<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><rss xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:openSearch="http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/" xmlns:blogger="http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008" xmlns:georss="http://www.georss.org/georss" xmlns:gd="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005" xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0" version="2.0"><channel><atom:id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509859924911167175</atom:id><lastBuildDate>Sat, 21 Dec 2024 11:01:46 +0000</lastBuildDate><category>piano lesson</category><category>piano selling/shopping</category><category>Digital Piano</category><category>music download</category><category>music promotion</category><category>music recording</category><category>Keyboard</category><category>Piano Mover</category><category>music composing</category><category>guitar lesson</category><category>music player</category><category>organ</category><category>piano care</category><category>piano tuning</category><category>Piano Accessories</category><category>electone</category><category>violin</category><category>CD Review</category><category>accordion</category><category>jazz</category><category>music community</category><category>music equipment</category><title>1st Piano</title><description>All info about music (music instruments, music accessories, music review, music lesson)</description><link>http://1stpiano.blogspot.com/</link><managingEditor>noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)</managingEditor><generator>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>445</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>25</openSearch:itemsPerPage><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509859924911167175.post-860442377768770766</guid><pubDate>Wed, 12 Mar 2014 02:32:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2014-03-11T19:30:02.257-07:00</atom:updated><title>The Pressing Need for No-Glitch Voice Over Services</title><description>&lt;DIV&gt;  &lt;DIV id=article-title&gt;By Rajeev Dixit &lt;/DIV&gt;  &lt;DIV&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/DIV&gt;  &lt;DIV&gt;With the world turning into one global village, the need for voice over   talents has risen. The global village we envision the world to be has to speak a   certain language. This happens to be English, for some it&#39;s the standard   American English for other it&#39;s British English.&lt;/DIV&gt;  &lt;DIV id=article-body&gt;  &lt;DIV id=article-content&gt;  &lt;P&gt;The role of language in the expression of arts, culture, information and   intellectual pursuits is indispensable. As today&#39;s people have become more   attuned and interested in their neighboring countries and their cultures, the   demand for multiple language voice over services has surpassed its merely   trending status and is more likely to stay for good. This is much more   applicable for voice over services.&lt;/P&gt;  &lt;P&gt;Businesses today normally demand high technological functions such as   multilingual voice recognition as well as speech to text communication. This is   particularly true for companies that involve outsourcing. Most work-relevant   tools and gadgets also demand voice over functions and more often it should be   multilingual, all these are still in line with the global village concept. This   kind of technology is the bloodline of e-learning, company presentations and   even the field of aviation. This also gives life to advertising in radio and TV   and even in the film industry hence there&#39;s a pressing need for a stable and   reliable voice over service.&lt;/P&gt;  &lt;P&gt;Voice over services are also required for any web master or online   entrepreneur who has a website for an online business or company. A landing page   or squeeze page that includes professional voice over through audio recording is   an instantaneous way to catch attention, retain the interest, and create a   connection with the users who visit it. Nothing can be more personal than the   human voice to guide the user while browsing the landing page.&lt;/P&gt;  &lt;P&gt;To ensure that the recording is done glitch-free, the recording must be done   in a sound proof recording studio fitted with crystal clear quality microphone,   headphones and speakers. Recording must be done in the presence of a sound   director, who can ensure quality and clarity and do any retakes, if needed.&lt;/P&gt;  &lt;P&gt;A reliable voice over service provider would also include indicator tools   that would determine the quality of voice produced. These tools would be able to   show the presence of factors that might affect voice quality. In this way, you   would be informed about the possible concerns you have and the varied ways to   have these resolved.&lt;/P&gt;  &lt;P&gt;Voice over services may only thrive in a Hi-Fi recording studio equipped with   best quality audio equipments &amp;amp; sound proofing acoustics and no amount of   voice over talent can surpass that need.