I love playing music for people to hear. Ever since I was little I had a knack for performance. My parents have endless hours of home videos of me and my sisters performing in all kinds of made-up bands. Rarely did a month go by when we were not practicing for some kind of performance and making posters so that are parents would know to come to the show. My mom always popped popcorn and brought snacks and they enjoyed our live shows just as they would a movie at the local theatre. As a child, I had no idea how much the support of my parents was instilling in me such a deep belief in my own abilities. I loved playing my harmonica most of all. Looking back, I’m quite sure that I never had a harmonica lesson in all of my years of music playing. My father bought me a harmonica for my seventh birthday after I had been begging for one for nearly a year. When I wasn’t busy with my guitar or piano lessons, you could fin me on our front porch struggling to learn the harmonica on my own. It must have come somewhat naturally […] read more
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Do you love the harmonica?
I love playing music for people to hear. Ever since I was little I had a knack for performance. My parents have endless hours of home videos of me and my sisters performing in all kinds of made-up bands. Rarely did a month go by when we were not practicing for some kind of performance and making posters so that are parents would know to come to the show. My mom always popped popcorn and brought snacks and they enjoyed our live shows just as they would a movie at the local theatre. As a child, I had no idea how much the support of my parents was instilling in me such a deep belief in my own abilities. I loved playing my harmonica most of all. Looking back, I’m quite sure that I never had a harmonica lesson in all of my years of music playing. My father bought me a harmonica for my seventh birthday after I had been begging for one for nearly a year. When I wasn’t busy with my guitar or piano lessons, you could fin me on our front porch struggling to learn the harmonica on my own. It must have come somewhat naturally […] read more
Views : 661
Classic Rock Musicians Who Impact Music Today
Classic rock is a fundamental part of American history. Many of today’s leading bands can trace their styles back to the influence of certain musicians. While every song made available to the world has had an impact on the music industry, there are certain performers who will eternally stand at the forefront of music. From folk rock to psychedelic rock, there have been many groundbreaking sounds and voices. Here are the top ten most influential classic rock bands in history. Elvis Presley While Elvis is not traditionally viewed in the classic rock genre, it is impossible to ignore his influence on the world of Rock-n-Roll. As the first to expose mainstream America to something other than traditional family music, he faced a tremendous amount of opposition from the mainstream. Despite the extreme racism exhibited during the 1950’s, Elvis never hesitated to give appropriate credit to his inspirations. Mainly African-American performers influenced Elvis’ sound and style. Southern radio disc jockeys originally refused to play Elvis’ singles, because they sounded “too Negro” for white stations to air. It was not just Elvis’ sound, but also his performance, that drew controversy. The movement of his hips in a suggestive manner sparked an entire […] read more
Views : 641
Music for a New Years Eve Party
If you are planning a New Years Eve party, one of the most important elements of the party planning is the music you plan to play at the party. Making preparations for the food, beverages, entertainment, decorations, favors and other elements of the party are all very important but the music at the party are critical to the success of the party and can help to determine whether or not the guests have a good time. This article will discuss some of the options for music at a New Years Eve party and will provide information on implementing these options. Hiring a band is one very popular option for providing music for a New Years Eve party. However, there are some considerations which should be mulled over before deciding to hire a band. One of these important considerations is the amount of space required for the band to set up and perform. This is important especially if you are hosting the party in your home. Before signing a contract with a band, you should have a representative from the band visit the space and determine if there is enough room available. The noise ordinances should also be considered when hiring […] read more
Views : 435
The Longevity of Aerosmith
For over three decades, Aerosmith have been one of rock’s most revered and popular bands, crafting classic songs full of raw guitar runs and intensely energetic vocals. The band first reached fame in the 1970’s with a string of hits including “Dream On,” “Sweet Emotion” and “Walk This Way.” During this period, Aerosmith’s music defied easy categorization, falling somewhere between hard rock/blues and early punk, with occasional power ballads here and there. The band enjoyed major popularity throughout the 1970’s, but a split from 1979-84, and the serious substance abuse and drug addictions that contributed to their decline, would nearly relegate them to the annals of history. However, in 1984, Aerosmith was born again. They went on to enjoy resurgence in popularity that has made them one of the top-selling and most popular rock bands in the world today. Throughout their rough and rocky history, Aerosmith defied failure and even defied mediocrity in a fast-paced rock-and-roll world abundant in tragedy and also-rans. Aerosmith signed with Columbia in 1972 and debuted their first album simply titled Aerosmith, which included a hit single, “Dream On”. After constant touring, the band released Get Your Wings in 1974, which did quite well on the […] read more
Views : 442
What is hardcore music?
