Monday, August 1, 2011

Tuning a Violin: The Best Ways To Keep Your Violin Sounding Fantastic

All stringed instruments need to be tuned on a regular basis. Pianos, guitars, harps, and especially violins all can get out of tune. Because the strings are so fine and subject to stretch during use, most experts recommend tuning a violin each time you take it out of the case to play it. IF you are playing it for long periods of time, you may need to re-tune it.

The violin has four strings known as the "G" string, "D" string, "A" string and "E" string. A good way to remember their order is the saying - "Good Dogs Always Eat". Or you can make up an acronym of your own. Each string must be tuned to what is termed a "perfect fifth" pitch. When tuning a violin there are three things you must have - a good ear, a steady hand and patience. But most importantly you need something that sounds the perfect fifth in order to get your violin strings to mimic that sound.

There are many different types of tuners -- electronic, chromatic (which tunes with other instruments), tuning forks, a pitch pipe, even online and smart phone apps. Beginners should seek the help of their instructor in choosing the correct tuner to use. None are very expensive.

Tuning a violin is accomplished with two tools called pegs (i.e., string adjusters) and fine tuners. Each has a specific purpose in helping your violin strings getting in tune. Most of the time, the pegs are used first if that particular string is more than a half-note out of sync with the note produced by the tuner. The fine tuner is called that because it simply fine tunes the string's sound which is less than half a note out of sync by tweaking it ever so slightly until the perfect matched sound is achieved.

Violin strings are not all equal. Each one, if you look closely, is a bit thicker or thinner than the ones next to it. The G string is the most durable of the four, where as E string is the most delicate. You should begin with the most durable, i.e., the G string first.

Always tighten the four strings in sync with each other. If you tighten only one string at a time, it will place a skewed amount of pressure on the bridge, which is the little wooden comb at the base of the head which separates the strings. The proper way is to use a peg to tighten each string until it is within a note of the tuner, then do the same again for each string until it is within a half-note of the tuner's perfect fifth sound. From there you can carefully fine tune the strings with, you guessed it, the fine tuner.

Keep in mind that the violin's bridge is not secured. The violin's bridge is purposely designed to shift with the tension of the strings. That helps them produce a better tone. The most important thing is keeping the bridge at a perpendicular angle to the head of the violin the whole time you are tuning a violin. If the pressure applied while tuning causes the bridge to slip, very gently push it back into an upright position.

At close examination, the pegs are not uniform. They are slightly tapered at one end. This is so the peg can put the right amount of pressure on the strong you are tuning without slipping. Once again, only use the pegs until you believe you are within a half-note of the correct pitch, then switch to the fine tuner.

Use caution with applying the fine tuner. The main purpose for the peg is id you applied that much pressure with a fine tuner it would leave and indentation in the violin head. What if you can't tighten string with the fine tuner any further but still feel your string is not in perfect pitch? Simply loosen the fine tuner and again try the peg.

When it comes to tuning a violin, patience really is a virtue. Even if you think the strings are just a hair out of tune, get in the habit of using the pegs first before the fine tuners, all the while ensuring the bridge remains at a 90 degree angle. It takes time and practice, but eventually tuning a violin will seem almost an automatic action.

My name is Benjy Portnoy, and ViolinLessonsNow.com is a website that I set up to help people learn how to play violin. I first picked up the violin in third grade (many years ago), and it helped spurred my endless love for all types of music ever since.

In making this site, I'm hoping to share that spark and passion for music with players of all ages. The goal of this site is to help anybody - female or male, young or old to learn more about this seminal instrument and start down the path of becoming a solid player with good habits. Get great tools and free tips on learning the violin, including a no-cost, 7-day mini-course: http://www.violinlessonsnow.com/tuning-a-violin/


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Typical Maintenance for an Acoustic Guitar

An acoustic guitar is not just a box of wood with some strings. It should be a very important thing to you. It is not meant to just be placed in the corner and left to collect dust. Here are a few tips and tricks to keep your guitar playing and sounding the best it can.

The first thing you should do is buy a proper guitar stand for your six string companion. Leaning in the corner is not an ideal way to store your guitar, there are way too many ways for it to fall or get damaged. Head to your local guitar shop or browse online and drop some money on a decent guitar stand. These range from just standard floor stands to really nice ones that allow you to hang your guitar on the wall and display it proudly. This way you can make sure that your guitar is as safe as it can be while being out in the open.

Second you should buy a case for your guitar if you need to transport it. Again, your guitar is an expensive instrument and you don't want it to get damaged. You can either buy a fairly inexpensive gig case, which is basically like a duffel bag for your guitar, or you can spend a little bit more money and get a hard shell case. A hard shell is preferred over a gig case because it is more solid, thus better for the guitar. Talk to your guitar instructor to see if he or she has any advice on the matter.

Third, I think it is important to keep your guitar looking nice all the time, so buy some acoustic guitar polish. I opted to go with wall hanging stands for my guitars and I display them in my home. So because of that I always make sure they are polished and clean.

Fourth, make sure you replace your stings often. I try to replace mine about ever month. It is not that expensive and the guitar just sounds better with fresh strings. A good acoustic guitar instructor will show you how to replace your strings. It is not hard, however, for the novice it can be a little time-consuming.

Lastly, and I think most importantly, name your guitar. I have owned several guitars in my life and they all hold a special place in my heart. Thus they all deserve a name. My favorite guitar is a blue acoustic/electric named Bessa. It makes your relationship with your guitar more personal and your guitar becomes more than just an instrument.

Follow these few tips to make sure the life of your acoustic guitar is a happy one. A lot of times a guitar becomes almost an extension of the player, so take of if it like you would yourself. Happy strumming.

Benjamin J. Cloyd is a guitar instructor and has a website called best acoustic songs where you can find and print great songs for beginners to intermediate to advanced. He is also a guitar teacher in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.


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Violin For Beginners: How to Get Started on the Violin

People who wish to learn the violin rarely understand how tough it is to master. Perhaps you have played a guitar or ukulele and think, "Hey, what could be so hard about a violin?" That's a common misconception. Playing the violin for beginners can seem daunting no matter how much or little musical experience they have.

With a guitar, even if you play the wrong note, it will still more than likely come out in the same pitch, so it at least sounds okay. Not so with a violin. Plucking is very different from "bowing" or running the bow hairs across the strings. The sound can be crystal clear and in perfect tone, or it may sound like fingernails on a blackboard. Learning to "bow" a violin adds another element of difficulty to the mix.

If you are great in physics, the explanation is easier to comprehend. For the rest of us, picture in your mind a slow motion camera. A hand plucks the guitar string and the string forms an arc that expands, like a wave, then straightens back into position. That makes a "ping" sound. This is called the vibration mode or resonance tone. The tighter the string is, then the ping becomes a higher pitched tone, right? That's the amplitude. It adds a harmonic element to the several arc vibrations until the string settles back down and the energy is dissipated. Agreed, we are talking milliseconds here, if that. With the guitar, you can change the amplitude by how you pluck, and with what like a finger, fingernail or pix, and also by where you pluck at different places on the fingerboard. But the tonal quality still remains about the same. Not so with gliding a bow over the strings.

When you glide the bow hairs over the violin string it makes an elongated oval-like vibration, not a linear wave like the guitar. Why? It is because as the string vibrates it is continuing to come in contact with the bow which is applying force or friction. Again we are talking milliseconds at most, but even with the naked eye you can see the string vibrate. Hermann Van Helmholtz discovered almost 150 years ago that, unlike the guitar string's arc, the violin string makes a V, then an inverted V in a more elongated back and forth motion. If the bow doesn't make a firm contact, the V becomes skewed and the sound becomes a screech.