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;  &lt;DIV id=article-resource&gt;  &lt;P&gt;Author is the multi-talented person who loves to write content on various   topics related to voice over, transcription, audio/video, dubbing etc, currently   associated with Voicecription. Voicecription is a certified company offering   high quality &lt;A href=&quot;http://www.voicecription.com/voice-over.html&quot;   target=_new&gt;voice over service&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;  &lt;P&gt;Article Source: &lt;A   href=&quot;http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Rajeev_Dixit&quot;&gt;http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rajeev_Dixit&lt;/A&gt;   &lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;</description><link>http://1stpiano.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-pressing-need-for-no-glitch-voice.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)</author><thr:total>2</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509859924911167175.post-1743021130428494338</guid><pubDate>Sat, 01 Mar 2014 00:58:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2014-02-28T16:57:23.212-08:00</atom:updated><title>How To Set Your Voice Over Production Rates</title><description>&lt;DIV id=article-body&gt;  &lt;DIV id=article-content&gt;  &lt;P&gt;By Nick Ivanov &lt;/P&gt;  &lt;P&gt;Setting rates for voice over work has always been a headache. How much should   you charge your clients for using your voice? How much should you charge your   clients for your studio facility? How much should you charge your clients for   your time spent converting the audio in the appropriate format? How much should   you charge your clients as an overall project rate?&lt;/P&gt;  &lt;P&gt;Still most talents and companies out there calculate their voice over rates   manually and I hope these articles will help understanding the basic aspects   that take part in the formation of voice over rates.&lt;/P&gt;  &lt;P&gt;So what are the different aspects of the process you should have in mind when   forming your voice over rates? Here they are:&lt;/P&gt;  &lt;P&gt;1. Media Exposure- how the content you voice will be used and exposed?&lt;/P&gt;  &lt;P&gt;Generally, there are 2 types of media content in regards of exposure:   broadcast and non-broadcast. These categories are pretty much self-explanatory   but still let me give you some examples:&lt;/P&gt;  &lt;P&gt;Broadcast media is a type of media that is meant for a public broadcast and   reaches a large audience through various media channels. Broadcast media is: TV   programs, TV series, animation, TV and radio commercials, films, video games   etc. What you need to know about setting your voice over talent fee and   production rate when you voice a broadcast content is that your voice and your   audio product are a subject to buyout compensation for a certain territory and a   certain period of time.&lt;/P&gt;  &lt;P&gt;Usually, the buyout compensation for TV content is additional 30% to your   voice over production rate (talent fee, studio recording, editing).&lt;/P&gt;  &lt;P&gt;The buyout compensation for commercials could be:&lt;/P&gt;  &lt;P&gt;- A flat rate per spot for unlimited use (all media channels, territory and a   period of time)&lt;/P&gt;  &lt;P&gt;- A flat rate per spot for limited use (media channels, territory and/or   period of time)&lt;/P&gt;  &lt;P&gt;- A % from the commercial spot voice over production fee for limited media   channels, territories and a limited period of time.&lt;/P&gt;  &lt;P&gt;What is important to know is that if you are the voice talent and the voice   over producer at the same time, you should charge for buyout compensation both   as a talent and as a producer. Artists and producers&#39; rights are stated in your   local copyright legislation and you need to be familiar with it when you sell   your services both as a talent and a producer.&lt;/P&gt;  &lt;P&gt;If you are not a union member, you might consider becoming one. Unions   usually set minimum fees for broadcast buyouts and copyrights which will help   you with setting up your buyout fees. They can also collect the buyouts for you   and provide protection and legal help if your talent or producer&#39;s rights have   been violated.&lt;/P&gt;  &lt;P&gt;Charging clients for a broadcast content usage is your legal artist and   producer&#39;s right which serious clients are familiar with and treat with respect.   It also legitimates you as a voice over professional and makes you stand out of   the crowd.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;  &lt;DIV id=article-resource&gt;  &lt;P&gt;Nick Ivanov is President/Owner at Graffitti Studio.&lt;/P&gt;  &lt;P&gt;Graffitti Studio provides media content localization services: &lt;A   href=&quot;http://graffittistudio.com/en/foreign-language-voice-over.html&quot;   target=_new&gt;foreign language voice over&lt;/A&gt;, dubbing and subtitling services in   40 European languages to the Global market. More information available at &lt;A   href=&quot;http://www.graffittistudio.com&quot;   target=_new&gt;http://www.graffittistudio.com&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;  &lt;P&gt;Article Source: &lt;A   href=&quot;http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Nick_Ivanov&quot;&gt;http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nick_Ivanov&lt;/A&gt;   &lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;</description><link>http://1stpiano.blogspot.com/2014/02/how-to-set-your-voice-over-production.