Entries Tagged 'Music' ↓

Ever famous for classical music, or even in folk music, classical guitars and piano music has always been a favorite for those who play soft and soothing music. For many years, and in fact for many centuries, people have been using this guitar for many purposes; live shows, plays or sketches, past-time and many more.

Classical guitars date back to the 17th century, where many great players, arrangers, and composers have been using them extensively for all their music performances. Some of the past would include Gaspar Sanz in the 17th century, Fernando Sor in the 18th century, Mauro Giuliani in the 19th century, and Francisco Tárrega in the 20th century.

The more recent ones and those we would definitely have heard them of would be like Andrés Segovia, John Williams, Phillip Glass, James Newton Howard and many more.

The Different Parts

Classical guitars and piano chords are also known as Spanish guitars, probably because that’s where they might have originated from.

This guitar and piano notes is played using fingers, and not necessarily plectrum or bow. And just using the fingers to pluck would produce beautiful polyphonic music, and usually these guitars sustain up to four musical lines or voices.

There are many parts of the classical guitar which matters for the performance as a whole. Some parts of typical classical guitars would include the Headstock, the Nut, the Machine heads or tuning machines, the Fret wires, the Neck, the Heel, the Body, the Bridge, and many more. Each of these parts has their own function in producing the best quality of sound.

Just to explain a few, let’s see the Headstock, the Nut, the Neck, and the Bridge. The headstock, located at the end of the guitar neck, has the machine heads which are used to adjust the string tension, which in turn affects the pitch produced. The Nut is a medium-hard material which guides the strings onto the fret board, giving consistent and accurate lateral string placement, and tuning.

The Neck is a long wooden extension which contains the entire guitar attributes such as the frets, fret board, tuners, and the headstock, and this neck has to be very strong in all circumstances, because the rigidity determines the quality of the classical guitars. The Bridge, just like on any other guitar, is to transfer the vibration from the strings to the sound board to be amplified into a beautiful sound. The bridge also functions to hold the strings in place on the body.

If you’re a beginner and trying to learn how to play the guitar, it’s imperative that you don’t become overwhelmed or intimidated by those who seem to be able to shred the guitar fingerboard at will. This should be the least of your concerns. Especially in the beginning stages of learning to play the guitar. The basics are essential for every beginner. For example, learning to grasp the guitar pick correctly is important in the beginning. Learning right-hand and left-hand finger control is very crucial. Furthermore, merely feeling comfortable holding the guitar will actually take some work and practice. Once again, the fundamentals of guitar playing are very, very important. Improve your guitar basics with this guide on how to play the guitar.

Learning how to play guitar is similar to learning how to speak a language. The technique you decide to use to learn the guitar is up to you. It’s o.k. to try it yourself, but learning to play guitar is a lot more fun with a guitar teacher. The key to learning to develop into a guitarist is being consistent in your practice. Learning to play guitar is fun, empowering and stress relieving.

Most beginners, when they start out, dream of being able to play their favorite songs by their favorite bands. Begin by learning a few cords and then practice them. When you become persistent and learn how to play guitar the right way, the results will come and you could soon recognize that you are playing better and better, and that’s probably the reason, why you even started to learn how to play guitar the right way. Don’t start to play songs you don’t like, the reason being it will only get yourself frustrated and consequently get the wrong results or none at all.

A solid base on the guitar will allow one to progress beyond your own expectations. One should strive to become a well-rounded guitarist. In other words, learn guitar chords, rhythm, and guitar solo techniques. So many guitarists today are primarily concerned with soloing. They seem to fail to notice all of the other aspects of guitar playing. Many beginning guitarists get caught up on issues such as speed playing. One of the most important thing when learning to play the guitar is learning how to tune your guitar. You can learn more about methods to tune the guitar here.

Learning how to play guitar doesn’t have to be complicated, although some websites and instructors make it out that way. The time it takes for you to learn is dependent on your expectations for what you want to play. If you want to be able to play top 40 songs you hear on the radio, and jam at parties with your friends then you must learn to play guitar fast. If you choose not to get a teacher or unable to get one, you can learn to play the guitar from this website called i-learnguitar.com Play Guide.

