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After hearing so many people talk about the Smith family’s latest addition to the entertainment industry, Willow’s music video clip entitled Whip My Hair was finally released to the public. Following in the footsteps of parents Will and Jada Pinkett-Smith, Willow is making a name for herself by kicking down the music industries entrance door with an upbeat, fun and colorful video. At the tender age of 10, she has already captivated the hearts of young people across the nation who look to her as a reminder that age does not regulate talent, an ability to impact society or earn an income.

Reminiscent of the DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince video Parents Just Don’t Understand, Willow’s video has similar splashes of color across walls and clothes and immediately makes a big hit with the youth. Judging from the number of YouTube views (currently over 24 million), this song will be around for a long time. Full of high energy, this music video clip contains stepping, pop-lock dancing, and a lot of hair swinging. Parents are often concerned about the content in the videos themselves such as clothing worn (or lack of it), but this is a kid-friendly song and is age-appropriate. We can expect to see more in the future from Miss Willow Smith. (Caution: attempting to whip your hair around your head as shown in the video may cause injury, so be careful when trying to imitate the dancers.)  Read more...

If you are reading this article chances are you are lookig for the best music making software  to make beats on your computer. But for a beginner you probably don’t know where to look in the first place. For instance you run into a few problems such as where am I going get some good quality sound from? How am I going to put them together in a tune?

Well when you start looking into it and all the components that go into proper music production it can work out to be very expensive with all the equipment that you will need! Well there is a solution. A new peice of software has hit the market called dubturbo. It is a peice of sotware that you will be able to make your own beats on your computer. It is a software package that gives you 1000′s of beats. If fact I have looked into it and it is a complete audio digital workstation. It is the perfect choice for beginners because the video tutorials allow you to get up and running quickly and make your first track in under an hour. You can then go into more complex components of the software, import your own sounds, and start adding some awesome affects. As well as that once your musical creation is completed you can burn it on to CD and take it with you. Dubturbo is a complete solution for anyone looking to make their own rap beats or hip hop beats.  Read more...

You play in a Band or are a Music composer or dream of becoming one… Your next big step is going to be making a timeless album…

Despite how far or near this event looks to you these seven steps should be clear to you in your mind. Helps to have a clear picture of the future you are about to embark on…

STEP 1: Ideation

The initial spark can come anywhere. Typically one band member or the composer will come up with a starting point which is typically a guitar riff or a musical piece on the Keyboards or the Piano. It is best to have all band members participate in the ideation stage so that the band is truly greater than the sum of the parts. However typically in many bands there is one person who is the creative director of the entire show.

As an individual composer your initial spark can come from many sources including the songs and musical genres that you are currently listening. This is not the same as being “inspired” or illegally ripping off someone’s musical work. However keep listening to new genres of music to have an open mind and greater exposure.

STEP 2: Background Arrangement

Once you have an initial starting point you will need to arrange other pieces of music around the initial riff. Say for example you have a killer guitar riff (Say a progression of chords) you may want to start the song with it or use it as the verse or chorus or main melody.  Read more...

When your private studio has innovative and interactive music teachers resources, you can certainly focus on developing your students’ interests in music. Through these, you can also motivate them to craft music as both their profession and passion. Teaching music can be a difficult task. It requires much time and effort; thus, makes music education more challenging, dynamic and versatile.

Ideally, a music teacher must have these objectives in mind:

• to offer a custom-made and challenging program for his musically-inclined pupils to maximize their music potential;
• to provide a holistic music education through listening, performing (solo and group) and composing skills; and,
• To realize that everyone has such potentials to understand, express and create music.

Effective music teachers have such resources that can really encourage students to attend classes regularly, motivate them to participate and cooperate, and most of all, inspire them to love music. Many music teachers resources are readily available via the Internet. In just a matter of a few clicks, you can learn how to enhance your teaching strategies pertaining to music education.

There are various music teachers resources that can definitely be used as your motivating factors in teaching music to a vast number of students with different personalities, demands, needs and desires. Here is my comprehensive list:

• Cooperative learning. It is an instructional paradigm in which teams of students work on structured tasks such as homework assignments, laboratory experiments, or design projects. It is being administered under conditions that meet five criteria: positive interdependence, individual accountability, face-to-face interaction, appropriate use of collaborative skills, and regular self-assessment of team functioning.  Read more...

Jazz falls in the spontaneous forms of music. Nobody is a Jazz expert from birth; rather it is rigorous practice and love for Jazz music that extracts an expert from a common Jazz lover. Take the example of any Jazz expert, you will find that continuous improvisation and repeated practice have made them the master of the art. First they learn all genres of Jazz and then they tried to specialize and have expertise in one form.

On the path of specialization, your interest plays a significant role. Once you know the basics, step forward to have mastery in one. The logic behind it is very simple. One lifetime is perhaps not the enough tenure to excel in all forms of jazz and having expertise in left hand Jazz piano playing like Art Tatum, thundering blues lines like Oscar Peterson and the harmonic complexity of Bill Evans. Hence, specialization leads to excellence. This article comprises of beneficial tips that make your Jazz piano practice easier.

1- Expose yourself to a variety of Tempos

When you practice jazz piano, Practice at a variety of tempos like slow, medium and fast. From quarter note = 40 to 360- never be scared of any tempo.

2- Be creative

While using the metronome, let the creative part of your Jazz-love perform its best. Click on the upbeats (beat two and four) instead of downbeats (one and three). Set the metronome in your comfort zone and practice Jazz piano for all patterns in both hands. It helps you to be more creative and develop a greater level of dexterity.