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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The Benefits of Online Piano Lessons

In the last few years there has been an upsurge of online piano courses available. At first these were unheard of and a lot of people were of the opinion that it would be very difficult to learn piano or keyboards online without a teacher. Things have changed however and now, there are teachers who have made special videos and prepared special books for the beginner to piano playing so that they are now able to teach themselves the basics without the hassle of going to a professional piano teacher for regular lessons. I need to stress here that these online lessons are in general only good for those starting out and who need to discover if piano playing is really for them or not. Once you have attained a certain level then you really need to go for lessons with a real piano teacher as opposed to a virtual one.

Here are a few of the advantages of online piano lessons as opposed to traditional one on one lessons for the beginner;

The first and probably most important advantage to mention is that of cost. Online lessons will typically be somewhere around the $50 mark for a whole course of lessons which will probably take you around a year to get through taking you up to a fairly high intermediate level of playing. For this sort of money you will barely be able to attend two lessons with a regular teacher.

Another plus point is the time. A one hour piano lesson with a teacher, after having travelled to their house or studio, waited around, taken the lesson and then travelled back to your home can easily take two hours or more. It can eat into the best part of an afternoon or evening leaving little time for anything else. With online lessons however you can squeeze in the classes whenever you have a moment free... no waiting or hanging around and no traveling.

There is no commitment with online piano lessons as there is with having a piano teacher except for the commitment that you make to yourself to succeed in your piano learning.

A really important point to make here is that you can advance at your own speed, even skip lessons if you feel you are doing well or take the same lesson over and over again if needs be. You are able yo watch the videos of how something should be played and listen to how it should sound on demand as opposed to with the piano teacher where you might get shown how to play something and then have to remember that until the next lesson. There is no rewind and replay with a real piano teacher.

Having pointed out just a few of the advantages of choosing to learn by using an online piano course I will now go over some of the advantages of using a professional piano teacher.

Taking regular piano lessons will keep you in touch with a real piano player who can observe your playing and point out things that you cannot see for yourself. This can be very useful. They will be able to curb any bad playing habits that might be developing before they turn into problems that might prove to be difficult to remedy at a later date.

The experienced piano teacher should have knowledge of and access to a whole range of piano music and will be able to asses you and help you to select pieces that you enjoy and that will be suitable for your particular level of playing.

As I stressed earlier, the online piano course is really only suitable for the lower levels of learning the piano. In the end, you will need to go to a qualified piano teacher for lessons once you get to a certain level.

For more information on how to Teach Yourself Piano online you can download free chord charts and get some free Learn Piano videos at the piano learners web site.

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Three Benefits To An Online Piano Teaching System

You are about to discover the benefits of online piano lessons and how you can begin learning how to play a piano today.

The question of the day is whether or not this kind of piano teaching system is as good as the more conventional type of lesson and whether or not you should invest the dough to give any of them a try. With most programs offering you a money back guarantee, what have you got to lose?

Below we will answer this question by giving you three benefits you will receive by taking piano lessons online.

Benefit #1 - Reading Music

The ability to study and learn on your laptop or desktop will not only save you time, but you'll quickly discover being able to develop the skill of reading music can happen rather quickly if you practice what you learn with the piano teaching system. Generally the foundation, or fundamentals of music theory, is what turns individuals away from studying an instrument. But online lessons are enjoyable and make this "chore" a lot simpler to tackle.

The numerous solutions accessible on the internet have lessons and tutorials as well as games that assist you to discover the theory of reading music. These programs make practicing more entertaining and you will be learning to read music in no time at all.

Benefit #2 - Playing by Ear

Unless you are born with the ability, learning how to play by ear is something most people won't take advantage of the opportunity to do. But if you do, it will have a huge impact very rapidly on your ability and enjoyment of playing the piano. Do not pass up this opportunity. It will open up a huge window for you.

If you've ever heard a song on the radio and wish you could sit down and play it, then these online programs will teach you some very easy methods to make playing piano by ear a breeze. Even if you've failed before, online piano lessons can teach you how to do it and for cheaper than going to a conventional teacher.

Benefit #3 - Improvisation

Regardless if you're just starting out or a seasoned pro, improvisation isn't something that has normally been taught on a normal basis. But now with these programs, even the more seasoned pro can discover some simple improvisation methods.

When you learn to improvise, you will discover lots of new insights about playing the piano and music in general. Plus, it's simple to take the fundamentals and apply them to all the various styles. Regardless of what style you like to play now, you'll easily have the ability to start improvising in any genre, including the blues, jazz, and even country music if that's your thing.

Online piano lessons can definitely teach you how you can read music, how you can play by ear and they will show you some simple methods to discover how you can start to improvise.

Utilizing downloadable lessons will not only save you time and cash, but most of the online piano teaching systems available are simple to follow and make learning how to play a piano and learn music theory enjoyable.

You Make The Difference

For more information about online piano courses, visit PlayPianoDude.com where you will find this and much more, including how to play a piano with 12 fingers.

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Introduction to Pitch for Guitar

Pitch is a fundamental aspect of music. One of the definitions of music is organised sounds over time. Thus it's important that we start with a solid explanation of what pitch is. When you hear a sound you are hearing three aspects - 1 Pitch (measured in Hz) 2 Loudness (measured in dB) 3 Timbre (the quality of the sound) for example the Electric guitar has a completely different sound than the bass drum or the piano.

Pitch is measured vibrations in the air detected by the ear.
- Measured by the frequency in Herz (Hz)
- Made by a plucked string, a hit of the drum, a note of the piano

Hertz is a system to measure frequency designed by scientist Heinrich Hertz. One Hertz = One vibration (cycle) per second. Hertz is the universal measure of pitch.

Have you ever seen a speaker when a song is being played that is low in pitch? The cone of the speaker "Flaps" this is because the sound is low in Hertz so you can 'see' the speaker cone vibrating, if the sound was higher in pitch the speaker vibration would be harder to spot.

It is a universal sight to see the speaker flapping about to symbolize low frequency music an example can be seen on this YouTube clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwoRlO8aVsQ

The speaker is flapping because the Hertz is at a low setting so the speaker is only vibrating a small amount of times a second.

Your ear is designed to detect sound in the air, stemming from the very beginning of life your ear would be there to help you detect prey or a predator.

