There’s an old and tired joke that guitars are tuned at the factory – unfortunately, wood bends and warps, strings lose tension and the forces of nature make sure your guitar needs tuning every time you pick it up. Read that last bit again, because the sooner you get into the habit of assessing your guitar’s tuning, the more rewarding your playing will be.

It doesn’t matter how dazzling you are on guitar, one strike of an unharmonious string will destroy any charisma you had.

The problem is, too many guitarists neglect tuning as though it is some 5 minute job to get out the way before you practice or noodle. Get out of this mindset immediately. You need to spend time tuning your guitar to make sure chords all over the neck sound in tune and harmonious.

Unfortunately, fretted instruments made of wood can never be tuned perfectly (sorry, I mislead you slightly with the title there!), but there are quick methods you can use to accurately tune your guitar to the human ear…

The resource at the end of this article will take you to more indepth lessons – these are just for introductory purposes…

1) 5th fret method – the classic tuning method which most beginners favour. This method simply involves fretting a string (at the 5th fret, except for the G string) and matching the note with the next open string. Your ear has to be well trained for this to be accurate, and there is an awkward exception involving the B string, which on most guitars needs to be manually adjusted to be in-tune on most chords.

2) Harmonics – tuning harmonics are a quick and accurate way to tune your guitar to itself. It involves creating a resonating harmonic on two strings at a time, and picking out what sounds like a vibrating effect between them. This wobbling effect is created when two naturally harmonious intervals are off-kilter, so all you need to do is tune up or down to resolve the vibration into one, straight resonating harmonic. This is a really accurate way to tune, because you’re tuning an open string to another open string, rather than a fretted string to an open string which causes natural inaccuracies. You can learn more about creating the harmonic and this great tuning technique at the end of this article.

Tweaking and double checking

3) Comparing note for note, string for string – this is basically where you find a note on your fretboard, and compare it with the same note, or its octave, on another string at another fret. E.g. comparing the G note on the E string at fret 3 with the octave G note on the D string at fret 5 – these two notes should sound the same (but of course, the octave will be higher in pitch). This is seen as a more practical method of tweaking your tuning because you’re comparing notes on strings that will likely appear simultaneously within chords – therefore, if they’re even slightly out of tune with each other, the chord will be ruined. More obviously…

4) Comparing double tones in chords – chords that use 4 or more strings often include double tones (e.g. the root note appears twice in the chord), and open position chords down at the first few frets (e..g E major, G major, C major etc.) double open tones with fretted tones. Try playing the E major open position chord, one of the first chords you will have learned – the A string at fret 2 should be almost perfectly harmonious with the open B string, because they are the same note, just an octave apart. You may find the notes are slightly off, so adjusting will give you a more practical compromise when it comes to tuning for chords.

General good tuning practise

There are several ways to tune your guitar, but it’s important that you tweak after you’ve tuned up (or think you have anyway!)

What I do is use a few tuning methods, like the ones detailed above, because often you’ll find you can reach a good compromise between the few methods to really get well-balanced tuning. By well-balanced, I mean that some chords (e.g. full barre chords vs floated chords that mix open strings and fretted strings) will need to be compromised to ensure any chord you play sounds acceptably harmonious.

At first, you don’t notice, but as your ear becomes trained, you begin to pick up on nuances in the tuning of your guitar. The key thing to remember is you must spend time tweaking your tuning, no matter which method you use.

Just don’t become too obsessed – remember to leave some practice time to actually play some guitar ;o)

Mike Beatham runs a free, easy to follow and growing guitar lessons resource. You can learn more about effective guitar tuning at http://www.audio-guitar-lessons.com.

Beginning piano students can become focused on reading the notes and finding the right keys on the piano and miss the point of playing ? to make the music sound, well, musical. This takes a creative human touch and sensitivity that children are capable of, when they know where to look for it. Here?s a plan for connecting to the music in a creative, artistic, and human way. I call it the HEART approach to making music at the piano.

The HEART Approach to Making Music

H – Hear

Hear each note in your mind before you play it. Frederick Chopin (1810 ? 1849) spent plenty of practice time playing each note of a piece of music slowly, so slowly in fact that it would be painful for anyone listening. But that?s what Chopin was doing ? listening very carefully to every note. He was connecting to the music with deep listening to allow every note to resonate within him. Similarly, hearing each note in your mind before it is played and thinking about how to touch each key is important to playing thoughtfully and creatively.

E ? Energize

Gather energy from the music by feeling the vibrations of each note as it is played.

