How to Learn How to Play the Guitar

Ever found yourself at the controls of the new rock and roll video game music simulators? The ones that have players at the helm of a plastic guitar controller in front of a virtual crowd that cheers as you correctly "play" famous guitar ballads in an accurate rhythm? Thanks to the popularity of those music simulations, discovering how to learn how to play the guitar has likewise risen in popularity, as many who've 'mastered' the virtual guitar feel confident that they can apply those skills in mastering the real thing! While it's certainly possible for the novice guitarist to quickly have a command of the basics of learning how to play the guitar, a new player hoping to put a few days to be an 'expert' much like it takes one to play on the 'expert mode' of a music sim will quickly discover the reality of studying how to learn how to play the guitar: the hobby is not designed to be mastered within a week!

A novice guitar player has two options in discovering how to learn how to play the guitar: going the traditional route or opting for an unconventional method. After facing the reality that becoming a 'rockstar' will take more work and effort than the latest music simulation, a new guitar player has the time and money to hire a private guitar trainer will find it difficult to nail down the right instructor that will meet their unique learning needs. Using unconventional alternatives to the traditional instructor, like an online guitar lesson, saves the new guitar player time, funds, and opens up a wealth of benefits not possible when learning how to play guitar the old-fashioned way. The higher degree of independence while taking online guitar lessons leads to more flexibility when choosing where and when to devote time for studying the guitar. The unconventional method gives the power of learning at one's own pace, wherever they have access to a computer, and typically is much less (or in many cases, absolutely free) compared to a traditional guitar lesson.

With the power of the internet, it's easily possible for new guitarists to find sources for vital information on learning how to play the guitar. Information on how to re-string a guitar when a few of them need to be replaced, or where to go locally in order to have repairs done Is a simple click away using an internet search. Also, there are a plethora of sites dedicated to beginner's that offer tips and tricks for those that wish to know how to learn how to play the guitar.

For those students that are prepared to devote a certain amount of time every week towards guitar practice, and willing to keep up their daily guitar lessons to learn new techniques, their dreams of transitioning from the video game music sim to real guitar 'rockstar' are a definite possibility. Depending on how dedicated one is, starting a hobby of learning how to play the guitar can actually lead to someone becoming the next big guitar player who's music is featured in those very music sims!

by

Werner Wichmann - a guitar enthusiast who provides online help and writes independent reviews on learning to play the guitar - goto http://www.PlayGuitarMusicLessons.com

Evolution of Hip Hop Part 1

Even I am sometimes surprised by the new genres of music popping out. The slides and accents of the melodies came in the new millennium with influences that go beyond music. There is the chill kind of sound that seems to mash the easy beat of ballad with the confusing sound of electronics. People don't "move" to reggae anymore, it has transitioned fully to a music that even the hip hop embraces. Even Christian music has its own mixture of rock.

Some people, though, refuse to acknowledge these be a new genre. Christian music may have made its way with highly tattooed, eyeliner wearing, head banging bands like Creed but their bed of their sound comes from a drum set, a bass guitar, a lead guitar and a rhythm guitar. That is, bay any other name, still rock

That may be easy to settle when we talk rock but hip hop may be a little different. This genre has gone through so much change, it is actually hard to say whether there is a pure-blooded hip hop sound out there.

Some argues that this sound originated from Rhythm and Blues. R&B was the sound that they used for marathon parties during the 50s. The easy going base and acoustic sound allows them to extend the tune for as long as they want. When the need to have basement parties in New York started, the R&B melodies started getting faster. The lyrics started become more aggressive.

Some thirty years ago, the phenomenon started. The music started evolving as well as new hip hop artists come in aiming to make their mark in the music industry. As this genre spreads across Caribbean, Europe, Africa and Asia, U.S. artists were evolving the sound. They started using hip hop to express their views on different political and social issues.

That is where gangsta rap started. The lyrics delved on really serious matters like violence, racism, homophobia, gender issues, abuses, and others. Dance battles started becoming physical battles.

Abel Alexander has been internet marketing for nearly 8 years. Come visit his latest website over at Discount Hearing Aids which helps people find the best Affordable Hearing Aids and useful tips and information.

How to Improvise Using a Few Chords

When a painter is getting ready to paint, a color palette is usually chosen first. For example, if a forest is to be painted, the artist may choose browns, greens, and blues for the sky. Once the palette is chosen, it makes it easier to create the painting. Why? Because color decisions are now out of the way.

We can apply this concept to music as well. In particular, New Age piano playing. In your lesson, Reflections in Water, we have four chords to play with and we have the order in which they are to be played. Now, all that is required "to paint" your sound portrait is the ability to take these chords and play around with them.

Once the decision about what chords to play and how to play them are out of the way, you can now focus on making music. This is how I created Reflections in Water. I knew that the piece would be in the Key of C. I then chose a few chords from this key and fooled around with them.

It can be very confusing for the beginner in improvisation.

There are so many choices and ways to go about making music. This is why limiting choice is important. Also, it is equally important to begin by using simple means. Many students think that if they can't compose like Beethoven or Mozart, they are untalented. Get rid of this idea quickly. Everyone starts from simple means and it's a good idea to begin your experience in improvisation the same way.

Edward Weiss is a pianist/composer and webmaster of Quiescence Music's online piano lessons. He has been helping students learn how to play piano in the New Age style for over 14 years and works with students in private, in groups, and now over the internet. Visit www.quiescencemusic.com now and get a FREE piano lesson!

Why the Music Industry Works the Way it Does

The music industry has one great difference which sets it apart from most other industries. The difference is a lack of certification or licenses. Truck drivers, doctors, lawyers, welders, and even massage therapists can show you a piece of paper which says they are qualified to provide a given service. There is no such thing as a certified singer or musician.

So, how do music people find the qualified people they need? If a major star like Garth Brooks needs a new backup singer, guitarist, keyboard player, or whatever, he could run ads in newspapers. Hundreds of people would show up for the auditions. He would spend many days listening. After enough days, he might find the person he wanted. He could do that, but he values his time too much. He would rather have a few very well qualified people show up for the auditions. He would rather spend a few hours listening. He does this by holding private auditions only a few highly selected people know about.

He asks his friends to invite their friends to the private auditions. He knows his band members, lightmen, soundmen, and so forth will only invite qualified people to the auditions. In other words, he gets referrals from people he trusts. He uses people he knows are qualified to screen the people he spends his time auditioning.

If someone wants to determine whether a person is qualified, they can learn through personal experience or they can get referrals from people they trust. You can pick one at random but you won't know if they are good at what they do until you pay them to do it. Or, you can get a referral from someone you trust.

This explains why the music industry operates the way it does. There is no other way it can operate! This is why networking is the single most important thing you can do. The amount and quality of your networking will determine the degree of success you have. You save time, money, and energy by getting referrals from music people and this is how you find opportunities. Most opportunities are unadvertised. Only a few people know about any given opportunity. If you know one of those few people you will know about the opportunity. If you don't know one of those few people, opportunity will not knock on your door.

Remember three facts: Fact number one is, there is nobody in the music industry so important you must know them. People change positions within the industry constantly. Today's star is tomorrow's has-been. Today's big shot is tomorrow's hard-luck case. Sony Music recently fired the top three people in it's Nashville office. There is absolutely no job security in this industry!

Fact number two is, there is nobody so unimportant you don't need to know them. Today's unknown singer is tomorrow's star. Today's unknown producer is tomorrow's new kid on the block. Several years ago, a person was fired by Mercury Records' Nashville. It appeared his career was over. He became the new President of Sony Music's Nashville office.

Fact number three is, you can't know everybody. There will always be some people you haven't met. There will always be some people you just don't like. Call it a personality clash, if you choose. If you feel it, chances are they feel it too.

Meet as many music people as you can. Be friendly with as many as you can. If you can't be friendly with a person, try to avoid being enemies. You never know when the next favor will come your way, or from whom it may come. There is an old saying in the music industry, "Success is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." It is an old saying because it was as true decades ago as it is now.

Opportunity is not achieved by meeting the right person. If you had known the executive when he was about to be fired, it would not have helped your career. If you had met him after he was fired, you might have thought he would never be able to help your career. He's now on top again. Do you think he will forget those friends who stayed with him during the bad years? Today, he is surrounded by favor-seekers. If you were in his position, who would you help?

Success is not created by meeting the right person. It is created by being friendly with the right person at the right time. None of us can see the future clearly. None of us can predict who the next big shot will be. If we could and started sucking up now, it would still be sucking up. Networking is not about sucking up to big shots. Networking is about sharing friendship, mutual interests, and information. Networking is about meeting a lot of people with shared interests, goals, dreams, and aspirations. It's about friends helping friends.

Networking is an important part of success, in any field. It is the single most important part of success in music and entertainment. There is absolutely no substitute for friends in this industry! If you are the most talented person on the planet and nobody else knows it, you will not be successful. If you are the most beautiful lady or most handsome man and nobody likes you, success will not come your way.

I can honestly say, every good thing that has occurred in my career was a direct result of a friendship. My greatest assets have always been my love of people and ability to build strong friendships. Without those, I would have had no success. Without those, I wouldn't even know what success can and should be.

Discover How to Promote Music Successfully

Recording music can be very fun when you are still in the beginning stages. The whole idea of actually watching your own work rise to phenomenal success would fill any artist with pride. Really, who would not like to make their own music and enjoy watching it reach seemingly insurmountable heights in the entertainment industry? In this article you will find out how to promote music the simple, intelligent and cheap way.

You need to understand, first of all, that there are many venues for your music that exist. To get the most of this opportunity you ought to maximize the use of each and every single one of them. The great thing about having a number of channels to circulate your work is that you can reach out to a wider fan base.

The internet is known as the cheapest way of doing business. And when you sit down and think about this you will notice how true it actually is. The internet is full of websites that make possible the sharing and exchanging of music around the world.

That means having your music on the most popular music websites and giving yourself the best opportunity to take your music around the world. The incredible thing about the internet is how inexpensive it is to promote your music internationally.

Once you have your music posted on the right websites you can then pursue other avenues of marketing your music. Radio stations are the still one of the most profitable means of communicating to the country where you live. Try to get to know a few radio Disk Jockeys in your locality and find out if they can play your music. You should take every opportunity possible to get to know anyone affiliated with the music industry. Having connections is very important in the music world.

As you discover more about how to promote music you may overlook some simple methods. One of these is to promote your music by hand to hand distribution. You can do this at special events where you perform. You can't afford to give away all your music but doing this selectively is a great way to gain some additional fans.

Television is perhaps one of the best if not the best way to promote your music. Television has such a great impact because of the power of visual images. It turns out the human eye is more responsive to imagery than to vocal signals. Therefore if you have enough money you can make videos and just distribute them to television channels. But be prepared to pay a bit of money.

Of course, a less expensive option is to upload your music videos to social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook, and YouTube. These three are being used by unsigned bands to launch very successful careers in the music industry.

As you can see, promoting your music is an important component of your overall band management. It is by no means, however, the only one. You must also consider branding your ban, fan base creation, securing financial backing, and much more. All of these areas require your diligent attention but will lead you to sign record deals you didn't think possible.

Frustrated that it takes so much more than great music to have success in the music industry? Read this review, How To Promote Music, of a resource that has helped many artists launch successful music careers with its 12 Easy Steps To A Successful Music Career Formula.

Steven R. Thomas helps unsigned bands get record deals. http://www.promote-your-music.com

Music Studio Production Software

Choosing the right music studio production software is important if you want to make the most out of your new music production hobby. Of course, you want your music to sound good, but you don't want to end up with a program or software that has way too many complicated features and an interface that may as well be in a different language.

Many people underestimate what they can actually achieve with the right music studio production software. Not only can it be a very fun and rewarding experience to make your own great sounding music, but it can also be used to get yourself a little fame and/or fortune. Here's how:

• You can make YouTube music videos for your music


• You can promote your music through MySpace and network with others


• You can create a Facebook fan page and invite all of your friends


• You can work on making an entire album of songs, burn some CDs, and sell them on a personal website or even through eBay


• You can sell individual MP3 files of your music on iTunes

So, as you can see, if you play your cards right and have the right music studio production software to really turn some heads with your music, you WILL get recognized and people WILL most likely offer to pay you for your music! As a side benefit, networking and recognition may open up other opportunities for you such as people contacting you and offering to pay you to produce music for THEM. Pretty neat, huh?

But what kind of music studio production software program can make this all possible? There are a lot of programs out there and not all of them are made equal. A good, solid, high-quality program I recommend which won't cost you an arm and a leg is Sonic Producer.

This is a great music studio production software program to get started with if you're really interested in dabbling in music production. It's relatively easy to learn since the program makes great use of learning resources and tutorials while making sure not to skimp on quality and variety of sounds and tools to use.

You will literally have thousands of sounds to choose from and a whole whack of editing and mixing tools to begin mastering great music production techniques. So, why not give it a try? You'll be happy you did!