If you’re learning to play the guitar, it should by no means be frustrating or boring. It should be fun! You’ve probably establish that there are many ways to learn how to play the guitar, and hopefully you’ve found what works best for you. If you are finding yourself having difficulty learning from a theory book however, and you don’t have the cash to hire a teacher, why not try to learn guitar easy on DVD?

Learn to play the guitar and for sure you can be the life of a party or someone who is really adored by music lovers or, the list goes on. You can play really good music through the strumming of your guitar. And people would shout out “Encore!” That would be really nice isn’t it? Do you like the idea? Well, read very carefully as this article states some of the most exciting and fulfilling advantages when you have learned to master the techniques and chords in the phase of guitar music.

Learning an instrument can take numerous hours of guitar practice and sometimes years of mastering different techniques before you become proficient at the craft. Guitar, possessing a long held popularity, continues to be an instrument that many people work hard to master. But in some cases, when you may not have the time for comprehensive mastery, the ability to learn guitar fast can be especially beneficial. Luckily, with a vast array of resources at our fingertips, such a concept is not just achievable, it is accessible.

The learning of guitar requires the basic understanding of the instrument itself, the understanding of the technique required to play basic music, such as finger positions and simple chords. In order to learn guitar fast, then it is necessary to speed up these basic lessons with the help of a multitude of resources.

It is not difficult for a beginner to learn to play guitar, the guitar is really an easy instrument to learn how to play, just know that 65% of the American people know how to play view notes on the guitar. If you are new to playing guitar then it can look a little bit overpowering, but trust me when i state that it is pretty easy and if you can get past the learning curve it is really a lot a fun to play guitar. Learn how to tune and position the guitar.

You can learn guitar in one of several ways. If you are serious about starting on this particular musical journey and wish to become a skilled guitar player who has a repertoire of songs at their disposal, then it may be best to work with a reputable and experienced guitar teacher who will give you hands-on lessons at their home or yours. Guaranteed that one of the first things you will tackle – after proper finger placement – is identifying that first easy guitar song to learn. Want to learn how to play guitar? Check out i-learnguitar.com.

The history of hip hop goes back to the decade of 60’s where racial problems, social inequities and street violence were a very harsh reality of urban life amongst the economically disfavoured communities.

The word hip hop is used to describe a music style but it is actually much more than that. Hip hop is a cultural movement of its own. It’s composed of three main artistic manifestations which are: graffiti (the visual part), rap (the music part), breakdancing (the body part) and djing (scratching and turntablism).

Hip hop music has always been created with the values of the cultural movement, the themes of the streets. Whether it was violence, drugs, guns, prostitutes, money, etc..

Most of people tell that rap or hip hop music came out of the street poetry of bands like The Last Poets or The Whats Prophets but it was the release of Sugarhill Gang’s album Rapper’s Delight in 1979 that really meant the birth of the rap genre.

Hip Hop was born in NYC but it soon spread throughout the whole United States.

There are a lot of different variation and sub-genres of hip hop. Each one comes from its place of origin (city, neighbourhood or state). This also means that different sub-genres of hip hop also have slightly different lyric themes. There has been a long history of rivalry between hip hop scenes like the famous westcoast vs eastcoast war throughout the 90’s, which culminated with artists like 2Pac being murdered.

The music world opened its years to rap and hip hop when LL Cool J released in 1985. Hip Hop literally burst and influenced later all other music genres.

Some of the most popular artists and bands (past and present) include: The Fugees, Lauryn Hill, Run DMC, Public Image Ltd, Eminem, Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Wu Tang Clan, TLC, Notorious B.I.G and many others…

Making hip hop tracks is for sure one of the hottest jobs in the music industry. It can literally transport you into richness and celeb status.

Every day, every year, there are thousands of amateurs, aspiring musicians and producers trying to make the next big hip hop hit in order to ahieve success and have a chance to collaborate with some of the industry’s biggest names. They hope to get a million dollar record deal and live the spectacular lifestyle of guys like 50 Cent and Jay-z, always surrounded by beautiful women

Yes, you gotta have talent to produce an album or even a hit single, but most importantly it takes a lot of hard work and knowing what’s hot.

