Dubstep

Revival - Hollywood

One word describes the CD Welcome from Santana... AWESOME!

I wish it werent the case but, its not everyday that I get a CD from an artist that I can just pop in and comfortably listen to from beginning to end. There is usually a song or two that I just cant force myself to get through. Not at all the case with Welcome. Every track is enjoyable and was pretty easy for me to listen to from start to finish.

One of the refreshingly nice things about this CD is the way all of the participating artists seem to be really enjoying themselves. Combine that with the overall presentation and youve got one of Santanas most impressive releases ever.

Overall Welcome is an outstanding release. Quite possibly Santana's best to date. Really spectacular from beginning to end. If you're even mildly into Rock music you'll enjoy this CD.

While the entire CD is really very good the truly standout tunes are track 2 - Love, Devotion And Surrender, track 4 - When I Look Into Your Eyes, and track 10 - Mantra.

My Bonus Pick, and the one that got Sore [...as in "Stuck On REpeat"] is track 1 - Going Home. This is a great track!

Welcome Release Notes:

Santana originally released Welcome on September 30, 2003 on the Legacy Recordings label.

CD Track List Follows:

1. Going Home

2. Love, Devotion And Surrender

3. Samba De Sausalito

4. When I Look Into Your Eyes

5. Yours Is The Light

6. Mother Africa

7. Light Of Life

8. Flame-Sky

9. Welcome

10. Mantra - (previously unreleased, bonus track)

Santana: Carlos Santana (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, bass, kalimba, percussion); Wendy Haas, Leon Thomas, Flora Purim (vocals); Doug Rauch (guitar, bass); Mahavishnu John McLauhlin (guitar); Bob Yance, Mel Martin, Joe Farrell (flute); Richard Kermode (soprano saxophone); Richard Kermode (piano, electric piano, organ, Mellotron, marimba, percussion); Tom Coster (piano, organ, marimba, percussion); Michael Shrieve, Tony Smith (drums); Armando Peraza (bongos, congas, percussion); Jose "Chepito" Areas (congas, timbales, percussion). Producers: Carlos Santana, Michael Shrieve, Tom Coster. Recorded in 1973. Originally released on Columbia (32445). Includes liner notes by Hal Miller.

i-mode-emulator.com, the i-mode developer site with news, tools and books about i-mode handsets

posted by 70554 @ 2:20 PM 0 comments

Carrie Underwood in Fresno

Carrie Underwood came to Fresno on May 28, 2008, and had her valley fans in frenzy when she appeared on stage to promote her latest album.

I must admit, I only knew a few songs. One of them being the "cheater" athemn of the year. "I dug my key into the side of his pretty little souped-up four wheel drive carved my name into his leather seat..." but with that I mind I really did not know what to expect.

I was pleased. Well, sort of. I cannot really complain. I did not pay for the tickets. For a free show, It was not too bad. The music was great and she has a wonderful voice. Hence, the reason she won American Idol. She was pleasant to the audience. She interacted with us and cheered everyone along as we sang with her. (Well only one song for me.) It was a great concert if the music is all you are going for. Miss Underwood is certainly not an entertainer. Even though there were costume changes and a cat -walk there was nothing to the show.

Sure there were bigger than life screens above the stage, but nothing to make you say "WOW"! Or even want to go see her again in the next town. It almost like watching a rock concrete but at least they have dancers or something a little more appealing. It was very hard for Miss Underwood to walk her heels. (Something that most artist learn the second they make it.) Her costumes were pretty plain. The first was a tank and jeans, a purple ballroom dress; that eventually turned into cocktail dress, another tank and jeans, and last, the same tank and jeans with a silver jacket over her tom.

The outfits were very plain. Something maybe should be kept in mind the next time she comes around. Maybe some dancers or even models that could walk the cat-walk when she sang "All-American Girl". Or possibly little skits by her band mates that just stood there as the lazers made cool pictures in the back of the staduim.

All in all, for a free concert, for me, it was not that bad. Good family fun if you know her music and do not want much of a show. It is a good thing she has never claimed to be an entertainer.

Angela. I work at home and make great money. Want to find out how? Go here: http://angiet2005-wanttoknowsomething.blogspot.com/

posted by 70554 @ 1:54 PM 0 comments

Chris Clark - 3 Star, Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)

Back in the 60s, when I first got interested in audio gear, home audio systems that were considered to be "hi-fi" (high fidelity) typically had total distortion values of around 0.1%. This was considered to be an inaudible level, especially in the light of research showing that distortion had to rise to almost 1% before most people would begin to notice it. So 0.1% distortion sounded "perfect."

