Archive for April, 2011
Easy Guitar Tabs
Guitar tabs are an easy solution for you if you have no idea of how to read sheet music but are constantly bugged by the notion that you want to be a guitarist. Guitar tabs are easy to learn and allow you to begin playing songs right away, even if you are not familiar with them. Once you have bought your first guitar, it is time to begin looking for easy guitar tab versions of some songs to find out what it feels like to be a guitar player. Which songs you need tabs for depends on how you see yourself as a musician. Do you want to play your favorite songs chiefly for your own amusement or do you want to aim your repertoire at a potential audience? Let us look at your audience for a minute. The most popular songs in the world are all from years gone by. If you sit a bunch of people aged between ten and fifty down and play songs at them you will find some universal favorites, and they will all be old songs. If you want to please a random audience, your ultimate goal should be to have about one hundred popular songs ranging from the 1940′s to the present, but you could probably narrow the range to just include songs going back to the sixties.
So what are the easiest songs to learn from tabs? What can a beginner guitarist learn quickly without too much trouble? Well, I did a little searching on the internet concerning that question, and I found that “Horse With No Name” contains only two chords, and dead simple ones at that! You could be playing that song in a convincing fashion today! “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” makes use of the chords G D C and Am – all easy chords. Building on chords you have acquired learning these songs, you can go onto “House Of The Rising Sun” which uses Am C D F E and E7. Once you have learnt that, it’s only natural to go onto another beautiful song, “California Dreamin’” which has the same chords. If you do not like the idea of beginning your guitar playing with these songs, do an internet search in the country music and blues genres. Actually a working knowledge of twelve bar blues is very useful for a guitar player just starting out.
Now for a short list of songs that are both easy to play and have proven to be popular with audiences of all ages. You can find tab arrangements for these songs by typing the titles into a search engine.
“Angie” by The Rolling Stones
“Blowin’ In The Wind” by Bob Dylan
“Brown Eyed Girl” by Van Morrison
“A Day In The Life”, “Here, There And Everywhere” and “Hey Jude” by The Beatles
“I Walk The Line” by Johnny Cash
“Tears In Heaven” by Eric Clapton
“Gloria” by Van Morrison
“Hotel California” by The Eagles
“Behind Blue Eyes” by The Who
“Scarborough Fair” by any number of performers, and
“White Room” by Cream
Once you have some guitar songs under your belt, you could learn more popular favorites that do not fit into the “Easy Guitar Tabs” category. Wilson Pickett’s “Dock Of The Bay” and “American Pie” by Don Mclean come to mind. But do not let the tastes of the masses be your only guide. If, for example, you decide you would like to do a folk guitar arrangement of Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man” then you could use tabs for the original electric guitar version as a basis for your new work. With a bunch of easy guitar tabs at your disposal, the only limits to your musical achievements are your imagination and your audience’s supply of tomatoes.
A Guide To Piano For Beginners
Classes that involve piano for beginners would include an introduction to reading and understanding the keys, chords and how to read musical notes. The piano is unlike any other instrument and sounds wonderful as stand alone music or as part of a group. The intense sound of a piano is one that captivates audiences with power or soothes them with serenity.
Budding musicians always find it exciting to explore the world of piano for beginners. Whether this is their first venture playing the piano or being used as a reminder of forgotten skills, piano for beginners is a terrific way to develop or improve skills.
The most popular place to find a piano for beginners class would be a local high school or college university music department. Occasionally, instructors will offer piano tutoring to non-students. Students, on the other hand, will have a variety of choices within the music curriculum. Otherwise, a quick visit to a local specialty music store may provide leads on potential instructors.
When learning piano for beginners, it’s important for hopefuls to select the best instructor by evaluating his/her experience, educational background and accomplishments. The most commonly sought instructors will possess some type of music degree or an equivalent amount of musical experience. A potential instructor should be interviewed regarding their history in music, fee requirements, length of classes, policy on missed sessions, etc. If the learner’s schedule is particularly hectic, he/she may wish to enlist the help of a private tutor as opposed to a group instructor. Music lessons offered in a group will be scheduled by the instructor and will be less flexible toward each individual learner’s schedule. This is not to say that group lessons are not an excellent way to learn piano for beginners because they are. Simply put, private tutors are better for anyone with a hectic or unpredictable schedule. For example, a private tutor will have a more flexible schedule and may be willing to work around that of the learner’s daily routine. Whereas group classes are often held at the same time on a certain night, or nights, each week, a private tutor can be scheduled at any time during the day or evening without having to abide by a preset schedule. Internet courses, on the other hand, offer learners with the option of learning piano for beginners in the comfort of their own home at any time during the day or night. After all, where else could you learn piano in your pajamas?
Perhaps that most fun way to learn the piano for beginners is to just start playing. Some of the world’s most famous musicians are self-taught, so don’t be afraid to go solo until you get comfortable with the keys and each of their unique sounds. Professional instruction is certainly the most desirable, but there is nothing wrong with a little practice before signing up for class. In fact, the more familiar you are with the piano, the sooner you will be on your way to the Grammy awards. Hey, you never know!
