On the most important day of your life, your wedding day, you want all of the details to be perfect. It is only natural for you to be worried about the reception details as well, including the entertainment. There are two choices for musical entertainment at a reception: a wedding band and a DJ. A DJ is someone who plays different tracks of music that you choose for your special day, and wedding band is live entertainment. The choice that many people choose is based on the overall budget of their wedding.
The best pictures taken at your reception will be of your loved ones and other guests dancing or enjoying the music. You need to choose accordingly and make sure that your choice will be the best for your wedding day. If you are video recording the entire event, then it is even more crucial that you take the wedding entertainment seriously.
Most people, especially women, already have a specific idea in mind for their reception when they are planning the wedding. However, if you and your spouse are completely stumped as to which choice to go about for the music, there are ways to decide. The Internet is a great place to start, and you can even compare prices for all of the local music entertainers in your area.
The choices are endless, especially for live wedding bands. There are group wedding bands, solo wedding musicians, classical wedding ensembles, and of course a wedding DJ. You then have to choose the specific genre. Group wedding bands usually have a much more vast choice of genres, such as cover bands, 80s bands, country bands, etc. Solo wedding musicians are those such as harpists, guitarists, a wedding singer, and a flutist.
Many couples hire a solo musician to play in the wedding and then have them play a set of music at the reception. Classical wedding ensembles are usually the same way, with a string quartet or chamber ensemble. The wedding DJ is often the easier choice because they can play whatever you want and they are a bit more affordable if you are on a tight budget. The basic price for a wedding music band or any other performer is around $300 to $1500. It depends on how long you want them to play, and many performers will calculate in how much it is to travel to your wedding event.
Keep in mind that if you are having your wedding and reception in a church or synagogue, you might have to stay within the appropriate guidelines that are set by the church. You should also plan your wedding music band early. The best talents are booked fast and you do not want to have to deal with finding another band at the last minute, especially those who are not as reputable. It is best to book your music at least a year in advance, but if not, try to have it planned six months before the wedding date.
In some cases, certain wedding locations have a person in charge of taking care of the wedding band music and you will not have to search for long periods of time. If the ceremony is outdoors, then you will also need to make sure that there are electrical hook-ups for the special equipment if it is needed. The key here is to have each band perform for you and decide if they are acceptable. You should check their references, and if there is a contract agreement, make sure that the both of you are in agreement. Find out what their cancellation policy is as well as a refund policy. While all of these insignificant details might be the farthest from your mind when it comes to the wedding, it is crucial for your special day.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
What Music Executives Accomplish
If there's any profession in the world that's more maligned than music executive, it's probably along the lines of "Nigerian Spammer" or "Bail Bondsman". Let's shed some light on the subject. Music executives are like executives at any other company – they have to maintain a steady stream of product rollouts and keep customers attuned and regularly buying their core brands. In the case of music execs, those core brands are recording artists.
Most people don't buy Britney Spears' albums because they're published by Atlantic Records, they buy Britney's albums because they're by Britney, and the reason for that is because music executives learned how to package her singing talent, age, prior career as a Disney "good girl" and nascent sex appeal into a product that sold millions of albums.Music executives are the gateways of popular taste and are responsible to their shareholders for delivering profits. Unfortunately, those profits are coming under siege – and have been for more than a decade.
You see, the concept that you can sell music relies on the fact that making copies of music is expensive enough or difficult enough that people will pay money for a legitimate copy rather than make their own. On this basic principle, music companies have built an edifice of production gear, recording contracts and more…and the rise of the MP3 digital music format has kicked the underpinnings out from beneath them.They're now trying to put the genie back in the bottle, with Digital Rights Management and copy protection, their professional organization is trying to use copyright laws as a blunt club, and in general, they're building a lot of negative publicity for their industry.
There's a lot at stake, more so than those who make parody videos about music executives trying to preserve their multi-million dollar bonuses. One of them is making sure that artists are compensated for their work on an ongoing basis. You wouldn't do your job for free, yet most people seem to feel that music should just be freely downloadable off the internet with no compensation going to the artists.