Despite this, improvements in electronic components and circuitry brought ever-decreasing distortion specs of 0.01%, .005%, .001%, and so on. Although nobody would complain about improved specs, we were pretty clearly past the point where any normal person could detect the results of still further improvement in the sound. It didn't get "more perfect."

It seems to me that something like this has happened to modern recording, even on a hobby level. Digital recording and processing gives us a 90 dB dynamic range. We record our tracks at 24 bits with a 96 kHz sampling rate. The frequency response is virtually infinite. And the distortion? Jeez, it must be down to 0.0000001% by now! Everything sounds perfect.

Then what do people do with our perfectly recorded songs? They download them as mp3 files and listen with earbuds. They play the CD in the car while driving and talking to friends. They listen on the computer. They listen while they run on a treadmill. What they don't do is sit quietly and listen to the music on a "hi-fi" system while thinking "My goodness, this song has very low distortion."

Pet Sounds

Even if the listener does notice how perfect it sounds, they may not like it that way! I remember the first time I heard a long-treasured Beach Boys album as a "remastered CD" instead of a record. It was pristine and crystalline, set against a black-velvet backdrop of silence. Each voice was clear and separated from all the others. The guitars shimmered and shone. It was awful.

The problem was that it was "too perfect." Somewhere in the process of getting turned into 1s and 0s, all the magic had gone out of the music, leaving it lifeless. Maybe it was the isolation of the voices (they're supposed to blend, it's the freakin' Beach Boys), maybe it was the bizarre immediacy of the sound (they're not supposed to be here in the room), or who knows, maybe the super-low distortion was to blame!

I had read that CD mastering engineers sometimes purposely inject hiss, manipulate the overall EQ, or (yes) increase the distortion for certain types of music to make the final product sound more "real" and less sterile. After my Beach Boys experience, I can see why.

Lighten Up and Fly Right

OK, nice rant. But what does this have to do with my recordings right now, in the 21st century? Don't get me wrong here. I'm not telling you to not strive for perfection, to not make your recordings sound as good as you can make them sound. I am merely suggesting that there is no need to obsess over unhearable sound-quality issues at the expense of attention not paid to the actual music.

I will sometimes read a poster on a recording forum complaining about having to drop from 24bit@96kHz all the way to 16bit@44.1kHz recording (so the computer can handle all ten plug-ins he's using), as if such a "lo-fi" recording is hardly worth making and will probably come out sounding like one of Edison's original cylinders. "It's 24/96 or nothing for me."

Balderdash! The lowest resolutions and sampling rates available on modern equipment can provide (literally) CD-quality sound that will sound great to everyone. The quality of the song, the performance, the mixing, the mastering - all of these are much more important factors than perfect vs. hyper-perfect digital settings.

So my general (cheap) advice is, lighten up! Don't be fooled by those ever-lower distortion specs. Fire up that Radio Shack stomp box and put some hiss in your next rock-n-roll mix. Let the meters go into the red from time to time. Don't worry about a little leakage between mikes. And feel free to record at 16/44.1 all the time. You don't want your song to end up sounding "perfect," do you?

Mark Bendig is The Cheap Advice Guy, owner and operator of http://cheapadviceonmusic.com, offering "Tips from the trenches on Songwriting, Recording, and Live Sound." A series of eBooks on these very topics will be available on the website in Summer 2008.

posted by 70554 @ 1:27 PM 0 comments

My Morning Jacket - Golden (w/ Kathleen Edwards)

Have you ever wondered what you need to do to achieve guitar brilliance and finally be able to show your skills on various outdoor occasions (picnics, hanging with friends at the beach etc.) without all the self-doubt and nervousness? Unfortunately it is very common that a guitarist comes to the point when he needs to do the right thing and overcome those fears, if he wants to really develop into a great guitar player. But - as in any other situation - there are sure ways to overcome all of that.

The secret is that - well - there is no secret. You need to do just what you would need to do with any other thing to get brilliant with it. But there is a systematical approach that might help you and I will try to give you some insight on it.

