Secrets to Guitar

I was recently watching a video of the late Stevie Ray Vaughn. He was playing a cover of the Jimmi Hendrix classic ‘Voodoo Child’. Even though Stevie could have just played the song the exact same way that he played it, he made it different by adding his own signature guitar style into the song.

How did he do that? By just letting it come to him. If you haven’t been playing guitar for a long period of time you may find this hard to grasp onto, but when you have really achieved ‘Guitar Greatness’, you should be able to sit down with any musician, start jamming and pour your emotions out through your playing. That’s exactly what Stevie Ray Vaughn did, and that is why he was and is so famous and called a legend.

People think that the guitar is an instrument that anyone can master, but it takes someone with a mixture of determination, musical sense, perseverance and roughness. If you don’t have those qualities the good news is that you can create them. You create these by simply playing your guitar as much as possible, creating your own sound while also learning the styles of the greats that played before you.

weissenborn guitar build

The mando-bass, has 4 single strings, rather than double courses, and it is tuned like a double bass. These were made by the Gibson company in the early twentieth century, but appear to have never been common. Most of the mandolin orchestras will prefer to use the ordinary double bass, rather than a specialized mandolin family instrument.

The piccolo or sopranino mandolin is a rare member of the mandolin family, tuned one octave above the tenor mandola and one fourth above the mandolin; the same relation as that of the piccolo or sopranino violin to the violin and viola. The instrument scale length is typically about 9.5 inches (240 mm).

Learn How To Read Guitar Tabs

If you are learning guitar you have probably heard about tablature, or tabs. As a new guitar player you are anxious to start playing songs, and you have been told that tabs are the easiest way to learn. That is good news. You do not need to spend weeks or months learning music theory.

Guitar tablature is a system of musical notation which is very popular with guitarists. With guitar tabs a composer can express most musical ideas on the acoustic or electric guitar in a clear, straightforward way.
If you want to start playing guitar right away, grab the tabs for your favorite song and take a look at what the tab consists of:

E---3------------------

B----------------------

G----------------------

D----------------------

A----------------------

E----------------------

You will probably believe me when I tell you that the tab is a representation of the neck of the guitar. You find out which frets to put your fingers at by following the numbers printed along the strings. If there is a number 3 on the top string, that means you put your finger at the third fret on the top E string - the thinnest string on the guitar. You have just played the note G. No problem. The guitar is your oyster.

Now let us move onto tabs for guitar chords. Here is an E Major chord:

E---0-------------------

B---0-------------------

G---1-------------------

D---2-------------------

A---2-------------------

E---0-------------------

Learn To Play Musical Instrument

If you want to learn a musical instrument, you are in luck. There is a vast variety of musical instruments which can be learned easily and at low cost with the help of the scores of music instruments available. However, if you are a beginner, you may get confused by the array of choices. You may worry about which instrument to choose, how much time the lessons will take, the costs and many other factors. This article will guide you on the correct selection of the instrument so that you may not have to regret your choice later.

First of all consider your interest which is of course what will keep you to the end of the lessons. Unless you are interested in the instrument you are trying to learn, you will never really master it. So think about the type of music and instrument you like. Check out different options and pick the one you feel is best for you.

Next point to consider is the cost. It is possible that the music you want to learn is too costly for you. May be the instrument costs a ton or the tuitions are too expensive. Thus, try to select one that suits your budget. Also, consider taking tuitions that are offered in groups in order to reduce costs. If money is not a factor, you could opt for private tuitions that can offer you a lot of flexibility in timings.

Another thing to consider is the amount of time the lessons take. If you have a time crunch or are not a patient sort, you may not be able to finish learning a difficult musical instrument. There is no short cut to learning music. You may have to work very hard to be able to understand and work with any new instrument.

You must be really involved in the training and be enthusiastic. You may not grasp the ABCs of the musical instrument immediately, so you need to be patient. Also, expose yourself to a lot of recordings by good players. You could also do the home recording of your own music to check on your progress.