What this all means is that the playing the violin for beginner students consists of more than learning where to put your fingers. It also is about how much pressure to apply to the glide of the bow hairs and how far to glide the bow forwards and back. It also depends on the amount of rosin that has been applied to the bow hairs, which of course is transferred to the strings. Getting those factors down correctly takes practice, a lot more than plucking a guitar.

So be patient and allow yourself time to get these techniques of applying rosin, then bowing the strings down to a being natural thing for you to do. And remember, even the masters hit a screech every now and then.

My name is Benjy Portnoy, and ViolinLessonsNow.com is a website that I set up to help people learn how to play violin. I first picked up the violin in third grade (many years ago), and it helped spurred my endless love for all types of music ever since.

In making this site, I'm hoping to share that spark and passion for music with players of all ages. The goal of this site is to help anybody - female or male, young or old to learn more about this seminal instrument and start down the path of becoming a solid player with good habits. Get great tools and free tips on learning the violin, including a no-cost, 7-day mini-course: http://www.violinlessonsnow.com/violin-for-the-beginner/


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Understanding Mixolydian

Any music theory book will tell you that the Mixolydian Mode is the natural mode beginning on the fifth degree of the major scale. It is also made by lowering the seventh note of a major scale a half-step.

When you ask a student what the Mixolydian scale is, they usually tell you it is the scale where you flat the 7th. Well, this isn't exactly correct. Definitely that is the difference between a major scale and a Mixolydian scale.

Think of the Mixolydian scale as the scale within a major scale that starts on the fifth degree of that scale. Now, the key signature for G Mixolydian has no sharps and no flats (key of C). So, you are not having sharps and flats but depending on simply knowing the notes in each major scale.

To distinguish the natural modes compared to the major scale, I will map out a chart for you to use. First, we have the natural modes listed in the order that you have in reassigning the tonic to each of the following notes of the major scale.

1. Ionian - are all natural keys.

2. Dorian - b3, b7

3. Phrygian - b2, b3, b6, b7

4. Lydian - #4

5. Mixolydian - b7

6. Aeolian - b3, b6, b7

7. Locrian - b2, b3, b5, b6, b7

Here are the Modes from the brightest to the darkest, meaning the order of the most raised notes to the most lowered notes:

4. Lydian #4

1. Ionian all natural (natural 4)

5. Mixolydian b7

2. Dorian b3, b7

6. Aeolian b3, b6, b7

3. Phrygian b2, b3, b6, b7

7. Locrian b2, b3, b5, b6, b7

It takes a bit of practice and ear training to get comfortable with improvising. Many people use modes to determine what notes to play over certain chords. When you use the blues scale of the key you are in, it is not usually used over the I chord but over the IV or V chord. This means in the key of C, you would play the C blues scale against the F7 or the G7.

If you are a beginner, sit at the piano and experience improvising by hitting any black key while someone else, like a teacher vamps on two chords of a song. These five notes are the minor pentatonic scale and when you add the A natural, it changes to the blues scale.

I am a huge Beatles fan and when I think of Mixolydian melodies, the popular songs like Norwegian Wood and Birthday come to mind. It is true, understanding modes will make you a better musician.

Diana Rogers is the author of free monthly newsletters. Visit, http://ladydpiano.com/


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The Easiest Way To Learn To Play The Guitar

Why would you want to learn to play the guitar? Because you love the sound, because you love the feel of the guitar, maybe your hero in your favourite band is the lead guitar player. Whatever your reasons, you have decided to learn and are looking for a quick route to stardom.

Contrary to popular belief, learning to play the guitar is relatively easy. Like anything in life you need to be shown the basics and then it is just a case of practice makes perfect.

Although some people are naturally talented when it comes to musical instruments I have yet to see a student who picks up a guitar and immediately blasts out a classic. To play guitar to a good level takes a lot of dedication and practice.

Although all this dedication and practice sounds like hard work it really isn't, if you have decided to go this far the chances are that you will actually enjoy the endless twanging that is needed to become competent.

Where to start?

