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Archive for the ‘Music’ Category

The first thing to remember: be wary of “hype,” and don’t be easily impressed. For example, it’s nice that a potential teacher has great credentials and a slick website, but those things won’t necessarily help you play any better. And while it’s important to like the style of your guitar teacher’s playing, that doesn’t have to be everything: sometimes the best players don’t make the best teachers, and vice versa.

A good teacher begins with…knowing yourself

Actually, the most important factor to finding the right guitar teacher has NOTHING to do with the teacher. Instead, it has everything to do with you: know your goals… Do you want to learn guitar to just be a hobbyist or sing around campfire once in awhile? Or are you a serious professional, who wants to fine-tune your skills and start playing with an even higher level of musician? Either way, you’ll have very different needs.

Starting the search…

One of the best ways to find a good guitar teacher is by visiting your local music store for a referral. The employees there are typically professional musicians themselves, and have a good scoop on the local scene-many more are great teachers in their own right. Many music stores even have their own in-house teachers that are often worth a look (and listen).

While you’re at the store, take a listen to the other players. If you run into someone that sounds great, don’t hesitate to ask if they are available to teach; there’s a very good chance that person is a teacher himself, or has some leads of his own.

Contacting teachers…

Once you begin contacting teachers, it’s important to remember the following items.

Be sure to “Google” your potential teacher to get an idea of how established they are as a teacher and player. If they are a rookie teacher but you want to proceed with them-that’s fine-but at least make sure that they’re charging you rookie prices.

More importantly, don’t disqualify a particular teacher just because they are expensive or far away. If you are a serious student, finding a teacher that you can connect with and that will improve your playing should be the primary concerns. If that relationship is healthy, friendly and you respect the way he plays, it can mean a world for you & your development.

Also, don’t necessarily hunt for the cheapest bargain, the shortest commute, or most convenient situation…instead look for someone that will help you reach-and exceed-your goals.

Another critical item is teaching methods: Some students learn by hearing and seeing, others learn by learning set songs or already recorded guitar solos. If you can go to see you teacher play live or in a free consultation lesson, do it. Seeing how he actually plays will communicate so much for you.

Most importantly, a good teacher knows how to cater the lessons to you and your development. They’ll quickly come to understand how fast you learn and how to present ideas to you in a way that you will “get it.” Good teachers are creative in their teaching methods, and aren’t afraid to try different methods. For example, some students need a lot of creative freedom to discover the guitar…others learn with a lot of structure.

You will find that some teachers are heavily booked and don’t (or can’t) offer free consultations or lessons. In these cases, it may be worth spending the cash on that first lesson to see if you like his methods, processes and personality.

Once you begin…

Once you’ve found the right teacher, be realistic: don’t put insane demands on your teacher and expect him to play and teach all your favorite songs-particularly if you are a beginner. Be willing, open-minded and humble enough to allow the instructor to teach & mold you into something greater.

One of the worst things you can do as a novice is to enter a student-teacher relationship with preconceived notions about teaching methods, and things you need to learn. Don’t tell the teacher how to do his job; instead, just find a reputable teacher that plays the guitar the way you want to play and trust him to show you how to do it. Remember, if the teacher really knows what he’s doing, he won’t necessarily need your input on how to conduct a lesson.

However, certainly do communicate how you want to sound-and what your long-term goals are. Lots of times people have a specific goal in mind but they are not good enough to accomplish that goal within the first month and then they blame the teacher: if you’re a novice, you won’t be playing advanced metal songs within a month. Instead, go back to the basics, like fundamentals and some simple barre chords-even the greatest pros practice the fundamentals every day.

Remember, there’s a great guitar teacher out there for every aspiring student. And just by taking some time out to figure out your goals, looking around in the right places-and asking your prospective teachers the right questions-you’ll be well on your way to being a strong player in your own right.

Sex music can’t always be intrusive or cause confusion. It should strengthen the total environment and intensify the heat in the scene.

This sort of music does not necessarily need to have a climax or segment that appears to carry the most importance, which generally can be seen in any normal song with an intro, verse, chorus, bridge and ending. These things may stimulate confusion to those that are listening to the song.