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509859924911167175.post-1368471907538388706</guid><pubDate>Sat, 22 Feb 2014 02:27:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2014-02-21T18:27:05.492-08:00</atom:updated><title>Ways for Unsigned Music Artists to Earn Money Without Being Famous</title><description>&lt;DIV id=article-body&gt;  &lt;DIV id=article-content&gt;  &lt;P&gt;By Ivon Andric &lt;/P&gt;  &lt;P&gt;One of the best ways for unsigned music artists to get a breakthrough to fame   and success in the music industry is through online musical talent promotional   sites. It is not necessary for all talented musicians or singers to be   million-dollar platinum successes like Carrie Underwood or One Direction. It is   possible for unsigned music artists to enjoy a good income by selling their   music or songs on the Internet.&lt;/P&gt;  &lt;P&gt;New platform of success&lt;/P&gt;  &lt;P&gt;There are millions of web users who would be willing to pay a few bucks to   download some new song in the market even if the singer may be unknown in the   music industry. These few bucks add up to a fair bit for an unknown artist even   without being famous on the high streets. Online promotional platforms charge a   small fee to upload the unknown music as long as it is original.&lt;/P&gt;  &lt;P&gt;Good responses from the web community may lead on to greater opportunities   such as recording of song by record companies. These platforms would assist the   budding artists in securing recording opportunities with reputable recording   companies if the song is very well received by the web community. However, there   is a need to secure the necessary copyright licence to be protected from   infringement of copyrights in case there is a dispute.&lt;/P&gt;  &lt;P&gt;Some of these promotion sites offer free services until the song makes a   profit where others charge a small upload service fee. There are other sites   that allow unsigned music artists to promote their musical talents or music by   placing an online ad at their web pages. ClickBank sites offer free services   where a certain number of clicks on other online ads entitle unsigned artists a   free ad display.&lt;/P&gt;  &lt;P&gt;Alternatives&lt;/P&gt;  &lt;P&gt;Enterprising unsigned music artists may choose to set up their own website to   advertise their whole range of music without third party impositions. It is also   possible for these enterprising artists to advertise their musical pieces   through free ads or use established email ad services in the market for some   professional assistance in promotion.&lt;/P&gt;  &lt;P&gt;The availability of new technology tools and techniques with the plethora of   viable solutions makes it so easy for any musical artists to garner a good   following. There are many social media sites that can be harnessed on for   promoting the new song by aspiring artists to earn some money easily. There is   always a ready market for the aspiring and creative musicians or singers in   town.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;  &lt;DIV id=article-resource&gt;  &lt;P&gt;Are you an &lt;A href=&quot;http://www.superstartunes.com/production-beats.html&quot;   target=_new&gt;unsigned music artists&lt;/A&gt; and have produced your own music beats?   Upload your music &lt;A href=&quot;http://www.superstartunes.com/index.php&quot;   target=_new&gt;here&lt;/A&gt; &amp;amp; get exposure.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;  &lt;P&gt;Article Source: &lt;A   href=&quot;http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Ivon_Andric&quot;&gt;http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ivon_Andric&lt;/A&gt;   &lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;</description><link>http://1stpiano.blogspot.com/2014/02/ways-for-unsigned-music-artists-to-earn.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509859924911167175.post-3560815070378943094</guid><pubDate>Sun, 16 Jun 2013 18:27:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2013-06-15T21:26:51.514-07:00</atom:updated><title>How To Start Your Own Photography and Video Business In The Wedding Industry In 6 Simple Steps</title><description>&lt;DIV id=article-content&gt;  &lt;P&gt;By Alex Rojas &lt;/P&gt;  &lt;P&gt;Starting your own business in the wedding industry can be a daunting task if   you do not have the right knowledge and experience, so here are 6 simple steps   to guide in the right path.&lt;/P&gt;  &lt;P&gt;1. It is essential to learn your craft by taking on a short course that will   enhance your knowledge on working the camera. There you will learn the different   techniques of photography and video making where you can start to develop your   own style.