Piano lessons are a great activity for children. They encourage creative thinking, develop math and reading skills, and improve students? overall educational progress, as well as building a fun life-long skill. As a result, over six million children in the United States take piano lessons! One of the choices that parents have when their child is beginning piano lessons is whether to enroll their son or daughter in a private or group lesson. Parents often have misperceptions, or at least several questions, in making this choice.

Q: What is the difference between private and group lessons?

A: Individual lessons are usually thirty minutes in length, with the piano teacher working one-on-one with a student. Individual lessons provide a high degree of personal attention for a student. Group lessons are generally 45-minutes to an hour in length, and consist of between two and four students working with their piano teacher. During group lessons, each student plays their own piano or keyboard and receives both individual and group instruction. Students are introduced to new skills in the group every week and are then given individual playing assignments. They practice these assignments using earphones and the teacher rotates among the students to check on their progress and provide additional instruction.

Q: Don?t children learn more in a private lesson?

A: Not necessarily, and it depends very much on the student. Some children thrive with individual instruction. However, private lessons can also create a dependence that students may have a hard time overcoming, as some children grow to feel that they cannot learn on their own without their piano teacher repeatedly showing them every new thing. To prevent this, successful piano teachers create supportive learning environments that let children know that they are responsible for their own success. This helps children learn how to set goals and that their own effort makes a difference. That?s why, even in a private lesson, students need some time to work independently.

Group lessons are a great way for children to learn, and many children learn faster in a group setting than in individual lessons. Group lessons create a fun and supportive environment, and students learn both from the teacher?s instruction and from each other. It also helps many children to know that other students are learning the same skills.

I encourage most new students who are seven years of age or older to start out in group lessons. However, I have found that private lessons typically work best for two groups of students. First, they can provide a solid learning foundation to very young students (ages 5 to 7) who need one-on-one instruction to help get started. Parents of these very young children sometimes stay with them during their lessons. When children get a little older and have the basics, they usually can transfer to a group lesson. Second, private lessons are appropriate for late intermediate to advanced students who are looking to apply music theory and advanced playing techniques requiring intense instruction and dedicated home study.

Q: Can?t group lessons be intimidating for students due to peer pressure and competition?

A: While some parents may initially be concerned that group lessons create peer pressure and competition, the lessons actually help students feel more independent and confident in piano. Students play the pieces they?ve just had instruction on before they leave the lesson, which helps them feel secure about playing the songs at home. As students often play their songs for each other during lessons, it helps avoid the performance anxiety that students taking individual lessons can feel before recitals. Plus, students generally find that working together with other students increases creativity and fun! Over time, experience has shown that most children learn more in small group lessons because these lessons encourage independence and build confidence, which is a strong foundation for success not only in piano lessons but in the other areas of student?s lives.

Copyright 2005, Cynthia Marie VanLandingham

For great home piano activities parents can use to help children ages 5 to 11 develop their musical talent, visit Piano Adventure Bears Music Education Resources You?ll find a treasure box filled with piano resources to create an exciting musical adventure for your child – right in your own home! Visit their website and subscribe to their f?ree internet newsletter so you can download f?ree piano sheet music and mp3s of original piano compositions.

These exciting stories, games, piano lessons, and inspirational gifts feature the Piano Adventure Bears, Mrs. Treble Beary and her new piano student, Albeart Littlebud. Young students follow along with Albeart to learn what piano lessons are all about in a fun way that kids readily understand appreciate. Click here to visit PianoAdventureBears.com For a wealth of information about piano lessons, visit tallypiano.com

The origin of hip-hop can be traced back as far as the ancient tribes in Africa. Rap has been compared with the chants, drumbeats and foot-stomping African tribes performed before wars, the births of babies, and the deaths of kings and elders. Historians have reached further back than the accepted origins of hip-hop. It was born as we know it today in the Bronx, cradled and nurtured by the youth in the low-income areas of New York City.

Fast-forward from the tribes of Africa to the ghettos of Kingston, Jamaica in the late sixties. The impoverished of Kingston gathered together in groups to form DJ conglomerates. They spun roots and culture records and communicated with the audience over the music. At the time, the DJs comments werent as important as the quality of the sound system and its ability to get the crowd moving. Kool Herc grew up in this community before he moved to the Bronx.