A ? Ask

What is the composer trying to communicate with this music?

R ? Respond

Don?t hold back. Allow yourself to respond fully to the energy and spirit of the music as you play each note the way you imagine it should sound.

T ? Tell the Story

Imagine you are telling an interesting story to your best friend. Infuse the telling of the story with your own personality. This is the magic that will bring the music to life.

After learning to read the notes and locate them on the piano keyboard, beginning piano students can add artistry to their playing with the HEART approach to making music.

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

MAESTRO has evolved past his ?Let Your Backbone Slide? days, but people still associate him with his first hit 15 years ago. Does that bother him? No way! For MAESTRO it is through his accomplishments as an artist that he has evolved and looks fondly back on his early years with pride.

To date no one has exceeded the levels of accomplishments that MAESTRO has achieved. To date, 7 music awards, 7 albums, 11 JUNO nominations, Gold and Platinum albums, Gold singles and a mixture of other awards in film/T.V and personal achievements. All of this, plus a film and television career? No wonder his latest album is called Urban Landmark 1989-2005 – it?s obvious he has made his mark, now let?s see where he goes from here!

One of my very first interviews on radio was with MAESTRO, back when I was working at York University radio, he was a special guest on a show called, ? The Cutting Edge?. I realized back then after our brief hour together on the show, that this is one hell of a passionate man! He is passionate about what he does, whom he speaks to, what he involves himself with and most of all passionate about MUSIC. It is the same passion I saw and felt when we (Liesa Norman and I) sat down with him the day before his CD release party. He truly is ?conductin? thangs? now more than ever, his life a full blown ?Symphony in Effect? – just goes to show you he is ?Built to Last?

HAVIN? WORDS WITH WES

You seem to have a love affair with Canadian contemporary and rock artists? This is not the average approach to hip hop is it?

WES- Janet Jackson sampled Joni Mitchell, that is a lot farther apart than me, a Canadian artists, sampling another Canadian artist. See?

Yes, but you are the only one that has been acknowledged for doing it.

WES- No, Swollen Members did it too, but not a lot of people know they did a track with Sarah MacLachlan that was HOT. This was off their last album?..I don?t know WHY those guys did not make it the single, it was so hot!

To date you have worked ?with? HAYWIRE, GUESS WHO and now Gowan!

WES- It is just something I like to do. Take Canadian rock records and just revamp them. I have these albums, I like them- I collect them.

So, within the song that you are listening to, you hear another song?

Orlena, Hip Hop up n’comer Subliminal, Liesa WES- yeah, yeah. Like when I heard ?Stick to Your Vision? (track off his last album, that sampled The Guess Who?s – These Eyes)- I was like?.Whooooo! That was a nice reflective song to talk about what you been through and inspirational at the same time.

So that was a favourite?

WES- Hell, yeah! (chuckles)

Lyrically do you find that the words come first or does the music?

WES- There is no specific formula. A concept may come first and then the music after. You know I never try to assimilate – I try to innovate.

So your latest track, Criminal Mind with Larry Gowan- was that something that you heard within the song, or was that something you conceptualized on your own?

(l-r) Orlena, Actor-Richard Leacock, Liesa WES- Nah. It was more like the original version was talking about being a criminal and having a criminal mind. I had the take on it of the justice system being more criminal. But, at the same time, we as a community not being in a position where we are more followers, rather than being the leaders that we should be. In life you have to be a leader and STOP MAKING EXCUSES for whatever! With the song I just put my own little spin on it. What I love is that Randy Bachman and Larry Gowan, both like what I did with the song.

Were you in the studio with Larry Gowan?

WES- Nah. I was in his living room when I played him the track when it was done and I saw the hair stand up on his arms. Then we went downstairs to watch his video from Criminal Mind and then my new one, that he is in. The video is full rotation now – it?s just BANANAS!

Do you find the violence is accurate to what the media portrays? Or do you really feel that there is a surge of violence within minorities?

The Showstoppers(ctre) Maestro

and Kardinal Offishall WES- Yeah, Yeah (as he sighs). It is a bit of both. A bit of sensationalism still occurs though. But, to me it is embarrassing for all people that we carry on like that with each other. We don?t have to be like that. We have lost our ability to ?talk? to one another. My question is how did the guns get here in the first place? Who is bringing them into the country? That is the last line in my song Criminal Mind. I come from a good place and I hope that people gravitate toward what it is that I am doing.

The album, which came out August 23, has 5 new hits?