When a note vibrates faster we call it higher, when a note vibrates slower we call it lower. A2 on the piano is 110.000 Hz A3 on the piano (one octave higher) is 220.000 Hz which is exactly double the frequency in Hz. It's the same note but higher in pitch.

In early discovery of musical instruments as we know it today (with our equal tempered scale) if you half the length of the string you double its pitch and you go up by what we call an octave, this discovery has shaped the majority of western music as we know it today with the chromatic scale which has twelve pitches.

If you go to your guitar now and play any note on the guitar with an open string (no frets being used) then fret the 12th fret and play the same string what you will get is the same note but an octave higher).

Octave means 8 tones, if you were playing the open A string then the octave would be an A as well.

A B C D E F G A
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
OPEN STRING OCTAVE

NB we are missing out semi tones for ease of reference.

The human ear can hear any frequency between (approx) 20Hz to 20,000 Hz which is part of the reason why most in earphones have this frequency response. As an adult this range diminishes with age.

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Look Out Pokemon - Here Comes Piano Pedagogy

I have been playing the piano for over 40 years now and I recently came across the term, pedagogy. Watching my kids collect Pokemon cards when they were little, I immediately assumed this must be one of Pikachu's arch enemies. I could imagine Piano Pedagogy as a Fire Pokemon battling to the death with Pikachu. As if they actually battled to the death.

Anyway, thought I would share some information on the subject. Hope you enjoy and are inspired to continue your musical journey.

What Is Piano Pedagogy?

Piano pedagogy is the study of the teaching of playing piano. The focus of piano pedagogy is more geared towards instruction as it relates to individual students as opposed to music education in general which focuses more on a group or educational environment. In other words, piano lessons, which usually involve a one on one coaching or semi-private instruction. Therefore, the nice lady that I used to call my piano teacher, would correctly be referred to as a 'piano pedagogue'.

The range of disparity between available teachers associated with piano is extremely large. Unfortunately, competent education is not always guaranteed simply by the amount of years a person has undertaken lessons. It takes more than tenure.

The factors which affect the ability of any piano educator consist of one's education and learning level, understanding of musical performance, knowledge of musical genres, history, and piano repertoire, and most importantly, the ability to customize one's teaching method to sync with different personalities as well as learning styles.

Learning how to play a piano includes the teaching of artistic, problem-solving, motor and intellectual skills. There are several areas of study involved including ear training, rhythm, notation, technique, improvisation, sight reading, and memorization.

Education

Piano pedagogy may be studied through academic programs which often culminate to the achievement of a bachelors, master, or even doctoral degree at music universities or conservatories. The undergraduate degree may call for several years of previous piano studies and prior instructing knowledge as prerequisites for application. At the graduate level, numerous universities require applicants to have some training experience and a minimum of a bachelor of music or comparable experience in piano performance and pedagogy.

Even though most piano pedagogy programs include a wide range of past performance experience, the curriculum for the pedagogy degree varies from school to school. And although most do not, students associated with the latter group have the choice to be able to get training exclusively within the 'teaching of piano' category itself.

Check out our featured online courses or make use of the major search engines to find the piano pedagogy courses that may be of interest to you today by visiting PlayPianoDude.com where you will find this and much more, including how to play a piano with 12 fingers!

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Top 10 Tips for Achieving Your Dream Blues Guitar Tone

Tip one:

Not all strings are created equal! Some strings are bright some are mellow some are coated some are wound some are flat wound! Find a brand that suits you and stick to them. Personally I use D'Addario gauge 11 for that full tone, be aware that they are harder to play but you won't be disappointed by the tone.

For a more mellow tone I recommend the flat wound strings which are smooth and sound vintage, A Hendrix signature series are available by a company called Dean Markley and reproduce the tone from Hendrix's early years.

Tip Two:

Pull back the gain, if you play on the overdrive channel of the amplifier or overdrive pedal. Dial the gain to a setting of between 4-6 for that snarly blues tone but without the saturation sound that is better suited for hard Rock and metal.

Tip Three:

Use the neck pick up for a warm bluesy tone. Every guitar is different and every pick up is different, if using a Les Paul style guitar use the rhythm selection on the pickup selection, if using a Strat style guitar flip the pick up selector over towards the neck for that neck pick up.

The string vibrates at its fastest towards the bridge and the nut of the guitar and at its slowest towards the centre, therefore the bridge pickup will pick up a very bright tone and the neck pickup will pick up a tone that is more mellow, full bodied and bluesy.

Tip Four:

Keep those strings clean! If your strings are dead, your tone is dead. Use specialist string cleaners after every practice session to prolong string life and keep those strings sounding great. If in doubt about the need of a string change pinch the 1st string and rub up and down does it feel smooth or rough? If it feels like rusty barbed wire then its time for a string change!

Tip Five:

Use a pinch of reverb usually between 1-3 should be fine, this will give your sound a feeling of space and depth. Beware though; reverb can be used just like distortion to substitute for poor technique. Make sure the reverb is not playing you! Keep it moderate and it will polish that sound nicely.

Tip Six:

Picks are all different so which one should I use? Typically a gauge 1.00mm-1.5mm should be good for a blues player who wants to get a full and powerful sound, typically if you are playing lead you will not want anything lighter as it will not carry the sound and give you a weaker tone. The harder the pick the louder your tone. 0.5mm-0.7mm picks are best for strumming, as they do not attack the strings as hard. Get a selection of picks and see which ones you like best. I like the Dunlop picks.

Tip Seven:

Wah Wahs are an essential pedal for any serious blues player. The wah exaggerates certain midrange frequencies, which you as the player can manipulate by the controller pedal. This is great for guitar solos as you can choose to bring out the top mid frequencies for an exciting tone of pull back for a mellow tone. Perhaps one of the most famous examples of the Wah Wah pedal is in the intro to Voodoo Chile. I have played a number of Wah pedals and as a blues player I like the Cry Baby.

Tip Eight:

Keep it organic sounding. Look back to the equipment that your Blues guitar hero had. Did they use a pedal board with 30 top of the range modulation pedals including flange, phaser digital delay pitch shifter and Bad Horsie Wah Pedal? - Probably not! I tend to keep my line up quite simple. I use the amplifier gain from a tube amp (Vox) and a crybaby and a pinch of reverb. This is not to say don't use an effects pedal. I have seen people using a boss pedal with great results because they select sounds which are relevant to the genre, for example an overdrive not a distortion, a traditional wah setting not a hybrid setting and a vintage chorus setting or univibe setting.