During the late sixties, reggae wasnt popular with New Yorkers. As a DJ, Kool Herc spun rhythm and blues records to please his party crowd. But, he had to add his personal touch. During the breaks, Herc began to speak to his audience as he had learned to do in Jamaica. He called out, the audience responded, and then he pumped the volume back up on the record. This call and response technique was nothing new to this community whod been reared in Baptist and Methodist churches where call and response was a technique used by the speakers to get the congregation involved. Historians compare it to the call and response performed by Jazz musicians and was very much a part of the culture of Jazz music during the renaissance in Harlem.

Hercs DJ style caught on. His partys grew in popularity. He began to buy multiple copies of the same albums. When he performed his duties as a DJ, he extended the breaks by using multiple copies of the same records. He chatted, as it is called in dance hall, with his audience for longer and longer periods.

Others copied Hercs style. Soon a friendly battle ensued between New York DJs. They all learned the technique of using break beats. Herc stepped up the game by giving shout-outs to people who were in attendance at the parties and coming up with his signature call and response. Other DJs responded by rhyming with their words when they spoke to the audience. More and more DJs used two and four line rhymes and anecdotes to get their audiences involved and hyped at these parties.

One day, Herc passed the microphone over to two of his friends. He took care of the turn table and allowed his buddies to keep the crowd hyped with chants, rhymes and anecdotes while he extended the breaks of different songs indefinitely. This was the birth of rap as we know it.

Hip-hop has evolved from the days of the basement showdowns to big business in the music industry. In the seventies and eighties, the pioneers and innovators of the rap record was the DJ. He was the guy who used his turntable to create fresh sounds with old records. Then, he became the guy who mixed these familiar breaks with synthesizers to produce completely new beats. Not much has changed in that aspect of hip-hop. The guy who creates the beat is still the heart of the track. Now, we call him the producer. Even though some DJs work as producers as well as DJs (quite a few start out as DJs before they become producers), todays title DJ doesnt carry the same connotative meaning it did in the eighties. Todays hip-hop producer performs the same tasks as the eightys DJ.

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The previous two Tech Tips took a look at eight basic features of portable MP3 players worth considering before laying down some serious money on one of these devices. Once you have a nice new MP3 player with plenty of space for music, you need to fill it up! There are several ways to go about building your digital music collection, and we?ll take a look at a few ways to do so.

The first thing to address may be the term ?MP3 player.? Many of these devices play MP3 files, in addition to a variety of other formats. Many of the files available for download are actually in a format other than MP3, but the term has been applied to cover this whole class of devices, whether it is 100% accurate or not.

Create Your Own

There are numerous software titles available that make creating MP3 files from CDs (or other sources) a simple process. Most involve minimal input from the user once they have configured their preferences, and will take the audio and convert it into the digital format of their choice. During the ?ripping? process, most applications will query an online database, such as Gracenote (www.cddb.com), and take care of the file naming and ID tagging needed to make storing, sorting, and accessing the files a snap with most players.

Some of these applications may already be on your computer. Microsoft?s Windows Media Player (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/mp10/default.aspx) is one program that any Windows user already has that is more than ready for basic WMA and MP3 file creation. Just drop in your CD and click ?Rip?. Many other titles may have come bundled with hardware included with your system. For example, many optical drives ship with a copy of Ahead?s Nero (http://ww2.nero.com/us/index.html) or a suite of software from Roxio (http://www.roxio.com/en/index.jhtml). Either will handle the DVD or CD burning they were intended for, but also have decent MP3 creation modules, as well.

There are a multitude of free, or at least free-to-try, MP3 encoding software titles, and a trip to your favorite search engine may provide a list longer than you care to investigate. Some names worth checking out include EZ CD-DA (Digital Audio) Extractor (http://www.poikosoft.com/), EZ MP3 Creator (http://www.linasoft.com/ezmp3c.html), and Virtuosa (http://www.virtuosa.com/index.php).

The great thing about digital audio files acquired this way is that they are yours to use on whatever device you choose. The same can not be said about files obtained from either of the next two methods to be discussed. The files obtained from legitimate download services are protected by DRM (Digital Rights Management), which restricts the use of the downloaded files to a limited number of computers and compatible portable devices, as well as protecting the songs from redistribution by the end user. The files are yours to use, but not as freely as you may want, and perhaps for only as long as you maintain your account with the download service.

Pay Per Download

There are two main types of legitimate online sources of digital music? those that charge you for each download, and those that require you to subscribe to a service on a monthly basis. They offer the same types of files, but take different approaches to suit your budget and music needs.

Apple?s iTunes (http://www.apple.com/itunes/) may be the best known source for individual file downloads, thanks in no small part to the incredible popularity of the iPod MP3 player. What some may not know is that iTunes is not just for iPod owners, or Macintosh computer owners for that matter, but any PC compatible system can access the 99 cent downloads for use on their computer or compatible portable player.

Many other outlets offer digital music files for download, and even some mainstream brick-and-mortar stores have found their way onto the scene. Just as they have done with retail sales, Wal-Mart (http://www.walmart.com/musicdownloads/introToServices.do) has managed to undercut the competition with their 88 cent music downloads.

Subscribe to a Service

Everyone is familiar with Napster (http://www.napster.com/) as one of the pioneers of file sharing, but they are back with a legitimate approach to music downloads. Although they do offer a program where you can download individual songs for 99 cents each, they offer monthly subscriptions for $14.95. This monthly fee allows for unlimited downloads, and could be the ticket for someone looking to keep their play list fresh on a regular basis. One caveat to this otherwise good solution is that the number of MP3 players supported is currently very limited. Also, once your subscription lapses, so does the ability to ?access? your music. Basically, you are renting the songs.

Other subscription-based services are available, such as the one from eMusic (http://www.emusic.com/) that charges a monthly fee, but restricts the number of downloads permitted every month.

Choosing between a service that charges for every download or one that charges a flat monthly fee will most likely be determined by the volume of downloads one intends. If you only want a handful of songs every few months, it may be worth it to pay per song. But, if you intend to amass the ultimate collection of music ever known to man, subscribing to a service on a monthly basis is obviously more practical.

Go Underground

Whether through first-hand experience, or from the massive media attention, most people are well aware of other file sharing resources available on the Internet that can be used for acquiring MP3 files. Although the files are free, and users may feel they are operating anonymously, it may not be a safe means of acquiring media.

There are the obvious legal implications, as the RIAA has prosecuted file sharers for copyright violation (http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/3497246), but there are other issues, as well. The integrity of the files being downloaded is not guaranteed, and people may wait patiently for a song to download only to find it is of poor quality, incomplete, or even worse? carrying a virus or trojan.

So, there are other pools of digital music, but swim at your own risk!

Final Words

Filling your new MP3 player doesn?t have to cost anything except the time it takes to encode the songs from your favorite CDs. But, paying for a download service is a sure way to have the songs you want as they become available and at a fairly reasonable price. These aren?t your only options for acquiring digital music, but when taking other routes, proceed with caution.

Jason Kohrs
MP3Tips
How to buy a MP3 player
and MP3 Tips.

Flaunting any excessive or anti-social behavior is considered brazen. When it is no longer considered brazen it is proof that it has become embedded as part of our culture. Not to say this is a good thing, after all headhunting was considered a cultural norm in some societies. The question to ask here may be, was rap ever truly a part of our culture? Will it eventually run out of steam and go the way of things like doing the twist, afro haircuts or break dancing? I for one would argue that it is not truly a part of the American cultural scene, but is a forced, twisted and contrived money machine that appeals to only the basest passions of the youth in our country.

Long before the gangsta element slid over to hip hop the reasoning for the whole genre and style was generally purported to be, to show what life in the hood was like. That worked for a while and it even drew more sympathy from the otherwise estranged. But as lower passions would have it, the style and language of rap began more and more to take on a life and purpose of its own, namelysex. If by some magic stroke sex were temporarily extricated from every rappers thoughts and vocabulary, the entire industry would collapse quicker than the stock market in 1929. Now thats brazen!