Music Networks – How Bands and Musicians Use Music Networks for Band Promotion
The internet continues to revolutionize the music industry and the creation of music networks has helped musicians to promote their bands, sell their music, find band members, buy and sell musical instruments, chat to fellow musicians in the forums, post photos, their music, videos and so much more.
There are many benefits to joining one of the top music networks. It is best to focus on two or three at the most and create, as well as maintain, a standout profile page for your music or band. If you spread yourself too thin and try to join every music site you come across then you will find yourself struggling to maintain an active profile. If you join one of these music networks then you will gain a massive amount international exposure for your music.
Try to devote 30 minutes each month in updating your profile with new photos, gig dates, videos or music samples. On a more regular basis you may want to respond to forum posts, reply to comments posted on your page and also respond to any emails sent to you. You need to treat these music networks as an advertisement and great way to promote your band. Therefore spending some time on the site could bring about some lucrative and life changing publicity for you.
The key point to gaining the most exposure for your music on these sites is to be proactive and make the most of the features available to you. You will want to post recent photos of yourself or your band. You should add some new photos each month. Try and add some bright and colourful photos of each of your band members as well as some group shots. Ask a friend or partner to take some high quality photos of you while performing.
Music videos are all the rage due to YouTube. You can use a camera to take some footage of the band performing one of their most popular songs. Just as a great video can make your band; a bad video can have a negative impact on your music. If a music venue manager is not the network to look for a band for a gig and they listen to a poor quality live performance then they will just move on to the next band. So make sure the video you submit is one that will impress your viewers.
Why spend time in the forums? Because you never know who is online and who is reading the forum posts. Many of the top music forums not only allow bands and musicians to sign up and create a profile but also music promoters, managers, music venue owners, music producers and professionals from the music industry. As a result, you may just catch the eye of one of these promoters who could give you the lead you need. Post positive and informative posts that will require a similar response. Avoid getting into any personal attacks or conflicts with other forum members. Maintaining a high level of professionalism is of the utmost importance in building the reputation you want to succeed.
What about writing an article? It is quite easy to write an article about a topic you are passionate about and have knowledge in. How can this help you? Well in a music network you have members who are musicians and are therefore craving information to help them with their band or music. As a result you can gain some valuable exposure by adding your name and active link at the bottom of the article. You can basically piggy back these top music networks who already achieve high page rankings in the search engines for your own benefit. Search engines love quality content about a specific topic. As a result these search engines will pick up the keywords used in your article and rank it highly as the article is located on a reputable site. Both these combined will give it a good chance of being spread throughout the internet.
One of the best features is the ability to post your upcoming gigs or events. What other way can you get free advertising for your gigs! When posting your gig make sure all information is correct and if any of it changes be sure to return to your profile and update it. There will be fans that listen to your music samples, watch your videos and then decide on attending one of your gigs if they like what they hear. You don’t want to upset them by having them go out of their way to attend your event only to find that the details were changed and there is no gig! Try to include the date, time, cost and location of the event. Some of the top networks will have a feature where your fans can “subscribe” or add their name to an attendance list. This will also allow you to send emails with specific details to these members. This is networking and building a fan base.
Classifieds are also a great way to buy and sell instruments, equipment, search for new band members, post jobs or look for a gig, sell tickets to events and so much more. Make sure you only add the information you want people to see and only use a respectable payment solution provider in the transaction. Most sites leave transactions up to both parties and are not responsible for any disputes or problems with the sale.
Are there dangers associated with music networks? Yes, but only if you post personal information that hackers or people involved in criminal activity can use to spam you or rip you off. The top sites will have internal email systems where your personal email address is protected. They also have a feature that allows you to block any members you wish not to correspond with. Remember that you use these music networks to promote your music and not your personal life and details as a lot of the “Social Networks” do. This is why you should stick to the top music networks that operate with the sole purpose of assisting bands and musicians in promoting their music.
If you maintain an active profile you may just be lucky enough to gain additional exposure from the site. For example, the music networks highlight and profiles a new band each month. This profile puts the band on the front page, generates extra hits for the band’s profile page, spreads their band across the internet due to the quality content in the profile and provides a reputable promotion for the band by a music industry leader. Want to make your own luck? Then be proactive and contact the site team and let them know that you would like to have your band or music be considered to be profiled.
One more great tip is to use “Keywords” in your title for photos, events, profiles etc as these keywords will appear in that page’s URL. This will help for better search engine exposure as they love keywords and targeted content.
The key is where to start when selecting which music networks to join? There are many ways to promote your music and three of the best methods for music and band promotion is by creating a profile on MyBandMate and MySpace Music or posting your music videos on YouTube Music.
So if you want to showcase your music to the world and are not active in these top two music networks then you better get on to it. It takes time, some effort and a desire to make your music reach a global audience. Be proactive, utilize all of the key features to gain maximum exposure and build a fan base by responding to their emails and comments. Don’t include any information in your profile that you don’t want the world to see. Treat your profile page as an advertisement for your music. You may only have one chance to catch the eye of a music promoter, producer or music venue owner looking for a band so make your profile look professional.