In light of this, there's a growing movement towards online media stores, like Apple iTunes or Rhapsody, places where customers can buy songs individually, legally, in a convenient way. These have had a great deal of success, but the money they've taken in hasn't matched the declining revenue from CD sales, and that has the shareholders of music companies worried.
Most people don't buy Britney Spears' albums because they're published by Atlantic Records, they buy Britney's albums because they're by Britney, and the reason for that is because music executives learned how to package her singing talent, age, prior career as a Disney "good girl" and nascent sex appeal into a product that sold millions of albums.Music executives are the gateways of popular taste and are responsible to their shareholders for delivering profits. Unfortunately, those profits are coming under siege – and have been for more than a decade.
You see, the concept that you can sell music relies on the fact that making copies of music is expensive enough or difficult enough that people will pay money for a legitimate copy rather than make their own. On this basic principle, music companies have built an edifice of production gear, recording contracts and more…and the rise of the MP3 digital music format has kicked the underpinnings out from beneath them.They're now trying to put the genie back in the bottle, with Digital Rights Management and copy protection, their professional organization is trying to use copyright laws as a blunt club, and in general, they're building a lot of negative publicity for their industry.
There's a lot at stake, more so than those who make parody videos about music executives trying to preserve their multi-million dollar bonuses. One of them is making sure that artists are compensated for their work on an ongoing basis. You wouldn't do your job for free, yet most people seem to feel that music should just be freely downloadable off the internet with no compensation going to the artists.
In light of this, there's a growing movement towards online media stores, like Apple iTunes or Rhapsody, places where customers can buy songs individually, legally, in a convenient way. These have had a great deal of success, but the money they've taken in hasn't matched the declining revenue from CD sales, and that has the shareholders of music companies worried.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Guitars - From The Beginning
Guitars are one of the most common instruments that music lovers choose to play. You can recreate sounds from your childhood or from the past after learning a few simple cords to strum. However, learning to play such an intricate instrument such as the guitar is the same with everything else; it takes a large amount of practice and determination. You have to be willing to practice on a daily basis in order to excel with the instrument. If you do not have the time to practice, then learning the basics of beginner guitar is probably not for you. But, if you take the time to go forth with the instrument, you will be amazed at how well you can be playing in such a short amount of time.
Your first step is to decide how you are going to learn to play the guitar. If you have had any previous musical experience, such as knowing how to read music, then the process with go much more smoothly. You can teach yourself with a beginner’s guitar book; however, if you have a person to help you it will be much easier. If you are not able to read music, many of the beginner books will show you how to do that as well.
While purchasing a guitar online might allow you to find a better deal, it is often a better choice to ask a local music store for suggestions, or your instructor. The strings on some of the guitars are very hard to hold down for beginners, and you cannot learn to play on these types of strings until you have built up enough calluses on your fingers.
Many beginner guitars have strings that are slightly more loose to help with the learning process. It might not be a wise choice to purchase a very expensive guitar your first time around. You need to make sure that the investment will be worth it, and you will not know this until you have mastered the art of the guitar. However, keep in mind that extremely cheap guitars are harder to keep tuned and often harder to play.
One thing that can help you excel is to listen to guitar solos in songs. Listening is usually the best type of learning. Many instructors also recommend this and they will usually have you choose a song that you want to learn and request that you listen to it over and over again. Choose wisely, because a very hard song is not always the best option. You have to go slowly and learn the basics first.
“Wonderwall” by Oasis is a great song that is simple for all beginners to learn. The song made the top 10 list in the U.S. and the hot top 100 in 1995 when it was first released. You can search online for the guitar tabs to the song on search engines such as Google. Neil Young’s song “Heart of Gold” is another easy song to learn. It made the Rolling Stone top 500 list, and it has a deep meaning. Overall, the song is easy and very popular for beginner guitarists. There are many sites online that allow you to download these songs for free so that you can listen to them.
The desire to learn the guitar is often not enough in order to learn. You also have to have determination and the ability to have patience when you are not able to get it right the first time. Try not to get frustrated, and know that your fingers will eventually toughen up enough for you to be able to play on any guitar. The first steps are the hardest, but after you learn, it is like riding a bicycle; you will never be able to forget.
