Custom Search

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

How Do You Get Music Videos On Your I-Pod?

By Amy Nutt

The Apple I-pod is one of the most technologically advanced multi media players on the market. The new I-pod touch and I-pod video have the capabilities to store and play thousands of songs and pictures like the older models, but now have the technology to store and play hundreds of hours of video as well.

Apple has taken instant, hand held entertainment to a new level, allowing I-pod users to create their own videos and upload them onto their I-pods to enjoy and share, or to purchase their favorite music videos from I-tunes (or one of any number of other online retailers) to carry with them anywhere they go.

Where to get your Favorite Videos

There are a number of ways to get your favorite music videos such as Eminem and movie clips onto your I-pod where youll be able to enjoy them wherever and whenever you want.

The Safest Bets

You can join a website for the specific purpose of supplying videos for portable media players. This is often a good option, because the files will already be in the format that will be compatible with your I-pod software, so all you have to do is essentially point and click to have all of your favorite music videos in the palm of your hand. The only downside to joining a membership site, is that you have to pay the fee regardless of how many videos you download - so if you only find a few that you really want, then you could be paying an exceedingly high per-video fee. The up side is that downloading videos this way is perfectly safe and legal; you can search and download all the videos you want without any fear of viruses or legal repercussions.

You can transfer videos from DVDs that you already own, which will be free, but a little bit more complicated. I-pods only support video in the MPEG 4 format, which means that any videos in any other format will have to be translated into the MPEG 4 format in order to be compatible with your I-pod. Translating video into this format will require you to purchase software that can change the video format, creating an extra cost and adding an extra step to the process. You may or may not be able to find a software application that can translate certain video formats for you for free, but be very wary about what sites you download programs from - in looking for a cheaper alternative, you may just find yourself with an unwanted virus.

You can also join a "pay as you download" site, where you wont have any out of pocket cost to join, but will pay for each individual video that you download. This is just as safe and legal as the pay membership sites, but you will probably end up paying a bit more for each individual video that you download. These sites often have very extensive libraries containing thousands and thousands of videos to choose from like Lil Wayne or akon, so finding the exact videos that you want shouldnt be very challenging.

A Cheaper but, Risky Option

If you dont want to pay for the software to translate videos into the MPEG4 format, or pay anything for the videos that you download, you can always visit a free download or shareware site. Youll usually be able to find exactly what you are looking for on these sites, but the big downsides here are that it is dangerous and illegal. These sites usually arent monitored very well, so its pretty common to find that either a virus or some form of spy-ware has found its way onto your computer, particular if your are on the sites often.

Whatever method of downloading videos to your I-pod that you happen to choose, youll be opening yourself up to a whole new style of entertainment. Youll have instant access to all of your favorite music videos, no matter when or where you want to view them. Apple has totally changed the way we are able to entertain ourselves with the capabilities of the new series of I-pods.

About the Author:

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

The History of Grotrian Pianos

By Amy Nutt

Many people are not familiar with the history of this famous piano manufacturer, but it`s a fascinating one. This German company is still going strong and consumers have come to expect top quality from them.

An Idea is Seeded Friedrich Grotrian of Grotrian Pianos, got his start quite innocently in Moscow where he worked at a piano manufacturing company. After 25 years of selling pianos, Grotrian headed back to his homeland, Germany, where he became a partner in a fairly small manufacturer in the 1950`s and continued to work and live in Germany.

Friedrich died in 1860, passing his portion of the company on to his son, Wilhelm. Just five years later, Wilhelm and the Grotrian-Steinweg family took full proprietorship of the business.

Quality Production Yields Results Because Grotrian-Steinweg was such a conscientious company, offering top quality instruments, it wasn`t long before even the most elite in society found it necessary to own one of their pianos.

Royal families purchased Grotrian pianos, awards were given and famous musicians and composers were found to use the top notch instruments. The family keeps a record book which details the awards and thanks given them over the generations.

New Blood In 1885, Willi and Kurt Grotrian entered the family business and these two young men were key in moving the business forward into the next century. They patented a huge number of the piano inventions that were discovered at the turn of the century and made great advancements in the world of music.

The pianos turned out at this point by the Grotrian piano company were far ahead of their time, with freely vibrating soundboard and a design that allowed them to take the form of the more compact upright piano without compromising on sound. Their model 120 was one of the most popular breakthrough models.

Once Kurt Grotrian passed on, his two sons, Erwin and Helmut, continued with the family traditions. Like their father and uncle before them, the two men continued to discover new methods of building and improving on existing technology.

World War II The war destroyed most factories in Germany and the Grotrian company ceased production. It was very nearly the end of the piano company, but they did finally manage to resurrect the company in 1948 and began to produce once more.

By 1974, the company was under the hand of yet another generation of Grotrians and Knut Grotrian (son of Helmut) was ready to lead the manufacturer into the future. The business moved to a factory in Braunschweig, Germany and from this vantage point, continued to excel in the production of modern pianos. They brought the business into the modern world, inventing new methods of production and putting them to use.

With over 170 years of garnered experience, Grotrian pianos are among the finest made, using the latest in instrument building technology to create near perfect sound and flawless build. There`s a good reason these pianos have been so famous and managed to live through the ages so well and are often used for piano lessons Mississauga. . . they are truly impressive. The classic look and angelic sound combine to create the most sought after pianos in the nation.

Grotrian piano company has gone through six generations and increased the world of music`s general knowledge greatly with their patents and inventions. New methods of building instruments have been designed specifically by this family which, unlike most other piano manufacturers, has kept the company in the family since the beginning. There`s little doubt that Friedrich would be proud of how his descendants have handled business.

About the Author:

Helpful Information On HDTV

By Don Pedro

If you have interest, to be precise, passion for immaculate graphic and highly purified sound and want to have the best experience of audiovisual entertainment, you must have heard about the innovative technology of today, the high definition television. In short its called the HDTV.

There are many differnces between traditional Standard definition television (SDTV) and HDTV. High definition televisions are digitally programmed and operated and therefore they are able to handle super quality video streams.

What most people like about the HDTV in the first place is the three dimensional surround sound effects. It gives you the feeling that everything is happening right before your eyes and thus making the pictures more vivid.

Many of the the well-known channels have already started broadcasting their programs in HDTV suitable formats.So you can enjoy all your favorite programs, now, more lively and more real. Now when you are about to purchase the cherished HDTV, you shouldn't forget to inquire about the warranty facilities and he service of your vendors must be satisfactory.

Its always wise to do some research before the final expenditure. And you can do so easily with the help of the internet. Thanks to those unlimited number of blogs and forums that allows experts to share their reviews, tips and experiences about almost any electronic devices.

Before you go, you may also prefer doing some research on HDTV on the internet. Its not difficult to find about HDTV in technology news sites. There are many. Just if you need a few names, you can try Epinions.com or cnet news sites.

A HDTV is gorgeous. The quality of picture and sound is of a new world. Its obvious HDTV will replace the older versions of television in the coming days.

About the Author:

Monday, December 29, 2008

Acoustic Guitar Reviews - A Must Before You Buy

By Jay Tyler

Very important before buying a new acoustic guitar, be sure to check out some acoustic guitar reviews. Two kinds of reviews you'll find are ones written by experts who sample and play a wide variety of guitars, and reviews written by ordinary people who just want to give you an opinion about how the guitar works, sounds and feels to them.

Only consider an acoustic guitar review to be expert if it is written by someone with several years of guitar experience. These experts should have information about several different guitars made by several different manufacturers. A good reviewer will be objective in pointing out the good and bad points associated with any acoustic guitar, despite any personal preference they may have. They do not have to have a Bachelor's Degree in music to be helpful. They just need to be very familiar with acoustic guitars and explain it to you enough that you will feel comfortable taking their advice into consideration when shopping for you new guitar.

When you look for user reviews, you should locate web site containing a few reviews of each guitar written by a variety of musicians. Many music stores have web sites with user reviews. Every guitarist plays his or her own unique type of music at different kinds of venues with different arrangements of band members. A classical guitar player who plays at wedding receptions has different needs and preferences than a rock guitarist who performs in nightclubs. Be sure you find reviews from individuals who play the same style of music and who are at the same level of playing that you are or that your aspire to.

If you're using an internet search engine to locate acoustic guitar reviews, you should know some useful shortcuts. For instance, try putting your key search phrase in quotation marks (like "acoustic guitar reviews"). On Yahoo alone, that will reduce your hits from 17,000,000 to a more manageable 6000 or so.

A helpful hint when searching for individual acoustic guitar reviews, may work like this. If you are looking for reviews on Martin DX1 and put just martindx1, without quotes, in Yahoo search you will find approximately 38,000 hits. But, when you put quotes next to "martin dx1" there will be only approximately 10,000.

Try this hint and use is a simple plus sign (+) right next to the word you are seaching for in that hit, this will allow you to be more specific in your search. The simpler the better, seems to be the trick. By putting "Martin dxl review", the returns will be only 9, the reason being you will hit the sites that have the exact phrases in them.

Try putting "martin dx1" + review in the search bar and you'll get almost 500 hits. If you want to search something specific, put it in there with a plus sign attached. These search tricks to find acoustic guitar reviews will help make your guitar buying decision easier, by narrowing your search to the most helpful results.

About the Author:

Saturday, December 27, 2008

iPod Nano Downloads - Why Go For Paid Sites

By Davion W

These days, when you think about music, you are also likely to think about iPod Nano downloads and how you can take advantage of these.

There are many sites that will enable you to make a series of downloads to your iPod Nano. Certainly you must have heard of free sites, and you must be raring to try these out. After all, if it is free, then you have nothing to lose, right?

Unfortunately, there is nothing more incorrect than thinking that way. Nothing comes free anymore, especially without certain risks and without compromising the quality of your downloads. You must be aware that free sites often come with viruses and spyware that can destroy your computer and make you vulnerable online. Removing the virus and the spyware and getting your system worked out again can take a lot of time and money. When you consider these things, you can end up paying a lot more.

iPod Nano downloads without the accompanying risks are easily accessible at certain paid sites such as iTunes, Walmart Music, AOL, and Yahoo Music. These sites will ask you to pay a minimal fee every time you make a download to iPod Nano. However, that minimal fee can translate to a lot of money if you are planning to download many songs.

Some other sites have other plans you can choose from. There are monthly or yearly subscription plans; some sites, too, may offer the one-time payment plan.

This last option is usually the choice of music and techno freaks out there because by simply paying a minimal amount, you can already have access to unlimited and high quality downloads to iPod Nano. Rarely will you find people making just a single download in their lifetime, so this plan really works best for most.

Whatever payment option you choose, however, does not change the fact that downloading from paid sites is clearly the better decision. Sure, you are required to make a payment in order to use the service, but the fee is minimal compared to the benefits that you can reap in return. Unlimited downloads, high quality downloads and fast downloading time are some of the things you are not going to experience with free sites.

Take a look at my site where you can find more information about iPod Nano downloads.

About the Author:

Todays Proactive Artists, Producers, and Musicians

By Brent Thomason

The track to success for todays musicians and artists is quite different than it was even five years ago.

For any artist, songwriter, musician, and or performer. Even if you don't have a strong desire to start and or manage your own Independent label, if you are even remotely serious about experiencing any level of sucess in the music industry, you absolutely MUST gain as much knowledge as you can get your hands on so that you understand the industry in which you have a desire to succeed.

You absolutley must research, learn, study, and try your best to understand topics such as music contracts, independent music labels, major music labels, music publishers, who does what, where, and when. If you think your just going to put together a few songs, toss them in the mail to a few people from a list, or get noticed playing in some club one night, then I wish you luck!

Artists, musicians, and performers absolutely MUST be proactive in advancing their careers. Your attitude MUST be that you will manage, publish, and promote yourself until a better manager, publisher, and or promoter comes along that has more resources than you, at which time you may decide to partner with to expand on what you have already accomplished yourself.

As an artist, you must immediately begin learning every aspect of the business, and this is best done by a logical and systematic approach, and having well experienced, and dependable resources with which you can draw from for ongoing advice as you develop yourself into a pro level musician.

As an artist, you immediately begin learning as much as possible about every aspect of the music industry, and this is best accomplished by a systematic approach, and having dependable resources with which you can turn to for ongoing advice as you continue to develop yourself into a professional artist.

You will be much more likely to open doors when you are approaching Major Labels, Publishers, and or Indie Labels if you approach them with an goal of wanting to join their team, as a partnership. If your approach is I think my music is cool, I want you to give me a big contract to sign, and a bunch of money with fame and fortune, then again GOOD LUCK!

You will gain the attention of music business players much quicker, and with far more respect if your approach is backed up with proof that you have been working hard to develop, and promote yourself, and that you are not looking for someones small indie label, or publishing company to dump a cash investment into you, but rather you are looking for someone that maybe has resources that you dont have, and that you believe in your music and talent enough to show them that if they can join in and add additional resources to take your product to the next level, that you honestly believe that the both of you will greatly benefit from the partnership.

For example, say you have written and completed a demo of a few songs, and you have say nine or ten songs written but have not yet recorded them. What do you think would look better when you meet with a small but somewaht successful Indie music Label. Lets look at the first, not so favorable introduction.

You mail a demo CD to them with your contact information, or you just show up at their office and drop off a CD with your contact information scribbled on the front of it. This approach more or less screams I'M TOTALLY LAZY, AND I WANT YOU TO HANDLE EVERYTHING AND BRING ME FAME AND FORTUNE.

You mail them a demo CD with your phone number, or you go to their office and drop off a CD with your cell phone number written on the front of it. This approach more or less screams I AM LAZY, AND I WANT YOU TO HANDLE EVERYTHING AND MAKE ME FAME AND FORTUNE.

You set up a planned meeting with the A&R of a indie label, you sit down with him, let him listen to your well recorded CD with four songs, and show him the copy of written lyrics of twelve other songs that you have written, but not recorded.

You then proceed to tell them that you are promoting the three songs that are recorded on various web sites, and that the three completed songs are available for purchase as singles on Amazon.con, Rhapsody, Emusic, and Napster, and that last month there were a total gross sales of $67.00 You then continue to explain your current promotional strategy, and that you are scouting around for an independent label, or team that believes in your music, and can help take your current successes, add some additional resources, and boost the product up substantially.

You then proceed to explain to them that you plan to continue self promotion, and working to get sales up on a daily basis, and that you truly believe that with your work ethics, passion, and drive, and their additional resources that as a team all of you can turn this into a profitable venture.

Now you tell me, which approach do you think would open, and keep the doors open for you?

Again, if you are serious about succeeding in the music business, you MUST take a proactive approach towards developing yourself as a professional artist.

About the Author:

Friday, December 26, 2008

Download iPhone Music Only from a Good Source

By Davion W

There are many designated sites nowadays where you can download iPhone music. Every sites offer different packages which are enough to suit the need of various users particularly the music lovers. But before you avail any of these especial packages, try to make a comparison with other sites to determine the quality of service each one has to offer. There are also some important factors that you have to consider when you are making comparisons:

Reputation - Most of the sites where you can download music for iPhone are quite well-known, trusted and recommended by many users. To check about the popularity of the site, it would be helpful to see their search engine rankings by Google searching for them.

Collection ? It is quite important to check if the site offers a good collection of iPhone music to download. What's the use of joining a site that does not have many items to offer?

Joining Fee - The standard rate for joining in a site is S49.95. There are, however some sites which are asking more than the usual price and you have to be aware of that. While searching, you will likely become aware of that some sites offer free membership and registration. The risk here is that most of these sites are not legitimate.

Superiority - To make sure that a site gives superior service, you can read some reviews online on how their members are satisfied or dissatisfied. You should also check the quality of the video and audio, as well as if the download speed is fast enough.

Customer Service and Support ? Take note that a legal and trusted site will readily provide immediate assistance or customer support for your iPhone music download concerns.

If a site does not have the qualifications that I've mentioned above, it would be advisable to consider another to avoid waste of time and money. Since you want only the best sounds for your iPhone, consider only the best sites to get your music from.

I have been downloading iPhone music for years now and I have blogged about the sites that I've joined. I've wrote down some useful critiques as well, hoping that they will be able to guide other users like me in their search for a good source. To check on what I have to say about those sites, simply click here.

About the Author:

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Free Music to Download For iPod - Where To Get It Legitimately

By Davion W

People everywhere are always on the lookout for free stuffs. iPod owners as well are always looking for free music to download for iPod. However, do you know that most of these totally free sites are illegal? If you will use materials that came from an illegal source, there is a risk that you will be held liable under the law.

To guide you in your search for a good download source, I have written down a list of things that you should pay close attention to when you are looking for a site to download free music for iPod.

1. The site should not have plenty of pop-ups and pushy ads. It's quite obvious that sites such as this are only after earning money through ads which are pinned all over each pages.

2. Do not totally trust the rigorous publicities of several sites which are claiming that they are one of the best though the fact is that they were just trying to catch your enthusiasm and make you believe that they are good. After all, you will find out that the download speed is too slow, the quality of the music is not so good and you might even be surprised to find out that a spyware is already dwelling in your PC.

