Music Videos The Extension To Musical Expression

Music has always been something that speaks to the soul. People listen to Music to relax, to create an atmosphere, to set a mood. Music consists of two main parts namely the melody and Lyrics. By combining these two aspects simultaneously you create a harmony that goes beyond explanation. The melody creates the correct atmosphere to bring you the true message of the Lyrics. For ages people has been satisfied with an audio experience only, but as the Music industry developed, people developed a need for an audio-visual Musical experience. Music videos was the answer to that need. There were, and still are, many Music lovers that have a negative view about Music videos. They believe that Music videos only have a marketing purpose and nothing else. There is some truth in this, but is a Music video totally useless when it comes to the message a song wants to deliver?

You have to experience the song without a picture to really understand it. To really appreciate the work of a Musical artist you have to experience a song through every mechanism available, through the artist's voice, through the specific Music instruments, through the carefully selected melodies, through the wonderfully written Lyrics. Your first experience of a song and its interpretation should be by audio only. You have to be able to capture its meaning before it is corrupted by a visual expression. A song has to be free to speak a personal message and if a song is able to do that it is only because of artistic perfection. A Music video takes away an artist's majestic power of illustration.

Music videos are not all that bad. The nice thing about Music videos is that they give you a new approach to the song, another perspective that may not have been experienced during your first interpretations of the song. It opens your mind for new possibilities with a song. A Music video is also a good medium that helps you to understand a song if you are not good at interpreting them. Not everyone is a good interpreter of Musical literature. Music videos are also a great way of bridging the language gap for fans who enjoy the Music of a foreign artist, but don't understand a word he or she is singing. After exploring a song trough audio only, it is always pleasurable for fans to see all the mechanisms of Music combined in a Music video, where you can experience the Music with your eyes, ears and soul, all at the same time.

A Music vide o should not be your first experience of a song, because that is when the theme of the song is killed. You have to focus on the Music and Lyrics to really appreciate the abilities of the artist. Not everyone looks good in a Music video, but there are many, not-so-good-looking artists that produces great Music. A Music video is only a different medium through which one can experience a song, the Music video itself cannot speak to you in a personal way, only the song can. The Music video only brings you the central theme of the song, the abstract, theoretical meaning. Therefore it is true that a Music video on its own, gives you a very limited perspective and can, at most, be an extension to Musical expression, but can't be the expression itself.

Coenraad de Beer was born on 27 February 1982 in small town called Lichtenburg in the North West (Formerly known as Transvaal) province of South Africa. He graduated High school in 2000 and started doing computer programming on his own for 2 years using the C++ programming language. In 2003 he started a career in Accounting and he is currently studying BCompt at the University of South Africa.

Coenraad is a very dedicated person in whatever he takes on in life and believes that success only comes from hard work and believing in your own abilities, the abilities God gave to you.

Coenraad is also the Webmaster of LIAFIN - Your one stop Online Shop

You can also visit his homepage at http://www.cplusplusgenius.wagoo2.com

Author:: Coenraad De Beer
Keywords:: Music,Music videos,Music artists,Lyrics,Musical
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Piano Pedals: What to Do With those Pedals or are They a Foot Rest?

There are three pedals on the piano: the damper pedal on the right, played with the right foot; the soft pedal called the Una Corda, on the left, played with the left foot; and the sostenuto pedal in the middle, played with the left foot. In all cases, the end of the pedal should contact the ball of the foot in line with the big toe. The heel of the foot stays on the floor at all times, and the foot remains touching the pedal at all times.

The Damper Pedal raises the damper (hammers) off the strings at once, and holds them off, so that if the fingers are removed from the keys, the sounds does not stop, as the pedal is still holding the dampers of the strings.

Now let's work with the most common pedal, the damper pedal. The damper pedal is used for the purpose of playing Legato, or purposefu lly allowing 2 or more tones to ring at the same time to create harmony, and/or for a rhythmic purpose.

Playing Legato means to connect your sounds without silence between the notes. Hold the first key and keep it vibrating until the next note is played, then release the first note. This can be easily accomplished through your finger action if all the keys in your song are within close proximity of each other. If there is a huge span between the keys, then it is impossible for the fingers to play Legato, for the hand will have to be moved to a new position to reach the key.