&lt;/P&gt;  &lt;P&gt;2. Getting unpaid work experience is a great way to build up your confidence   in your own work and to build your own trust in yourself to be able to take on   jobs on your own. The best place to start gaining work experience is by working   with the best in the industry.&lt;/P&gt;  &lt;P&gt;3. Once you have gained some experience, it is a wise to offer your service   for free or for an ultra-low price so that you can get your first few gigs to   immediately start building your portfolio. There are numerous ways you can offer   your service for the 1st few times, which is by letting your family and friends   know that you have started your new business and are looking for your 1st few   gigs to get started so that you can generate your showcase. Usually there is   always someone getting married through this type of network and so it is up to   you to be able to get in contact with the engaged couples for possible work.&lt;/P&gt;  &lt;P&gt;4. Another way you can offer your services is by putting up a free Ad on   Gumtree. This is an excellent source of leads that can be generated because   usually people in gumtree are looking for absolute bargains and are more willing   to give someone a go in return.&lt;/P&gt;  &lt;P&gt;5. By creating your first few gigs, potential customers will start to become   familiar and attracted to your style. From this point forward they will start to   consider you for their wedding at your preferred fee.&lt;/P&gt;  &lt;P&gt;6. It is important that you have a website, business cards, logo, and even a   company business shirt done to help build trust and credibility to your   potential customers for the lack of a portfolio.&lt;/P&gt;  &lt;P&gt;Following these 6 simple easy steps will give you the best chance to get on   the right track to start making a living out of doing something that you   love.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;  &lt;DIV id=article-resource&gt;  &lt;P&gt;To have a look at a sample video wedding website, go to: &lt;A   href=&quot;http://www.majesticweddingproduction.com&quot;   target=_new&gt;http://www.majesticweddingproduction.com&lt;/A&gt; And for more   information regarding business consultation specific to video and photography   you can email: &lt;A   href=&quot;mailto:alexrojas.lr@gmai.com&quot;&gt;alexrojas.lr@gmai.com&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;</description><link>http://1stpiano.blogspot.com/2013/06/how-to-start-your-own-photography-and.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509859924911167175.post-6619089681824399338</guid><pubDate>Mon, 26 Dec 2011 00:12:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-12-25T01:11:03.812-08:00</atom:updated><title>The New Facebook - A Musicians Guide</title><description>&lt;DIV&gt; &lt;DIV id=article-content&gt; &lt;P&gt;By Ariel Hyatt &lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Several months ago I wrote an article on my 6 favorite Facebook apps. Since  then Facebook has relaunched with a new design and now as a musician you can  create a band / musician page.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Here is an updated version that explain how to set up a page from scratch and  my favorite apps for you!&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Getting Started &amp;amp; Ariel&#39;s Top 6 Facebook Apps For  Musicians&lt;/STRONG&gt; &lt;BR&gt;Facebook is here to stay. I know a lot of artists who are  already overwhelmed with MySpace tend to feel daunted by the whole concept of  introducing yet another social network into their lives. On September 4, 2008  Facebook launched &quot;new&quot; Facebook and the new interface is easier to use than  before.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;You won&#39;t believe how many people who you never saw around MySpace are on  Facebook. All of a sudden you will be back in touch with your babysitter from  grade school, a ton of old friends, and even the drummer from your first band.  And, if you have been resisting because you think Facebook is just for kids in  college, you are mistaken. The largest demographic on Facebook is over 25. It&#39;s  the 4th most-trafficked website in the world and it&#39;s the number one photo  sharing application. Read the full stats.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;With over 110 million active users it&#39;s here to stay so my advice is DIVE in  (if you haven&#39;t already).&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Here is a quick rundown for newbies on how to create a page as a band /  musician and my favorite apps for Musicians when pimping out your Facebook  profile!&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;FACEBOOK FOR NEWBIES - HOW TO SET UP A PROFILE&lt;/STRONG&gt;  &lt;BR&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;STEP ONE:&lt;/STRONG&gt; Create a Band / Artist Profile&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;STEP TWO:&lt;/STRONG&gt; click on the third button down, it will say:  Artist, Band, or Public Figure&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;STEP THREE:&lt;/STRONG&gt; Select Band or Musician After you select it, a  pull down menu will pop up. Select band it if you are a band, or musician if you  play solo or want to create a solo-page (you can create as many as you want so  you can create one for you and one for your band).