Tip Nine:

Learn all that you can about technique. There are countless ways to bend a string and every blues player has a unique way of bending strings. Study your favourite blues guitar player and listen to how they bend the stings, find out which notes of the scale they bend for that signature sound is she bending the minor 3rd? Is she doing a semi tone bend to bring that minor 3rd up to a major 3rd. Put the solo into a program like logic, cubase or even a free version of audacity and loop each phrase to learn from the masters themselves.

Tip Ten:

Learn your scales. You don't need to learn all of them! The scales to start with are the Minor pentatonic and the Blues scale.

The minor pentatonic is built from these intervals:

R - b3 - 4 - 5 - b7

In the key of C, that would give us:

C - Eb - F - G - Bb.

The "blues scale" is built from these intervals

R - b3 - 4 - b5 (dim) - 5 - b7

in the key of C, that would give us:

C-Eb- F- Gb- G- Bb

Learn these two scales and you will be well on your way

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Start With Easy Guitar Songs

With all the musical instruments we hear every day, one seems to stand out for the majority of people, and that is the guitar. This is one of the reasons why there are more and more people willing to learn to play the guitar. Some may have other reasons why they want to study the craft; they probably want to join a rock band or something. But whatever the reason is, the goal remains the same, and that is learning and improving their guitar playing skills. To be able to improve, you will need to put time and effort in practicing and to be able to do this you will need good guitar material and easy guitar songs to work with.

Performing solo performances for a live audience can be quite nerve wracking especially if you are still a beginner. But this is something that you really need to build your confidence. Once you hear the audience liking your music, it is a big motivator for you to improve on your skills and learn to play easy guitar songs. It is very important that you master playing your guitar alone first before you try joining a band. A solo performance is very different as every string you are playing is clearly heard by your audience, and as mentioned, you will build your confidence through playing solo. Unlike in a band, if you make a mistake it's not going to be too obvious.

So what should you do to be able to improve your solo guitar skills? The first thing is to get your basic skills locked down. You always need to start with the basics by studying and mastering the chords, strumming pattern and basic playing techniques. Don't quickly jump to playing easy guitar songs if you have not memorized your basic chords yet. Give time practicing finger position drills and switching chords, this way, you can get to memorize the chords and your finger will get use to the positions as they can be very stiff at first.

The next way to improve on your skills is to start practicing on easy guitar songs. With the help of easy guitar songs, your guitar skills will improve faster especially with your solo playing. With easy guitar songs, you will be able to practice switching chords, chord recognition and smooth progressions. You can now put everything that you've previously learned in application.

You can find hundreds of easy guitar songs in the Internet and you can choose something that is very familiar to you like an old classic. There are many websites out there that aims to help beginners get better in their solo playing guitar skills.

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7 Secrets for Beginners of Seagull S6

That Seagull S6 is just a beginner's guitar is a great understatement. Seagull, a Canadian guitar maker, has been crafting one of the world's best guitars since the 1980s. Of the various guitar models Seagull has made, Seagull S6 has succeeded in making a name of its own in the music industry by winning several awards. It is currently one of a few acoustic guitars which keep getting rave reviews from guitar users all over. Here are seven reasons why:

1. Tone. Seagull S6 produces a warm, melodious tone that sounds even better than those produced by some other prestigious and high-priced guitar brands. Its beautiful sound can be attributed to the careful crafting of this guitar. To be able to produce a rich sound, the makers of Seagull S6 use only the best wood for its body and materials for the accessories. From the nut and saddle up to the strings, the guitar is a display of excellent craftsmanship. The result is an unforgettable sound quality which beginners and professionals would find soothing to the ear.

2. Sturdiness. The secret to the quality of Seagull's guitars is the superiority of the wood used. Most guitars, especially the medium to low-end sides, use plain plywood for its tops. Seagull guitars are trademarked for its solid Cedar tops and black cherry colored-laminated back. Unlike those which use plywood as its base, the cedar in Seagull guitars gives it sturdiness that withstands the test of time.

3. Aging. The Seagull S6 only gets better as it ages. The secret behind it-the materials used. A guitar with solid top generally produces a better quality sound than a plywood top guitar. Solid tops improve over time and over use. This process is called aging. The more it is played, the more it improves and gives a rich sound.

4. Comfort in Handling. The typical Dreadnought design of the Seagull S6 allows for efficient handling. It has the right size and make which users find attractive. Even if the player is sitting down or standing up, its curvy and easy to clutch features let the user hold the guitar with ease.

5. Nut and Saddle. The nut and saddle of the guitar hold the strings firmly in place. Seagull S6 uses a hybrid plastic called Tusq for its nut and saddle. More and more manufacturers are currently turning to Tusq because it not only supports the strings but also enhances the guitar's tone.

6. High string action. Like other fine guitars, the makers of Seagull also tailored their strings to provide high performance. Guitar players would find it easy to tune the guitar easier.

7. Affordability. Who would resist the sheer affordability of a good sounding and sturdy guitar like the Seagull S6? For less than $500, anyone can own this guitar already. What is more, you get good value for every dollar you spent because you not only get a guitar, you get the best guitar.

So, if you are a beginner and you are looking for your first guitar, Seagull S6 is the guitar that will give you ease in playing, professional sound quality, and value for your money all at the same time for Seagull S6.

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Piano Lesson: Preparation for Recital

Performing in recitals can be stressful. Through the years, as a piano teacher I decided that my recitals would not be mandatory but rather optional. The same applies to memorizing. It's your choice with what you're comfortable with and to the degree of difficulty your advanced song might be.

I would set a date around mid May and let students know about the recital at the first part of September. That way, they would have a whole year to prepare their song, with my approval, of course. I used to have recitals two times a year. Christmas time was special for music and performance but then later on, everyone's calendar started filling up too quickly. So, I kept it yearly, conveniently after Mother's day and before Memorial Day. It seemed to work for everyone.

When it comes to the actual day of the recital, there will be so many musical details to remember. You will want to focus on the notes, dynamics, phrasing and expression of your special piece.

