Hammond Music

Archive for April, 2009

Your fed up of playing guitar hero and you’ve got the balls to learn real guitar -well done. So what do you need to know before buying your first guitar? These are afew tips that you should keep in mind when looking for your new guitar.

• What kind of guitar are you after? The infamous legend is that to play an electric you first need to learn on an acoustic. Thats completely untrue, as if you want to play electric guitar you should go and get one. You’ll get more out of practising on your chosen type of guitar. The same could be said of giving a acoustic guitar player an electric guitar -they wont get the most out of it. while you are still playing a guitar, which is a good, by playing on the instrument you want your posture and hand positioning will be alot better.
• What guitar do you need to buy? So you’ve made a decision on the type of guitar -but what guitar will suit you and your style? You shouldnt get a Gibson 335, a guitar thats built for blues playing if your thing is brutal heavy metal. Electric guitars will vary in sound with the wood used to make them and the pick ups put into them. Humbucker pick ups will give you a more bassier, rocky tone, while single coil pickups will deliver a cleaner, ‘twangier’ sound. Going for one of the cheaper models at first a good way to start off -Squier, Yamaha, Epiphone and most guitar brands will offer starting packages with amplifiers to and are well made guitars to learn on.
• Play the guitar before buying it. You’ll have a much better if the guitar is suited to you if you go back to play it afew times. While going into a guitar shop in front of other players can be daunting, they’ll know that we are all beginners at some point. If your buying the guitar for someone and want it to be a suprise, try to find out what type of guitar they’d like and ask the shop for recommendations. The right guitar can encourage them, while the wrong one can do the exact opposite.

After to get your first guitar and guitar accessories

rock karaoke

Karaoke CD software will help people who are serious about their singing to take any song and subdue the vocals, while ramping up the accompaniment. They can then infuse their own vocals and save the new version. They can take advantage of pitch correctors, echo effects, mix the sound or create a CD+G with lyrics to sing on a karaoke system. Win CDG Pro 3 is a popular program that does just that. However, not everyone is so computer savvy or dedicated. Others may wish to just peruse the online offerings to get their karaoke fix.

When regard to karaoke CDs, few compilations got people as excited about karaoke music as the DKKaraoke collection that came out in the nineties, featuring 25 discs of karaoke hits, spanning several decades of music. For instance, you could get Frank Sinatra’s “New York New York” and Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5″ on the same CD as Bon Jovi’s “Bad Medicine” and U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.” From slow ballads and lounge tracks to crooning love songs and shout-it-out rock karaoke, there is something for everyone on these CDs. This is the ultimate collection for anyone who is serious about karaoke music and wants to have all the best karaoke songs at their disposal.

Entertainment Weekly recently published their list of “top karaoke songs” to help you make your own karaoke CD. Not surprisingly, the B52’s rowdy “Love Shack” made the list, as did Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ On a Prayer,” which features the chorus that every drunk loves to shout out, whether they were born in the eighties or not. Other eighties classics like Madonna’s “Like a Virgin,” The Eurythmic’s “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of These),” Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time,” Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin,” Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” Guns N’ Roses’ “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” Bananarama’s “Venus,” Joan Jett’s “I Love Rock N Roll,” Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” Blondie’s “Call Me” and “Every Breath You Take” by the Police also made the list. Representing the seventies, The Pretender’s “Brass In Pocket” (1979), Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain” (1973) and Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” (1978) are some of the oldest surviving karaoke hits. The only newcomer is Kelly Clarkson, with “Since U Been Gone.”

Over at www.karaokewh.com, there are a number of top-selling karaoke CDs to choose from. The Sound Choice Star Series offers a karaoke CD specializing in Journey tracks, as well as one for Kid Rock, Steve Miller, Dr. Hook and AC/DC. If you don’t feel so passionately about any of the aforementioned artists, then you can try their top-selling Hard Rock Hits Volume 4 instead, which features nineties rock like Korn, Slipknot, Coal Chamber, NIN, Tool, Godsmack, Rage Against the Machine, Spineshank and White Zombie. Backstage Karaoke has a karaoke CD with “today’s classic rock” like Pearl Jam, U2, The Eagles, The Knack, Joe Cocker, Melissa Etheridge, Boyz II Men and Hootie and the Blowfish.

So you have your instrument be it a guitar, bass, saxophone or whatever. You are all hyped up to be a rockstar, now you just need to learn to play a little. Remember that reverb, feedback and distorsions of your sound are not good if you want it to be loud so choose the best amp for your instrument.

Which musical instrument amplifier should you get? Is the fact that the amp comes with great reviews and recommendations or simply the brand name the most important consideration for you? Really you should make your choice based on three main criteria, how you will use it, what power output you want or need and what level are you at.

