Smart Ways to Buy Music Instruments Online

By Ian Sawyer

The technological advancements have changed the face of consumerism forever. Gone are the days when you'd have to actually leave your home to purchase goods and services. Online stores are taking over many industries, most notably in regards to music (album, song, and video), books, DVD/Movies, and even grocery and food shopping. On the other hand, some products seem like unlikely forms of merchandise to buy and sell remotely or from afar-guitars, drums, and PA equipment for instance. After all, you want to hold such stuff in your hands and hear the quality with your ears before putting down your hard-earned cash. However, many musicians and audiophiles actually prefer to purchase music gear online. Internet-based music stores and auction sites have worked out many of the bugs, and now offer great deals, not to mention shopping ease and convenience. But before purchasing you guitar or mic stand from a website, consider these helpful tips designed for those that are new to the online shopping experience:

1. It helps you to know what you are shopping for ahead of time. Blindly going online to shop, without any information, is a mistake. A good online music store will provide you with buyer guides and product specs to help you make a decision, but knowing exactly what you are looking to buy will save you time and money. In fact, most people who buy, say, guitars online already know the make and model of what they are looking for. That's why they don't need to go to the store.

2. Best advise is shop around. Don't buy from the first website you visit. There are hundreds of online music stores, and they are bound to differ on the price of the item you are looking for. Some stores are chains and can offer discounts based on volume; auction sites may offer deals driven by the need for quick cash. Comparison-shopping is wise no matter what product you are looking to buy.

3. Always look for sites that offer user reviews, and read them. If you are looking to buy an electronic drum set, for instance, read what users have to say about them. Musicians are usually very verbose and forthcoming with their opinions of music gear. You can trust a real drummer more than you can trust a chain-store salesman. Most sites offer something like a 5-star rating system to make it easy to discern between excellent and poor.

4. Time to look thru sites that offer trial periods and/or return policies. Yes, you are buying an expensive and complex piece of equipment site-unseen. Things can happen in the course of shipping and, let's face it; some people aren't upfront regarding the condition of the product in the first place. Protect yourself by making sure you can get your money back in the event that you are displeased with your purchase or it arrives damaged.

5. It also depends on the type of instrument and your knowledge of it, to consider buying "used." A lot of people buy instruments intending to learn, only to lose interest after a few lessons. Hence, many instruments end up sitting in their cases or boxes having only been handled a few times. This means great products at low prices. Plus, you'll be giving a lonely piece of equipment a loving home.

6. Now you have to make a decision based on value, not cost. In other words, never buy the cheapest item you can find, even if it's a kazoo. It will most likely be a piece of junk, and you won't want to play it. If you do your research and read the user reviews you should be able to avoid purchasing a lemon.

When you are shopping online it will open up a vast world of new and used merchandise that you probably wouldn't find at a local music store. Taking the above suggestions into consideration, you should be able to go online, shop around, put your newfound expertise on a particular item to use, and find the best music instrument for the best price. You'll be rocking in no time. - 18423

About the Author:

Ian Sawyer is a Freelance Writer for YouMusic.com, The Social Networking Site for Musicians, Featuring a vibrant Music Community with Music Chat Rooms, Real-Time Music Forums, Blogs, Instant Messaging, Music Groups and also features a variety of Music Instruments Stores to Buy Music Instruments Online

Tips For Beginner Guitar Songs

By Payo G Perry

The whole reason for learning chords and strums on guitar is so that eventually you can start playing some beginner guitar songs but which ones should you begin with?

Luckily for beginners there are lots and lots of them available but please make sure you have done all the necessary preparation " dont rush into easy guitar songs too soon or youre going to be frustrated.

Of course everyone will know of the standard beginner guitar song classics such as Stand by Me, Knockin on Heavens Door and A Horse with No Name but there are hundreds more to choose from. It all depends on your musical taste.

Heres my first piece of real advice buy a Capo. They are available in many different designs and prices but essentially all do the same job " make your life easier! They can get you out of having to learn Barre chords.

Practically all beginner guitar songs are built upon open chords, with a capo it allows you to convert even harder songs which would otherwise be out of reach into open chords and voila you have a beginners song!

It takes a little bit of music theory to be able to convert songs this way but if you cant do it on your own perhaps a tutor or sources on the internet can assist you. Its main advantage is to widen the number of beginner guitar songs you can play by 10 times or more.

Although beginner guitar songs can seem very easy at first glance you should still prepare properly for them. If you rush in before youre ready you risk becoming frustrated and losing motivation, perhaps even (falsely) thinking you have no talent for guitar.

I would advise that daily practice of the chords and strums youll need for around 4 weeks should be adequate preparation before starting to learn beginner guitar songs.

Ive found that beginners respond best when each element required to play the songs is broken down and isolated before putting it all back together. This means that you should avoid trying to do everything all at once, master the chord progressions and strum required for the song separately.

When you follow this process youll give yourself the best possible chance of mastering beginner guitar songs quickly and easily. Good luck! - 18423

About the Author:

The author is a professional guitar teacher and has used his expertise to teach 1000s of students how to play guitar. Check out his popular site Guitar in a Nutshell for lots of free tutorials on beginner guitar songs as well as tutorials on every aspect of playing guitar.

See How To Download Movies

By Mildred Bailey

How many times have you waited for a great movie to come out only to go to the dvd/video store and have it be out of stock? I know that it has happened to my family over and over again. We waited and waited for the movie to come out and then we waited some more for the movie to be in stock at the video store.

Or have you tried the movies by mail programs? The plan is to just get online and fill up your queue and pick up your movies at your mailbox. The only hitch is that if your first choice of movie is not in they will send your second choice or third choice or fourth choice.

So when you are in the frame of mind for a scary horror movie and a romantic comedy shows up, well that is a dilemma. Another thing is that at least with the mail-in subscription that we had they didn't always offer the new releases. So if we really wanted to see one of the newer shows we have do wait anyway or try the dvd/video store again.

But we recently came across something that has solved all of those troubles for us. It's great! We now download full-length movies, games, software and more from the comfort of our own home and our computer. There is a tiny membership fee that covers the cost of the download and we made sure that we were using a honest site so that we can avoid any troubles with adware, malware and viruses but it is working out great.

The rates are comparable to the other services that we used to use and we found them to be quite sensible. We can get a monthly subscription, an annual subscription or pay per download. They also have a lifetime subscription that is absolutely reasonable.

Nowadays we download the movies we desire immediately and they are the full-length, high quality movies that we are used to. They even included special software so that we could burn it on a disc and watch it on our TV, which is very nice since I work in front of a computer monitor all day long and the very last thing I wanted to do was gaze at a movie on my computer!

But for sheer convenience nothing beats the movie download service. You can get any movie, anytime, day or night, holidays and after hours. The movie that you want is always available, in stock and you can have it instantly. You don't even have to step outside of your house.

My family of movie buffs genuinely appreciates being able to download movies. It is the best answer we have ever found. Beats movie rentals. - 18423

About the Author:

Numerous people believe that free online movie downloads approach is illegal, time consuming or complicated, although it is none of the above. Visit http://gamersnetwork.org

How to Play Your Piano by Ear

By Michelle Edward

Is everything you have learned as far as playing piano been correct? Think about the following information, and compare it to what you have learned is the latest as far as playing a piano.

Consider this...

Would you like to play the piano without the fuss of dragging your music sheets?

Or make music with just humming along with the tune?

Have you always wanted to play but your visual senses make it quite impossible?

Haven't you realized that if you can hum a tune, then you are capable of playing that tune?

Some musicians, professional in their own art, didn't start their career through any manuals or instructors. What they did is follow the tone that they hear and play along the beating of the music. No notes, no mentors.

1 - Get your things in order. You will of course require a keyboard or piano, whichever you have. You just have to be able to use at least 3 fingers. You will need adequate time for practicing. Make sure the piano is in tune.

