Saturday, July 31, 2010

Rythem And Blues Music: An Enormous Part Of Our Existence Will Stand The Test Of Time

By Danny Spetuzza

What does music mean to you? I bet you nearly always find a song on the radio to match your mood. It is too easy to take music for granted. It is always around us. Children start to dance at the drop of a good beat and many adults do the same. They simply can not help themselves. What would our world be like without music?

I probably appreciate Country Music more than any other genre of music. I think it is because I can relate to it so easily. I can not count the times that I needed a good country song to help me through a break up, a setback, etc. And, sometimes, a good upbeat country song like Luke Brian's "Rain Is A Good Thing" is just the lift I need.

If you are a music lover and have never taken a college course called Music Appreciation, you are missing out. I reluctantly took the course years ago. Although the classical music we studied was different from what I was used to, I noticed a music road map from yesteryear to today. The music moved me in a way I had not yet experienced, and I still like a good classical from Bach every now and again.

Country Music is in fact my favorite genre. But coming in at a close second, is the Top 40 chart in America. Currently Ryan Seacrest hosts the show every week. The Top 40 is normally upbeat, current and relevant. I live in the Atlanta area and there are several radio stations that live on the Top 40. If I am not in the mood for a good Country song, I will flip it over to the Top 40.

American Idol has definitely changed the music industry. There are thousands of people who try out every season with only a handful making it through. But think about this. What if Carrie Underwood had never tried out? What if Daughtry had a bad performance on the first round and never even made into the competition. Another thought is that there must be thousands more super talented artists out there who will never be noticed. For this reason, I am a hug American Idol Fan. American Idol is making dreams come true and giving the rest of us some really great music to listen to.

Rap Music is not my favorite Genre. But, I have to say that most of the artists are very talented to say the least. Eminem is probably my favorite. Why? He is passionate and conveys his life through his music. Its not all clean, in fact some of his lyrics are not for young ears. But, I have to say life is not always good to us all. Eminem has a series of powerful messages in his songs. His new song "Love The Way You Lie" is a good example.

So, if you have been listening to the same stuff for years why not try something new, strange or unusual. If you don't like it you can turn it in the blink of an eye. However, I challenge you to see the song through and focus on the lyrics or talents of the artist.

Go back to the top. If music was gone forever, I think we would have a bigger appreciation for music. It's just difficult to think about a world without music. What about Church. Can you image a church service without your most intimate and familiar songs. How bout that. There is a country song that references such a thing. It would be terrible. I hope this article will make you pause even for a second to appreciate our lives with music.

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3 Tips On How To Have The Best Concert Experience

By Ronaldo C. Jamerthal Jr.

If you are a person who loves going to concerts then booking a package to a concert with a vip service may be right up your alley. Of course as always you can always make your concert experience more enjoyable by including a few particular items. From getting front row seats or floor area passes to getting an all inclusive pass to meet the entertainers paying the money for a concert package is well worth it! The 3 suggestions below will help give you some ideas on what you can do to organize an evening out during the next big concert in your area.

1. It really doesn't matter if you listen to rock or blues music you will certainly have options when it comes to purchasing tickets. When it comes to being able to get good deals on concert passes or tickets you may want to contact your local vip service or business. You would be amazed at the low costs you can get for limo rides to and from the show, beverage discounts, and exclusive passes for the live performance!

2. Make sure you become familiar with the location or arena where your particular concert will be held at. Check a seating chart to see where the best seats are and if there are luxury suites or vip areas available. Once you have a general idea as to where you want to sit or stand then you should do some searching on how much tickets are selling for. Contact your local vip business and see what types of specials or discounted packages they can arrange for you.

3. To make your concert experience even better you should always bring some family or friends. If you have a large group that is going to a concert then you just may find that splitting costs could make the event cheaper for everyone.

The next time you want to attend the next big live music event in your area keep these suggestions in mind and you will surely have a great time. From vip passes, backstage passes, and great drink services all the way to great prices these suggestions above can help you enjoy a more than memorable live music experience.

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Remember The Life And Works Of The King Of Pop With Your Own Michael Jackson Poster

By Mark Turgeon

Michael Jackson's death happened just over a year ago, and the world was shocked by the news. The reaction from Illinois to India, London to Los Angeles was the same: the world had lost one of its greatest musical icons. Jackson fans chose their own ways to remember the king; some played his records at full volume, some put together home shrines with their own Michael Jackson Poster, some gathered in vigil near his Neverland ranch. In this article, we look back at the life and work of the man who changed pop forever.

Michael Jackson was born into a typical African American working class family at the end of the fifties. His father, who had experience in an R'n'B group, envisaged his children becoming stars from a very young age, and his authoritarian parenting had a profound impact on his son.

