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The piano has been an integral part of jazz bands since the origin of jazz. The best thing about it is that you can play jazz music as a soloist or as part of the band and thus the piano is also the most flexible musical instrument in a jazz band with its myriads of playing techniques.

Furthermore, most musical instruments in a jazz band can only play single notes with the exception of the vibraphone which at most can play two notes together, the guitar and the piano the latter two being able to play multiple notes as in a chord or single notes as and when the musician choose to do. That is why playing the jazz piano can be a very challenging but gratifying experience.

In the beginning, the jazz piano player’s role was just a percussionist role of keeping tempos with repetitive chord combinations. Those days are now long gone and the pianist now can choose any style and techniques to play with the band or to accompany singers such as using short sustained chordal and melodic fragments known as comping in the jazz fraternity.

If you want to be a good jazz pianist, you must be good at sight reading, playing by ear as well as being very skillful at improvising chords and notes. Furthermore, you must be very adaptable to the playing styles of various bands because playing jazz is often a jam session with other fellow musicians and very often in unrehearsed impromptu sessions.  Read more...

Everyone is affected by music in some form. There is music that we hate, and music that we love.
Music is in everyone. Anyone with a love of music and a burning desire to learn to compose and perform music can do so with the help of a computer based home recording studio.

Music software makes songwriting and recording possible without even a formal music theory background or music writing proficiency.

Sequencers can be used to overcome some of the gaps in your musical training.
Some computer music hobbyists may even consider the mouse, keyboard and computer to be their musical instruments.

MIDI(Musical Instrument Digital Interface) lets you work with music, much like a writer works with words. You work at the level of a single note, with full control over how it is played.
MIDI lets you craft your own song at your own pace, using whatever works best for you.Mistakes are easily fixed and new alternatives can be tried, while you hear the results in real time.

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The fact that you cannot even play a short melody on an instrument is no longer a reason to keep the music inside of you.
Even though you may not be able to keep a rhythm, you can still craft rhythms, edit and make changes using simple familiar visual techniques.
It is as simple as using a computer painting or drawing application and it is an interactive way to compose your own music.  Read more...

Headphone orientations are many and varied; however, headphones are seldom connected with fashion. For years, headphones seems to fail in being a fashionable sign, which is similar to that effect caused by Sony Walkman and Apple iPod – in the past we did doubt that if such little articles hanging on the ears could become a necessary fashionable decoration on people’s ears just like other ornaments such as necklace or earrings; while Monster Beats, which started to release headphones in 2008, only takes about one year to “fulfill this dream” which many other headphone brands could not in the past.

If you are a fashionable person who is very concerned about fashion but never heard of the brand Monster, then you are really OUT! Just look at those stars who wear these Monster Beats, now the brand Monster Beats is sweeping over the whole American market. Founded in 1979, Monster is a company specialized in production of HIFI Audio Cables and its founder is even an American-born Chinese. After 20 years of development, Monster has become the second largest professional company engaging in R&D and selling of cables in the world, quite well-known in audiophile circles. In America, many famous stars use Monster cables for their performance and daily life. What’s more, many musicians who won Grammy Awards, artists and engineers use Monster cables as well as some professional studios.  Read more...

Firms in the music industry produce original sound master recordings such as CDs, and promote and distribute them to wholesalers, retailers and consumers. Music publishers acquire and register copyrights for compositions; promote, authorise and use compositions in recordings, television, and various other media; and publish music and sheet books. Publishers either own the copyright or act as administrator of the music copyrights on behalf of the copyright owners.

The music industry in the UK is in decline as years of falling record sales have eaten into music publishers’ royalty streams and weakened demand for sound recording studios. Large players dominate the industry, with the big four (i.e. EMI, Warner, Sony and Universal) accounting for an estimated 57% of industry revenue.

There are two distinct businesses within the music industry industry: music publishers, which earn about 80% of revenue; and sound recording studios, which draw the other 20%. Demand for sound recording studios has weakened as the industry’s major market as the record companies have reduced their investment in producing recorded music. Increasingly budget conscious, record labels are using less studio time and cutting back on the more expensive, premium studio services. In addition, advancements in recording technology have led to the proliferation of backyard studios, which has increased competition for studios and squeezed profit margins. In the music publishing business, sharp drops in record sales have reduced revenue received from mechanical royalties. Music publishers have responded by negotiating new agreements with recording artists and with the users of licensed music. They have met with some success in developing areas such as synchronisation royalties. Video games for example, have been an area of strong growth for publishers. In the five years through 2010-11, industry revenue is expected to fall by 1% per annum to total £939.7 million.  Read more...

Have you ever thought of learning to play a musical instrument but you can’t decide which instrument to play? Why not try playing the acoustic guitar?

Guitars are the rhythms of music. A guitar is the main sound most of us hear on our favorite songs. Acoustic guitar is one of the most flexible instruments around, and learning it would be worthed.

Most people pick the acoustic guitar as their preferred instrument because they think that it’s the easiest instrument to learn, but it’s not. Acoustic guitars should be learned with dedication and passion. You can’t force yourself to learn something you’re not really into. Like any other musical instrument, acoustic guitar lessons should be taken seriously, and like any other, learning music should be treated with the utmost respect.

What is an acoustic guitar? Acoustic guitar is a musical instrument made up of strong wood and is classified as a string instrument. Like an electric guitar, the acoustic guitar also has strings attached from the body that goes through the neck up to the guitar head, it’s only difference is that instead of using pickups it has a hole in the middle of it’s body that absorb the vibration of strings which produces sounds. The acoustic guitar’s neck is divided into parts, which are known as fret boards and each board’s purpose is to define different notes.  Read more...