Referring to rappers as artist and giving them full press doesnt guarantee that it is really an art form, all it says is that its here. But was it here before? Does it really have anything to do with the African American background, culture or heritage? I propose that it does not. Very few whites have succeeded in rap but even that does not prove that it is necessarily a black cultural thing. Growing up as a boy there were only two black families in our town. One of the boys from those families was my best friend. But to say that gave me even a basic knowledge of the African American culture would be an exaggeration. Later I arrived in the city of New Orleans just after the civil rights laws were passed. My exposure to the black culture increased exponentially. Finally I attended two seminaries the last of which was part of the National Baptist Convention a purely African American denomination. What I discovered about the African American culture will always be one of the greatest excursions of my entire life.

Our entire class would sit before some of the most dignified black gentlemen, professors and wait for the streams of their thoughts, opinion and knowledge to flow down to us. Most exciting was when they shifted their emphasis away from the curriculum and began to divulge elements of their private lives and their past. Life in New Orleans as a black man or women was no easy thing. Stories of their upbringing and their struggles would leave anyone with their heart in their throat. These old gentlemen for me were living examples of courage dignity and the best human qualities. What I learned about black culture in short is this. African Americans have a deep and ancient past; they are people with a lasting heritage.

I am sure that the blatant indulgence of sexual descriptive and four letter words that is raps most prevalent aspect, is not part of their ancient culture and history. It does not accurately depict their culture, their history or any other part of their experience. I dont think my protesting is such a big deal. But Id guess that if my old seminary professors could see and hear todays rap, you would hear the roar raising up from their graves and billowing down many an American avenue.

Rev Bresciani has written many articles over the past thirty years in such periodicals as Guideposts and Catholic Digest. He is the author of two books available on Amazon.com, Alibris, Barnes and Noble and many other places. Rev Bresciani wrote, Hook Line and Sinker or What has Your Church Been Teaching You, published by PublishAmerica of Baltimore MD. He also wrote a book recently released by Xulon Press entitled An American Prophet and His Message, Questions and Answers on the Second Coming of Christ. Rev Bresciani has his own website at http://americanprophet.org

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One of the most well-know eras of music is the nineteen-eighties. In this period the virus AIDS hadn?t been quite discovered yet and everyone was still under the notion that having a good time with as many people as possible was the best way to live. Hair styles and clothing looked as weird they could, with long hair and mullets being in fashion throughout the decade. And of course, the musical genre was forever changed as many, many rock bands made a name for themselves and created well-known hits we still play on the radio today. The eighties was a great time period for musical lyrics, and this article will focus on what made them so great and some of the more popular ones that were created.

To start out with, the nineteen-eighties was the time to rock and roll. Many songs words said nothing besides this fact. Everyone wanted to rock and roll and they went ahead and did so. The songs would often be filled only with fun lyrics, as the American economy and culture prospered throughout the decade without any problems, none like we have today at least. In addition, a common theme attached to rock and roll was sex and drugs. Drugs were not as highly banned as they are today, and it would be quite common to see people smoking a bag of weed or other drugs while at a concert of a high profile rock band. It makes sense, therefore, that many rock hits focused on the good times of this era and what made it so great.

Upbeat is the keyword when it comes to the eighties. It would be a hard matter indeed to find musical lyrics as depressing as sad as one can find today. Whereas today it is easy to hear about child abuse, suicide, and massive terrorist attacks through the radio, those were topics unheard of in this golden era of rock and roll. Many songs would focus on dancing and having a good time, as mentioned before. But there would also be songs intending to lift the spirits of the listeners. The most popular of these was written and performed by Journey. ?Don?t Stop Believin?? is still a popular hit for people of all ages even to this day.

Van Halen was another popular eighties band that was good for many great lyrical music pieces. While their hits about being hot for a teacher, smoking in school, or running with the devil certainly aren?t as deep as some of the hits today, that doesn?t change the fact that they reflected the time period they played in perfectly. Eighties lyrics, above anything else, showcased the prosperity and good times of the decade we left behind twenty years ago.

Overall, the eighties was a great time for the country and nation as a whole and it shows in the musical lyrics still played on radio stations today. While the clothing and hair styles have long since been out of fashion, the music remains to inspire and cheer up people all over the world and sends the message that good times do exist and can happen.