&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;STEP FOUR:&lt;/STRONG&gt; Enter Your Name Name your page and select create  page. You are now off to the races!&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;The rest is pretty self-explanatory - you will upload your photo for your  main user icon, your bio, band members and photos and details.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;STEP FIVE:&lt;/STRONG&gt; Click Create Page Now you are live and ready to  add Apps! What is an App? It&#39;s short for application and it is simply a cool  additional tool that you can add to your page so that you can display features  such as music, photos, and videos.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Facebook has a great page that explains how to help you with apps.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;And the whole list of available apps is here: &lt;A  href=&quot;http://www.facebook.com/apps/&quot; target=_new  rel=nofollow&gt;http://www.facebook.com/apps&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Here are my top picks for musicians and links to where you can download the  apps for your own profile.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;1. Music By Reverb Nation&lt;/STRONG&gt; &lt;BR&gt;Play Your Tunes&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Musicians and bands can post unlimited songs for streaming or download, add  bios and band photos, sell your music and have your friends add your music and  share with their friends (viral marketing for you!). This app also includes  links to your homepage and you can add up to 30 of your songs (full-length) to  your Facebook Musician Page. And the best part: great stats track song-play  activity.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;2. Vod:Pod&lt;/STRONG&gt; &lt;BR&gt;Display Your Videos&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;I am a big advocate in creating small casual videos to share with your fans.  Videos are an excellent viral marketing tool. This app is the easiest way to  show your videos and your favorite videos. This is a good place to display  backstage moments, live shows and of course your music videos&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;3. zuPort &lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Show your Flickr photos&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;If you are a Flickr user zuPort automatically imports your public Flickr  photostream so you can show off even more photos to your friends. zuPort: Flickr  keeps your sets, collections, tags, comments and everything else linked so you  only have to update only once.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;4. Twitter &lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Tweet Away and Have It Synched!&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;This app allows you to update your status on Facebook straight from your  mobile phone. So you can be on the road but your Facebook page can be updated  from your van! Pretty cool eh?&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;5. Facebook Mobile &lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Bring Facebook on the go &amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;This app allows you to use Facebook on the go. With it, you can quickly to  upload photos and notes from your camera phone straight to Facebook. You can  also receive and reply to Facebook messages, pokes and Wall posts using text  messages, or use your phone&#39;s mobile browser.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;6. iCast By iLike &lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Tell your fans your news&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Send bulletins to fans with iCast, the best bulletins system on Facebook. You  can send multimedia or mobile bulletins, or just plain blogs. Your bulletins  will show not only to Facebook fans, but also via iLike across 10 different  networks. They are the go to app for communicating your music to your fans.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;7. iLike this Artist &lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;BR&gt;Show off to your fans&amp;nbsp;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Musicians, you can show off your fans on iLike on your artist page. This will  add an &quot;iLike this artist&quot; button on your page, and will show your (larger) fan  count across the entire iLike network.