Smart Music

You may be a person who uses meditation as a relaxation technique, a person with difficulty falling asleep at night, or just a fan of calm music. Regardless of the reason that you're looking for relaxing music, you'll find some great tunes available in both CD and mp3 download formats. Having the right tunes on hand for every occasion is easy to achieve with just a bit of online shopping.

There are many ways in which you can use calming music of different styles in your everyday life. You may use it to improve your mood, bring you peace during stressful time, or just as background music while falling asleep at night. No matter how you use your music there are many ways in which to get music these days, though the CD is the most traditional method. A simple internet search for "music and relaxation" will turn up tons of CD choices.

If you frequently use music to meditate or as a sleep aid, then you may need to perform a more specialized internet search to find the style of music you need. Looking for "meditation music" specifically will get you some relaxing tunes of the quality you desire.

Searching the internet for "sound machine music" will get you some fantastic instrumentals for using while falling asleep at night. You may find these kinds of songs help you stay asleep through the night as well. Although many people will try to use the radio for this purpose it can actually backfire, with changes in volume and tempo of music played by a radio station actually disrupting your sleep. Commercials, DJ voices and other changes in the radio station playlist can also disrupt sleep.

The manner in which you intend to use your music will often affect the style or genre of music which you purchase. There are many different kinds available and some work better under some circumstances than others.

Purchasing a music CD usually means you'll pay around $20.00 for calming tunes. Downloads often cost as little as $1.00 per song online, which makes things significantly more affordable for many people.

As a jazz musician who is just starting to learn to play jazz, there is almost nothing that you can do which is more valuable than simply listening to jazz music. In fact, if you want to get good at jazz as quickly as you can, and be a true jazz musician, it is recommended that you spend at least a couple hours per day listening to jazz recordings, and then going out to jazz concerts at least twice a week if you can. The reason that listening to the style of music that you are trying to learn is so helpful is the fact that if you listen actively to music, especially to recordings of people playing your own instrument, then you have a direct reference point that you can draw from when it comes time to perform your own solos. You can borrow phrasing, harmonic ideas, and even directly quote the melodies of your favorite jazz players, and in fact quoting jazz solos is often the best way to go when you are getting started playing jazz.

photo credit: jikatu

As I mentioned briefly above, there is a definite difference between active listening and passive listening, and although both can be helpful, you will need to do plenty of active listening on your way to becoming a great jazz musician. Active listening means that you are listening to not only the feeling of the music, but to the melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic content of it as well, and is only possible to do when you aren't being distracted by anything else. In other words, active listening means focused listening, and it is this type that will open your ears to the world of jazz music more quickly than anything else.

And of course, there are some jazz songs and albums out there which are better to listen to as a beginning musician than others. But in my opinion it is best to get as wide a sampling of the best jazz albums as you can, for several reasons. First of all, you never know what you might end up loving- jazz is a huge art form with many genres and subgenres, and "playing jazz" means quite different things to different people; it probably means something different to me than it does to you. So by listening to a large sampling of jazz works you will be able to better find your true style and personality on your instrument, and the type of jazz that you enjoy the most. The other reason that you should listen to all different types of jazz, especially when you are just getting started, is that you will need to know something about all of them. It is rare these days that any jazz gig gets played without a mixture of different jazz styles being represented, so it will definitely be to your benefit to know a lot about all of the different genres of jazz.

Playing jazz can be one of the most rewarding things that you can do with your life, and it has been that way for me. I'd like to encourage you to listen to as much jazz as possible because it will open up your ears to new ways of playing and new music that you had never imagined.

Everyone who's been doing music for any amount of time knows that the internet allows musicians a lot of opportunities. You can sell your music online, promote your songs for free, and reach a large amount of people from the comfort of your own home. While MySpace used to be the place to go for independent musicians to show off their craft, the death of MySpace has meant that there's no one central location for musicians to promote their music... Or is there?

What about Facebook? Yes I know, Facebook is that place where people go to gossip all day, but that's not all it's good for. As you may know, Facebook also has 'fan' pages where musicians can set up their own page and promote themselves. This hasn't taken off quite as well as MySpace did for a number of reasons, mainly because MySpace was fully dedicated to musicians. For Facebook on the other hand, and catering for people doing independent music is only one of their side acts. This doesn't however mean Facebook is a waste of time. Many people don't know how to use Facebook effectively, ending up with only a few fans and thinking it's a waste of time. If you take the time to learn it however, you will find you can get some pretty amazing results!

Using the right Facebook applications, you can sell your music on Facebook, stream your music on Facebook, and gain a whole load of new fans all from your Facebook fan page. You can then drive these fans back to your main website and get them on to your mailing list. Even if you haven't got a mailing list and want all your fan interaction to happen on your fan page itself, you can set up discussion topics and get people to interact with you on your wall. And the great thing about it? Everyone's already on Facebook, so if someone comes across your page and they like it, it won't be a problem for them to 'like' it. And when they like it, other people can see this and you may get your news followers friends checking you out too.

Facebook fan ages are well worth using, so make sure you get your music on there right now!

It seems that everyone loves sax music. People tell me constantly how much they love the sax. (You probably do, too, or you wouldn't be reading this.)