Your starting point is your equipment. We always recommend you start with an electric guitar. They are far more forgiving and easier to play than an acoustic. At the very least you will need a guitar and an amp. Just because you are a beginner it doesn't mean you can buy any old rubbish. Anything with Fender written on it will generally be good quality gear. The Fender Frontman range of amplifiers is a great starting point and is available all over the Internet.

Ok, ok I have my guitar set up

You have your guitar, your amp and a plectrum and you are ready to begin. First you need to tune your guitar. There are various methods to do this ranging from simply tuning by ear to some ridiculously complex methods. By far the easiest way is to use a guitar tuner. These are cheaply available on the internet or from your local music store and are really easy to use. There are even apps for most smart phones as well as web sites that have guitar tuners.

There really is no excuse for not tuning and it is essential that you your guitar is tuned, if you can't get hold of a tuner for some reason just pop into your local musical instrument store and they will be happy to tune it for you.

Which string is which?

The guitar strings can be identified by their thickness. On a standard 6 string guitar the strings are as follows:

E - Thickest
A - 5th
D - 4th
G - 3rd
B - 2nd
E - Thinnest

This will help you replace them when they snap. And they do snap!

Chords

Chords are the basis of the guitar sound. Whenever you hear a big chorus in a song, these are chords. Chords are generated by playing 2 or more notes at a time. This sounds difficult but it just entails holding down 2 or more strings at a time whilst strumming the guitar. You should start with the C chord as this is the easiest to play and can be used endlessly. You play the C chord as follows:

• Index finger just behind the first fret on the second string (B).
• Middle finger, just behind the 2nd fret on the forth string (D).
• Ring finger behind the third fret on the 5th string (A).
• The first and third string are played open, whereas the 6th string is not played at all.

There are many more chords to practice and practice makes perfect. Practice swapping between chords as this is where most people fall down and can make the difference between sounding mediocre and sounding great.

Practice makes perfect but the right equipment can help tremendously!

There is a slight theme forming here. Practice makes perfect, the more you practice the better you will get but if your equipment is letting you down then all the practice in the world will make no difference.

The Fender Frontman is simply the best amplifier on the market for beginners and pro's alike.

Click here now to see more information about guitars and Fender range.


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Beginner Piano Songs - What Are The Basic Beginner Piano Chords to Hound Dog By Elvis Presley?

A very simple piano song for complete beginners to learn to play is Hound Dog by Elvis Presley.

It is written in a 12 bar blues sequence and perfect for a beginner to Piano. The good thing about learning a 12 bar blues is that it is the basis many different songs, so once you have learned the structure of one song, you will be able to play any other song that is written in a blues progression.

Quite a few of Elvis Presley's songs are based around a 12 bar blues, and even though they are quite simple they sound very effective. People across the world love the style of music, and it is what Elvis is renowned for.

Hound Dog was written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, writing this song as just teenagers. The first artist to record this song was Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton in 1952, and it actually became a number one hit for her, and was by far her biggest success.

Elvis decided to cover the popular hit after hearing it at a concert in Las Vegas in 1956, and then recorded it at the same time as his single Don't Be Cruel. They were both released at the same time. It quickly rose to top spot all over the US, and was number one for 11 consecutive weeks.

In 1958 it became the only third record to sell more than 3 million copies, which was an amazing success. The song has featured in the Elvis Presley Biopic in 2005, in 1994 it was featured in the popular film Forest Gump, and most recently it was sung by Eddie Clendening, portraying Elvis Presley, in the Broadway musical "Million Dollar Quartet."

So what are the basic beginner chords to Hound Dog?

Hound Dog is written in a very simple key of C Major.

It contains the basic piano chords C Major, F Major and G Major, which are easy beginner piano chords and you can use a simple blues scale riff to start and end the song.

You can also add interest and put life into the song by using a glissando, which means gliding up and down the keyboard.

A nice way to start the song is by starting on C chord, 3 octaves above where you want to play the song, so one octave above middle C, and then do a glissando down to your starting note.

