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Thursday, July 9, 2009

Learn How To Play Bass Guitar Online: Be Your Own Teacher

By Adam Suggs

There are a variety of different ways to learn how to play bass guitar and the varieties all can have an impact on how you learn. For instance, if you wish to play blues music bass lessons for blues music would be really focused on your style but bass lessons can be taken for all styles, genres and levels. There are even differences in wanting to be solo musician playing around the house for fun and playing in a band which will cause variations in how you should learn your new instrument.

Even a professional like Tiger Woods has a teacher or a coach that makes sure he never looses site of the foundations that built his golf game to what it is today. This article will touch on three things that a bass player playing the bass must always lock in to memory and never forget: Hand Positioning, Wrist Movement, and Thumb Attack.

As such, the bodies of bass guitars need to be made of lightweight materials so that the weight is manageable. If a bass guitar was made of metal, chances are that a lot of guitarists would find it difficult or even impossible to play it. The preferred materials are wood and graphite, and different kinds of wood may be used, including maple, alder, mahogany, rosewood, etc. The strings are usually made of steel.

Identify the parts of the bass guitar. There are typically four strings, and the components are very similar to a guitar. The thickest string is the E (the topmost), followed by A, D, and G, and are also referred to as 4, 3, 2, and 1 respectively. On the neck of the guitar forming a grid-like pattern with the strings are metal strips called frets that make the notes produced higher as it goes farther from you.

Feel the beat, playing the bass guitar differs primarily from playing a regular guitar because it entails an emphasis on the beat of the music. One can compare the bass guitar into a drum or percussion set that is made into a guitar. Beats are very important in playing bass guitar because this type of guitar gives depth and timing to any song.

Set the metronome for 60 beats per minute. Choose a scale (pentatonic minor is a good one to begin with) and play the scale all the way through TWICE using eighth notes. This means that you play 2 notes for every metronome beat.

Also, crucial to slap bass is the "snapping" sound produced by pulling the strings up and letting them snap back onto the fretboard - this is called "popping". Of course, all the other more usual techniques of bass playing are still used, such as hammer-ons and crosshammers, lift-offs, slides, string bends and harmonics - but rather than plucking the string with the finger or pick, it might be slapped with the thumb or popped.

With all these in mind, strum your way to mastering how to play the bass guitar and be a rock star in your own right. - 18424

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Free Music Downloads Online

By Susan Reynolds

Music downloads from the internet for free is not anything new. Most people have been doing it for years and years. One thing that has changed is where and how it is done. The piracy laws have gotten stricter and many bands are fighting against free downloads of their music. it has gotten tougher to locate. The free music is still readily available and can be located in multiple places online. You just have to know the right place to look.

P2P programs is one of the more popular ways users find free music online. These systems use a program that enables users to logon to a network and share their files located on their hard drives with other users who are logged on to the network.

The amounts of audio music files you are able to find on this type of program will depend on how many people are logged who possess that file. The P2P networks range from small ones to larger ones. One of the most commonly used P2P networks is Limewire P2P. It offers a secure and safe way to share your music files with other people. You are able to download files to your computer system and save them in the manner you want.

By entering a band name, artist name or even a song title into the search area and choosing audio files under file tab you can find just about any song you want. You will be given a large list of songs to choose the one you wish to download. User information will be shown as will any rating that the file has received from other users. In most cases you will notice how many times the file has been previously downloaded; this assists in determining that the file is decent quality and virus free.

The user ratings are given by members who have downloaded the file onto their systems. The higher the rating the better the odds of the file being safe and of great quality. You can go by the amount of times it has been downloaded by other users as well. A large number usually shows signs of a good quality file.

You should ensure you are familiar with the different types of file extensions that go along with music files as well as a good idea of what the file size should be. There are users who will rename a file to a popular song title in order to lure another user into downloading it to their system.

It is recommended that you read through all the information about piracy laws located in the program. You need to ensure you are not participating anything illegal or wrong. The laws are complex and you may need more help understanding them. There are many websites online that have information in easy to understand text format.

Aside from the P2P programs there are several communities like iTunes and Yahoo that offer music downloads with a membership program. You are often allowed a free preview song as it is being released and with membership you will get so many free music downloads and also enjoy unlimited discounted downloads.

Always be cautious when downloading anything from the web. Make sure you have good antivirus software installed on your system and run a scan on any files that have been downloaded before opening it possibly exposing a virus to your machine. - 18424

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Michael Jackson's Six Studio Albums From 1979 Through 2001

By Marvin Markus

Michael Jackson began his career an adult with 1979's Off the Wall which many look upon as his real debut solo album even though he had already released four solo albums as a youngster. This article is an overview of his six studio albums beginning with Off the Wall through 2001's Invincible.

Off the Wall - This album made Michael Jackson a real solo star. He was no longer the "little kid in the Jackson Five." Admittedly he was always the star of the Jackson Five but he was still mostly known for his work with them and not for his solo stuff until Off the Wall which included two #1 hits "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough" & "Rock with You."

Thriller - This album made Michael Jackson the biggest pop star in the world. It's still the biggest selling album in the history of the world (and the biggest selling album in the United States as well.) It included two more #1 hits ("Billy Jean" & "Beat It") and an amazing seven top 10 singles. Since the album only had nine total songs that means all but two of it's songs were top 10 hits.

Bad - This album is way too often overlooked in comparison with Thriller just because it didn't match the ridiculous sales numbers of that monumentally album. But what about the five #1 singles that Bad produced? And how about the fact that Jackson wrote 8 of the 10 songs on Bad himself? In my opinion the Bad album is an essential part of the Jackson discography.

Dangerous - While it didn't sell as many copies as Thriller (of course no other album has either) or contain as many #1 singles as Bad, it was still an extremely successful album which included many MJ classics including the #1 single "Black or White," "Heal the World," "Remember the Time," "Give in to Me," & "Will You Be There."

HIStory - This album includes both a greatest hits collection (15 hits up through his previous album, Dangerous) and a disc of new 15 new songs including "You Are Not Alone," "Earth Song," "Stranger in Moscow," and a cover of The Beatles classic "Come Together." Although somewhat of a weak seller in comparison to Jackson's biggest hit albums, it still put up impressive sales numbers all over the world.

Invincible - While I do agree with the critics that Invincible is Michael Jackson's worst studio album, I disagree with just how lowly many people rate this album. I think it has quite a few redeeming moments that make it worthy of a listen. "Break of Dawn," "Butterflies," "Speechless," & "Threatened" are among my favorites. - 18424

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Online Bass Guitar Lessons: Learn In Just A Couple Weeks

By Marshal Washington

Whether you have a musical bone in your body or not, being your own teacher on how to play the bass guitar is not impossible since a lot of musicians are self-trained. It is a challenge that requires patience and determination. To help out, here are the reminders before learning to produce music with this stringed instrument.

Getting a guitar strap can help your hands focus on playing instead of carrying the instrument. It is advisable to keep your fingernails trimmed so that they do not interfere with the sound. Blisters signify the first signs of learning. They hurt a lot, but eventually you will get used to them and eventually calluses will develop to protect you from the sting.

If your strings ever break mysteriously at the bridge, check your saddles. If there are any string "bite" marks, snags or burrs on the saddles, it means that they are wearing down your strings and the constant vibration of the strings makes the burrs act like little saws on the windings of the string. Eventually the core gives in - and POW, there goes a string - and possibly an eyeball.

With your thumb in position as described under the Hand Positioning section strike the low E string with the middle knuckle of your thumb and hit it pretty hard to get that classic "thump' sound and then immediately release.

Save the beer for in between setlists. Drink water if you're thirsty. If someone offers you a beer just before a setlist, just set it to the side and save it for the next break. Water drinking musicians onstage just look more professional than beer-drinking ones.

It combines the plucking of the bottom notes with the percussive hits that the palm makes when it slaps the strings against the fingerboard. Slap bass is a very percussive style. It's invention (on electric bass) has been credited to Larry Graham, of funk bands Sly& the Family Stone and Graham Central Station, allegedly improvising on an occasion when their band was left without a drummer! Slap bass is a must for the musicians who use spectacular and popular funk slap techniques which demands specific snappy attacks.

Never play in a club where there's a "house soundman." Guaranteed - they will get paid more than the band, in most cases, and the probably have a standard sound for all the basses, without knowing your playing style. He probably eq your bass with an insane volume range.

Feel the beat, playing the bass guitar differs primarily from playing a regular guitar because it entails an emphasis on the beat of the music. One can compare the bass guitar into a drum or percussion set that is made into a guitar. Beats are very important in playing bass guitar because this type of guitar gives depth and timing to any song. - 18424

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Best Electric Guitars - Buy Best Electric Guitars Online For Sale

By Chris Jensen

Finding the best electric guitars online for sale can be so challenging. Good thing there are places like ours that provide information on what guitars are possibly the best electric guitars online for sale.

Go on and scroll down to find the best electric guitars online for sale. Put an end to all of your troubles now!

Best Electric Guitars Online for Sale

Fender Deluxe Player's Stratocaster Electric Guitar

Fender Deluxe Player's Stratocaster Electric Guitar can be considered as one of the best electric guitars online for sale. It can provide classic Strat sound and feel and features 4-ply brown sheel pickguard, 3 vintage noiseless single-coil pickups, gold hardware, medium-jumbo frets, and 12" neck radius. It comes with a push-button switch which activates the bridge pickup to 7 pickup configurations coming from positions 4 and 5 of blade switch.

Ibanez GRG170DX Electric Guitar

Ibanez GRG170DX Electric Guitar can also be considered as one of the best electric guitars online for sale. It can provide chunky rhythms and even rapid-fire leads and features basswood body, GRG-shape maple neck, chrome hardware, 24 medium frets, rosewood fingerboard, FAT 10 bridge, and a sharktooth inlay. It comes with a Powersound 1 humbucker found at the neck, Powersound 2 humbucker found at the bridge, and Powersound single-coil found at the middle.

Yamaha Gigmaker Electric Guitar

Yamaha Gigmaker Electric Guitar can also be considered as one of the best electric guitars online for sale. It can provide one of a kind rhythms and features Yamaha GA-15 amplifier, impressive 15-watt amp, medium-jumbo frets and extra strings and pick ups. It comes with chromatic tuner. - 18424

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