But also remember to have a good recital experience by focusing on the positive parts of performing. For example, think about how much fun your music is, how very much the people in the audience will enjoy hearing it (your teacher, friends and family) and how proud you will feel when you are done.

So, what if you do get nervous?

1. Remember to breathe because breathing relaxes your muscles and can lower your heart rate (pulse). It also brings oxygen to your brain, which is necessary for your brain to function properly. Take a few deep breaths, counting slowly to 4 as you inhale and then exhaling, counting to 4 also.

2. Visualize and imagine you are in a calm place, like a dream vacation spot. I always remind my students to "stay in the bubble." Think about all the calming things about that place and pretend you are transported there for a minute to relax.

3. Relax those muscles and lightly rub the back of your neck and your shoulders to help the muscles relax a bit. These spots seem to be where we carry the most tension. Make big circles with your arms, moving them slowly. Pull your shoulder blades close together, squeezing them gently, and then let them go back to their places just as slowly.

Overall, the piano recital should be and will be a positive experience, building the musician's self-esteem. In fact, I have changed the wording of "Recital" to "Family Gathering." That way, everyone realizes that no one is perfect and that mistakes are simply o.k.

I would like to add that if you have severe stage fright, then perhaps it's o.k. for you to give yourself permission to not perform and play live in front of a group. In time, you might just find yourself being comfortable playing the piano in front of other students in your teacher's studio.

So, for those of you that know your song well in advance, you've played your song at home in front of family and you've avoided drinking caffeine beverages before your recital, then you're ready to go. Don't forget to get some much-needed rest the night before and by all means, wear comfortable shoes. Just be your self.

If you make a mistake, don't worry. Just smile and keep a-going! The same applies to a talent show performance. Be sure and have fun! I hope this checklist has been beneficial to you. Happy practicing and preparing for "that day." It will be such great experience to play "live" for any audience. Just listen to the applause and the folks say, "Well done!"

Diana Rogers has been teaching piano for over fifteen years. She is the author of free monthly newsletters. For more information, visit http://ladydpiano.com/

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Learning Guitar: 7 Tips to Optimize Your Practice Time

Learning guitar is no different to learning how to play a sport, practice is a very important and essential part of the process. Whether you are learning guitar online or with a private instructor, the predominant factor and common denominator here that will determine your progress is practice. Regular daily practice of the material you learn from your lessons is the only sure and proven way to your ongoing progress and improvement.

How long you spend practicing.How long you practice each day is totally up to you, and this totally depends on how serious and committed you are... 1 hour? 30 minutes? 45 minutes? 2 hours? How busy is your daily schedule? How much time are you willing to make available for your practice? If you can fit 20 to 30 minutes of practice into your busy day, you will improve steadily and become the very proficient player you've always dreamed of being.

Make a commitment. You simply just have to make a commitment and stick to it. Even if it's only 15 minutes a day, you'll be amazed at the results you can achieve within only a few months of regular practice.

Choose the best time. Remember this is the time you're spending to reach your goal so it has to be your own private time. It has to be uninterrupted and focused. Pick the most suitable time of day for you, away from any distractions. Turn your mobile phone off, let people know what you're doing and ask to not be disturbed. It's the time for you to focus on learning guitar.

Plan your practice. For your practice to be effective it has to be well planned and structured. That means if you practice for 30 minutes every day, those 30 minutes have to be fully optimized with effective exercises to ensure a steady progress. An example would be to break your 30 minute practice into two 15 minute parts. Spend the first half doing scale exercises and the second half working on chords and learning a new song.

Stay focused. Don't cut corners and move to something new if you haven't completed something you've been working on. That's only going to slow down your progress and make your playing sloppy. You need to be patient and take it one step at a time. Just follow the lessons presented to you in the order they are structured and move on as you feel comfortable and ready for new ground. Move at your own pace, that's the convenience that comes with online guitar lessons.

Have fun. Enjoy your practice at all times. It will never feel like work if you have fun while you're practicing. Remember that you're learning how to express yourself on the guitar with music. How could you not enjoy that? It's all a joy and a blessing.

Take a look at the big picture. Every time you stumble into a road block and feel like you're not going anywhere, just look at the big picture. Visualize yourself being able to play that chord progression you've been struggling with or that scale run you're not getting. We all get these moments and the best way to move through them is by not focusing on the negative side of things. Relax, take a deep breath, visualize, break it down step by step and you'll play it right.

If you apply these tips and focus on your daily practice, you'll have big rewards coming your way. It will be hard for you to find the words to describe the feeling you get when you start to hear a song come together and when you see your fingers move into those shapes on the fretboard and play those beautiful sounds that can only be played on a guitar. This is only just a start of the shapes of things to come and the many rewards you're about to get on your journey to learning guitar. You'll change the world you live in by discovering a new way to express yourself.

And now I would like to invite you to get your free access to a ton of quality information on learning how to play guitar and a 6-part Guitar E-course. Get your free access at: http://www.learnhowtoplayguitarnow.com/

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The Most Common Chords a Pianist Will Use and Some Common Chord Patterns for You to Try at Home

As a beginner it is really important to learn popular chords that you will often come across when playing music on the piano.

Chords are very important when it comes to learning piano, as they are present in every song you will play. With piano you have two different clefs - one being the treble clef which is normally played with your right hand and are usually the higher notes above middle C.

Then you have the bass clef, which is normally played with your left hand and are notes below middle C.

Chords won't always be played as a single unit i.e. 3 notes struck together, but what you will very often find is they will be split up between the clefs, so you might have for example C Major Chord, but the E out of the chord is being played in the treble clef as the melody, and the C and G are being played lower in the bass clef.

This is why it is so important to learn all chords and become confident playing them as it will help your musical development if you understand where the music is developed from.

Chords consist of three individual notes but when struck together sound great. Chords are used in many ways. They are also present in most music you will play and perform and so learning piano chords will give you the opportunity to play many styles.

Learning chords is a way of opening up performing opportunities for you. It will allow you the freedom to accompany singers, or you may be a singer yourself, so it will give you the chance to accompany yourself.

You may also at some point wish to play together with other musicians in a band so chords will also come in handy for this.

The most popular types of chords you will come across are Major and Minor Chords. Major are often described as the happy sounding chords and Minor are described as the sad sounding chords. These common chords are found in most styles of music, but most commonly found in pop rock and classical music.

