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Chill Out Music

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Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses on the timbral characteristics of sounds, particularly organised or performed to evoke an “atmospheric”, “visual” or “unobtrusive” quality. Ambient evolved from the early 20th century music of the impressionists, composers such as John Cage, Morton Feldman and minimalist composers of the 1960s and 1970s to rock musician Brian Eno, who is responsible for coining the phrase ambient music in the manifesto liner notes of his 1978 album, Ambient 1: Music for Airports.

Ambient music has influenced many other genres, most remarkably some forms of rhythmic music presented in chill-out rooms at raves and other dance events, with the intention of creating an calmer, relaxed atmosphere for ravers to take a break from dancing.

History

Early 20th century French composer Erik Satie created an early form of ambient music that he referred to as “furniture music” (Musique d’ameublement), in reference to something that could be played during a dinner whose sound would simply create an atmosphere for that activity rather than be the specific focus of attention.

Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses on the timbral characteristics of sounds, particularly organised or performed to evoke an “atmospheric”, “visual” or “unobtrusive” quality. Ambient evolved from the early 20th century music of the impressionists, composers such as John Cage, Morton Feldman and minimalist composers of the 1960s and 1970s to rock musician Brian Eno, who is responsible for coining the phrase ambient music in the manifesto liner notes of his 1978 album, Ambient 1: Music for Airports.

Ambient music has influenced many other genres, most remarkably some forms of rhythmic music presented in chill-out rooms at raves and other dance events, with the intention of creating an calmer, relaxed atmosphere for ravers to take a break from dancing.

Brian Eno is generally credited with coining the term “ambient music” in the mid-1970s to refer to music that, as he stated, can be either “actively listened to with attention or as easily ignored, depending on the choice of the listener”, and that exists on the “cusp between melody and texture.” Eno, who describes himself as a “non-musician”, termed his experiments in sound as “treatments” rather than as traditional performances. Eno used the word “ambient” to describe music that creates an atmosphere that puts the listener into a different state of mind; having chosen the word based on the Latin term “ambire”, “to surround”.




The Story Behind The Epiphone Left Handed Guitars

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Epiphone left hand guitars have been for many years a way musicians start their music career. These LH guitars are a great value for many reasons. The workmanship is great and the quality rivals that of the original Gibson models. The price is attainable for just about any music lover.

Founded in 1873 by Greek luthier Anastasios Stathopoulos, the Epiphone guitar Company was manufacturing guitars for a while before succumbing to economic pressures during World War 2. Gibson at that time, was able to simply acquire the fledgling company. Today, Gibson still manufactures instruments under the name Epiphone.

Epiphone and Gibson

Prior to the acquisition by Gibson, Epiphone left and right guitars were a rival to Gibson. The sound quality was magnificent, the materials were the same and the electronics were just as superior. If Epiphone had not been absorbed by Gibson, I am sure the company would have either rivaled or bypassed Gibson eventually.

A good instrument can be hard to find, when it comes to a guitar lefty. Only more affordable in many cases, Epiphone left hand guitars are every bit as good as a Gibson. The controls and knobs to be oriented the same for a right hand guitar which is important. Epiphone LH guitars provide this detail nicely. So if you are a left hand player you dont need to use a right hand guitar with the strings and bridge reversed and the controls backwards.

Casino Hollow Body

One of the most famous Epiphone left hand guitars is the left handed Casino hollow body. This beauty looks like a Gretsch and was responsible for the Beatles famous sound in the 1960’s. The Beatles bought three Casinos and used them to record and play live shows as they toured. Obviously, the Epiphone left hand guitar was good enough for Paul McCartney.

I personally own an Epiphone Les Paul and it gives me great  pleasure to play live and in astudio. This is another well known Epiphone left hand guitar. I can used it for jazz, blues and even classical tracks. Besides that, I can crank the volume on the pickups and jam away with the metal heads.

Epiphone left hand guitars are an investment that you can  trust. There is a  web site that focuses on guitar lefty players. These folks know left hand guitars and left hand electric guitars. The site has a selection of instruments available and you can look up their different left hand instruments.

So if you are looking for an Epiphone left handed guitar, get on over to lefthandedguitarmall  as soon as possible. You will not find a more guitar lefty focused site anywhere and they really care about left hand players finding the right guitar. An Epiphone left hand guitar is the way to start off that career, especially for those on a budget and can’t quite afford that Gold Top LP just yet. Epiphone means quality and quality means a happy player.

Aerosmith Dream On – An Overview of The Song

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Aerosmith Dream On was the first single ever created by the group. It first appeared on their initial album in 1973. Steven Tyler wrote the song which was heavily influenced by the blues.