Joe Kenny is the webmaster at the free music lyrics website, http://www.lyricspost.net

Visit today: http://www.cardguide.co.uk/

Purchasing a classical guitar can be a difficult task particularly if you are not yet an accomplished player. Here are some tips and hints on finding a good quality classical guitar whether it is in the hundred dollar range or the thousand dollar range.

If you are have ever gone into a well stocked guitar shop you have no doubt been confused by the selection of guitars. There are literally hundreds of shapes, sizes brands and types of guitars. And the price can range from a hundred dollars to several thousand. .If you are a beginner, judging the sound quality can be difficult to do because your ear is not yet highly trained. Here are some tips to help you make a good choice.

When in a guitar shop and looking at the guitars you should always ask a sales person to help you. This way you can take guitars down and play them. If you cannot play very well you should ask the sales clerk to play for you so you can get a feel for the sound of the different guitars. If the sales clerk doesnt play you should ask if there is someone working in the shop that does play. As a last resort you should even ask other customers in the store. Not listening to the different guitars is like shopping for a car but never test driving any of them. Guitars have very different feels and tones and you should listen to a lot of them to get a sense of what you like. Dont be bashful in this respect. Guitarists are usually a very gregarious bunch and a guitarist will almost always jump at the chance to play for someone else. If you dont yet play well and you cant find somebody to play for you I recommend you not purchase a guitar. You should come back another time when someone is available to play or you can bring a friend who knows how to play.

Check the size and shape of the guitar

Classical Guitars, of course, come in different sizes and shapes and you should sit with a wide variety of them to get a feeling for what is comfortable to you. Your body shape has an effect on this. If you are over six feet tall the smaller guitars might not be comfortable for you and the fret board may be uncomfortable for your hands. So even if you cant play music you should always hold and sit with the guitars to get a sense of how the different ones feel.

Check the mechanics and playability of the guitar

Here are several things you should do when considering the purchase of a classical guitar.

1. Play every note on every string all the way up and down. Listen for frets that dont play properly. They will give a rattling sound and if this occurs on any fret at all you should put the guitar aside and try another one. This is a sign of inferior quality. Every string should play cleanly on every single fret.

2. Check the action of the strings against the frets in terms of how much pressure is needed to play notes and chords. You should play bar chords all the way down the frets to insure good pressure. If it is too hard to press the strings in order to make a clear chord this could be a sign of an inferior guitar.

3. Play harmonics on the strings. This is an excellent test of the quality of the guitar. Playing harmonics is the technique of plucking the note with your right hand and only lightly touching the string with your left hand. Test the harmonics of all the strings on the 5th, 7th, 12th and 19th frets. If you do not know how to play harmonic notes ask the sales clerk to help you.

4. Examine and test the tuning pegs. Do they look clean and sharp? Wind and unwind them while watching and feeling for smooth turning motion.

5. Visually examine the whole guitar. Look it over very carefully from front to back and top to bottom. Are there any small cracks? Are the frets firmly installed into the fret board? Are there any cracks or glue exposed around the bridge?

6. Tap on the front of the guitar (The sound board) in a variety of different spots. Does it have a rich echoing sound or are there spots where it sounds dead and limp? The internal structure of the classical guitar is very important for the sound and important for the longevity of it. Dull thud sounds could be an indicator of an inferior instrument.

7. Examine the details. Look at the purfling around the edge. This is the decorated pattern that goes around the full body where the soundboard or face meets the sides of the guitar. Is it accurately laid in? If this has variations and inconsistencies it is a good sign that the guitar is of inferior quality.

8. Dont hesitate to take a good look inside the guitar sound hole. You will see wooden braces in there. Do they look straight, accurate and well placed? If you see sloppy globs of dried glue around these braces it could be an indicator of inferior craftsmanship.

9. Remember that there are three distinct areas you must consider when purchasing a classical guitar: The Look, The Feel, and the Sound. If you keep all three of these things in mind and carefully examine the guitar in relation to these you will be able to choose an instrument that will bring you a lifetime of trouble free playing enjoyment.