Hardcore was originally acclaimed as dirt, quick and bustling punk-rock, which emerged in the US in late 70-ies through early 80-ies. The hard-core bands, including Black Flag, Circle Jerks, Teen Idles, Minor Threat, Jerry’s Kids posed as founders of hardcore. Until 80-ies, hardcore appeared to be peculiar of ear-teasing, short and quick songs of approximately 1 to 1.5 minutes with presence of social lyrics. This stage completed due to bands’ tendency either to split up or, to, simply, shift to different musical style. Those times hardcore is labelled the old school hardcore. Some bands, including Earth Crisis, All Out War, Strife, following the old school hardcore, enriched their music with combination of slow melodies and metal elements, which, thus, committed to establishment of the new school of hardcore. The others, like Husker Du, Meat Puppets and Embrace however, applying restrictions to “hardness” in their music, developed the new styles of grunge and emocore, respectively. The emocore boasts the peculiar features of emotional performance, melodic and soft back-vocal, minor chords as well as typical behaviour on stage. The Bad Religion band, established in 1980, omitting usual now presence of slowness and duration in songs, posed as establisher of new musical trend […] read more
Views : 481
How the iPod changed the world
Music fans have celebrated ever since IPOD was released. It does not just give them music on the go but plenty of flexibility. Owning an IPOD means unlimited digital music to fill your soul. You can fill it with songs from CDs you own, from online music sites that offer free downloads or exchanges, and from Apples own innovation iTunes for as little as 99cents. A music lover can pay for just one song that he likes and does not have to purchase a whole CD. And since IPOD supports MP3 a person can purchase songs from a consumer friendly store like MP3tunes.com. But the battle that rages in the music industry is about copyright protection and loss of revenue. The question is whether the music industry should move forward and allow consumers to transfer music to portable devices without restrictions. The design of the IPOD is such that it promotes legal purchase and downloading of music around the globe. In three years IPOD owners have purchased 1 billion songs from iTunes stores world over. It is not just consumers who benefit. Artists can choose to distribute their music world wide through iTunes. Any artist who has not signed a […] read more
Views : 417
How background music can influence your buying habits?
If you think music doesn’t affect you, you’ll be changing your tune after reading this. This is a true story of a recent study from Leicester University in England. You’re off to the supermarket and decide to stop by some shelves offering French and German wine. You make up your mind to buy a bottle of the French wine. While checking out, you’re asked why you picked the wine. You respond “The label looked great”, or “I liked the price”. Then you’re asked if you noticed the French accordion music that was playing when you took that bottle off the shelf. You say that you did. Did it affect your choice of wine today? No, of course not, you answer. That’s funny because on the days that French music is played nearly 80% of shoppers chose the French wine. On the days that German music the Opposite happens. In other words, this study found that if you bought some wine from their shelves you were 3 or 4 times more likely to choose a wine that matched the music than the wine that didn’t match the music. Guess what these wine-buyers responded when asked at the checkout if the music […] read more
Views : 353
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
The music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is perhaps the most well-known of any composer the world has ever seen. Almost everyone has heard of how Mozart was composing music by the age of five (some urban legends even claim it was at age two) and performing before kings and queens, dukes and duchesses, before he was seven years old. He created more than 600 compositions, from operas to sonatas to full symphonies, and died tragically, mysteriously, before his 36th birthday in 1791. Some of his more famous pieces of music include Eine kleine Nachtmusik (A Little Night Music, 1787) and the operas Don Giovanni (1787) and Die Zauberflote (The Magic Flute, 1791). The movie Amadeus (1984) put into popular parlance the idea of Mozart as an immature and spoiled musical prodigy, given to fast living and obnoxious, braying laughter. It also portrays him as having been tormented by a brooding, jealous rival composer named Salieri, who may or may not have killed him. History paints only a slightly less dramatic picture. Born in 1756 in Salzburg, Austria, Mozart was the only son of a professional musician who very early on recognized the boy’s extraordinary musical talent. Today’s critical and politically […] read more
Views : 430
When did Country Music start?
Musicians have long been playing fiddle music in the Appalachians for years, but it wasn’t until 1927 in Bristol, Tennessee that the first recording country music recording deal was signed. In this year, Victor Records signed Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family. Jimmie Rodgers was born in Meridian Mississippi, in 1897. Originally he worked on the railroads until his ill health got the better of him and it was only during this time that he followed his earlier love of entertaining. In 1927 he followed word that Victor Records were setting up a portable recording studio and made his way there. He was immediately signed and continued recording and playing music until he died in 1933. In 1965 he was one of the very first musicians to be added to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1961 along with Hank Williams and Fred Rose. On the same day as Jimmie Rodgers signed with Victor Records, so did the Carter Family, who would become one of the most famous country music bands of all time. They remained with Victor Records until 1936. Not even divorce could separate the band though and they continued to record with Decca until 1939. Things […] read more
Views : 330
Getting to Know Sheet Music
Sheet music is an important tool for established musicians and those who want to learn. If you do not know how to read sheet music, don’t worry. There are many online tutorials that will take you step by step on learning how to read sheet music. Sheet music can speed the time in learning new songs. Sheet music can also help you capture your own original compositions to paper which will help in publishing and copyright issues. Finding sheet music is relatively easy given the popularity of sheet music download sites. You can find sheet music for every genre of music and to suit every instrument. Whether you are a beginner or an advanced musician, sheet music can be found for your experience level. Searching the Internet will bring up a variety of sites where you can choose the sheet music most desirable for you. When downloading sheet music, please be aware of copyright laws. The musician or composer usually holds the copyright to their sheet music. Some copyright owners will allow the download of their sheet music only under certain conditions. Others do not allow the download of their sheet music for free or at all. Be aware of […] read more
Views : 311