Sex music should appear as though it were something like songs in movies or films that just bring more fervor and dynamism to the aura and action.

Erotic songs ought to be played as an accessory to turn you on. This is used in a different manner than sex movies or erotic photos, which are the primary focus of attraction. Sex music has to lightly arouse you by accompanying you throughout your love session or sexual intercourse.

Whenever the music is able to fulfill that aim, we can undoubtedly claim that it is really good sensual music, and that it is sex music, as it need to be labeled.

We are definitely talking about music that you would need to make out with, have sex with, or possibly even use for a hot date. This is not music that you would generally utilize to dance to (even though this may be an essential part of the act) or listen to just to listen to.

Sexsonica is probably the best sample of this style of music. Sexsonica’s music embodies elements of electronic music with beats and sensual cadences that are spellbinding and provoking.

Many tastes and colors of different styles of music may be seen in the songs that can transport the listener to diverse places, cultures, fantasies, and levels of passion. The musical variations show a taste of trip hop, ambient, chill out, jazz, and ethnic music or world music. Erotic sounds and alluring instruments may also be seen in these songs with asymmetric rhythms, sound effects, loops, sexy voices and moans and groans.

Sexsonica started its first experimental musical production in 2005 which is called Sexualsong which was trailed by subsequent sensual albums like Sexualsong 2 in 2006 which has excessively sensual songs such as “Exotic”, an integration of electronica/ethnic that can transport you to a sensuous lifestyle, “Dreaming” is another from this album that is one of Sexsonica’s hits and is really mysterious and enchanting.
“Lounge” is a considerably seductive song cushioned with asymmetrical rhythms and diversified voices of enjoyment.

Sexualsong 3 was published in 2007 and several of the most prominent songs are “Hypnotic Movement” with foreign instruments from the Middle East and “City of Nocturnal Ecstacy” which is a song of erotic and eye-catching electronic abstractions.

There are also several compilations and instrumental versions of Sexualsong 2 and Sexualsong 3.The most current work of art from 2011 by Sexsonica is Sexualsong 4 EP which contains 5 complex and distinguished songs like “Tribal”, a sexual outcry to our wild and sensual internal instincts and “Epic Contact”, an erotic odyssey offilled with epic moments.

Erotic music is, obviously, a remarkably essential element required to produce an erotic and stimulating atmosphere. Sexsonica’s music is the perfect election for achieving this environment.

On October 16, 2003 (no, not quite as fateful or momentous a date as July 20, 1969), the creation of the world’s first “Personalized Pet Songs” was reported in the Los Angeles Daily News. The New York Times Wire Service immediately picked up this earthshaking story [humor is mine], and within weeks this news was reported in no less than one hundred American newspapers, including the Chicago Tribune, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Portland Oregonian, Washington Post, Boston Globe, and Oklahoma City Business Journal. How do I know this? Because according to all the published articles, a certain “Benjamin Rzepka created this unique music CD for pets and their owners.” That happens to be MY name. Yes, Wilbur and Orville Wright flew the first plane. Henry Ford set up the the first automobile assembly line. Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon. And (drum roll, please) I wrote, sang, and recorded the world’s first personalized songs for cats and dogs! I guess that makes me some sort of “pioneer”–step aside, Misters Lewis and Clark. All of these famous people’s exploits could not match the “buzz” generated by Personalized Pet Songs!

The headlines shocked the world: New York Times–”Yes, he is singing to YOUR pet”; Oklahoma Journal–”Minstrel to your pooch”; Cleveland Plain Dealer–”Something to howl about…a pet serenade”; St. Louis Dispatch–”CDs pay tribute to dogs”; Seattle Times–”Man composes personal odes to animals; Chicago Tribune (which ran the story TWICE)–”Songs put a howl in your heart”; Dallas Morning News–”Music for pets to purr and bark along with”; and Tampa Tribune–”A song for your best friend.” All of a sudden, “Man walks on the moon” seemed uneventful in comparison!

What was the selllbinding text in all of these explosive articles? Can you handle it? “Whether the name is Buddy or Ginger, Puddles or Binx, songwriter and music producer Benjamin Rzepka of Cleveland, Ohio has a melody just for your pet. Rzepka created “Personalized Pet Songs,” a unique musical album for animals and their owners featuring six personalized pet tunes.

He includes your pet’s name throughout the verses of very catchy melodies. The songs range from classical and soft pop to country and children’s songs. The title of the CD depends on the name of whatever animal it is being made for, whether you have a canine companion, feline friend, a bird in the hand, or a bunny in the bush. He also sings and performs the elaborate music on each CD.

‘It’s so far out and cute and different,’ said Billie Rich, a cat owner from Rzepka’s home state of Ohio. ‘It’s a marvelous idea, and I think he is on to something big. To love your pets and have personalized songs about them, what could be better?’ ” –Jaime Spangrude, Los Angeles Daily News / New York Time News Service (October 16, 2003)

Virtually overnight, I became the Mick Jagger of the animal kingdom. Almost everywhere I go, people come up to me and ask me if I’m HIM? This is NO JOKE ! Since I’m an honest guy, I politely reply, “No, I’m NOT the real Mick Jagger, but your dog can’t tell the difference. To your dog, I’m as good as a rock star.” For more information, contact Mick, I mean Ben Rzepka at ben.rze@gmail.com

I am writing this article with the idea to help you if you are wondering which beat maker to choose between these two – Sonic Producer and Dub Turbo. That was a question that was bothering me a lot of time and to ease you, I will make a little comparison between them. I want to make a point that this is a comparison, based on my own experience and the results that I came with after using both of the beat making programs.

First, Dub Turbo is a beat maker that you can download at your own PC. It has many features that Sonic Producer doesn’t. But what is good about Sonic Producer is that it’s online beat maker and you can make your own beats wherever you are.

The quality – I will compare these beat making machines on their quality – For Sonic Producer I got to say that the quality is good for an online beat making software. However, compared to Dub Turbo, it’s less good. What you get here is an mp3 format for your beats. With Dub Turbo, you can export your beats in .wav format, which gives you more quality. The files are bigger, but it’s worth, you will see it if you compare a beat made by the one and a beat from the other beat maker.

The interface – both beat making programs are very user friendly and actually if you want some program that is known for its easiness, I will suggest both beat making machines. They are made to be useful for the user and if you are a newbie, you will find them very easy to use! If I have to suggest to you only one – choose Sonic Producer, because with the opportunity to make your beats online, it’s more accessible and that makes it even easier!

The price – these two beat makers are on the same price – onetime fee of 29$, so whatever you decide, I think that the price wouldn’t be bothering you…

My conclusion on this question: If you want better quality on the beats you make, choose Dub Turbo, if you want easier access to the program – Sonic Producer is for you! I personally use Dub Turbo at home and Sonic Producer when I am on a trip…

How many times have you turned to music to uplift you even further in happy times, or sought the comfort of music when melancholy strikes?

Music affects us all. But only in recent times have scientists sought to explain and quantify the way music impacts us at an emotional level. Researching the links between melody and the mind indicates that listening to and playing music actually can alter how our brains, and therefore our bodies, function.

It seems that the healing power of music, over body and spirit, is only just starting to be understood, even though music therapy is not new. For many years therapists have been advocating the use of music in both listening and study for the reduction of anxiety and stress, the relief of pain. And music has also been recommended as an aid for positive change in mood and emotional states.

Michael DeBakey, who in 1966 became the first surgeon to successfully implant an artificial heart, is on record saying: “Creating and performing music promotes self-expression and provides self-gratification while giving pleasure to others. In medicine, increasing published reports demonstrate that music has a healing effect on patients.”

Doctors now believe using music therapy in hospitals and nursing homes not only makes people feel better, but also makes them heal faster. And across the nation, medical experts are beginning to apply the new revelations about music’s impact on the brain to treating patients.

In one study, researcher Michael Thaut and his team detailed how victims of stroke, cerebral palsy and Parkinson’s disease who worked to music took bigger, more balanced strides than those whose therapy had no accompaniment.

Other researchers have found the sound of drums may influence how bodies work. Quoted in a 2001 article in USA Today, Suzanne Hasner, chairwoman of the music therapy department at Berklee College of Music in Boston, says even those with dementia or head injuries retain musical ability.

