Music arises when dissonant sounds are made to sound in unison. Musical variety consists of the various attempts of people to open their multicultural and multidimensional souls to the world and express them through the musical tradition of a certain culture.

Perhaps we may best begin by taking a glance at folksong, where we are not cumbered by any theory or convention. We know our own: it is a little square in structure compared with the more fanciful Irish, homely compared with the adventurous Highland Scot, of extended compass compared with the French songs, which are almost talked, nave as compared with the sophisticated German, smooth compared with the angular Scandinavian, cheerful compared with the melancholy Russian, busy compared with the leisurely Italian, vocal compared with the Spanish, in which we hear the constant thrumming of the guitar.

In India the plains and the hills seem to contrast. In the plains we hear the Irish fancy, chiefly rhythmical; an ultrasmoothness which creeps from note to note scarcely risking a leap of any kind, and, like the French, with a short compass thoroughly well explored; lugubrious, not unlike the Russian according to our views though not perhaps according to theirs, for that is a thing that foreigners never can really judge; decidedly leisurely, as one expects in a country where kal means both yesterday and to-morrow; and purely vocal, without a hint of the influence of any instrument. In the hills it is more cheerful; the steps become leaps, the rhythm is accented, though it has not so many resources; it is as busy as you could wish, almost breathless in its excitement; it is pure singing, revelling in the sound, though one song is very much like another. But there is one characteristic of the hill tribes which should be noticed: they sing in the pentatonic. We think at once of the Scottish Highlanders and the Swiss yodelers and say it is the mountain air that makes these invigorating leaps in the melody; but when we find these same leaps equally in the plains of China and among the Sioux along the Missouri we think there must be some other explanation. Perhaps it is that instruments are not easily to be had in the mountains; for it is the instrument that first makes possible the division of the tone into two semitones. At any rate, whatever the reason, the fact is that the pentatonic, though not confined to, is characteristic of the Himalaya.

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Im always amazed at how some musicians can come together, count-off a tune, and create music on the spot that really swings. How come some can do this yet others simply cant? Why is it that some music grooves a lot and some grooves less or not at all?

While there may be a number of reasons to this problem, Ill focus on one of them in this article. The beat

What is the beat? You may define it as: A common denominator, in the form of a pulse, used by a group of musicians in order to be able to play music together.

Now, if the individual musicians of a band or ensemble have different pulses, or beats, how can they possibly be on the same page? Even if someone is loudly marking the beat for everyone to hear, that doesnt mean that people are closely following it. Some may place their music exactly around the beat while others dont. All the individual notes that are being played dont line up the way they should which results in sloppy music. More carefully placed notes by the musicians result in a tighter sounding band.

Lets take a moment and use target practice as analogy.

The target is the beat. The arrow is the note. If we all shoot our arrows at the target at once, chances are that the arrows end up all over the place. Experienced professionals, however, have a much higher chance of hitting the bullseye. Well, the same applies to music. The more musicians hit the beat right on the head, the more the music will sound together. So how do you go about getting better at this? How can you get a better feel for the beat and make sure that your feel of the beat doesnt fluctuate as you are playing music? This, I believe, is the crux of the matter. The more difficult the music gets, the more musicians have to concentrate on mastering their part, so that they pay less attention to the beat.

This happens all the time on the bandstand, and it is really easy to observe. Next time youre on the bandstand, keep an eye on a musician thats tapping his foot to the beat. As the music gets more syncopated, the foot may skip a beat, speed up or slow down, it may attempt to play the part that the musician is trying to play, or it may stop altogether!

As this happens, the common denominator, the pulse or beat, the foundation thats supposed to keep the band together is now no longer stable. Of course, the musician may argue that the part that he played was exactly in sync with his foot, but that is all relative. His playing may have been right relative to his foot but if his foot moved, his playing was not right relative to the pulse of the band.

This can often lead to all kinds of discussions and disputes not all of which end on a happy note!

A common response to the above-mentioned problem is that we would all sound like robots or machines if we played exactly like the metronome.

Let me respond to this by looking at one of the masters of time or groove, the legendary drummer Steve Gadd. He is known as one of the drummers that has mastered time. This means that whatever he plays, he is always exactly with the metronome. You could shut off the metronome for a couple of bars and switch it back on and Steve would still be in sync with it. Yet, Mr. Gadd does not sound like a machine, far from it. His playing is some of the most grooviest youll ever hear. Why is that? Why can he be in sync with the metronome so much and not sound like a machine?

