Hobbies

The guitar is considered the friendliest musical instrument there is. It is because the guitar is the handiest musical instrument that could stand on its own. A group can enjoy music with just a guitar even without the accompaniment of winds and percussions. The term "acoustic" is referred to, in the music context of today, the rendition of songs in all the glory of guitars. No percussion and piano and other instruments needed, just guitars. Sometimes, it can be the jamming of more than just one guitar. Acoustic is a favorite type of music today because of its relaxed and soulful rendition of songs.

The guitar can be carried everywhere and is one of the easiest instrument to be learned in no time. All you need is a songbook or song hits and you’re ready to take the stage and perform to your heart’s desire. It may sound so easy and can be done in a snap, however, playing a guitar is an art that needs to be perfected with constant practice. There are basic steps you need to know before mastering playing the guitar.

New York born singer songwriter Michael Alan, who records with the Indie-label Global Fish Records in Seattle, is an artist who creates without a prescribed musical formula. His approach to writing is purely straight from his heart, lyrically poetic and honest, and void of any sound-alike comparisons. Michael’s songs portray a myriad of lyrical expressions and images that moves the listener through a musical experience which evokes excitement, tenderness, passion, and sadness. His ability to write songs each with their own personality reveals the fact that he is an avid listener of all types of music including, pop, rock, blues, soul, jazz, classical, world music, etc.

What also distinguishes Michael as an articulate songwriter is his self-reflection about personal and social themes which touch upon our daily lives. Michael Alan’s CD release "Searching for the Heartland" is a testimonial that this songwriter expresses himself in a personal way sharing his deepest thoughts and feelings through his music.

Michael Alan’s songs have been categorized by music journalists in a variety of music genre; soft pop-rock, adult contemporary, adult alternative pop-rock, lyrical singer-songwriter, etc. However, an acute listener of his song tracks can hear a blend of different musical styles in his song recordings which allows the tunes to cross over music genre barriers.

This article gives the essential basics for how to play the violin. Generally violins are quite commonly available instruments and it is reasonably easy to rent or buy a violin. Children may need smaller violins (from an eighth, quarter, half, three-quarters, seven-eighths up to full size) to accommodate smaller hands if they are going to be learning over an extended period.

The Basics

The bow is held in the right hand with the thumb bent underneath the frog to support it and the other hands loosely gripping the wood. There are many different holds and it its important to find one that suits your hand size and strength. The violin is held with the left hand, with the chin on the chin rest supporting most of the weight, and the fingers loosely coiled around the neck of the violin. The thumb should be relaxed but firm. The left elbow should be curved under the violin. The violin should be roughly horizontal and the right arm held high. The main methods of playing the violin are bowed and pizzicato.

Bowed

Meet the 12 Major Notes:

1. C (do)

2. C# - Db (do sharp or re flat) (one-key only)

3. D (re)

4. D# - Eb (re sharp or mi flat) (one key only)

5. E (mi)

6. F (fa)

7. F# - Gb (fa sharp or so flat) (one key only)

8. G (so)

9. G# - Ab (so sharp or la flat) (one key only)

10. A (la)

11. A# - Bb (la sharp or ti flat)

12. B (ti)

Meet the 12 Major Chords:

1. C major ? do, mi, so {C, E, G keys}

2. D major ? re, fa#, la {D, F#, A keys}

3. E major ? mi, so#, ti {E, G#, B keys}

4. F major ? (lower) fa, (lower) la, (middle) do {F, A, C keys}

5. G major ? (lower) so, (lower) ti, (middle) re {G, B, D keys}

6. A major ? (lower) la, (middle) do#, (middle) mi {A, C#, E keys}

7. B major ? (lower) ti, (middle)re#, (middle) fa# {B, D#, F# keys}

Your first drum set purchase is very exciting! You have probably waited a long time to buy your first drumset and have thought a lot about it. Even though it is exciting, it is important to be patient and do your research before you buy a drum set.

Where Do I Begin?

If you are new to drumming it can be pretty overwhelming and confusing when you start looking for a drum kit. The first thing that you need to know is that if you are just starting out, you should buy a starter drum kit. These drum sets are designed with the beginner drummer in mind because they come supplied with all of the drums that you will need to get up and running.

