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Silent Discos!
The press have reported this week that silent disco's are now the in thing, saying: 'T in the park is to follow the Glastonbury Festival into introducing a 'Silent Disco' this year. So that revellers can party through the night, clubbers at particular stages will be given headphones so they can continue to listen to music at high volume without upsetting the festivals neighbours.' NME Online Is this the end of the festival as we know it? For years now festivals have taken place across the world. For some they have proved to be a nuisance but generally only for the minority. For the festival-goer it can be the highlight of the year, with some people taking the whole family year after year, almost as a ritual or rite of passage in some cultures! With the introduction of silent discos are we changing the social aspect of music and dance? I can't say as I would like to share that magical moment when your favourite band, artist of song plays with a set of headphones! I agree that it will reduce the noise level and nuisance to neighbours and enable the festivals to play later into the night but it does trouble me to think that the whole of western culture is now becoming so 'solo'. With so many social activities now becoming available on the Internet, will our social skills gradually waste away? There is of course a good balance to be had with Internet entertainment and face-to-face, human contact, leisure pursuits. Let's make sure that balance remains. And what better than hearing the music you're passionate about drifting across the warm summer fields! Copyright © 2005 Helen Smith .com This article is provided courtesy of www.music-mate .com This article may be freely published on any website, as long as the links are live, and this notice is left intact. Helen Smith is the webmaster of two websites. http://www.music-mate .com and http://www.fetish-mate .com
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How Many Chords Are There, Anyway? Since chords (the main component of harmony) are one of the three most vital elements of music ? the others being melody and rhythm ? it would be useful to know how many chords there are. And it doesn't matter whether you play piano or guitar or some other instrument ? chords are chords. The History Of Drums - A Journey Of Sound Music and musical instruments are an extremely important part of human history. The use of rhythm and song has long been used to express meaning, and feeling and accompany rituals. The Didjeridu In Northern Australia the Didjeridu is seen as a phallic symbol and therefore a male instrument. Women are prohibited from playing. Music as Therapy? Frustrated in a gridlocked? Dont Go Tubthumping I have always had a big problem with my addiction to music. I tend to hear I song I like, then rush out to the local record store to buy the CD, without consideration for whether or not I would actually like the rest of the songs on the set. After years of this habit, I have amassed a huge CD collection, but I have been left with many one-hit-wonder discs that I no longer listen to and just gather dust while taking up space in my small apartment (anyone else fall for the infectiousness of Chumbawumba's "Tubthumping" back in the '90s only to find the rest of the CD less than appealing?). I know I am not the only one with this infliction I like to call " Itchy Trigger Finger Music Purchasing," and we all could use some help in weeding out the now-undesirables to make room for hopefully wiser purchases in the future. Flaming Guitars! Minarik Fuels The Excitement of a New Generation of Musicians From the Telecaster to the Flying V to the Iceman to the Warlock, some guitar designs are forever branded on our consciousness, and now there's a new one: the Minarik Inferno X-treme. The body shape erupts in furious fingers of flame. If ever there was a guitar design destined to ignite the imagination of young players, especially boys and girls who want to rawk, this is it. Review: The Bled - Pass the Flask Released in 2003, Pass the Flask turned this little quintet from Tucson, into a mainstream success overnight. Classifying this band as 'metalcore' or 'indie' or 'hardcore' is quite futile, because for every genre you pick, someone is going to disagree, and have a solid backing for their view. Everyone however can agree that whatever The Bled are doing, they are doing it well. George Winston and New Age Piano Playing The first time I heard George Winston play back in the early 1980's I was blown away. I didn't know why I liked this music. All I knew was that it made me feel good and that was enough. I didn't even play piano back then but something about this music seeped into me almost haunting me. The way he let the notes ring out and wasn't concerned with pop flavorings. A new sound for the time. The Revolution of Electric Guitars Sometime during the 1930's electric guitars were introduced onto the music scene, which began a revolution in sound and technology that continues to this day. After Rock and Roll was born in the 1950's, it didn't take very long for electric guitars to grow in popularity and become one of the most coveted instruments of all time. Things really began to take off when the Beatles turned the world on its ear in 1964 by "invading America". Soon to follow were groups like the Rolling Stones, Cream, and the The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Music was forever changed and today electric guitars dominate the scene. Piano Playing is Easier than You Think When You Understand Musical Form Form is the key that unlocks the musical map of a song or a musical compostition. Like a house has rooms, so a song has rooms or sections. How to Create Hip, Mature, and Lush Harmonies [correction] Rarely is a chord played with its tones contained in a single octave, the root on the bottom, the third in the middle, and the fifth on the top. A Brief History of Fender Guitars Perhaps no other guitar maker has touched the hearts of so many players and collectors as Fender. By producing excellent guitars at reasonable prices, Fender has been the instrument of choice for many guitarists throughout the world. Both the famous and not so famous have relied on Fender guitars to define their signature sounds. The Ostinato - What It is and How to Use It Ostinato means "repeating pattern" and is used frequently in all types of music. For New Age piano players, it provides a great way to lay down the background of the piece while the right-hand improvises a melody! Canadian Stars: The Marble Index and the Waking Eyes Canadian Indie bands are dominating the music scene and it just so happened that three of them took over the Rivoli on Queen St. for a night of true entertainment. Boy, The Marble Index and The Waking Eyes all performed for free at an event that was hosted by BenQ called the Video Sound Tour. Unfortunately I was unable to make it for the West Coast natives Boy who were the openers for the show but was told that they were great but lacking the entertaining factor. A Quick and Easy Composition Method Here's the method I use every time I want to capture an idea. I draw out 8-bars (or measures) first. Why 8 bars? Because it is an ideal framework to work in. Eight bars of music are enough to generate a complete musical sentence and can usually be repeated once or twice. Next, I improvise and see what comes up. THEN I will write down the chords I am playing and the first 2-bars of melody. Shopping For Your First Drum Set Your first drum set purchase is very exciting! You have probably waited a long time to buy your first drumset and have thought a lot about it. Even though it is exciting, it is important to be patient and do your research before you buy a drum set. How I Compose a Piece of Music A number of people have asked about my own methodology for creating a complete piece of music at the piano. At the risk of oversimplification, the steps are as follows: RAP Music and Brain Washing Issues I am not sure if anyone has been watching out there, about the types of music that we are listening to. Let us look at them for a minute. Our grandparents listen to music like; "Happy Days are Here Again, the Skies Above Are Clear Again." Kids today listen to RAP, which actually starts with a 'C' except the 'C' is silent in this new spelling and pronunciation. Its really, CRAP. A radio station in TX is actually called K-RAP. Perfect. Right-Hand Techniques for New Age Piano Recently, I had a student ask me to offer some techniques for using the right hand. Usually, it's the left hand that causes the most difficulty but I had to think about it because up till then, I really did not have any "techniques" for the right hand. Music For Self Improvement Would you like to pop in a CD and have a better quality of life, and even self improvement? There are three ways you can use music to accomplish this.
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