2 - A regular piano happens to be made up of 88 keys. (A keyboard has less keys.) There is a total of 12 notes counting the regular notes, sharp notes, and flat notes. The white notes begin with an A note, then the white notes go like B, then C, then D, then E, then F, and finally G.

Then after the last white G - note, the next white note again becomes the A - note, then the repetition begins. This sequence is repeated until the last white note is done for about 7 times. That would include the black notes that represent flats and sharps.

3 - The note C can also be called the Home Key. To locate this C note, look for the white note that is just to the left of the 2 black keys. I you still are baffled look at your piano. You will see that in the middle is a C note. Now you know where the C chord is located.

If your playing piano facts are out-of-date, how will that affect your actions and decisions? Make certain you don't let important playing piano information slip by you.

The right thumb is number 1 due to it going on C in the middle. From here you have to count the keys that go to the right. This include the black keys too.

When you have counted till 5, that would serve as the 2nd note in C chord. Place your middle finger there. From counting to number 5, count till 8, that will be your final note. Put your pinkie on it.

Now hit these keys together and an impressive sound is accomplished.

4. Be familiar in using the above mentioned sequence... 1, 5, 8 counting. You could start with any note, just be sure that when you count, include the flats and sharps.

Use the chords mentioned as your base. You can even do this if you want to begin on one of the sharp notes. That just makes this one of the sharp chord.

5 - You will understand what close listening and counting will do for your playing through enough practice.

As an example, when the number 5 in the chord goes down by 1 key then you are on number 4 key. This makes the major chord turn into a minor chord.

In the event that you are playing the C chord, you just have to slide your finger just one key over to the left to make a C minor chord.

The benefits of good listening you will start knowing different tones. You will also be capable of hearing variations in a tune. This is true as long as you hearing is good enough.

Some advice:

Don't just stay in the piano's middle section. Travel around to other areas of the piano though for more unique sound.

Don't limit yourself in using one or two fingers. Through practice, you could use all fingers including both hands.

Practice.

The information covered in this article is up to date for today's standards. But leave your mind open for future research in how to play by ear. - 18423

About the Author:

Michelle Edward is classically trained to Grade 8 in Solo Piano. To learn how to play the piano by ear, check out Michelle's Hear & Play Review at her website now.

Finding Super Cheap Ipods On Sale

By Billy Ray

If you still belong to the almost extinct CD player-toting, stacks-of-CDs-in-the-bag generation of music lovers, it is time for you to enjoy the finer things in life infused with ease and convenience by buying an Apple iPod. Cheap versions like non-Apple brands are available but why settle for less?

The technological breakthroughs that the Apple iPod has brought to the music industry may be seen on a sour note. You see, since the emergence of these gadgets, more and more consumers have shunned the CD stores and has opted for free music downloaded through the internet.

Since you've got a stash of CDs in your possession, discover the wonders of the iTunes application and begin converting raw audio files to a format Apple iPods can understand which the Mp3 is. Although there are some protected albums so you can't immediately revise fields unless convert them to AAC then to Mp3.

Ask any music lover if they got overwhelmed with the emergence of the Apple iPod and the only answer they will give you is a deep sigh and a smile. They are indeed frantic over what iPod to choose -- 1GB or the ultimate 120GB?

Not only you enjoy a multitude supply of music albums, you could also have the chance to watch movies, music videos and even read eBooks in your Apple iPod. Cheap versions are available should you have a tightened budget.

First came the Classic, then entered the Nano but have you seen the latest 4G iPod Shuffle? It is so small but still could engrave your name or initials at the back. Unlike the original version of the Shuffle, the control panel is now located in the ear-phones. You should take care of the wires since how in the world will you operate it with a regular one?

Bear in mind that hooking yourself to your iPod can actually affect your hearing so keep the volume at bay. There are even some users who don't turn-off their iPods even when they are sleeping. The emergence of in-ear audio phones happens to be great since it won't fall off even if you toss and turn all night. Choose the kind of Apple iPod that suits your lifestyle.
 - 18423

About the Author:

Come to www.CheapIpodFinder.com to get incredible savings for Really Cheap Ipods you also can find discounts on a super cheap ipod touch!