow, the more you'll be able to control your singing tone.

Providing a consistent airflow to your vocal tone can result to a strong and smooth delivery of sound. If the airflow is weak and unsteady, then your voice will most likely crack, resulting to that out-of-breath feeling.

The way to proper breathing during singing can be learned by practicing some breathing exercises. But before doing so, be warned that it can cause dizziness or lightheadedness due to oversupply of oxygen into your body, so always do it with support.

Your Voice, Your Instrument

When singing, your voice is considered to be the instrument. An instrument is something a person plays skilfully to create beautiful sounds. The voice, as an instrument, functions in a similar way. You can learn new notes or sounds and train your voice to reach those sounds through practice.

It's similar to practicing with a guitar or piano, except all you'll need is your vocal cords. Your voice is the most affordable instrument you'll ever play.

Discover Your Voice's True Sound

Your voice is unique in that it makes a distinct sound when talking or singing. Even if you feel that your singing voice is terrible, singing lessons will reveal the type of singing you were meant to accomplish. Some voices are high, some are low. Some people can sing on key every time. Others must train their ear as well as their voice to learn how to hit certain notes

The question you should ask is, "Am I willing to learn how to use my voice?"

Singing lessons might reveal that you are an alto, when you were trying to sing soprano all along! Once your voice finds its place on the musical scale, you can blend beautifully with others or sing solo songs that were meant only for your unique voice.

When you watch a singer, what is it that usually grabs your attention? In order to stand out as a singer, you will need to create a unique and distinctive style. This lesson will give you a chance to experiment on your singing voice and the genre that is suitable for you and your voice.

You don't have to be a copycat of another singer. Through this, you can learn and compare various singing styles such as classical, pop, rock, gospel, jazz and blues, RnB and more.

When you have already developed your singing voice, the next part is on how to extend your vocal range and the proper posture. One of the main goals of vocal development is to identify your own vocal range, singing the highest and lowest registers you can reach.

However, there are several factors that may affect this ability, including energy, space and depth. Proper posture matters most as it affects airflow, body movement and breathing mechanism without affecting your energy.

Are you willing to learn to sing?

If you are willing to do the following, then you probably do have what it takes to be a singer.

1) Begin voice training with either a personal voice instructor or take online singing lessons

2) Follow the lessons closely, and don't be afraid to step out on a limb to take your voice to new heights.

3) Practice, whenever and wherever you can, as with any musical instrument, the more you practice the better you will become.

4) Learn how to pitch tone your voice, learn your scales. On pitch singing is the biggest confidence booster any singer can have, knowing that they can actually sing.

Good luck to all you new budding X-Factor finalists.

My daughter is a budding singer, if it wasn't for her determination I would never have found anything online to help anyone; http://www.cheapsinginglessons.info/ and http://www.goodvocaltraining.info/ are two good online ways to help improve your singing.

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Teaching Intervals

I teach theory to all of my music students, beginning from the first lessons. Every teacher will have to start with some theory, but after teaching the clefs, note names, note durations and a few other signs, often the theory gets lost, particularly if the teacher is inexperienced or not very interested in theory themselves. To me this is a real disservice and most students without theory eventually know they don't understand something but can't put their finger on what it is, or are too embarrassed to ask.

Why are intervals important?

Intervals form the basis of harmony, and the outline of melody. Without knowing intervals, you can't transpose music accurately (put it in another key). You don't understand structure, particularly of major and minor scales which most students learn in their first year. You can't even begin to progress to writing cadences and harmony. Before teaching intervals, your student should have learned at least one scale, if not two or three, both major and harmonic minor.

Teaching intervals

Anybody learning piano or a keyboard instrument will have intervals laid out in front of them. It is very easy to teach intervals when you can press down keys. Conversely, it is really much harder to teach intervals when playing a violin or a flute or percussion. It's not easily visible, so if you play or teach something other than piano, it's a great idea to get a little keyboard just for teaching or learning theory.

To start

Pointing out the difference between repeated (same) notes, steps (adjacent notes), skips and jumps (wider intervals) is the start, particularly with small children. Teach them to recognise a step up and a step down, a skip up and a skip down. Play intervals for them to pace out on the floor - same, step, skip, jump!