WES- The album does not really have five NEW hits, but 5 previously unreleased songs. These tracks have been out before, but just on radio and more as singles that were unavailable for purchase.

Well, your greatest hits album, is going cover the span of your career – are you prepared to do any of those moves you used to spin for ?Let your Backbone Slide?.

R&B Sweetie Melanie DurrantWES- Oh yeah. I am going to have a full-blown show! Choreography, the works..it is going to be hot to death!

You are still hot to death after all these years. You still have the same fever and flavour that you had when you were younger. It is good to see! What are you listening to in your car right now? Do you have any music influences?

WES- Right now I am listening to myself (outbreak of laughter from us all). I have my show CD in and I am practicing that over and over again.

Laughter aside, you have a reputation to upkeep, if you don?t come correct you know people are going to be writing about it! Watching and waiting for you to fall..or just all off the stage!

What a night!WES- That?s fine?watch?just keep watching!

We will!

FYI- The next day MAESTRO came with it and blew the roof off the MOD CLUB! The place was packed, people were bumpin? to his hits and when he let us have the final track?it was all over. Hey! When MAESTRO left the stage – everyone else left.

Arrangements are the fuel that will send your songs sky high. A compelling arrangement will make the recording process easier, the mix sound better and the finished product full and satisfying. It will save you time and money, and keep you from endless trial-and-error studio sessions that never quite yield the results you want. How do you create that compelling arrangement?

While a full course on arranging is beyond the scope of these few paragraphs, there are three ideas that will immediately shape your work and dramatically improve the way your songs affect their listeners. These three elements of a compelling arrangement are:

1. Arc of energy.

2. Counterpoint and drama.

3. Constant freshness.

Let’s look at them one by one.

1. Arc of energy.

A good song is a good story. That is my operating principle for arranging and composing. A story keeps the listener interested, thinking about what each event means, wondering what will happen next. You want your listeners to stop and wonder as you take them on a musical journey.

This is not only accomplished by the composition — words and melody — but by the energy of the arrangement. A solo piano has one type of feel, wailing guitars have quite another. If a song has only one energy level and flavor, it gets tired very fast, the story has been killed. The best songs build to a climax, then may drop for an interlude, and build again to the finale. That is interesting, that is dynamic.

Energy arcs can be created in so many ways. You can add or remove instruments in different sections, you can switch from a high-hat to a ride cymbal, you can change the octave of the piano part, you can thicken the vocal harmonies, and so forth. You are limited only by your imagination. Use all of these tools to create a compelling arc of energy for your song.

2. Counterpoint and drama.

An element of storytelling is the meeting of characters and how they interact. They may be lovers, enemies, partners or competitors. Musically, this element of drama can be added by using counterpoint.

Counterpoints are secondary melodies. They have their own internal flow, but complement, support or dialogue with the main melody. Counterpoints can play parallel to the melody, but are used most effectively at the ends of phrases. They then become a sort of answer to what the melody just stated, creating a musical dialogue.

The counterpoints can also be used as the intro to a song, or the basis of a bridge section, or of a coda. They can be played by any of the instruments, or sung by the backup singers. Counterpoints should not be allowed to steal the show, but should make the melody more compelling.

My personal favorite example of use of counterpoint in a song is the ABBA classic, The Winner Takes It All. Listen to that song and see what a counterpoint (and the superbly crafted arc of energy) can do.

3. Constant freshness.

Truth be told, if you’ve done the first two elements well, your song will always remain fresh. Nonetheless, constantly bringing new colors in will move your song up out of the ordinary.

There are lots of great ways to keep each moment and section fresh. It might be as simple as changing one note in the lead melody, or as complicated as using an entirely different rhythm. You should be careful, though, to keep the song together as one unit. Too much of a shift can hurt the unity of the composition and is distracting to the listener.

I like to keep things fresh by textural changes, such as having the backing vocals sing the melody and the lead vocal do some free variations. You can experiment with putting different chords here and there, or adding a break, a fill, a tempo change. That feeling of freshness is most important at the beginning of each new section. If you do it well, you can come back home at the end of the song with the original feel. But that original feel will itself be fresh, just like it feels to come home after an exhilarating journey.

These are the three elements that will take your song to the next level. Experiment, enjoy your creativity. But most of all, give arranging its time and its due, and it will reward you greatly.

Seth Lutnick is an award-winning singer, songwriter, and musical theater performer. Visit his web site, The Music Zone, http://www.music.getitdone.biz, for a full guide to arranging and home recording.