By using the damper pedal, you can connect thes e tones and retain the sounds of Legato.

Example:

1. Play middle C, and at the same time depress the damper pedal.
2. Hold the damper pedal in the depressed position.
3. Lift your hand and move it up the piano to play a high C.
4. At the exact moment you play the high C, Lift and depress the damper pedal very fast.

How do you know you are playing the pedal correctly? All you have to do is listen. If you release the pedal too soon, you will hear silence between the two notes. If you release the pedal too late, there will be a point where both tones will be ringing.

Playing the pedal correctly takes practice, go slow and listen carefully. How do you know when to use the pedal? Change the pedal when you do not want tones ringing together. Change the pedal on every chord change. In classical music, it is customary to analyze the composition and when the composer is changing chords, change the pedal. Composers will write in phrases, which are similar to sentences, if the same chord is used, but the phrase changes, you would change the pedal when the phrase ends and a new phrase starts. As you progress in your lessons and gain knowledge about music theory, you will be able to analyze the music and this will guide you as to when to change the pedaling.

Alana LaGrange is the founder of Music and You, an online piano lesson website teaching beginning, Intermediate, music arranging and jazz. She has published piano lesson books, and is also an arranger and recording artist.

http://www.musicandyou.com

Author:: Alana LaGrange
Keywords:: piano pedaling, piano pedals, how to use the piano pedal, Legato, playing Legato
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Laurie Larsons Aquila a Hidden Gem that Needs Discovery

I recently purchased Aquila at CD Baby after reading a press release about Laurie Larsons latest CD. The 10 song compilation may be one of my best purchases in the last two years. On the whole the album features the amazing vocal styling of an artist obviously influenced by the music of the 60s. Yet there is something modern and compelling about both the sound of the music and Ms. Larsons vocals. Within each song lies a well crafted and produced performance that validates the singers pedigree and many talents.

Some of my favorite songs include My Time Will Arrive which has a bluesy, 60ish feel to it and Architect of Dreams a more spiritual song with haunting vocals that linger in your head long after the song is over. Road to Elysium is a very beautiful song with Ms. Larsons best vocals. I am parti cularly fond of the end of the song which features an a cappella vocal that is by far the best display of Mr. Larsons amazing vocal talent.

My favorite song on the CD is On This Day which not only features an amazing vocal performance but also a very tasteful guitar solo, that demonstrates the talent of the musicians that perform with Ms. Larson on Aquila.

The song Aquila is a bit pop, a bit reggae and a lot of fun. Mr. Larson combines her vocals with an augmented almost hip hop vocal accompaniment. Add to that some killer guitar playing and you have a fun sound that stands out on the CD.

Utopia features more great vocals and excellent finger style guitar playing. This highlights an important part of the production on Aquila the musicianship is truly first class, always adding to the vocal performance without over whelming it.

Child of the Wind is another favorite of mine. Ms. Larson captures the essences of a young girl, and her struggles to make the right choices. I relate to this song, because I have a young teenage daughter, and every time I hear the song it reminds me of her.

Light of Freedom and Center of Light are also well crafted songs. As are all the songs on this CD. It is no surprise that Ms. Larson is starting to receive strong radio play across the country. Each song is well crafted and very listenable. The best quality of Aquila is that you believe what Ms. Larson is singing. The lyrics are very personal and you know they are important to the singer. Nothing contrived or forced.

Is Aquila a folk rock, classic rock, or alternative rock CD? Honestly you cannot categorize Aquila or Mr. Larsons debut CD Artist Mirage in such simple terms, as her music truly cross many boundaries. And that is what I find so appealing about her music.

Aquila is a self produced and self promoted effort, but it is professionally recorded and the songs are complete performances. Most self produced albums simply do not have the quality and production to be worthy of distribution. Laurie Larsons Aquila is an exception to that rule, and is a hidden gem that needs discovery.

Bill McRea Web master for Kansas Fans. For more information about Aquila and Laurie Larson visit Lauries website at http://www.laurielarson.com.

