LEARNING TO PLAY DRUM FOR DUMMIES

Set-up- When starting to learn to play drums it is essential to set up the kids drum set properly, to ensure that all the drums and cymbals are comfortably within reach and at the correct height to avoid over reaching. The snare drum should be positioned between the legs at about waist height when sitting. The high hat just to the left of the snare with the cymbals about 4” above the snare. The high tom tom(s) in front and slightly above the snare sloping towards you and the Floor tom tom on your right at the same height as the snare.

Tuning - Like any other instrument a kids drum kit needs to be tuned to give the best sound. Starting with the base drum, which should be tuned to low E by adjusting the tension of the lugs around the rim. Next is the floor tom tom followed by the high tom tom(s) so that the sound of each drum is slightly higher than the last. The snare drum has a sound all of its own, created by the coiled wires stretched across the bottom skin. Be careful not to over tighten the top skin as this will reduce the natural bounce of the stick. Dampening - Most base drums and tom toms on a kids drum kit will produce a noticeable ring when struck, which can be very annoying and detract from the overall sound. I would recommend using felt strips stretched across and under the top skins (you will need to remove the top skins to do this). This will help to absorb the ring and give a satisfying thump when played.

Practice - When you learn to play drums, don’t try to run before you can walk, it will take time and a lot of practice to become proficient. Start slowly just getting used to the base peddle and high-hat. Play 4 beats to the bar with the base peddle and 2 beats on the high-hat, the 2 & 3rd beat. Then introduce the snare drum with your left hand (if right handed) on the same beat as the high-hat, this is called the off beat. The base drum is being played On the beat and the high-hat and snare on the Off beat. Now you can try to play 4 beats to the bar on the ride cymbal with your right hand to match the base drum. Congratulations you have now mastered the basic 4/4 rhythm. Finally look for some inspiration, listen and watch some great technical drumming from great artists. My personal favourite is Buddy Rich, arguably one of the best jazz drummers of his time who unfortunately passed away in 1987. Check out the YouTube video clip of Buddy Rich playing his heart out and be inspired.

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LEARN PIANO WITH APPLICATION

What do I look for if I want to find some excellent piano learning software? For the remainder of this piece we’ll treat software with the idea of it being a learning package or course. With the popularity of the internet more and more people are seeking reviews on these types of courses. Where to go, where to look, who to believe are all some of the aspects that are looked into. For more information click over to this site; http://www.pianolessonsonlinefinder.com/piano-learning-software/ Other considerations are what style of learning best suits me, how long of a course should I look for, what types of audio are available, are the lessons on audio, are there recordings of what sound I’m trying to emulate or does it include the instructions from the instructor, are video lessons better than audio lessons or will audio and good documents accomplish the same thing? These answers will typically depends on how the person learns. Some people don’t want books, some don’t want e-books, some want video, some don’t want this or that. The point is everyone is different. Since we brought up video here’s a link to an example of such a course that offers them; http://www.pianolessonsonlinefinder.com/rocket-piano-review/ So you have to make some personal decisions before you begin your search for the software. Once you answer some of those basic questions you then begin the software search. A list of things to look for could contain: Activity based instruction is the best way to learn so seek that as a prime criteria. The most effective form of learning is done through activity based courses. Actually performing a task helps to ingrain the task much more efficiently than merely reading it from a book. Multi-media based is also a powerful methodology. Additional methods for presenting the curriculum is a powerful tool in increasing learning. Exercises using games, video, audio, e-books, and even some hard copy Fun is important. Look for a course that holds your interest otherwise you lose focus and the need to learn will go away. Learning seems to be easier when you make it fun. When you are having fun your mind doesn’t get restless and wander. When you’re having fun it doesn’t seem like work so the likelihood increases that you will stick with it longer. You can find additional information and course examples and software applications if you click to the right; http://www.pianolessonsonlinefinder.com/piano-learning-software/ materials are a good list to have available for the course. The effectiveness of the learning increases by using different combinations of media and material.

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LEARNING ACOUSTIC GUITAR FOR DUMMIES

Learning to play guitar should be fund and easy. Many beginner guitar players tend to get stressed out and frustrated when they’re first starting out, and honestly, how can you blame them? Rockstars are “supposed” to be cool, so when we see them jamming away, regardless of whether or not it’s rock like Keep On Rockin’ In the Free World or a laid back, relaxed acoustic session, they always make it look so easy!

Beginner guitar lessons, whether it’s an online guitar lesson or video guitar lessons or an acoustic guitar lesson from someone local who you find on Craigslist, have to be fun or what’s the point in playing? If you start to get overwhelmed by thinking about learning guitar chords and learning guitar tabs, so the best thing to do is to learn easy guitar songs for beginners.

Songs like Keep On Rockin’ In The Free World by Neil Young or Free Falling by Tom Petty are easy songs for beginners to learn to play. (Another easy acoustic guitar song for beginners is Wild Thing.) They’re made up of only a couple of chords and quick video guitar lessons can be found online for you to watch and practice at the same time. One of the greatest things about an online guitar lesson is that you’re learning to play guitar in the comfort of your own home, at your own pace. There’s no pressure of performing in front of anyone, even an instructor who might teach easy guitar lessons all day long. They might be easy guitar lessons, but when you’re learning to play in front of someone else or with a group of people at a local music shop, it can become uncomfortable, stressful and not enjoyable, very quickly.

