Why Guitar Chords Are So Important

By Payo W Perry

Most beginners are introduced to guitar chords at the earliest stage of learning guitar. They are a foundation upon which not only harmony but also melody are build and derived and so their importance cannot be ignored.

As a beginning guitar player you really don't need many chords to get you going. Even a basic set of 10 chords will open the door to 100's of popular songs instantly!

We group guitar chords into respective families based upon their type and how they are built. As a beginner you need only concern yourself with 3 main families of chords. They are Major, Minor and Dominant 7 chords. Using these you'll have the basic structure required for songs.

One of the most common problems when learning chords on the guitar is to get them to sound clearly and without any bad erroneous noises. Initially you could be surprised by how hard to need to press down to get to sound properly and this of course is going to result in your fingers hurting.

You can view this process as a rite of passage for playing guitar chords. Try to press down hard consistently in order to give built the harder skin as evenly and as quickly as possible.

The main distinction we make between chords is whether they are moveable or not. Chord shapes which cannot be moved are normally referred to as Open Chords and generally involve the using of open strings on the guitar. These normally represent the beginner guitar chords we all start of learning.

Barre chords however conversely are movable shapes and simply by transposing the shape to different parts of the neck we can produce different chords. This are harder to perform since it requires using the first finger as a bar across 5 or 6 strings. It requires strength to perform this so all notes sound clearly.

Try to resist the urge to learn an overwhelming amount of guitar chords in the beginning stages. It's counter productive and will ultimately frustrate you. Instead concentrate on a small group of highly used ones and put them into action through songs. By approaching guitar chords in this way you'll develop a very useable collection over which you have a mastery. - 18423

About the Author:

The writer is the inventor of Guitar in a Nutshell. A very popular website for learning how to play guitar. Check out the site for lots of information on Guitar Chords and free video tutorials on how to play acoustic guitar.

Learning to Play the Piano? Choose a Piano Teacher or Online Lessons

By Amy Nutt

The piano is a time honored instrument that brings joy to the lives of many people. It is one of the most popular instruments to study because its easy to learn, provides compelling and beautiful sound, and it is an essential foundation of musical study.

There are a number of reasons why both young and old choose to learn the piano. The number one reason is to play music. The results provide a number of benefits such as:

1. Playing the piano helps one keep the brain functioning at its best. Such skills that can be enhanced and maintained include: eye-hand coordination, stress relief and increased relaxation, encouraged creativity, increased self-confidence, increasing the desire to be challenged and learn new things, and an increased sense of self-satisfaction.

2. Playing the piano can be a rewarding hobby. Gathering family and loved and entertaining them by playing the piano is a lot of fun.

3. People who play the piano often go on to be in a band or have a career as a pianist. It also gives a good foundation to learn other instruments and even improve singing.

When preparing to undertake the task of learning piano, one can either learn from a piano teacher or learn online. Piano teachers such as Celesta Piano Studio teach students of all ages who are interested in learning the piano for either professional endeavors or for fun. You can also find a piano teacher in your own area. Lessons are designed around each student's aptitude and goals. As well, there are online piano instructional programs. There are a number of piano internet sites that provide people with the ability to learn how to play piano online. You will be astounded by what you are taught and how fast you learn. Your friends and family will be pleasantly astonished by your new passion. Online piano lessons are very affordable and some sites offer free introductory beginner's lessons. All that you will need is an electronic keyboard or a piano, internet connection, a quality browser, and Windows or Macintosh. There are also piano lessons one can order that can contain quality instructional DVDs, play-along CDs, and detailed workbooks. You are guided through the program and instructions are easy to follow.

Playing the piano is a wonderful life skill to have and can be a lot of fun. When learning the piano, you are discovering the history of music. Becoming skilled at the piano is a life long process with many personal benefits. Quality piano instruction will teach proper technique, reading music, rhythm, tone, and listening skills. Training will be challenging but not too difficult as you learn chords and theory. Practicing every day is essential to mastering this beautiful instrument. As your skills grow, you will become a better pianist and playing piano will become a great love. It takes time and effort but it is well worth the endeavor.

Music plays an important part in every person's life. There are so many ways to learn to play the piano that there is a method suitable for anyone interested in this wonderful craft. Learning to play the piano will bring such pleasure in your life that you will wonder why you did not start sooner. - 18423

About the Author:

As a musician, you must not only consider what kind of instrument you will invest in: grand piano, or new one, used piano, or a standalone, but also the quality of the instruction. You can always take additional lessons to broaden your musical interest like Drum lessons Oakville, or drum lessons.

How To Download Movies Online

By Mario Brewer

There are movie download services that you can use and legally get movie downloads. They may charge you a slight subscription fee, but when you figure out how much money you can save they are well worth the cost.

Most of these movie download services will charge you a monthly fee and you can get unlimited movie downloads, and movie rentals. Which if you watch a lot of movies you will be paying very little for each movie that you watch online or rent.

Movie download services can be found all over the internet, but you should compare many of them. Try and find the one that gives you unlimited movie downloads and movie rentals. That way if you're an avid movie buff, you will be paying even less per movie.

Some of these movie download services may have you downloading Divx downloads, which you may have to download software to run. However, most of the time these programs can be tested for a free price.

Prices that you find at video stores seem to rise each year. Not only that but if you want to go to a movie theater, it's hard to not spend at least $50 for two people. Getting the snacks and the tickets adds up quickly.

Movie rentals are available too, for those newer movies that may not be available to watch online. Saving you the money of going to the video store and seeing if the movie is even available or not.

Another great thing about movie download services is that if you're not sure you'd like a movie or not, you're not really wasting a lot of money. It use to be you had to rent the movie for $4 or so, or buy it for who knows how much. Now if you don't like the movie your watching you stop it and watch another movie online.