Many have speculated the Jackson's difficult upbringing was both a curse and a blessing for the star, explaining both his erratic behavior as an adult and his dogged determination to become the most recognizable man on the planet. His early years with the family band The Jackson 5 were marked by a string of memorable hits on the Motown label, all before Jackson himself had turned twenty.

The Jackson 5, who later re-branded as simply the Jackson's had a slew of further hits on epic, but by 1978 Michael felt the itch to branch out in his own right. A fateful encounter with Quincy Jones, who would go on to produce the breakthrough 'Off the Wall' saw Jackson's solo career begin in earnest.

Off the Wall sold over 20 million copies worldwide to date, and was followed by perhaps Jackson's finest hour, the remarkable 'Thriller'. Remembered for its brilliant hits such as 'Beat It', 'Wanna Be Startin' Something' and 'Billie Jean', Jackson's songs, videos and inventive dance moves instantly became the stuff of legend, infectious and inescapable instant classics which pleased fans of multiple musical genres.

Bad was to follow, breaking US records for the most hit singles taken from a single LP, although by this time speculation about Jackson's personal life in the media circus was beginning to overshadow his creative output. In spite of this, he would go on to release Dangerous and the double album History in the 1990s which, while not repeating the successes of the preceding two albums, still had a significant impact on the music industry.

Jackson's charity work for the Heal The World Foundation and his passionate support of good causes is often overlooked. Jackson was also a passionate environmentalist and vegetarian, outspoken on protection of the natural world. Although Jackson's life was one of controversy and speculation, he remained a philanthropist and believer in a better world.

Invincible, released in 2001 was to be Jackson's final LP, and although he planned a 50-date comeback/finale series of shows in London, he sadly passed away before these could take place. Regardless, Jackson leaves the world of pop with a truly enviable legacy. He pushed the boundaries of what a truly global pop star could be, and he continues to be treasured by legions of loyal fans the world over.

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Going To A Live Music Performance-3 Ways To Have A Better Experience

By Ronaldo C. Jamerthal Jr.

If you're someone who likes concerts then something that may interest you would be booking a vip package to the next big concert. Of course as always you can always make your concert experience more enjoyable by including a few particular items. Vip passes, backstage passes, and great seats during the concert are just a few reasons why spending the money on a concert package is worth it! The 3 suggestions below will help give you some ideas on what you can do to organize an evening out during the next big concert in your area.

1. It really doesn't matter if you listen to rock or blues music you will certainly have options when it comes to purchasing tickets. When it comes to being able to get good deals on concert passes or tickets you may want to contact your local vip service or business. You would be stunned at the low price ranges you can get for limousine rides to and from the show, beverage discounts, and exclusive tickets for the live show!

2. Do some research on the venue or auditorium in which your concert is going to be played at. Check a seating chart to see where the best seats are and if there are luxury suites or vip areas available. Once you have a general idea as to where you want to sit or stand then you should do some searching on how much tickets are selling for. Contact your local vip business and see what types of specials or discounted packages they can arrange for you.

3. One thing that may help you set up the perfect live music experience and night out may be having your friends or family members join you and your partner. The bigger the entourage the more fun you will have and more than likely the better the deals will be to accommodate your group.

The next time you want to attend the next big live music event in your area keep these suggestions in mind and you will surely have a great time. From drinks, vip services, backstage passes, front row or floor area passes, to meet and greet sessions you'll have the opportunity to experience a more than memorable night at your next concert when you follow the suggestions given above.

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Formal Or Self-Taught Guitar Lessons: Which Should It Be?

By Steve Casey

If learning guitar is so easy, did all those self-taught rock stars have it right all along? That may be what you're thinking when you hear so many claims these days that it's possible to learn how to play this instrument on your own, without much more than a few websites and perhaps some books. Are formal guitar lessons really not needed at all? Have guitar students just wasted their time when they could have done it all themselves? Or did they receive something that people missed when they learned on their own?

In the past, you might have avoided taking lessons by studying on your own from guitar lesson books similar to those used in a teaching studio. But now you can learn guitar online as well, in two formats often used in combination. Written web pages provide diagrams showing where to position your fingers and what combinations of positioning will create which chords.

But as online video technology has increased in power, written descriptions are often supplemented by videos showing you how it's done. And sometimes the written material is eliminated altogether, with the video and its commentary constituting the entire lesson.

While it's true that if you learn guitar online you'll actually get to see a demonstration of how actions should be performed, which you'd never see with a book, you may still be missing something. Qualified teachers who are able to see you play can detect flaws in technique on the spot, and immediately give a demonstration to correct them. If you take formal guitar lessons, then you get the benefit of this sort of guidance, which you simply can't get from a pre-taped or written lesson.

