I am on a mission to help people to make music. Whether you are a total beginner or a seasoned professional, creating and playing your own music can enrich your life like nothing else can. For a while now, the most popular and accessable instrument for people to learn has been the guitar. Whether acoustic or electric, the guitar is everywhere and can be learned by anyone. With a guitar you can play classical music, jazz, blues, country, and of course, rock in its many forms. What I always tell anyone who wants to learn the guitar is that it really is easy, sure it's hard to master, like anything is, but it is simple to pick up the basics and start playing some music. So stop with the excuses and pick one up, take my word for it, making music will make your life richer and happier in every way.
There are a lot of great and not so great guitar teachers out there in the real world, and a fair few in the online world as well. And of course, you can always teach yourself, it is always possible to learn heaps on your own terms and in your own time. But almost everyone needs a helping hand and most benefit from this hand in the beginning stages. There are some online and software guitar courses that are really great and packed full of features. The first thing almost everyone learns on guitar is how to play some chords, and indeed a great many bands have gotten by on just knowing 3 or 4 chords. Then you can learn to play scales which are the basis of learning guitar solos. But to tell you the truth, it really is endless and the more you learn the more you will want to learn, it's just so much fun.
Rythms, song writing, guitar tabulature, strumming techniques, harmonization, like I said, almost endless. Don't let it scare you though, you can have fun with just a few chords and a scale or two at first. Most people start their guitar relationship with an acoustic, they are cheaper and easier to learn on and you don't have to be tied to an electrical supply while you learn. It's also better for the neighbors when you strum those first few out of tune chords. The difference between types of acoustic guitars can be confusing at first, but basically there are classical or steel string guitars, the latter used for most blues, folk and rock styles. The amplified acoustic is a bit of a hybrid, with pickups basically making the acoustic sound louder and easier to hear. Then of course there is the electric guitar, ubiqutous in rock music and as loud as all hell, well to be fair, you can turn them down as much as you want.
In my search to find out about a good and straight forward way to learn guitar I found that online guitar tutorials were a great way to learn. I found one site that said they could teach me in 30 days, I was a little skeptical at first but it really is an amazing way to learn. By offering a great selection of packages teaching lead techniqes, song writing, even home studio work and specific rock techniques a lot can be acheived if you are willing to put your mind to it. Learning in an interactive online enviroment can be incedibly productive as you are learning in your own space and at your own speed, but with all the help you need at your disposale. It really is a best of both worlds situation, and something I believe that a great many musicians in the pre internet age would have been very jelous of.
Check here for a free, thats right FREE book full of tips to help you with your guitar
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Computer Music for Kids
Computer music has become so seamless and easy to do that there are now programs out there that are designed especially for children to use. Making music is one of the most creative and fun things for a child to do, and with applications like 'Making Music' by award winning composer Morton Subotnick, it can be as easy as clicking a mouse.
The emphasis of this program is to have fun while you are learning and creating, by moving virtual blocks around your kids can make their very own music. They can then change the rhythm and pitch by moving around visual representations of birds on a wire, and draw their music on a canvas so that they can play their creations back at a latter time. There are four different CD-ROM packages, each available from this site, http://www.creatingmusic.com/
The emphasis of this program is to have fun while you are learning and creating, by moving virtual blocks around your kids can make their very own music. They can then change the rhythm and pitch by moving around visual representations of birds on a wire, and draw their music on a canvas so that they can play their creations back at a latter time. There are four different CD-ROM packages, each available from this site, http://www.creatingmusic.com/
Types Of Guitars
Ask any guitar player and they will tell you that a guitar is not just a guitar, there are so many choices when it comes to choosing what will be your first guitar, or your second, or third. The most basic difference in guitar types is between acoustic and electric, and these two types differ greatly in sound and the ways that you play them.
A lot of players start with an acoustic guitar rather than an electric, these can be easier to learn on and you don't annoy the neighbors as much when you break out with that first off sounding chord. The acoustic guitar consists of a wooden body with a hole in the center beneath the strings, this lets the air vibration produced by the strings enter inside the body of the guitar and create a resonating effect in order to produce the lovely acoustic sound that you hear.
Even then it's not a simple decision, as you can choose between a steel string or a classical acoustic guitar. Although they appear to be similar at first sight, there are a number of difference between steel string and classical guitars.
Steel String Acoustic
- The standard steel string acoustic typically has 6 steel strings
- It is mainly used for rock, blues and other relatively modern music styles.
- The steel string acoustic can be played with the fingers, or with a pick.
Classical Acoustic
- A classical guitar has 6 strings as well, but they are nylon and the 3 bass strings are wrapped in metal.
- It is mainly played in classical music, and more likely as a solo instrument.
- Classical guitars are normally played with the fingers, and not a pick.
A lot of players start with an acoustic guitar rather than an electric, these can be easier to learn on and you don't annoy the neighbors as much when you break out with that first off sounding chord. The acoustic guitar consists of a wooden body with a hole in the center beneath the strings, this lets the air vibration produced by the strings enter inside the body of the guitar and create a resonating effect in order to produce the lovely acoustic sound that you hear.
Even then it's not a simple decision, as you can choose between a steel string or a classical acoustic guitar. Although they appear to be similar at first sight, there are a number of difference between steel string and classical guitars.
Steel String Acoustic
- The standard steel string acoustic typically has 6 steel strings
- It is mainly used for rock, blues and other relatively modern music styles.
- The steel string acoustic can be played with the fingers, or with a pick.
Classical Acoustic
- A classical guitar has 6 strings as well, but they are nylon and the 3 bass strings are wrapped in metal.
- It is mainly played in classical music, and more likely as a solo instrument.
- Classical guitars are normally played with the fingers, and not a pick.
Anybody Can Make Music Today
I love making music, I really really enjoy it and I believe that it enriches every single part of my life. I think it is without a doubt the best thing you can do with your free time, and if you spend enough of your free time practicing, who knows, it might even become a full time pursuit.
It has never been more easy for anybody to make and produce your own music at home, whether you want to play blues guitar, produce a techno dance floor hit or anything else. In todays computer age, you don't need access to a multi million dollar studio, nor an expensive array of engineers and recording professionals; you really just need a little bit of equipment and a whole lot of passion.
People often put off their dreams because they are too busy making excuses for themselves. It takes too much time, it costs too much money, it's just too hard to get started, everybody has heard these excuses before; but in todays' world, they just don't fly any more.
This blog will hopefully empower people to start living their dreams, whether that is to be able to play guitar or piano to a loved one, or to fill a stadium as an international rock star, you can do it. This blog will be continually updated with tips, tutorials and links that will all help you to make music, it's really not that hard. And it is soo soo much fun.
It has never been more easy for anybody to make and produce your own music at home, whether you want to play blues guitar, produce a techno dance floor hit or anything else. In todays computer age, you don't need access to a multi million dollar studio, nor an expensive array of engineers and recording professionals; you really just need a little bit of equipment and a whole lot of passion.
People often put off their dreams because they are too busy making excuses for themselves. It takes too much time, it costs too much money, it's just too hard to get started, everybody has heard these excuses before; but in todays' world, they just don't fly any more.
This blog will hopefully empower people to start living their dreams, whether that is to be able to play guitar or piano to a loved one, or to fill a stadium as an international rock star, you can do it. This blog will be continually updated with tips, tutorials and links that will all help you to make music, it's really not that hard. And it is soo soo much fun.
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