With children of 7 or younger, it is probably too early to teach them intervals by written work, but you can certainly teach the concept. Use an interval piece, such as the one at the back of the Leila Fletcher Piano Course Book 1, or make something up for yourself. Get them to play, sing and speak it.

Writing intervals

With older children or adults, I make up sheets, starting with thirds and fifths which are both odd numbered intervals. This means that both notes will either be on lines or spaces. For a third, the notes almost touch each other. When you see a fifth, there is a line or space in between. Actually there's more than that, but keep it simple and visual. The top half of the sheet is the instruction, and below I put four lines of 3rds and 5ths in different clefs and positions which the student has to identify. At this stage I do not talk about major or minor, perfect or any other type of interval. Just the numbers.

Next lesson

Then I progress to 4ths and 6ths, with the practice incorporating revision of the previous week's work. Then it's 7ths and octaves. Unisons and seconds are so obvious, I explain them, and put them in the final exercises, but don't devote a whole sheet to them. Next I start using the intervals on the piano. "Play me a 6th with your right hand" or "What interval do the first two notes in this piece mark out?"

Relating intervals to scales

When my student has a thorough understanding of intervals just as distance, I begin to add perfect, major and minor to their repertoire. Perfect is easy: unison, octave, fourth and fifth are all perfect, and I just need the student to remember them. I said above that I expect students to have learned some scales when I teach intervals, and this is where it becomes necessary. All they need is C major and a minor, but a few others are good for them to experiment with. They should already know the tones and semitone structure of a major scale, and you can teach them the harmonic minor scale structure if that hasn't already been done.

Major and minor intervals

Look at C major scale. Demonstrate C-E as a 3rd. Call it a major third. Then play c minor scale. How does the 3rd differ? It's C-Eb, one semitone lower. Do the same for 6ths. C-A in C major and C-Ab in c minor. The principle is that the minor interval is always a semitone less than the major interval and the correct 3rd or 6th occurs in the respective scale. You can also show them that inverting the interval swaps major and minor. For example if you invert C-E to E-C, you go from a major 3rd to a minor 6th.

Teaching major and minor 2nds is also easy. A minor 2nd is a semitone, and a major 2nd is a tone. They just have to identify them correctly.

It's only 7ths that are tricky and you may need to prepare your student for this before you go on, because the leading note can be very confusing. Stick to the principle of what is in the key signature for the minor 7th, and tell them it's one of the few times they can ignore the leading note.

Practice

If you do this over a period of a couple of months for children, depending on their ability, they will grasp intervals. Use singing, humming, playing, writing, games on the whiteboard or anything at your disposal to get them to instantly recognise the size of interval. Keep on testing every week. Find songs that begin with a particular interval and relate that to their study. They may have to work out if it's major or minor for a while, but that's just fine.

Instant recognition of the basic interval will help their sight reading, let them progress to learn harmony, help them to improvise or compose, and form an important basis to understanding how music works. Please don't neglect it.

(c) Patrice Connelly, 2011

Patrice Connelly is an Australian musician who specialises in early music, and teaches piano, viola da gamba, music theory and history. She has an M.Mus (Hons) degree in musicology from the University of Sydney. Her business Saraband Music imports/exports, wholesales/retails and publishes sheet music, and she is involved in research, writing, editing, speaking and teaching music. Visit the Saraband Music website at http://www.saraband.com.au/

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Piano Lesson: Ear Training

Ear training is especially important if you want to improvise, compose, or figure out melodies and chords to songs by ear. A good musical ear is an acquired skill, not a gift. And like other skills, it is acquired through practice.

The more we train our ear to recognize this connection, the more we enjoy playing music, because we learn to understand what we play. Here are a few questions I am often asked.

Who needs ear training?

All musicians need to train their ear in order to know what they are playing and to anticipate what they are about to play!

Why do ear training?

Because understanding the sounds we hear will be necessary to:

* Jam with other musicians

* Compose music

* Sing in tune

There are 3 qualities that every good jazz musician must possess:

* a great ear

* a strong sense of time

* a unique sound.

