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There is a project that consists of several different well known artists that is based in France, known as the Africanism All Stars, the All Stars work with different african based artists and acts. This project was launched in France in 2001 and has since then become more popular among many different kinds of people. Some of the most well known artists involved include Tony Allen, Jeff Kellner, Osibisa, and Tom and Joyce!

In 2005 the project was brought to the United States by Tommy Boy Records where they released the first single Summer Moon. Several other singles besides Summer Moon reached number one on the dance hit list as well. Bob Sinclair is the man behind the hit album Africanism III which is the same album Summer Moon is on. Bob Sinclair is a really popular french producer who has great passion for African music.

On the sixteen track, seventy-seven minute non stop dance mix album, Africanism III, Bob Sinclair decided to bring some of the top African musicians and artists as well as French DJs into the mix. This concluded the album with a really hip rhythmic sound which has resulted in the album becoming one of the most popular Africanism “trilogies” yet. Bob Sinclair notes that even though this album is really different from the other albums, that ts still a complete homage to the best African artists on earth.

If you would like to find more info, as well as interviews, lyrics and more online you can take a look at the sites listed below:

Amazon - Africanism III as well as the other albums are available to buy. You can also have a listen to some of the tracks beforehand!

YouTube - Obviously YouTube is the site to go for videos. So if you would like to see a few videos of the Africanism All stars you should check this site out for sure!

LyricsMode - As far as I can tell lyricsmode has the largest amount of lyrics from the All Stars, a lot of the other sites only offered one or two song lyrics, which is nothing compared to all the songs actually available!

Last.FM - Sites like Last FM offer all sorts of different articles, information and interviews. Unfortunately I couldn’t find an “official” site for the All Stars but you could also check out sites like Myspace, and OTHER sites for more information!

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This author is a huge fan of Africanism.com website where you can watch 1000s of music videos.

Article Source: Populate.net

Does the cold, cerebral feel of modern jazz leave you cold? Maybe you’d like to have a little bit of “gospel” in your jazz? Maybe you just want to take an old hymn and give it some updating. Then you’ll need to load yourself with an arsenal of gospel jazz chords.

Gospel jazz chords involve extending the dominant seventh chord with additional tones. The ninth, 11th and 13th chords are all used in gospel jazz. These are extensions of the basic dominant seventh chord. If you don’t know how to form a dominant seventh, here’s the rundown.

The dominant seventh is formed by taking a basic triad, which is 1-3-5, and adding a b7. In the key of C, you would play the notes C, E, G and Bb. The C chord is formed by the C, E and G. The major seventh is B, so you would lower it a half-step to get Bb. Play this chord and notice how it brings to mind some great blues and jazz. The C dominant seventh chord is written as C7.

Now you’re going to learn a bit more theory to understand gospel jazz chords. Since the notes of a major scale are numbered 1-7, where does the ninth tone come from? It comes from extending the scale beyond one octave. After the seventh tone of the scale comes the root, which is considered the eighth tone of the scale. So the ninth tone is the second, only an octave higher. To form a ninth chord, take a dominant seventh and add the ninth.

The 11th and 13th chords are formed in a similar fashion. The 11th tone of the scale is just an octave above the fourth, while the 13th is an octave above the sixth. The 13th is one of the most used gospel jazz chords. By extending chords to these extremes, you’ll hear some interesting tonalities and overtones develop in a well-tuned instrument.

Since every note of these chords is easily played on a piano, the resulting sound may get a little muddy. Some of the tones create a clash with other tones. A clash is when two notes that are a half step apart are played together. Sometimes a clash is useful, while at other times it isn’t. For these reasons, less important tones are often left out of extended gospel jazz chords. Take the ninth chord, for example. The fifth is often dropped from the chord to create a cleaner emphasis on the third, seventh and ninth tones of the chord. Try it and hear the difference.

Though it all seems a bit complex at first, the simple theory of gospel jazz chords comes naturally with a little practice. Try these chords in different keys, leave out different chord tones, and find out what gospel jazz chords sound best to you. These chords are useful in other jazz styles, as well. Even popular music today makes slick use of extended gospel jazz chords. Tasteful use of these chords can spice up even the most ordinary of hymns and gospel songs.