Or do you want to buy online movies to add to your growing collection of DVDs you have at home? Why not watch movies online first, and then decide whether you want to buy it?

Why would you want to even join a video store now? Because you can get movies online easily, and watch even TV shows. The choice of genres may even be larger than most local stores you visit.

If you have a family, this is a great way that you can have family time; watch movie downloads of all those Disney movies. Or even kids programming that may be available to watch online.

See which one offers the most types of movies and ones that you will enjoy watching. Don't forget if you get that cable and hook up your TV, you can get family programs too. The world of movie downloads is one that is a most definite plus to movie lovers all over the world. Take advantage of it and see how many movies you can watch in a month! - 18423

About the Author:

When it comes to how to download movies, it's a very simple process really. Where Can I Download Movies What is even nicer is that these are all legal movie downloads, and you don't need to worry about doing the right thing. It's well worth any movie download subscription you will need to pay.

A Shopping Guide for Guitar Effects Pedals

By R. S. Rasnick

Effects pedals for the guitar have been around since the 1960s, when electric guitar based music and rock 'n' roll were on the rise. Roger Mayer, an engineer, is believed to have created the first guitar effects pedals, which was known as as "fuzz box" (today known as distortion or overdrive) and the "wah-wah" pedal. Mayer created pedals that were used by the likes of legendary rockers Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix, and Jimmy Page (for whom Mayer, his friend, reportedly created the first pedal in 1963 or 1964). Today, numerous effects are widely used by electric guitar players.

Guitarists use effects pedals to give themselves a wider variety of sound choices to use during recording or live performances. While different amplifiers can offer some of the alternatives, not many amplifiers have built-in effects. Besides, guitar players would have to go to their amplifiers every time they wanted to make a change. Effects pedals are much more convenient, especially since guitarists often change tones in the middle of a song.

So, just like the electric guitar and the amplifier offered guitarists a wider variety of tonal choices, effects pedals, too, give them even more options in shaping their tone. Electric guitarists are not the only ones to use effects pedals, however. Acoustic guitarists and classical players often draw upon them as well, but they tend to eschew the sounds of overdrive and distortion pedals enjoyed by electric guitarists.

After effects pedals became popular, rack-mounted effects saw more wide use amongst guitarists, especially during the 1980's. The Yamaha SPX-90 and Eventide Ultra Harmonizer were two of the most popular rack effects that guitarists used at this time. However, guitar players soon realized that effects pedals were far more convenient and useful than rack gear, especially since the sound quality of digital pedals increased dramatically and eliminated the need for much rack equipment.

So, with their effects usually mounted on pedalboards (a way to transport and store effects pedals), electric guitar players have only to "stomp" on the pedal box (hence the name "stompbox") to instantly switch on or switch off an effect. The wah-wah pedal and volume pedal is a little different than the others in that the player "rocks" the pedal back and forth to adjust the sound.

You'll find, though, that most guitar pedals are pretty simple to operate. With a simple "stomp," one can go from a blaring rock and roll distortion to a beautifully clean sounds. Some guitarists even use devices called "loopers" to chain groups of effects together than can be switched on and off simultaneously.

It's safe to say that most guitarists expend a lot of effort to get the "perfect" sound, and this involves configuring their guitars, amps, and effects pedals in the right combination. There are many different types of effects for players to chose from today: delay, vibrato, tremolo, chorus, pitch-shifting, flanger, overdrive, distortion, and the list goes on and on. Such effects can have significant changes on a guitarist's sound, which explains their ever-increasing popularity.

If you are interested in broadening your sound or just trying something different, then you should give some of the above effects a try. Who knows? They may inspire your next killer solo! - 18423

About the Author:

About the author: R. S. Rasnick is the founder of JustEffectsPedals.com, where you can easily shop for all the effects devices mentioned here and purchase them today!

Great iPhone 3G Music Downloads

By Davion Wong

Folks who greatly love music ought to get iPhone 3G music downloads. It's definitely a must! With these, they could listen to great songs everyday, everywhere, all day!

With an iPhone, one can listen to his favorite music all the time. One need not bear listening to a 10-track album just to hear the 3 songs they like. With downloads, you can choose favorite songs from various albums, compile them, and listen to them successively.

Enjoy your gadget to the fullest. Download music to your iPhone as many files as you like. You can get music offline and online. You can preview files for exact artist or title match, and for excellent sound quality. Many files can be gotten for free and latest songs can be bought cheaply.

Always be aware of concerning issues regarding free file download sites. Free download sites allow users to download music files freely. The media library is quite extensive. Often, there is no limit on the number of downloads. Some downsides are poor speed, lots of unsolicited ads, some adware and malware, and sometimes, poor sound quality.

If you go with a free provider of iPhone music downloads, check the site for reliability. There are good sites, just search for them. For peace of mind, update your antivirus regularly.

If you're a person who wants to be on the safe side, you can choose to get downloads from paid membership sites. You can find sites that charge reasonably. Some charge monthly membership fees, others charge a one time fee. After payment of membership dues, you are given unlimited access to the music file library. Paid sites are more often preferred as opposed to free sites. They provide excellent security features and files are mostly excellent. With free sites, corrupted files are not uncommon.

Mainstream services such as iTunes, HMV, and many others, sell iPhone 3G music downloads. You pay a download price per song. Many sell at affordable prices like $1 per song.

Get files from sites that have excellent download speed. This allows for easy and quick iPhone 3G music downloads. Sites with limited bandwidth often cause way too many hassles, like suspended downloads and site unavailability. - 18423

About the Author:

Join the most popular services for unlimited iPhone downloads now! Also, pick up more tips about iPhone music.