Showing posts with label Start. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Start. Show all posts

Thursday, June 14, 2012

How To Play The Guitar Right From The Start With The 3 D's

If you want to learn how to play the guitar there are a few things that you need to consider right from the start. As a beginner guitarist you need to have certain things and do certain things if you want to learn how to play the guitar with the least amount of frustration.

Just like the "Karate Kid" guy found out when he wanted to learn karate the right way, a beginner needs to have the desire, discipline and dedication to learn. Desire, discipline and dedication - the 3 D's. Those three words pack a lot of punch. If you want to learn anything, you have to want it badly enough to do whatever it takes to get it and you have to keep at it until you get whatever it was you were wanting to learn. The 3 D's are what you need inside you to learn anything.

Desire, Discipline and Dedication

These are the qualities any beginner guitar player needs to learn to play.

When you see a professional guitarist playing you probably get inspired to play guitar yourself because they make it look so easy and they make their guitars sound so good. You probably don't even think about what it took for them to get that good. But, in order for the pros to play that great they had to really desire it and have the discipline to study and practice and they had to have the dedication to stick with it until they mastered it.

Beginner guitarists usually just want to grab a guitar and start playing and expecting to sound like the pros. Unfortunately, it isn't that easy. Beginners can get disappointed and discouraged when they discover they can't get the same sounds out of their guitar as the professionals do. It is; however, inspirational to remember that the pros were all once exactly where you are now - at the beginning.

So, exactly how do the 3 D's apply to you, the beginning guitarist?

Well, learning guitar requires that you have, not only the desire to learn how to play the guitar, but the discipline to study your lessons regularly (everyday) and to practice regularly (everyday) and the dedication to follow it through, even when it seems pointless or you'd rather do something else, until you too, are at the playing level you want to get to.

Even if you don't want to be a professional guitarist, you should still consider how intense your desire, discipline and dedication to learning guitar is so your goals and expectations do not exceed the effort you are willing to put in and cause you frustration and aggravation.

I can't give you the desire, discipline or dedication to learn but I can show you a birds-eye-view of guitar playing and steer you in the right direction: Find a lot more helpful Guitar Lesson Information here. While you're there, check out the free special report on Learning the Guitar Fretboard to get a jumpstart on your guitar lessons.

If you are new to guitar playing or have tried to learn the guitar before but gave up, be assured that it is NOT impossible to learn. You just need a little guidance. Learn more about How To Play The Guitar by clicking the link.


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Sunday, April 22, 2012

How To Play The Guitar Right From The Start With The Stuff You Need

If you want to learn how to play the guitar there are a few material things that you need right from the start. As a beginner guitarist you need to have a guitar, a method to learn from, the willingness to practice your lessons and apply what you are learning in your lessons. So, to learn how to play the guitar right and with the least amount of frustration consider the following information.

Your Guitar

Obviously, you need a guitar. You can learn guitar basics on any type of guitar you can get your hands on but most beginners start out with an acoustic guitar. They are easy to find. You might even know someone with an old acoustic guitar sitting around their house that you can borrow. You can also rent guitars from most music shops. But, before you go out and buy a guitar you should consider the kind of music you want to play. Different types guitars are suited to different musical styles.

If you intend to buy a guitar you need to decide what kind of guitar to get yourself based on the music you aspire to play. Unfortunately, for most people price is a major consideration. But luckily, with the precise guitar manufacturing techniques available today, you can get excellent sounding guitars for a few hundred dollars. Guitar store staff and online buying tips can be very helpful in making your decision.

Your Guitar Education

There are basically two ways to learn to play the guitar - private guitar lessons with a teacher or home-study style instruction.

Teachers can be expensive and inconvenient but still may be an appropriate choice for some people.

There are many "teach yourself" lessons available that are a lot cheaper and just as thorough as a private teacher. With video and audio available in self-learning lessons, they are a great, inexpensive and convenient alternative to an in-person teacher. They also make it possible for more than one person to learn from the same guitar course.