The article reported results of an experiment in which researchers from the Mind-Body Wellness Center in Meadville, Pa., tracked 111 cancer patients who played drums for 30 minutes a day. They found strengthened immune systems and increased levels of cancer-fighting cells in many of the patients.

“Deep in our long-term memory is this rehearsed music,” Hasner says. “It is processed in the emotional part of the brain, the amygdala. Here is where you remember the music played at your wedding, the music of your first love, that first dance. Such things can still be remembered even in people with progressive diseases. It can be a window, a way to reach them.”

The American Music Therapy Organization claims music therapy may allow for “emotional intimacy with families and caregivers, relaxation for the entire family, and meaningful time spent together in a positive, creative way”.

Scientists have been making progress in its exploration into why music should have this effect. In 2001 Dr. Anne Blood and Robert Zatorre of McGill University in Montreal, used positron emission tomography, or PET scans, to find out if particular brain structures were stimulated by music.

In their study, Blood and Zatorre asked 10 musicians, five men and five women, to choose stirring music. The subjects were then given PET scans as they listened to four types of audio stimuli – the selected music, other music, general noise or silence. Each sequence was repeated three times in random order.

Blood said when the subjects heard the music that gave them “chills,” the PET scans detected activity in the portions of the brain that are also stimulated by food and sex.

Just why humans developed such a biologically based appreciation of music is still not clear. The appreciation of food and the drive for sex evolved to help the survival of the species, but “music did not develop strictly for survival purposes,” Blood told Associated Press at the time.

She also believes that because music activates the parts of the brain that make us happy, this suggests it can benefit our physical and mental well being.

This is good news for patients undergoing surgical operations who experience anxiety in anticipation of those procedures.

Polish researcher, Zbigniew Kucharski, at the Medical Academy of Warsaw, studied the effect of acoustic therapy for fear management in dental patients. During the period from October 2001 to May 2002, 38 dental patients aged between 16 and 60 years were observed. The patients received variations of acoustic therapy, a practice where music is received via headphones and also vibrators.

Dr Kucharski discovered the negative feelings decreased five-fold for patients who received 30 minutes of acoustic therapy both before and after their dental procedure. For the group that heard and felt music only prior to the operation, the fearful feelings reduced by a factor of 1.6 only.

For the last group (the control), which received acoustic therapy only during the operation, there was no change in the degree of fear felt.

A 1992 study identified music listening and relaxation instruction as an effective way to reduce pain and anxiety in women undergoing painful gynecological procedures. And other studies have proved music can reduce other ‘negative’ human emotions like fear, distress and depression.

Sheri Robb and a team of researchers published a report in the Journal of Music Therapy in 1992, outlining their findings that music assisted relaxation procedures (music listening, deep breathing and other exercises) effectively reduced anxiety in pediatric surgical patients on a burn unit.

“Music,” says Esther Mok in the AORN Journal in February 2003, “is an easily administered, non-threatening, non-invasive, and inexpensive tool to calm preoperative anxiety.”

So far, according to the same report, researchers cannot be certain why music has a calming affect on many medical patients. One school of thought believes music may reduce stress because it can help patients to relax and also lower blood pressure. Another researcher claims music allows the body’s vibrations to synchronize with the rhythms of those around it. For instance, if an anxious patient with a racing heartbeat listens to slow music, his heart rate will slow down and synchronize with the music’s rhythm.

Such results are still something of a mystery. The incredible ability that music has to affect and manipulate emotions and the brain is undeniable, and yet still largely inexplicable.

Aside from brain activity, the affect of music on hormone levels in the human body can also be quantified, and there is definite evidence that music can lower levels of cortisol in the body (associated with arousal and stress), and raise levels of melatonin (which can induce sleep). It can also precipitate the release of endorphins, the body’s natural painkiller.

But how does music succeed in prompting emotions within us? And why are these emotions often so powerful? The simple answer is that no one knows yet. So far we can quantify some of the emotional responses caused by music, but we cannot yet explain them. But that’s OK. I don’t have to understand electricity to benefit from light when I switch on a lamp when I come into a room, and I don’t have to understand why music can make me feel better emotionally. It just does – our Creator made us that way.