If you’re trying to produce excellent hip hop tracks you want to get yourself the best hip hop loops available. Future Loops has over the top sample packs that suit all your need for hip hop beats. Check out Future Loops for the best designed hip hop samples that will get you that million dollar record contract!

R&B is a musical genre that evolved out of jump blues in the 1940’s. R&B maintained the upbeat and the tempo characteristics of jump blues but the song itself became more meaningful and there was less room for improvisation.

In the 1950’s R&B was already a very popular style and both vocalists alone and vocal groups dominated the top of the charts with names like: Ray Charles, Ruth Brown, The Drifters and The Coasters. Of course, over the years there was a shift in style and R&B became more soul which was much funkier and loser.

Soul was a very diverse genre, there were numerous possibilities that one could see by the emergence of sub-genres like Motown and Stax.

However, after many profound changes in the world of music, what we have today is called R&B but it has nothing to do with its roots.

Nowadays, R&B might be the most complex music genre there is, due to the fusion it often makes with several other styles.

R&B and Soul music were always tightly connected but the 70’s brought the rise of Urban music. Urban music is a term used to describe all types of musical movements that have a social or street origin. It could be drum n’ bass, hip hop, rap, rave, ect…

The purpose of R&B, was always to do upbeat songs, where the word SONG has the most importance. Today the sky is the limit when it comes for inspiration from R&B artists.

Hip hop and R&B are very tightly connected….in a way that many hip hop artists release albums that have a great R&B inspiration, and this gets them close to the chart tops.

It can also be inspired by electronic music, and we can see that clearly when artists and producers recycle oldschool tunes or use the latest cool sounds and effects.

Of course, one thing hasn’t changed and that is the power of the singer in an R&B song. Artists like Mariah Carey, Beyonce, Rihanna, etc..have great voices and will capture audiences for many many years.

I’d say every music genre has its ups and downs, but it sure is interesting to see how R&B will evolve in the 21st century, where every musical genre seems to have been invented and the common word that connects all styles is: repeat!

Making R&B songs can be easy if you have a great voice. You can get yourself a cheap producer and build a demo in no time.

But what you want to do is a powerful demo that shows you know about music, have style and a great sense of what’s hot.

To do that you gotta have the right r&b samples.

Build your own demos and make the next big hit with Future Loops’ r&b beats
Check out how you can make groovy powerful track with the right r&b loops.

If you are planning on buying an Acoustic Guitar, you should know how to select the right one to buy. There are some things you need to inspect in an Acoustic Guitar and knowing what to look at will help you bring home the perfect guitar for you.

Guitar bodies often come in the same hourglass shape, but with some variations such as size, color, type of wood used, style, and its extra features. The commonly used acoustic guitar is the folk style guitar that you often see get played at parties and campfires, the same type common in music groups and church choirs.

There are a variety of acoustic guitars that you can buy and if price is a factor, you usually get what you pay for. As a personal rule I don’t buy cheap, but I do buy when I get a bargain or if a guitar is on sale. Buying a new guitar or previously owned guitar both have pros and cons; like if you buy a new guitar you would get a warranty and, sometimes a return period if you’re not happy with your guitar, or if it has some sort of unnoticed defect. A used guitar can usually be purchased cheaper and has already gone through its “break-in” period.

Commercially built guitars are usually mass produced while “custom-made” guitars are exactly that; custom built and tailored to your specifications by a highly skilled guitar maker. Custom made guitars are typically more expensive than commercially built guitars, with the prices of custom-made guitars dependent on the skill level of the guitar maker. A custom built guitar is thus unique and therefore hard to compare in price to a commercially built guitar.

Whether you are buying a new guitar or old one, here are some pointers to keep in mind.

Check the BODY

The guitar body is the part with the sound hole in the front, and can vary in size, shape, type of wood, coating, and general build of the body. All these affects how the guitar will “sound”. Inspect the body for bumps, scratches, splits, dents or even holes. The body is usually the part that gets banged-up the most.

Check the NECK, FRETBOARD & MACHINE HEADS

The guitar neck is the long piece of wood that extends from the body to the head of the guitar where the tuning heads or machine heads are found. The guitar strings travel from the bridge that is found on the guitar body, across the sound hole, along the fret board which is on the front surface of the guitar neck, all the way to the tuning heads where they are wrapped around tuning posts. Lay the guitar on a flat surface like a table and inspect the neck at eye level to check if the neck is warped or twisted. This usually happens if a guitar is left in a hot area like propped against a hot surface or left in the trunk of a car of in the back seat, under the heat of the sun.

Let your eyesight skim across the front of the body and down the fret board. You should be able to see if the neck is twisted or bowing.

The fret board is glued to the front of the neck. This is the surface where you press the strings to form a chord or play individual notes. Because it’s glued on separately, a fret board can be made of a wood that’s different from the neck.

The strings travel over the fret board and the distance they are above the fret board makes a difference to the playability of the guitar. If the strings are too far above the fret board, then they will be hard to press down, making the guitar hard to play. A guitar with the strings too far above the fret board, known as ‘high action’, will cause the player’s fingers to hurt so much.

Check the action of the guitar by pressing down on the strings at various points on the fret board, or simply try playing it and see if your fret hand is comfortable on the strings.

You need to see if the guitar is in tune. First tune the guitar, it is important that you tune it using a guitar tuner. This ensures that all open strings are tuned to chords, E-A-D-G-B-E. Then play different chords at different parts of the guitar neck and listen for some notes that are flat or sharp. If you are not good at spotting which is out of tune, you can use the guitar tuner to check each and every note to see if the tuning is consistent for the entire length of the neck.

If the neck is warped, and the guitar is properly tuned, some of the chords will not sound good or will sound out of tune. If this happens, check the tuning again and if the problem persists, don’t buy the guitar.

While on the subject of tuning, check the tuning heads and see if they turn easily or are very stiff and hard to turn. Even with the high tension of the strings, a good quality guitar will have tuning heads that are fairly easy to turn.

Check the BRIDGE

The bridge is found on the front of the body, just a few inches away from the sound hole on the side that is opposite to the neck. The bridge is where guitar strings are usually fed, anchored or snapped into place before they cross the hole and travel up the neck to the tuning heads. Guitar bridges are made of either hard plastic, wood or metal. Guitar bridges are known to crack or split, so if you are getting a previously owned guitar, check the bridge to make sure that it won’t split or fly off the body after playing it a few times.

Check the STRINGS

Acoustic guitar strings come in different types. They can be made out of nylon, brass, steel, or a combination. Nylon strings are usually only found on classical guitars and have a rich, warm sound to them.

The strings also come in different ‘weights’, or sizes; some string packages are marked “heavy” and are usually thick in size and sound “beefy”. Strings that are “light”, or “extra light”, are very thin with a brighter sound to them and are less boomy than heavy strings. The string should actually be the last thing on your mind, but if you want to be spared from re stringing, then ask the seller to put on a new set of strings if they are rusting or old; in the latter case some cannot be tuned properly.

Check its PLAYABILITY

If you already play guitar, then give it a try and start playing on it, see how it feels. If you are buying the guitar for yourself, try the following. Fit your hand around the neck or fret board and see if it is comfortable to play the chords. The guitar should also have a size and shape that you are comfortable playing with, and is easy to hold. Listen to the way it sounds, and if you don’t play yet, ask someone else to play it for you so that you can judge what it sounds like.

Despite the number of websites that sell music instruments, it is always best to buy a guitar from a physical retail music store that allows you to test the guitar before buying it. While purchasing on the internet or from a catalog may allow you to save on the purchase, it won’t mean anything if you get sent a guitar that is difficult for you to play.

Now that you got your own guitar, the only thing left is how to play it. If you do not know how to play or are just starting out, you can get find several Guitar Lessons online.

50 Cent is the artistic name of Curtis James Jackson III, born in 1975. 50 cent is an American rapper who has gained massive popularity in the U.S. and all over the world and was introduced to the music industry by Eminem.

50 Cent started writing his rap lyrics very soon, but he only took his talent seriously, after his son was born.

Jam Master Jay from Run-DMC hired 50 Cent for his label and started teaching some things about recording and production. In 2000, before starting to film the video “Thug Love” with destiny’s Child he was shot in the street 9 times, throughout the whole body (!). 50 Cent was shot on each leg, thorax, chest, jaw, arm, ankle, tummy and toe!! How he survived is absolutely amazing…talking about a superhero! Naturally, this life changing experience changed his mind and spirit. 50 Cent came back feeling stronger than ever. After showing some mixtapes to Eminem, he was introduced to Dr Dre and later signed with his label, Interscope Records which took him to a high popularity degree.

He participated in the soundtrack of “8 Mile” and even created a computer video game where he features some previously unreleased tunes. 50 cent also had some movie experiences, the most famous being the hit “Get Rich or die tryin’”, where he shows lots of the hard experiences he had over his last time in the streets.

There are a lot of rappers and hip hop musicians that criticize 50 Cent for his commercial lyrics.

They say he isn’t true to hip hop and is infatuated with an excessively money centred lifestyle. Most of his video clips are filled with huge cars, loads of bling, nasty girls and money.

Nevertheless, you gotta give credit to 50 Cent for how he overcame such a tough situation like taking 9 shots and building a successful career full of hits.

50 Cent’s work includes: Get Rich or Die Tryin’ (2003), The Massacre (2005), Curtis (2007), Before I Self Destruct (2008).

Artists like 50 Cent are a great and clear example that it takes hard work, talent and perseverance to have success in the music industry. You gotta now the right people but you also gotta have something to tell, or some good beat to show the world.

Also, choosing the right sounds is really important if you want to create killer hip hop tracks. You can get the best hip hop samples at Future Loops.

They’re expert in making highly professional sample packs that will definitely suit your needs for hip hop loops. Check out Future Loops catalogue, get yourself over the top hip hop samples and start making the next hit!

Drum n’ bass (or Jungle) is a music style born in the UK. It is said to be a distorted deviation from hardcore techno and it burst the music scene in the 1990’s.

It is of general knowledge that Drum n’ bass is perhaps the most complex and elaborate variation of the techno genre.

It relies mostly on extremely fast and powerful rhythms, breakbeats and deep bass lines. In most occasions jungle is totally instrumental, which has logic, because the power of the beat should be the main feature of any Dn’B tune.

Nevertheless, jungle also had the influence of other musical genres like dub, reggae which can be seen today with mc’s (master of ceremony) “singing” over jungle tracks and performing in a wide diversity of styles (live or in studio), even though the most frequent are hip hop and ragga. Drum n’ Bass has a very passionate group of supporters since its early expansion.

The genre’s releases feature more singles and EPs than full-length albums, essentially since this kind of music is dance and clubbing oriented, so lots of versions of a song could be made, by djs, artists and producers from all areas.

The really trendy and more mainstream jungle artists actually release full albums. This is the case of producers like Goldie ( his first release “Timeless” in 1995) and Roni Size ( he won a Mercury Award for “New Forms”).

These albums had indeed lots of success within a much more mainstream audience and took the Drum n’ Bass movement into a more commercial level. Jungle is frequently blended with all sorts of music genres like trip-hop, dub, jazz, ambient music, experimental music, hip hop and many others.

Nowadays, there is still a very vibrant jungle underground movement, and it keeps spinning by the massive quantity of periodical releases, the clubs, the Drum n’ bass festivals, and the record labels that do their work with a great sense of community and very hard for every good producer to have their room in the music business industry.

Making Drum n’ Bass music is not only an issue of being a fan of the style and being sensitive to what’s hot! It’s mostly a matter of finding your own space in a music style that filled with monster tunes!

To find your own true jungle feeling you must have the right software programs and take hold of the best sounds in the market. You can find the coolest drum and bass samples in Future Loops’ Nuclear DNB sample pack. This library title has the grooviest drum and bass beats for you to make the hottest tracks out of them. If you’re looking for drum and bass loops this library is awesome!

Funk music is a very particular style that arouse from R&B, or Rhythm and Blues and had it’s peek of popularity between the 1960’s and the 1970’s.

The name funk originally means a strong odour, but it started being used to describe certain R&B songs that were more upbeat.

Naturally the adjective “funky” started to mean “very groovy “.

The most distinctive characteristic of funk is the importance and heaviness of the bass guitar in its songs.

Legendary bass players like James Jamerson, Bootsy Collins and Larry Graham (Sly & the Family Stone) started including the melodies of basslines as the centerpiece of songs. The “slap bass” technique, for instance, was credited to Graham and was later developed by some other bass players and became a highly recognizable component of funk.

The basic idea behind funk music is to create as much grooviness as possible. In this sense, the melody of the bassline is the center of the song and the rhythms are very complex, but the structure of the song is rather simple.

I’d say that funk music wants your mind to be in the groove of the bass, and your body in the rhythm of the drums. All other elements can be added up, like singing, guitar, saxophones, trumpets, Hammonds , etc..

In the 80’s funk saw a big decline in popularity, especially because of the widespread use of synthesizers and the popularity of cheesy pop-rock.

Most people in the 80’s were either listening to hillbillies with mullets or to androgynous semi-vampires singing tacky love-rock songs.

In the 90’s there was a small come back of funk, because lots of hip hop artists, who were inspired by a glorious past, started sampling classic funky tracks.

Today, music is available for everyone, and all styles are known. There is space for all music genres to cohabit. Funk has become a niche with its legion of loyal followers, who spend hours on the internet looking for a rare single, or in a thrift shop looking for an old 45’ with an awesome beat.

Funk music is still played today, and there are lots of bands who still try to capture (some successfully) the power of grooviness. If you’re looking for cool funk loops you should check out Future Loops samples packs.

They have the best in extra juicy funk samples for you to make killer tracks that taste like vinyl. Go get some real funk samples with Mike Clark’s Funk Drums.

Calvin Broadus Jr was born in Long Beach , California , on October 20, 1971.

Snoop Dogg (named by his mother) is his first and most used nickname but he also refers himself as Snoop Doggy Dogg and Dogg Father.

Snoop had a troubled teenage life as he started in a criminal lifestyle very young so he was in and out of jail several times.

His escape from the world of crime (not totally) was music, when
he started producing some music tapes along with Warren G and Nate Dogg. Snoop Dogg started collaborating with Dr Dre after they met through Warren G (Dr Dre’s step-brother).

He participated in the acclaimed album “Chronic” which displays Dr Dre’s powerful instrumentals with Snoop Dogg’s silky voice and great lyrics.

After he released his own album “Doggystyle” which was actually the first debut album to enter the charts as number 1! It was multiple platinum and gave birth to what today we call “gangsta rap”.

Since then, Snoop Dogg, has been in problems with the law several times; whether it was for collaborating in a murder, gun and drugs possession.

He is well known for his love for marijuana and is never afraid to show it. Recently, Snoop Dogg has also engaged in exploitation activities which granted him the “Pimp of the Year Award” more than one time.

Snoop Dogg’s discography includes: Doggystyle (1993), The Doggfather (1996), “da Game is To Be Sold, Not To Be Told” (1998), “No Limit Top Dog” (1999), “The Last Meal” (2000), “Paid da Cost to be tha Bo$$” (2002), “Rhyhthm & Gangsta: The Masterpiece” (2004), “The Blue Carpet Treatment” (2006), “Ego Trippin’” (2008).

Snoop Dogg has also appeared in a wide number of movies like: Half Baked, Caught Up, Ride, Boss N’ Up, Starsky & Hutch and Welcome to hood of Horror.

Snoop Dogg’s career and life are both fertile in excellency, hard work, imagination, creativity but also a lot of controversy and some scandals. Whether you like hip hop or not, you have to admit that Snoop Dogg may be the greatest hip hop artist who has ever lived.

His lyrics are intelligent and funny at the same time. His ability to evolve and adapt to new forms of music proves what a great artist he is.

If you want to get into the hip hop world you have to start by making great tracks. Great tracks can me made by feeling the real deal of hip hop and by finding the right hip hop loops.

Check out Future Loops’ sample packs for the finest hip hop loops in the market.

If you’re looking for hip hop samples, go to Future Loops’ website to start making some badass beats right know!