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You are here: Home / Archives for musical instruments

Want To Learn To Be A Musician?

July 3, 2013 by Chris

A world without music, for some, is the equivalent to a book without text – it’s pointless, and it just doesn’t make sense. Music resides within almost everything we experience; from that featured in TV programs, advertisements, and movies, to the radio playing while at work, and singing nursery rhymes to our children.

As well as music being an unstoppable part of how people live, it can also be an intricate part of the life some people build. Music is relaxing, relatable and sometimes even used as a cheap substitute to therapy. But for some, it is not just how they live, it is considered who they are.

Being a musician

MusicianThere is a growth in the number of people, specifically young people, who aspire to be musicians. What better way for someone to earn a sufficient amount of money doing something that they love? A music skill is often seen to be God-given, a natural gift, and a destiny.

However, although some people have an unlearned talent, that by no means eliminates the concept of people learning a musical skill of some kind.

Music teaching is a rapidly growing industry. Tutors offer everything from teaching people to play musical instruments, teaching composition and music theory, vocal training, and song writing lessons, and sharing knowledge about the music industry and other relevant opportunities. Some tutor services specialize in specific teachings.

For example, Pro Music Tutor offers services for guitar and saxophone techniques. Tutorials, videos, and written theory are vastly available at a variety of costs, with a number of different teaching styles and learning techniques.

The benefits of learning music

MusicResearch on music education has shown a number of additional benefits to learning music. PBS addresses some of those benefits, and includes research that has found music education to facilitate learning of other subjects, tapping into a multiple skill set. Music is said to help a child’s language development, increase IQs, and result in higher test scores.

Music also allows people to learn about commitment, given that learning a musical skill, or practicing and developing any unlearned talent requires time and discipline.

She Knows acknowledges that learning music, specifically in tutor groups, also allows people to learn and develop social skills, as well as respect, patients, team work, and confidence. Benefits also include development on more personal levels, such as fostering creativity and expression through music.

Whether parents would like their children to academically excel, and feel as though music will contribute to that, or a teenager has a new found desire to be in a cool band, or even if an adult would like to meet new people in a choir or as part of an instrument learning experience, there is something for everyone.

Music covers a wide variety of services, such as guitar lessons, with sites like Pro Music Tutor even allowing you to go online and download lessons yourself, in addition to simply having a listening experience. Whatever the reason a person chooses to learn music, the opportunity to have fun exists. Outside of the fun and enjoyment are a number of additional benefits that are great bonuses added to music learning.

Attached Images:
  •  License: Royalty Free or iStock source: http://officeimg.vo.msecnd.net/en-us/images/MB900387487.jpg
  •  License: Royalty Free or iStock source: http://officeimg.vo.msecnd.net/en-us/images/MB900409063.jpg

Nidia Guerra loves music. Having experimented with a number of instruments, Nidia understands the discipline required to learn a music skill, and the benefits of doing so.




Filed Under: Music, musical instruments, Musicians, Practising Techniques Tagged With: Music, music skill, music tutor, musician, natural gift, teaching

Which Musical Instruments Are Hardest To Learn?

June 12, 2013 by Chris

Such is the beauty of music that anyone can play any instrument.  You or I could pick up and instrument, and get started right away. Of course, there is a world of difference between playing an instrument and using an instrument to produce an amazing sound that people want to listen to and will pay for.

Which instruments are the most difficult to learn to play well? Will you dare to take them on? On the other hand, will you avoid them at all costs?

Violin

No one who has ever looked at a violin will likely be shocked to see it appearing on this list. To most people, the violin can actually look like a deceptively easy instrument to play at first. If you’ve ever picked one up, however, then you’ll know that it is something that takes a long time to master. That is, if you found the resolve to forget the initial frustration you probably felt when you first tried playing and it sounded less than great.

As one of the hardest instruments to master, the violin is also one that gives you a great feeling of reward when you start to plat to a good standard,

Piano

This is probably the perfect example of an instrument where most people could easily learn a tune or two themselves, butMusic when it comes to more complex sounds and improvising, even pianists who have been playing for years find it a challenging instrument to play.

One of the biggest challenges posed by the piano is that there are few reference points to other instruments, as it is so unique and unlike any other. Like the violin, however, if you are able to train yourself to become an accomplished pianist, the sense of achievement will be huge.