An important point could be the physical restrictions that certain musical instruments pose. If you are small, you may find certain musical instruments too heavy. Also, certain instruments require longer fingers or other such natural characteristics. Usually, the music teacher will be able to judge and guide you on proper selection. You could also borrow an instrument from an acquaintance to check how well you could do with it.

How To Learn To Play Piano

Though learning piano is a dream for many people for years, deciding to learn and learning wouldn't happen just like that. Luckily, some tools are provided by the technology and this makes it easier than ever to learn the piano even in the busy schedule of our lives. An offline lesson occasionally maybe needed or not along with your online learning materials according to your style of learning. It can be pleasing and beneficial in the growth and restoration of the mind, though learning piano may be difficult at an elder age.

Today, online courses on the internet have come as a great source to people who want to learn piano without leaving the comfort of their home. So you need not surprise if there are a number of piano aspirants moving on to the internet for courses on piano learning. And for the people who have patience, commitment and the money for those CD courses which are costlier, this is a great alternative. However, what about those people who want to learn piano in their style and their own conditions? It would be great if there were websites that provide piano learning aspirants with knowledge they needed to expertise the piano without overstressing them. Fortunately, there are sites which help you learn the piano in your own style, but there are only a few of them. Hence, you really need to research, particularly when many websites try to take your money and leave you disturbed without making you learn any skills.

It would be great if you find such a website, and you can learn playing tunes on the first day itself without any difficulty even if you have not touched a piano key before. And it is possible as there is no reason for you to get surprised by the greatness of this instrument. Nevertheless, a piano keyboard is just a row of buttons, and if you can push buttons, you can create music easily. Therefore, the great determination to make music and being well on your way to become a pianist is what are all really needed.

Sometimes, as people were told that to learn piano one needs to put a lot of hard work, they used to withdraw themselves from trying to learn piano. Now, this wasn't actually untrue some years back, as there were terribly painful exercises to be played by students and learn songs they didn't like for the preparation of the songs which were fearful. In other way, learning piano was made an unpleasing and boring task in those days. Now a days, easy to understand and visual cues and "tricks" have replaced the boring lessons in books, which is a complete contrast to the older ways of learning. With some practical changes like these, learning piano has become so easy and enjoyable than it was.

On the other hand, along with beginners, even qualified performers can take the advantage from the vast piano learning opportunities out there. So if you know the basics already and want to easily play the keys and tones very well, you need not worry, because, if you believe it or not, now you can get a way to many hidden secrets on learning how to play keys and play piano as your favorite musicians do.

Choose the Right Piano

Choosing the right piano brand is important when you make this major purchase. Taking the time to learn about what makes a piano great will help you make a wise decision. Although there are a some major names when it comes to choosing a piano, keep in mind the three "T's":

- Touch
- Tone
- Type

Touch and Tone

Touch and tone are the keys to buying a piano. You want to make sure that you like the action of the keyboard as well as whether you want a "brighter" sounding, or a piano with more bass.

A piano with a light action is going to have a very "touchy" keyboard, you're not going to be able to fiddle around with how loud or softly you play. A firmer action on a keyboard keeps allows you to fool around with the dynamics while building up your finger strength. This may not seem very important, but when you go to play someone else's piano it will make all the difference.

Construction of your piano is important too. This will affect the action of the instrument as well as the tone. Look inside the piano, have the technician on staff explain the differences between piano brands. Don't fall victim to beautiful casework when the insides of the piano are junk.

As far as sound goes, this is totally up to you. Listen to a few pianos before you make you decision. This will be a lot like picking out a t.v. set. Find a piano that has the right touch and the right tone for to inspire you to sit down and play it.

Types of Pianos

When it comes to piano brands, the sky is the limit. Arming yourself with a little knowledge before shelling out the bucks will help you find the best buy.