Many of these self-teaching guitar lessons for beginners courses offer a free beginner guitar course so you can try before you buy.

So, as far as your guitar education goes, you need to choose a guitar lesson course to learn from on your own or hire a private teacher.

Practicing Your Lessons

Buying guitar lessons is not enough, though.

You have to put in the mental and physical effort to learn the fundamentals of playing guitar until they are second nature to your mind and your muscles. But, if you really want to play guitar, it won't seem like effort.

You do have to study your guitar lessons but you also need to practice what you have learned. Many people fall down at this step because they find practicing boring and they lose interest. You have to find ways to make your practice time interesting and fun because practice is definitely necessary in learning to play guitar.

A good teacher or set of beginner guitar lessons will recognize this and give you the help you need to stay motivated.

Applying Your Lessons

Why do you want to learn how to play the guitar? I'll hazard a guess that you don't want to just learn theory and technique. Do you really want to play scales over and over forever?

No, you want to play songs on your guitar. Applying what you learn in your lessons to real, popular songs is extremely important. It makes your lessons worth learning and fun and helps you to progress more quickly through your lessons.

Playing songs with other people, in person or recorded, is also very helpful and important to your progress.

If you really want to learn how to play the guitar, you have to get the material things you need - guitar and lessons - but you also need to put them to efficient and intelligent use.

I know how hard it is to learn to play guitar when you have so many choices of guitars and lessons to learn from. It all becomes so overwhelming that you don't know where to even begin.

But, I can show you a birds-eye-view of guitars and guitar playing and steer you in the right direction to your guitar playing goals: Find a lot more helpful Guitar Lesson Information here.

While you're there, check out the free special report on Learning the Guitar Fretboard to get a jumpstart on your guitar lessons.

If you are new to guitar playing or have tried to learn the guitar before but gave up, be assured that it is NOT impossible to learn. You just need a little guidance. Learn more about How To Play Guitar by clicking the link.


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Monday, April 9, 2012

Am I Too Old To Start Learning To Play Piano?

Many people wish they could learn the piano but wonder whether they are too old to start learning. Sometimes it might be puzzling when you see many young pianist playing very advanced pieces because maybe you wonder how they got so good at such a young age. This might lead you to wonder whether you can only get good at playing if you start at a young age.

So are you ever too old to start learning the piano? The truth is a big fat NO.

The human brain is an amazing thing; we always have a capability of learning even in old age. The reason why people may ask this question is because it may seem that most of the learning that occurs in today's society is in schools and universities, places mainly inhabited by young people. But school isn't only for teaching young people, I have seen people in their 60s take new university courses and succeed. It doesn't help when idioms like "you can't teach an old dog new tricks" are so common. Although this is not correct, there may be some truth to it.

Now I would be lying if I didn't agree that it is easier to learn something when you are younger. We have more learning power when we are young. That's why it is much better to learn a second language when we are younger. The reason for this is that when we are younger our brains are still developing and they enter a state of plasticity so it is inherently easier to take in, remember and learn new things. After the brain leaves this state, it does get progressively harder (but not impossible) to learn new things. However, when we are older we have a better understanding of how to get good at something, which is through practice and perseverance.

Not getting enough regular practice is one of the most common reasons why young pianists never get anywhere with their playing. When piano is learnt at a young age, usually it is the initiative of the parents to get their children started in piano lessons and not the child choosing to learn piano. This causes many students to be uninterested and usually young pianists (under 10) do not have an understanding of how important regular practice is. Eventually students might give up piano because they are not getting anywhere with their playing because of the lack of practice.

So maybe it is actually better to start learning the piano when you are older because you have a better understanding of what you want to achieve and how to achieve it. You can organize your life to fit in regular practice sessions and can actively seek out good information and teachings to get better. If you keep at it, you will definitely progress faster than young pianists who are uninterested and do not practice regularly.