First, don't rush out and buy all the books you can get. No book can give you what only an hour or two with an expert guitarist will do for you. You need to be shown the basics - and you need to get a rock solid base for all your future progress. Yes, I said shown. No book, no matter how well-written, can give you that, trust me. So, consult with some of your fellow guitarist friends and ask them who taught them to play in the very beginning. Then - if needed - cough up those fifty bucks and you'll be a new man ... um, a new guitarist.

Once an experienced guitarist shows you what you need to know, it's time to start to practice. I wouldn't recommend making a schedule and sticking to it - it is a sure way to lose interest, because it makes playing seem like some sort of a must. And the thing with music is - nothing is a must. Everything must come as a joy to you. Just play whenever you feel like playing. That way you'll be thrilled to strum those chords and with that kind of approach you'll learn incredibly fast - much faster than you would otherwise. And when you notice how much better you are getting in practically no time, all the excitement triples ... and you will be playing even more ... and getting even better. It's as simple as that. A snowball effect, but this time a positive one.

If you don't want to spend too much time browsing for the chords and tablatures, I really recommend that you find yourself a great guitar chords and tabs archive and then just strum away all the songs you really like. Make sure that you find a website that has everything you might need. It needs to have a huge database of chords and tabs, the auto-scroller (so you don't have to worry about that while playing), maybe even the option to transpose a song into another key (this way it will be much easier for you to sing along).

Once you build up some guitar-mileage, you get to the great part. Everybody has at least a couple of friends who know how to play the guitar. Once you feel that you've mastered the basics and you can play the rhythm without much of a trouble, you really need to get together with those guys (and girls). Arrange some kind of a meeting, bring some drinks and then just play whatever comes to your mind ... That kind of hanging out with a group of fellow guitarists has really taught me the most, but not just that - I remember those meetings as something really beautiful. And that is what you need to look for in the music. Always.

So, go out there, have fun and once you become a GREAT guitarist, don't forget to remember me.

Anze Sustar is a guitar enthusiast and a web reviewer. His favourite guitar-related website is YourChords.com - a guitar chords and tabs archive. You can find it at http://www.yourchords.com

posted by 70554 @ 1:01 PM 0 comments

Shitdisco - 72 Virgins (Bloody Beetroots Remix)

Many people are dreaming of getting their own guitar and learning how to play it. Some of these people want to just learn for the fun of it and others want to be in the spot light and become a famous guitar player. What ever your reason is, you too can learn to play the guitar for the fun of it.

If you really want to become good at playing the guitar, there are a few things that you need to know. You need to learn, practice, and follow the training that you have gotten yourself into or will get yourself into. You need to practice, practice, and practice more to get a good hang of it and become a pro. Some people don't realize this and give up when they feel it is too hard for them.

Some people don't have the patience or the money to hire a guitar coach who will come to their house a few times per week. A few people like to learn to play the guitar by themselves and that is perfectly fine but it would take a person weeks and even months to get the hang of the basics.

The Internet is now allowing people to learn guitar with online tutorials and videos from actual guitar teachers. No longer do you have to hire a teacher that will come to your house and pay them a high fee to learn to play the guitar.

You can go on the Internet and find many good and solid online guitar courses that will teach you how to play the guitar in less time and have fun at doing that. Guitar playing guides that are on the Internet have been around for some time now. They allow you to learn more then just the basics.

Again, you are going to have fun at the same time.

Learning to play the guitar should be a very fun thing to do for you and the people who are around you such as family members. With the Internet, you can now do all the learning from home and with some great guitar playing videos that make all the process a fun thing to do.

If you are looking for an online guitar playing tutorial and video lessons, you need to know that some of them do require a one time low fee. The cost can start at $39 and can go up to $200. Usually the low cost one involves you getting the training through the Internet. Some products that are close to the $200 mark are based on getting all the training through mail.

So there are many good guitar lessons out there online, but if you are not sure where to start then I am inviting you to visit my link below and see which program I am personally recommending. It is packed with easy-to-follow, step by step video instructions that show you how to play the guitar in great detail.

To learn more about guitar playing, grab your copy of the "Online Insider Secrets to Playing the Guitar!" system right now: http://www.guitar-playing-guide.com/

posted by 70554 @ 12:35 PM 0 comments

Download The Best MP3 Player Music

If you are a big fan of music and need to get access to some of the latest songs on your MP3 player, then now you can download them through the internet.