While there are many different ways to approach these skills, the first two always require a certain amount of drilling. The ear can be thought of as a muscle and to a certain degree must be trained like one. Improved ears will lead to better intonation, improvisation, ensemble playing and transcription skills. With that in mind, here are three great ways of dramatically improving your students' ears and, hopefully, their overall playing.

Associating a familiar melody with each interval is a quick way to learn an interval's distinct sound. For example, a melodic interval can be ascending or descending. Either way, it's still the same interval. Now, you don't want to get confused with interval inversions because a minor third will is still a minor third no matter which note comes first.

Intervals can be classified as consonant or dissonant. I can tell you that it's much easier to hear the consonance or dissonance of harmonic intervals than melodic ones.

Here's a list showing you the relative stability (consonance) or instability (dissonance) of the octaves up to an octave.

Consonant: Perfect, unison, m3, P4, P5, m6, P octave.

Dissonant: m2, M2, +4. (o5), m7, M7.

Another gentle approach is to describe Hollow Sounds, like austere and earthy, Indian drones and Scottish bagpipes or heavy metal rhythm-guitar.

Hallow: Perfect unison, P4, P5, P octave. This would be perfect intervals and their inversions.)

Sweet: m3, M3, m6, M6. (thirds and sixths)

Now there are active and passive methods for ear training. A passive drill would be to play two notes in succession and listen to that interval. Sometimes you will be asked to name the next note.

Harmonic intervals can be drilled the same way. These types of drills can be done with chords or chord progressions.

Are you familiar with the underlying scales and moveable "Do" solfege?

It's essential that you learn to sing a chromatic scale. As chromaticism is prevalent throughout modern jazz, this exercise will improve both intonation and students' understanding of the genre. When singing through the chromatic scale, remember to use sharps when ascending and flats when descending.

Chromatic Scale Ascending:

C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, G#, A, A#, B, C

Do, Di, Re, Ri, Mi, Fa, Fi, Sol, Si, La, U, Ti, Do

Chromatic Scale Descending

C, B, Bb, A, Ab, G, Gb, F, E, Eb, D, Db, C

Do, Ti, Te, La, Le, Sol, Se, Fa, Mi, Me, Re, Ra, Do

Target Tones

Target tones are an essential part of any ear training regimen. They force students to hear not only chord tones, but surrounding tones as well. Now, many students can correctly sing a major scale but they have some difficulty picking out specific intervals at random.

With respect to the scales and scale degrees, the best way to practice this is through the use of target tones. Here are a few exercises:

C, // C, D, C // E, D, C // F, E, D // C, G, A // B, C, A // B, C, B // C

Ear training leads to better intonation, improvisation, band playing and transcription skills overall.

Diana Rogers teaches piano to all ages at all levels. She also is a Kindergarten music teacher and the author of free monthly newsletters on her website. Stop by to see ear training software at http://ladydpiano.com/

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Learning to Play The Piano Can Be Achieved in Different Ways

Traditionally learning to play piano has been taught by learning the names of notes on the music and the keys to produce the same note on the piano keyboard. This system is used by the majority of music teachers around the world and teaches a solid foundation of both music and piano playing.

There are disadvantages of the system, its slow speed being the main one. Many students fall by the wayside as they become disillusioned with the time it is taking to be able to play interesting music. Another is that you will effectively be learning two things at the same time; reading music, and learning the piano with its associated issues.

There is a different route that can be taken requiring very little teaching of music theory initially. The system does teach music to a similar level as the traditional teaching method would over time. The method places more emphasis on playing piano rather than learning music at the beginning. The result is the student plays the piano quicker, the music element being learned in small bite size pieces at the beginning and larger pieces later in the course.

The system is interval learning or playing in patterns. The distance between notes in music is called an interval. The interval can be used as a means of following the music. The distance between notes is looked at as a pattern rather than the name of a note having to be recognized.The number of keys are counted on the keyboard from the last note in the pattern. By using this method patterns are followed rather than having to recognize the actual note value.

The use of this system quickens the process of being able to play the piano by following music although the values of the notes may not be recognized. As your learning progress continues you will start to recognize the note values and be able to recognize the notes both on the paper and the piano keys.