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt; &lt;DIV id=article-resource&gt; &lt;P&gt;Happy facebooking and please find me and join our group which features loads  of free tips for musicians:&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Ariel Hyatt founded Ariel Publicity &amp;amp; Cyber PR 11 years ago and her firm  has worked with over 1,000 musicians and bands of all genres. The Ariel  Publicity mission states that all artists deserve to be heard and there is a  place for artists of every level to receive exposure. Ariel Hyatt has managed to  place tens of thousands of artists in countless outlets from national magazines  and TV to the most grassroots online fanzines. Her company is now 100% digital  and helps artists increase their online exposure. She also runs Bandletter.com a  company that creates newsletters for musicians.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Ariel PublicityÂ&#39;s Sound Advice is a free monthly e-zine for musicians &amp;amp;  entrepreneurs who want marketing, promotion and PR tips for navigating the new  music business. Sign Up here: &lt;A href=&quot;http://www.arielpublicity.com&quot;  target=_new&gt;http://www.arielpublicity.com&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;</description><link>http://1stpiano.blogspot.com/2011/12/new-facebook-musicians-guide.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509859924911167175.post-2754867049522017826</guid><pubDate>Fri, 22 Jul 2011 01:09:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-07-21T18:10:50.447-07:00</atom:updated><title>VST Guitar - 4 Sample Based Guitar Plug-Ins for the Keyboard Player</title><description>&lt;DIV id=article-content&gt; &lt;P&gt;By Alan Williamson &lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;In a previous article I talked about a method of creating realistic live  Guitar solos using my keyboard. However, if you are like me and cannot play a  real guitar, how can you create believable guitar tracks in your home studio  when either composing, or producing audio backing tracks for your solo  performances?.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;U&gt;Well, the answer is VST. &lt;/U&gt;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Briefly, VST or (Virtual Studio Technology) is a software interface designed  by Steinberg, which allows a person to simulate either musical instruments or  studio hardware effects realistically, such as Reverb, Compression, Delay, Audio  Mastering to name just a few.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Many VST &#39;plug-ins&#39; can operate as stand-alone programs but generally they  are used (or &#39;Plugged in&#39;) to your music sequencer - Cubase, Logic or Sonar are  prime examples. There are many VST plug-ins available on the market, but for the  purpose of this article I am concentrating on the use of VST Guitar plug-ins  which, through the use of audio sampling, emulate the style and sounds of a real  guitar. (Not to be confused with just simulating Guitar Effects and Amplifier  Cabinets)&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;So, what is special about being able to emulate a Guitar?&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;This type of emulation VST Guitar plug-in uses audio samples of the actual  type of guitar that has been selected. This means that as a non Guitar player I  can realistically reproduce a guitar sound using my keyboard. Also, by the use  of the keyboard I can also affect the performance and style of the produced  sound.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;For example, I can play a chord with my right had and with my left press keys  (often at the top or bottom register of the keyboard) to produce performance  techniques such as full attack and sustain, bridge mute, slap, harmonics, fret  noise, pitch bend, strum, up/down stroke - the list goes on.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Another plus to these plug-ins is that you can control them from your Midi  tracks within your sequencer. This is useful if you are converting your midi  tracks to audio backing tracks. Let&#39;s face it, if you are using backing tracks  for your solo act, nobody wants to hear midi anymore, and the converted-to-audio  quality is so much more professional.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;U&gt;MusicLab RealGuitar&lt;/U&gt;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;One of the VST Guitar packages that I use is MusicLab&#39;s RealGuitar 2L. This  particular plug-in features 8 Acoustic guitars, including Steel, Nylon and 12  String. I have used this plug-in very successfully converting my Midi tracks and  the performance simulations are extremely realistic.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;U&gt;MusicLab RealStrat and RealLPC&lt;/U&gt;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;MusicLab have two other similar virtual VST Guitar samplers named RealStrat  and RealLPC. The first, as the named suggests, emulates the sounds and style of  the Strat Guitar. Not only does this plug-in have the usual range of control  over playing techniques and articulations, but also has its own Pattern Manager  complete with a Pattern Library, enabling the user to easily create guitar  accompaniment tracks.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;U&gt;MusicLab RealLPC&lt;/U&gt;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Next is RealLPC. This plug-in emulates a Les Paul Custom Guitar which boasts  an innovative approach to guitar sound modelling and guitar techniques. The  appeal of this high-end custom Guitar is probably because it is used by many  Guitar Heroes such as Gary Moore, Carlos Santana, Eddie Van Halen etc.