3. Do it legally. Downloading iPod music for free but illegally could bring you to jail. It's not worth it to risk your reputation, not to mention, your future, in exchange of your favorite tunes if it will mean you'll have to spend days and nights listening to them behind bars.

There are numerous new sites today that offer free music download for iPod. They are legal and the only thing that you will have to pay for is the joining fee. After paying one time, you will be entitled to get all the music that you want. You will be pleased to get the songs that you always want to hear with superb and outstanding quality.

Since both reliable and unreliable sites make commotions online, it will be better for you to look on various forums and user reviews before you jump into joining any site and start downloading free music for your iPod. This will serve as your guide to find out which sites are legitimate or not. Remember that you will only get the best from legitimate websites.

To help you find reliable sites where you can get free music to download for iPod, pay a visit to my blog.

About the Author:

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Beginner Acoustic Guitar

By Jay Tyler

It is important that you keep in mind the style of music you are wanting to play before you go shopping for a beginner acoustic guitar.If you are wanting to play country, rock, pop or folk music, then a steel-stringed guitar works best. For classical, Latin and certain types of folk or pop music, then you want to get a nylon-stringed guitar. Experts recommend that a beginning guitar player play different types to see what sound you prefer, before making your final decision.

Most teachers will recommend purchasing nylon guitar strings for the person just learning to play as they are a little easier on the fingers. However, this may not be a good idea if the student wants to learn to be a rock star or if they don't care for the classical style music as the nylon string will never sound just right.

If you are into rock music, then you want to learn to play music with a guitar with steel strings. Starting off with steel strings can be a bit hard on your fingers at first and they probably will hurt, but don't give up, with regular practice and over time you will develop calluses. Remember don't be enticed by a steel string guitar if you are wanting to play classical music.

Here are some pointers for you when looking for a classical nylon-string guitar. Classical guitars have the same relative dimensions. The distinct features of classical guitars are their small bodies and wide fingerboards and most importantly, their classical sound. Despite same physical features, each classical guitars still have their own feel and tone so try several to find the beginner acoustic guitar that best matches your taste. A six-string dreadnought is the most commonly purchased beginner acoustic guitar. There are only slight size variations among dreadnoughts, and they offer the kind of tone that is popular with guitarists who are just starting out.

Take some time and learn about the differences between the wood that your beginner acoustic guitar is made of, this is very significant. This will affect the tone of the sound of the instrument makes. Most beginner acoustic guitars have a spruce top and should have a solid spruce top, rather than a two piece one. A one piece spruce top will increase the durability of your guitar. The sides and back can be made from other woods like mahogany or rosewood. Then again the entire guitar could be made of spruce. Rosewood will have a heavier tone, where mahogany will produce a light tone.

The space between the neck and the strings is called the action. Low action is one thing a beginning player will want to consider in a beginner acoustic guitar. Action that is too high makes for difficult playing. This will just be another hurdle to overcome in the learning process.

While you're out purchasing a beginner acoustic guitar, you'll want to pick up a decent electronic tuner at the same time. You haven't had enough experience yet to develop the ear of an expert. If you can spend less time in tuning your new guitar, you'll have that much more time for practicing on it and actually playing.

About the Author:

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Watch TV On PC

By Jed Elaine

A recent field survey by NBC (NY Times, October 17, 2008) found free Internet streaming TV viewership to be gaining on conventional television - cable, satellite and terrestrial broadcast. By surpassing the quarter mark of total viewing of NBC's TV episodes as yardsticks, NBC has shown that there's no stopping Internet TV now. As with email, messaging, conferencing and telephony, Free TV on PC will soon become a standard internet feature.

Boosted by power-packed PCs, multi-media peripherals and broadband transmission, all the historical setbacks upon Internet TV are now a thing of the past. The volume of internet users has also long exceeded the critical mass level for the economy of scale in both technological and commercial terms. This is well-demonstrated by the wide spectrum of industries already exercising a footprint on the web so why not Television?

The most well-known versions of television available on the net today are Internet TV, IPTV (Internet Protocol Television), Broadband TV and User Generated Content TV. They may be known by different names but basically, Internet TV is free and unrestricted video streaming, IPTV is a type of commercial TV entertainment, Broadband TV is similar to Internet TV but more Internet than TV as compared to the former which is relatively more TV than Internet and User Generated Content TV is short-clip type streaming best depicted by YouTube.

Like the other free services that are already in existence on the net such as email, messaging , Internet TV is without question a win-win proposition for both providers and users. It's essentially another platform of the media industry and this one is low-cost and easy entry for providers, not to mention it already enjoys an enormous patronage, and growing. Viewer-wise, it's even harder to ignore the deal especially for those with the internet habit and routine in their daily life.

It's not uncommon to see people 'multi-tasking' TV and PC these days, especially among the young. Sometimes, it's even purportedly necessary for their new-breed work or studies. Most if not all modern offices and homes have internet wired PCs anyway. So wouldn't streamlining the two activities into one be but only common sense? Plus with this, viewers are not the only one globally mobile, so will be their TV programming too!

Having that said, the sheer volume and choice of raw free TV on PC can be overwhelming but the solution to this have been quick to emerge. How else but ? Since the television programming is viewed through the PC, it's almost automatic that computer software program would be employed to control and organize the access, download and watching of TV on PC. There is a handful of proprietary software retailing on the net that do an excellent job of it and as free TV on PC evolve, these software would only get better.

About the Author:

Japan And Its Popular Music Culture

By Ken Oiishi

Japanese popular culture has never failed to amaze, particularly in the better part of the last half a century. This is never more so than in their local popular music scene, which is not only strong in the country, but has been lapped up by fans all over the world. Their influence can no longer be denied, and should be readily embraced and studied.

Music is not the only facet of Japanese culture that has fostered strong global following. Anime has an overriding Japanese presence, while fashion has seen a growing market share from their designers. The most unusual mix of music and fashion that is Visual Kei is a classic example of how Japanese pop music culture has seeped into mainstream consciousness.

While heavy metal music is a staple of Visual Kei, fans of the genre are also known for their outlandish dressing. This is in accordance to what their favorite bands or artistes promote through their own getup. Imagine cosplay and heavy metal leather in an eclectic mix, and you will get what Visual Kei is all about.

Major wester music styles have not been spared. Rhythm and blues have seen a growing number of Japanese popular artistes who have adopted it as their own. Many of them have scored award winning singles and albums, while branching out into other fields like acting. There are also increasing collaboration between both Asian and Western artistes within the genre.

One of the most famous Japanese pop artistes has been Ayumi Hamasaki. Known more for her chameleon-like abilities in reinventing herself, Ayumi continues to hog the music charts with every new release. Her stage presence and elaborate concerts have been compared to Madonna's, but some critics point to the opposite.

Japanese pop music owes a lot of its success to the fans. Without their fanatical support, the scene might not have survived and prospered. As it grew and financial resources became stronger, the artistes were able to branch out to overseas markets. This helped to spread the ever increasing influence that they now have in many other countries.

Despite the almost blind devotion from fans at times, Japanese pop artistes rarely rest on their laurels. They have no qualms about fusing global music styles with their own. This results in fresh musical ideas that astound followers and fellow musicians worldwide.

There is no avoiding the wave of J Pop mania sweeping the world over. The willingness to experiment, culture that is unique to the country, and limitless imagination have come together to form a musical culture that is second to none. There is no sign of things slowing down, and it is set to become a regular fixture of mainstream pop culture.

About the Author:

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Create Your Own ABBA Costumes

By Fred Tellier

Dressing up in costumes is popular with everyone, regardless of age. Young children might want to dress as an animal or ghost for a trick or treat outing. Adults and teens also enjoy costume parties. If you are going to a party in a group, it is a lot of fun to dress up as members of a well-known band. Depending on how many men and women there are in your group and the total number, there are various bands to go for. One great idea is to wear ABBA costumes. You might think it is difficult to get ABBA costumes and go to a fancy dress party as this well-known Swedish band, but it is easier than you might think.

Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus are the male vocal half of ABBA if you plan to go to a party with another guy friend and you are a male. Agnetha Faltskog and Anni-Frid "Frida" Lyngstand are the rocking girl couple if you are not able to bring four people to the party.

There are many specialty shops and seamstresses that are willing to make ABBA costumes for you and your friends. If you have money but are low on time, this is the best way to go to find ABBA costumes for you and your group.

If you know how to create and follow patterns and sew, then you just need some ABBA type patterns and the type of material they would have worn. You need to measure the people in your group to ensure the costumes will be a good fit and not be too tight or loose. If nobody in your group knows anything about dressmaking, you might want to check out some stores. Buying completely new items is usually not the best way to come up with your ABBA costume.

Why not check out thrift stores like Goodwill? This will keep your costs low and might lead to some amazing discoveries. Even if you don't find an exact ABBA costume, you might find some old-fashioned clothing which can be adapted. If you can find some suitable bits and pieces, you can buy and wash them then combined them for a great ABBA costume. Alternatively, you might need to dye several piece to make them match, but this is very easy. When you buy items from a thrift store, they are usually only a couple of dollars each. You can feel free to cut them or adjust them to make these items into a complete new costume.

The plain clothes that are worn are very easy to imitate. Sometimes things such as vests and headbands need to be made. The harder costumes are the shiny ones. However, often times there are 70s clothing or disco costume items at thrift shops. It is important to look in different areas rather than just the normal clothing to find what can be made into new clothes. It is also important to look at children's and baby clothes because these things can often be cut and made into new items such as headbands and wrist bands. The colors found there are often the ones that are needed. If not, these things can be dyed or drawn on to make what is needed.

If your hair does not match your costume, you can always buy a wig or you can save money and do your hair up and dye it with temporary dye that washes out. ABBA costumes are all natural hair colors, so finding a wig or dye to fit the costume is really easy. If you really want to make your ABBA costumes look authentic, get your hair styled that way that ABBA did. Keep your ABBA costume cheap and go to hair school or have a friend who knows how to do hair do it for you.

The platform shoes might be the most difficult part of your ABBA costume. You should start your search for ABBA style platform shoes months before the event, if you have that much time to plan. Once you have your ABBA costumes ready, you will definitely have fun and draw lots of admiring glances at the party!

About the Author:

Thursday, December 18, 2008

You can play the Guitar with your Left Hand

By Jeffery Collins

Many left handed people have their challenges. See a lot of products that you see were not designed for left handed people. For example, a regular guitar.

Left handed guitars are available, but can be hard to find. Most of the major manufacturer make left handed guitars but many music stores do not carry them on a regular basis. You may have to special order your guitar if you are after a specific style and brand.

The left handed guitar is basically a reversed, or mirrored image of a regular right handed guitar. The guitar strings are just reversed. The downside is that left handed guitars tend to cost a little more than a regular guitar. You have your choice of many styles and manufacturers though.

Until recent times it was rather difficult to find a decent left hand guitar, and certainly difficult to find one that you really liked and that suited your playing style. However checking many online stores now will reveal more choices than ever.

If you are learning to play the guitar and are left handed it will be a little hard to learn because of the lack of teachers that teach left handed. If you find one book them early because they tend to get booked fast.

Something else you can do is find a dvd or online course that is desinged for left handed guitar players. You can learn from an online course easily. The online videos do not get tired of explaining the same thing over and over. You can learn anytime of the day and your computer will not lost their cool with you.

It is hard learning to play the left handed guitar but you will stand out as a left handed guitarists and you can show others your talent.