Author:: Bill McRea
Keywords:: laurie larson, new release, Aquila, alternative rock, classic rock, folk music, folk rock
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Learn to Play the Piano By Ear Adding Chords to Right Hand Melody

Adding Chords to the Melody

Adding chords to the right hand can be a wonderful benefit to playing the piano. It can make your playing sound full and beautiful. The problem is that some people who play by ear want to just chord with the right hand. So, when they play a song, all the listener hears is chords rather than the chords and the melody. In order for your audience to know what song you're playing you must play the melody. Playing the melody with the right hand and chording with the left hand is a simple way to play songs. But, adding chords to the right hand melody will make your songs sound richer and fuller. Before I begin, I must say that you MUST know chord inversions for the chords you will be using in a certain song. For those of you who have purchased the Piano By Ear for Beginners DVD, you will have learned (or are learning) inversions.

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The melody must stay at the top of the inversion at all times. For instance, if you are playing the simple children's song, Jesus Loves Me in the key of C, while you are in the C chord change (1st change), you play the inversions of C chord while the melody stays on top of the chord. When you switch to the F chord change (4th change), you will play the F chord inversions, keeping your melody on the top of the F chord.

Let's back up...in case you're not familiar with chord inversions. I will explain and list the inversions for the chords in the key of C (C, F, & G). To make a chord, you play 1-3-5 of the scale of the chord you are playing.

Example: C scale

CDEFGABC 12345671

So, to play C chord, you would play the notes C-E-G together to make the C chord. That's the first inversion of C chord. The next inversion would be arranged by moving the C to the top as in E-G--C. I added the extra space between the G and the C because there are actually two notes between the G and C. As you continue to move up the keyboard, for the next inversion you would move the bottom note, E, to the top to arrange the third inversion of C chord to appear like this... G--C-E. When you finally move the G to the top, you have the first inversion again (C-E-G) only now it is an octave higher than when you began. To do the F and G chord inversions, you would follow the same procedure. They are listed below:

C CHORD INVERSIONS C-E-G, E-G--C, G--C-E, C-E-G

F CHORD INVERSIONS F-A-C, A-C--F, C--F-A, F-A-C

G CHORD INVERSIONS G-B-D, B-D--G, D--G-B, G-B-D

Now that you know the inversions for each of those chords you can add the appropriate chord to the right hand's melody. To do this you will follow these simple rule. *While playing in the key of C, while in the C chord change, if the melody falls on any of the notes in the C chord (C-E-G), then you will play the appropriate inversion of C chord with the melody note on top. If the melody note does not fall on one of the notes for the C chord, then you play that note on the right h and alone. While playing in the key of F, while in the F chord change, if the melody falls on any of the notes in the F chord (F-A-C), then you will play the appropriate inversion of F chord with the melody note on top. If the melody note does not fall on one of the notes for the F chord, then you play that note on the right hand alone. While playing in the key of G, while in the G chord change, if the melody falls on any of the notes in the G chord (G-B-D), then you will play the appropriate inversion of G chord with the melody note on top. If the melody note does not fall on one of the notes for the G chord, then you play that note on the right hand alone.

Look at the melody notes in the key of C for the song Jesus Loves Me.

G E E D E G G
Jesus loves me this I know...

During the first phrase of that song, you are in the C chord change. Therefore, you will play and inversion of C chord with the melody on top with your right hand on every melody note except D (over the word me) because all the other notes are pArt of the C chord. Moving to the next phrase, you change to the F chord change.

A A C A A G G
For the Bible tells me.....so

During this phrase of that song, you are in the F chord change. Therefore, you will play an inversion of F chord (with the melody on top of your chord) with your right hand on every melody note except G (over the word me) because all the other notes are pArt of the F chord. Keep in mind that on the word so you will move back to the C chord change so the G note there will be played with an inversion of C chord with the melo dy (G) note on top.

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For a complete biography visit my website at http://www.thepianobyear.com

By the way...if you have any questions related to playing piano by ear or would like to subscribe to my weekly newsletters, visit my website at www.thepianobyear.com or feel free to email me at matthew@thepianobyear or you may post them on the discussion board at www.thepianobyear.com/bbs

Author:: Matthew Stephens
Keywords:: learn to play the piano
Post by History of the Computer | Computer safety tips

Napster Vs eMusic: My Search For The Best Music Download Service

With the number of U.S. Music fans Downloading Music online increasing by double digits yearly it's become obvious that Downloading is the new way to do Music.