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;The playability of this VST instrument is based on unique performance modes,  combined with an easy to use keyboard layout which allows the Keyboardist to  perform with whole new performance realism.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;U&gt;Vir2 Instruments Electri6ity&lt;/U&gt;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;There is one final VST Guitar sampler I want to mention, and that is Vir2  Instruments&#39; Electri6ity. In my search for &quot;the perfect&quot; VST Guitar, the most  difficult to find has been a virtual guitar which can produce stunning realistic  lead guitar - especially the heavier Rock type of solo you might hear John  Petrucci or Eddie Van Halen perform.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Electri6ity uses 8 guitars including the Les Paul, Strat, Tele and  Rickenbacker and the software incorporates more than 24,000 audio samples of  each guitar allowing you to play every articulation on every string of every  fret to produce that authentic guitar sound. Certainly for lead work, this  plug-in really rocks my boat.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;U&gt;Conclusion&lt;/U&gt;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;If you are a Keyboard Player looking to buying a VST Guitar plug-in and are a  bit unsure about which, then I hope the above has given some insight which one  may be right for you. Excellent quality VST samplers for emulation of other  instruments like Piano, Drum, Orchestral instruments etc. have been around for  quite a while, but finding that right realistic guitar emulation - especially  for lead work - has only been available, in my opinion, quite recently thanks to  more powerful computing power - handling huge quantities of high quality audio  samples in real-time, combined with a powerful and well thought out control via  your keyboard.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt; &lt;DIV id=article-resource&gt; &lt;P&gt;There are a number of excellent &lt;A href=&quot;http://www.vstguitar.com/&quot;  target=_new&gt;VST Guitar&lt;/A&gt; plug-ins available - some create virtual Guitar  realism using thousands of audio samples of various makes of Guitar, while other  plug-ins allow a REAL Guitarist to connect to a computer, and simulate hundreds  of Guitar Effects and Amplifier Cabinets.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;If you would like further information on these and other VST Guitar plug-ins,  including videos of some of these plug-ins in action, then please visit &lt;A  href=&quot;http://www.vstguitar.com&quot;  target=_new&gt;http://www.vstguitar.com&lt;/A&gt;.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;</description><link>http://1stpiano.blogspot.com/2011/07/vst-guitar-4-sample-based-guitar-plug.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509859924911167175.post-7398099761435629768</guid><pubDate>Mon, 13 Jun 2011 02:47:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-06-12T19:47:22.805-07:00</atom:updated><title>Shure Headphones for Audiophiles</title><description>&lt;DIV&gt; &lt;DIV id=article-content&gt; &lt;P&gt;Every audiophile has their preference of how they listen to their music when  they are on the go. You can choose from the many sleek designs of earphones or  you can stay with the traditional headphones.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Shure has a variety of both that are bound to fit your listening needs as  well as keep you comfortable. The Shure line of headphones and earphones are  professional quality and are suited for the serious listener.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;The technological precision that goes in to the making of these headphones  and earphones is evident in the unmatched quality of sound that comes through  them.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;There are many models of both Shure headphones and earphones you can choose  from and they all have their own style and minutely different characteristics  that set them apart from other models. There is something for everyone here, and  if you are as serious about your audio as we are about making what you use to  hear it, you will have as much fun shopping for them as you will listening to  them.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;We take pride in the fact that the bass our models deliver, the SRH840 in  particular, is not only the richest you will hear anywhere, but that the range  of highs and lows are both impressive and distinct.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;You will also be impressed with the level of sound reduction and isolation  that you will notice when using the Shure brand of headphones. This is mainly  because of the circumaural and closed back design of the pads which also make  them ergonomic. When enjoying the intricacies of Pink Floyd music for example,  the last thing you want to hear are car horns honking in the background.