What Comes In A Drum Kit?

The typical starter drum kit comes with all of the drums that you will need to get started. The drums in the kit include:

* A bass drum
* A snare drum
* A floor tom
* Two mounted tom toms

Interviewed by Scott G (The G-Man)

G-Man: When people think of Matt Forger, they usually think of your work with Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Glen Ballard, and Bruce Swedien, yet when you hand out a CD with examples of your producing, engineering or mixing, it almost always has new and emerging artists, people like Mutant Radio, Laughing With Lulu, The Dharma Bomb, or Fjaere. What’s your thinking behind the choice of avoiding the big names?

Forger: While my association with those big names was a wonderful experience, it’s also in the past.

G-Man: But you work with artists at every level, including “the biggies.”

The portable MP3 player continues to be the hot item for those who want music on the go. I was talking to a teen the other day wearing a wristwatch MP3 player she takes on her walks. She showed me how it stores & plays about 60 songs and does everything but tell time.

"Cool", I said, "That’s a lot of music."

"Yeah, it’s not an iPod, but good enough for me now." She explained apologetically.

Why was the 60 song capacity such a disappointment? I can’t even name 60 songs.

Well, the iPod is the undisputed king of all MP3 players and it holds a lot of music. I got my first real demo from my 16 year old niece last Christmas. Her cute and wanting little sister threatened to enter the work force early to obtain her own. Every kid wants one bad, but read on, these gizmos aren’t cheap!

The iPod has caused the rebirth of Apple Computer, Inc., which has sold over 10 million units as of Q1 2005, with annual sales growing at a respectable 525 percent! I haven’t seen that kind of growth since the invention of toilet paper. Apple has also become an industry-leading innovator in selling music online from their iTunes website.

This article takes a look at musicians’ injuries. For an expert perspective, I interviewed Dr. Sarah Mickeler, B.Mus., D.C. Dr. Mickeler is a former professional musician and a chiropractor who concentrates on musicians’ injuries in her practice.

1) What led you to specialize in musicians’ injuries?

I have a very personal connection to musician’s injuries. I had trained as a classical clarinet player and it was during my undergrad that I started to have all sorts of problems from playing too much and with poor posture. Unfortunately, I was told, as many others are, that I should just play through the pain and that maybe it would get better! Of course, it didn’t, and it eventually led to the demise of my career as a clarinetist, because I was totally unable to hold up my instrument. So, I decided to pick a new career that would help others musicians - and hopefully before they got to the point that I was at! Chiropractic appealed to me because of the whole health care paradigm that it embodies - as chiropractors, we diagnose and fix the cause, rather than masking the symptoms.

2) What is different about treating musicians than treating the general population?

Q. My children are very interested in playing music. Is there such a thing as a music quiz for kids?

A. Sure there’s such a thing as a music quiz, and you can find one right inside of your head. Just reach up there, pull it out, and put it down on paper. I’m serious. Who knows where your children’s musical interests lie better than you? Right — no one; so instead of finding some pre-made music quiz, which may or may not challenge them at the levels that you want them to be challenged, go ahead and write your own.

The key to writing you own music quiz is… “G”. OK, just kidding. The key to writing your own music quiz is to come up with questions that will interest and challenge your children. Make the quiz a mixture of technical, factual, and trivial (which is a lot like factual but with subjects that are more fun).

Let’s suppose that your son plays the guitar and your daughter plays the flute. Yes, I know that I’m using stereotypes but it’s just too hard to be politically correct when you’re a simple Quizmaster.

Different styles of music have different “sounds.” We can all pretty much agree on that point. For example, Jazz uses seventh chords almost exclusively. This, and the kind of chord progressions used in Jazz gives it its unique flavor. But what about new age music? Does it have it’s own special ingredients? Yes it does.

Now, there are no hard and fast rules here but for the most part, new age music is a consonant music. That is, there is little or noharshness going on in the music. No Saxes wailing and what not. Having said that we can eliminate most of the tense jazz chords and their voicing. So what are we left with? Mostly Major and minor chords based on the regular scales and the modes. The chord progressions are simpler and usually start on the l chord. No ll-V-l progressions here.