A Classical Guitar is a purchase that can give you a lifetime of enjoyment and you should consider the purchase carefully. Even if you dont plan on playing every day you should buy an instrument that is of good quality so it will maintain its sound quality for a lifetime. And to do this you dont need to spend thousands of dollars you just need to know how to identify a well made guitar.

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In this article we’re going to review one of the most unusual musicals of our time, the rock opera Tommy.

The rock group, The Who, had been together for around 5 years by the time they came out with their then revolutionary concept, Tommy. It was the very first rock opera and to this day still one of the best.

What was most unusual about Tommy is that it is 100% music. There is virtually no spoken dialogue in the musical. The entire story is told in song. This is not an easy thing to pull off but The Who did it with a flair that is hard to match.

The story of Tommy, the title character, is quite a tragic one actually. Tommy Walker’s father, Captain Walker, had been listed as missing in action in the first world war. But he returns, only to find his wife in the arms of another man. Enraged, he kills the man right in front of his son Tommy. Afterwards his parents immediately issue a verbal assault on Tommy telling him that he didn’t see anything or hear anything. This was to keep Tommy quiet. As a result, Tommy retreats into a blind and deaf world.

During his childhood Tommy’s parents try a number of treatments to get their child back to normal. During this time, Tommy is sexually abused by members of his family and he became more and more cut off from the real world.

Finally, at Christmas, there was a breakthrough. Tommy took up the game of pinball. Even though he could not see or hear anything he became a master at the game, probably because he wasn’t distracted by all the bells and whistles. Tests on Tommy to try to explain how he was able to do this showed that he really wasn’t deaf and blind but had retreated into an inner self. Tommy is finally cured when his mother in her frustration smashes a mirror in a fit of rage right in front of Tommy. This snaps him out of his deaf and blind state.

After his cure Tommy starts a movement to lead all his followers to a life where they will see the true light and meaning in life. But his cult following eventually revolts against him because of the heavy handedness of his ways.

Tommy was not a happy story and had an equally unhappy ending. The Who took a lot of chances with this piece of art. Musically however, it was a masterpiece. Out of this musical, first shown in 1969, came such great rock classics as Pinball Wizard, See Me Feel Me, We’re Not Gonna Take It, and the Overture From Tommy which has been covered by a number of artists over the years, the most popular version being the one done by the Assembled Multitude in 1970.

The rock opera later was made into a movie with such notable stars as Elton John, Ann Margaret, Jack Nicholson and Tina Turner. The movie filled in some of the details that were actually left out of the original play.

——————————————————-
Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Music
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Hip Hop music is popular with today’s youth. The Hip Hop audience ranges in age from the very young to the seasoned at heart. The messages in the music are clear and often depict life in the real world. Most artist use their own life experiences to tell stories that reflect what their world is like. Hip Hop music is a venue that gives the artist an opportunity to tell it like it is. Many of today’s youth find that through the sounds and messages of Hip Hop they are able to see reflections of themselves and the world around them.

Although some of the messages conveyed by Hip Hop are viewed as negative, it must be understood that the lyrics in these songs are someone’s reality. Hip Hop artist sing about what they have seen and many of their personal experiences. Unfortunately, many of their experiences are not so pretty. Other Hip Hop songs carry a positive message and force the listener to think and dream beyond their current situation. Hip Hop music has taken America by a storm and it will continue to influence our youth. We must all these free expression and the growth of Hip Hop music because what we hear is relative to what’s going on in the world today.

GMP Records, Inc. http://www.godmadeitpossible4me.com also check out http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/deepcover

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Even if you haven’t played guitar tablature before you can impress or maybe shock your friends by playing Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. Let’s start playing guitar tab!

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star is a popular English nursery rhyme with the French melody Ah! Vous dirais-je, Maman. You can play this song on the first three strings on the guitar.

The text is from a poem, The Star, by Jane Taylor. It was first published in 1806. Here you have the English lyrics:

Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!

We will use guitar tablature so you will not need to read sheet music. You will only use the thinnest strings on the guitar. The string with the highest pitch is called the first string or E-string. Look at the following guitar tab:

1. 0-0-0-0—————–
2. ——–1-1-1-1———
3. —————-2-2-2-2-

This is a tablature staff and the four number 0 indicate that you play the first string four times without pressing down any finger on your right hand. This is called to play on an open string.