With that being said, that’s not the case for everyone. Learning to play the guitar is like everything else in life, you have to learn in a way that’s best for you. It’s the same thing for deciding what kind of guitar to play. Some people are made for an acoustic guitar, others an electric guitar. So when you’re deciding on whether or not to take online guitar lessons, in person guitar lessons, video guitar lessons on DVD or any other way, make sure that you’re comfortable and having fun. After that, they’ll all be easy guitar lessons, regardless of where you’re taking them, how you’re learning or what you’re playing.

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LEAD GUITAR LESSON

The lead guitar is normally the guitar part that plays the melody, creating fill passages and guitar solos in the song. Although it is often associated with heavy metal music, it is also present in jazz, blues, pop and a number of other musical genres.

Guitarists, especially beginners, at some point take a lead guitar lesson. This focuses mostly on the essential roles of the lead guitar. One of which is to play the melody lines of the song (melodic playing) and at the same time adorn it as melodic playing enabling the guitarist to play more smoothly as compared to linear playing.

Often lead guitar and rhythm guitar are easily confused with each other, especially when the lead guitarist adds

Some important techniques found in lead guitar lessons are bending, vibrato and slides. These provide the basic means of emphasizing notes and provide greater expression in the melody.

Bending occurs when the guitarist guitar string bends to the side by pushing to the sixth string, or by pulling the first string. The first three strings are normally pushed, while others are normally drawn. Whether the string is pushed or pulled, the note will be raised in pitch.

Vibrato adds feeling and emotion into the notes. It can be done quickly by bending the guitar string back and forth or by exerting pressure parallel to the string to the neck of the guitar, then towards the bridge repeatedly. A helpful hint for the vibrato is that the action should come from the wrist not the fingers.

Slides (or sliding) is one of the simplest but most effective guitar techniques to create a wailing sound on the guitar. There are two types of slides, legato slides and shift. Legato (connected tones) slides are made by picking the first note and slide up or down to the second note. In the shift side, a note is fretted and then the fretting finger slides up or down to another fret.

Another useful lead guitar lesson revolves around the creation of lead guitar lines. This is done by using scales, modes, arpeggios, licks, riffs and fills. It is best to use it together with a variety of other techniques. Learn the blues scale and then the pentatonic scales as these provide a good basis for creating solos, a classical element to the lead guitarist. Arpeggios add depth, and the progression of the solo is often a reflection of the underlying rhythm guitar part. Licks give short improvised solos and while the solo puts the guitarist under the spotlight for a minute or two, riffs and fills supply a series of notes for improvised backing.

With all scales, chords, combinations and variations available, there are thousands of ways to improve your guitar. Imagination and creativity can combine a creative miracle, that's a lead guitar lesson that everyone should learn.

Info like this will help you learn to play lead guitar you'll love and also how to play lead guitar in chords and double-stops to the riffs. It is best to remember that lead guitar is focused on giving the melody, the more single-string guitar playing and solos while the rhythm guitar is mainly characterized by playing chords in patterns.

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LEARNING TO PLAY BASE GUITAR CHORD

If you have been trying to learn bass chords, it can be very frustrating. Here are a few tips that will definitely help you and make the process much easier for you:

• Most lead guitar players think that switching over to the bass guitar will be an easy transition for them “wrong”. For a lot of lead guitar players, this is definitely not the case at all. The bass guitar is very different that the lead and has far more space between the strings and produces a much deeper sound than the lead. If you are switching over from the lead guitar to the bass guitar you must remember as with most things that practicing is the only way that playing will become much easier for you.

• If you find that you are having a lot of trouble playing chords on the bass guitar, try to practice with chords that have notes that are much closer together. So for an example, playing C or D Minor 7 can be way easier than trying to play Db major 7. Simply put the best way to build confidence is to try to find the chords that are easiest for you to learn.

• Quite often, bass guitar players seem to find it much easier to play chords lower on the neck than it is to play chords higher up on the neck. If when practicing you discover that you to are also having difficulty playing certain chords, start to try lower chords such as D or E to see if you find it easier. You probably will.

• Very important, never I mean never, underestimate the value of watching someone else play the base guitar. Simply do a search on Youtube and you will find numerous videos that show bass guitar players jamming. So basically if you are struggling are having trouble, watch a few of these videos and pay attention to what those players are doing that you are not. You will definitely find great value in this.

• Once your confidence builds and you feel up to it, playing a few tabs can be a great tool to help you quickly improve your confidence and your skills. It is always best to find a song that you are already very familiar with so that you do not find yourself having to waste time trying to get used to the song's tune. Which believe it or not some people do make this mistake

Conclusion

If you have been trying to learn to play the bass guitar, you've probably already thought about playing a few chords. Often guitar players feel intimidated by bass guitar chords because they think they are so different from typical guitar chords, which is true but practiced will make it easier. So again, there is no reason stress out to worry. With practice, practice and more practice every part of learning the bass guitar can be made very easy. Don’t be a quitter, don’t throw the towel in, keep practicing and you will definitely get to the playing level you are aiming for!

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