First, think about how your amp will be used. Supposing you have a guitar amp. Do you want some minor jam sessions with friends or are you practicing alone? If you live in a flat and don’t want to annoy the neighbours, or even if you do to get back at them! Will the sound be lost in the high ceilings of an old chucrch for your rehearsals. Get higher wattage to get more power usually. A five watt dual speaker may not be enough.

Second, you must think of the need for wattage. If your friends’ amps go up to 11, much greater power than yours, you might sound like an echo in the distance compared to them. Do you want that? Would that “small” feeling bug you?

Thirdly, you should think about how good you are. There is no need to buy a high end Fender Amp if you are a total beginner because you will not get value for money. If you are going to be practicing for 10 hours a day for the rest of time maybe but most people’s interest drops off after the first couple of weeks and practice sessions do not last as long as before.

Other considerations may not weigh as much but they should be thought of. What accessories would be appropriate for your amplifier? Is the amp of a much great quality than your guitar? Is there a second hand market available when you want to upgrade?

The process of choosing an amp requires more thinking, not just buying the first one you see. It must be thought of seriously. After all, the musical instrument amplifier you buy should give you years of excellent service.

The 20th of April will see the London premier of Rockumentary ‘Iron Maiden:Flight 666′, filmed by Samm Dunn of ‘metal: a headbanger’s journey’ fame.  In attendance will be the band members themselves, and a certain special appearance from Iron Maiden’s zombie mascot Eddie.

The film shows the band on the first leg of 2008’s Somewhere back in time tour, where the band flew on their very own plane ‘Ed force one’, to do gigs abroad, which was flown by Maiden frontman and registered pilot Bruce Dickinson. The tour saw Iron Maiden go into their back catalogue and play what was considered to be one of the greatest tours ever, featuring songs from Powerslaveto Seventh son or a seventh son. That tour lasted for a good few years, which nearly sent the band mad, but it was worth it -i think so anyway.

The film has already won an award, the ‘24 beats per second award’ for best musical documentary this year at the famed South by South West festival in Texas. The movie will also be shown in 42 different countries at Odeon cinemas for one night only, giving Maiden fans who couldnt make the premier a chance to see the movie. Anyone unlucky maiden fan who misses this showing will get the chance to buy the Blue Ray and two disc DVD set of the movie on May 25th -only a whole month to wait. Which can seem like a very long time for anyone missing out on the showing. The movie’s soundtrack is also being released, with live tracks from the tour dates featured on the movie -which can be brought on CD or vinyl on the same date.

The premier takes place in the UK on Monday 20th April, at the Odeon Kensington cinema at 7pm. Need a venue for your London events or events? Look no further.

Here’s afew of the events that are happening in London that you may want to keep an eye out on.

• London International music show ‘09. The London Guitar show has gone from just one instrument to featuring a fuller range, from drums to recording gear. Featuring Drummer live, unplugged and the sound recording technology show, this promises to be its biggest year to date. With masterclasses on the drums from Niko McBrain of Iron Maiden and Journey’s Steve Smith, and shredder Steve Vai and Blues legend Albert Lee coming in for the guitarists, this is one show your not going to want to miss. 11th June to the 14th June at the London Excel arena.
• Nine Inch Nails. Reznor’s UK fans need to see this, before he goes away for who knwos how long. The final NIN show before they take a hiatus that only Trent Reznor himself knows when it will end, it could be your last chance to see the band in the UK for a long long time. Supporting NIN will be Jane’s Addiction, the 90’s rock band, on a tour dubbed ‘NINJA’ -very clever guys? For those who dont want to pay the £170 to go to Sonicsphere, but want to see NIN. July 15th at the O2 arena.
• Motorhead. Lemmy returns to tour the UK again. Playing the classics ‘Iron fist’, ‘Overkill’, ‘Killed by death’ and others, Motorhead return to destroy whatever you have left of your hearing. Expect choas from the ‘world’s loudest band’ as Motorhead come to town to show London how a rock gig should be done. With support from Motorhead’s famed touring partners Girlschool, who rock just as hard as any male band can, and more so. November 28th at the Hammersmith Appollo- well it is Motorhead.
• The Metal Hammer Golden Gods awards. Held the day after the Download festival, what better time is there to go down and celebrate all things metal? With performances at the awards fom Devildriver, Amon Amarth, Anvil, Saxon and Trivium, its worth going to just to extend the festival weekend. Taking place the day after Download, June 15th at the Indigo arena.

In need of a venue for your London events?

We all want a small ipod to take along everywhere we go, and we would like it to suit any function we might think of at a certain moment. This incredible small player has revolutionized the market, and since it appeared, hundreds of companies tried to duplicate the technology it incorporated by adding new features to existing players, or attempting to produce even small players. None of them registered the tremendous success ipod had and still has.