The disadvantage of the system is that your knowledge of the note values takes longer than in the traditional method. The advantages are that you will be following music quicker than would be the case with traditional methods and be able to play a wider range of music that interests you sooner.

Overall the difference in time to understand the basics and be able to play at a reasonable standard between the two methods will probably be negligible. The interval system would suggest that you are less likely to fall into the category of people who failed in their attempts to learn to play piano, due to being bored with the slow progress being made with the traditional system of music tuition.

The system you choose to learn by is personal choice although the interval method is not as widely taught as traditional methods of piano tuition. It is possible to find teachers who do teach this method of piano tuition.

Should you be interested in learning more click here for a free eBook http://www.free.jackieclarkmusic.com/

Jackie Clark has been teaching piano, keyboard and guitar for over 25 years in several countries. She has a 100% success rate with pupils taking exams in traditional teaching methods and also has on line courses of instruction using a variety of methods.

http://www.jackieclarkmusic.com/

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Selecting A Decent Electric Bass Guitar: 3 Handy Guidelines To Help You Put Up Better Decisions

Are you gonna purchase your very first electric bass guitar to satisfy your burning desire? And you want to play it like a professional bass guitarist and show your friends stuff you can do and how great it is?

OK, I know. But wait for a moment friend, you're moving too fast! Do you know how to pin-point on the right electric bass guitar that suits you? It's the first step that you should pay close attention to before anything else.

Picking a great electric bass guitar is very important. People often rush it and that's why they have to pay a fair price (both in terms of money and time). With a great electric guitar, you will improve your performance quick, whereas with a poor one, it's very hard because you chose the incorrect step right at the beginning.

That's why I think you should spend 5 minutes reading my short guideline. With the next 3 tips I have for you, you will understand how to pick a decent bass guitar and begin your journey as soon as possible. So, let's begin!

Tip #1: Specify clearly what is your main purpose with your guitar

That means you should have a clear purpose of what you're going to do with it. So, you're going to practice electric rock, or punk, or just traditional rock? In fact, there are more music genres out there but you get the point.

Because manufacturers today offer different models for a variety genres of music. Your guitar can be 4, 5 or 6-string, and it could have many add-on gears! Therefore, the first thing to do is to define your genre and the way you're going to do with it.

Tip #2: High price does not always accompany with quality

What does it mean?

It means you don't have to spend thousands of dollars on your gears and think that the higher the price, the better the guitar. And it doesn't mean that at a much lower price tag, you can't afford any decent bass guitar!

The fact is reverse! And to be honest with you, this is where the majority of people waste their time and money! Again, if you can clearly define your musical genres, it could be easier to pick a reasonable priced guitar that fits you. Don't buy an expensive one without even know what to do with it!

Tip #3: If you want to buy anything, try to buy it via the Internet

This will be the biggest budget-saving tip I can give you.

Although I think you may know it already, but have you ever considered it? Online shops have their advantages. They don't have to pay expensive monthly fees for employees, fancy office, storage, etc. That results in a huge discount if you purchase from them.

In comparison with traditional offline shops, you will find this way of shopping more beneficial! And there's another benefit from buying online. That is you can sit at home browsing hundreds of thousands of goods instead of running around the town shopping. It saves you time!

That's great, isn't it?

There you have it, 3 portable tips to help you choose the guitar of your own. If you can pick up the correct one, you will find it easier to improve your performance and go pro in no time!

Now if you care about a little personal recommendation from me, I will give you. If you're still looking around for a good electric bass guitar, I highly recommend the Silvertone Bass Amp Package! Yes, it's a full package of bass gears. All you will ever need in one place.

Curious why I recommend it? Then take a break and read my review about the Silvertone LB11 Bass & Amp Package. It will provide you with much more useful information before choosing your first electric bass guitar!

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How to Motivate Yourself When Learning to Play Guitar

If you are learning to play guitar, or if you already began to learn guitar chords, chances are that you have felt bored and frustrated; perhaps you have felt that playing the guitar is not for you, you find it more complicated than you thought it would be... anyway, you are not alone. You are not the first one or the last one getting that feeling, it happened to most guitar players when they began.