MP3 players are hip and trendy!

Technology has been developing at a faster pace than ever before and ushered in a new revolution with some of the most innovative products.MP3 players are one such creation that has vastly contributed to the growing popularity of small music devices with vast capabilities of storing files in digital format. The unique advantage of MP3 players is that you can easily carry them anywhere and listen to your favorite songs using Bluetooth devices or a headset.

Besides, it is light-weight and has good storage capacity and comes in different memory sizes. It is the best way to download music using the music sites available on the internet. You can find plenty of interesting music sites on the internet, from where you can download songs to your MP3 player The fees charged by the MP3 music download sites are quite economical and affordable. You need to check for sites that are authentic and genuine and offer good quality music so that there is no threat of any virus or spyware for your MP3 player.

Download music to your MP3 player

The first thing that you need for downloading music to your MP3 player is a good computer which has a USB connection. Besides that you may require some cables for making a connection and also software for downloading purposes. You can follow the simple steps given in the manual for downloading music to your MP3 player as most of them work in a similar fashion.

However, the simplest way would be to just download and transfer all the files to your detachable disk drive and then use the copy paste option. This works well if you are using a computer having USB connectivity. The computer also requires software for recognition of your MP3 player when it is put into the USB drive. If you are using a different computer and do not have the required software, then it is possible to get it on the internet as well.

Some handy tips for downloading music for MP3 player

-Make sure you download music only from internet music sites that carry high ratings which are legally permissible. These sites should have a good collection of songs and if possible, look out for sites that offer free music download trial versions.

-Always remember to download music files from websites that are compatible with your MP3 player device so that you do not waste all your time and effort on something that may not yield good results.

William Saul is the webmaster of Download the Best MP3 Player Music - A full featured online MP3 related site that includes a wide variety of other useful articles on the subject. Visit Today!

posted by 70554 @ 12:09 PM 0 comments

My Morning Jacket - Anytime

Key signatures are a theoretical approach to knowing what scales, chords and ideas you can play during a song without worrying about playing wrong notes. You can use the chords in a song to figure out what key it is in or if you are using regular notation you can simply look at how many sharps and flats or flats there are at the beginning of the clef. Key signatures can be major or minor and be any of the 12 notes of music, such as A minor or C major. Key signatures can give a certain feelings or moods to a song as well, much like major and minor chords.

Circle of Fifths

An easy way to figure out what key your playing in is to use the circle of fifths chart. At the beginning of a sheet of notation music there are a group of sharps or flats. The lines these symbols are on affects the notes on that line for the duration of the song or until the key changes again. To use the circle of fifths chart you can just count how many sharps or flats there are on the staff and compare it to the chart. If your music has 1 sharp, it is F major. Make sure if there are sharps, you use the right side of the chart, since the left side is for flats. If there are 3 flats, the key is Eb major. The numbers inside the circle correspond to the number of sharps (right side numbers) and the number of flats (left side numbers). There are a lot of different style of the circle of fifths charts so make sure you know what chart your looking at and know what everything means.

Keys and Chords

You can also tell what key you're in by studying the chords you're playing. When you're playing just power chords using the root, 5th and 8th notes, you can judge by the root notes of the chords what key you're in. For example, using the chords C5, D5, G5 you could be in the key of Gmaj OR Cmaj since both keys contain the notes C, D, and G. To really narrow down the key you're in, you have to use chords that contain more notes. If you add in the 3rd to each chord it only leaves the key of Gmaj because the third of Dmaj is an F#, which doesn't exist in the key of Cmaj. This shows why keys are important. If you're playing these three chords, C, D, and G, you could maybe get away with playing a Cmaj scale for the melody by leaving out some notes, but it would be more to your advantage to use all the notes of the Gmaj scale.

posted by 70554 @ 11:43 AM 0 comments

Sarah Harmer - Home Soon (The Cherry Song)

The Cure first formed in 1976 and would continue for a few decades afterwards. Much like Fleetwood Mac, The Cure would have a few changes in their lineup, with only one remaining through the entire life of the band. The member who was with the band from the start is Robert Smith, who is the guitarist and main songwriter for the group. The main music genres that The Cure focuses on are post punk, alternative rock, gothic rock and new wave. It is quite a variation that many have enjoyed from listening to The Cure in both the past, present, and more than likely, the future.