Saxophone

MusicIn terms of technical music, the saxophone is actually one of the more straightforward instruments to pick up and play. However, the difficulties come in all of the intricacies that are involved with the sax.

From the way you hold the instrument to your movements when playing each note, not to mention the type of reed you use, everything needs to be perfect in order for you to get a definitive sound. That is before you even start to think about mastering techniques such as circular breathing – breathing in and out at the same time. However, saxophone lessons are great fun, and they will help you to pick up everything you need to know in order to become a decent level saxophonist.

Drums – From a Band Perspective

Drums are reasonably straightforward to learn, which is why they are the instrument of choice for parents buying for their children, even when they are fully aware of the noise they will make.

However, if you’re a solo drummer, making the transition into drumming in a band situation can be very difficult. Now, you’re not just the drummer, but the leader and pacemaker of the whole band. One mistake, especially in a live situation, can make a whole track sound like an awkward mash-up, making it a much-pressured role.

Attached Images:
  •  License: Royalty Free or iStock source: http://officeimg.vo.msecnd.net/en-us/images/MB900385364.jpg
  •  License: Royalty Free or iStock source: http://officeimg.vo.msecnd.net/en-us/images/MB900385375.jpg

Robert is an accomplished guitarist who is more than happy to stick with one instrument. Robert has a lot of admiration for anyone who can play more than one instrument, as well as people who play difficult looking instruments, such as the saxophone and violin, to a competent standard.

Filed Under: Instruments, musical instruments, Playing Styles Tagged With: drums, Hard, learn, musical instruments, Piano, Saxophone, violin

Gibson was Raided for Illegal Wood possession

September 4, 2011 by Chris

Can you believe that some US Federal Institute raided Gibson Guitar’s main manufacturing plants in Nashville and Memphis, Tennessee because of wood that they use in creating the worlds most valuable guitar?

It seems that the Feds believe the wood obtained from India is illegal because Indian law states that wood exported from it’s country must be completely finished before being exported for another countries use. So I guess the wood being exported to Gibson factories was raw wood product or at least that’s what the Feds must think.

Gibson CEO said last week that they will continue their fight against the US Government’s raid, for the second time one in 2 years, in similar charges. The first time the wood in question was imported from Madagascar.

After the raid, the US agents obtained the illegal wood from India and sent all the workers home. What a way to get out of the shop.

While the Justice agents are still contemplating the charges against Gibson Guitars, Gibson is in the process of suing them to retrieve it’s product back so that the plants can resume production.

“Gibson has complied with foreign laws and believes it is innocent of any wrong doing,” Chief Executive Officer Henry Juszkiewicz said in a statement. “We will fight aggressively to prove our innocence.”

Juszkiewicz has stated the company, has and will work in close concert with groups like the Rainforest Alliance to help certify that the wood Gibson uses in it’s highly prized guitar come from ensure its wood imports are from sustainable authorities.

In an affidavit, agent John Rayfield of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said U.S. Customs agents in June detained a shipment of sawn ebony logs from India.

The paperwork accompanying the shipment identified it fraudulently as Indian ebony fingerboards for guitars and it did not say it was going to Gibson, the affidavit said.

In July, agents observed Indian ebony and rosewood delivered to a storage facility for Gibson, according to the affidavit, which asked permission to seize Gibson’s business computers.

Gibson plants also were raided in 2009, when agents confiscated ebony imported from Madagascar.

If your a big lover of Gibson guitars and own one then this long video is something that you might find interesting. Enjoy

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5No0Sk9NIo

Filed Under: Guitar Equipment, Guitars, Instruments, musical instruments, Video Tagged With: customs, ebony, facility, factories, feds, fingerboards, gibson guitars, gibson raided, guitars, illegal wood, imports, india, indian wood, madagascar, manufacturing plant, memphis tennessee, nashville, product, raid, raw wood, rosewood, wood, workers

Clapton auctions guitar’s for charity

March 12, 2011 by Chris

The guitar god, Eric Clapton, auctioned off 70 guitars with the proceeds going towards his favorite charity the Crossroads rehabilitation centre in the Caribbean.

The pre-auction estimates was much lower then the final total (21.5 m).

