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July 31, 2010

Develop Your Hobby, For Fun & Profit!!

Having a hobby is great fun and a rewarding way to explore your own creative abilities. Though you may not be convinced of it, you do have a God-given talent within you. Everyone does! It only needs to be discovered and developed!
The world is full of variety and no two persons are exactly alike; each of us is a unique individual, and as such, has something special to offer. The different combination of personality, environment, experiences and interests that you have, work together to create you, and only you. There is no other person on earth exactly like you. Not a twin or even (heaven forbid) a clone. Though these people may have the same DNA, they cannot have the same exact experiences, therefore, they are different from you. Your interests may be similar, but the way you develop as an individual will determine how you express yourself and the hobbies you're likely to explore.
I was exposed to a lot of music while I was growing up. My parents would often put a Glen Miller, or Frank Sinatra album on the hi-fi while we were working around the house. Sometimes I would find them dancing in the living room. My oldest brother loved jazz and folk music. My other brother played the drums and was a rock n' roll fan. My grandfather sang and played the harmonica. My grandmother was a piano teacher. In the early 1900's my grandparents enjoyed performing in vaudville shows together.
So, you might say my gene pool, as well as my environment, were musically influenced. As a result I sang in choir throughout my school years. When I was 15 years old I began playing the guitar and writing songs as a hobby. Poetry was another creative avenue I explored. The experiences I had growing up during the turbulent '60s and early '70s also influenced my way of thinking and the development of my musical style. Though it may be similar to others of that era, it is uniquely my own.
You my be wondering what your particular talent(s), or gift(s), may be. How do you discover and develop your own hobby? Here are some ideas:
• Consider Your Interests
sports, art, music, animals, books, cooking, theology, crafts, cars, science, horticulture, hiking...

• Consider Your Background Environment
early childhood experiences and development, family traits, things you enjoyed doing as a child

• Consider Your Personality
likes & dislikes, behaviour patterns, reactions to particular situations... What makes you happy? Sad? Angry? Compassionate? What motivates you?

• Consider Your Strengths and Weaknesses
what are you good at? what do you find difficult?

Write down your discoveries, then look for a pattern to emerge. There may be several traits or areas of interest that unfold before your eyes. Try to determine which area you are most strongly drawn to. If more than one, can they be combined?
As I shared earlier, I like to sing and write, especially poems and song lyrics. I love music and playing the guitar. These hobbies obviously combine very nicely. I also have a knack for teaching and am a self-starter. My curiousity drives me to explore and learn new things. All of these traits combined together have helped me turn my hobby into a fun, work-at-home business. I am a private guitar teacher. I also created my own website which has provided me with new opportunities and additional income through google ads and affiliate programs. My hobby led me to discover the perfect job match for my personality type, skills, and interests!
There is a hobby, a creative spark, lying within you that is just waiting to be discovered. Your gift can add new meaning and depth to your life, but it needs to be opened, unwrapped, and developed for this to happen. Take a class, read a "how to" book, surf the net, or take some lessons in order to increase your knowledge and build your skills. Don't let the world and it's everyday distractions keep you from enjoying who you were made to be. Take a short break from your routine. Open your gift. Turn a new page in your life story. Time is short, so why not make the most of it today? More Articles

Author Bio :
Kathy Unruh is a singer/songwriter and webmaster of ABC Learn Guitar. She built her own website to offer free guitar lessons and other helpful tips online. If you would like to learn how you can turn your hobby into a successful online home business today, take the SBI Tour. You'll be glad you did!
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July 29, 2010

Write a Song With Your Guitar!

Using your guitar to create a song can be both fun and challenging. Whether you’re just writing lyrics or working out an instrumental piece, the creative process can help to improve your overall ability to internalize rhythms and sounds. Songwriting can also help you to develop a greater sense of feeling as opposed to playing from a merely mechanical or “bookish” approach. This happens because you have to depend more on what you hear than on what you see. As you listen to different tones, rhythms and chord progressions, it’s important to take note of how you feel. What sounds do you like, dislike? Because there are no real rules here, you can try anything you want!

Not long ago I began creating a few instrumental pieces for a guitar workshop I was planning to attend. My husband suggested I compose a piece of music using snow as my theme. This got me to thinking about how I could use my guitar to express the feeling of snow beginning to fall lightly from the sky. I wanted a delicate sound to start with, nothing complicated. So, I began with a few notes played high on the 12th fret. Then I gradually descended to the 5th fret, building intensity as I moved down the neck. I had to mess around with the notes a bit until I got a finger-picking pattern I liked. This changed a few times along the way, but became more consistent as the song began to take shape.
Writing songs with lyrics can be similar. Sometimes I start by developing a musical idea or theme on my guitar, but other times I start with the words. Ideas have come to me occasionally when I am just walking down the road. I suppose this is because my mind is free to wander and play with words when I’m relaxed and enjoying myself. Not long ago the following phrase popped into my head while I was meandering along on a sunny day: “Fire, cold as ice.” It sounds strange, but I liked it and ended up writing an entire song around it.