If you're thinking of taking your playing in a more professional direction, then formal guitar lessons are an absolute must. No professional classical guitarist, for example, can really succeed without that sort of rigorous training. If you're not sure you'll go beyond the beginner acoustic guitar, though, it might be enough just to get a few of the basics from a website and some videos. What is important is how you want to use the instrument in the future, and that will determine how formally or casually you'll need to be trained.

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Thursday, July 29, 2010

The IPod Has Created A Revolution In The World Of Music

By Ken Dragki

A huge improvement the new iPod classic has to offer is its size. It's amazing to think that you can carry around your whole media library in a MP3 player that weighs under 6 ounces. This means you will have less bulk weighing you down when walking about town or when traveling.

The iPod shuffle is the tiny music device which can fit in anywhere. It is weighs merely 15 grams and the unique clip-on design will let you stick your iPod shuffle anyplace you want. The shuffle has a 1 GB memory which stores around 250 songs and is ideal as a gift or for people who prefer good quality music on the go.

It comes with Component vide, Connectivity Docking connector, Composite video facility with headphones. This iPod feature date display, playback speed control, calendar, phone book and it can be upgradeable to firmware. This iPod has facility for notes, built-in games and photo wallet.

It has a 2.5 inch LCD screen powered with an LED back-light and a high resolution of 320 X 240 pixels that displays everything with great clarity. It has a Lithium Ion battery and the ability to play music files of various file formats such as AIFF, AAC, AV, and MP3.

New Genius Apple iPod Classic Innovative Gadgets feature finds the songs in your library that go great together and makes a playlist for you. You can listen to the playlist right away, save it for later, or even refresh it and give it another go. You get up to 36 hours of battery life and you also can search for specific titles and artists. Click Shuffle Songs for a different experience every time.

The iPod has created a kind of revolution in the world of music entertainment. With this new and trendy way of listening to music, people seldom look towards the conventional disc man or CD players. The iPod Classic has an internal hard drive and also has a great photo viewer option. The users can easily connect it with a computer.

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Friday, July 2, 2010

What Is Portable Mp3 Players?

By Ricky Belekan

Portable media players, or MP3 players, have been on the market since 1997, when the Audio Highway Listen Up player was first released. The basic design was around since 1979 when Kane Kramer invented a device that could only play up to 3.5 minutes of audio. The two decade wait, in part was due to how to convey the audio files. When early prototypes were software-based, they were energy hogs, unfeasible. When a decoder chip was invented that could read from flash memory, the industry could flourish.

The portablemp3player is basically a media player that is portable and allows you to store music. Currently on the market you can find an MP3 player in almost every budget, style and versions. Some will only play music while others can play video and games along side of many other apps like web browsing. When you choose one you will have to base it off a few things.

Since we are concerned with playing music, sound quality should be a high priority in any choice. Sound quality, in part, depends on price, but also on brand. The iPod series is a popular brand due to bells and whistles, but without a decent headphone amp, it lacks in quality. Reviews show very favorably for Cowon iAudio or S9, Sony products, Samsung YP-P3, and MicroSoft Zune HD.

Some MP3 players use memory chips while others will use hard drives to store a someone music data. Some examples of MP3 internal memory devices are the 160 iPod Classic and also the Zune. Other MP3 players such as the ones made by iPod, Sony, Cowon and Coby seem to prefer using a memory chip.

Many MP3 players nowadays are able to play video and even download videos. Some of the more popular brands that offer such capabilities are 4th and 5th generation ipod products, Walkman, Zune HD, Cowon and many others. When buying one of these you must think about screen resolution and the size of the screen.

Some of the higher quality players will have many fancy features to go along with standard functions. Many can record videos, pick up satellite radio, can connect to the Internet, and can play games. The iPhone even has a camera and a phone. Many other companies are now trying to catch up to what the creators of the iPhone have produced but none have caught up to them yet.

Budget is always a consideration. Some of the MP3's mentioned are upwards of $500. Larger video screens, greater memory capabilities, and multitudes of features keep these prices high. You can get a basic music player with small screen and little else for $100 or less with Coby, Sony, and SamSung products. iPod's Shuffle series offers many of the features of the iPods in a more stream-lined form for much less than the newer iPods and may be a good option.

The very best overall MP3 players may well be the Apple iPod series, MicroSoft Zune HD, Cowon products and SanDisk Sansa products. For quality-driven people who can foot the bill, the 5th generation iPod touch or nano, the Zune, or the Cowon are ideal. For budget-conscious people, the best options are iPod shuffles and the SanDisk line, quality products at budget-friendly prices.

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