An instrument that was sold and caught my eye was Eric’s 1948 Gibson L-5P guitar! The final price was $82,000, it more then surpassed the $20,000 pre-auction estimate. Another big ticket guitar was a souped up signature Fender Stratocaster that brought them a nice $51,000.

The charity is definitely a worth while cause and that I am sure the money will be put to good use. Good on you Mr Eric Clapton!

Keep on Jammin’

Filed Under: Entertainment, Guitars, Instruments, musical instruments, Musicians Tagged With: 1948 gibson L-5P, auction, charity, Crossroads rehabilitation centre, eric clapton, guitar

Picked up a iPod Touch last weekend

February 20, 2011 by Chris

We just picked up the iPod Touch, 4th generation, over the weekend. The thinking behind getting one was to place all of our audio collections, both CD’s & Vinyl albums, in one easy to access, portable or stationary entertainment system. The purchase of the iPod Touch has been swimming around in our minds for quite some time now.

iPod Touch 34gigabit 4th Generation During the sales pitch by an Apple rep in the store we were in, she brought to our attention (mine actually because my wife, as usual, was light years ahead of me in understanding what wondrous things this product can bring to us) to the options that come with it.

Then it came to me that this thing appears to look and act just like the iPad. Right after this thought, she said that some of the Apps on the iPad Touch can also be used on the iPod. The rep concluded that the look of an App itself, on either one, might differ a little bit, who really cares if it works on both.

A while ago I talked about this appealing guitar app called the Amplitube that is used on an iPad. I considered this one as an excellent idea for someone like myself. So now I’m wondering if I could get the Amplitube on the the iPod Touch? I’ll get back to ya on what I find later on.

Does anyone out there have one and like to advise me on what Guitar Apps is worth looking into that actually work?

Keep on Jammin’

Filed Under: Entertainment, Guitar Equipment, Music, musical instruments, My Equipment, Recreation Tagged With: 34 gig, 4th generation, apple products, apps, Electronics, guitar, Ipod, pedals, practising, sound, Touch

Does bigger drums means a better drummer?

November 18, 2010 by Chris

Is the old saying more is better always correct or what about less is more? Sometimes it is and sometimes …

I ran into this situation a couple of minutes ago. I was watching a neat little video from a drummer name Gavin Harrison. It was a video from a concert that he performed titled Sound of Muzak, in which he and his huge drum kit are the only things on the stage. I must admit that I have never seen a video like this, so I had to watch it in it’s entirety.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzFfNk4xGTE&feature=related

The video is not about a drummer performing inhuman drum solo over and over again, in what seems like eternity!

It shows us a guy who has perfect command of his drumming technique. Gavin’s style shows us that every one of his movements (rolls) are extremely fluid, flowing seamlessly from one drum to another. His drum kit in huge and the sound is just amazing! Now here is where I run into that old saying!

A old buddy of mine, Domenic, has shown us time and time again that he too exhibits these same musical skills as Gavin, but Domenic does so on a much smaller drum kit. He makes his modest gear sound like he is playing on a much larger one. Not that I’m bashing Gavin Harrison, not at all! It’s just that I think, most non musicians out there believe that you must have a lot of drums to produce a sound big. Now listen to by buddy to see what I am getting at.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgXnYew2YRE

So my question to you is does a bigger drum kit mean that you are a better drummer?

Keep on Jammin’

Filed Under: Instruments, musical instruments, Musicians, My experiences, Playing Styles, Video Tagged With: big kit, bigger is better, Domenic Nardone, drummer, drumming, drums, Gavin Harrison, less is more, small kit, technique

The Three Musical Amigos!

November 10, 2010 by Chris

threestringedmusicians

I’m not sure who these guys are, but they look like they’d be fun to watch playing this instrument somewhere!

I think that it would be quite the challenge playing in such close proximity to each other. Little things like bad breath could be the beginning of the end real fast for the musicians in this band!

To me, the worst thing about being one of the three people performing with this instrument is tuning. I am one of those guitarists who are forever tuning! I can’t tune my guitar while everyone is jamming like crazy. Maybe it’s the ADD in me I’m not sure! How about you?