The reason I know that happens is because I have felt like that too, and I still feel like that every now and then when I'm trying to learn a new song; the only difference now is that I know that it can be done and that in the end is a small victory for me, now I know that if others were able to do it, I'm more than capable to do it as well.

The hardest step is to begin, learning the basics and the fundamentals of the guitar, this is usually the part when most people quit, and the truth is that it can get tricky at first; it is only after you learn the chords that you can start playing songs and having fun with your guitar.

Let me give you a few tips that have helped me in the past and still help me whenever I want to try something different in the guitar:

1. Visualize yourself playing your favorite songs. If you are learning a new song or if you are learning the basics of the guitar and you feel that you are going nowhere, visualize yourself playing that song that inspired you to start playing guitar in the first place, this will be like putting gas on your tank and you'll probably get the feeling you once felt; this is a great way to motivate yourself

2. Remember why you wanted to learn guitar. This one is a lot like visualizing yourself playing your favorite songs; when you get that feeling that you don't want to continue, start thinking why you wanted to start playing guitar, maybe to impress someone, to be famous, perhaps you want to start a career as a musician or just because you want to play the songs of your favorite band, either way think about it and this will make you feel good about what you are fighting for.

3. Do not overwhelm yourself. Too much practice can lead into frustration as well. I think that playing an hour a day is a great way to improve really fast, but if you are feeling bored after half an hour, what you can do is make a shorter practice session, try to practice for fifteen minutes a day and eventually you will feel the need to practice more and you'll see that time flies when you are having fun with your guitar.

4. Give yourself a pad on the back after practice. After you've done your homework, give yourself a little reward, if you like chocolates, have a chocolate or anything you like, but only after you've finished your practice, this is great to keep yourself motivated.

Learning guitar is a great experience, try to practice every day to see results and the best advice I can give you is to find a guitar course, stick to it and you'll be amazed with the results you'll see. Good luck and have a great day.

George Balibrera is an experienced guitarist with over 12 years playing guitar. Starting to Play Guitar Can be fun and exciting when you have the proper method to learn. Buy Jamorama at the best price and start learning guitar right away or improve your skills as a musician. Remember, practice is the key. To your success.

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Frets Bridges and Hardware - What You Need To Know Before You Learn How To Play Notes On Guitar

I know you are anxious to learn how to play notes on guitar, but there are a few mechanical details that you need to learn so that you can make the guitar function properly.

Frets are the raised strips of metal on the neck of your guitar. When used properly, frets shorten the length of the string. The shorter the string is, the higher it will play. In order to make a fret useful in this way, the fingertip is placed directly next to the fret on the side towards the tuning head. Do not place the finger directly on top of a fret. The fingertip is snug against the fret while the knuckles are pointed up and away from the fret. A firmness is needed to press down and will definitely cause some pain onto the uninitiated finger. Press firmly down and then lift off to look at your fingertip. If you see a solid line or crease run across the fingertip, then you have placed it correctly. If the line covers only a portion of the fingertip then you have missed the mark. Once you get the knack of placing the finger correctly, pluck the string that you are fretting and see if the tone is clear. Now you are ready to learn how to play notes on guitar. Learn to count frets. In the future, you will be hearing things like "put your finger on the 5th fret. There are usually dots placed on the 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th frets. These are guides to help you get there quickly. The 12th fret has two dots. The 12th fret is known for producing an octave. When a note is played on the 12th fret it will have the same name as the open string that it's being played on.
The bridge is where the strings are held tightly in place to the body of the guitar. When you learn how to put on a guitar string, you will see that the strings are threaded through a hole and slotted across a piece of metal that can have adjustments made by the turning of screws. The strings can be raised or lowered here by the slightest degree. If a string is lowered too far, it will start to "buzz out". This will inhibit the string from vibrating and create a nasty buzzing sound. Do not fool around with the bridge. Learn from a professional how to put on guitar strings so you don't knock anything out from the original setting...
Tuning Hardware is something you can and must tinker with. There are six tuning pegs on the headstock that can tighten or loosen. The first big mistake is to turn too fast and too much. Tuning it can easily break a string if you tune it too high. Observe each peg and the way the string wraps around it. When you learn how to put on a guitar string, you are going to have to wrap it the same way. Find a peg and the string that's attached to it. Practice plucking the string and then turn the peg just a little either way. You are not tuning it yet; you are just getting a feel for it. Now try to turn it back to where it was. Don't forget to pluck it and listen to it first. Don't just turn the peg without plucking the string first and listening.

