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Learn to play pop music with your guitar
Mar 16th, 2012 by Kelly Arechiga

When learning to play pop music, whether guitar or keyboard, put in the effort to learn the right way, whatever style you play. This will help you as you develop and as you learn new music.

Before getting started, take time to make sure you pick the instrument you love the most and whether you will be developing your vocal skills. What type of guitar classes are you going to take? Are you playing acoustic or electric guitar?

You have to become familiar with your instrument. Learn to tune your guitar. Beginners will find this step difficult because it involves training plus a keen musical ear. Guitar tuners are available and help you tune your guitar. Your sound will suffer if you play out of tune.

The guitar has frets that help you read music guides. So for example starting with a chords book you can easily see the finger positions for each string just by following the photos.

The next step is learning to read the chords and moving your fingers quickly into each different chord position. One little tip here is that even though you might not get your fingers into the correct positions as quickly as you would like, keep strumming in time to the song. This is most important because any loss of rhythm or hesitation is much worse than playing one wrong string.

 For rock and metal you’ll need an electric guitar, a cable, the pick, a guitar amp with distortion or a guitar amp with a pedal. Learn to play songs like Smoke on the Water, AC/DC riffs, Wild Thing, Satisfaction.

Other guitar playing methods involve power chords and bare chords. The first method is easier to learn than the second. Learn to play lead guitar. Get familiar with the Plectrum technique; this involves using the pick when playing the guitar compared to strumming, using your fingers to produce sound. You can learn to play folk guitar, classical guitar, or blues guitar. Before picking any one style try them all so you find out which suits you best.

Music of the 60s and 70s was accompanied by a heightened sense of fashion. Most pop videos of the time clearly show the vibrant psychedelic colors of tops and the wide flairs of bell bottom trousers. A good online resource is www.partygetup.co.uk where you catch a glimpse of the pop scene at that time



Greatest Songs of the 2000′s
Mar 8th, 2012 by Kelly Arechiga

A question that a lot of people are asking is what is the greatest song of all time? Although this is a good question, sadly, there may never be an answer for the question what is the greatest song of all time, as everybody likes different genres of music and has different taste. Although no one can truly answer the question, what is the greatest song of all time, people usually choose to base what the greatest song of all time is on its popularity, how much it is played and requested on the radio, how many copies of the song are bought and how many estimated copies of the song have been downloaded. Thus based on the public’s choose, here are the top five greatest songs of 2000′s.

Paper Planes
Paper Planes, written by M.I.A and featured in several movies, has a catchy and creative beat, but do the lyrics really mean anything? If you listen closely, there is more to the song than flying like paper. M.I.A moved between England, India, and Sri Lanka her whole life, her father a Tamil rebel, M.I.A definitely has something valuable to say.
Hey Ya
My favorite days of the year are the days in which the members of Outkast were born, these gurus are still busy making hip hop history, and the rest of us our still under the Atliens spell, dancing and singing around,” shake it, shake it, shake it like a Polaroid picture”.
It’s a Beautiful Day
Although the lyrics are simple, “it’s a beautiful day don’t let it get away”, it means so many different things to so many different people. This song reaches numerous people, and there is something magical about it. The fact that it was written and performed by Bono is only a plus.
Feel Good, Inc.
What is great about the Gorillaz is they are not coming out with new music every couple of months, first Clint Eastwood was popular, and still is to this day, but they let the popularity die down and the excitement build before releasing there next greatest hit. What is so good about Feel Good, Inc.? It makes us feel good of course.
Not Ready to Make Nice
We all love the sweet little Dixie Chicks, and it makes us all angry when someone picks on them ,the whole controversial story behind this Dixie Chicks song, makes it good enough to be one of the best songs ever written.

A Guide for Karaoke Beginners
Dec 27th, 2011 by Neil Rolle

Some people never give themselves a chance to try karaoke because it seems like such a frightening thing to do. Standing up on stage in front of total strangers is definitely an intimidating experience for someone who has never tried it before. But if you are able to get over your initial fear, you might find out that you come to love karaoke just like thousands of people across the world. It’s one of the longest lasting forms of entertainment, and it has definitely arrived despite being labeled as a fad in the early 1980s. It has since developed into something that people of all ages have come to appreciate. It’s definitely not for everyone, but if you try it and like it, you might just be hooked for the rest of your life.