Despite the other music genres they play, they become one of the most popular alternative rock bands in the world during the 1990s and have sold millions of albums. In fact, a count done in 2004 calculates that The Cure has sold about 27 million albums since it first formed in 1976. Throughout the life of the band, they have been quick in releasing numerous albums. Looking at the fact that The Cure has released a total of 12 albums and 30 singles in the last two years would prove to just about anyone that they are constantly working on their music. When looking at the history of the band, one can see that they have gone through a number of phases where they focus more on one genre than any other, such as their gothic phase during the early 1980s and the alternative rock phase after 1990. It appears, however, that after their change to alternative rock, they have continued to focus more on that particular genre, quite possibly because it is the more popular genre today. While many still enjoy the other genres, alternative rock is appealing to more of the population than the other genres.

From the time the band was formed until 2008, The Cure had been successful in releasing a total of 13 studio albums that continue to sell, even though all none of the original band has remained, with the exception of Robert Smith. The other current members of the band include Simon Gallup, who has been with the band since 1979, though he took a break from the band in the early 1980s, Porl Thompson, who has been with the band since 1976, and Jason Cooper, who is the newest member after joining in 1995. Aside from the four current members, The Cure has seen eight other members come and go, such as Lol Tolhurst, Michael Dempsey, Perry Bamonte and Roger O'Donnell, to name a few. Each member had their own reasons for leaving the band, such as a loss of interest or the want to search for other interests outside of The Cure. The change in members does not appear to have slowed The Cure down much, if at all. Aside from the music they have put out over the decades, they have completed music videos and have won a few awards. They have been successful for the last thirty years and they will probably continue to be successful until the time comes when the band will dissolve.

Victor Epand is an expert consultant for used CDs, autographed CDs, and used musical instruments. You can find the best marketplace for used CDs, autographed CDs, and used musical instruments at these sites for used the cure CDs and autographed the cure CDs.

posted by 70554 @ 11:17 AM 0 comments

So You Want to be a DJ

There is glitter and glamor, music and dancing. Maybe even your name up in lights on the marque. But at the end of your DJ party, it's time to do the real work. Which is a lead in to this article on why Disc Jockey's deserve and earn every cent they make. It's what's behind the scene that counts and a four hour job can mean many more hours of hard work and a lot less money per hour as the end result.

So many times It has been said by friends, family or future customers "That is an awful lot of money for only four hours work". Yes indeed, I am just getting rich quick for doing nothing but playing some music. It gets under your skin sometimes. If only the truth were known (and if you could get anyone to listen to you), a four hour night would be a sweet dream Indeed.

If you have been a successful DJ for awhile, I am not going to be telling you anything new. If you have considering becoming a professional DJ then I have a few things for you to ponder. If you plan on hiring a DJ please read on.

You buy some equipment to get you going, a good chunk of change, but a good DJ also has backup gear to fall back on in case of an emergency (now it's more than a few bucks). It takes a lot of 4 hour jobs to pay for it. You need to advertise, promote yourself and do a lot of legwork visiting clubs, bars and maybe a few afternoons at some wedding promotion events (you pay for a X booth). You would like to drive a nice sports car but your stuck with that 15 passenger van, not to mention that it gets 12 miles to the gallon.. Every week you jog down to the local record store and buy that much needed CD for $16.95. You know the one that only has one good song that you will ever use. But some guy just has to hear that song the next time you play (then multiply that by 50 people who want a different song). Got to please your fans. A good library of music can set you back a few hundred or thousands of dollars.

You make that appointment to meet with your clients and sign the contract. If your into beat or scratch mixing you spend a bit of time just practicing your art. The weekend comes and your out in the heat or cold (I live in New England) packing your gear in the van. With any luck it's a fairly local gig that you can drive to in about an hour, sometimes it's 3 hours both ways. You will unpack, setup, test the equipment and wait. Because if your a good DJ, then you arrive at the gig with plenty of time to spare. Time that could be used to fix a problem that might have happened but with luck did not or time to make sure your all setup before the guests start arriving. If all goes well, you have got time to wait (bring a book).

So here comes the four hour gig. You play your best music but you also put up with the people who are drunk, the people who request songs but do not know the name of the song or the artist who sang it (you must be a mind reader) and then there are the people who just want you to play some music that you know for sure would just kill the festivities (they won't listen to reason).

Finally it's pay time. Too bad the work is not over. Time to pack up, load the van, drive it home, unpack the van and get to bed. Maybe it's 4:00 in the morning and you have got another gig that night. Maybe all your friends were having a great party (wish you were here)while you was out just playing your music. If your in demand, you have not had a weekend off all year. If you have a day job then you find yourself working a seven day week. Your four hour job can end up taking up to 10 or 12 hours to do. But hey, I just got a big load of cash for only playing music for four hours. The heck with my social life. I am a DJ and I got lots of money (and deep in debt, plus van repair bills) to prove it.

DJ RON B Has over 38 years of on stage experience. A former drummer and singer in many of New England's top show bands, worked with Jerry Lewis and the MDA Labor Day Telethons, radio announcer, studio musician (worked with Miss Piggy original soundtrack, commercials etc.), host of Talent Showcases, writes music scores for submission to TAXI for TV and movie tracks, owned and ran The Bouchard Agency from 1976 to 2002. A top disc jockey for over 25 years. DJ's be sure to check out Ron Bouchard's website at http://www.djdropins.com for great DJ Drops to add to your show. You can also read this entire article at http://www.djdropins.com/articles.html

posted by 70554 @ 10:50 AM 0 comments

So What's the Best Way to Learn Guitar?

While the guitar has been a popular instrument for many years, more and more people are wanting to learn to play it for themselves. Teens may fantasize about becoming the next big rockstar, but there are many people who just want to learn to play the guitar just so they can enjoy making music. So many of these enthusiastic guitar fans don't find the best way to learn guitar however, and after a few fruitless attempts they give up.

Everyone learns a bit differently. Besides that fact, we all have different resources, different schedules, jobs and demands on our time. If you are not making the strides you wish you were, perhaps it is because you haven't found the best way to learn guitar. There are many methods to learn to play this instrument out there. A few are listed below.

Theory Books

There are lots of theory books that you can buy to teach you how to play the guitar. Some are actually very good, and if you learn best this way, an excellent theory book may be the way to go. This method is cheap, and you can learn at your own rate. However, most of us don't do well using this method by itself. If you are patient and determined however, this may be the best way to learn guitar for you.

Video Lessons

You can find video guitar lessons on tapes and DVDs in most music stores as well as online. You may even find some video lessons online, some of which are even free of charge. Learning with a video is dynamic and you may stay more focused. Like the theory books, these lessons allow you to practice whenever it is convenient for you. The only real drawback is that you can't get feedback or personalized attention like you would with a teacher.

Private Lessons

If you have time and money to dedicate to your pursuit, most people are successful if they take private lessons. A good guitar teacher can design a program that is customized to your learning style and you get feedback and one-on-one attention to keep you on track. They can also correct any mistakes you may be making early, so they don't become habits. This is the best way to learn guitar for many people.

Learning by Ear

Some people who were born blessed with natural musical ability find learning the guitar by ear to be fun and effective. With modern technology that allows us to slow down audio, this is a lot easier than it used to be in generations past.

Remember that you should be having fun playing the guitar. If it is more stressful or difficult than you think it should be, it could be the learning strategy you've chosen that is making it this way. If you really want to find the best way to learn guitar, you may need to try many methods before you find the one that you like best. If you have the money and the time to practice regularly, you'll find that having private lessons will be the quickest way to achieve the goal you've set.

Nick Siegal is a professional guitarist and has been a private guitar instructor for over 10 years. To read his own in-depth Guitar Learning Software Reviews head over to guitarlearningsoftware.com. You can also grab some cool free guitar software and video reviews while you're there.

posted by 70554 @ 10:23 AM 0 comments

Blues Music - American Granddaddy of Music Styles

What does American music sound like? You know what the music of Germany, Spain, Ireland, Japan, and many of the other countries of the world sounds like. Each country with its own distinctive culture has an identifiable musical sound that comes from that culture. But what about the United States?

America was settled by people mainly from Europe. The early music of America was basically European music. There was quite a variety of musical forms to be heard and some people might say that is still true in America today. But, there are common elements in todays music that did not exist in the early settlers music.

It was the influence of the African slaves that brought changes to American musical forms. African culture was suppressed through slavery. Their religion, language, and general overall culture was taken away from them. But, since the African culture was one of oral traditions it was impossible to eliminate their entire cultural way of life. Many aspects of their musical heritage were retained.

Before the days of radio, movies, or TV, folks had to entertain themselves. Dances and music in general were the main focus of entertainment in the early settlers lives. Slaves were quick to learn that by becoming musicians themselves, they could somewhat improve their lives because good musicians were valued in those early days. They learned European music and musical instruments of the time. But, to this European music they brought the influence of their own musical culture as well.

There were aspects of the African musical background that were quite different from the Europeans. It would take a book to fully explain those difference, but they can be simplified into two different aspects. One has to do with a more complex rhythm pattern and the other has to do with the variations in notes of the Western musical scale that the Africans added to the music. They brought these variations to both their playing of instruments and their singing. And, in the end white folks grew to like it.

While these influences can be heard in early American music at the beginning of the 19th century especially in church music, it did not develop into a different musical form until after the Civil War. With freedom the African Americans were able to travel and experience a mixture of musical know-how from other white and black musicians. Slowly a new musical style was born. It was called the blues.

There is a lot of misinformation and confusion about how and when the blues began. Even Blues scholars do not agree. But, basically the music of the 19th century, which was mostly played by African Americans on the banjo which was an adaptation of an African instrument, changed at the end of that century when cheap guitars became available. The importance of the guitar was that unlike the banjo it could sustain notes. The blues players goal was to have his instrument mimic the human voice. The guitar, through bending strings and sliding between the notes, could be made to sound like there vocal techniques where notes were sung between the standard Western music notation. This is what the blues was all about.

There is a very important term that must be understood. It is called the Folk Process by music historians. It means simply that music changes. Either one musician or a group will, because their own abilities or creativity, change and interpret songs their own way. That is why there were different musical sounds developed in different parts of the country. Different folks will just play and sing a song if different ways. That is where styles come from. The singing and guitar playing styles popularized by the blues musicians were adapted to other music. This Folk Process is how blues singing and guitar methods became part of the American musical culture.

If you pay attention to modern music you will see that these guitar techniques and vocal phrasings are used is most styles of American music. That can be explained by the fact that most American music of the 20th century evolved from black blues and is mostly just a case of white boys playing the blues. That statement really bugs some folks, but the fact is that no mater what style of music you can name, country, jazz, pop, bluegrass, rock, or whatever, those musical elements that were introduced by slaves and refined by blues players are present. It is what gives the various styles of American music a similar coherent feel. It is all different but somehow the same. It is all rooted in the blues, the granddaddy of American music.

Gene Morgan has been writing about music for nearly 30 years. His articles have appeared in a number of music and heritage puplications. He and his wife Nancy have a Cafepress apparel shop where they feature many music related designs for clothing and specialty items. The shop is called Captured Image Design and can be found at: http://www.cafepress.com/cidgraphics. They also have an unusual music site that gives information about some of their music related activities. The site is called River Bottom Boogie and can be found at: http://members.aol.com/genenancy2/boogie.htm

posted by 70554 @ 9:56 AM 0 comments

The Envy Corps - Wires & Wool

One of the hardest things about choosing the independent route for any artist is how to get your product out to the masses. Rejecting the road the big labels have paved (and blocked!) means that you retain control over your product, but it also means that all of the advertising techniques used by the big guys to flood the market with the latest hit are not available.

It used to be that independent musical artists could start with their local scene and create an in to bigger fame that way, a sort of osmosis effect. However, the modern era has seen a huge rise in conglomeration, where most radio stations, even those touted as local, are in fact owned and their programming controlled by corporations. Like the big labels, these media giants have business, and not necessarily quality, governing the bottom line.

Without being able to count on a lot of local support in the form of airplay, independent artists are now forced to rely on the other tool to get their message out: touring. Again, the life of an indie group in this area is made more difficult due to the lack of support. Venues need to be sought out and sealed by the band or individual themselves, and events are hard-won.

Battle of the bands competitions and side stages at major music festivals have also proved to be effective marketing tools for the promotion of a bands music. It may take a lot of time and effort, but a relentless touring schedule may be the only avenue left for an indie band to make their mark.

Greg Aldrich is the CEO of InBlaze Entertainment, and owner of the Indie Update blog, IndieUpdate.com. He has a passion for helping independent artists and getting the word out about great indie music. This is a sample article from the IndieUpdate blog.

posted by 70554 @ 9:16 AM 0 comments