The answer is in where he places his notes. Lets look at a simple rock patten where his snare drum would fall on beat two and beat four of the bar. Now, he can decide to hit these two beats exactly on the head, or he can decide to lay them back a bit. This means that he would hit beat two and beat four just a tad after the metronome hit those same beats. These are tiny differences and only schooled ears can make them out. But these tiny details are what make music groove or not. The key is that if Steve decides to hit these two beats just a bit behind the beat (meaning a fraction of a second later than the metronome), he needs to be consistent and hit the two and four of consecutive bars at exactly the same spot as before.

Let me use the target practice analogy again to make this a bit clearer. If Steves decision to hit beat two and four a fraction of a second later than the metronome, would be equivalent to hitting the target just a bit to the right of the bullseye, everytime you shoot an arrow.

Notice how Steve would not change the beat or the common denominator at all, he would simply, consistenly place his note just after the beat, where the novice would move the beat and make playing music together impossible.

Does that make sense?

So how can we make sure that we dont loose the beat? Is that something we have to have naturally or can we acquire this skill through practice? Well, I believe that we can all improve our ability to keep the beat better by internalizing the beat. This will help you to place your notes exactly where you want them placed even when the music is difficult and requires a lot of concentration. This does not mean, however, that youll swing more, because, remember that the swing comes from knowing where to place your individual notes relative to the beat and doing so consistenly.

By knowing where to place your individual notes Im not implying that this is something that every musician is doing consciously. I believe that large amounts of talent are responsible for the fact that some people will just naturally place the notes in a way that makes them swing. This is what puts a Charlie Parker in a different league than the average college saxophone player.

Ok, so how do we do it? How can we solidify our sense of the beat?

The idea is to internalize the beat.

Internalizing the beat means to be able to sense the beat regardless of how much attention you have to pay to the music.

I firmly believe that you can only achieve this by using your voice. Tapping your foot is not an option as weve seen from my example above. You can always feel the vibrations of your voice, no matter how loud the music gets, not matter how many distractions youre dealing with.

I thus suggest the following exercise:

Exercise #1:

Sing quarter notes out loud and play rhythms with your hands.

You can do this along to with a metronome and without. Just start the metronome, sing the same quarter notes, and play the rhythms that you sightread with your hands. Dont just play rhythms that you know and are comfortable with. I usually grab just about any music I can get my hands on and play the rhythms with my hands while ignoring the melody.

Youll find this challenging at first, but once youve got the hang of it, it will become surprisingly easy.

At first there will be a tendency to stop counting out loud, or lower the volume gradually, some mumble. Focus on counting out loudly and clearly for the whole duration of the exercise. I suggest you count 1-2-3-4, not just any sound. However, if youre a horn player, you obviously cant count out loud. In this case I suggest you do the exercise without your instrument.

This exercise will most definitely help you build a more solid inner clock provided you practice it religiously.

In order to challenge yourself a bit more once youve mastered the first exercise, you add the following exercise:

Exercise #2:

Start off counting the click out loud just the way you did in exercise #1, then switch to singing the rhythm that youre reading from a book and play the quarter notes.

Let me just point out that this exercise will merely add independence skills and I dont believe that it is nearly as important as the first one.

The nice thing about this exercise is that it will become second nature and once you get back to the bandstand you wont have to consciously think about it. It will truly build a stronger sense of the beat which youll benefit from enormously.

Only thing left for you to do is convince your fellow band members to practice the same exercise.

Good Luck!

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Do you know why music is so awesome and unique?

Because no one can take it from you. Whats even more awesome is that you can make music your own. Haven’t you ever thought of having a hit song, or releasing an album? I know most of those thoughts are just dreams and kind of far fetched, but the truth is you don’t have to be famous in order to play or write your own music.

One of the most popular instruments these days is the guitar. It seems like everywhere you look there’s another person playing guitar. This is really good, but the problem is that a lot of these guitar players don’t have any guidence, and either end up quitting or just never getting any better.

If you are interested in learning guitar, or perhaps you already play guitar, but are looking for some tips, then please read on. Below are several very helpful tips thats can help a newbie with learning guitar.

1. Don’t expect to be some kind of amazing guitar player overnight! It just doesn’t happen that way. Like most things, learning guitar takes time and you must be patient. The more you practice the better.

2. Start off slow. Don’t rush yourself, and don’t drive yourself crazy if you don’t get something right the first, second, or third time. It may take you a hundred times to get a riff right. The important thing is that you start off slow. Example: If you found a new riff, or chord progression that you like, start off practicing very slow. It may seem tedious, but it helps tremendously. Once you start adjusting to the riff, start increasing the speed.

3. Practice chord changes. One of the worst things to me is watching someone struggle to change between simple chords. Make sure to get these chord changes down. This will make everything so much easier in the long run.

4. One of my favorite things to do is to practice on an acoustic guitar. This strengthens your fingers greatly, and helps build speed.

5. Listen to lots of music. Any kind of music is ok. Then, just try and figure out whatever you’re listening to on guitar. Even if you only get in a couple of notes or chords, thats ok. This technique will help with your musical ear. Then after enough practice you’ll be able to pick up a song on the radio in no time.

I wish I could help you more, but unfortuneately thats about as good as I can do within an article.

I highly advise taking lessons. I know that taking lessons can cost a lot of money, but with technology these days you can take guitar lessons online for way cheaper. Usually a one time fee around $40 or $50. There are some really great programs out there that I highly recommend. Guitar Tutor Pro is an internet course that teaches guitar lessons online. If you’re looking for a program that covers the basics, scales, chords, reading music, theory, and more then this is the site for you.

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Country music used to be associated with cowboys and cowboy singing ballads under a setting sun. However, all you have to do today is watch one of the thousands of country music videos to realize how the country western image has changed. Country music offers fans all kinds of performing artists like Johnny Cash dressed in black singing about his prison days, or Shania Twain’s sassy, country rock. Country music means a lot of different things to a lot of different people and you can see it all on video.

In the U.S. there are at least three cable network dedicated to the genre of country music. CMT, VH-1 Country and GAC are widely followed by music enthusiasts in the nation. These stations feature country music videos, and they offer entertaining programming that includes the history of country music and the latest gossip about country music stars. One stations featured the Country Music Music Awards and the best music video of the year went to As Good As I Once Was, by Toby Keith, directed by Michael Salomon.

If you ever make you way to the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, Tennessee you can view live videos in a theater like setting presented by hosts like bill Cody. These videos present artists who have defined country music in the past as well as today. A new show is taped and performed live each week. While visiting this famous landmark, you can also tour the historic RCA Studio B where superstars like Elvis Presley, Chet Atkins, Eddy Arnold and the Everly Brothers once recorded.

Country Music provides detailed information on Country Music, Country Music Lyrics, Country Music CDs, Country Music Videoes and more. Country Music is affiliated with Classical Music Downloads.

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Oscar Wilde wasnt messing around when he said that Music makes one feel so romantic – at least it always gets on one’s nerves – which is the same thing nowadays. Words of wisdom came so easily to Oscar, not so the case with me. Things Oscar could describe in two lines take multiple paragraphs for us. But that was the genius of the man.

Pakistan has been lucky in a way to be conferred with so many big names of music. Who can forget the melodious Noor Jehan who mesmerized generations with her music? They say at the end its not the days of your life, but the life (read music) in those days which matters. She most certainly lives on even today; she was the pride of a paradoxical chauvinist nation. That alone tells you the achievements of a woman blessed with a voice that touched souls. Any Pakistani born after the 1965 war remembers the hurriedly written patriotic song broadcasted on national radio, aye putar hatan tay naiin wikday (these sons are not an ordinary entity sold in the market) and many others. In her glory days, and there were many, she was the icon of the Pakistani music industry, her very name meant success.

Then there was that man the world couldnt get enough of. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was probably the biggest and certainly the brightest Pakistani Music celebrity. He was a man respected and adored by even those who didnt understand his language. He was indeed the very reason the Pakistani music industry has survived today and he certainly was the only reason Pakistani music reached international markets, he was sort of an enigmatic character, his figure demanded to be noticed and thats exactly what he did for all the years he lived and even after his death his name seems to live on.

Then came the pop era, and didnt miss out on much. From Junaid Jamshed (who is a very strict practicing Muslim now) to Ali Azmat (the rock star). The journey of Pakistani music has been long and the outcomes have been enormous. Pakistani Music has evolved over the years, people understand their music now. You can no longer bluff them with long hair and be the self-professed rock idol; you have to show them you deserve to be celebrated.