Find the right left handed acoustic guitar is going to be easy now that you have online stores.

About the Author:

The History of Hip Hop Music

By June Beezy

From the ancient period music has one of the greatest from of entertainment for human being. There is a unique relationship between music and human pleasures. You will not find many people in the world who don't love music. Music has various classifications. Among them hip hop is one of the unique form of music. The journey of hip hop music has started later compare to the other type of music. But it has a great popularity among the music lovers. The unique style of hip hop music makes a high demand in the market.

The unique style and image of hip hop music make it popular not only in USA but also all around the world. The introduction of hip hop music was not a long time ago. In the early seventies this unique form of music was first introduced. Many people believe hip hop was a combination of West African and African American music.

Hip hop music is the mixed flavor of West African and African American music. In the early seventies the purpose of using hip hop music was different than today. During that period hip hop music was mainly used in block parties. Moving the audience was the main focus. The lyrics or the quality of the music or song was not judged.

In the early period in Bronx, hip hop music were mainly played in the block parties. But when it becomes extremely popular in these parties people started to think use hip hop music in other places. In the mid 80's people start to use hip hop music in other areas like disco. In the initial periods hip hop music only make remixes of the popular songs. But later they have started to make the original songs and able to create a huge craze among the music lovers.

But the second face was completely opposite to the first one. It has been considered as the golden period for the hip hop music. This period has started from mid eighties and last till early nineties. In this time the style and image of hip hop music was completely change. And since than the hip hop music never looks back and put a strong hold in the music industry. Today it is strongest from of music and has a great fan following all over the world.

About the Author:

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Add Music From iPod To Computer - Strategies You Can Do

By Davion W

Almost anybody is able to transfer music to iPod with ease, but to add music from iPod to computer is a different matter.

While you are able to synchronize your computer's music library with your iPod, automatically or manually, transferring files back from your iPod to your computer entails a more complex process.

Perhaps, Apply intended for this to happen to lessen the possibility of piracy and abuse. After all there are plenty of music companies using Apple's iTunes program, so Apple naturally will find ways and means to protect them. If the feature that lets you add music from iPod to computer is readily accessible, people may tend to abuse that certain feature.

Apple knows, however, that not all people are prone to do things like that. There are things you can do to recover your files in case your iPod suffers a major trouble. Apple has only restricted the feature of adding music to your computer from iPod, but it has not totally banished it

Before music can be added back from iPod to computer, you must make the music folder in your iPod visible. This can be tricky because normally the music folder is hidden and cannot be accessed easily.

Mac users will need to download TinkerTool, a software that will give you access to hidden files, then plug the iPod to the PC and launch iTunes. iTunes will then prompt you to replace your iPod's contents with songs coming from its library, and you must say no to this. Next, enable the Manually Manage Songs and Playlists and also the Disk Use option and launch TinkerTool. Click on the Finder Tab and the Relaunch Finder. Double click the icon of the iPod on your desktop. Hidden in this folder are several other folders, one of which is the music folder. When you see this, drag this out to your desktop so you can copy the files from your iPod.

For users of the Windows application, what you need to do is plug in your iPod and launch iTunes. From the source list of iTunes, choose the iPod icon. Next tick the Manually Manage Songs and Playlist Option as well as the Disk Use option. After doing that, click My Computer twice and look for the iPod icon. After clicking it, go to Tools Menu, click Folder Options, and View Tab. Tick the Show Hidden Files and Folders option, then click Apply. Double click the iPod folder on your desktop and look for the music folder; drag that one out to your desktop so you can add music from iPod to computer.

I have listed in my blog more tips and tricks to enable you to add music from iPod to computer.

About the Author:

Monday, December 15, 2008

Let's All Know More about Jazz Music

By Louis Soul

It is the sound of Jazz music that began as an offspring from the origins that created this music. In the beginning of the century the instruments used in Jazz music were European percussion, brass and woodwind instruments primarily for the military marching or dance bands.

Jazz music is not a simple style that can easily be defined except as free music that can easily meld into other styles of music to take it to another level. Jazz music itself is an innovation of African, Impressionist, Spiritual, Hymnal, Blues and Blue Grass hillbilly music simultaneously combined into a music masterpiece. The essence of the sound of Jazz music comes from the different musical elements from each part its origins as putting pieces of a puzzle together into one cohesive entity.

The American influence on jazz

The Jazz music sensation began to rub off on other parts of the world which encourages the experimentation of melding their familiar sounds with the essence of Jazz. In Europe's country in the Region of France came the Quintette Du Hot Club de France who was responsible for the making of the early "Gypsy Jazz".

The sanctified artist Arizona Dranes who was a traveling pastor made recordings that would fit in many musical categories such as blues, and boogie-woogie with the use of Jazz instruments. At the time the Jazz instruments used with religious themed music were percussion and brass instruments.

Creating jazz music

All over the world people have invented their own interpretation of Jazz by creating new music from their soul, yet branching out to expand the capabilities of the music of their culture. Jazz around the world must always begin with examples of various music. The main traits of the styles of music that stands out consistently should be reviewed.

It has already been determined that the creation of basic Jazz music must include syncopation, speech rhythms, chromatic juxtaposition of 7th to 9th to 13th chordal harmony using accidentals, improvisation and a walking bass line. The usual instruments used in the creation of Jazz music are percussion, brass and string bass. Nowadays, strings and woodwinds can be added to the creation of Jazz music to add to the tonal quality of the sound. The upper stringed instruments as well as the lowest double bass stringed instruments can expand the sound of jazz music in the vertical matter of height, and depth while the brass sounds stronger as the center of Jazz music.

Jazz music clubs

When around Canada in Vancouver, you can go to Capones Restaurant & Live Jazz Club. Jazz music is played there every night of the week. The food is excellent food and wine. Some of the dishes are pizzas, pastas, tapas and there are also some signature entrees. The musicians that play here are literally chosen to play there from the area and offer great west coast jazz music and blues. You have to call and book in advance to get a table here.

And in Israeli in Binyamina, you can go to the milestone. The Milestone is set in a beautiful park inside a Roman fortress. The times are from weekends Thursday to Saturday. The jazz music is played by the best Israeli jazz musicians. Gourmet food is served, and there is also an amphitheatre. If you are in Haifa, go to the Hottentot. Performances are just about every single day. The atmosphere is laid-back, there's good food, drinks and a gallery.

About the Author:

Friday, December 12, 2008

How To Play Lead Guitar - Jamorama Lessons Can Help You

By Joss Schuyler

There are several different reasons why you have made the decision that you want to learn how to play lead guitar. It may be that you just want to learn it for your own pleasure. But in many cases it may be because you want to take on such a significant role in the band that you are a member of. But whatever your decision is for deciding that you want to learn how to play lead guitar it is worth your while considering investing money in the Jamorama Lead Guitar program.

So what does this program have to offer to you compared to the other lead guitar lesson programs?

The first thing you notice that this course comes with a set of 43 easy to follow step by step video lessons designed to help you enhance your guitar skills. As well as these videos clearly showing you how the music should be played you are able to hear exactly what each piece you are learning sounds like when played correctly. The lessons themselves have been professionally recorded and edited and this is the reason why so many people have found them easy to follow.

If you use these lessons correctly then you will soon learn the right ways of practicing what you have been taught. This in turn results in you being able to master any new material much more quickly and you will discover that you are much less likely to form bad guitar playing habits. The lessons are very smooth which the reason is why you find yourself learning how to play lead guitar much more quickly.

There is a feature in this product which you won't see being offered with any other one available that you can use to learn to play lead guitar. It is a computer game known as "GuitarEarIt" and which helps you through a fun method how to play music by ear. Also you have the added benefit of being provided with another game known as Jayde Musica which is useful when you are learning how to read music.

Through these lessons you will progress on to learning more difficult guitar skills such as how to do half, whole and ghost bends. The format in which these techniques are taught to you are simple so following them is extremely easy compared to what you may find in other guitar courses online.

As well as all the features mentioned above another one that is specific to this particular lead guitar learning course is the technique that enables you to train your fingers to remember different chord shapes and riffs automatically. This particular technique was devised by a university psychologist and helps to learn the finger movements required to play good lead guitar in a third of the time.

Finally what you will find with this particular program is that enables you to learn how to play lead guitar in a way that you can maximize the time that you spend practising on the instrument. Also you have 29 different tracks of various music genres to use to hone your guitar playing skills further.

About the Author:

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Don't Get Nervous for Your Piano Recital

By Georgia Reader

Most children should consider the opportunity to learn piano as a positive and good thing in their lives. Many teachers offer students the opportunity to perform in a piano recital at least once a year with other students. Most parents anticipate the occasion as they want to see their child acquire some confidence in performing in front of the family and notably, an audience of peers.

Some students often wonder what a piano recital is and what happens during a recital. Well, a piano recital is a concert where students play pieces which they selected and practiced to play in front of an audience. This recital program gives students an opportunity to show how much they have improved during the previous month.

A recital is a time where a student needs to prepare and feel comfortable with performing. The most positive thing is to practice on a daily basis so that the student feels completely comfortable with the performance. A good idea would be to practice performing for the family and others a few times before the actual event.

Another way to practicing the recital pieces is for students should learn to visualize their upcoming performance in their minds. This helps the subconscious believe that the student is well prepared and knows the pieces well. After practicing the visualizations a few times, the subconscious believes that what you're about to do is normal and should not cause you any anxiety at all.

Piano recitals offer many benefits to children that participate in them yet some parents try to keep their children from being involved in them. They fear that the child will mess up and get embarrassed, so instead of letting them perform the parents will shelter their children from potential pain. This does not happen too often, as many parents also push their children to perform.

See if your child is looking forward to performing in the recital. Are they overly nervous about performing in front of an audience? They may be needing some affirmation of their ability by their families so they begin to anticipate looking forward for their recital.

Many parents of music students make too much of a fuss over their child performing in a recital. Because they lack the self-confidence in themselves, they project that uncertainty and low self-esteem on their child's ability as a piano player. This negativity transfer itself to the child who then believes they are not good enough as the next student.

As a parent, just go with the flow. Talk about how it will be fun for them and encourage them as piano recitals offer the child a great opportunity to gauge their progress. They can see something happening from all of those hours in front of the piano because a good recital can be one of the best memories in a child's life.

About the Author:

Spend Less for Quality and Unlimited Music Downloads For Ipod

By Davion W

Have you always devoted your time in locating the best unlimited music downloads for Ipod? There are many places where you can acquire the songs that you prefer for your digital gadget. You can settle with the paid websites or from site that give you songs download virtually for free. It is no secret how many Ipod users flock to free sites. The bigger issue however is, are these sites the best places to acquire excellent quality music?

Over the web, it is very easy to locate the so-called free websites. These sites allow you to download unlimited music for Ipod at no cost whatsoever. You only need to access the site and browse through the library of songs. Since everything seems too easy, people are quickly tempted to go with these sites, without having to ask any important questions beforehand.

Of course, getting something for free always sounds too tempting to let pass. However, if you care to make a closer look on these so-called free websites, you are bound to discover some harsh truths. You may be getting unlimited iPod music download, but the repercussions later on could be anything but favorable.

When you access these no-expense websites, you are putting your PC and your Ipod at risk for virus infections. These P2P or Peer to Peer sites don't always have sufficient virus maintenance systems on their sites. In this network sharing system, you are accessing the computers of other users of the site. In exchange for unlimited music download for your Ipod, you are exposing your gadgets to extreme risk.