The four number 1 coming after is played on the second string pressing down your first finger on the first fret. Then you will play the third string four times pressing down the string on the second fret. This is what the previous guitar tablature notation is telling you.

Let’s play the first notes of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star with guitar tablature:

1. ————0–0————————–
2. ——3–3——-3—-1–1–0–0———-
3. 0–0—————————–2–2–0–

If you want to use your left hand in a professional way you can play the guitar tab notes on the first fret with your first finger, notes on the second fret with your middle finger and the notes on the third fret with your ring finger.

Now it’s only one guitar tablature part left:

1. 3–3–1–1–0–0—–
2. ——————3–
3. ———————

After having played this part twice, go back and play the first guitar tablature part and the melody is complete.

Now when you understand guitar tablature notation you can find many songs written this way on the internet. Search for guitar tab or guitar tablature. A complete guitar tablature staff has six lines representing the six strings.

If you have an ukulele hanging somewhere you can use the previous tablature too. The first three strings on an ukulele is tuned the same way as on the guitar.

Just one more thing for you to do. Play the song for your friends! Good luck!

Peter Edvinsson is a musician, composer and music teacher. Visit his site Capotasto Music and download your free printable sheet music, guitar tab and learn to play resources at http://www.capotastomusic.com

The origin of hip-hop can be traced back as far as the ancient tribes in Africa. Rap has been compared with the chants, drumbeats and foot-stomping African tribes performed before wars, the births of babies, and the deaths of kings and elders. Historians have reached further back than the accepted origins of hip-hop. It was born as we know it today in the Bronx, cradled and nurtured by the youth in the low-income areas of New York City.

Fast-forward from the tribes of Africa to the ghettos of Kingston, Jamaica in the late sixties. The impoverished of Kingston gathered together in groups to form DJ conglomerates. They spun roots and culture records and communicated with the audience over the music. At the time, the DJs comments werent as important as the quality of the sound system and its ability to get the crowd moving. Kool Herc grew up in this community before he moved to the Bronx.

During the late sixties, reggae wasnt popular with New Yorkers. As a DJ, Kool Herc spun rhythm and blues records to please his party crowd. But, he had to add his personal touch. During the breaks, Herc began to speak to his audience as he had learned to do in Jamaica. He called out, the audience responded, and then he pumped the volume back up on the record. This call and response technique was nothing new to this community whod been reared in Baptist and Methodist churches where call and response was a technique used by the speakers to get the congregation involved. Historians compare it to the call and response performed by Jazz musicians and was very much a part of the culture of Jazz music during the renaissance in Harlem.

Hercs DJ style caught on. His partys grew in popularity. He began to buy multiple copies of the same albums. When he performed his duties as a DJ, he extended the breaks by using multiple copies of the same records. He chatted, as it is called in dance hall, with his audience for longer and longer periods.

Others copied Hercs style. Soon a friendly battle ensued between New York DJs. They all learned the technique of using break beats. Herc stepped up the game by giving shout-outs to people who were in attendance at the parties and coming up with his signature call and response. Other DJs responded by rhyming with their words when they spoke to the audience. More and more DJs used two and four line rhymes and anecdotes to get their audiences involved and hyped at these parties.

One day, Herc passed the microphone over to two of his friends. He took care of the turn table and allowed his buddies to keep the crowd hyped with chants, rhymes and anecdotes while he extended the breaks of different songs indefinitely. This was the birth of rap as we know it.

Hip-hop has evolved from the days of the basement showdowns to big business in the music industry. In the seventies and eighties, the pioneers and innovators of the rap record was the DJ. He was the guy who used his turntable to create fresh sounds with old records. Then, he became the guy who mixed these familiar breaks with synthesizers to produce completely new beats. Not much has changed in that aspect of hip-hop. The guy who creates the beat is still the heart of the track. Now, we call him the producer. Even though some DJs work as producers as well as DJs (quite a few start out as DJs before they become producers), todays title DJ doesnt carry the same connotative meaning it did in the eighties. Todays hip-hop producer performs the same tasks as the eightys DJ.

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