Music is something in which we all seek our own little space, its something we associate with, and its something we play to celebrate out sorrows and joys. Pakistan with all the restraints of the society has done well to be served by the few who were good enough, and for others; mediocrity is something which has no place in Pakistani music. Weve had it big whenever weve managed to let go of the social manacles and bigger and better is the only place where we are going, so hold on tight and enjoy the ride.

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I met New York jazzman Tim Armacost in college almost 25 years ago, at a time when we were both grappling not only with what careers we ought to pursue, but with what kind of adults we wanted to become. Tim comes from an illustrious family, boasting more than its fair share of bank presidents, ambassadors and college presidents. I would not have been surprised if he had gone into finance, diplomacy, or academia. And yet, with seemingly limitless professional options open to him, Tim chose a more modest path that of the jazz musician. For two decades hes been traveling the globe, pursuing his career as a professional tenor saxophonist, in such exotic locations as Amsterdam, Delhi, and Tokyo. His albums, including Live at Smalls and The Wishing Well, have received high praise from the Washington Post and Jazz Times. Fluent in Japanese, Tim is also a longtime student of Zen Buddhism; his meditation practice infuses his music and contributes strongly to his relaxed yet passionate performance style.

I asked Tim to share a few of his thoughts on team leadership from a jazz improv perspective. Here are his insightful comments:

What I’ve learned from leading jazz groups, and from being a sideman for that matter, is that a group functions best when the leader is strong, confident, and has a vision. Within the context of that, he must also give the members of the band the feeling that they are totally free to express themselves within the boundaries of what the leader is setting out to do. I often find myself describing an improvising quartet as an excellent example of living, dynamic democracy. The jazz group was born to express the American spirit, and it has evolved into a form that is capable of expressing the spirits of communities of musicians throughout the world.

The leader needs to pick members who will be compatible, and create an environment of mutual respect. With this in place, the sidemen can relax into a feeling of safety, from which they can explore and take risks without being judged unfairly for mistakes. If the leader is too selfish or demanding, the band members start to see themselves as just being there to do a job and collect a paycheck, and they lose respect for the leader. But more importantly, they become detached from the music and go on autopilot, ceasing to be actively expressing their own true music. On the flip side, if the leader defers too much to others in the band, the sidemen lose respect for him because they expect to be led somewhere interesting. This situation can result in everyone acting like a leader to pick up the slack in the band, and arguments over decision making and the direction of the music inevitably ensue.

Then there’s the issue of swing. There’s the fundamental level of swing where everyone is feeling the beat together, and the music has natural momentum. Then there’s the next level where four artists all hearing the music in its moment of creation together generate an incredible propulsion. The rush of that stream carries each individual and the group into a place where they are all playing in a way that no one imagined before or could possibly recreate. The music is not only in the moment, it is of the moment. That’s what I live for! Occasionally it happens, and I dream of the day when I can play enough and have enough work for my band to live in that place more.

So I see the wisdom of team leadership lying in the ability to acknowledge and nurture each individual’s freedom and creativity while simultaneously having the vision to create a group dynamic that takes the individuals bound together to a new and unforeseen place.

Editors Note: Business team leaders can learn much from the world of Jazz improv. Before your next meeting, considering asking yourself the following questions:

1)Do I have a strong, confident vision for my team, and if so, what is it and have I communicated it sufficiently? Am I taking people somewhere interesting?

2)Do I provide my sidemen the freedom to express themselves within the boundaries of my vision?

3)On the flipside, do I provide so much freedom that my team members are confused about the direction theyre being asked to take?

4)Do we swing as a team? Are we attaining, on a regular basis, that feeling of flow you get when people are functioning at their highest performance level? If not, what aspects of my leadership style might be preventing this?

Let the spirits of Miles Davis and Duke Ellington be your guide.

(Visit Tim Armacost on the web at www.timarmacost.com)

Dave Blum is the founder of Dr. Clue treasure hunts, the national leader in business teambuilding with a treasure hunt game as the core simulation.

Visit us on the web at http://www.drclue.com

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When we say music, most of the people think at the great musicians from the eastern world. But what about the western music, I say? What about the Indian or the Pakistani music? I have noticed that only few people know some general information on Pakistani music. Well, this article is meant to change all that.