Learning about the hardware of your guitar may get you to understand a little bit about how the guitar functions. Pay close attention to how the strings are wrapped around the tuning peg. Someday you will be required to learn how to put on guitar strings. Then you will need to tune it. Once you can tune, you will be ready to learn how to play notes on guitar.

Gene Petty

To learn more on how to play notes on guitar, Click Here.

Or If You want to learn more than just how to play guitar, Click Here.

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Stationary Commands - Fundamentals of Marching Band Maneuvering

Marching Band is the most enjoyable, rewarding, and valuable activity that one can participate in during high school. Where else do people move around a field making pretty patterns that they read from little "X's" in a book while playing intense music and never looking at the ground?

However, a good foundation in marching fundamentals is essential to a marching band. Below are some pointers for the Drum Major seeking to teach marching to freshman marchers. This is the way I teach commands and the method may be somewhat or substantially different from the way your band operates.

Attention
This is the most basic and important maneuver of Marching Band. It makes or breaks the general effect score for most field shows. First, the band starts in a "standby" position, with their heads straight ahead, hands left clasping right wrist, and feed shoulder width apart. The command to start attention is "Band Ten Hut" and the response is "hut." In one count, the left foot snaps into the right, with heels and toes aligned. Hands form into loose fists with the thumbs on top, pointing straight. Arms should bend slightly and be positioned on the seam of ones pants about half way between a hanging position and the bend that occurs when hands are placed on the waist. Eyes point straight ahead and knees are not locked. The chin tilts about fifteen degrees up from a parallel position.

With instruments only the hand position changes. For brass, mouthpieces should be aligned at a uniform level, typically at the third valve hole, with arms bent and horns placed about six inches away from the body. Flutes hold horns perpendicular to the ground. Saxes are completely parallel and the neck strap is still worn. Tubas place one hand on the mouthpiece while the other remains on the valves. Clarinets move the horn about six inches from the body and hold it perpendicular to the ground. Drumline either crosses their sticks (tenors and snares) or holds them on the sides of the drums (basses). Guard holds flags straight up.

Parade Rest
The parade rest command is important when waiting for judges to let the band start a performance. It is also useful when waiting for a parade to begin. The command is "band parade rest" and the response is "chuh." The body goes from an attention position to parade rest in one count. The left foot moves to shoulder width, arms come out of fists and the left hand holds the right wrist. The right hand now re-makes the fist. Heads come down from attention to pointing straight ahead.

With instruments only the hand crossing changes. All horns should hold the instrument with their right hand and place the left hand back on the right wrist. Horn bells should point right. Horns should be parallel to the ground. For flutes or clarinets, place the horn in the crook of the right arm and hold it with the left hand. Saxes cross their horns from the left shoulder to the right hip. Tubas simply drop their hands from the mouthpieces. Drumline members uncross sticks and hold one in each hand behind their drums. Guard lowers their flags and either hold them in a flute position or sax position.

Drag Left
A drag is essentially a stationary turn. Left drags are the easiest of these turns. The command is "drag left hut" and the response is "and 1, 2, 3, lock." The left foot moves to the left on count one to form a forty-five degree angle with the feet, but the body does not move. On count two, the right foot meets the left foot and the body moves. This is repeated for counts three and four and the body and feet end up moving ninety degrees. Feet should be lifted very slightly in order to complete a clean turn. Do not slide the feet along the ground.

Drag Rear
A drag rear is an expanded drag left. Instead of forming forty-five degree angles with each count, one forms ninety-degree angles. The body continues to move only on counts two and four. The command is "drag rear hut" and the response is still "and 1, 2, 3, lock."

Drag Right
A drag right uses the same counts, command, and response. However, instead of picking the foot up, the toes now stay planted and the heel of each foot makes forty-five degree angles. Starting with the left foot on count one, move it forty-five degrees right, then move the right foot to the left on count two. Repeat the procedure to move ninety-degrees to the right. It is imperative that the toes do not lift from the ground.