Below are two formulas to help you work out both Major and Minor Chords. It is a simple formula to follow, but will give you the information you need to work out any major or minor chords: -

To work out a major chord, you need to select a note in which you want the chord for. This is called your root note. Then moving up the piano you will climb four notes including white and black notes, and this will work out your middle note. From here you will climb a further three steps to reach your third note. You will then have formed a chord.

If we use C major as an example, your root note will be C, your Middle note will be E and your last note will be a G. So you have three notes C E & G which are then turned into C major chord.

Try working out some other chords yourself. Do them in patterns that fit, so try working out C Major, F Major and G Major. Then play these one after another and see how great they sound.

To work out minor chords, you select a your root note. Then you climb three steps and you will reach your middle note, and a further four steps to reach your last note for the chord. For example A minor Chord would have A as your root note, C as your middle note and E as your last note. So your three notes for A Minor chord are A C E.

Try working out some other minor chords yourself. Common minor pattern are D Minor a minor and E minor.

Use the information above to learn all your chords thoroughly, and write down the two easy formulas so you have them to hand should you need to work out another chord.

The correct fingering to play chords on piano in your right hand is 1 3 5. One is your thumb, and 5 will be your little finger.

The correct fingering to follow for your left hand with piano chords is 5 3 1. Five is your little finger and one is your thumb.

Resource Box for Piano Review Site.
There are some great free courses to teach anyone from complete beginners to advanced pianists to Learn How to Play Piano. A great way for beginners to learn is to start off with some really Easy Piano Songs which will get you started and help build that all important confidence.

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Electric Guitar History, Where The Electric Guitar Comes From And Other Interesting Facts

Electric guitar history shows that in the early 1920s the big bands of the time were getting bigger and the sound of the acoustic guitar was being overwhelmed by the sound of all the other instruments. The acoustic guitar needed to be amplified and this was when people started fitting crude microphones to the acoustic guitar. Using an amplifier, the acoustic guitar volume increased substantially.

Here are some interesting facts on electric guitar history:
1920s- Lester Polfus or "Les Paul" starts experimenting with amplified guitars. Blues and Jazz start becoming popular on the radio and acoustic guitars start going on sale to the public. Recorded music becomes a reality.
1930s- Various electric guitars are now being mass-produced. Gibson is the first manufacturer to sell an electric guitar with a built-in pick-up. The electric guitar moves from being an accompanying instrument to a lead instrument.
1940s- The first vinyl record to sell more than 100 000 copies is recorded and the famous "The Log" solid body guitar is built by Les Paul. Jimi Hendrix is born and the whammy bar is invented.
1950s: Electric guitar history shows us that Leo Fenders' mass production of the twin pick-up "Fender Telecaster" and "Precision" electric bass guitar would prove to be a massive success, a few years later the "Fender Stratocaster" is introduced. The first "Rock 'n Roll" record is recorded by Jackie Brenston and Elvis makes his first recording. The humbucker pick-up is invented by Gibson and the Vox amplifier is born.
1960s: The Gibson Les Paul changes names to Gibson SG after Les Paul parts ways with Gibson. The Ernie Ball "Slinky" guitar string is invented, this is a light gauge string for guitarists that "bend" the strings often. The first Marshall amplifier is introduced and the Maestro FZ-1 "Fuzz Tone" becomes the first commercial stomp box. Vox introduces the "Wah-Wah" pedal and various other sound effects modifiers are invented. 500 000 people attend Woodstock.
1970s and 1980s: Heavy Metal hits the scene as a result of heavy experimenting with guitar electronics, ( I`m sure experimenting with drugs was also a contributing factor!)

There is not much electric guitar history available after the 1980s, but today the rise of professional female lead electric guitarists like Bonnie Raitt, have earned an equal standing in what was traditionally a male-dominated scene. The electric guitar has become a natural member of most genres of music, even classical music.

About The Author

Jorge de Andrade is an author and his knowledge of the guitar is exemplary. His articles are a reliable source of information.
For more information on guitar history: electric guitar history or to do the FREE mini-course where you will get FREE guitar lessons and 8 FREE guitar tools go to http://www.funacousticguitarandelectricguitarlessons.com/.

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10 Tips to Help You Learn Guitar Chords

1. Keep persisting.

It is cliche, yet it is true-practice makes perfect, especially when you want to learn guitar chords. You won't get anywhere by giving up after a week or a month. The guitar is one of those instruments which requires utmost effort from its players; but that effort is surely rewarded in the end. Rest assured that it is perfectly normal not to get things right on the first try. One of the worst times to give up would be after learning the correct finger position and strumming a few times. Resist the temptation to throw in the towel and instead, keep practicing. It's only a matter of time before you finally see results.

2. Constantly visualize.

It is a well-known fact that the mind plays a decisive role in the failure or success of our actions. Don't underestimate the power of visualization. Before you even form a chord, visualize in your mind where each finger should be positioned even before you play it. One of the most effective ways to switch chords efficiently is to look at where your fingers are at the moment and thinking about where they need to be. Basic chords usually involve the most common notes so there will certainly be times when you won't need to move your fingers that often.

3. Take it slow.

Don't try to take on too much all at once. If you find yourself struggling with learning guitar chords, the problem may lie with the chord progressions you are choosing to work with. Start with simpler ones, and then move on from there. Take your time with changing chords and understand that putting too much pressure on yourself at the outset may backfire, discourage you, and ultimately, cause you to quit. Repetition is a useful tool for preparing yourself for more sophisticated chord changes.

4. Develop finger strength.

If you truly wish to become not just more adept at learning guitar chords, but guitar playing in general, you need to realize the importance of developing finger strength. The value of this exercise will reveal itself in time. Some of the best ways to do this would be to engage in finger exercises such as finger weights, doing finger press-ups, and even pressing down hard on guitar strings. Get creative and do what you think will help in making your fingers stronger and chord playing easier.

5. Avoid looking at your hands.

In the beginning, looking down at your hands as you learn guitar chords might seem second nature to you. However, this is an issue that needs to be corrected as finger positioning should be something that you become accustomed to without the need to look at your hands.

6. Practice several chords simultaneously.

While some of the foremost experts and sources on guitar playing might tell you that practicing one chord at a time is actually the best route to take, when you learn guitar chords on the contrary, this is actually not the best way to learn. In order to learn more quickly and more effectively, practice playing several chords all at once. In that way, you are more likely to retain the information in your head as opposed to just having one chord reverberating in your memory. This will also be useful when it comes to recalling finger positions and chord progressions.

7. Use your pinkie finger.

The pinkie finger is oftentimes the most neglected finger in learning guitar chords. While the tendency of most beginning guitar players might be to push the pinkie finger aside while not in use, this shouldn't be the case. It is essential that all fingers stay close to the fret board even when not in use. You will find that picking up this habit will prove useful as you learn higher-level chords in the future.

8. Get familiar with the root note.

When learning guitar chords, I cannot emphasize enough how critical it is to know what the root note of a chord is. In simple terms, a root note is the bass note of a chord. Basically, the root note tells you which string you should begin strumming from. For instance, a G major is formed by the three notes G, B and D. Therefore, the root note of the G major is the note G.

9. Pick the chord that needs to be picked.

As a beginning guitar player when you learn guitar chords, if you are hearing dull or flat notes within the chords you are playing, the problem is probably caused by a fingering issue. Don't waste endless hours playing a certain chord until it comes out right but instead, begin to pick the chord. This way you are able to identify the problem more accurately. From there, remedy the problem by applying more pressure on the particular string that needs it or adjusting your finger position to produce better-sounding notes.

10. Make use of all 5 senses.

This tip may seem irrelevant, but some of the world's greatest guitar players swear by it. To learn guitar chords effectively, it is useful to look at it from every possible angle. Use your eyes to look at a chord chart, watch someone play the chords, use your ears to hear the chord being played, and visualize yourself playing the chords yourself. Obviously, a keen sense of touch is vital to the art of guitar playing. Utilizing all 5 senses is sure to be helpful to learn guitar chords.

If you would like to learn guitar chords, then visit our site at http://www.guitarchordsforbeginnerstips.com/ to get more information, and learn guitar chords once and for all.

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How to Learn Guitar Fast Using These 7 Effective Strategies

Learning should be fun. Don't you think? Oh yes, it should be, especially when it comes to educating yourself on how to play guitar. You might also notice that there are many steps in learning to play guitar and most of the time they comprise a set of different topics and processes. So here, in a practical manner, are 7 effective strategies on how to learn guitar fast:

1. Set your GOAL/s and decide.

You should know what you want to learn when it comes to guitar playing. It may be guitar fundamentals that comprise musical theories, major and minor chords, scales, triads, tabs and the list just goes on and on. Or you simply want to know how to play popular songs on a guitar. In this way, you can avoid feeling bored as you go through the lessons. Your goals must cover your interest. So determine what exactly you want to happen as you take your course on how to learn guitar fast and easy. After setting your goals then you decide what kind of guitar instrument you want to use. Do you prefer acoustic, classical or electric guitar?

2. Have a BUDGET if it's necessary.

You cannot deny the fact that our world revolves around money and business. Of course, you will encounter FREEBIES and all those kinds of stuff. However, you should also consider the quality of service. Is it worth taking your time to watch? Is it worth listening to? So, if you think that it's not all worth it then you have to stop. You have to choose the best teaching services offered on how to learn guitar fast even if it comes with a fee. In this case, consider to choose a course within your budget so it won't take too much of your money.

3. Choose your professional TEACHER/s and make sure they are an EXPERT.

You have the right to choose your mentor. This applies to any case, whether you are paying for your lessons or it is given for free. You have to at least scrutinize if your instructor is really good or not. Is he an expert? What is his expertise? Is he a professional teacher or just an amateur with some experience?

4. Start with the EASY STUFF.

When you take online guitar lessons on your own, you get to choose where to start. So again, choose the easy ones that usually deal with the basic techniques and chords. From there, you will start learning to play tunes and automatically see your progress. That is one easy trick on how to learn guitar fast.

5. Be Open.

You have to seize the opportunity to learn! Be open to each new learning possibilities and techniques that your instructor gives you. You also have to be open to your instructor. Don't be ashamed of asking questions. Actively participate and interact with your instructor or your fellow students (if you have any).

6. Proper practice makes PERFECT.

They say that "practice makes perfect". But on the contrary, it is much acceptable if you say "proper practice makes perfect". You have to make sure that what you're doing is RIGHT. When you practice correctly, it'll be quick for you to learn your lesson and then proceed to the next. So learn the right technique and practice religiously.

7. Invite your friends.

You may have friends who are also interested in learning to play guitar. So ask your friends to take guitar lessons with you. In that way, it'll be fun and exciting. Together you can share insights as you all go through the lessons. Helping and motivating each other is one fast way of learning.

Ultimately, the objective for these strategies is to remind you on how to learn guitar fast and effectively. But never forget that the key to achieving your goal is the commitment you give to yourself as a student. Keep in mind that your success in learning is directly proportional to the hard work and dedication that you give.

But wait, there's more. If you want to find out how to learn guitar fast in a friendly environment then feel free to visit my blog (the link earlier in the sentence). There are some free gifts waiting for you.

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Discover 10 Popular Songs to Learn On the Piano As a Beginner

Here are 10 popular songs to learn on piano, especially for beginners

1. Pachelbel's Canon - This is a famous song, originally written on strings, but also very famous and popular to play on the piano. It comes in a variety of arrangements for beginners up to advanced players, so it is a great one to learn as a beginner then a lovely piece to come back to at a later stage when you are more advanced.

2. Imagine by John Lennon - This is one of those songs that most people know, and would go down well at a party, or a sing-song! It has a great chord accompaniment, and is a good one to improve your playing technique and to incorporate the use of chords in your playing.

3. Drunken Sailor - This classic folk song is a great piano song to put a smile on people's faces, and it only requires a simple bass line as the right hand is the leading section with two simple chord patterns.

4. Let it Be by The Beatles - This is another classic song, written and made famous by The Beatles. It is in a simple key signature, has a nice piano arrangement which will suit a beginner perfectly.

5. Annie's Song by John Denver - This is a popular song with a lovely melody in which its lyrics fit perfectly. It is in a simple key signature, has a beautiful melody to be able to play as a beginner and one song that you will continue to play through your piano years. As you become more advanced it allows you the freedom to bring more into it with a variety of arrangements produced for piano.

6. Fur Elise by Beethoven - This ever popular classical piece written by Beethoven, has a great sound and feeling to it. For a beginner listening to it, you could misjudge it and think it is difficult to play, but in fact it is the opposite. It is in a simple key signature, is repetitive with only a couple of different sections to master and is available in a variety of levels. It also sounds great too, so is a way to impress your audience.

7. Amazing Grace originally written by John Newton is a classic popular Gospel song. It has a lot of feeling and emotion to it which is portrayed well when played on the piano. It suits all levels of pianists but is particularly a good one to start with as a beginner, as it is in a simple key & time signature. You can even download this for free of some music websites on the internet.

8. Clocks by rock band Coldplay. This is a modern song made famous by international rock band Coldplay. It features lovely simple chords. These are played in the right hand to take a lead, with a simple but effective bass line, which complements this song well. This will put playing chords into practice, and show you how it is all linked into music.

9. Piano Man by Billy Joel - The title says it all with this song. It is a very popular song and written originally for the Piano. This is a great song to add to your repertoire as a beginner. It is in a simple key, and is in a waltz time signature, so it will develop your timing skills by introducing a waltz rhythm into your playing. It is also a song that most people will know, and sounds terrific when played on the piano.

10. Candle in the Wind by Elton John - This is one of Elton John's most famous hits, and arranged for Piano. It was originally written in the key of E Major, but there are some easy piano arrangements produced which are in a simpler key. This makes it a perfect song choice to learn as a beginner. It is a simple melody to pick up, but sounds fantastic.

There are some great free courses to teach anyone from complete beginners to advanced pianists to Learn How to Play Piano. A great way for beginners to learn is to start off with some really Easy Piano Songs which will get you started and help build that all important confidence.

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Unlock the Guitar

Hi, this is Mark and I have been playing the guitar for twenty years, when I first started to learn to play there were few places you could go however in today's world of technology you have all kinds of options. The first thing I can tell you is that if you want to learn fast be prepared to put in many hours of practice time.

The main reason people never don't get to where they want be is just that they don't want to put in the time. Here are a few tips for you to remember, first, don't get discouraged because just like anything else in life you get out what you put in so practice a little everyday. The next thing I recommend is that you find a friend to practice with as you will learn much faster this way.

Next is when you first start do yourself a huge favor by using all of your fingers i.e. start by making your E chord with your middle finger,ring finger,and little finger, this is a huge advantage for you right out of the gate. Here is why I say that, as you learn and progress you will want to be able to play the bar chord with is one of the most used chord structures on the instrument and used probably more than any other.

Here is something you never here anybody talk about, at first you will feel pain in your finger tips this is ok as your fingers must acclimate to this new pressure point on the tips of your fingers, as time goes on this will stop hurting as you build calluses on your finger tips. So what is the best way to learn? For you to get where you want to be know time must be put in everyday a little at first then more and more, in most cases you should see improvement within a month, don't rush it. Now as I said in today's world there are many ways to learn to play the guitar such as ebooks, software, videos and many other ways.

If I were starting out again I would go to have been able to learn in about half the time as it took me way back when, fortunately for you you have the internet, what a advantage. Just enjoy your learning experience, practice hard everyday and you will see progress.

Unlock the guitar's secrets is a great place to find some of these programs, check it out and enjoy.

Talk soon Mark.

http://unlock-the-guitar.com/ is the place to go to get easy paint by the numbers instruction and more.

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Techniques for the Advanced Acoustic Guitar Player

Learning all the notes and all the chords on the guitar is one thing. But there are certain techniques and tricks many people desire to do on the acoustic guitar other than just the basics. Some are simple, and some are far more difficult. Here are a few of them to practice before your next lesson.

Most people who play the acoustic guitar are familiar with the standard seven chords and can work their way around the neck of the guitar okay. But there are certain techniques and styles that are really difficult and take the knowledge of a skilled acoustic guitar instructor to learn.

The first one is called finger picking. Finger picking is a lot different than the standard strumming most people are used to. To strum, most people either use a pick or only use their thumb turned sideways. But with finger picking you are not just strumming all the strings, you are selectively plucking the string with multiple fingers on the strumming hand. This can be very difficult because the placement on your plucking hand has to be perfect, otherwise you will be plucking muted notes. It is a skill that takes a long time to master. But is one that can be learned quicker with a good acoustic guitar teacher.

Another technique that is cool with the acoustic guitar is the palm mute. A palm mute is traditionally used on the electric guitar. It is when the strumming hand rests on the bridge that is on the body of the guitar and mutes the strings. But the left hand can still hold down notes and chords. So when the strumming hand strums it makes this almost chunk sound. It is used a lot in the metal genre of music. But on the acoustic guitar it sounds equally as cool. Most people are familiar with the sound, whether they realize it or not, but few people have heard it on the acoustic guitar. So when you get comfortable doing it, you can bust out metal songs on the acoustic guitar and people will be blown away. It is a technique that any guitar teacher should be familiar with and should have no problem showing you. However it will take some time to get comfortable with. Most times beginners just mute the strings and allow no sound to come out. It is difficult to learn at first.

These are just a few techniques that any good acoustic guitar instructor should be able to show you. However they are not techniques that you will learn over night. They take a lot of time to master, but will sound amazing when that time comes. 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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Online Piano Courses - Chopsticks Bonus Included

Nowadays, most everyone knows that online piano courses exist and are plentiful. It's because most everyone, if given the opportunity, would want to learn to play piano, even if it's only the simplest version of chopsticks. There are those that want to discover how to play songs they hear on the radio for fun, while a smaller more select group of dreamers are looking to become the next Liberace. Regardless of your reasons, learning to play piano is easy and can be done from the comfort of your own home. It doesn't matter where you live or if you're rich or poor. Anyone has the opportunity to learn the basic fundamentals to more advanced methods of piano playing using the internet.

To Pay Or Not To Pay

As the internet has exploded, so has the quantity of online piano courses being offered. Some lessons are totally free and some are not. When searching on the internet for piano lessons, it would make sense to start with the free ones. This gives you a good foundation to determine the real value in the online piano courses that you can pay for. You may be able to find descent lessons on the free internet sites that work for you. Always remember... you get what you pay for. When you ultimately discover that free lessons are inadequate, it is time to compare and select from the paid online piano courses.