A great small and colorful player is the best choice for any teen that simply needs to stand out. This is why parents are buying thousands of new ipods daily for their kids, as they make a perfect gift for any age, and can also prove very useful. But an ipod without proper accessories is like a beautiful girl dressed in old clothes. This is why you must think ahead and determine what possible uses you might be considering for your small player.

You could be going on a trip and take you ipod along. It’s a shame not to have the appropriate set of ipod mini headphones with you, as they will be the only way you can listen to your favorite music while you’re traveling. Also, the small accessories are easy to loose, since they are indeed smaller than the usual sets, therefore you’ll need a special ipod bag to carry along, with proper pockets for all accessories, so that they can stay in there sealed and protected.

This player is surrounded by mystery and because it looks so out of our era, people who wear it are always regarded with admiration. Kids look at you as you are some kind of future traveler and women crave for one just like yours. Maybe it’s just a fashion thing, or maybe the Apple Company knew what they did when they developed this player, but the certain reaction you’ll be getting is a total admiration.

So, getting an ipod is not enough, because the journey is only beginning. You’ll need plenty more stuff like music, protective cases, accessory bags and so on before you can be completely satisfied with your asset.

The ability to sight-read piano music is a common skill.  This is when you play a piece of music for the first time, even though it may be unfamiliar to you.  Though it is not common to play a song perfectly the first time through, here are 8 tips to make sight-reading music easier for you.

Tip # 1. Key Signature.  Pay close attention to the key signature of the piece you are about to play.  Having the correct sharps and flats committed to memory makes your play much smoother and accurate. 

Tip # 2. Time Signature.  This is another basic characteristic of every piece of music that you must understand in order to sight-read.  You will need to know what kind of note gets one beat. You will also need to remember how many beats are in each measure.

Tip # 3. Key or Time Signatures Changes.  You need to examine your piece of music to see if the key or time signatures change.  This will help prepare you for a transition that can happen in the middle of a song when you otherwise did not know about it. 

Tip # 4. Starting and Ending Notes.  Starting and Ending notes are excellent reference points for your piano play. Make sure you are familiar with them.

Tip # 5. Note the Rhythm.  Check your left hand chords to see what rhythm is used throughout the piece.  As you look through the song, you usually can get an idea of how it will go.  Knowing the rhythm up front makes the whole piece easier to play.

Tip # 6.  Play the Melody First.  Also look through the right hand melody line. Play this through first.  This will help give you an idea of the sound of the song and then you can put it all together and you will be able to identify the unique melodic line.

Tip # 7.  Check for Other Markings.  Look through the entire piece and check for any other markings covered in Music Terminology.  Some examples include the loudness or softness of the piece, the speed of the music, and how long you should actually hold each note that is played. 

Tip # 8. Relax and Focus. This last tip is so important. Take a deep breath and relax yourself.  Focus on the music and the beauty therein.  Try to play the song all the way through for your first sight-reading.  This gives you a general idea of what the song will sound like.  Later you can break it down and work on each measure or group of measures as you see fit. Keep in mind that we are playing music for the love of it, not as a chore.  

So, why exactly am I suggesting that you learn to sight-read instead of using the “learn-a-bit-at-a-time” method?  Sight-reading forces you to move forward at a faster pace until you finish the song, ultimately helping you learn to play music faster.  This helps you get rid of the bad habits that lead to starts and stops when first playing a new piece of music.  Sight-reading is an important skill to learn if you wish to become a good piano player.

For more tips about learning to play piano, including a free mini-course, visit the Learning To Play Piano Today site.

Covers Band, The Roadhouse Five, has long been at the top of their profession. Enthusing guests at bithdays, weddings, corporate events and other special functions. Based in the London area and made up of seasoned London professionals, the band takes the worry out of whether guests will have a great time. Cover bands come in all shapes and sizes. Some use backing tracks, some covers bands even mime! The Roadhouse Five always perform everything live. That`s singing, backing vocals, playing, the lot. Check the testimonials on our site. So many of them are for the Roadhouse Five. Lets talk repertoire….. Covers bands need to know what will get people on the floor. That is their function. In deciding which repertoire to play a band will ask itself who their audience is? What age are they going to be? Will they have heard of the band and the song? Take a wedding event. Almost all weddings will be made up of people froma wide range of age groups. We see guests from six year old to eighty.In such a situation bands can cover a huge range of musical styles from Jazz, Swing, Rat Pack songs right up to to to contemporary music. Anyone who has a television will know that advertising uses music from the sixties and seventies. Soul and classic pop. This means that everyone knows it. That is why a clever covers band, such as the Roadhouse Five, is listening out for such classics being used in order to replicate them in performance. People at a party will get up to dance to something they know! Ask anyone over the age of fifteen if they have seen the films The Blues Brothers and the Commitments and they will say yes. Covers bands playing a repertoire like this is almost guaranteed to have the dance floor heaving to the sounds of the Blues Brothers or maybe The Commitments. Let`s give you some more information on the Roadhouse Five covers band. Here is a band playing a range of music from Sinatra, Nat King Cole, through to the classic Rock and Roll of Chuck Berry and Elvis. They then move on to covers of James Brown (always a favourite) Stevie Wonder, Wilson Pickett, Sam and Dave. After this trip to the sixties they will then usually play seventies hit tunes then move on to Prince, The Mavericks and Ricky Martin for example. All covers that people will remember and ejoy, all covers that people get dancing to and covers played with a degree of professionalism and passion from the Roadhouse Five Band to give customers a night to remember!How many other bands can say they do that?