Aerosmith Dream On was the first major hit for the group. It only reached number 59 when it was originally released as a single. The re release made it to six in 1976. It was first played live at a Connecticut inn. Aerosmith Dream On was later released by the group in eight compilations, as well as on two boxed sets.

Aerosmith Dream On made it into the rock ‘n roll Hall of Fame as one of the 500 songs that shaped rock ‘n roll. Rolling Stone listed as number 172 in its 500 greatest songs of all time. Some Aerosmith fans believe this is their signature song.

Many times songs, such as Aerosmith Dream On, are sampled for other music. That means short portions of the song appear in some way. Eminem sampled the song in his 2002 album the Eminem Show. Aerosmith’s guitaris played the guitar in the sample. Some less famous musicians also covered Aerosmith Dream On. These include Andru Donalds, and a rapper named Slim Thug.

There is a myth that the band Led Zeppelin actually wrote the song. It’s just a hoax. Buick uses the song in their commercials. Their slogan is Dream Up. It also appeared in a number of movies.  These include Miracle from Walt Disney, and Last Action Hero.

Aerosmith Dream On has been featured in a number of video games. It appeared in the opening cut scene of Dead or Alive Ultimate. There’s a game called Guitar Hero Aerosmith. The song was re-recorded just for the game. People could also download Aerosmith Dream On for the game Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. Its appearance in that game was to promote the new game.

Not only has Aerosmith Dream On been featured in many live concerts, but but it has also been performed with full orchestras. It was featured like this for MTVs 10th anniversary show. And in 2006 members of Aerosmith performed it with the Boston Pops. The song has been dedicated to a captured in Israeli soldier. As well as to a fan of the band was murdered.

It’s not only a piece of rock ‘n roll history, Aerosmith Dream On is a piece of American history.

Alice in Chains Dirt Album and The Group – A Quick Glance

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Alice in Chains is well known for grunge. Their second studio album was called Alice in Chains Dirt. This article goes in depth on that album and the group that produced it.

Before Alice in Chains Dirt the group had to get their start. They began in Seattle, Washington in 1987. They were a grunge and heavy metal band. They rose to fame in the early 1990s with the grunge movement. They sold over 14 million albums in the US in the 1990s. They were number one on the Billboard 200 twice. 11 of their singles made it to the top. They were also nominated six times for a Grammy award.

Before producing Alice in Chains Dirt the group was quite prolific.   improvColumbia records signed them in 1989 and focused on the group. After an early success with their first release in 1990 Columbia rushed their first album into production. They released Facelift on August 21, 1990.  It made it to number 42 when the Billboard 200. It sold only 40,000 copies in its first six months. But after MTV featured a single from the album, it sold 400,000 copies in only six weeks. It became both a critical and retail success.

Alice in Chains Dirt deals a great deal with drug abuse and depression. That’s because one of the band members were heavily addicted to many drugs. He had been in rehab. When he came out of rehab he says that he went back to using heroin. He just completed rehab.  Once out of rehab  he got right back onto the drugs.

Much of Alice in Chains Dirt album was written while the band was on the road touring. It’s not easy writing an album well touring. Thus this album was much darker than the previous one. Then members say that the demons they accumulated during the day were worked out when they wrote and played their music.

The album cover for Alice in Chains Dirt was developed by one of the band members. It included his girlfriend’s face. It was a hit with all the band members. The album was completed in June of 1992. It made it as far as number six on the Billboard’s top 200. It vaulted the group to fame. The album was certified gold in the UK and platinum in Canada and the US.

Alice in Chains Dirt is said to be a masterpiece.

Backup Singing, Be A Shadow and Shine

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If you want to be center stage and lead act of the show, you cannot sing backup. The meaning of singing backup is to sing behind someone, not compete with them. If you can control your need to be the center of attention, you can learn backup singing.

Backup singing is more difficult than you might imagine. Similar to an instrumental accompanist, this method of singing requires that you listen very intently and be responsive . Listening and reacting to the main singers phrasing, you must begin and end as they do. It may well be good to think of yourself as the singers shadow, never noticed but always present.

Hopefully you have some input or control over where you sit or stand on stage. See to it that you can see the singer at all times. If you cannot see the face of the singer your job will be difficult indeed. Watch the singer to learn where they are going. If you are watching the singer you can see when they make a mistake or intentionally take another repeat etc. Your eyes must be glued to the singer. Often a singer may use a gesture such as a nod of the head to indicate where they are going. Learn their motions and watch out.

You must blend your line to the singers phrase. If you want to blend in the proper way, start your line just after the singer starts theirs. If you are not sure of how loud they are going to be, start your melody quietly and raise your level as the phrase develops. Another tip is to be easy on the consonants at the start of a line. Two consonants sung slightly after each other will sound disagreeable and is largely avoidable.