Rest assured, paying for lessons online is still a lot less expensive as compared to hiring an experienced piano teacher. Not that I have anything against piano teachers. That is how I started out 35 years ago. But with busy schedules these days and the simplicity and obvious convenience of staying at home finding piano lessons on the net can be a big advantage. And most of the courses you will find have been put together by experienced piano teachers and music educators anyway.

If you want to learn to play piano online, you will require a laptop or desktop computer and obviously a quick internet connection. The nicest thing about online piano lessons is that you simply can have them at any time of the day or night. And being at home you have your friends or loved ones join in on the fun.

Learn to Play Piano Today

Don't give up on your dream of learning to play the piano. You will soon discover that not all individuals have the ability and capacity to play this magnificent instrument. However, if you're determined to learn, and have a burning desire, then pursue your passion. Do not give up on the challenging lessons. Strive to be tough and above all, practice, practice, practice.

Learning to play the piano is rewarding for everyone. And as the old saying goes, "it is never too late to learn". Start now, and sooner than you can say, "why can't I play like that cute little girl on AGT", you will be playing beautifully. Check out our featured online courses or make use of the major search engines to find the online piano courses that are right for you today.

You Can Make A Difference

For more information about online piano courses, visit PlayPianoDude.com where you will find this and much more, including why the top reasons why I play piano are the same reasons that you do.

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Developing Your Piano Skills

In choosing what instrument you should learn to play, the piano is should certainly be foremost among those you are considering, as it is one of the most flexible of the musical instruments that we have today.

Playing the piano is widely acknowledged as one of the most popular and absorbing hobbies that you can really enjoy. Whatever your favorite genre of music is, once you learn and get serious about piano, you can surely apply your skills and enjoy playing music in that particular genre.

First Steps For Beginners

When you first take up piano, it can often be difficult to know where to start. The first thing that you must do is to actually choose the piano instrument that you'll use. Of course, buying a piano can often be a big commitment, especially if you're planning to buy it from new, so most people will usually begin with a second hand piano, or a keyboard.

The keyboard will usually be the best option if you're not sure about whether you will be entirely committed to the piano, since it is also significantly cheaper that other bigger and grander pianos.

The next step to start piano is to choose how you plan to learn. Majority of people will arrange a series of lessons with a tutor or an experienced piano player. But you will also find comprehensive online piano lessons which are recommended in such cases where scheduling lessons with tutors is likely to be difficult due to lifestyle or time constraints.

Lessons Online Or In Person?

There are benefits to both types of lessons, and ultimately both will end up with you playing piano. But how fast you learn, your lifestyle, and the amount of time you can dedicate to your lessons in piano are the factors that will determine how well you will learn playing piano, and which between those types of lessons will work better for you.

If you've decided to take lessons in person, you'll usually need to find a good tutor that will be able to guide you through the exercises and the playing styles which you will use to develop to an intermediate level of playing piano.

The other option of course, is to buy a course of piano lessons online. There are also a number of benefits when choosing this method to begin playing piano. Firstly, online lessons tend to be significantly cheaper than having a real-life teacher. Secondly, this method will really suit you if you cannot commit to regular appointments for your lessons, or you want to learn in your own time and pace.

Conclusion

Playing piano is indeed one of the best hobbies that you can start if you are looking for an interesting and satisfying hobby.

While at first, the playing piano can be quite frustrating, if you dedicate some time to complete the right exercises and practices, you will really have great fun and more importantly, a skill which will impress your friends and family.

Whether you choose to learn by yourself using a series of online lessons or hire a tutor to guide you through the early steps in playing piano, all your efforts will be repaid by the advances in your skills. Moreover, you can also start playing the music that you have wanted to play all along.

Frank is a freelance writer based in Atlanta, GA

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Learn Guitar Solo Without The Bad Habits

So you want to learn guitar solo? In the words of one fairly well known TV presenter with a penchant for fast cars and a complete lack of subtlety, 'how hard can it be? ' The truth is that playing a guitar is easy. Unfortunately the truth is that playing a guitar is also very difficult. Let me explain that somewhat contradictory introduction.

The thing is that learning a guitar can be fairly easy, if all you want to do is to churn out a few popular tunes with your friends at home. If you want to learn to play guitar then you only actually need to learn a few basic chords. In fact it's quite surprising to many people just how many popular, well known tunes and songs can be learned without having to know more than a half dozen or so main chords. If you can learn half a dozen chords you'll be up and running, (or up and strumming), and if you can learn a dozen chords then a whole wealth of songs will be within your grasp.

If you have what it takes to pick up eighteen chords then there really won't be many songs that you won't be able to have a crack at, which will be more than enough for many people. If you just want to have fun, strum a few popular tunes at home and keep your guitar playing at about that level, then this is fine. However, if you have dreams of playing in a band, or performing on stage, then you will need to learn guitar solo playing.

This will inevitably require you to learn more about playing guitar than just remembering a few popular chords. What will have to happen at some point is that you will need to learn guitar tabs, as well as learning better techniques for playing, more effective ways to achieve certain effects and better ways of changing chords, or managing difficult chord combinations. There are really two ways to accomplish this. Either you can hire a guitar teacher to teach you how to play guitar properly, or you could head online and have a look at the many thousands of guitar instruction videos available.

The problem with the first option is that this can become extremely expensive. Guitar lessons may well cost twenty pounds or more for a single lesson. This can easily add up to a hundred pounds or so every month, which for many people learning to play guitar is just not a viable option. There's a problem with the second option too though, because although there are many guitar instructional videos online, many of them have been produced by people with little or no professional experience of playing guitar. For those people learning to play guitar this can be difficult, because it's easy to pick up on bad habits or integrate poor advice into your playing. So what's the answer?

If you're serious about trying to learn guitar solo pieces and really want to take your guitar playing to a higher level then there is a good way to combine the advantage of having your own guitar teacher without the cost, as well as benefitting from online guitar instructional videos without the danger of picking up on bad advice or poor techniques. The answer is to visit a specialist guitar video repository, where you can find a wealth of guitar instructional videos produced by professional, experienced guitarists, helping you learn guitar solo pieces without having to pay a penny, and without worrying about the quality of the tuition.

If you're serious about trying to learn guitar solo pieces then visit Allaxess.com where you can find a huge library of professional guitar instructional videos for free.

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