Elise Moreau is an accomplished conservatory piano player who has been playing the piano for over 15 years. To find out what music production software she uses to collaborate with piano, visit http://www.SonicMusicProduction.com or for more information on music creation, click here.

The Best Free Online Tools to Use to Promote Your Music

More expensive doesn't always mean better or more effective, especially when it come to music. Sometimes knowing who your audience is and targeting them can be much more effective than an all-out broad-based promotional assault.

If your music is more niche than mainstream, there are several music-based social network sites that enable artists to target fans of a particular musical genre. So if you front a retro ska punk band, go to a site like last.fm or mymusicstream and upload videos or mp3s of your band. The purpose of these sites it to allow consumers to find new music and to enable performers to target the audience they are trying to reach.

Among the mainstream social networks, MySpace remains a valuable free online tool to promote your music and to connect with your fans. While music is what drives the band or performer, the personal connection to fans is just as important in creating long term loyalty. Regularly update your MySpace page so it becomes appointment browsing to see what's new week to week. Use the site to let fans get to know you aside from the music.

Use Facebook to make the power of friends work for you. If all your friends, tell all their friends and so on about your upcoming gig or if they pass along an mp3 for others to hear, it doesn't take very long for a viral online community of fans to grow. In addition to your personal Facebook page, create a page specifically for your band or if you're a solo performer, a professional page to complement your personal page.

Use Twitter to stay in touch with fans and to give daily updates on any upcoming gigs. You can also use Twitter as a creative way to share the life of an aspiring artist. Think of it as a daily diary entry or mini blog - in 140 characters or less. Make the entries fun, engaging and compelling so it becomes something people look forward to reading. Not only does it keep you connected to fans, it's a way of promoting yourself and your music by making it the star of an ongoing story. Include links so your music and ask for feedback.

People respond to creativity and they like feeling they are part of a performer's success. The more ways you find too include them, the stringer your brand will be.

To get more free information on how to sell your music online like crazy visit http://www.musicbizcenter.com/blog

Vintage Synthesizers - Beginning of Synthesized Music

Synthesizers are electronic instruments, which are capable of delivering a varied range of sounds. Synthesizers are of different types. Synthesizers have changed its look with time. Vintage synthesizers were far more different from the modern synthesizers. Synthesizers of old times were big and they did not offer so many facilities like today.

Elisa Gray invented the first synthesizer in 1876. It was called the musical telegraph at that time. The invention of this instrument happened accidentally. Elisa Grey was also the inventor of telephone. He used a telephone technology to invent this instrument.
Once he suddenly discovered that sound can be controlled from a self-vibrating electromagnetic circuit. And from this he invented a single note oscillator.

After this some other synthesizers were also invented. The vintage synthesizers derived their technology from the early musical instruments, analogue computer and some laboratory test instrument.

In 1937 Ivor Darreg created one microtonal electronic keyboard oboe. After this Evgeny Murzin created an ANS synthesizer. A big Mark 2 Music Synthesizer was invented in 1958. It was kept at the Columbia Princeton Electronic Music center located in New York. The paradox with this synthesizer was it could only be played after preparing the full programming of the machine. There was a vacuum tube system. It had to be manually used, while creating any kind of new sound.

In 1958 Daphne Oram too made a synthesizer. It was made at BBC radio phonic Workshop. She used a technique called Oramics technique to make this instrument. BBC used this synthesizer for several years.

In the late 1940s and early 50s different automated music controllers were invented. Raymond Scott, John Hanert, Hugh Le Caine and some others invented these kinds of controllers.

By 1960, modified synthesizers were invented. They could be played at real time. But they were so big that they had to be confined inside the sound studio. Vintage synthesizers were basically made of modular devices. They were not as much updated as the modern synthesizers. They did not have many features. They normally had the piano tone. Some other tones were also available, but there were not much of them.

Vintage synthesizers were very experimental. Actually they were devices, which were made specially. The mechanics were very much dependent on the concept of modularity. Robert Moog invented a synthesizer, which was a big hit at that time. This synthesizer was very much useful for the pop musicians. The best thing about this instrument was that it was smaller than the previous ones and it looked more like an instrument than a machine.

Micky Dolenz of the band The Monkees was the first one to buy this synthesizer. They used this instrument in their fourth album, which was called Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn and Jones Ltd. This album was released in 1967. This was the first album that featured a synthesizer. The instrument became an instant hit after the release of this album.

As time moved on new experiment started taking place on synthesizers. And as a result, their new models were made. These modern ones are far more upgraded than the older ones. But we shall not forget that the vintage synthesizers were the first that paved the way to these new ones. And for that reason, we shall always remember them.

Victor Epand is an expert consultant for guitars, drums, and synthesizers. You can find the best marketplace for guitars, drums, and synthesizers at these 3 sites: guitars, drums, drum kits, and vintage synthesizers, electronic keyboards.

The Importance of Backing Up Your Photos

My photos are very important to me. Everything I shoot I keep, as long as it's exposed and vaguely in focus then it stays. I still have all my college negatives and every digital shot taken in the last four years.

That being said, three times since the 'Switch' to digital I've had hard drive failure.

Granted the amount I've abused them over the years and I would expect a dud here or there but as a professional this is something I cant have with my work.

Out of everything I need my work station to be resilient and stable and for my shots to be there when needed.

The first time I had a hard drive fail, I lost about 300GB (about 15000 raw files from a modern DSLR) from a widely known HD manufacturer. From that day on I swore I would never use them again.

These days I have my images on two drives locally to my work station (one internal mirrored raid drive and two external drives, one of which stores CR2 files and one DNG files and final edits and PSD's) and also on my Flickr Pro account, which is my remote fail safe, it has my final edits and I can get them anytime from anywhere.

Ideally the shots would be stored on DVD keep these copies elsewhere but this has proved to be difficult to manage.

My workstation has a data drive with everything important and current (mirrored raid of course), then two more network drives.

It's very easy to not think about it but one failure and you'll regret it, so these days I can't say it too many times.

It doesn't have to be a fancy solution but it's a very good idea to have some of your important files elsewhere other than on your main drive.

A good idea is to look at external drives like the LaCie drives. They go up to 8TB now, which is a hell of a lot of photos.

With a solution like this you know that they will be very secure and the peace of mind that you will never lose your images is well worth every penny.

Hi, my name is Keith Trigwell. I'm a live music photographer and I also have a passionate interest in most other types of photography, particularly portraiture and Fine Art. My live music shots can be seen at http://www.flickr.com/bigmojo

To pass the time I also write a few articles on photography and technical photographic matters.

IPod Music Popularity

Modern technology has brought us many portable entertainment devices over the last few decades. In the 1980s, we were introduced to the portable AM/FM radios and portable cassette players. They were a hit for those who wanted to listen to music while walking, jogging, or doing other outdoor activities. In the 1990s, we were introduced to the portable CD player, which quickly replaced the cassette. Apple iPods became the portable music player to own in the 21st century.

Apple's iPods are so much more than music playback devices- they can also display visual files, like films. So, you can be on the move and watch films and listen to your tunes without being strapped to separate machines, like a portable computer, or separate portable music and film-playing devices. The machines available today will hold and play huge amounts of media content, audio and visual.

To get started, you need to download and transfer audio and/or video files to your iPod. When looking for sources of MP3 downloads and iPod movie downloads, you have some choices. Although there are some places online where you can obtain iPod music downloads and iPod movie downloads for free, you need to be careful.

If you go to a website that shares files, you can get into trouble if you download illegal or copyrighted media files from there. You also need to worry about your computer's safety. It can be very risky exposing your computer to potential viruses, spyware, or adware. Your computer can also become open to malicious hackers and personal identity thieves.

Even if you you're on a budget, there are safe, reliable sites that have free music and video downloads. Sites dedicated to promoting new artists are often good sources of free, downloadable music and movies. More established artists sometimes have music or videos that you can download free of charge from their websites. Oftentimes they will only give you a small clip for free.

Alternatively, you can pay for each downloaded music or video file ala carte or subscribe to a media library. Purchasing your downloaded media is generally the safest option and one that will allow you to choose from your favorite artists and movies to get exactly what you want.

During the 21st century, Apple iPods replaced the portable cassette player or CD player to become the new portable music players of choice. In addition to music, iPods enable people to access videos and movie files as well. There are a few options for getting iPod movie downloads or iPod music downloads. Some free file sharing sites exist online, but you need to be careful. Not only do they contain some pirated and illegal content, but you are also exposing your computer to potential hackers, viruses, adware, and spyware. It's possible to find free mp3 downloads from the artists themselves from their websites, so check it out.