Music Motivation

Even before you make the decision you want to buy a guitar, even if you have the time and the money, you have to know that playing a guitar - or any instrument - is an investment in that time and money. You have to be realistic with yourself and know that you will not be good at first, and it may even be frustrating at times. If you persevere through that frustration and keep a positive attitude towards it, it can be very rewarding.

I've had many friends of mine become very intrigued when they saw my ability to play guitar flourish. A few of them were so motivated that they decided to go out and buy a guitar of their own and learn to develop the skill. I will tell you right now there were a lot more who played for a month, got tired of it and quit then who saw through to the end to become a real guitarist.

I believe this to be a story of many aspiring musicians. They tend to get very excited when they see how rewarding a thing like playing guitar can be and they go out and buy their instrument and when they find that they can't play it just like their favorite musician instantly they become very discouraged. You have to step away from that anticipation to be that developed in the skill and really look at it as an investment of time.

Music motivation can come in many forms. Before that can come you will need to take the time to practice, practice, practice! Once this has set in to your mind and becomes something you really strive for, you will start to notice yourself getting better and better. Try not to focus on the big picture of when you will be shredding with the likes of Jimi Hendrix, but think to yourself "wow, I remember when a week ago I couldn't even play that…" Thinking with this mindset will really help to keep you motivated and not discouraged.

Look from week to week, and month to month, and notice how much you have improved. It's especially rewarding when someone close to you mentions how much better you are becoming. In keeping this attitude of perseverance the rewards will keep coming in as you can play your first riff, then your first chord, then your first song and so forth. Likewise, set realistic goals for yourself. Say "I'm going to be able to play this song/solo/chord in X amount of time!" When that goal is achieved, that will be all the motivation you will ever need to keep playing. You'll soon find it has become an addiction for you, and we can hope that it doesn't become too addicting and get in the way of our daily activites!

The real difficult part is the beginning, but like I've mentioned several times earlier you should know from the start that the beginning is an investment, a skill that you have to develop. That is where I hope this article can help you my friends! If you've become discouraged keep on pushing through and a few weeks or months or however long down the road, you will be immensely grateful that you pushed through the frustrating times and kept your head up and completed the goal that was burned into your brain when you first saw that motivating figure. Go get that guitar that has been collecting dust, pick it up and achieve that goal you set for yourself in the past.

Good luck to all you inspiring musicians! Learning to play a musical instrument is a great ability to have and can be very rewarding for yourself and those around you.

How Choose Music School for You

Finding a music school or program can be time-consuming choice. Firstly, you will need to make many decisions regarding the majors and areas of specialization, the cost and the location and other related factors. More research is needed before finally deciding.

How to evaluate music school?

• Find for a music school with facilities that will provide the most value and opportunity for your success.

• Find for a music school that can provide you with performance opportunities through concerts and recitals.

• Find for a music school that can assist with 'on stop shopping needs' by providing you will books and supplies so the teacher and the student can get to work 'right away' without sending parents hunting and potentially wasting valuable lesson time.

• Find for a music school that has multiple options for teachers and instruments so that you can choose one school for all your instruction needs rather than going to different schools for you or instrument.

• Find for a music school that have different teacher on each instrument so that you can choose a different instructor should your instructors’ style or personality not mesh with

Consider these five factors when choosing your educational needs. Age, Lesson type, Facilities, Qualifications and Service needs. With the right choice you will have a wonderful lasting experience while the gain knowledge and ability on the instrument of their choice.

Looking for a Good Quality Music School

Looking for a good quality music school or program can be a difficult and time-consuming choice. At first you will need to make many decisions regarding the areas of specialization that interest you and the importance of cost, and other similar factors. Once you have decided on these, you will still need to undertake a consultation to focus your interests and choice of a music school.

Tips How to Evaluate Music School

• A quality music school should provide only teachers who hold a music degree from a respected conservatory. Some music schools do not require a music degree from their teachers. Your music education should be given the same consideration.

• A quality music school will provide a choice of teachers with various educations and backgrounds in music education. . Not all students are looking for the same type of teacher and/or music instruction. A quality music school will have both classical and contemporary teachers on its faculty.

• A good music school will provide a choice of teachers if, for instance, a teacher/student relationship is not working to the benefit of all parties involved.

• A good music school should have regular performance opportunities for the students. Every music student should be given more than one opportunity per academic year to perform.

• A good music school will provide a music school calendar for their activities and program.

• A quality music school will provide a plan for inclement weather closures. No one should travel if the local school district has closed or dismissed early for inclement weather. It is not safe for teachers, students or anyone else to travel in the case of inclement weather.

• A good music school should have a good office which is accessible through voice mail and email.

The Big Problem With Online Sheet Music

Let's say you're a budding music star. Maybe you play the piano. Like most citizens of the world, you probably use the internet. Sure, it's fantastic for checking e-mails, wasting your time with various video sites, and downloading anything that's out there.

But what about using the internet in a more specific way? Doctors stay in touch with colleagues. Researchers barely step into libraries anymore. Scientists harness the power of cloud computing. So why should you, talented musician that you are, not get access to the same quality stuff that the rest of them can?

The Rough State of Piano Music

Because sheet music is a small market, and only relevant to a minority of people, its representation online has lagged significantly behind.

It's out of date. Just as we're downloading music to our iPods, why should piano transcriptions be so far behind? Shouldn't there at least be a good voice online for digital sheet music we can trust?

Talk About Arbitrary Standards...

If you thought music copyrighting was arcane, you should see some of the pages pushing sheet music.

Some ask you to have a 100% working printer, because you will only have one tiny moment to print your music after buying. If something messes up, you're out of luck.

Other sites pushing classical music have crazily inconsistent standards when it comes to their files. Sometimes you'll receive a PDF, other times a set of GIFs that don't print well, and sometimes you'll be left with a proprietary DRM that's of no use to anyone.

Sites With Forums are The Way to Go

The only reliable way to guarantee the digital sheet music you're ponying up for is proper is with the reviews of other musicians. If other players are using the company's files, and insisting they are OK, you can spend with confidence.

One of the most trustworthy sheet music vendors, http://www.PianoStreet.com, has also created a huge set of message boards around its music. In reality, the site was born out of an earlier forum, called http://www.pianoforum.net, so the sale of digital piano music was something that they got into normally, instead of a money-making venture from the beginning.

Audio Samples Are Crucial, Too

What good is piano transcriptions if you can't hear what they should sound like? Sure, your piano teacher may have the chops to play it for you, but if you're teaching yourself, you'll need to seek out a true recording to hear how it should sound.

A real digital sheet music company should have extensive mp3 samples of everything they sell, adding loads of value to the sheet music itself. Companies like http://www.PianoStreet.com have loads of their most typical easy/intermediate transcriptions online as mp3s, the same ones that any new pianist is happy to learn.

Subscription Models are The Future

While content producers are resistant, many have come to the realization that the way of the future lies in subscription models, where you will pay a flat rate and get everything you want.

Portals like http://www.PianoStreet.com have taken on this for their business approach, handing out monthly memberships that permit musicians unlimited access to high-quality sheet music.

The People Doing it Right

And so it isn't just a mess online. A tiny but influential group of sites, led by http://www.PianoStreet.com's examples, are modifying the way sheet music is being sold online. Don't worry about the rest and patronize the best!

R&B Music – Huge and Popular

R&B music is huge and probably the most popular of all the music categories. Some would say that is because it covers so many sub categories of music. But, true music lovers will say it is because R&B captures people’s minds and bodies more than any other music. Rhythm and blues speaks to people more than any other music because it becomes part of the soul. Few people can listen to an R&B tune without clapping or singing along or breaking into dance. It affects almost everyone and if it doesn’t, you’re not breathing!

That infectious capability is the hallmark of R&B music. R&B was born out of the black experience in America. It quickly became the experience of everyone however as it gained popularity. The writers and artists were telling a story from their souls and they were seeking to get others to identify with their stories and feel and understand them. Of course, all the while they were having fun and taking a break from life. It certainly worked because R&B is not only popular in the US but all over the world. You would be hard pressed to find a place on earth that doesn’t know about or enjoy R&B music.

R&B music has meant different things over the decades for instance in the 1950 ‘ and 1960’s it was really more about soul music and the heavy gospel influences, in the ‘70’s it was more about funk and on into the 21st century it is really more about pop music. But, the one thing about R&B that remains timeless is its commitment to soul. No matter how you categorize R&B it has always had a discernible soul to it. An R&B song can bring back memories like no other type of music. A Marvin song or Smokey tune can bring back all sorts of pleasant thoughts and memories. Aretha Franklin’s powerful soulful voice has remained a stalwart fixture in R&B for close to six decades now.

R&B music is enduring too. A song made back in the ‘60’s is just as fresh today and will be found in any teenagers CD collection as well as their parents and grandparent’s! The cross generational appeal of R&B is better than any other music variety. It speaks to everyone and everyone listens. It is really cool when you think about the enduring legend of R&B and all of the other great musical varieties it has sparked. There are very few musicians in other categories who wouldn’t say their roots come from R&B. The masters of the last five decades have been the keystone for the artists of today. Modern R&B is chock full of older R&B influences. Rap and rock and roll are heavily influenced by R&B as it much of country music as well.

Tex Johnson runs the highly popular R&B and Rare Soul Grooves website featuring Soul Music TV. Want to watch FREE 24 hour Soul music Internet TV and receive 4 FREE Rare Soul CD Samplers? Then visit: http://www.raresoulgrooves.com/soul

Samsung SGH-B520 Review - Simple Music Phone

Music is a universal language. To meet the needs of music fans for their mobile phone, the Samsung mobile phone series issued specifically for the latest music lovers, the SGH-B520 which appears as a continuation of the SGH-B200. The Samsung B520 is not equipped with a camera which is a must for a mobile phone these days. However, this is an interesting mobile phone offered, whose capacity is large enough – the internal memory as well as added slot for external memory.

Design

Although the phone is designed for beginners class, the Samsung B520’s appearance is quite elegant. Overall plastic material makes it strong enough with the keypad’s size being about 10 mm – very ergonomic. A shortcut key to the music and also FM radio is also offered.

Mobile phone screen

The Samsung B520 is a low end mobile phone, using CSTN display, with 65 thousand colors color depth, 128 x 160 pixels resolution.

Internet

Although the phone is in the beginner class, the Samsung B520 does not forget the internet. This mobile phone is equipped with the access-class 10 GPRS and WAP 2.0. But the ability of the browser is limited to vertical visual navigation. Just like the internet facility, the feature of navigation is also made as complementary.

SOS message

For customers who are concerned with the rising crime action, the Samsung B520 may be the right choice. To activate this feature is done by pressing the volume key 4 times as much. Application security can be combined with mobile tracker to do the setting if the SIM card is replaced by the person who is not known.

Music player & FM radio

Without the presence of a music player, this phone can not be more interesting. While a main feature, a music player in the draft standards is presented. The sound quality from the speaker phone is too good. FM radio also features a multi-tasking. Up to 39 channels radio can be saved.

Memory

Memory is one of the benefits of this device. The internal memory is 20 MB of available capacity. And the music files can be stored in Micro SD cards up to 2GB maximum capacity. The Samsung B520 places Micro SD slot under the battery, so if you want to remove the Micro SD, you should turn off the phone first. You need to be careful when inserting the SIM card, as construction inside the phone is very fragile and very easily damaged if not in accordance with the conditions.

Best Indie Music 2009 - A Review

I have been, to paraphrase Brian Epstein, 'shouting Martin's name from the rooftops' for several years in an effort to bring his songs to the public attention.

It is immediately obvious from the first bars of 'Be That Man', the opening song from Martin's first solo album, 'Where Have I Been All Your Life?', that here is a talent that has just waiting to burst forth. It fairly bristles with enthusiam and rushes the listener along at a brisk rate, through a tale of everyday longing and wishes unfulfilled. Further songs on this and his subsequent albums only confirm Martin's gift as a composer. From the mighty 'My Clown Career', with it's dark, 'Kashmir' - like power and sense of foreboding, to the tongue-in-cheek jangle of 'Hemel Hempstead Boy', it is clear that here is a songwriter of great ability. My first exposure to Martin's songs left me exhilarated and wanting to hear more.

Martin Brown, UK songwriter and singer / musician, has released three solo albums on independant labels during the last three years. On each of these albums, Martin plays all instruments and handles all vocal duties. Those who have heard Martin's songs have been full of praise for them and have expressed astonishment that he has not yet made a bigger impression on the listening public. Jeff Giles, in a review of Martin's first two solo albums that appeared in the site 'Popdose', highly praised Martin's abilities as a songwriter and musician and said that, in his opinion, Martin was writing songs that were the equal of anything Neil Finn (Crowded House) and Andy Partridge (XTC) had produced.

The aforementioned albums,'Where Have I Been All Your Life?' and 'Butterflies', released in 2006 and 2007 respectively were followed in 2008 by a third album, 'Diamonds'. Jeff also reviewed this album, citing it as 'possibly Martin's most complete and satisfying collection of songs so far'.

A brief history of Martin's career:-

Martin, the only child of musician parents, was born and raised in Hemel Hempstead near London and showed early promise as a guitarist and began his professional musical life during his teens. He spent several years during the early 70's, touring with 'The Stroll Band' in Germany and Holland, later joining 'Born Free' back in the UK. Following this, Martin joined forces with drummer Keith Chapman, forming the band 'Spoils', who supported Paul Young and were a very popular band on the club and university circuit and later, Keith and Martin formed 'The Sugar Glyders' along with bassist Paul Thomson. The Sugar Glyders were signed to the 'Lost Moment Records' label, releasing their first single, 'Revenge' in 1984 one of Martin's tunes and a record that is now considered a collectable classic. The band also contributed further tracks to a Lost Moment Records sampler album, 'Colours of The Bastard Art'.

Martin continued to record with Keith Chapman, overdubbing instruments and vocals and this led to his current working methods. In addition, Martin co-wrote 'Never Going to Take No For An Answer', with Ed Poole, a song later covered by Bonnie Tyler. He also wrote and recorded material with Russ Ballard, million-selling songwriter.

In 2008, he released his ode to the town, 'Hemel Hempstead Boy', included on his second album 'Butterflies'. This led to interviews on BBC radio as well as live sessions. Martin also won the BBC 3 Counties' 'Independant Musician' competition, leading to further radio work.

Martin is an ace guitarist, thankfully he shows admirable taste, purely using his guitar work as an embellishment to his songs rather than somothering them in solos! The songs vary from Beatles / Crowded House acoustic songs, to far rockier edgy-sounding material. In more recent work, Martin has even tried his hand at some dance-oriented material. All of this is all the more bewildering when it is appreciated that he plays everything that is heard on all of his songs!

Martin is currently recording material for his fourth album, which I am looking forward to with great anticipation.

In the meantime, it is possible to download a free track 'Shine' from Martin's most recent album from his web site:

http://www.martinbrownmusic.com.

Bill Jerone is a UK-based writer and lifelong Beatle Fan. Bill is also a massive fan of Martin Brown, a fellow Brit and songwriter / singer/ musician. Bill has championed Martin's cause for several years and hopes to alert the public to this great talent.

Please download a free track 'Shine' from Martin's most recent album from his web site:- http://www.martinbrownmusic.com

Martin's songs can be heard here:- http://www.myspace.com/bingobrown and his albums are available for purchase here:- http://cdbaby.com/all/bingobrown