For sure there have been, and in fact continues to be issues with Legal-vs-ilLegal but follow this very simple guideline and you don't have to be concerned about the feds showing up at your door.

The bottom line here is just like in the real world DO NOT copy your Music and sell or give those copies away to anyone. That's where the file sharers go wrong.

It's that simple.

With that often misunderstood bit of information cleared up I'm now going to contrast and compare a couple of the better and yes, perfectly Legal online Music Download Services.

Two of the best Music Download Services I've had the opportunity to try out are eMusic and Napster.

What are the best features of each Service?

Napster: Despite it's rocky past the new Napster is a perfectly Legal Music Download sit e and their full library of digital Music, [over 2 million songs is completely free to listen to. You only pay if you decide to Download a song or two to your computer, iPod or other MP3 Player. And Napster has a variety of Subscription options to choose from which means you're sure to find a plan that's right for you. Most users will be impressed with the overall depth and breadth of the Napster catalog. Very few searches turn up no results.

eMusic: All the tunes available through eMusic are legitimately licensed from record labels and artists, so you don't have to worry about a midnight visit from the authorities here either. eMusic is now advertising that they have over 1,000,000 high quality MP3 files from 1,200 independent Music labels. The collection is mostly filled out in the rock genre, but they also have an outstanding assortment of jazz and blues, as well as a surprisingly large selection of world Music. I found the MP3 Music Downloads available through eMus ic were of the highest quality.

What are the performance highlights of each Service?

Both Napster and eMusic seem to be built for use by those with broadband connections. Neither one of them says so explicitly but it's pretty clear. Besides, Downloading files as large as even small Music files is best done with a high speed internet connection.

How easy are these Services to use?

Again both, Napster and eMusic offers a freely Downloadable application for use in conjunction with their Service. Both are just a few mouse clicks to Download and could not be simpler to install. Each user interface is of course completely different from the other but both can be easily learned upon spending a few minutes playing with it.

What about value for the money, which is better?

Napster: Offers three levels of membership and Service. At the minimal, free level, members can stream almost any track in the Napster catalog up to 5 times each. If you're intere sted in Downloading and having unlimited listening capability you'll pay $9.95 per month. With either of these levels you'll also have the option of purchasing a song outright for .99 each. If you use your Music in conjunction with an iPod or other portable device it's $14.95 per month to fill your device with unlimited Downloads.

Throughout the Napster site at all levels of membership you have the ability to freely listen to :30 second samples of songs.

eMusic: Has three levels of membership as well. For $9.99 per month you get up to 40 Downloads, for $14.99 you get 65, and for $19.99 per month you get 90 Downloads. These are high quality MP3 Downloads and are on a per month basis, and do not rollover. To borrow a term from the cell phone industry.

So which is better?

The million dollar question. I have to say it really depends on how you use and listen to Music. With Napster your Music is tied to your computer unless you purchase the track or entire CD outright at .99 per song. This differs greatly form eMusic where with either Service level you actually Download MP3 files so you do have the option of burning CD's more freely.

I really like several things about each Service but mainly with Napster the sheer size of their catalog is very enticing, and with eMusic being able to Download burnable MP3's is certainly a desirable feature.

Like I said, I guess it just comes down to what's important to you in determining which Service is right and will work best for you.

I've given you a point from which to start your thinking process here. For complete information on the eMusic Download Service goto http://www.Smoothlee.com/EMusic.htm now. Alternatively, you'll find complete information on the Napster Music Download Service at http:// www.Smoothlee.com/Napster.htm

Clyde Lee Dennis, a.k.a. SmoothLee is an AVID Music fan, smooth jazz in particular, and in addition to writing CD Reviews for ILoveSmoothJazz.com can also be heard during his radio show which airs online daily at Smooth Jazz 24/7

Author:: Clyde Dennis
Keywords:: Napster,EMusic,Download,Mp3,Legal,Cd,Music,Subscription,Service,Smoothlee,smooth jazz
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