A genius man once said Music makes one feel so romantic – at least it always gets on one’s nerves – which is the same thing nowadays. The Pakistan people, I must say have been very fortunate to have so many big names of music. If you know something about it, I bet you know about Noor Jehan who charmed generations with her beautiful music. This woman had an extraordinary voice that could touch even the most evils souls. It was simply a gift from God. These sons are not an ordinary entity sold in the market is the translation of aye putar hatan tay naiin wikday the patriotic song broadcasted on every radio station after the 1965 war. Back then, in her glorious days, she was considered to be the icon of the Pakistani music

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was another voice people couldnt get enough. This is also one of the most popular Pakistani Music celebrities. He sand so beautiful than even those that didnt understand Pakistani at all listened to it. Some even consider him the main reason the Pakistani music survived. One sure fact is that, he is the reason Pakistani music made it to the open. He was the first to reach the international market and made Pakistani music popular in the world. Even now, years after his dead the Pakistani people talk about his music and his mysterious character.

After him, other Pakistani music idols came. The pop era followed, and celebrities like Junaid Jamshed and Ali Azmat (a rock star) had a great success. With them Pakistani music evolved a lot, and once with them so the Pakistani people. They now can understand the eastern music culture and borrow some from it. Nowadays, Pakistani music is even available on the internet; more and more websites based on this appear each day.

Now, we can categorize the Pakistani music into six types:

Classical – it is a disappearing form, but still influences many of the present artists

Semi classical/Ghazal – this is a form of music in which a poem is sung

Folk there are four provinces in Pakistan, each with its own characteristics

Qawwali/devotional this dynamic genre became internationally popular by artists like Sabri Brothers, Aziz Mian and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.

Film music – Tarranum Madame Noor Jehan is the most popular film music artist. She sang songs of all genres for the Pakistani television. Pop music the privatization of Pakistani television made this genre so popular. Nowadays many television broadcast pop music. More, a Pakistani popular single, Najane Kyun recently featured on the Urdu Soundtrack for Spiderman 2.

Music journalism has grown in popularity in Pakistan over the years. This trend was unknown in the Pakistani music twenty years ago. But all that changed once with the reviews written by Farrukh Moriani ( the Pakistani first music critic) which appeared in the Karachi’s tabloid, The Star. At the end of the 80s and with the coming of the Liberal government of Benazir Bhutto in 1988, the once repressed and frowned upon Pakistani pop music, evolved from the underground and started gaining mainstream popularity.

Back then another Pakistani music and fashion critic grew in popularity. Fifi Haroon was among the first Pakistans music critic to undertake full features on the growing local music scene. But this was not so serious. All things changed in 1990, when Pakistani music journalism became serious. Responsible for that was Nadeem F. Paracha.

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When I tell people I play the piano, the most common reply I hear is Oh Ive always wanted to play but Heres are the top-ten reasons that adults give for not becoming a musician- even though its their secret ambition. Read on for how to overcome these barriers and achieve your dream.

Im just too busy

Most people assume that you will need hours of free time every week set aside for lengthy practicing to get any good. This idea is a complete fiction- in fact I would say about 5 minutes each day is fine at first (and if you dont have 5 minutes per day to spare, I dont believe you!). If you book lessons with a teacher, you will be committing some time at least each week to concentrate on learning, which may even be enough at first.. Dont kid yourself youll be less busy in three months time because if you dont start learning now you probably never will.

I work shifts/ long hours so I cant fit time for lessons in

Many teachers will offer lessons in the daytime, evenings and weekends- so you should be able to find something that suits you- just call up some local teachers and ask when they have spaces in their schedule. There are also a good number of online courses for most instruments. Or you could buy a Teach Yourself Book and take it from there.

Lessons are too expensive

Again, you could start off teaching yourself from a book- but not all lessons are as expensive as you might think. I teach in groups, which keeps the cost down for the individual, and also turns lessons into a social activity. Find out if there are any teachers in your area who do this.

Im too old

Your definitely never too old to learn a musical instrument! In fact Ive found adults of all ages learn much faster than young children initially. Learning new cognitive skills has even been found to have great health benefits.

I wont be able to learn

Well, Ive never met anyone incapable of learning to play yet! Obviously people have different standards and natural abilities, theyll learn at different rates. But everyone will be able to play to some degree. The best thing is to ask yourself what you want to achieve and then just go for it.