Your first step is to decide how you are going to learn to play the guitar. If you have had any previous musical experience, such as knowing how to read music, then the process with go much more smoothly. You can teach yourself with a beginner’s guitar book; however, if you have a person to help you it will be much easier. If you are not able to read music, many of the beginner books will show you how to do that as well.
While purchasing a guitar online might allow you to find a better deal, it is often a better choice to ask a local music store for suggestions, or your instructor. The strings on some of the guitars are very hard to hold down for beginners, and you cannot learn to play on these types of strings until you have built up enough calluses on your fingers.
Many beginner guitars have strings that are slightly more loose to help with the learning process. It might not be a wise choice to purchase a very expensive guitar your first time around. You need to make sure that the investment will be worth it, and you will not know this until you have mastered the art of the guitar. However, keep in mind that extremely cheap guitars are harder to keep tuned and often harder to play.
One thing that can help you excel is to listen to guitar solos in songs. Listening is usually the best type of learning. Many instructors also recommend this and they will usually have you choose a song that you want to learn and request that you listen to it over and over again. Choose wisely, because a very hard song is not always the best option. You have to go slowly and learn the basics first.
“Wonderwall” by Oasis is a great song that is simple for all beginners to learn. The song made the top 10 list in the U.S. and the hot top 100 in 1995 when it was first released. You can search online for the guitar tabs to the song on search engines such as Google. Neil Young’s song “Heart of Gold” is another easy song to learn. It made the Rolling Stone top 500 list, and it has a deep meaning. Overall, the song is easy and very popular for beginner guitarists. There are many sites online that allow you to download these songs for free so that you can listen to them.
The desire to learn the guitar is often not enough in order to learn. You also have to have determination and the ability to have patience when you are not able to get it right the first time. Try not to get frustrated, and know that your fingers will eventually toughen up enough for you to be able to play on any guitar. The first steps are the hardest, but after you learn, it is like riding a bicycle; you will never be able to forget.
Friday, May 21, 2010
"Recipes" for Teaching Music!
As for lessons, what works for me may or may not work for you. Nonetheless, here are some thoughts on how I go about laying out my ideas for the week, month and semester. I hope, at least, some of you will find them helpful.
The older I get, the more need I have to do things in units or segments, so that I can keep things straight in my head.
The first 6 weeks, I concentrate solely on American folk songs, work songs, spirituals and the like, because I teach music using the Kodaly Approach. Kodaly believed that it was very important for students to know their own mother-tongue, rich, music heritage first.
There are some Folksongs that can be found on this page but this is not solely a Folksong page.
Each grade level should be able to sing from memory at least 25 folks songs by the end of each year. Each year, I build upon the previous year's songs and so on, so that by the time the fifth graders go on to middle school, they have a hefty repertoire in American folk songs.
The second six weeks, we work on holiday music, and of course my upper grades begin preparation for their Christmas pageant.
The third six weeks, we continue our holiday songs and, all along, I try to have extension activities on Fridays, calling them Fun Fridays, and at least one listening lesson or composer lesson per week. I see my students daily for 25 minutes, except for kindergarten, which I see every other day. I have eleven classes each day. The classes begin learning folk songs from other countries during this six weeks and I continue these studies, mixed with their own heritage songs for the remainder of the year.
The fourth six weeks, I do an intensive coverage of Blues songs and Jazz artists, composers, and also an intensive study of Scott Joplin's opera, Treemonisha. The students view a video of The Houston Grand Opera performing Treemonisha and then they create a book based on the various Acts and Scenes in cooperative groups. We display these books at the end of school in the Author/Illustrator's Club end of school program.
The fifth six weeks, we begin recorders in the upper grades and the rest of my classes will begin an intense study of playing percussion instruments, Orff instrumentation and the like. However, we have one or two days each week where we practice playing parts to accompany our songs using the Orff instruments through-out the year. I also introduce improvisation during the Black History studies during the months of January and February.
The older I get, the more need I have to do things in units or segments, so that I can keep things straight in my head.
The first 6 weeks, I concentrate solely on American folk songs, work songs, spirituals and the like, because I teach music using the Kodaly Approach. Kodaly believed that it was very important for students to know their own mother-tongue, rich, music heritage first.
There are some Folksongs that can be found on this page but this is not solely a Folksong page.
Each grade level should be able to sing from memory at least 25 folks songs by the end of each year. Each year, I build upon the previous year's songs and so on, so that by the time the fifth graders go on to middle school, they have a hefty repertoire in American folk songs.
The second six weeks, we work on holiday music, and of course my upper grades begin preparation for their Christmas pageant.
The third six weeks, we continue our holiday songs and, all along, I try to have extension activities on Fridays, calling them Fun Fridays, and at least one listening lesson or composer lesson per week. I see my students daily for 25 minutes, except for kindergarten, which I see every other day. I have eleven classes each day. The classes begin learning folk songs from other countries during this six weeks and I continue these studies, mixed with their own heritage songs for the remainder of the year.
The fourth six weeks, I do an intensive coverage of Blues songs and Jazz artists, composers, and also an intensive study of Scott Joplin's opera, Treemonisha. The students view a video of The Houston Grand Opera performing Treemonisha and then they create a book based on the various Acts and Scenes in cooperative groups. We display these books at the end of school in the Author/Illustrator's Club end of school program.
The fifth six weeks, we begin recorders in the upper grades and the rest of my classes will begin an intense study of playing percussion instruments, Orff instrumentation and the like. However, we have one or two days each week where we practice playing parts to accompany our songs using the Orff instruments through-out the year. I also introduce improvisation during the Black History studies during the months of January and February.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Practising Music - What To Do Outside Your Music Lesson
Practice makes perfect. These three words are heard every day and time after time these words are ignored. But why? Music is such a vast subject that for anyone, even the professionals, mastering it is near impossible. With years of work one can be very knowledgeable in specific areas of music but it would take more than a lifetime to fully understand every aspect of an instrument or music theory.
With that in mind hopefully people should start to understand that having a one hour lesson once a week is not even close to enough to gain substantial progress and development on a musical instrument.
This series of articles offer tips on practicing music which will hopefully demonstrate the benefits, enjoyment and fulfilment that can be gained through practicing music.
1. Goals are key. It is human nature to take pride in reaching a goal whether a promotion at work or winning a competition. If you have a set goal to reach you will be more willing to put in the work required to achieve it. Some examples of goals could be to learn the latest song you’ve fallen in love with, to be able to sight read in a certain key, to develop faster, more technical playing or to reach a certain exam grade before a certain period.
2. Little often is better than a lot occasionally. One key point to remember is that repetion is the quickest way to learn something due to your brain and muscles ability to develop and store a so called ‘muscle memory’. It will take a substantially longer time to learn and retain your new knowledge if you practice for a long period but only occasionally. See tip 3 on how to easily incorporate regular practice sessions into your daily routine.
Another benefit of practicing a little often is that your concentration levels are kept up throughout your practice session. Brass players will understand this the most – after playing a trumpet or any brass instrument for approximately an hour your lips start to feel numb which in turn begins to restrict your playing abilities. The knock on effect of this is that the longer you practice without a break, the more harm ultimately you will cause yourself – both mentally and physically – it will knock your spirit and could even do damage to your embouchure. Obviously this applies to all instrument groups; as is well documented repetitive strain injury is common among musicians. The primary cause of this is improper technique but as the name implies too much repetition through a movement can create serious effects. Therefore if you are practicing for longer periods be sure to take regular breaks – 5 to 10 minutes for every 50 minutes for adults and 10 to 15 minutes for every 25 minutes for children.
3. Routine. Imagine this – every morning you wake up, maybe make a cup of coffee or sort through the post and eventually at some point you will go to the sink and brush your teeth. Now most people do this without any thought – it is just something that gets done. This is the effect of getting into a routine. If you set aside a time each day to practice, away from distractions if possible, you will get into this routine making it much easier to practice, it becomes a part of your day to day life.