The same technique is to be applied to the ending of all melodies as well. As the singer approaches the end of a melody, gradually decrease your volume so you can avoid the embarrassment of ending after they do. If you follow these singing tips, watch, listen and blend in; you can be a professional backup singer in very short order.

Beginners Guide to Percussion Instruments

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Ask almost anyone what exactly is percussion and I bet you they can’t name more than one instrument, if that.

Some instruments in the percussion family are not often thought of as being a percussion instrument. Cymbals and timpani are often thought of as the main focus of percussion and drums in general. The drums in a band one could not do without and are thought of as being the beat or foundation of the sound and rightly so. Drums are not the only percussion as we will see. You will greatly expand your knowledge of music as a whole if you learn one or more of the instruments in the percussion category.

Percussion can be defined as striking one body against another; especially such as gives a sound or report. When you learn piano you are seldom made privy to the manner of its sound production and the fact that it is a percussion instrument. The piano straddles two groups, chordophones and percussion; being a stringed instrument but having the sound produced by hammers striking the strings. Open the piano and see how the hammers strike the strings to grasp the effects of percussion. The sounds of music are produced in many and various ways.

Percussion is divided into other classifications as well. Percussion instruments are either idiophones or membranophones and are defined as instruments that produce sounds through the vibration of their entire body when struck or instruments that have a stretched membrane that vibrates. Some examples of idiophones are the triangle, cymbals and the vibraphone. Membranophone examples are congas, bongos and the tom tom. Whether a definite pitch is produced or not is a further division of percussion instruments.

As many instruments in this area can produce defined pitches, players are often required to learn to read music as it is essential to playing.

Percussion can be much more than what you might think. Percussion instruments can play not only rhythm, but harmony and melody as well. The beat of the music is found in marching band music as well as the modern jazz quartet. Percussion is the soul of music.

The Bass Guitar

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Most music has always had a bass line, be it written or implied, today the bass part is fundamental to most of the music we listen to. Whether it’s the big bowed orchestral bass, the huge bass pipes of a cathedral organ or the ultra low warm sound of a vintage synth bass, the bass line serves as a root and foundation for most music.

We tend to notice the emptiness of when music lacks a bass line or implicit bass line. With rapidly evolving styles of music in blues, jazz, r&b and rock plus an ever increasing need for portability and stronger, louder bass lines prominently featured in musical hooks, there was clearly a need for a new kind of bass instrument. This is how the electric bass guitar era came into being.

Technically, the electric bass guitar was invented in the 1930’s although it never enjoyed a mass popularity at that time. It’s predecessor has existed for many prior years in the form of the double bass or acoustic bass.

The electric bass guitar offered a distinct change from the sounds that people had grown accustomed to hearing from previous upright basses. With it’s guitar like playing position the electric bass guitar differed from the hard to carry acoustic bass, electric bass strings also were not bowed like those of an acoustic and offered musicians a relatively easier to play and use highly portable instrument.

From a distance, the electric bass guitar could easily be mistaken for an electric guitar as the both look very similar with the same solid body shape, however the bass usually has a longer neck. Also, unlike an acoustic guitar which is hollow, with a sound hole to allow for amplification, the sound of a Fender bass guitar is amplified by plugging it in to an amplifier and speaker.

A bass guitar typically has four strings which are tuned an octave lower than the lowest strings of a regular guitar. It is often played by plucking or thumping the strings, unlike other guitars which are strummed. The Fender bass guitar is definitely a rhythm section instrument. When playing and interacting with a good drummer, a good bassist can help shape the flavor and pocket of the music in a way that non rhythm section instruments cannot. The electric bass is a special instrument and much more than a 4 string guitar.

What is Jazz Improvisation and Where Can I Learn It?

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Improvisation is common in many types of music, but is mainly expressed in jazz. The songs that all jazz soloists should be familiar with are called standards. These songs are not usually practiced collectively as they are so well known. A player can expect to build his own solo jazz part upon a standard usually. The jazz standards must be learned by all aspiring players . The structure of the song must be memorized and understood prior to attempting a solo. You will find that if you understand music it can be an invaluable skill when it comes to this task.

The soloist usually will not begin prior to the main melody of the song being played once through by everyone. It is important to know how long this will take as it will be your cue to begin your solo. You will receive a nod by the leader of the band to begin your solo when it is your time in any case. If there is a solo singer, your part will come after theirs.