Ill never be any good, so whats the point in starting now

This depends what you mean by good. OK, I admit if your 57 and never played a note in your life theirs no chance of you becoming a virtuoso after ten lessons. But is that really why you secretly want to learn your chosen instrument? How about learning just for the sheer achievement of acquiring a new skill. Or being able to pick out a few carols at Christmas. Or finally write down and record that song thats been going round in your head your whole life. These are all achievable goals you could reach after learning an instrument for just a short time. And does it even matter if your any good if you really enjoy playing?

Ive been told Im tone-deaf and so I cant learn

The short answer to this is, your almost certainly not. Tone deafness is a very rare and specific condition, and music lessons should help improve your listening skills.

I dont think any teachers will be interested in taking on an older learner

Most teachers I know (including myself) really enjoy teaching adults because they have made the decision to have lessons themselves and appreciate lessons so much more than children who are learning all the time. Maybe your children are having lessons, why not ask their teacher if they could teach you as well? Im sure they would be pleased to, or at least recommend another teacher with vacancies.

Id love to learn again- but I hated my lessons when I was younger

A lot of adults have horror stories about severe piano teachers rapping their knuckles with rulers for making mistakes, and punishing them for not practicing 30 minutes a day. Luckily, there arent many (any?) people like that around anymore. Please dont let a bad experience from the past stop you from achieving what you want today. Find a teacher, let them know what you want to achieve and Im sure they will be pleased to help. If you dont enjoy their lessons, let them know why- music lessons should be enjoyable, and as an adult you will be the one in control, with your teacher there to help you.

Ive heard learning to read music is really hard

Learning to read music is really very straightforward. And some teachers might be happy for you to play by ear. Theres a lot of advice on reading music, on the web which can get you started.

I hope none of these excuses are holding you back from becoming a musician! Good luck in learning to play your chosen instrument.

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On August 23, 2006, I had the privilege of hearing the Sons of Maxwell at the Festival of Lights in Peterborough, Ontario. It was a drizzly evening but a large crowd was in attendance to enjoy this excellent band. My feet were happy as soon as I hit the concert field. The band was playing So Confusing from the Among the Living album, a lively, very danceable tune with lyrics that could have been written for a star-crossed seeker/ broken-hearted dreamer like me.

The Sons of Maxwell are billed as a Celtic band, they have a strong East Coast sound reminiscent of The Rankins meeting The Gin Blossoms, a very appealing, catchy, Celtic Country Rock. They won an ECMA award this year for their eighth full length recording, Sunday Morning, as the Country Recording of the Year. Originally from Timmins, Ontario, the band relocated to Halifax, Nova Scotia and have carved a place for themselves in the outstanding East Coast music scene in Canada ,building up a loyal fan base.

Among the Living was recorded in the year 2000 and is the first recording in which all the songwriting was done by Dave Carroll. He also produced Mile A Minute with the rest of the production credits, and some of the musicianship, being shared by Tim Feswick and Jon Park Wheeler. Dave and his brother, Don, combine their considerable vocal talent in the Sons of Maxwell so we enjoy the benefit of harmonies that only brothers can create. They are backed by an excellent band and, from what I can gather, these musicians have managed to stay together for a while. The Carroll brothers named the band in honour of their Father, Maxwell. The strong love of family is expressed often in the music on this CD and in their live performance.

The touching and beautiful tribute to Abigail, Hold On, was written for their grandparents (I think I have the story right) when their Grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease. This song was recognized by the Canadian Alzheimer’s Society for its profound message. Mile a Minute is the most sensitive and articulate love song I have ever heard. This song is written from a man’s perspective and it makes me wonder if men really can feel that kind of love for a woman. It gives me hope that such love is a possibility. Easy Come, Easy, Go is a song that etches the range of emotions one goes through after we have failed at a relationship. Working Man is a tribute to a hardworking Father ( the men I know identify with this song very strongly). Lady for L.A. is a story of the unattainable woman that men are always seeking. The 5:07 is a song of leaving someone behind but hoping that they will ask you stay even if you know you can’t. It seems like he is leaving because of misplaced loyalty and obligation knowing that he is going to feel regret for his choice.