4. Practice with a partner. Most humans love competition – especially if you know you are the winner – and by tapping into this you’re making your practice session less of a chore and more of a game. Set challenges between you both and find some reward for the winner. The other benefits are that you gain an outsiders opinion and criticism on your playing, the opportunity to practice duets and you will have some company rather than being locked away in your bedroom.
This is just a glimpse at the different methods you can adopt to improve your practice and in the next article I will demonstrate some more music based tips to help you improve; using a metronome to develop your internal body clock, a fun method for scales and arpeggios and how and why you should be incorporating sight reading and music theory into your practice sessions.
For now just focus on your desires and on the reasons why you started music and give the tips above some thought.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
How To Compose Music How To Compose Music - Creative Ideas
Starting a composition is a difficult task. Getting your inspirations, thinking creatively, applying your creative thoughts to your music and supplementing your ideas with additional composition are all difficult tasks to accomplish.
For starters, your current state of mind will greatly affect the music you write – whether you feel angry, joyful or sad chances are your musical composition will in some way reflect this mood.
Different times of day and different seasons affect your composing as well as current affairs and any stress’s you might have.
The variety of factors that can influence your composition periods are immense and hopefully these few pointers will demonstrate some methods of breaking out of the psychological restraints placed on you.
• Colours – If you are looking to compose a piece of music based around a certain mood find a relevant colour that matches for instance orange gives the impression of energy and drive. Eventually you will learn to bias your mood to suit the composition you are aiming for.
• Character – it is well known for actors to really get inside the character they are portraying through their acting. Understanding key emotions and various behaviours help the actors ‘ live ‘ as their proposed character. If you are creating a theme for a character (think darth vaders theme tune) you need to be demonstrating and describing that character through sound. If you follow the same process as an actor would you will eventually unravel hidden details that will help refine your composition, make it more realist and detailed and allow for it to be much more creative and expressive.
• Nature – a lot of creativity and inspiration can be got by observing nature. From birds communicating through a song like speech to the rustle of leaves in a summer breeze. Trying to emulate nature is an excellent way to begin a sound-scope – or incorporating nature into a character theme for example to express an angelic quality, singing like the birds (fast trills on piccolo or glissandos on the violin)
• Memories – another great source to tap into is your memories. A lot of emotion will go into compositions that are personal in some way to yourself. Spend a few minutes reflecting on your past – try to imagine the memory in great detail – sounds, smells, colours the weather – anything that will give you a good image and story to compose about.
These are just a few sources for inspiration – use your imagination – it has never ending possibilities!
With so many possibilities to compose about and now that your creativity is running, the next area to discuss is music theory.
The last thing that you want to happen is to have all these wonderfully creative ideas for your composition but being held back by the lack of musical knowledge.
A rugby player could develop his passing techniques and his scrum techniques but if he doesn’t know the rules of the game he won’t be able to perform during a game.
Although music composition and as a whole is not bound by any rules you still need the knowledge of writing music – in the same way as a poet needs a knowledge of his language to write a poem.
Some of the key areas you should know about and be constantly revising are:
• The Staff, Bar Lines, Clefs, Time Signatures.
• Note Values, Rests, Phrasing, Rhythm
• Articulation, Instrument Specific Techniques (pizz, con sord)
• Key Signatures, Circle of Fifths, Accidentals, Cadences
• Major, Minor, Diminished, Pentatonic, Diatonic Scales
• Modes
• Chords, Extensions, Inversions, Sequences, Arpeggios
• Instrument Ranges, Timbres of Each Instrument, Difficult Areas of an Instrument (The break on clarinet for instance or seventh position for trombones)
Of course it is not absolutely essential you know about all of this but it will mean that your creativity is weakened due to lack of a means to fully communicate.
Use music theory books – go through them and notate comments on the pages, take notes on to blank flash cards to memorize scales and extended chords, use past music theory exam papers to test and analyze your knowledge and then act on your weak areas, purchase a aural perception CD to recognize different cadences and the general sounds achieved from different combinations of notes and chords – there are many ways to learn all of this but find the way that you are comfortable with and stick to it.
Finally the last piece of advice in this article is to keep your composing active.
Aim to compose a short piece of music each day, maybe before you go to bed you can reflect on your day through a composition. Mix it up – compose for different orchestrations and different abilities.
Composing is challenging but by keeping active like this will greatly benefit you and your compositions – and you never know – you may accidentally stumble upon your masterpiece!
For starters, your current state of mind will greatly affect the music you write – whether you feel angry, joyful or sad chances are your musical composition will in some way reflect this mood.
Different times of day and different seasons affect your composing as well as current affairs and any stress’s you might have.
The variety of factors that can influence your composition periods are immense and hopefully these few pointers will demonstrate some methods of breaking out of the psychological restraints placed on you.
• Colours – If you are looking to compose a piece of music based around a certain mood find a relevant colour that matches for instance orange gives the impression of energy and drive. Eventually you will learn to bias your mood to suit the composition you are aiming for.
• Character – it is well known for actors to really get inside the character they are portraying through their acting. Understanding key emotions and various behaviours help the actors ‘ live ‘ as their proposed character. If you are creating a theme for a character (think darth vaders theme tune) you need to be demonstrating and describing that character through sound. If you follow the same process as an actor would you will eventually unravel hidden details that will help refine your composition, make it more realist and detailed and allow for it to be much more creative and expressive.
• Nature – a lot of creativity and inspiration can be got by observing nature. From birds communicating through a song like speech to the rustle of leaves in a summer breeze. Trying to emulate nature is an excellent way to begin a sound-scope – or incorporating nature into a character theme for example to express an angelic quality, singing like the birds (fast trills on piccolo or glissandos on the violin)
• Memories – another great source to tap into is your memories. A lot of emotion will go into compositions that are personal in some way to yourself. Spend a few minutes reflecting on your past – try to imagine the memory in great detail – sounds, smells, colours the weather – anything that will give you a good image and story to compose about.
These are just a few sources for inspiration – use your imagination – it has never ending possibilities!
With so many possibilities to compose about and now that your creativity is running, the next area to discuss is music theory.
The last thing that you want to happen is to have all these wonderfully creative ideas for your composition but being held back by the lack of musical knowledge.
A rugby player could develop his passing techniques and his scrum techniques but if he doesn’t know the rules of the game he won’t be able to perform during a game.
Although music composition and as a whole is not bound by any rules you still need the knowledge of writing music – in the same way as a poet needs a knowledge of his language to write a poem.
Some of the key areas you should know about and be constantly revising are:
• The Staff, Bar Lines, Clefs, Time Signatures.
• Note Values, Rests, Phrasing, Rhythm
• Articulation, Instrument Specific Techniques (pizz, con sord)
• Key Signatures, Circle of Fifths, Accidentals, Cadences
• Major, Minor, Diminished, Pentatonic, Diatonic Scales
• Modes
• Chords, Extensions, Inversions, Sequences, Arpeggios
• Instrument Ranges, Timbres of Each Instrument, Difficult Areas of an Instrument (The break on clarinet for instance or seventh position for trombones)
Of course it is not absolutely essential you know about all of this but it will mean that your creativity is weakened due to lack of a means to fully communicate.
Use music theory books – go through them and notate comments on the pages, take notes on to blank flash cards to memorize scales and extended chords, use past music theory exam papers to test and analyze your knowledge and then act on your weak areas, purchase a aural perception CD to recognize different cadences and the general sounds achieved from different combinations of notes and chords – there are many ways to learn all of this but find the way that you are comfortable with and stick to it.
Finally the last piece of advice in this article is to keep your composing active.
Aim to compose a short piece of music each day, maybe before you go to bed you can reflect on your day through a composition. Mix it up – compose for different orchestrations and different abilities.
Composing is challenging but by keeping active like this will greatly benefit you and your compositions – and you never know – you may accidentally stumble upon your masterpiece!
Monday, May 10, 2010
Note Of Music
Whether you admit it or not, music imbeds our daily life, weaving its beauty and emotion through our thoughts, activities and memories. So if you're interested in music theory, music appreciation, Beethoven, Mozart, or other composers, artists and performers, we hope you'll spend some time with here and learn from these music articles of note for all ages and tastes.