Keep on Jammin’

Filed Under: Custom Made, Entertainment, Humor, Instruments, musical instruments Tagged With: challenge, close, funny, guitar, guys, huge, Humor, instrument, jamming, photo, playing, strings, three amigos

Gibson Guitar Knock off’s

October 25, 2010 by Chris

So it seems like some clown, or a bunch of clowns, in China are attempting, rather badly at that, to manufacture counterfeit Gibson guitars to flood the market. Not to say that there is absolutely no domestic reproduction issues here in North America, but this story really got my attention! After researching this for a short while, I found out that this story is actually quite old.

How to tell your Gibson guitar is fake

NOTE: To tell you the truth, I just ran upstairs to make sure my vintage Gibson RD-Artist was really what I thought I got when I bought it from Steve’s Music in Toronto way back in 1979! It’s ok … it’s the real Macoy!!!

My father and I were on the phone, we talk around 3-4 times a week, the other night and he told me to hold on because he had cut out this article in the Brantford Expositor that he wanted to tell me about. While he left the phone to find it, I got on line and found the story. The story was called Be wary of fake Gibsons, police say.

how to tell you have a fake gibson guitar

The knockoffs are being sold for $1,200, while an authentic Gibson sells for about $2,500. People purchasing the knockoffs believe they are getting a good deal when in fact, the knockoffs are worth only about $200, he added.
Police have checked and learned that LA Music of Brantford, 139 Charing Cross St., is the only registered dealer for Gibson guitars in the Brantford area. Brantford Expositor


As the story goes, this man goes to some Chinese website, orders a fake Gibson Les Paul and sells it to a kid as the real deal. Thank God that his father is a guitarist and happened to own one when he was a young inspired musician just like his son is now. After bringing both the boy and his new dream guitar home, the boy’s father felt that something was wrong with this guitar, a gut feeling he had about it. So he went online to find telltale signs for knock off Gibson and sure enough they had been taken! Those bastards!

how to tell you have a fake gibson guitar

So has anyone out there had the misfortune of purchasing one of these genuine imitation Gibsons?!

Keep on Jammin’

Filed Under: Guitar Equipment, Guitars, Instruments, musical instruments Tagged With: cheap, china, Counterfeit, fake, gibson, guitar, knock off, les paul

Intergalactic Guitar anyone

August 18, 2010 by Chris

Now is it just me or is this the most intergalactic looking guitar that you’ve every seen? It appears to be part spaceship and guitar all rapped up in one. Ah, this must be the Spaceship Super Star‘s guitar! Finally I found the Solar Power Laser Beam Guitar that Prism was talking about. All that is missing is the solar panels.

intergalactic looking guitar

Keep on Jammin’

Filed Under: Custom Made, Entertainment, Guitars, Humor, musical instruments Tagged With: Custom Made, custom made guitar, hand made, hand made guitars, intergalactic guitar, prism, spaceship guitar, unique

Guitar Hero pays homage to RUSH’s 2112 album

July 23, 2010 by Chris

The video game Guitar Hero, from Activision, is paying tribute to our very own RUSH’s 2112 album! It will be coming out this September in the Warriors of Rock Guitar Hero video series.

For the uninitiated, 2112 isn’t your average rock album. It’s about the fallout from a galaxy-wide war in the year 2062, which ended with an oppressive organization, known as the Red Star of the Solar Federation, in charge. The federation exerts its influence over cultural matters through their conduits, the Priests of the Temple of Syrinx. But things begin to change for the better in the year 2112, after a rebellious man discovers a guitar in a cave and proceeds to rock out. Essentially, it’s the plot of Footloose, but with a bunch of spacey, Ayn Rand philosophy thrown in. CBC News

Even though I hear that Guitar Hero has used some of Rush’s tunes in other issues, this years homage to them is special to me. I remember listening to this album when it first came out to today. I figured out every little riff that i could. Man that was a awesome concept album! I know I’ve talked before about my dislike for this game due to the lack of guitar skills needed to play this thing, and I still hold those views, but I must admit I might check out my nephew’s copy of it when it comes out! Hear that AJ, what are ya waiting for!

Keep on Jammin’

Filed Under: Entertainment, Music, musical instruments, Recreation, Video Tagged With: 2112, Activision, footloose, guitar hero, Priests, Priests of the Temple of Syrinx, RUSH, tribute, video games

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