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Have you ever done any of the following?

1. Made excuses for not practicing because you “didn’t have time”?
2. Practiced the same licks and exercises that you did last year?
3. Felt like you had hit a brick wall in your progress?
4. Felt unsure as to what to practice?

Unless your name is Steve Vai, chances are you’ve done at least one of the above!

They are all symptoms of having a lack of vision.

What do I mean by vision? Vision in
this context is having a clearly defined picture in your mind’s eye of how you would
like to play. It must be a crystal clear, exciting and inspiring picture!

Without an absolutely clear picture of what you would ideally like to sound like, you
will not know what you need to practice in order to realise that vision. You will also
probably lose the drive and motivation to practice daily for many years until you can
play like your vision. You may even start using the loser’s mantra which is “I don’t
have time to practice”.

Exercise One:
Think about how you would like to play in 10 years time. Close your eyes and try to
see yourself playing exactly how you would like to play. Write down what you see now.

Make sure that it is detailed. What techniques are you a master of?
What songs can you play? What bands are you in? How many students do you
teach? How does it feel when you play like you do?

Exercise Two:
Now write down what areas of your playing you will need to start
working on in order to reach your vision. What techniques do you need to start
practising? What chords do you need to learn? What music theory do you need to
start learning about? Do you need to start doing ear training? What books, teachers,
CDs and other tools will help you realise your vision? How much time every day do
you think you will need to practise in order to play like you want to play?

Exercise Three:
Spend 10 minutes a day for the next 30 days imagining yourself playing exactly
how you would like to play. Do this with your eyes shut. Don’t worry, it won’t make
you want to start eating tofu or go around the neighborhood hugging trees!

At the end of every time you do this, write down one small new detail about your
vision. By the end of 30 days you should be feeling so excited that you’ll want to practice 24/7!

Copyright©2005 by Craig Bassett. All Rights Reserved.

Craig Bassett (The GuitarSolutionsExpert) is a professional guitarist, guitar tutor and author.

http://www.pentatonic-guitar-lessons.com

The music world is big, really big, but the potential and ability around is truly magnificent and the world always provides you with a platform to express yourself and unleash your potential.

In order for you to do that, it’s essential for you to realise what’s special about you and what makes you who you are and why you can share what you know.

Let me share with you a short story…

It was a Saturday night and Joseph went to see a play. The play was of the famous musical Grease and featured 1000 actors. He was in the audience in the big theatre consisting of over 700 people. It was a magnificent play, and as it came to an end, all the actors and actresses came onto stage. There were 1000 in total, but there was something in peculiar and that was that only one of them really stood out and only she was really remembered. Perhaps you’d be drawn to the blue-haired man or green-haired child but Joseph was really drawn towards the misty-blue woman with the long black hair in the deep blue cape with half her face hidden, standing silently at the edge of the stage.

What I’m trying to convey here is that to be remembered for your music and who you are in the music world, you must have something special to convey out there. What is it that will distinguish you from the rest of the musicians? For example, you may be a guitarist like the others out there, but what’s special about you is the style you play, or the way you pluck a chord, or the way you dress, or perhaps the way you show yourself. The list and possibilities are endless and that’s why you are remembered. A famous example would be our good friend Michael Jackson whose moonwalk was a famous branding identity and helped his music stand out.

Take some time out to write or think about what’s important to you in your music and what would make you stand out from a 1000 people standing on stage. Think about why people would remember you. Why should they remember you? What can you give them? Ask yourself if you’re being a strong enough version of YOU, or if you’re just in the hideout not wanting people to experience who you really are and the magic you can produce.

Once you’ve understood what you want, it’s extremely useful to define your presence in the music scene as you would want it on a piece of paper so that you can get your thoughts clear. Perhaps even write it in big and stick it near your bedside or on a place where you can see it. Bring out all your quirks.

(P.S. The most memorable actor on stage might be the one that gets off the stage, walks up to your seat, and gives you a kiss.)

© Kavit Haria, The Musicians’ Coach

Kavit Haria is The Musicians’ Coach. Kavit is the director of
InnerRhythm, a company that prides on providing success solutions for
musicians worldwide. Kavit sends out a musician development newsletter to
over 2000 musicians in 16 countries every fortnight to help them achieve
their desired results. Sign up now and experience the huge benefits from
www.innerrhythm.org

In the beginning, hip hop was nothing more then a positive movement for those in a negative struggle. The beats were infectious yet simple, the rhymes were elementary yet profound. The pioneers of the hip hop culture gave the urban centers a gift. A gift that was intended to be used as a platform for the poor and hopeless! Hip hop was something pure and innocent that wasn’t meant to be commercialized nor was it meant to be abused with profanity and vulgarities. I often wonder what the pioneers of this industry think when they see their gift not only being abused but also neglected and sold to the highest bidder. Hip hop is at a stage where it is as successful as it has ever been yet the people who have followed it since the beginning are not joyful.

Let’s face it! Money is the bottom line in every business. Whether that business has pure intentions or not, at the end of the day it comes down to how much revenue that particular business has generated. The trickiest aspect of all of this is trying to nurture an art and keeping it pure while still having it create revenue. This is more evident in the world of music as a whole but more so in hip hop then any other artistic field. Quite frankly, a painter paints! No one can dictate to a painter what it is exactly that they should be painting that day. If you are familiar with business you may have heard of a term called supply and demand. It states that in order to have a product to supply to society there must be a demand for it. Hip hop has skated on a slippery slope with this issue for a very long time and it has gotten to the point where the artists themselves may feel they are in control but in actuality they are just puppets being controlled by strings.

What has hip hop become? If you were to turn on your radio or television you’d find that not only do most hip hop videos resemble each other but the lyrical content is quite similar as well. If they are not talking about women in a derogatory fashion they are talking about how much money and cars they have. You’re probably asking what the problem here is since they should be allowed to express themselves. The fact of the matter is hip hop was created as a pure art form. People would be shocked to know that the cars and jewelry the hip hop artist sport in their videos is actually rented! Yes, you read that correctly. They do not own it, nor do they live the lifestyle they talk about. They have turned what was once pure into a facade. You might ask how it is possible that an entire industry has nothing different to say. That’s where most of society is wrong. There are many hip hop artists out there that would love to talk about something positive but the platform no longer exists. The music industry has made it so that if you’re not supplying what they feel the audience is demanding (sex, vanity and violence) you will not sell. Therefore no one really with anything of substance is getting signed which results in them not having a level playing feel to be heard.

When the pioneers of hip hop look at what it has become, they shake their heads in disbelief, as it is merely impossible to grasp how far hip hop has swung in the opposite direction of what it was intended to do. It wasn’t intended to brag about your money nor was it meant to be a marketing tool for big wig companies, it was intended for you to be able speak from your heart. It’s a forgone conclusion that hip hop can never become what it once was. My only question is to the hip hop artist who are about to come out. Can you please just say something?

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Hip Hop

The very first guitar I ever played was a Candy Apple Red Fender Stratocaster. It was love at first touch. I wanted that guitar SO bad. I grew up listening to Eric Clapton, David Gilmore and Jimmy Hendrix, and during my college years I was a huge fan of Stevie Ray Vaughn. The Fender Stratocaster was the guitar of choice for these incredible guitar players and many more.

My tasted in guitars evolved as I learned, and I discovered that every guitar had their own personality in my hands. Some were sassy and bright, others were bad and loud, and still others just wanted to sing the blues. One of the coolest parts about owning a music store was being able to play thousands of different guitars of all makes and styles.

But my roots have always been with the Fender Strat. The secret to the amazing tone for the Strat lies in the traditional single could pickups, two piece body and the types of tone woods used to make the guitar. Fender offers the same pickups played by Jimmy Hendrix, or Eric Clapton. Fenders custom shop ‘69 pickups will do the trick, or if you’re into Stevie Ray Vaughn you need Fenders Tex-Mex specials.

Probably the best way to play the same guitar as your guitar heroes is to purchase their signature model. Fender has signature models available for Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Robert Cray, Robin Trower, Rory Gallagher, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Buddy Guy, Yngwie Malmsteen, Eric Johnson and more.

Rather a “c” or “v” neck dressed up in maple or rosewood, nothing feels like a Stratocaster and nothing plays or sounds the same. In everyone’s life a little rain must fall, and in every guitarist life a Stratocaster must be played.

Strat’s are best known for their warm unique tone, but not all Strat’s are created equally. The tonal range will depend on the tone woods used in the neck and body as well as the type and configuration of pickups. When selecting a Strat to purchase take your time and research the various online forums to learn everything about the model you want to purchase. You may even want to visit your local retailer and play a few, just to get a better feel for the playability of the model you desire. Sometimes you may find that what you think you want and what you really like are quite different. Once you are convinced of what you HAVE TO HAVE, you should check out the various online retailers. In most cases you will find better prices on line then at your local store.

Buying your Strat will be one of the best days of your life. So enjoy every moment and remember that you are not purchasing just a guitar, you are purchasing something from your dreams.

Bill McRea is the publisher of The Guitar Warehouse and The Fender Guitar Shop. Both sites offer free lesson and product sales.

Energized by his success of the 68 TV Special and the fact that he “still had it” in front of a live audience, Elvis then fell into one of those great bits of serendipity that would become a hallmark of his recording career.

Influenced by his Memphis Mafia buddies who had connections to American Recordings studio in Memphis, in 1969 Elvis decided to skip returning to Nashville and to record in his hometown for the first time since 1955. The resulting sessions, directed by producer/studio owner Chips Moman and initially released as “From Elvis in Memphis” now ranked just below his “Sun Studio Recordings.”

In 1966, Marty Lacker (Memphis Mafia) took a promising position with a company called Pepper Records. Before long he was doing production work with Chips Moman at American Sound Studios, where Red West, Elvis’s childhood friend was doing session work.

American Studios was literally located in the Memphis ghetto. After King’s assassination, Memphis was a tense place to be, especially in the black neighborhoods. So Moman kept dogs around and occasionally put a guard on the roof armed with a shotgun to watch over the parking lot.

Lacker knew American’s sound was right for Elvis. It was more commercial than their rival, soul oriented Stax. Chips’ technique was also state of the art. He would cut a rough vocal track with the rhythm section, setting the structure and tone of the song. Later he would sweeten the track by adding horns or strings. The artist would then be called back in to lay down the main vocal tracks.

Whenever Lacker mentioned how great working with Chips would be, Elvis would say, “Well, I’ll think about it,” or “One of these days soon we’ll try it.” While Moman would gaud Lacker asking, “When are you going to tell Elvis to let me produce a record?”

Well it wasn’t two minutes before Felton came out and said “Elvis wants to see you. He wants to talk to you about cutting in Memphis.”

Elvis wanted to begin on Monday, but Neil Diamond had been scheduled in that slot. And Elvis worked at night, through the early hours of the morning.

Lacker called Chips at his home to let him know that Elvis was willing to give American a go. He let him know the constraints, emphasizing that it had to be a closed session, no guests, no publicity.

Chips’ take charge, no bullshit attitude ruled out any serious input in the studio. Parker could only send Diskin and RCA vice-president Harry Jenkins to the sessions to make sure everyone on the gravy train was having his interests considered.

Fike was selling one song,“Kentucky Rain” by Eddie Rabbitt and Dick Heard, that he had a really good feeling about.

Elvis wasn’t too impressed, but Fike was persistent. It was a smart call and Fike would very pleased with himself when “Kentucky Rain” was released in 1970, it stayed nine weeks in the top 100, reaching #16.

Chips began to prepare for Elvis. He pulled songs from his own library he knew Elvis could sink his teeth into. Some he had cut with other artists, some hadn’t worked out just right.

“Suspicious Minds was one. Chips had recorded it with the song’s writer Mark James in 1968 for Scepter, but the record never made the charts. Chips thought he had a good chance with Elvis whose voice and intensity were perfect for the song.

When the time came to cut the tracks, Chip used same arrangement as with James (played by the same band), believing that only Elvis was the missing ingredient to a hit record. He was right. It was the last time Elvis would have a number one record on the Hot 100. Full Version see: http://www.elvispresleynews.com/ChipsMorman.html

For more Elvis visit: http://www.elvispresleynews.com
For the Definitive Elvis Biography visit: http://www.elvis-presley-biography.com
For Debt Solutions & Budgeting Tips visit: http://www.debt-help-solutions.com

Make a decision in the New Year to choose gifts that invest in your child’s future and you and your kids can look forward to an honest return for your money. Piano lessons are among the best educational investments you can make in your child’s future because they improve overall educational progress as well as build a fun, life-long skill. Here’s some ideas for the New Year so that when another holiday or birthday rolls around you’ll be prepared to make a smart investment in your child’s future.

1. A Piano or Keyboard -

The first place to start investing in your child’s musical education is with a piano. There are lots of options, just choose the best piano or keyboard you can afford and you can feel good about your decision.

2. Keyboard Stand and Bench -

If you choose a keyboard be sure to get a stand and a bench to go along with it. Learning to sit at the piano with good posture and balance is important to success, so don’t try to do without these.

3. Piano Bag to Keep Music Organized -

Organization is important. You don’t want your child going to their lessons without the music books they will need. Keeping everything in a piano bag ensures that your child will get the most from their lessons.

4. Piano Journal to Record Goals and Progress -

Help your child in piano set goals and keep track of their progress by learning to keep a journal.

5. A Metronome to Aid Sight Reading and Counting -

Metronomes are great for helping kids in piano improve their sight reading ability and learn to keep a steady beat.

6. Piano Books and Sheet Music -

A New music book or special piece of sheet music will add energy and enthusiasm to your child’s piano lessons and help them to set goals to learn new music. Don’t force your children to play the music you like, however, but listen to what motivates your child.

7. Musical Inspirational Gifts -

Musical jewelry, stickers, pencils, bookmarks, etc. great ways to reward and encourage your child’s musical efforts with a little surprise they won’t be expecting.

8. Musical Games & Activities You can Play with Your Kids -

Why not use music to have more family time and fun with your children. Musical games make piano fun for the whole family while learning together.

9. Concert Tickets to Create Musical Memories with Your Children -

Take your kids to a piano concert or symphony. This is a great way to make a musical memory with your children that will inspire them to reach their musical dreams.

10. Classical Piano CDs Your Whole Family will Enjoy -

Having a nice collection of CDs is a great way to support your child’s piano journey. Familiarity brings comfort to children. The more familiar they are with different styles of music, the easier it is for kids to learn the new music their teacher will assign.

Keep these gift ideas handy and and remember to invest in your child’s future in a consistent way that will pay off over the New Year.

For great home piano activities parents can use to help children ages 5 to 11 develop their musical talent, visit Piano Adventure Bears Music Education Resources You’ll find a treasure box filled with piano resources to create an exciting musical adventure for your child - right in your own home! Visit their website and subscribe to their f’ree internet newsletter so you can download f’ree piano sheet music and mp3s of original piano compositions.

These exciting stories, games, piano lessons, and inspirational gifts feature the Piano Adventure Bears, Mrs. Treble Beary and her new piano student, Albeart Littlebud. Young students follow along with Albeart to learn what piano lessons are all about in a fun way that kids readily understand appreciate. Click here to visit PianoAdventureBears.com For a wealth of information about piano lessons, visit tallypiano.com.

If you are a fan of ‘American Idol’, or just a casual observer, you may wonder whether the system for choosing the final winner really selects the most talented performer.

‘American Idol’ is the popular TV phenomenon, and spin-off of the U.K. reality series called ‘Pop Idol’. The goal of this show is to find the BEST undiscovered talent in the U.S. and reward them with a recording contract from one of the BMG record labels (a company owned by the producer of the ‘American Idol’ television show).

But, does this show produce the most talented, most deserving singer at the end of the season?

Before you answer that question, consider all the variables that affect who goes on to appear on the next week’s ‘American Idol’ show, and who, ultimately, becomes the singer to take home the coveted ‘American Idol’ prize (the recording contract).

Let’s start with the early auditions. These are held in selected cities across the United States. If you don’t live in one of those cities, you are not likely to get to audition (so we’ve cut out quite a few talented people in that first selection).

Secondly, a panel looks at thousands of people who line up in the convention center in the city selected for an audition visit. This panel chooses contestants based on singing ability AND on human interest and novelty, or humor.

This selection is designed to make the early audition shows more interesting, funny and entertaining so that people won’t turn off the TV before the competition gets to the finalists. THEN, producers choose a certain number of contestants to appear before the judges.

This is the FIRST time the ‘American Idol’ judges have seen any of these contestants, and already there may be many talented people left in the dust in favor of someone who is SO bad that the ‘American Idol’ TV audience may find them humorous and like to watch them for that reason.

After all the city auditions are completed, auditions are held in Hollywood and a final selection is made for the initial shows. Although the age limit was raised in the fourth season, the age limitation is still below age 30, so many very talented contestants are ruled out based on age alone. This is because MOST of the ‘American Idol’ viewers are young and the producers don’t feel that an older contestant would be interesting to a younger viewer.

Finally, the ‘American Idol’ contestants parade their talents in front of the panel of judges and the TV audience. And here is where the question of talent really SHOULD come into play - but often does not! Although the judges provide feedback to the contestants on ways to improve their performance, and each contestant works with a coach throughout the week to prepare the song they will sing that week on the ‘American Idol’ broadcast, the final decision on who stays and who goes lies with the voters. Unlike the American political process, voters are not allowed just ONE vote to express their opinion. They may call in or text message as many votes as they wish within the prescribed voting period for their time zone.

In most communities, teenagers talk to their friends and influence one another to vote for one ‘American Idol’ contestant. Blogs and message boards and web sites discuss the finer points of the performer’s clothes, hair cut and looks. ‘American Idol’ talent is judged by less than professional knowledge of vocal talent, and many contestants struggle to learn proper vocal technique from the coaches backstage even as teens are text messaging their fingers off to vote for what may be described by some as ’screaming’ instead of singing. So, it can be said that the final contestants are chosen by popularity contest, rather than by singing talent.

Even as very talented people are voted off the show, other ‘American Idol’ contestants will go on to the next show, because they are more ‘popular’ with the teenage audience, or because some very enterprising group of kids decided to push their favorite ‘American Idol’ contestant over the top by text messaging 200 votes.

So, after all of those variables are considered, can it be said that the most talented ‘undiscovered’ singer will be awarded the coveted ‘American Idol’ recording contract? Perhaps it would be more appropriate to say that the luckiest, most popular person in the appropriate age range will win!

Visit our web site to learn everything you need to know about American Idol and all of your favorite contestants: http://www.americanIdol.musicacme.com

Electronic drums simulate acoustic drums produce acoustic drum sounds that can sound like drums or emit sounds that don’t sound like a drum at all. These sounds can also be any other instrument sounds including keyboard, guitar, bass, horns, etc.

Electronic drums simulate acoustic drums produce acoustic drum sounds that can sound like drums or emit sounds that don’t sound like a drum at all. These sounds can also be any other instrument sounds including keyboard, guitar, bass, horns, etc.

A set of electronic drums usually has four drum pads, on hi-hat pad, two cymbal pads, a hi-hat pedal, a sound module and a bass trigger or pad. A bass petal has to be purchased separately, as well as a sound module. Cymbal pads are shaped like a real cymbal and are made of a rubber coated material. They usually come with a sensor that senses when you squeeze them to stop the sound.

There are some obvious reasons why people often prefer electronic drum sets. They can be silent when practicing anywhere, and you can play as loud as you want using headphones. You can add digital effects that sound rich and offer a concert like feel to your performance. Most Electronic drums offer hundreds of percussion sounds and drum sounds or you can plug in a CD, play with it and record your performance. Finally, electronic drums are lightweight, compact and portable. What’s more, the cost of electronic drum sets are quite affordable, as the supply and demand relationship between electronic drum sets and enthusiasts has leveled off over the years since their inception. Buy the best you can, at your price range.

Seventies music to me was the best of what I dreamed of. It gave me a sense of relation to the world. I was drawn in like a moth to light through the emotion and meaning hidden in the lyrics.

I was thinking about the old days when I was hit with a moment of sobering and sad reflection after reading an article in December 8 issue of Fort Collins’ Forum. Trena Anastasia has words of wisdom imploring others, in a broad sense, to watch what they say. Her article is titled “A We-Mage of Respect” not an “I-Mage of Respect”, which impressed me. We all need to take stock of the word respect. She states, “…we must as a united people, present ourselves as a nation that respects the perspectives of others. We have to listen and care.”

Recollection of an incident in February of 1989 flickered. The media released a spurious headline that all but ruined the life of a great musician and dammed the flow of useful stories in his meaningful lyrics.

We may not agree with others perspectives and perception of life, but we have an obligation to discern when and where to utilize our “freedom of speech.” Having rights through the First Amendment does not give us the right to barrage others with our opinion in hurtful and negative ways.

Remember Cat Stevens? He said, “The problem with a society that believes in absolute freedom is that they’re living in a dream, because there is no such thing… There has never been a time when people haven’t been compelled to follow certain rules. They’ve forgotten that along with freedom must come responsibility, and liberation is a different word from freedom.”

Yes, that musician I speak of is Cat Stevens. He is a living legend in the world of music. I am not musically inclined and frankly haven’t listened to much music since those days. I think maybe because the heart and soul I related to disappeared when Cat did.

He had become a convert to Islam and was harangued over it universally. From then to 1995 he was out of the music world and those, like myself, really missed him. He kept busy during those sixteen years enriching the Muslim world with his presence by building schools and spearheading charity efforts, and he’s writing and performing music again.

However, Cat is still haunted by that fateful report in a now defunct newspaper, “… unfortunately the monstrous myth it created still survives.” (May 2003)

Cat Stevens, known as Yusaf Islam since 1989, in his own words says, “…The Life Of The Last Prophet (s) is mine! Rushdie’s book, by his own confession, is based on fiction - mine is based on facts! Therefore people are free; they now have a choice, so let them listen and see who they are more inclined to believe. That is all I wish to say on that matter.”

We must respect the perspective of others and follow rules, be responsible and discerning if we are to be truly free and liberated, from our own misconceptions, especially. More words of wisdom come to mind spoken by Don Miguel Ruiz in his book titled “The Four Agreements.” “Be impeccable with your word.” It’s as simple as that. Say what you mean and mean what you say, and please give it some thought before you say it, keeping things in the proper context, because first there was the word, and the word is God, no matter what book you get it from. Get on the Peace Train.

http://www.leoslyrics.com/listlyrics.php?hid=cB2zNfD0MSU%3D
On the Road to Find Out Lyrics

http://www.leoslyrics.com/listlyrics.php?hid=hj%2F5zX2yp6U%3D
Peace Train Lyrics

http://catstevens.com/articles/00236/
http://yusufislam.org.uk/charity.htm

Linda’s background includes a writing certificate from the Long Ridge Writers’ Group in West Redding, Connecticut, and journalism studies at Metropolitan State College of Denver. An anthology on grieving published her first short story; From Eulogy to Joy, Beischel, Xlibris Press, 2000. To see more writings on travel and fiction go to:

http://www.bootsnall.com/
http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Linda_Vissat
http://www.scribequill.com

The last site mentioned above will publish in the November-December issue.

Playing guitar, like everything else, takes time and dedication to master. Once you do, it can be one of the most rewarding things you have done in your life. You may have had to spend countless hours practicing away, with your fingers on the edge of going numb but like any visa comercial would say, playing in front of a crowd and getting their admiration, is priceless.

Choosing the right guitar for you is something you must not take lightly. If you’re getting started, this can be the difference between becoming a master or just playing for a couple of weeks and leave it on the side.

There are a few things you want to consider, things like the quality of the wood, the bridge of the guitar, and what type of music you like. I say what type of music you like because this is what ultimately decides what guitar are you going for. First of all, there’s the sound quality, which in general terms sums up in two types of guitar: electric and acoustic.

If you like rock and you’re interested in playing with more of an upbeat, high paced, louder rithm, then an electrical guitar is a better fit for you. If you want more of a classic vibe, a more mellow organic feel on your playing then you should get a classical guitar.

If you’re a beginner, than I would suggest working your way from a classical guitar. You can find them at a better price and you can play them anywhere, which is something you definetly want to consider.

If, on the other hand, you have more free time on your hands and you want to make some serious noise, then getting an electrical guitar is more fit for you. Keep in mind, that unless you are already good and can keep up with a tune by yourself, it can become irritating really fast when you’re playing nothing but noise for a couple of hours.

In general, what you want is something that strikes the balance between what you want with what you need with your current skillset. Be sure to match up the style of your music, the type and quality of your guitar and the location you will play it in (if electric you will need power supply all the time).

After you make your choice, make sure you keep developing your skillset, and you’ll be thankful you did.

Learn Everything about Guitars with Charles Cruz CEO of Guitar Universe

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