Are you thinking about learning how to play the guitar? Let me tell you what happened to Brian. He?s a really hot lead guitar player in a local rock band. They are really making an impact in the night scene around town, and there is serious talk of a big city tour and an album soon. The guys are going so well I?d say the chances are high some great things will happen for them over the next year. But it wasn?t always so positive for Brian. He did a degree. It was an Arts degree. Now an Arts degree is not generally a great choice from a career point of view. Worse, Brian?s grades were a close scrape through at best. From an employer?s point of view, maybe some A grades in an Arts degree would suggest there was something up top to offset the lack of directly relevant job training. But there was no such consolation prize for Brian. He could not find a job. The thing was, he had spent most of his three years at university following what was going on in the music world. His studies took second place, after listening to tracks and chatting or reading about music most of the day, and being out around the clubs most of the night.

Now you would think that Brian should pursue his passion for music, and make a career out of it. You are quite right, of course, and that?s what all his friends and family said too. But there was a catch. Brian knew quite a lot about the music scene, but he had nothing to contribute on the stage. He had never learned to play. Not even basic piano lessons at school. And he was certainly no singer. He couldn?t even read music, so teaching it was out of the question. There was a job going teaching English in Korea. It was a contract for a year. Somebody gave Brian an old guitar and some ?how to learn to play the guitar? book to take with him, and he plucked away in his spare time while he was away. When he came back he knew enough to join in with some band mates in jamming sessions. He wasn?t very good, but the guys were happy to have him along because they liked hearing what he had to say about artists and their music. He is like a music encyclopaedia, you see. Sometimes from his knowledge he could suggest fresh ideas for new songs they were working on. But he simply was not a real guitar player. He had to face up to the harsh truth. He was no more than a likeable hanger-on around the bands. Nobody took him seriously. I?m not sure how it happened, but he then found a guitar-training course on the internet, and started to really focus on using it to learn how to play the guitar.

To be fair, he had made a start while in Korea, but had achieved little. It seemed like just a few weeks after he started with this new course that the results started to come. Somehow he was able to take all that music he had been listening to and play it himself, nearly as well as the real thing. It was as if a connection had been made and everything came together. The secret seemed to be the jamming tracks in the course, music he could play along with as well as following the main written and video lessons. The multimedia and interactive participation approach turned out to be far better for Brian than just learning from a book. Nearly as good as personal tuition, in fact. At last he was becoming a real musician, a real guitar player. Next thing he moved on from the jamming sessions with the band to a few filling-in gigs on the stage, then a permanent place in a band. It was the internet guitar-playing course that made the difference for Brian, and transformed his life. Now he really can live out his passion for music and make a living through playing his guitar. And the rest, as they say, is history. Or maybe we should wait a few years, and history could well have more to say about Brian.

Shelby Wright is in awe of the power of the information available on the internet to change people’s lives. You can read a review here of the multimedia guitar lessons referred to in the article above. Shelby also contributes private label rights articles to PLRWrittenArticles and writes an information products review blog.

With superb tonal properties, French violins are an excellent alternative to Italian violins which are highly expensive. Made by violin makers in France, French violins are not only beautiful to look at but also excellent to play. The strings of a French violin can produce bright and rich sounds that are best suited to the needs of a great violin performer. A French violin is labeled by the name of its maker along with the year of manufacture.

Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, Fran?ois Chanot, Georges Chanot, Victor Henri, and Nicolas Lupot were some of the most famous French violin makers of the past. Most of the notable French violin makers belong to Mirecourt, a town located about 100 miles from Paris. Mirecourt was considered as the center of French violin making in the past.

French violins are available in different sizes such as 4/4 or full size violin, 3/4, 1/2, 1/4 to 1/8, 1/10, and 1/16. They are well suited for beginners as well as professionals. French violins have exceptional qualities that make them unique. Ultra-clean workmanship, use of good quality materials, durability, and excellent tonal properties are some of the notable features of French violins.

French violins are available in a variety of price range. The price of a French violin depends on the workmanship and the quality of material used. A small size French violin may costs between $1000 and $3000 where as the cost of a full size good quality French violin between $3000 and $10,000. Antique French violins with good playing potential and an attractive appearance are available at reasonable prices. French violins are also available for rent at low rental rates.

There are several options to purchase French violins. They can be purchased from a violin maker or from a violin shop. Besides, there are options to purchase French violins online. Amazon and eBay are some of the resources to find French violins.

Violins provides detailed information on Violins, Electric Violins, Violin Music, How to Play the Violin and more. Violins is affiliated with Soprano Saxophones.