Your scariest karaoke experience will probably be your first time, but it’s good to get it out of your way. Most of the fear comes from anticipation anyways, and this is one important fact you need to remember. It’s also good to remind yourself that nothing really bad can happen to you on a stage. At worst you might have a poor performance, but you definitely won’t be the only person who does so. Karaoke is not about delivering a professional quality singing performance anyways, it’s a chance for everyday people to enjoy music together. That’s why you shouldn’t put too much pressure on yourself to have a stellar performance, and it’s far better to concentrate on just having fun.

karaoke machineBeing prepared is a good idea because sometimes you have nothing to go by but instinct once you hit that stage. This is why it’s a good idea to pick a song that you know well, and hopefully you haven’t memorized already. Relying on the karaoke machine and the lyric display can be a bit precarious because if you lose your place, it could interfere with your rhythm completely. But if you know the song already, you can put more energy into the performance itself without having to glue your eyes to the lyric display. Eventually you want to reach the point where you can put a bit of body language into your performance and engage the audience even more. When the crowd is on your side, it gives you even more energy to bring your singing to the next level.

If you’re still feeling nervous about that first public performance, think about getting a home system so that you can practice before hand. There are many affordable karaoke machines these days that don’t cost a lot of money and can be easily incorporated into any home entertainment set up. By practicing and memorizing the lyrics, you’ll be able to blow them away the first time you hit the stage. With a good attitude and positive mindset, there’s nothing stopping you from enjoying this awesome hobby on a regular basis.

 

Music Editing Software
Dec 19th, 2011 by Louisa Lemelin

Whether it’s for starting an online business or just as a hobby, editing music can be quite fun. Back before the use of computers, mixing songs required a lot of equipment. Now days, all you really need is the right program and if you get really good at it, making money from home doing what you love can be possible. So let’s take a look at some programs in particular that you can use to create and edit your own music.

One of the most popular programs is called Fruity Loops. This program will allow you to create pretty much any beat you want. Listen to any song on the radio. The beats you hear being played can be pretty closely replicated with this program. The cost is around $100 or so depending on what version you get.

Now if you sing as well, then using programs like Cool Edit Pro will make doing that a lot easier. You could easily create different channels which will allow you to be your own back up singer. With FL and CEP, you could produce professional sounding music which you can share to the world on sites like Youtube. If enough people like your music, you could make money from it by offering downloads via Itunes.



Your Kids Can Learn To Play The Guitar At Home
Dec 1st, 2011 by Kelly Holthaus

Parents today are fortunate to have several different options as far as getting the best guitar instruction for their children. Aside from the traditional private guitar lessons provided by music schools, music stores, or guitar instructors, guitar lessons online are quickly becoming more popular because they are considerably more affordable, convenient, and accessible for most people with busy schedules.

Free video hosting websites like YouTube attract dozens of guitar enthusiasts and players who upload their own video tutorials for free to anyone interested. These can be good resources, and they do not cost anything, but these free lessons are not always suggested for beginners because some of the content are not as reliable. Beginner guitarists, and especially children, run the risk of picking up wrong habits or guitar techniques that they may find hard to get rid of later on in life.

Free online guitar tutorials are also often a mixture of different techniques appropriate for several levels, and do not follow a structured order suitable for someone who is just starting to learn the instrument. Parents would often have to scan many different tutorials and videos to get a lesson video that is appropriate for their child’s skill level.

Instead of free lessons, online guitar lessons from membership sites or courses relieve the parents of worrying about whether or not their kids are getting the right guitar instruction online. Web-based guitar lesson providers often feature professional guitarists who are experienced in teaching guitar from the basics, combining music theory and techniques into the lessons to make the learning as comprehensive as possible.

Parents can also be more involved with their kids’ guitar learning experience, aside from the considerable savings on transportation expenses and tuition fees. Even the paid guitar course programs are still more affordable compared to one-on-one guitar classes, and most monthly membership fees are comparable to a half-hour private lesson in most cities. Because the children can learn the lessons at home, parents can get involved during the learning time as well and turn it into a fun and enriching experience for the family.

Cupcakes and Free Concerts in the Park – the Perfect Summer Combo
Oct 18th, 2011 by Christian Mabee

Our family loves to go to the free concerts in the park that you find in our area. It’s great summer fun that all ages can enjoy. Most of the time the seating is on the grass or in chairs that people bring themselves. So it really lends itself to a picnic before the music. We try and keep things simple so preparation is kept to a minimum. Usually we bring sandwiches and soda for the main course and brownies or cupcakes for dessert.

Brownies are easy to transport, but cupcakes are a different story. They are more fragile and they have frosting and perhaps lots of decorations. So you have to put more thought into bringing them to a picnic. If you invest in a cupcake carrier your life will be lots easier. One of my favorite cupcake carriers is a 36-cupcake cupcake carrier for sale on Amazon. I love it because you can stack up to 3 layers of 12 cupcakes each. But you only have to use one. So you can bring enough cupcakes for a few people or feed the sweet tooth of a whole gang of music lovers. When you bring the correct transport and storage containers, serving the meal and clean up is a breeze!

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