The rhythm uses fast chords in your right hand with a simple three note bass section in the left hand. It uses the chords mentioned above so when playing the C Section you would play C E G in the left hand using a blues rhythm.

To finish the song, you can play some notes around the C Blues scale - C Eb F G & Bb maybe, which will end it very nicely on the piano.

Why not have a go at learning some simple songs on piano that are perfect for beginners. You can also teach yourself a very easy song by watching these Beginner Piano Song Videos.

Don't just play piano - perform piano by learning a repertoire of 12 Easy Piano Sing Songs that are perfect for when they ask the question...'so what can you play?'


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How to Record Music on Your Computer, Part 1 - Hardware

The processing power of the modern PC means that any aspiring musician can record their own music at home, to professional standards, and on a limited budget. What ever genre you're into, you can start making your own music with just a modest amount of time and investment. In this first article I'll guide you through the hardware required to get you started.

Wired for Sound

All PCs come with some kind of sound card built into them. Typically this is a chipset built into the mother board, which will control both what you hear from your computer, as well as any sound input by you, e.g. if you've ever used Skype you'll have used your computer's microphone input to communicate.

However if you're serious about its use as an audio tool this standard internal sound card is unlikely to be up to the task. Take a look round the back of your PC, or in the case of a laptop possibly round the front. You should see a few inputs, typically ones for accepting a microphone input, a line input (for accepting an external signal, such as from a guitar), and a line out - for sending the output from your computer to, for example, an external amp and set of speakers.

So, if for example you're a guitarist you can just plug straight in to the Line In socket and start recording, right? Well certainly there's nothing to stop you doing so, except you'll more than likely be disappointed by the resulting sound quality. Also, once you start recording with dedicated audio software (we'll go into this in the next article) you'll run into major latency issues. Latency is the lag time between the input and output of a sound in a computer, e.g. the time between you hitting a note on your guitar, the computer processing it, and then hearing the output. Using a standard PC soundcard this lag time is likely to be so big as to render the recording software useless.

What's required is a sound card or interface dedicated to music recording. Fortunately not only are you spoilt for choice in this area, the technology in these units has advanced so much that even the ones at the budget end of the scale will be up to the task in most cases, particularly if you're a musician working solo. The interface for these units will usually offer dedicated audio inputs and outputs for audio recording, such as microphone ins (known as XLR inputs) and ? inch jack ins/outs - the cable type you'll be familiar with if you're a guitarist.

The other good news is that many of the modern units are self contained. They connect to your computer via USB or Firewire (the latter is more common for Mac users), after which software and drivers are installed and, hey presto, you've got a PC ready for recording music!

A good interface to get you started will cost something in the range of ?50 to ?150 (80 to 240 USD approx.). A few specific ones to consider are the Alesis IO/2 Express, the M-Audio Fast Track USB V2, the Tascam US-200, and the Yamaha Audiogram 3.

Monitoring the Situation

As well as getting a good quality recording in to your computer, you want to ensure that the resulting output sounds as clear as possible. For this you'll need a good pair of speakers, or more specifically, studio monitors. These are speakers with music production specifically in mind, designed for the user to sit close to (unlike conventional hi-fi speakers, which are designed to fill up the room with sound) and monitor the playback of an audio recording. They'll allow you to pick up any imperfections in the recording and remedy them. This will be particularly important if you ever starting mixing your own music (more on this in the next article).

To avoid unnecessary hassle, particularly when you're just starting out, you should probably consider a set of active monitors. These are monitors that have their own built in amplifier, eliminating the need to purchase a separate amp to drive them, as is the case with passive monitors.

How much to spend on a pair? Assuming your serious about recording, I'd have to say this is one area where being overly budget-conscious could turn out to be a false economy, so quite simply get the best pair you can afford. That being said, their price can spiral well into four figures and beyond, which is obviously completely unrealistic, especially if you're just starting out.