Although you may be getting on in years, age is not an excuse not to start learning piano. Sure it might be a bit more difficult to get used to a few new things when we are older but that is no match for effort and hard work. Playing the piano is one of my favorite hobbies. I'm sure it will become one of yours as well, but you should start as soon as possible. Remember the longer you wait and the older you get, the harder it becomes to learn. But who said age is a barrier.

If you are interested in learning the piano but don't know where to start, you should check out Rocket Piano; the best comprehensive piano learning course out today.

If you would like to view more piano related articles, receive piano playing tips and get free piano lessons, feel free to visit my website http://www.learntoplaythatpiano.com/


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Saturday, March 31, 2012

How to Start Creating Dubstep Music

In order to start laying down some filthy dubstep music, you're going to need to get yourself the proper gear. There's absolutely no need at this point to go out and look for top of the line stuff suitable for the production studios of the pros like Skrillex and Flux Pavilion (if your into them). A computer purchased within the last 5 years, some decent headphones, and the right kind of software is all you'll need for now. We don't want to get carried away here.

First we have to see if you have what it takes to eventually get good enough to call yourself a dub king (or queen). Of course by that I mean will you maintain your interest in production long enough to actually get good at this stuff and lay down tracks filthier than Bear Grylls when he's thirsty?

-__-

Too far?

But seriously... too many people who try to start making electronic music get frustrated with a complex software program that is way out of their league, and lose interest in producing all together. This is just plain wrong and should never happen to you. You need to choose your software carefully based on your experience and the "feel" of the program to you.

The majority of producers today use sequencing packages which are usually referred to as DAW's (Digital Audio Workstations). These enable the artist to record sounds, arrange audio, and build a track in an intuitive workflow, and often include various plugins, or extensions to the sequencing program which can usually be downloaded around the internet, that add extra capabilities to your production environment. A good program can support plugins, but if you're just starting out, it can complicate things.

Here are some good programs to start with:

• Garageband

• Acid Pro

For those of you who have experience with the basics, are really patient with new software, or don't care what I say and want what the pros are using, try these:

• Logic

• Reason

• Ableton Live

• FL Studio

Many of these programs feature some type of free trial or sample version. It is important to check out multiple different production software to get a feel for which one might suit your needs best and will ultimately be the easiest for you to work with. Seriously try to do this, so you can avoid buyers remorse and hours of frustration later.

Now, get to work and start creating some PROPER dubstep tracks right now!

Cheers!

If you're interested in learning how to create dubstep music, as well as the best software to use, visit http://www.thedubstepcreator.com/


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Wednesday, March 28, 2012

What Is the Best Age to Start Piano Lessons?

If you have a young child and have been thinking about getting him or her started in piano lessons, you have probably heard many reports about the benefits of starting at a very young age. It is true that crucial musical development takes place in babies and toddlers starting at birth, and that children need musical stimulation from very early on in their lives.

But when you take a look at your two-and-a-half-year-old, it might be hard to imagine him or her sitting patiently on the bench through a thirty minute piano lesson. And you are probably right.

Traditionally, most piano teachers have suggested waiting until a child has started learning to read before starting them with piano instruction- around the age of five or six. The reason for this is that most methods of piano instruction have centered around teaching children to read notes off of the page from the very beginning. Younger children tend to get frustrated very quickly when faced with understanding musical symbols and trying to make their little fingers cooperate all at the same time.

But this does not mean that you should hold off on your child's music education until they start school. Enrolling your son or daughter in an early childhood music program such as Music Together or The Music Class is a great way to offer them a fun introduction to music. At the same time, they begin to develop fundamental skills in areas such as pitch and rhythm that will give them a much greater chance of success when they start formalized instruction.

The absolute earliest age I would recommend starting a child in piano lessons would be three-and-a-half years old. This should be considered only with a teacher who has lots of experience working with children at this age. A child this young will have a much shorter attention span and will need a variety of activities, both at and away from the piano, to keep that young mind interested and involved during the lesson.