Only training and a good understanding of musical structure will be the building blocks of a great jazz improvisations. Knowledge of the structure of a song will give you a road map of where your solo should go. This is where all the time you spent practicing scales will bear its fruit. A good jazz improvisation solo combines your knowledge of scales with your knowledge of the chord pattern of the song itself. If you find it difficult at first to build a solo, try playing arpeggios in the key signatures as you move through the song.  A good solo is not simply combining scales one to another. The jazz solo should have something to say after all, so do not just play scales by rote. You cannot know the exact way you will get through your solo, but you can know generally how you will  get there.

Most jazz improvisations start with at least a general understanding and statement of the melody. A simple start allows for a greater latitude in expression as you move through the solo. As you go on through your solo you can increase the tension, dynamics and tempo before resolving to the main melody at the end. Listen to some favorite jazz solos that you know and see if the pattern is not the same as what we are describing here.

Listen to other instrumentalists to hear how they do their jazz improvisations. Go to concerts, buy recordings and learn how to build your own jazz musical solo. In time you will know what the pattern of a good jazz improvisation is intrinsically without being told.

Learn To Play The Electric Guitar The Right Way

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I can still remember a time not too long ago when I was seriously starting to believe that the electric guitar was breathing its last breaths. Do you also remember when pop music seemed to be taking over the world? Instead of wanting to learn to play electric guitar, it seemed to me that becoming the next Backstreet Boys spin-off was the coolest thing ever, at least according to the rest of the pop world.

Well, thank all that is good and holy, the days of the electric guitar is upon us once again. A few important bands played a crucial part in bringing rock back to life and that means that more people than ever want to learn to play electric guitar. A few awesome reasons why you should definitely try your hand at this instrument is:

1) It’s versatile! One of the most pertinent features of an electric guitar is how versatile it is. Most new guitarists who want to learn to play electric guitar starts out with rock, but you will find a ton of other styles you can go into. Some of the world’s best electric guitar players are found in jazz and blues, and there is definitely also place for electric guitars in pop, country, metal and every other genre you can think of.

2) You can get a great range of sound! You get a few extraordinary guitar players who can get almost any sound out of their axes that they want to. You can either buy effects pedals or just tweak some setting on your own setup to produce very unique sounds. Some of the world’s best guitarists use both of these methods to achieve amazing results.

3) You’ll look cool! Even though classical and acoustic guitars can be mesmerizing, there’s just nothing that compares to a masterfully played riff on an electric guitar. It’s no surprize that so many guys want to learn to play the electric guitar, look at how easily the rockstars get the girls!

How can you learn to play?

There are tons of ways that you can learn to play electric guitar. These include:

1) Take classes: Having an instructor up close and personal is great and you will definitely see some gains towards your end goal.

2) Teach yourself: Some people have the self-discipline to sit sit down and learn to play electric guitar all by themselves. Just keep in mind that when playing with others like in a band it’s always very handy if everyone has some basic understanding of music theory.

3) Take internet lessons: With the digital age that we’re living in it means that many things have been brought into the comfort of your own bedroom, including learning to play guitar. You can find online lessons as well as lessons available for download. We highly recommend you check out our Jamorama review.

Before you go any further you should be sure to have all the equipment you will need. Get yourself a guitar and amplifier that is not too expensive so that you wouldn’t have spent too much if you decide to stop playing for a while.

Always keep asking questions as this is by far the best way to learn to play electric guitar. You will encounter a lot of guitarists in your journey and when something sounds awesome, ask them to show you how they did it. If you are practicing regularly, you will be stunning the crowds in no time!

How to Manage Stage Fright

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Stage fright is much the same phobia as public speaking, a phobia of being humiliated in front of an audience. Stage fright is so common it ranks among the highest of personal phobias . Not many people are born orators or performers. There are certain people that love attention and are natural performers. Some of our most famous celebrities deal with stage fright all of the time. Stage fright is a problem for Barbra Streisand, for example. There is help available for stage fright sufferers and you can learn to manage it.

Stage fright affects most people when they perform in public. You must learn to not think about  the audience when you are performing. If you have studied well, you need not worry about the audience. It is best at first to not look any audience member directly in the eye for fear of losing your place or being distracted by their demeanor. A good tip is to look just above the heads of the audience sing as if you were singing to that place, not the floor, and they will think you are looking at them.

Your first piece should be one which you can always do without thinking, an easy one. A song that has difficult technique nay be impressive, but it hardly the selection to put you at ease. Save the tough stuff for last. In order to feel good about the performance at the start, do the proper selection for the first number, the audience will applaud and that will make you gain some much needed confidence. This is one of the secrets to managing stage fright, let the small steps lead you to larger ones.

Stage fright affects all of us at one time but we can learn to deal with it. Failing is a fear we all face and this is why stage fright is so hard. You can learn to manage stage fright with these easy tips.

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