Moreover, you must realize that there is no such thing as free music. These music or songs are protected by copyright laws, and if you acquire them at no cost, you could be violating some serious legal guidelines. In effect, you are getting cost-free music, but ask yourself first if you are willing to do something unlawful in exchange for freebies.

If you need a good number of great music and songs for your music gadget, the best place to look for them is from highly authorized membership sites. There are many advantages with this option, but chief among them is that you only pay a single and cheap payment in exchange for limitless downloading of your favorite music.

Your fear of getting your hardware infected with viruses can now be put to rest. With these legitimate websites, you are assured of the best protection and the highest quality music files for your finest enjoyment.

If you think that you have no other choice in getting unlimited Ipod songs than through P2P websites, think again. There are more than a few credible and reliable websites that offer you unlimited music downloads for Ipod in a cost-effective way.

About the Author:

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

5 Tips That May Help You To Master Easy Lead Guitar Solos

By Joss Schuyler

Although you may have only been learning how to play the guitar for a relatively short period you are looking now for some easy lead guitar solos to learn. The internet is a great place to find lessons that will show you how to play such solos and which will with plenty of practice help to improve your playing technique.

However there are certain things that you need to consider when you decide that you want to start learning how to play one of the many easy lead guitar solos that you find. The types of lead guitar solos that are often favored by those people who are only just learning how to play the guitar and those that have been written by groups like Guns N' Roses and Nirvana. Below we offer five tips that you may find helpful when you first start learning how to play lead guitar solos.

Tip 1 - You should never in the beginning attempt to create random notes. Yes guitarists such as Santana use random notes when they play but the sound they produce isn't solely down to this. For you it is best when you first start learning how to play any lead guitar solo is to incorporate random notes within it. Rather you should spend time creating your own template which you can then use for improvising.

Tip 2 - You should ensure that you have a blues scale to hand which isn't actually designed solely for you to learn how to play blues music. Although you will be able to create the same kind of random feel to your music when you do play. This is the most commonly used template by those people who are only just starting to learn how to play a lead guitar solo.

Tip 3 - Whether you learning difficult or easy lead guitar solos you should make sure that you regular practice alternate picking on your guitar. The way in which you pick your guitar is going to influence the kind of music which you produce. In many cases the lead guitar solos you play will include some improvisation in them so knowing the various ways of picking a guitar can prove very beneficial to your playing. Also practising this technique will help you to better determine if the sound you are producing when playing the guitar is good or bad.

Tip 4 - Every time you play your guitar you need to make sure that every note played is clear and even. Even at this stage of learning a guitar solo you need to make sure that at no time have you allowed yourself to create any random notes within it. Also you need to spend time working on the scales and how they should be played in the different ways, not just forwards but backwards as well. Also each time you are playing a note in a guitar solo that you are just learning, play each one twice before you then move on to the next one.

Tip 5 - To help you with memorizing the different scales that you will need to play for any particular lead guitar solo you should make a list of the notes to be played. This will be of benefit to you when you are playing a particular piece of music for the first time as you will be able to refer back to this list so you know exactly where the improvised chords you intend to play in the piece should be.

Above we have given you some tips that you may find helpful when you are looking to learn any one of the easy lead guitar solos that you have discovered online. But at the end of the day the only way that you will be able to improve the way you play the guitar is through you practising each piece regularly and as many times as possible.

About the Author:

Easy Guitar Solo - Two That You Should Try

By Joss Schuyler

Before you actually attempt trying to play an easy guitar solo it is a good idea to learn more about what they are. Guitar solos will either be a melodic passage or section or a whole piece of music that will have been written solely for playing by an electric or acoustic guitar. Sometimes these pieces of music may contain some degree of improvisation within them like those in rock, metal, jazz or blues music.

A guitar solo can be a piece of music that is played solely on a guitar or there could be times when other instruments will accompany it. This is the type of solo that is used most often in rock music. Often you will find today that it is the lead guitarist in a rock band who will be given the role of playing any guitar solos in their songs.

When it comes to you learning how to play the guitar then initially it won't hurt you to learn a few easy guitar solos. Two which spring to mind and that will help you get started are as follows:-

1. Sweet Child O'Mine by Guns N' Roses - If you have only been playing the guitar for a short time and never attempted to play a guitar solo before you may find this one a little difficult at the start. This is because that there is some string skipping for you to learn to deal with.

But when it comes to you learning how to play this particular guitar solo it is a good idea to set up a metronome next to you. Now reduce the tempo to slower than that of the 120 beats per minute which this particular piece of music is normally played at. Now you just need to practice this solo at the much slower pace and then as your confidence in your playing increases so you can then speed up the tempo on the metronome.

Even when you have slowed down the tempo of this particular guitar solo from the 120 beats per minute and still find it difficult to master then don't be afraid to slow the tempo down even further. If you think that you will be able to play this piece of music at the same sped as Slash from Guns N' Roses does then think again. Anyone who has problems playing a guitar solo at a much slower tempo than it should be played at will find playing it at the right tempo much harder. Also you need to keep in mind that this particular guitar solo is played on the eighth note and each note you play will make up just half a beat on a metronome.

2. Smells Like Teen Spirit By Nirvana - This has proven to be one of the most influential songs of all time and though the solo within it is very short it is perfectly suited to those who are just learning how to play the guitar. The reason for this being is that this particular easy guitar solo actually mimics the verse within the song.

With this easy guitar solo you can attempt to play it without using your little finger, but if you are only just learning how to play the guitar it helps you when practising to use your little finger. If you use your little finger you will find that you are able to play the 8th fret note when you need to move from the G to D string and then the D to A string. However you also have to remember that you use your index finger when playing this guitar solo so that you can then bend the 8th fret note.

About the Author: