Strumming A Tune Soon With Video Guitar Lessons

By Razz Littenberg

The guitar is a popular and flexible instrument. For this and other reasons, many people want to learn to play. Many paths to achieving this goal can be found. Some may sit down weekly with an instructor in private or group sessions. Others may wish to learn a bit more privately, perhaps in their own home. For them, video guitar lessons are available.

The instrument has a history reaching back to ancient times. The oldest recognized visual representation is over three thousand years old. The modern instrument we use today is a descendant of the Roman cithara, from around 40 AD. Several historical influences can be cited in its evolution.

In the 8th century, the Moors played a stringed oud. Another influence was the Viking's lute. The Spanish vihuela took it a step further during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Around 1800, the actual shape we know to day was becoming more obvious.

This is a very flexible instrument. Different types are best suited for various musical styles. A classical sound can be achieved with an acoustic. Some are made of wood. Some are made of steel. Each element of construction provides a unique sound. An electric version may be needed for music that requires electronic manipulation or extreme amplification.

The electric version was introduced in the thirties. It was a new way to play and experience music. The effect was significant on music and popular culture alike.

Learning to play takes time and effort. Instructors can often be found via newspaper or other advertisements. Colleges and universities with music programs often have students who earn extra money by giving lessons.

Some students do not have access to such forms of instruction. Or they may want to undertake their study a bit more privately. A more digital learning type of format may be what they choose.

Video guitar lessons can be done in the privacy of one's home. The instructor is ready and waiting at any time. The student decides when and where to learn. Many instructional videos exist today. As with any product, some are better than others. There are a few things to look for when choosing the right program.

Good ones emphasize fundamentals. Acquiring good technique from the start is important. The best programs will introduce the necessary beginner techniques and promote mastery of them.

A beginner should also research the credentials of the instructor. How long have they been playing? How long have they been teaching? Do they play and teach the style of music the student eventually wants to play?

Video guitar lessons can open up a musical world to those without the time or access to other types of instruction. The key to becoming a skilled musician is persistence and commitment. With those attributes and a good program, anyone can fulfill their goal of being a guitar player.

About the Author:

Today, you can learn guitar - yes, it's totally guitars! If you want to learn, we can help you out with some cool guitar stuff.

Tell Me Why Must I Buy Reason 5.0 Music Making Software?

By Leonel Solei

When Reason first came out it was a music software revolution. Created by the Swedish group Propellerhead Software, it provides everything that music software are expected to have, such as the synthesizers, samplers, sequencers, mixers, effects, etc., but presents them in a brand new way and with superior quality.

It's almost exactly like a real studio, except it's virtual. But the look of the components, from the bars, gliders, buttons etc., are all copied from the real hardware. Even without the use of any other sequencing software, you are already guaranteed to be able to create sounds never heard before.

The first version of Reason, versions 1.0, was released back in the year 2000. It was well known for its ability to act as a studio rack, allowing users to insert their own virtual instruments, processors, and effects into the program.

There have now been four versions ever since the arrival of the first Reason more than a decade ago, and it just keeps getting better and better. Reason 5.0 subscribes to the same standard of excellence with new devices such as the Kong Drum Designer and the Dr. Octo Rex loop player. Of course you can expect significant improvements in the performance of the older instruments and effects as well.

Customizable features in Reason 5.0 make it a most unique and personalized experience. No two Reason racks will look the same for different people. The virtual environment changes depending on who you are and what your personality is. And of course, everyone will have their preferred settings when it comes to the reverb, distortion, chorus effect, etc.

The only criticism against Reason 5.0 is its inability to record audio. I guess the guys at Propellerhead are still stubborn in that way. You can still get around it though. Another sign of the priorities of the Propellerhead people is that Reason 5.0 still doesn't support third party plug-ins, making Reason 5.0 very self-contained and one of the most stable music softwares out there.

If you have the budget to buy only one music software, then chances are Reason 5.0 is the perfect buy for you!

About the Author:

If ever you've made the choise to unlock your music making creativity, then just check out Reason 5.0 on your own. Or read another article by me right here.

Brainwave Music - Get Your Brain Trained

By Tome Berry

Our brain is made up of billions of brain cells known as neurons which electrically communicate with each other. These brain cells send the signals to other that produce the large amount of electrical activity in brain and it is measured by EEG equipment. The combination of electrical activity of a brain is called as pattern of brainwaves due to its cyclic wave like nature. There are 4 types of brainwave such as beta, alpha, theta and delta and all performs different task.

Today many people face the depression, stress and other mental disorders due to personal and professional problems or heavy workload. The brain entrainment technology is very useful and effective in healing the mental and physical problems. The brain synchronization technique includes the specially produces sound or tunes to change the mental state.

This brainwave entrainment mp3 technology or therapy can help you in all respects, generating happiness and pleasure, a positive mind set and even inspire frequencies to enhance physical and mental healing.

The brain entrainment is natural and scientifically proven effective remedy and works to slow down the brainwaves to allow the listener to fall asleep. It can help with any mental related conditions such as depression, low self-esteem, attention deficit disorder, drug and alcohol addiction, autism and many more. Brainwaves are divided in 4 types and are connected to different mind states, or states of consciousness. These entrainment techniques can be an effective and powerful personal growth tool. These days, the brain entrainment CDs and mp3s are available in market and on internet as well.

You can purchase the CDs of specially created sounds through your nearest music or book store in affordable price. You take help from your doctor or an expert to find the popular and successful entrainment CDs for you as it is always good to consult them before using it. You can locate them on internet through online sources and get a number of listings of mp3 tracks. The websites offer the free trials for you, so you can get some ideas about their effect and sound quality. These sites also offer instant downloadable facility for you and can download the mp3s in your PC, mp3 player, iPods, etc. You can listen to them anytime and relax your mind whenever you want.

About the Author:

For more information visit www.wellnessaudio.com

Meditation On Sound: Your Path to Better Life

By Charlie Jonn

You can fully connect with life, cultivate openness and spiritual awareness if you start using sounds in your meditations. You should know that solely concentrating on the breath can lock you too much inside your body. But if you listen to sounds, you can easily open yourself to the world around and create harmony in your life.

Singing birds, flutes, falling water, bells - there are infinite amount of sounds you can meditate to. I myself have been practicing meditation with tones of dolphins. However, the real breakthrough was when I first read about the Solfeggio frequencies. Since that time, they're my favorite kind of sounds. You should realize that these two different sources of sounds will enhance your life.

It's obvious that dolphins are the most human friendly and intelligent sea creatures. Their specific and calming "voices" are traveling through ocean waves with other sea sounds. You can fully enjoy this amazing sound experience with a little of preparation. Find some random dolphin music in the search engine. Then find nice and comfortable place in your room and lie down. Take a deep breath, close your eyes and let yourself relax.

Now play the mp3 and listen as closely as possible to the sounds of dolphins. Concentrate intently on the sounds and feel completely immersed in every tone. If you become distracted, remember your intention to be present, to be aware, to meditate.

The Solfeggio frequencies were used in the ancient Gregorian chants and sung during religious ceremonies. There are six main frequencies: 396, 417, 528, 639, 741, 852. Each one has specific spiritual and physical healing properties. I can tell you from my own experience: meditating to these sounds will create pure harmony in your life. Just lie down in the comfortable place and play the video.

Bring your attention to the Solfeggio tones. Expand your awareness to these calming sounds and gently breathe. Allow these frequencies to raise and fall on their own accord. Notice where the tones come and go and look deeply into listening. Within few minutes you should feel relaxed and refreshed. When the Solfeggio harmonics are over, rest in the quietness and clarity of this experience. As you become one with the sounds of dolphins or the Solfeggio frequencies, you may experience many other planes of awareness and change your entire perspective on life.

About the Author:

Interested in sound meditation with Solfeggio tones? Go to this Solfeggio frequencies site and remember to read about Solfeggio scale before listening to the sounds.

Seasons Six Through Nine of American Idol

By Dennis Duncan

As many people know, American Idol is a cultural sensation. I know this first hand because I worked on the show during seasons 6-9.

What I am hoping to do is share with you insight on how American Idol works. More than anything, I am sharing with you first hand enlightenment of how a portion of the American Idol machine runs that very few people are aware of.

My employment on American Idol was working every Monday with the contestants producing, engineering and recording their vocals for the full length downloads. I was also responsible for producing, recording, editing and uploading the Idol performance show ring tones to the Fox/AT&T servers for seasons six through nine that many of you probably purchased. It's hard to predict, but during any given week of Idol I played an significant role in about 3-6 Top 10 Billboard & Itune hits every week and selected every ringtone download weekly for every Idol contestant for four seasons straight.

Now, you are unlikely to find my name associated with many of the top Ten hits or ringtones nor will you see my name when they roll the credits from the show. In TV, film and music, there is what they call "above the line" and "below the line". The big name producers are "above the line" and guys like me fell "below the line". Many others received credit for my individual professional endeavors. Not a big deal as that is just the way the industry operates and I accept that. I was comfortable to be part of the cultural experience of this TV show called American Idol. I'll get in to the details more about Idol in later blogs but for the time being I want to share with you my path that lead me to Idol because it was from this path and the experiences as a major label recording artist & subsequent producer that equipped me to work with the contestants. At the cornerstone of my experiences, my path to success isn't any different from most of the contestants that audition for Idol.

Have I sold millions of records as an artist or a producer? No. Do you know my name? Probably not. But what I do have that many of the people involved with Idol do not have is that I was a major label singer/artist, songwriter, and am a music producer, among other ventures. And, probably the most considerable part of this whole experience is that I've spent time on "the other side of the glass". What that means is that I have been in the recording studio vocal booth recording vocals for many years. I have felt what it feels like to labor in the studio singing. I know. I sucked when I experienced my first recording sessions. It's very tough. I also know what it is like to excel in the studio as, the more I sang on songs in the studio and recorded, the better I got. For the most part, artists are either a good live singer or a decent studio singer. Not many are both. I was one of the rare few that was good at both.

So, my experience is learning through trial and error. I know what it takes to write a song, record a song, sing the song in the studio, perform that song live, tour, promote, do phoner's, videos and interviews, etc. These are the reasons I related so much to the contestants and why many of them could relate to me. With the exception of being on a TV show, just about everything they were experiencing or about to experience, I had experienced already.

About the Author:

Learn more about good american idol audition songs & strategies. Stop by Dennis Duncan's site where you can find helpful info about good audition songs for american idol and what his book can do for you.

History of Drum and Bass

By Freddy Fender

It was in the late 1980s and the early 1990s that the UK nightclub culture began to grow along with the tendency to celebrate at organized outdoor events (read as outdoor parties). Cultural influences brought about a new style of music - Rave music, which was like marrying hip-hop with breakbeats and then with other music clips from other music genres and then maybe with dialogues from movies and TV shows thrown in. Rave moved at a faster pace than hip-hop at 127-140 BPM (beats per minute) and it really took the excitement and reveling quotient up.

It was in 1992 that high-gusto breakbeat music tracks that featured heavy basslines and clips of old Jamaican music were recognized by their uniqueness and people started referring to these as "Jungle." The term Jungle was inspired from the Bob Marley song, Concrete Jungle. People at clubs, rave parties, or wherever, lapped up this new form of music because its sheer aggressiveness excited their senses and made them hit the dance floor with a vengeance - and it was different from rave music.

By 1994, Jungle got extra common with the masses and its fans had been called Junglists. Jungle music became a portion of British youth subculture. It was at this time that Jungle music started mixing elements from many other musical genres like Ragamuffin sound, Dancehall, MC Chants, Breakbeat percussion, and far more. Though Jungle was famous, it began choosing up a reputation because of two elements - one, its violent and aggressive sounds, and two, its association with criminal activity (because of the gangs who were active on the UK hip-hop circuit). Although it is actually not documented that Jungle was ditched by producers due to its association with criminal gangs, Jungle music producers started moving away from its reggae-based sounds and started producing, what is now referred to as, Drum and Bass.

Drum and Bass then began evolving - it improved technically and started gaining mass popularity, and that helped it move from pirate radio station to mainstream channels. It got so popular that it even spawned subgenres such as Jump-Up, Techstep, Hardstep and Soundscapes. Its popularity kept on increasing until 2000 when the UK Garage music genre appeared on the scene with many hit singles. UK Garage featured high tempos and heavy basslines and merged them with House Music. It was just a step in the evolution of Drums and Bass.

Even today, Drums and Bass music is frequently played in mainstream media, movies and television. It also serves as a benchmark for music genres like Grime and Dubstep. It really is acknowledged as a brand new genre of dance music. It's fast and groovy and which is why persons still really like it. And, in case you ever desire to get began on Drums and Bass, just choose up a mix CD or hit the club with your friends and take pleasure in the ride.

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Need to know even more with regards to Drum and Bass then go to History of Drum and Bass to grow in information on what it was like in the starting stage.

Music From Around The World Will Get Your Heart Pumping

By Stacie Allison

Music from around the world has come a long way from its indigent roots. Since the eighties, with the proliferation of a global culture, there has been an increased interest and appreciation for sounds outside the mainstream of Western culture. With pop stars like Paul Simon and Sting corroborating with third-world musicians, an appreciation has grown for indigenous styles.

With a varied geography and instrumentation, the indigenous roots are defying categorization as cultures assimilate. What may have once been a pure traditional form, is taking on nuance and variety as musicians access other styles from other regions. Musicians are going eclectic.

International artists now regularly tour England and North America. They may begin in small venues but are beginning to fill larger concert halls. They are opening for major recording acts, and with that exposure, acquiring new audiences.

Whether your taste is for Tibetan chants, Japanese koto, Indian raga, Jamaican reggae or the Celtic harp, it can all be found in record stores. Festivals abound in Europe, Canada and the United States. They showcase musical styles and rhythms that perhaps ten years ago no one had an understanding of. South America exports stylish bands that take America by storm.

No longer strictly ethnic, it has a broader approach. This hybridization now requires new categorical labels. We have World Fusion, Ethnic Fusion, World Beat, Lounge, Global Fusion and Club Fusion. It now crosses over into new-age, jazz, country, soul and disco. It has grown its eclectic styling and it is only just beginning.

In Paris, always a cultural trend-setter, a large West and North African population has bestowed upon the city a diverse musical scene. Add in the Algerian and Moroccan influences and you have a lively mix. With strong support for the arts, Paris may be the world music capital as it was once the art capital. In the United States, Middle Eastern sounds are growing in popularity. South American rhythms are warmly welcomed. Sufi whirling dervishes tour regularly.

There are many web sites dedicated to this genre and one of the better ones, The World Music Network, can begin your musical appreciation voyage. On this site you will find out the latest styles causing excitement, be able to access an archive the best indigenous groups and purchase CDs or MP3s. You will find links to radio stations. With stunning photography, this is user-friendly, professional site.

If your sixties, seventies and eighties classic rock records are beginning to sound like, well broken records, leave your comfort zone and check out the exhilarating offerings from around the world. If you could use a new groove, find out what is happening in Peru, Ghana, North Africa, Bolivia, Brazil. Access to the global culture is definitely one of the perks of our ever expanding world.

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Looking to find the most comprehensive information on music from around the world?