Having used them for several years, one brand and model I can strongly recommend are the Tannoy Reveal series. They're active, and the price for a pair of them in their latest incarnation, the 501a, will set you back about ?250 (400 USD approx). There are however other models in a similar price range worth considering, such as theMackie MR 5, Yamaha's HS 50M Active, and M-Audio's BX 8A Active.

Headphones

A good pair of headphones is also a must have. These should be of the closed-back variety as this will minimise sound bleed from the headphones - when you come to record with a microphone (see below) you'll want to ensure the mic is only picking up the sound of your instrument, and not extraneous sound from you headphones, such as the track you are playing along with.

A decent set doesn't come particularly cheap, however AKG, for example, manufacture some in the ?20 - 50 (30 - 80 USD) range, which should be adequate to start you off.

Microphones

Whatever type of music you're recording, investing in a decent mic is a good idea. Most obviously it would be for recording vocals, however a single versatile mic can also be used for capturing all kinds of acoustic instruments, such as guitars, brass instruments and hand drums. You could also, for example, use it to capture the authentic sound from your guitar amplifier, simply by positioning it in front of the amp and running it to an input on your audio interface.

The two most common types of mic you'll likely encounter are the condenser and dynamic. Condenser mics are more common in the studio, owing to their generally high quality audio capture, perfect for recording. Dynamics mics are more common in a live setting as they're able to accept much higher volumes than condensers without causing feedback. They also don't need to be powered, unlike condensers.

If all you're concerned with right now is home studio work, then I'd recommend a good condenser mic to start with. Some names to consider are the Rode NT3, the AKG Perception 170, and the sE Electronics SE-1a. These are all in the ?50 - ?150 (80 - 240 USD approx) price range and should be versatile for most applications.

That said, don't discount dynamics mics totally at this stage. One in particular, the Sure SM58, these days prices around ?110 (180 USD approx), has been a staple of both studio and stage for decades and is well worth considering.

Keys to Success

If you're a keyboard player you may already own a keyboard with USB capability, if it was purchased relatively recently. If not you should certainly consider investing in a controller keyboard as this will open up all a whole range of musical possibilities.

Controller keyboards do not contain any sounds of their own, but instead send the signals they receive by you playing the instrument as digital data, which is then triggered as a sound source on your computer. This data is known as MIDI data, which on modern controller keyboards is sent via USB.

If that all sounds a bit technical, don't worry. Basically a controller keyboard will give you the capability to work with a whole array of sounds triggered from your computer as opposed to the keyboard itself. This could be synthesizers, samplers, drum modules, or just about anything you can imagine. Even if you're not a keyboard player you might see some advantages to owning one, as it'll allow you to trigger and work with sound sources in a much easier and more intuitive way.

Controller keyboards are made by a whole plethora of manufacturers, from the famous names of Korg, Roland andYamaha, to brands specialising in controllers alone such as M-Audio, Behringer and CME. Which particular model you go for very much depends on your ability. There's no point in investing ?500 in a controller if all you'll likely need for it to do is trigger the odd drum sample. If that's the case there are plenty of mini controllers in the sub ?100 bracket that'll do the job just fine.

Summary

That about covers it as far as the basic hardware's concerned. Having read all that and totalled up the price for all the necessary gear, you might be feeling a bit daunted. But let's put it into context. For an outlay of about ?500 you'll essentially be buying yourself your own recording studio. That's about what you'd expect to pay for a couple of days at a pro studio. While there's certainly a bit of a learning curve - you won't become a master producer and engineer overnight - giving yourself the ability to record and mix your own music for a relatively small investment to me really is a no-brainer.

In the next article I'll cover the software you'll need, and the good news here is a lot of it won't cost you a penny!

If you're a recording enthusiast just starting out, here's another very useful resource: Easy Home Recording Blueprint. Get some great tips and secrets from a major label artist.

Iain is based in Scotland and has been playing electric guitar for 20 years, whilst recording his own material for over 10. In that time he has amassed a great deal of knowledge on the ins and outs of music recording and production on a budget.


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