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Duane Shinn is the author of the popular online newsletter on piano chords, available free at “Exciting Piano Chords & Chord Progressions!”

Article Source: Populate.net

Ever since broadband was set up and made readily available to the general public, illegal music downloads have gone through the roof. Today, approximately 95% of all downloads are illegal and some 6.5m broadband users illegally download music on a daily basis.

Earlier this year, the music industry decided that enough was enough and that this multi million pound purge needed to stop. Discussions with John Hutton (The Business Secretary), Andy Burnham (The Culture Secretary) and major internet service providers (ISPs) resulted in tough new proposals governing the illegal download scene.

At this point, it is perhaps worth outlining the law when it comes to downloading music. The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA) is the current UK copyright law and gives the creators of literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works the right to control the ways in which their material may be used. These rights cover broadcast and public performance, copying, adapting, issuing, renting and lending copies to the public. By downloading music files illegally, you are in breech of the copying part of this law.

ISPs have been pressurised into clamping down on persistent illegal downloaders and in June of this year, Virgin Broadband (one of the largest ISPs in the UK) agreed to take steps towards culling downloads. Virgin expect to send out more than 12,000 letters over the course of the summer to internet users warning them to stop their illegal downloads or face restrictions on their service.

So what does this mean for internet downloaders? Well, Virgin are keen not to punish their users, they would rather ‘educate’ them on the wrongs of downloading illegally. Sounds like a cop out and a good way round enforcing the law, but they might not have much choice on this in a year’s time.

Huttin and Burnham, along with bosses from the music industry want tighter rules surrounding illegal downloads. One of the proposals includes placing a 30 GBP annual charge on people who want to download files. This would give users unlimited access to download files from anywhere on the net, without the worry of facing up to law. 30 GBP may not sound a lot, but as Peter Jenner stated; “If you get enough people paying a small amount of money you can turn around the wheels of the music industry.” The funds from these fees are worth almost 1.2bn GBP and would be channelled back to the industry and distributed proportionally back to the relative rights holders.

Obviously looking for the toughest penalties for repeat offenders, industry bosses are calling for a ‘three strikes and you’re out’ policy, similar to the scheme currently employed in France. Persistent offenders would be warned and banned if they didn’t stop. Other proposals include preventative filters which stop the possibility of any illegal download activity or, illegal downloaders’ details being given directly to the music industry for punishment.

Sites like Napster brought illegal downloads to the masses and were relatively untouched by officials for many years until they realised just how much impact illegal downloads were having on the music industry. In 2001, the company were forced to shut down after being found guilty of copyright infringement laws.

Today, Napster is a legitimate trading company and sells downloads instead of offering them for free. iTunes are the biggest players in this market and dominate the scene with a 70% share of legal music downloads. It took less than five years to reach 1bn downloads, and keen to show that legal downloads are the way forward, the company rewarded the downloader, Alex Ostrovsky, with a brand new iMac, ten iPods and a 10,000 USD (5,700 GBP) iTunes voucher. Not a bad return on his 99p investment.

In 2006, the download market really came up trumps when Gnarles Berkley had a hit with Crazy. The song hadn’t even been released on CD when it hit the top spot in the UK charts after Zane Lowe championed the song on his New Music Show.

So will pressure from the industry actually have any effect on downloads? ISPs have already cleared themselves of any wrong doing as they are merely ‘conduits’ of information - they don’t personally hold the files.

Illegal downloads will inevitably continue as new methods of file sharing are discovered and employed. At the end of the day, rules are there to be broken and problems are there to be solved. As long as CDs cost as much as they do, downloaders will see no reason to stop what they are doing. If a CD costs less than 1GBP to produce, the question remains: Why are we charged the earth to purchase them?

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Samantha is an expert Research and Theatre consultant. Her current interests are UK shortbreaks including LEGOLAND Windsor and Alton Towers.

Article Source: Populate.net

The matter of setting up a guitar is not a new vibe, especially if you are a regular reader of my blog. My enthusiasm for a good playing guitar is compelling and becomes infectious to people. One more time, if you want to play at your top level, than your guitar needs to be set-up, or adjusted properly, which is a rarity for a new factory guitar. Needless to say your guitar will sound better too.

Realistically speaking, any equipment that is not in proper working order or out of adjustment is a hindrance to your success and can be frustrating. An out of tune car, runs poorly, gets bad fuel mileage and is not much fun to drive, get it?

Simply put, here are the steps considered to be etched in granite for a competent, quality guitar set-up:

#1. Talk to your customer and find out as much about their playing style as possible. If you have an opportunity to watch them play their guitar, that is an added bonus. Perhaps you can make a recommendation.

#2. Inspection of the whole guitar is imperative, we need to repair anything worn or broken before we actually start our set-up procedure.’Sight’ the neck for straightness and for any warp-age. So the first thing to do is to check the relief, or bow of the neck with a special tool and then adjust the truss rod. Briefly, the guitar must be strung and tuned to concert pitch to check and adjust relief. We go as far as checking relief in the normal ‘playing position’. We try for a flat neck, flat necks play and sound better.

#3. Once the neck is flat the frets must be leveled and dressed up. Meaning that rarely will you find a guitar that all the frets are exactly the same height. If not, we use a precision ground leveling file and make sure the frets are all even, then polish them up with a super fine grade fret dressing file. If you have some custom measurements you would like to use, then this is the time to give them to me.

#3. The act of lowering the string action, meaning, getting the strings the proper distance between the frets and strings is a very precise job, and a mess-up requires a new nut to be cut, so we are very careful at how slowly and accurately we go. Measuring the distance with a dial indicator in a special tool is the most accurate way of checking distance. Other ways such as a feeler gauge is a popular and accurate method as well.

That being said, we use special width diamond files to cut the string notches deeper in the nut, using small increments. Until we have the correct distances set for all strings. We also stagger the heights, to put it in terms you understand, the high E string would be the lowest string, then the B would be two thousands of an inch higher. Each string there after, the B, G, D, A & low E and would receive about the same 2 thousands of an inch in height increase over the string before it. A nice touch that makes the guitar easier to play.

#4. Setting the final height of the strings, which is generally measured at the 12th fret is done by adjusting the tremolo or bridge height. The technicalities of this sort of adjustment vary from guitar to guitar. Don’t discount it, especially if you play a lot of lead above the 12th fret. Either way, it is a difference maker.

#5. Lastly, and with great precision we need to set the intonation. Intonation is a way of making sure it is in tune anywhere on the neck you are playing. Without getting detailed, the guitar is almost impossible to have and keep in perfect tune. Mainly due to the design, where pushing a string down to the fretboard actually stretches the string a bit and therefore makes perfect tune everywhere on the neck impossible. By intonation of the guitar we get the best of both worlds.

#6. Lastly, I play the guitar for a short while, then recheck and readjust my work, wait until the morning and recheck it again. Then I call my customer. When my customer arrives, I have them play it,and make sure they like it too.

Bottom line, don’t get set-up with a guitar that is not set-up. The cost is cheap and the results are “priceless”!

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For more information about Guitar Players Center, Guitar Center or Guitar Upgrades. Feel free to visit our website, ask questions, share it with others, make comments or simply enjoy.

Article Source: Populate.net

The Phoenix based Native American group Clan Destine II are finishing up work on their new album, “Operation Peace” at Trampled Fruit Records right now and are looking to release this much awaited opus sometime soon in the early fall of 2008. They have spent almost every day in the studio since January 2008 and have been working diligently to make “Operation Peace” truly unique!

“Operation Peace” is like no other music around right now, and is unlike anything that the band has released in the past. “This is the first time any of us have tracked like this.” Says David A. Montour, founding member of the original Clan Destine, and the newly revamped Clan Destine II. “Most of these guys have only done live recording, if anything at all.” In the past Clan Destine have done a lot of music with a heavy Native American style and a twist of the blues and pop. But since the line-up has changed, so has the way their new music is being collaborated, tracked and rendered.

Today, Clan Destine II is made up of three of its original members, David A. Montour, Juan “Cano” Sanchez, and Chuck “Riptide” Harris, and relatively new additions Mike de la Torre on drums, Matt Vaiza on turntables and percussion, and Rachel Villa doing vocals. This eclectic mix of Native American, Spanish, blues, hip-hop, rock, reggae and honky-tonk influences make “Operation Peace” one of the wildest trips you’ll ever go on. The album has some really amazing tracks on it that hit you from every angle. “There’s something for everyone” says founding member Cano Sanchez. And he’s right. “Operation Peace” rocks harder than anything that the band has put out in the past, but it still has the subtlety of previous achievements. The album will keep you dancing and entertained through its insane mix of styles and rhythms.

“Almost all of the albums we’ve done in the past have been live recordings on a sound stage” says Sanchez. The band currently has four previous albums, one of the most successful being “Deeply Rooted” (released July 4, 1999). Clan/Destine released their first self-titled album in 1996 on Canyon Records. In 1999 Cano Sanchez released an EP called “Human”, from which some of the songs have been re-recorded for “Operation Peace”. And in 2000 Clan/Destine released “Amajacoustic”. While each of these previous albums was a success, none of them have come close to the style and freedom achieved on “Operation Peace”.

Since beginning their venture with Trampled Fruit Records in December of 2007 with a recording for the documentary “Poison Wind”; a single titled “Breeze In The Wind”, the band has had the unique opportunity to record in a much more relaxed environment and really take their time with every track. By tracking each instrument and voice individually, and by taking time with every song they can hone and perfect every instrument and voice like they never could before. Much of this is because of the benefit of recording in a higher end project studio like Trampled Fruit. This kind of recording gives you nearly the same sound and quality as the large, high-end studios, but without the huge overhead and expense. With this set-up the band is able to record a full-length album over a period of 8 months for less than a third of the cost of a full-scale production studio. The technology of the day allows artists to truly use the studio as their canvas in a way they never could before.

As of August Clan Destine II has entered the final phase of recording and are currently mixing and preparing to master “Operation Peace” This ground breaking album really does have what it takes to move Clan Destine II to the top of the charts and do for tomorrow’s music, what the Pixies and Nirvana did for grunge!

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Adam Benson is the CEO and head engineer of Sleep Deprived Productions and Trampled Fruit Records. Trampled Fruit is a high end project studio in Phoenix Arizona. To learn more check them out at
http://www.TrampledFruit.com

Article Source: Populate.net

Lyrics or the words of a song are one of the most important parts of a song. The words of a song form the most recognizable part of a song and they can be considered as the meat of the song. Background beats, voice of the lead singer, sound of guitar are some of the important parts of a song but the lyrics are the most recognizable part of a song. They are an integral part of any music tune and they turn a song into an appealing song.

It takes good amount of time to come up with appealing and meaningful words for a song and it would be a mistake for any artist to take lyrics lightly. Lyrics have a significant importance and so, it’s very important to take them seriously. When someone listen a song on radio, he’s likely to remember some key lines of the song instead of the background beats and other sounds. It’s much easier to recognize a song with the help of its words instead of using the drum beats to recognize it.

However, the background music is equally important and it should not be neglected. A good song is a song with appealing lyrics and background beats. People usually relate their own life with lyrics of the song, and some people enjoy songs that convey some message or have some meaning. So, it’s very important for an artist to take lyrics seriously. An artist should spend quality time to make sure that the song has appealing lyrics.

It’s very important to understand the words of a song in order to understand the meaning of the song. Some people find it tough to remember the lyrics completely and this is the reason why most of the artists publish the lyrics. Some artists usually giveaway lyrics with the CD, and some artists publish lyrics on their web sites. Also, there are a number of web sites that maintain a collection of lyrics. Some web sites charge a small fee for providing the music lyrics whereas some web sites provide lyrics for free. So, if you’re looking for lyrics of a particular song then you should use the Internet to find the lyrics.

However, you should make sure that you use a legitimate web site for finding and downloading lyrics as there are a number of web sites which provide lyrics without the artist’s permission. Also, a number of web sites use different kinds of spyware to infect an end-user’s system. They try to infect the user’s system so as to collect the personal information of the user. So, an individual should use reputed web sites for finding and downloading lyrics.

An individual should use web sites which provide legal and licensed music lyrics. It is also safe to use web sites which provide licensed music lyrics. A simple web search can get you hundreds of web sites which provide music lyrics and you can also use the reviews to find a reputable site. It is also very easy to search lyrics on a web site as a search box is usually available on a web site. An end-user needs to fill-in the required details in the search box in order to search the lyrics of a particular song.

At the end, the words of a song are very important as people remember songs by the words, and you can use the Internet to find the music lyrics.

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If you want to find the Lyrics for a particular song visit our database of Song Lyrics.

Article Source: Populate.net

The guitar solo is something that is synonymous with rock music. There have been countless rock guitarists come and go over the years, all with a unique take on what makes a great solo. For as many guitarists as there are playing solos there are far more people listening and forming opinions on them. No one will ever agree on what their favourite guitar solos are, but here are ten of mine in no particular order.

1. For the Love of God by Steve Vai. The seventh song on his breakthrough 1991 album, Passion and Warfare, For the Love of God is often held up to be Steve Vai’s best work. The song is essentially one long guitar solo and covers almost all aspects of Vai’s playing. An inspiration when I first heard it, it was the piece that really showed me the depth of emotion that was possible to convey while playing guitar.

2. Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd. Often revered as having one of the best guitar solos of all time, the guitar playing in Comfortably Numb is outstanding. Pages and pages have been written about this solo, but for me it showed how effective blues phrasing could be in a rock setting. The big draw for me here was the tone as well, Dave Gilmour uses compression wonderfully well to give a warm and punchy tone that fits the song absolutely perfectly.

3. Beat It, solo by Eddie Van Halen. A great song that really comes to life with Van Halen’s guitar solo mid way through. Eddie Van Halen was the defining guitarist of the 1980s and opened up so many techniques and ideas that would be copied endlessly. He has recorded countless amazing solos across his career but I feel that the one in Beat It is among his best. It’s only short but is a pure explosion of his style showcasing breathtaking technique, style, tone and phrasing. If you ever want to discover why Van Halen is such a great guitarist then just listening to this solo should be enough.

4. Always With Me, Always With You by Joe Satriani (live version). I’m picking the extended live version from the Satriani Live! DVD rather than the studio version for this, mainly for Satriani’s wonderful improvisation section at the end of the track. This song showcases just why Joe Satriani is such a good guitar player. I’ve heard several different live versions of this song, as well as having seen him live a few times in person and he plays just as well every single time. The song is a masterclass in how to solo melodically and tastefully. Satch never makes a mistake either, and everything he plays is done to absolute perfection. You won’t find a better played guitar solo, and I doubt you’ll find a better player either.

5. Nottingham Lace by Buckethead. I only recently started listening to Buckethead, so it’s hard for me to pick out one solo in particular given that he excels in so many different styles. I picked Nottingham Lace out because it is a marvelous display of his technique as well as his melodic playing. Well worth a try and I’m looking forward to discovering the rest of his back catalogue.

6. Wonderful Slippery Thing by Guthrie Govan. Guthrie Govan is nowhere near as famous as he should be. An English guitar player, he is absolutely phenomenal, with a complete mastery of his instrument and a remarkable ability to play across a huge range of styles. I picked this song as it has been his strongest for many years, and the version on his recent album, Erotic Cakes, showcases his fluid style. A great player, hopefully soon he’ll get the recognition he deserves.

7. Goodnight Kiss by John Petrucci. While John Petrucci is most widely known for his lightning fast alternate picking this solo shows that he can pick out some beautiful phrases when playing in a more restrained style. The solo plays smoothly over changes and changes the style of the song superbly to blend into the next track, Solitary Shell. Petrucci is a great guitarist who has managed to blend blues and metal into a unique style, and I feel that this solo is one of his best.

8. Bliss by Paul Gilbert. Again with a player like Paul Gilbert I found it hard to narrow it down to one solo. I knew I wanted something from him in here, but was unsure what exactly. In the end I just picked my favourite song, which also happens to have some fantastic guitar playing in it as well. On Bliss Gilbert shows his Hendrix influence as well as considerable restraint, playing fast just where it is needed for maximum impact. A great player with a fantastic attitude to music.

9. Soma by Billy Corgan. This is pretty much the guitar solo that really started me playing. My biggest early influence was the Smashing Pumpkins, and in particular the album Siamese Dream. The solo in Soma stands out as one of Corgan’s best and is played to perfection as the song reaches its peak.

10. Bold as Love by Jimi Hendrix. A little cliched to include Hendrix perhaps, but his influence on guitar playing is unquestionable. In a similar situation to Paul Gilbert I was unsure of which to pick so in the end just picked my favourite song. Often overlooked for some of his more famous songs I actually feel that Bold as Love displays Hendrix’ songwriting at its strongest, of course it helps that is also has the fantastic guitar work you’d expect from him too.

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Patrick is an expert Research and Travel consultant. His current interest is in Gatwick parking at Gatwick parking NCP, Gatwick Maple Manor and Pink Elephant Stansted.

Article Source: Populate.net

The original material girl Madonna recently announced plans to tour Spain in September 2008. Her Spanish shows will include a show on 16 September in Madrid, which will be followed by a show two days later at the Cheste Race Track in Valencia.

Madonna is currently on tour to support her latest album, Hard Candy, which was released on 29 April 2008. Hard Candy is her 11th studio album with Warner Brothers. It is the follow up album to Confessions on a Dance Floor, which sold over eight million copies worldwide and debuted at number one on the charts in thirty countries.

Hard Candy expands on the clubby dance anthems of Confessions on a Dance Floor. On the new album, Madonna collaborates with the top names in modern dance music, like Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, Pharrell Williams of The Neptunes and Nate ‘Danja’ Hills.

The first single off the album, entitled ‘4 Minutes’ is a collaboration with Timberlake and Timbaland. It was released on 17 March. It earned Madonna her 37th Billboard Top 100 hit, making her the artist with the most Top 10 hits in the history of the chart. The record was previously held by Elvis Presley. In the UK, the song was Madonna’s thirteenth number one single, retaining her record for the most number one singles for a female artist.

Madonna’s career in the entertainment industry began when she left her hometown in the suburbs of Detroit to become a ballet dancer in New York City. She arrived in the Big Apple with only $35 in her pocket. She often states that the move was the bravest thing she’d ever done.

She soon became romantically involved with musician Dan Gilroy, and they formed a band called Breakfast Club. Madonna sang and played drums and guitar. In 1980, she formed another band called Emmy with former boyfriend Stephen Bray. This project caught the attention of New York’s club scene, and a local dj passed their demo along to Sire Records executive Seymour Stein.

Madonna was soon signed to the label. By 1983, she released a self-titled debut solo album. Over the course of the 1980’s, she released three consecutive albums that made their way into the Billboard Top 200.

Since the early days of her career, Madonna has been a pop icon and a fashion trendsetter. Her success is due in part to her ability to transform her image. From naughty girl to children’s book author, Madonna has been everything in between over the course of the last three decades.

Madonna has been dubbed ‘The Queen of Pop’ by music journalists. She is the top-earning female musician in the world with an estimated net worth of over $400 million US dollars, according to Guinness World Records. With over 200 million albums sold, she is the top selling female artist of the twentieth century.

In March 2008, she was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Fans in Spain and the world over are sure to enjoy her upcoming tour dates in support of her new album.

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More information about Spain, including the island of Lanzarote can be found at yourlanzarote.net

Details include Lanzarote holidays along with flights to Lanzarote

Article Source: Populate.net

A huge studio full of equipment isn’t what you need anymore, in fact, you could do most of the production and post-production elements of a song with just a well-equipped computer! What’s important is finding a piece of equipment to separately record each instrument on it’s own track, and there are many such devices priced pretty cheap, and most of them are now specialized to interface with your computer and record directly in!

Let’s say you are working with a band, aside from that recording equipment, you also need to have proper microphone equipment for each individual piece, and you also should invest in a vocal booth to isolate the vocals for a clean mix at the end. This is especially important with the drums as well, unless you plan on fixing them post-production.

These days, you can find pop-guards, and even movable vocal booth walling that can make this easier than you realize. Sometimes artists only do the vocals, and have all the instrumentation done elsewhere, by a band in a studio or a producer across the world! Home recording makes each take less stressful, as you don’t have to worry about hourly rates when recording your masterpieces. Now you may be curious as to which software to use when doing home recording. Well, it depends on what you want to do really.

Now you see, I’m going to first approach it like you’re the average instrument player in a group. People in that boat aren’t going to be too concerned with post-production, and simply want to record their jam sessions, and perhaps turn the vocals up for their singer. If that’s all you’re trying to do, your basic set-up with a computer and a recording interface should do it, as it’ll either be a computer add-on or an external addition, either way it’s job is to record what you’re inputting.

Those devices always come with software like Nuendo or ProTools that’ll be just fine for basic recording. Now if you’re concerned with mastering and a polished sound, that’s where post-production is absolutely key. Some things aren’t on time as perfect as they should be, post-production can pull sounds and fix any discrepancy left by the live recording.

Drums are typically reworked in post-production to give a louder, crisper feel. Any kind of samples that come to mind can be added on, and rhythmically if the producer has the skill, etc. For that kind of work I suggest using Renoise and Acid. Acid is also particularly useful in doing remixes if you have to know-how to cut your sample pieces into loops.

In general, every song that you are putting out there also needs to be mastered. What that does *basically* is make your song sound similar to other songs on the radio (volume-wise mostly). Now you can pay for expensive mastering services, but the rule of thumb on the issue is to just use a program like Mp3gain and make it too loud. Strangely enough, too loud is the same volume all popular songs you enjoy will register at, try it for yourself!

Also when you have your finished mp3, use Wavelab or Goldwave to cut it down, as you don’t want to have an excessive amount of silence before or after the song.

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Chris Jensen is a contributing author of Jetfly Shop. For more related articles and views visit Jetfly Music Blog now. Also, for the best up-to-date related online products, check out Jetfly Pro Audio Shop for todays current online deals.

Article Source: Populate.net

The graceful flourishes of a well-played piano masterpiece are sounds that many people would love to create. From trained professionals to child prodigies, a brilliantly

played piano can steal the show. But great lessons are costly and involve scheduling time away from your busy life. So how do you learn how to play the piano or deepen your

knowledge of the instrument?

Piano workbooks can provide a solid foundation in theory, an effective practice routine, and piano classics in one package. If you don’t have the time or money for lessons,

consider buying a few piano workbooks.

The obvious advantages of piano workbooks are the ability to set your own pace and practice at your convenience. Just sit down at the bench after dinner, crack open the

book, and hear your playing improve.

The only downside is that you must develop self-motivation to flourish when studying from piano workbooks. Like any great discipline, you must develop some kind of regimen

to progress. With a teacher, you’ll always have someone keeping track of how well you’re doing. By studying from a workbook, you’ll have to keep an eye on your own

progress.

Piano workbooks range from those that focus on the basics to those that provide a comprehensive explanation of musical theory. The best offer a good amount of theory,

exercise and musical notation. Whatever type of study you are seeking, there are certainly several piano workbooks available that suit your needs.

Some piano workbooks may be a look and listen experience. They may come with CDs that let you hear the examples listed in the book. This is great for the unsure learner who

may need more than just text to explain a concept. It’s also wonderful for hearing how an exercise is supposed to be played or how a particular piece is intended to sound.

Many books give examples of practice methods. Be sure to follow their instructions so that you don’t overexert your hand muscles, especially if you are a beginner or trying

advanced techniques. Warm-up your hands with simple and light playing for a little while before going into an extended run across the keyboard.

Workbooks also contain essential piano pieces that combine theory and technique into music. The pieces provided range from simple pop songs to classical standards that will

put your skills to the test. Piano workbooks often include biographical information on the composers of each piece so that you can learn the history of the instrument.

Besides simply playing, a deep understanding of the piano and pieces composed for it provides an appreciation for musical history.

Piano workbooks can offer an extensive training course to anyone willing to invest the time. Since they’re often compiled by a company, they contain more information than

any one person can offer. Though a book can’t make you practice, they can be a benefit to dedicated students. So when you decide to fancy yourself a pianist and set out to

master the works of Franz Liszt, consider the tutelage that piano workbooks can offer.

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Duane Shinn is the author of the popular online newsletter on piano chords, available free at “Exciting Piano Chords & Chord Progressions!”

Article Source: Populate.net