When I first started studying the history of music, I did not realize what I was getting into. I had thought that music history was somewhat of a trivial pursuit. In fact, I only took my history of classical music class because I needed the credits. I did not realize how completely fascinating music history is. You see, in our culture many of us do not really learn to understand music. For much of the world, music is a language, but for us it is something that we consumed passively. When I began to learn about the history of Western music, however, it changed all that for me. I have had some experience playing musical instruments, but I have never mastered one enough to really understand what music is all about. This class showed me.
When most of us think about the history of music, we think of the history of rock music. We assume that the history is simple because the music is simple. In fact, neither is the case. The history of music, whether you're talking about classical music, rock music, jazz music, or any other kind, is always complicated. New chord structures are introduced bringing with them new ways of understanding the world. New rhythmic patterns are introduced, bringing with them new ways of understanding time. And music reflects all of it.
Even when the class was over, I could not stop learning about the history of music. It had whetted my appetite, and I wanted more. I got all the music history books that I could find. I even began to research forms of music that had not interested me before in the hopes of enhancing my musical knowledge further. Although I was in school studying toward something very different – a degree in engineering – I had thought about giving it up and going back to get a degree in musicology. That is how much I am fascinated by the subject.
If you have never taken a course in the history of music, you don't know what you are missing out on. The radio will never sound the same to you again. Everything will seem much more rich, much more luminous, and much more important. A new song can reflect a new way of being, and a new way of imagining life in the world. This is what learning about the history of music means to many of us.
When I first started studying the history of music, I did not realize what I was getting into. I had thought that music history was somewhat of a trivial pursuit. In fact, I only took my history of classical music class because I needed the credits. I did not realize how completely fascinating music history is. You see, in our culture many of us do not really learn to understand music. For much of the world, music is a language, but for us it is something that we consumed passively. When I began to learn about the history of Western music, however, it changed all that for me. I have had some experience playing musical instruments, but I have never mastered one enough to really understand what music is all about. This class showed me.
When most of us think about the history of music, we think of the history of rock music. We assume that the history is simple because the music is simple. In fact, neither is the case. The history of music, whether you're talking about classical music, rock music, jazz music, or any other kind, is always complicated. New chord structures are introduced bringing with them new ways of understanding the world. New rhythmic patterns are introduced, bringing with them new ways of understanding time. And music reflects all of it.
Even when the class was over, I could not stop learning about the history of music. It had whetted my appetite, and I wanted more. I got all the music history books that I could find. I even began to research forms of music that had not interested me before in the hopes of enhancing my musical knowledge further. Although I was in school studying toward something very different – a degree in engineering – I had thought about giving it up and going back to get a degree in musicology. That is how much I am fascinated by the subject.
If you have never taken a course in the history of music, you don't know what you are missing out on. The radio will never sound the same to you again. Everything will seem much more rich, much more luminous, and much more important. A new song can reflect a new way of being, and a new way of imagining life in the world. This is what learning about the history of music means to many of us.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Top Songs of the Year 2010
It is only the beginning of the year and we have had some top songs that have already been released. Top hits come up every year and the year 2010 is no exception. Some of the best singers of present times have already sung some songs that will remain one of the best songs even at the end of the year. We have listed the top songs of 2010 here believing that these are indeed the best songs that have so far been sung so far in 2010.
It is always difficult to choose the best songs for a particular year because music lovers from across the world always seem to have differing opinions on whether a particular song should be included in the list or not. Charting the top hit songs for the year 2010 is a relatively easy task because we are only in the beginning of the second week of March. With a lot less number of songs to choose from, it is much easier to have a list of top hits that we believe deserve to be among the best.
One of the best places to locate the top songs for 2010 are the various blog sites. There are innumerable song and music blogs on the Internet and they are generally quite dependable when you are looking for the best songs for the first 3 months of the year. Blogs are places where people offer their honest opinions. The opinions are completely unbiased and based on actual user experience. Hence, the chance of finding the best songs in these blogs is quite high.