There are no rear drags that involve right turns. A drag is a stationary move, however, whatever action was occurring before the drag continues after the drag is complete.

Dressing
Dressing can be accomplished left, right, and center. Each command will be "dress left/right/center dress" and the response is "one two." On count one of the move, hands move to a trumpet horns up position. In other words, the left hand closes over the right fist and the arms make a ninety-degree angle. On count two, the head moves completely either to the right or the left, in the direction of the dress command. The Drum Major will give a second or two to adjust and dress the lines. Move to fix both dress and cover at this time. A centerline may be designated. If this happens, dress to that line, moving the head to the correct direction. People standing in the file that is being dressed to bring their hands up, but do not move their heads.

Drumline should, instead of making a ninety-degree angle with their hands, hold the arms parallel with the ground and make a fist with the right hand that the left hand holds. You can only call a dress from attention.

With instruments, there is no movement on count one, but the head still moves on count two.

Ready Front
The only way to get out of a dress is to call "ready front" and the response is "one two." On count one, the arms come down to attention position. On count two, the head snaps back to attention.

With instruments, nothing happens on count one, while heads snap back on count two.

Band Halt
This command stops the band. Call "band halt" and the response should be "one two." On count one the right foot takes its last step. The left foot meets the right foot and motion stops on count two.

Horns Up
The command is "band horns up" and the response is "and up." This is a two count move where horns move from attention to playing position. The "and" count is prep only; movement occurs on beat two. Trumpets should have their hands form a right angle, while the bell points about thirty degrees up from parallel. The valves can be slightly tilted to create an interesting effect. Flutes should hold their horns completely parallel to the ground. Clarinets move the bottom of their horns about twenty degrees away from the body. Saxes should make sure that their horns are perpendicular to the ground and away from the body. Mellophones and baritones hold their horns completely parallel to the ground. The tuba player places his hand on the mouthpiece and pushes the tuba slightly up.

Horns Down
Rarely called, "horns down" calls for an "and down" response. The "and" is another prep beat, horns snap back to attention on the "down" beat.

The Error Command
This command is used by some bands to keep both the band and Drum Major honest. It is a fun command to throw in to any sequence. Preface any drill down by saying that unknown commands could be called or commands could be called in an inappropriate sequence. For example, the Drum Major could have the band at parade rest and then call a dress right. This is not possible because the band must be at attention for a dressing command. Thus, the band ignores the new command and calls "as you were sir." It keeps everyone on his or her toes.

In Sum and Other
There are many moving commands that the band should also master. Another article covers these commands. As far as stationary commands, there is present arms and order arms for salutes; left, right, and about haces for snap turns; and half haces to be even more confusing. Frankly, there are few resources to find how to call commands or how to march. I would ask the current director or Drum Major for assistance. Also, consider going to a Drum Major camp. Some camps are good, others are not, but most should help you with your marching.

This list of commands is completely my own; I used no resources or Internet sources just my own knowledge to compile it.

William O'Brochta is a recipient of the William T. Hornaday Silver Medal for Distinguished Service to Conservation in the Boy Scouts of America and William T. Hornaday Badge. He is an Eagle Scout with nine Eagle palms and has earned sixty-five Merit Badges. William is currently an Assistant Scoutmaster for Troop 17 in Roanoke, Virginia working with Troop elections, new Scout advancement, and Eagle projects. He also serves as an active member on the Blue Ridge Mountains Council Conservation, Advancement, Eagle Board of Review, and Troop Committees. He has been involved in Scouting for more than ten years.

William attends Patrick Henry High School and the Roanoke Valley Governor's School and is ranked first in his class of 500. Currently, he is working on a three-year environmental research project dealing with using plants to remove pesticides from the soil. He has presented this research at the Society of Toxicology Annual meeting. A musician, he plays trumpet and serves as Drum Major for the Marching Band.

Committed to community service, he has volunteered for six months for Habitat for Humanity in Hungary and helped Breakell, Inc. General Contractors achieve LEED Platinum energy efficiency certification.

William can best be contacted through his LinkedIn page: http://linkd.in/q8dXm0

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