If you’re wondering how to write a song, here are a few suggestions:
• Take a chord you are familiar with (such as G, D, A, etc.) and experiment with it.
• Leave one or two fingers in place as you move a free finger(s) to a different string nearby.
• Strum or pick each string and listen to the tones.
• Try a different fret, different string, strum different rhythms.
• If you hear something you like, play it over and over until you have it memorized.
• Use this as your starting point, or theme, and write the rest of the music around it.

The most important thing is to relax and enjoy the process. Let yourself sing whatever nonsense comes to mind. It doesn't need to make sense or even rhyme. If you happen to hit on a phrase or chord progression you like, write it down. Or better yet, record it. Use your cell phone if you have to. It doesn't matter what it sounds like at this point, you just want to remember what you've created so you can continue working on it.
Don't be afraid to get feedback from a trusted friend or fellow musician. They may be able to give you more creative ideas or even become an important songwriting partner. That's what happened with Lennon-McCartney right? Well, it might just happen to you too! More Articles

Author Bio :
Kathy Unruh is a singer/songwriter and webmaster of ABC Learn Guitar. She has been writing songs and providing guitar lessons to students of all ages for over 20 years. For free guitar lessons, plus tips and resources on songwriting, recording and creating a music career, please visit: http://www.abclearnguitar.com
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July 27, 2010

Music Genres

Music is universal, music is a language understood by all people in this world, although different from one another. Even then, people in enjoying the music has a different taste.
Music has many genres, music genres can be defined as a grouping of music and genres of music can be defined by technique, style, context and theme music. Examples of musical genres including :
• Jazz is a genre of music that grew from the merger of blues, ragtime and European music, especially music band.
• Blues is a genre of music that comes from the Afro-American community which evolved from West African music.
• Pop is a musical genre boundaries are often blurred because many pop musicians included in the category of rock, hip hop etc.
• Rock is a genre of music in the broadest sense, covering almost all popular music since the early 1950s. The earliest form, rock and roll, is a fusion of various genres in the late 1940s. Rock music evolved into psychedelic rock and then turned into progressive rock.
• Country is a genre of music that was influenced by the blues and evolved from the white American culture.
• Latin Music is very diverse, with the only truly unifying thread being the use of Latin languages, predominately the Spanish language, the Portuguese language in Brazil and to a lesser extent, Latin-derived creole languages such as that found in Haiti.
• Traditional Music is a genre of music that exists and lives are sustained from generation to generation, contain elements of trust between man and his creator, and also as an element of entertainment in society.
• Rhythm and blues is the name of the traditional music of Afro-American community. Perhaps the most commonly understood meaning of the term is as a description of the sophisticated urban music that had been developing since the 1930s. By the 1970s, rhythm and blues was used as a blanket term for soul and funk. Rhythm and blues stands for “blues with a faster rhythm” and introduced a the most danceable and popular side of the style to the audiences. Within this genre there were large-group and small-group rhythm and blues.
• Hip hop/Rap/Rapcore Funk
• Ska, Reggae, Dub
• Electronic

The above discussion is still little that can be described, the most important thing we can enjoy music according to our tastes without having to discriminate because of the music itself as a unifier.
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July 26, 2010

Definition of Music

Music has been recognized by all living things throughout his life. These days music is not just for fun but have become a necessity in life, until there is a sentence that says "music is my life" it proves that music is very necessary in life. music flows like the blood and heart beats in tandem with our bodies.

What is music? What is the meaning of music?
Music is an expression of the tone or sound that is structured in such a way that it contains rhythms, songs and harmony (especially those using devices that produce sound)
Definitions of music by experts

Koentjaraningrat According to the book "Introduction to anthropology" (1986: 203-204), music is part of the arts. Art is one of the elements of culture.
According Boedhisantoso, S. in the book "Art and Cultural Values" (1982: 23) and Melalotoa in the book "Cultural Messages in Art" (1986: 27), Music is a universal human need that never detach from the public.
According to Merriam in the book "The Anthropology of Music" (1964: 32-33), music is a symbol of things that are associated with ideas, as well as public behavior.

Music by Aristotle has the ability to reconcile a troubled heart, have a recreational therapist and foster patriotism.
Greek Philoshopers and Ancient Indian Philoshopers defined music as tones ordered horizontally as melodies and vertically as harmonies. Common saying such as “the harmony of the spheres” and “it is music to my ears” point to the notion that music is often ordered and pleasant to listen to. However, 20th-century composer John Cage thought that any sound can be music, saying, for example, “there is no noise, only sound.”
“Music is the noblest arts to be used only for the glorification of God” (Andreas Werckmeister, c.1690). “Music is an entertainment … an innocent luxury” (Charles Burney, c.1776).
Jean Molino stated "Music, often an art / entertainment, is a total social fact whose definitions vary according to era and culture."

From the various terms above, the concept of music is universal and abstract. Music has been much studied by the thinkers, religious leaders, educators and theorists of art. Music has been widely used for various things in this life starts from tradition, religion, entertainment, education and health.

So, make music for a positive thing for our lives and feel how the music can be transformed into a wonderful thing in life.
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