Be aware that many makers of pianos have different "series" of instruments, each of these differ in quality and price. There are many store brand pianos, these instruments are like the house brand ketchup you might find at your local grocery store; they will do the job, but in the long run they may not be a wise investment.

Snare Drum Buying Guide

The snare drum contains:
A shell or circular body. A top "batter" head and a bottom ultra-thin clear head. Chrome hoops (rims) that fasten the heads to the shell. Tension rods that screw into lug casings, these are used to tighten the rim onto the shell. Snare wires. A throw-off apparatus.

Whatever drum you buy make certain that the snare (thin metal strings on the bottom of the drum) are intact and that the throw-off lever on the side of the drum works properly. The throw-off is a chrome apparatus found on the side or the shell of the snare drum. It contains a lever that snaps the snare wires up against the bottom drumhead or releases them so that they hang about 1/8" below the head. When the throw-off or strainer is in the up position, you will hear the buzz of the snare wires. When the throw-off is in the sideways position, the drum will sound similar to a high-pitched tom-tom.

Tom-toms are similar to snare drums in that they have two heads fastened to a shell. They do not contain snare wires though. They also differ from the snare drum in their function. When checking the snare strainer, make sure that you can turn the snares on and off without too much effort. Also, make sure that the snares tighten and release quietly. If you do not get this on-off effect at all, it may simply mean that the snare wires are too loose. All quality snare drums have an adjustment knob that is part of the throw-off apparatus. If the snare is not working properly, try tightening this knob. You should feel the tension increase depending on the direction you turn it. If you turn the knob and it has no effect on the sound of the drum, chances are the apparatus is faulty. Don't buy this drum.

Finally-and this goes for any drum-check to see if the drum has any cracks in the shell and make sure that the rims or hoops that fasten the head to the shell are not bent or dented. Also, make sure that none of the tension rods (screws) are missing, and check that none of the lugs(tension rod casings) are stripped. Don't worry about heads, because these are dispensable. Often the head that comes with your purchase needs replacing anyway. Once upon a time, drumheads were made from calf hides (skin). However, the problem with skins was that they were very difficult to keep in tune due to fluctuations in the weather. They were also not very durable. Now days, we use plastic or Mylar heads on our drums and the most popular head manufacturer is Remo, although Evans and Aquarian make fine heads, too. On the bottom of your snare drum, you must use an ultra-thin clear head. Anything thicker will choke the snare wires and they will not vibrate. Also, you should use only a single-ply "batter" head on the top of your snare drum. The batter head is a rough, sand papery-surfaced head that is designed to give texture to brush strokes. If the head were smooth, brush-ing the head would have little effect. The batter head is also single-ply to allow for a crisper tone and more sustain.

Learning to Piano Music

When you are sitting at the piano, your thoughts become reality. Your thoughts instantly take form as you are creating. Your barrier may be that you are focused on what once was, instead of focusing on the now! If all you do is focus on the fact that it was once easy for you to memorize, you are not focusing on the now. Present moment awareness is the key to learning to play the piano or any other instrument. It is also the key to learning anything in life that’s worthwhile learning.

The next time you practice just sit at the piano and meditate on what you are feeling. Don’t play, just feel. Does it feel stressful, joyful or painful? Are you anticipating stress or anticipating pain? Are you looking forward to playing or are you hearing little scripts in your head saying “you used to be great, now your not, you are not this, that, etc?” What are you feeling?

The next day, sit at the piano again and turn your attention to the now. Feel the joy of playing. Feel the joy of what it is to make beautiful sounds. Just let your hands explore over the keys, and listen to every note like it was the most beautiful sound you ever made! You are in the now! No one can steal this moment and pure joy from you. Feel the joy and the freedom in the now.

Once you have gone through this little exercise, and you are in the now, and every note becomes beautiful…even wrong notes. Now, in the present moment, without any negative thoughts to the contrary, you are ready to learn one thing at a time.