Sweet Music Centre

Learning a musical instrument is a rewarding and pleasurable – even therapeutic – hobby. If you are taking up the guitar, chances are you have been thinking about it for a while, but have been unable to finally take action. You may be overwhelmed by the choices in how to proceed. Learning guitar may be difficult in the beginning, and most people give up here. Eventually though it will unlock the creative potential within you and provide the artistic outlet you have sought. Like anything worth anything in life, it does take work, discipline and determination to learn. If I can emphasize one thing only, it is do not be discouraged!

One of the key strategies to efficiently and enjoyably learning an instrument is to find an educational path you are compatible with and follow it methodically. Over time it will be important to incorporate other styles, techniques and learning methods so your education is well-rounded. You may be interested in different genres like rock, jazz, flamenco, and classical. However all traditional styles are based on fundamentals like chords, scales, modes, tempo, tone, technique, and finger muscle memory. Starting here will pay off in the long run.

There are many music schools and lesson programs online. For a nominal monthly fee you will have access to a broad amount of learning material in the form of streaming lessons videos, documentation in pdf format, downloadable mp3′s, and more. There will (or there should be) a lively online community where you can ask questions, get feedback and share ideas.

As you compare different programs, look at key features:

• Is there a core learning system for beginners? You want to find a program with a fully developed, methodical series of lessons that builds up from core fundamentals. Some programs may simply allow you access to a library of lessons, but you will want guidance on where to start.

This often asked question is asked because written music consists of strange shapes and lines, which we know as sheet music.

Music is written in the way it is, to make reading of it easy and quick. To facilitate this a graphical approach has been chosen as it is easier to understand quickly than the written word.

This form of written music was not how music was originally written. Originally, music was written using a few shapes with written words being used to quantify the shapes, later a few lines were added for specific notes, then, four lines were sometimes used. French composers began using five lines, which became the standard by the seventeenth century and of course remains to this day. So it is true to say that the present form of written music has evolved rather than been invented or decided upon.

Humans are much better at taking action when presented with things graphically rather than when written down. A graphical symbol is instantly recognized and an action can be taken just as quickly. The written word needs to read and interpreted before an action can be decided upon and taken.

Written descriptions of music could never be read, understood, interpreted and then played at sensible speeds. This is recognized in many areas of life. Road signs use graphics rather than words to convey their meaning rapidly to the driver.

For a human being seeing notes on the musical lines graphically is easier than reading words. Notes on lines can be seen as patterns. Patterns can be reproduced on a musical instrument very easily with great speed.

Having a graphical interface allows a wide range of information to be placed on the music paper, which is constantly available to the musician as it is repeated in each section of the

music. This additional information can be the speed the music is to be played at, the key the music is to be played in, the volume the music is to be played at, the mood of the music and a host of other features that the musician needs to assist their playing to ensure that the music sounds as the composer intended it to sound.

Use the following techniques when recording vocals in your home studio.

Invest in good microphone:

In the long run, it will be worth it to invest a little money into a nice condenser microphone. There is no better way to capture clear, high quality vocals than using a high quality microphone! Generally, the cost of a good microphone starts at around $90 and goes up.

Pop Filter:

Having a pop filter is very important when capturing a great vocal performance. A pop filter is basically a screen that filters out all of the heavy “P”, “H”, and breathing sounds that otherwise distort the recording. Pop filters are pretty cheap. You can get a decent one for around $20. If you don’t have the money or time to get a pop filter before your next recording, you can make a homemade pop filter. Simply wear a handkerchief that covers your mouth. You don’t want it so thick and tight that it muffles your voice and effects how you talk, but just enough so it catches those unwanted pops and cracks.

Find Your Distance:

Every microphone is different. To get the best recording out of your microphone, be sure to play around and test it out for awhile before committing to a final recording. Some microphones are very sensitive whereas others require you to be very close to the mic. Find a comfortable distance from your microphone that gives a good volume level of recording, clear vocals, and no pops or distortion. Use this distance as your marking point every time you record so all of your tracks will have equal vocal quality!

Location:

When recording, you don’t want to be in a huge room or a room with background noise. When recording at home, or just not in a studio, the most commonly used type of room to record in is a smaller, quiet, and closed room. This assures that there is no background noise or extra feedback from the surroundings.

Overdubbing, Ad-Libs, and Simple Effects: