The Most Important Instrument in Music, The Human Voice

By: Victor Epand

There are literally hundreds of different instrument music that a person can learn to master, but too often than not, many forget about the most important musical instrument of them all; their voice. The human voice is essentially our species' earliest known musical instrument, and it is capable of an incredible array of harmonies and melodies. Sadly, for whatever reason, many think it is more important to practice playing the guitar than it is to learn how to sing.

Your voice is your key to music superstardom. It will allow you learn a lot about music and how melodies and rhythms come together to form some of the most beloved music our species has ever created. Your voice can reach amazing heights and amazing lows, and all it takes is you practicing how to use it properly. We all have the ability to sing in us, but some are going to be more skilled at it than others. It is true that some people are tone deaf and simply cannot understand how music works. That is not to say they can't sing. Everyone can sing, but some can do it better than others.

Our voice is how we express ourselves, even when we think no one is around. How many times have you sung in the shower or in the car to express how you feel at that moment? Ever sang along with a favorite song? Sure you have, everyone has, and that is because singing is the best way we can show what is going on in our minds and souls. We may sing and be horrible at it, but with the song we sing we are telling the world what is going on with us, what we care about and what bothers us.

If you want to have a better voice, all it takes is going to a vocal coach. They will teach you to sing in ways you never thought possible. You will suddenly discover a vast array of vocal ranges you never though existed and you will be elated at the prospect of being able to sing in front of people without having to worry that you will be laughed at or ridiculed. All it takes is you making the step to learn how to sing from a trained vocal coach. Don't worry about being horrible, they have heard some bad singers and you are unlikely to be the worst.

When you take the steps to learn how to sing. You are beginning on a journey that will allow you to express yourself in a variety of ways that go far beyond how our primitive language can describe the emotions. Singing is the oldest instrument we have and it is the only instrument we carry with us at all times. You may suck and never hit the high notes of Whitney Houston, but that does not mean you can't enjoy yourself singing along to her songs. When you are alone in the shower, you sing to your hearts content because you are in your own world and you feel happy. That is the beauty of your vocals. They can bring out your heart and make you smile.

Author Resource:-> Victor Epand is an expert consultant for used CDs, autographed CDs, and used musical instruments. You can find the best marketplace for used CDs, autographed CDs, and used musical instruments at these sites for important used CDs, important autographed CDs, and important used musical instruments. Article From ArticleCue.com Free Article Directory

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October 26, 2008

The Most Important Instrument in Music, The Human Voice

By: Victor Epand

There are literally hundreds of different instrument music that a person can learn to master, but too often than not, many forget about the most important musical instrument of them all; their voice.

The human voice is essentially our species’ earliest known musical instrument, and it is capable of an incredible array of harmonies and melodies. Sadly, for whatever reason, many think it is more important to practice playing the guitar than it is to learn how to sing.

Your voice is your key to music superstardom. It will allow you learn a lot about music and how melodies and rhythms come together to form some of the most beloved music our species has ever created. Your voice can reach amazing heights and amazing lows, and all it takes is you practicing how to use it properly.

We all have the ability to sing in us, but some are going to be more skilled at it than others. It is true that some people are tone deaf and simply cannot understand how music works. That is not to say they can’t sing. Everyone can sing, but some can do it better than others.

Our voice is how we express ourselves, even when we think no one is around. How many times have you sung in the shower or in the car to express how you feel at that moment? Ever sang along with a favorite song? Sure you have, everyone has, and that is because singing is the best way we can show what is going on in our minds and souls. We may sing and be horrible at it, but with the song we sing we are telling the world what is going on with us, what we care about and what bothers us.

If you want to have a better voice, all it takes is going to a vocal coach. They will teach you to sing in ways you never thought possible. You will suddenly discover a vast array of vocal ranges you never though existed and you will be elated at the prospect of being able to sing in front of people without having to worry that you will be laughed at or ridiculed. All it takes is you making the step to learn how to sing from a trained vocal coach. Don’t worry about being horrible, they have heard some bad singers and you are unlikely to be the worst.

When you take the steps to learn how to sing. You are beginning on a journey that will allow you to express yourself in a variety of ways that go far beyond how our primitive language can describe the emotions. Singing is the oldest instrument we have and it is the only instrument we carry with us at all times.

You may suck and never hit the high notes of Whitney Houston, but that does not mean you can’t enjoy yourself singing along to her songs. When you are alone in the shower, you sing to your hearts content because you are in your own world and you feel happy. That is the beauty of your vocals. They can bring out your heart and make you smile.

Author Resource:-> Victor Epand is an expert consultant for used CDs, autographed CDs, and used musical instruments. You can find the best marketplace for used CDs, autographed CDs, and used musical instruments at these sites for important used CDs, important autographed CDs, and important used musical instruments.

Article From ArticleCue.com Free Article Directory
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3 Quick & Easy Steps To Playing Music by Ear

Playing by ear is the ability to play a piece of music (or, eventually, learn an instrument) by simply listening to it repeatedly. The majority of self-taught musicians began their education this way; they picked up their instrument and began playing an easy melody from a well-known song, slowly picking out the notes as they went along. And even after these musicians master their instruments or a particular song, playing by ear still plays a large role. Many pop and rock bands don’t play or write their songs based on sheet music, they figure the songs out by playing by ear. It’s even common among non-musicians. Ever sit down a piano and mindlessly pick out the tune to “Mary Had a Little Lamb”? What about grabbing a guitar and suddenly finding yourself playing the opening licks to “Smoke on the Water”? That’s playing by ear. You’re able to play part of the song just because you’ve heard it so often.Since music is basically composed of 3 elements melody, rhythm, and harmony, it is logical that there are also 3 basic steps to learning to play music by ear:

1.Charting the contour of the melody. Tunes move higher and lower up and down as the song progresses. Being aware of that movement is the first step. Once you mentally define the parameters of the melody, you can then begin to hone in on picking it out on your instrument. As an example, think of Joy To The World. Weve all sung it a zillion times, but have you ever noticed that the melody moves down exactly 8 steps (an octave), then gradually moves back up in increments, then repeats the down movement, etc. The entire melody is contained within those 8 notes, so you now know the parameters of the song and can begin to pick out the melody intelligently.

2.Harmonizing the melody with matching chords. The second element of music is harmony, and you can harmonize any melody just by matching the supporting chords to that melody. For example, if the melody is a G, you can harmonize that melody by using a chord with G in it, such as the G chord (G, B, D), the C chord (C, E, G), or the Em chord (E, G, B), or the Eb chord (Eb, G, Bb) and so forth. By using your ear to guide you, you can learn to harmonize the melody of most any song using matching chords.

3.Using an appropriate rhythm that matches the feel of the song. This is usually the easiest part, since most people feel the beat and dont have to do any mental gymnastics to come up with an appropriate rhythm for a song. But for those of us that might be rhythmically challenged, just by knowing that there are basically two meters available duple meter and triple meter — that can be combined in infinite combinations, we can give the song either a 3 feeling (like a waltz or a jazz waltz) or a 4feeling (like swing or a march or a ballad).

Playing by ear is a valuable technique for many musicians; learning songs based solely on hearing them is a great way to understand song and chord structure. In fact, a great number of rock and pop musicians learned to play their instruments this way. Instead of picking up a book or taking lessons, they concentrated on figuring out the notes and rhythms to a song until it was mastered. Then they moved on to another song. And another.

Gradually, they learned their instrument just by playing by ear — and in the process learned how to effectively structure a song in that particular genre. Playing by ear is also beneficial in helping a musician develop his or her own style; sure, they’ll at first mimic the style of the song they’re imitating, but the amalgamation of the music that they’re playing by ear will help them create something distinctive, something indicative of them only.

About the Author

Duane Shinn is the author of over 500 music courses for adults. His book-CD-DVD course titled “How To Play Piano By Ear Using Chords!” at www.pianoplayingbyear.com has sold over 30,000 copies around the world. He is the author of the popular free 101-week online e-mail newsletter titled “Amazing Secrets Of Exciting Piano Chords & Sizzling Chord Progressions” available from www.playpiano.com

Music Basics Guide for the Beginning Musician

Hello! Welcome to the wonderful world of music. Have you always dreamed of being able to learn to READ MUSIC and play the piano, keyboard, guitar or any other instrument? Well, your dream is just about to come true with this Beginning Music Course.This is not rocket science but it does take a genuine commitment on your part to read all this Music Course in order to learn the music fundamentals that will apply to any instrument. Be sure to STICK WITH IT!Did you know that pianos in some form have been around for over 500 years? Some of the first instruments of this kind were called clavichords. They had a very light, metallic sound because the small hand-pounded ‘hammers’ were made of very light weight metal-like material. These hammers struck strings of varying lengths to create different tones or pitches. The next cousin to the clavichord was the harpsichord invented by Cristofori in Italy around 1450 A.D. This keyboard instrument had a mechanism in it called the plecktrum which ‘plucked’ the strings and produced a slightly stronger sound than its predecessor.

Whether you are playing an acoustic instrument, which is the closest relative to the history just mentioned, or an electronic keyboard, you are now participating in a centuries old musical art form.

MUSICAL TERMS

Let’s begin our musical study with a review of the main musical terms you will need to be familiar with to proceed with your music education.

BAR LINE - A vertical line which separates notes into groups

DOUBLE BAR LINE - A set of two (2) vertical lines which stand for the end of a piece of music

REPEAT SIGN - Double bar with two dots at the end of a section or piece of music which indicates that section is to be played twice.

MEASURE - The distance between two bar lines.

TREBLE CLEF - The S-shaped symbol which stands for notes played with the right hand.

BASS CLEF - The reversed C-shaped symbol which stand for notes played with the left hand.

STAFF - The five lines and four spaces of both the bass and treble clefs.

QUARTER NOTE - Musical symbol with solid note head and stem which gets one count.

QUARTER REST - Musical symbol resembling a sideways W which gets one count.

HALF NOTE - Musical symbol with hollow note head and stem which gets two counts.

HALF REST - Solid half block sitting on third line of the staff which gets two counts of silence.

DOTTED HALF NOTE - Musical symbol with hollow note head, dot and stem which gets three counts.

WHOLE NOTE - Musical symbol resembling a circle on the staff which gets four counts.

WHOLE REST - Solid half block hanging from the second line on the staff which gets four counts of silence.

CHORD - Two or more notes played together.

BLOCKED CHORD - Two or more notes played at the same time

BROKEN CHORD - Two or more notes from the same chord played in sequence

INTERVALS - The distance between two notes on the musical staff

INTRODUCTION TO THE WHITE KEYS

There are only seven (7) letter names used on the piano:

A B C D E F G

It is interesting to note here that no matter what instrument you play, whether it is piano, tuba or violin, ONLY the seven letter names above are used in the entire realm of music!

There are two very easy ways to visualize and remember the names of the white keys on your piano and keyboard. Remember, the note names on an electronic keyboard are the same as on the acoustic piano.

Since it is not possible to include a graphic in this format, simply remember that the ‘CDE’ note groups in always located directly underneath the two black note group. The letter name ‘D’ in the white key always located directly inbetween the two black key note groups. ANY TWO BLACK NOTE GROUP on the piano has the letter name ‘D’ as the white key located inbetween them.

Go to your keyboard NOW and start to play all of the C-D-E groups from the lowest (bottom left) to the highest (top right) on your keyboard. Say C - D - E as you play each key.

Now we will learn about the F - G - A - B note groups. Simply located any three black note group on your piano or keyboard and realize that the F-G-A-B white keys are located directly beneath them. Directly outside of the three black note groups are ‘F’ on the left hand side of the three black note group and ‘B’ on the right hand side of the three black note group. Just fill in the outer ‘F’ and ‘B’ with G and A and you are done!

Go to your piano or keyboard NOW and find all of the F-G-A-G white keys underneath each three black note group. As above, play slowly and evenly saying the letter names as you play the F-G-A-B groups from the bottom of the piano or keyboard (low left hand end) to the top of your piano or keyboard (top right hand end).

Congratulations! You now know ALL of the white key names on the piano!

DYNAMIC MARKINGS

The vehicle for expression in music comes through the context of dynamic markings. Since the Italians were the ones to first write marks of expression in their music as well as print the first music manuscripts on paper, all of the marks of expression or dynamics are from Italian words.

DYNAMIC MARKINGS START WITH SOFT AND GO TO LOUDEST:

Piano - Italian word for soft. symbol used in music: p

Pianissimo - Very soft; symbold used: pp

Mezzo Forte - Medium Loud; symbol used: mf

Forte - Loud; symbol used: f

Fortissimo - Very Loud; symbol used: ff

Now that you have learned the Basics of Music by learning the note names, learning the note values and exploring music dynamics, you are ready to progress to the next level, that of learning to actually READ MUSIC.

About the author:

Jan Durrant creates music learning resources for new musicians of all ages.

Regardless of your current musical skill level, you will find wonderful multil media music learning resources for the whole family at http:/www.MakingMusicNow.com

October 20, 2008

I Like It, But Is It Music

Are you frustrated when you try to explain your taste in music? Fortunately, one of the advantages of learning a musical instrument is a better understanding of your own musical taste. Learning to play an instrument, and soon you'll be able to discuss what works and what does not work for you in music.

Learn to describe what you like with music education

John Cage, composer famous for having taken the position that everything could be good music, sometimes left parts of his compositions at random and non-use of standard instruments. Often, the arguments about music is really whether you are able to express your opinion.

Let's look at the music fundamentals. When you understand the concepts of pitch, melody, harmony, rhythm and articulation, you'll be well on your way to express your opinions on music.

Melody: You could think of a melody something you hum. A melody is a series of notes played in succession. This is sometimes called "horizontal" music, referring to notes written on a ladder.

Harmony: Harmony is what happens when multiple notes are played simultaneously. This is sometimes called "horizontal" music. Combining sound adds depth to the melody. "Strings" composed of three or more notes played simultaneously, each with the name notes.

Rhythm Section: Most Western music is based on the same beat in music. Each note takes one of these rhythms or part of it. Other crops such as Indian and African rhythm use more complex systems. "Irrational rhythms are irregular beat systems created mathematically.

articulation: It is equally important that the notes are played that is how you play them. Music composed and written paper includes "joints" written with a series of marks. An example is the "link", a curved line connecting two notes of the same height to show that two notes must be played as one. Articulation also include the amount of silence between notes.

Make it a priority to learn to play a musical instrument.
You understand your own musical tastes, and even be able to express your opinions on music with confidence.
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