‘Burning Bridges is a powerful song about not following the pack or the road most travelled. It reminds us how easily people get caught up in following in other people’s footprints, worrying about what they think, or doing what others think we should do instead of embracing our individuality. The title track, Among the Living, is a beautiful anthem telling us that life is a journey, full of ups and downs but reminds us to always take our place among the living, When the Circus Comes to Town is an exuberant tale of a family reunion, Get It Jumping is a very upbeat, just get up and party song. Mrs. Stanley is a tribute song as well, I am inclined to think it must be an old neighbour or a teacher, someone who was kind in the past.

The night of the concert they had all of their recording on sale but, as usual, I was poor so I chose Among the Living. Other Sons of Maxwell CD’s available are Bold Frontier from 1994; Live at Tim’s House 1998; The Neighbourhood 1998; Sailor’s Story 2000; Instant Christmas 2001 and Sunday Morning 2004. You can order past and current albums as well as a DVD from their online webstore and you can also listen to samples of their music by visiting their website at Sons of Maxwell. Booking information, appearance schedules and biographical information is also available here.

The whole feeling I get from this album is that you can’t stand looking at the past with your back to the future, life goes on and we owe it to ourselves to be the best that we can be, come what may Dave Carroll is an extraordinary songwriter, carefully sculpting his songs to express the deep, universal themes that we will all experience as we navigate life. My favourite tracks are So Confusing, Mile A Minute and Burning Bridges but the whole album flows together beautifully. The sound is rich, comforting and full of grace and insight. The Sons of Maxwell are going to go far. I look forward to seeing them again the next time they play in my area.

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An important aspect of the Indian culture is obviously the Indian music. You cant even imagine what important Indian music is to Hinduism. Music and dance has even a religious importance in Hinduism. In fact the beginning of the Indian music is based on religion. The first songs in Indian were in fact religious hymns and ballads. They were called bhajans and were based on religious facts, legends and myths. They used few musical instruments, such as the sitar or a table.

Due to the fact that there are many languages spoken in India, and not just one as in the case of most of the countries, India has more than one Indian music entity. In fact, there is no such a single entity as Indian music at all. You might think that since the India is in its majority predominantly rural, such music categories form the majority. But, due to the development of television, communications and mass media, Indian music is nowadays based on a pan-Indian popular style, recorded electronically. This is popular to us with the Indian films. The Indian film industry was the one that made Indian music word wide popular.

Original Indian music actually refers to an old music, a traditional one based on raga and a rhythmic system called tala. Raga is considered to be the melodic basis of Indian classical music. The word comes from Sanskrit and means color. Raga is not only a musical idea. It inspired painters, poets, architects and art in general. So we can say that raga influences the Indian culture.

This genre appeared for the first time thousands of years ago, and comes from the early Hindu settlers. It was different then, and reached the form we all know today about five hundred years ago. It was called sangit and it described a vocal music accompanied by instrumental music and dance.

The Muslim invasion in the 13th and 16th century played the most important roles into the bifurcation of the Indian music into a northern and southern tradition: a Hindustani music and Carnatic music. They keep the traditional influences of raga and tala but borrowed other influences too. As we all know it, India is made of several ethnic groups, each with their own languages, dialects and traditions. So, the Indian music has Persian, Arab and even British music influences. Yet, the traditional Indian music, Hindustani and Carnatic music remain the fundament of the Indian music we listen today, and also sources of cultural expression, religious inspiration and pure entertainment. The first texts of Indian music were Sangita-Ratnakara, Natya shastra and Brihaddeshi.

But here is how Indian music made it to the open. It all began with Bangladesh-born Ali Akbar Khan’s 1955 concert in New York. After that, the demand for Indian music leads to the hippy ethos, and raga-rock became the trend of the 60s. Byrds album Morning and evening ragas was the first Indian music album to appear in the western world. It became so popular in the Sixties than he reached more than 10 albums. More, in 1967 the Ali Akbar College of Music in the San Francisco Bay Area was founded by Khan. Indian musical instruments can be mainly classified into three categories: classical, western and folk instruments. There are wind, percussion and string instruments. The win d instruments are: bansuri (one of the oldest instruments in India), nadaswaram, pungi, shehnai and pullanguzhal. The percussion ones are : chanda, dhol, dholak, ghatam, idakka, kanjira, tabla, mridangham, pakhavaj, and thavil. The string ones are: ektara, tanpura, esraj, sarangi, sarod, sitar, santoor, and gottuvadhyam. But these are not all. There are other native Indian music instruments that I can mention.

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