The worst thing we could possibly do is make music study into a chore. For the pre-school child, music making should be a creative and fun activity. The discipline and persistence needed to succeed will be developed over time. For now, it's enough to concentrate on kindling in them a love for music and helping them to master basic musical concepts that will set the groundwork for future success.

So, what is my final advice on this subject?

First, start by exposing your child to music from the time they are born. Sing constantly to them. Play your favorite music (in all styles) on the stereo. Dance with your child. And as he or she gets a little older, around the age of one year, look for an opportunity to start an early childhood music program.

Piano lessons can wait until the child is five and he or she will do just fine. However, if you are adamant about starting at a younger age, look for a teacher with experience and training in working with younger beginners.

And most of all, for you the parent- be patient. Learning a musical instrument is a lifelong pursuit. Take your time and enjoy the journey.

Luke Bartolomeo has been involved in the nurturing and development of young musicians for over twenty years. He is the host of the weekly audio podcast Repertoire Review, which allows piano teachers and students the chance to discover new piano pieces for intermediate level students. He is on the faculty of the Sherwood Community Music School at Columbia College in Chicago. He is also a developer of educational music apps. Flashnote Derby is an app he created to help students learn the names of music notes.


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Saturday, March 3, 2012

Is It Better to Start Playing the Organ With Method Books or Organ Repertoire?

When beginners first decide to start playing the organ, they inevitably have a question: where to begin? Having an answer to this question is crucial to the advancement of an organist. Without a clear understanding of what are the strengths and weaknesses of any particular approach, it will be very difficult to succeed in developing one's technique. In this article, I will give you pros and cons of the beginning of organ playing with method books vs. repertoire.

Having a good organ method book, proceeding from the beginning and diligently following the instructions might save a lot of precious time.

You see, the author who writes a particular method book gives you not only very specific exercises to develop your organ technique, but usually a good method book is structured in a very graded manner - from easy to difficult exercises and compositions.

I understand that in many cases method books have long sections with dry unmusical exercises which are focused just on one particular element of organ technique, like pedal playing and the organist is supposed to complete them all. Organ pieces sometimes are only at the end of such method. For some people, this approach might be too boring.

Perhaps they could feel better about them if they had their goal , vision, or a dream in mind. For example, imagine that the organist wanted to play some piece that he or she always dreamed of, like the D Minor Toccata and Fugue by Bach or Toccata by Widor.

But this organist would understand that they are too complicated for a beginner and start studying organ from the method book first with this goal in mind. In fact, it is possible to use a mixed approach.

With this approach you would study exercises from the method book but integrate compositions from the repertoire of your level, too. Incidentally, the best method books available today integrate pieces within the exercises or construct the exercises out of the excerpts of the pieces.

In addition, such a book also has extensive details on early organ technique, registration, ornamentation, service playing, organ construction, and even on the new late 20th century techniques.

Another option would be to start playing the organ with very easy pieces from organ repertoire. However, be aware that you will need to figure out many details by yourself which otherwise would be included in the method book. These details include choice of fingering, pedaling, articulation, registration, ornamentation etc.

So you still probably would need to consult your teacher or a method book. Otherwise, your solutions might not be the best and the road to mastering these pieces would be too long.

In the end, I would say that it is possible to start playing the organ with any approach described here. Of course, the choice is yours but my recommendation would be to choose and practice wisely. Treat the pieces like the exercises, find and isolate the difficulties, practice them diligently and you will have no trouble in mastering any organ piece.

By the way, do you want to learn to play the King of Instruments - the pipe organ? If so, download my FREE video guide "How to Master Any Organ Composition" http://www.organduo.lt/organ-tutorial.html in which I will show you my EXACT steps, techniques, and methods that I use to practice, learn and master any piece of organ music.


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