But why? What is it about the sax that's so wonderfully cool? And why does it effect so many people so strongly? Here are my thoughts on the subject:

1. Sax music makes you feel good. The very sound of the sax does something to you. It touches you. It tickles your nervous system, in a good way. The very vibration of the instrument changes your vibration as you hear it.
2. The saxophone sounds great anytime, in just about any kind of music, and makes almost any band more fun to listen to, even lousy bands. Even country music. Even polkas!
3. Saxophones create great ambiance. The sax sounds hip, sophisticated, relaxed, sensuous and romantic, and always creates great atmosphere no matter where its played.
4. The sax looks cool. Even just the look of the instrument itself is artistic and fun. Even just having a sax laying around the room creates a hip ambiance. Having a saxophone in a room will always inspire interesting conversation.
5. Sax music takes you there. A good player can really take you places like no other instrument. Sure, guitar players would argue with that, but its true!
6. Sax players are cool people. Almost universally, saxophone players are hip and interesting people. And I know a lot of them.
7. Sax & Sex. And I think you know what I mean. Need I say more?

No matter where you here it, or in what context, the saxophone always sounds great, looks great, and creates great ambiance. And it makes you feel good when you hear it. That's why so many people love the saxophone!

As a saxophonist and recording artist, I often hear from people who share with me their stories about how the sound of the saxophone effects them in their hearts, their souls, and their lives. There is something about the sound of the saxophone that has a clear and profound effect on many, many people.

Here are a few typical comments I hear on a very regular basis:

"It puts me in the mood, and helps me to remember how lucky I am to have someone to love."

"...it is soothing and healing to my heart and soul."

"The sounds just captivate and take the mind to a beautiful day."

"The music actually helps me to purge the day's stresses and cleanse the thoughts that I don't want to carry over into the next day."

"...it put me into a trance. In my mind I was transported to a Paris street side café looking into the eyes of my wife; it was a magical daydream - the air was filled with love."

The point is that people love the saxophone!

Why? What it is about the instrument that inspires such reaction? Why is it such an attractive, compelling, magnetic, and powerful instrument?

My answer? Because the saxophone loves you.

Think about it. The saxophone has a warm, sensual, romantic, embracing sound, the very sound of love. It relaxes the mind and uplifts the heart. It inspires thoughts and feelings of love and romance. In some very real way, our psycho-chemical reaction to the sound of the saxophone is the same psycho-chemical reaction that takes place when we are actually experiencing love.

It is said that the saxophone sounds more like the human voice than any other instrument. Perhaps this is part of the mystique and power of the instrument.

But one thing is clear: certain tones made by the instrument resonate in a very specific way with the vibration of the human beingness. If played just right, the sound of the saxophone causes a powerful sympathetic vibration with the human nervous system.

So next time you hear a sax music played just the way you like it, and you start thinking to yourself, "Ooh, yeah, that sounds nice!" remember this: the saxophone doesn't just sound good. The saxophone loves you.

Mark Maxwell is a saxophonist and recording artist living in California. His 18 self-produced and self-promoted CDs have sold over a half a million copies.

There is definitely a widespread image in popular culture of male rock musicians being idolised and adored by their many female fans.  This has led to a common presumption amongst people that young men commonly learn the electric guitar just to get girls.

So, just how accurate is this stereotype?  Are the vast majorty of guys who learn guitar doing it solely to meet women?

There's no doubt that a lot more men learn the electric guitar than women.  You don't have to look very far to see it - famous bands, young hopeful bands, regular working musicians who play in cover bands or work as teachers or session artists, on musician's websites, or even just the people browsing music stores or at the counter buying picks and strings - so often there's hardly a woman guitarist in sight.

There's also little doubt that by far the most popular time to start learning electric guitar is in the early teens.  This coincidentally is when boys are first starting to try to date girls.  Before adolescence it's more common to find both boys and girls learning instruments such as the piano or the violin.  It has to be said though that a big reason that there are few very young guitarists is simply because a full scale-length guitar doesn't lend itself very well to the small hands of a young child.

On guitar forums it's common to find threads asking everyone to state their reasons why they started to learn the electric guitar.  Very commonly people will chime in saying "to get chicks" or "to get girls".   There is probably an element of honesty to this, as well as an inevitable sense of parody and flippancy that characterises the majority of online discussions.

All of these things seem to indicate that getting laid is a big motivator for people to learn guitar.  But as the only motivator it's hard to give it much credit.  Playing guitar involves spending hundreds and eventually thousands of dollars on equipment, and devoting countless hours week in, week out to honing your craft.  It's hard to see that anybody could keep doing it for very long, without some love of the instrument in and of itself, as well as a desire to perform and be creative.

Are you currently considering to a get second-hand grand piano? If your answer to that question is yes, then you must read this article. In this article, you will learn some of the most important things that you need to aware when getting, and shopping for a second-hand piano.

Actually, the tips contained in this article are the most helpful tips for choosing a used piano. So these tips are suitable for any piano.

Piano can last for a long time under proper maintenance, but not forever. No object lasts forever.

A piano is made up of thousands of small and big parts. While on the surface, a grand piano, or any piano for that matter, is bulk and simple, the truth is that it's not. The condition of a piano can be affected by dampness, wear and tear and temperature changes.

A well maintained grand piano can last for decades and the best maintained ones have already aged nearly a hundred years old. Knowing that a grand piano is very probably your first and last purchase of a piano, you must take good care and considerations into finding the best maintained used piano for that reason.

But the majority of us simply do not have the technical know-how to choose a good used piano that can last without a rebuild.

This article aims to show you the some of the issues most important found in used pianos.

• Sticky hammers and keys. If you put your fingers to the keys and press them one by one and you find that most of them are sticky and have a delayed action then skip it. The piano has already been damaged by moist and other factors.
• Incorrect tunes for the piano has not been tuned by a professional for some time. This can be easily resolved by seeking professional service from a tuner.
• Look for holes created by woodworm. Woodworm feasts on timber and can erode the piano greatly. Inspect carefully for any such blemishes caused by woodworm.
• Avoid pianos with uneven keys.
• Get a professional tuner to inspect the piano if possible.

Lastly, I invite you to come visit my white grand piano website if you are looking for more information on grand piano.