Our taste in music has changed over the years and the list of top songs for the year 2010 clearly reflects that. Artists like Lady GaGa, Ke$ha, Lady Antebellum and Justin Bieber are ruling the charts. Their songs reflect the people and the modern society and hence, they have been the most popular.
There have been some other artists in various genres that have already produced some great songs this year and we also recommend their names in the top tunes for the year. Selena Gomez, Kevin Rudolf, Owl City, Taylor Swift, Jay-Z and Taio Cruz have come up with their chartbusting numbers that have received tremendous response from the modern music lovers.
2010 has started with a bang in the music industry. There are more than nine months still to go in the year. There will be newer additions to the top hit songs of the year 2010 and they will replace the ones that are there in the current list. Keep looking out for some forthcoming great numbers and keep checking the charts and the blogs. You will spend the year jigging to some of the best or top songs of 2010.
Easy Guitar Tabs to Learn and Other Great Tools For Beginners
It is quite possible that you just picked up your very first guitar, and are a bit confused about where to start. That's okay. Fortunately for you, the internet provides us with some excellent tools to get started, even if you don't know the difference between a pick and a peg. Among some of these are online chord guides, tutorials, and easy guitar tabs to learn at your own pace.
Chord Guides.
Chord guides and finders are a great tool to have. They'll help you get familiar with different notes, chords, and how they sound together. Start to memorize the basics. You don't have to break down to the point of flashcards, but learning the basic major chords will give you a head start. Later, you'll be able to use these chord guides to help you find new progressions to play around with. But don't get too wrapped up in this in the beginning. First you should find some easy guitar tabs.
Guitar Tabs.
There are plenty of databases that offer you thousands of different songs, mapped out in a way that is understandable to the novice musician. Reading music classically is a great skill to have, but if you're not familiar, it can get burdensome and cause you to lose interest. Finding some tabs to learn at the beginning of your practice is a great way to motivate yourself to keep it up.
Online Tutorials.
Guitar tutorials come in all shapes and sizes. There are programs you can purchase out there that can help substantially without you having to leave your home for individual (and costly) lessons. There are also numerous videos on websites such as YouTube that teach you how to play specific songs. It's a great opportunity when you can find easy guitar tabs to learn along with a video that gives you step by step instructions.
Once you find these excellent tools, you'll have everything you need to teach yourself guitar effectively. Finding easy guitar tabs s to learn, along with tutorials and chord guides, you'll be a pro in no time.
Make Your Own Music For Free
Did you know that you can make your own music for free? So many of us dream of making our own kind of music, our own beats, our own rap - something that represents us and the way we feel about life. But expensive equipment and hard-to-use technology is what puts so many of us off. It doesn't have to! Keep reading and learn how to get started with your own music.
Utilize the Power of the Internet
If you want to be able to make your own music for free, then the internet provides the answer! If you're interested in music or music production and think you don't have the money to get into it, think again! The internet gives normal, everyday people a chance to get started in the industry, without needing a fully equipped music studio to do the job.
If you're just starting out then using online software is not only cheaper, it's also easier. Particularly popular amongst online music makers is software that can help you to make your own beats. Hip hop beats, rap beats... whatever you want to make, you now can!
Finding and Using Your Software
The good news is that there is a lot of choice when it comes to software that can allow you to make your own music for free. The main problem is choosing one that can do the job well, as opposed to programs that simply aren't worth the time to download.
There's nothing wrong starting with a basic program. After all, it'll be a lot quicker for you to learn and to use. But realise that there can be huge differences between basic programs and those that are designed to have professional sound in mind. For the very best, you'll have to pay. But the internet means that you won't have to pay much at all.
Whatever you do, make sure that the sequencer comes with a good number of tracks. Having 16 tracks gives you room to get as creative as you want to be. These are the kinds of features you should be looking at when you choose what you want to download, and it may also be useful to choose one that includes a virtual keyboard.
The ability to make your own music for free online has really changed so many people's lives. So get out there and get creating! Start simple and gradually move onto more professional software when you can afford it.
Want to start to learn how to make your own music but are feeling overwhelmed about how expensive the gadgets are? The great news is that you can now make beats online, a cost effective but still really great sounding way to start creating your own beats today!
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