CDG karaoke

Karaoke first echoed from regular bars in the bustling port of Kobe City, Japan, where international guests mingled with businessmen and women. After the popularity of accompaniment tapes was realized, more innovations were soon to follow. The karaoke video disk and CD graphics ensured that karaoke systems were front and center in the entertainment industry. Not everyone loved karaoke singers though; due to increased pressure from neighbors to “keep quiet at night,” the Karaoke Box, a roadside facility built from an old freight car and containing heavily insulated singing rooms, appeared in 1984 just west of Kansai.

When karaoke came to America, it wasn’t quite as popular as in Asian countries, like Japan, China, Korea and the Philippines, where karaoke songs blared seven nights a week across multiple venues. However, historians argue that karaoke style programming existed as early as the 1950s on Disney’s “Mickey Mouse Club,” where kids would sing along to the TV, as the words bounced across the bottom of the screen. Although it wasn’t until the 1980s, when pop icons flourished, shows like “Star Search” promoted the idea that anyone could be a hit and a wave of Japanese admiration boosted the popularity of anime and Japanese video game technology like Nintendo.

At the turn of the millennium, karaoke took on a more serious note in American culture. With the advent of shows like “American Idol,” aspiring talent saw the opportunity to sing karaoke as pop star or rock star practice. In the past, the best singers would occasionally receive a standing ovation, a free drink at the bar or a small pot of prize money. Today, however, singers can get recruited by agents hidden in the audience and awarded with lucrative multi-million-dollar contracts. Everyone enjoys a good sing-a-long these days and Numark was quick to revolutionize karaoke equipment with the KMX01, KMX02 and CDN25+G, which make performances even more professional-sounding.

The popularity of karaoke bars has greatly increased. “For people who don’t sing but like to watch, the show has given them a reason to have a drink and stick around for a few hours,” says Grant Tucker, a veteran karaoke host in Glendale, California. Although, the crowd is also more discerning with many more “Simons” than “Paulas,” which may send the trend from the public sphere into private living rooms with the advent of Playstation’s Karaoke Revolution.

Have you envisaged learning to play the piano? At the moment you don’t even need to purchase a real piano. Instead of this you can splash out on a excellent second-hand digital piano for a very low cost. Once you have bought one, the next course of action is getting lessons. If you have lots of dosh, personal tutor lessons are an adequate way to learn. You would need to ring up a local tutor and then plan lessons with them on a regular basis. The main downside of this is that it can be very expensive.

The alternative is to have lessons via online piano lessons or piano lesson DVDs. For example one of the most highly rated DVD presented piano courses available today is this one http://piano-lessons-reviews.info, which offers around14 DVDs of great course material. There are a number other courses on the interweb that offer fantastic teaching and are suprisingly reasonably priced. They have a great many advantages over a traditional human tutor. These include: learning at your own speed, lower cost, allowing to play along to a backing musical piece and lower travel time. Imagine not having to repeat the same piece of music over and over again in front of a teacher. Instead it’s much more favourable to play by yourself with the help of a computer or DVD player. The DVD will not criticise you or make you feel workless. It definitely is an excellent way to learn. The lessons usually come with videos, sound clips, support forums, worksheets and ebooks. They also include a huge variety of piano music and music styles including classical, jazz and modern music.  

Another huge advantage with computer/dvd based piano lessons is that they are very flexible and can adjust to your learning speed. You can have a lesson when you have the time available, you are not stuck to a fixed time every week. If you are at home for a period of time you can spend the additional time having additional lessons! If you are very busy throughout the day you can squeeze in a lesson in later on in the evening.
If you are seriously thinking about learning to play the piano and are unsure of the best approach then click on the hyperlink above to navigate to one of the best online piano lesson review sites.