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;You will be pleasantly surprised to hear virtually nothing at all when  wearing Shure headphones except the music that you want to. If you are listening  back to the music that you just created, you can remain comfortable in these  headphones for a long period of time because of their design as well.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;The durability of these headphones are impressive as well. They are made of  the sturdiest and most lightweight materials on the market that make them easy  to travel with and capable of withstanding years on the road. Their collapsible  design and custom carrying bag help make sure of this.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;We have an impressive line of earphones as well which include the popular  SE530 model. As is the case with any model of earphone, or ear bud, you are not  going to get the full, wrap-around sound experience that you will with  headphones.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;The SE530 though is well known for coming the closest of all models of  earphones to the audio experience that headphones bring.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;At $500 a pop, even the most avid audio aficionado will say that they better.  These models may be on the pricey end of the spectrum, but Shure headphones are  proof positive that you get what you pay for. If you take your music seriously,  then our line of headphones and earphones are going to be well worth the price  you pay.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt; &lt;DIV id=article-resource&gt; &lt;P&gt;Looking for some great Headphones that give you the true sound you  deserve&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;I know how hard it can be to find just that so dont buy anything until you  have checked this site out &lt;A href=&quot;http://noisecancellingheadphonesx.com/&quot;  target=_new&gt;noise cancelling headphones&lt;/A&gt;.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Read my free report on what to look for when you are in the market for some  Noise Cancelling Headphones.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Why dont you check out what I have to say here &lt;A  href=&quot;http://noisecancellingheadphonesx.com/shure-se530-sound-isolating-earphones/&quot;  target=_new&gt;Shure SE530 Sound Isolating  Earphones&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;</description><link>http://1stpiano.blogspot.com/2011/06/shure-headphones-for-audiophiles.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509859924911167175.post-8890363394845584288</guid><pubDate>Sat, 14 May 2011 03:02:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-05-13T20:01:41.954-07:00</atom:updated><title>How to Choose the Right Home Cinema System</title><description>&lt;DIV&gt; &lt;DIV id=body&gt; &lt;P&gt;By Neville Booth&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Home cinemas can be the perfect accompaniment to the gadget home. It can be  difficult to decide where to begin as there is a multitude of options available  and with technology advancing all the time an installation can be out of date  almost and soon as it is installed. Ideally you want to future proof you system  as far in advance as possible to ensure you get the maximum use out of your  system. This is especially the case if you plan on spending thousand&#39;s of pounds  on a system.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Here are some helpful tips on deciding what products to choose:&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;- TV&#39;s (3D, LCD, PLASMA)- What format do you wish to watch &lt;BR&gt;What size TV  do you want &lt;BR&gt;- DVD- Standard, HD or blueray &lt;BR&gt;- 3D player, necessary if you  take the 3d route &lt;BR&gt;- TV receiver- cable digital or freeview (you will  probably have something already)but is this to be linked in &lt;BR&gt;- Sound:  dedicated home cinema system with surround sound &lt;BR&gt;Simple hi fi system &lt;BR&gt;-  Remote control: all in one or separates&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Ultimately the system that you choose will be dependent on the type of system  you want and what your budget is. To begin with there are several options  available for creating a home cinema system:&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;- DIY on a budget &lt;BR&gt;- DIY for those with lots of money &lt;BR&gt;- Professional  Installation&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;DIY Home Cinema on a budget&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;It is perfectly possible to set up a good home cinema for little cost. For  instance, if you are willing to consider a projector rather than a TV you can  get a very big TV screen for as little as £300 which is also 3d ready. You can  also pick up standard audio systems relatively cheaply and as long as you have a  aux output on the hi fi can link the TV/projector to produce cinema level  sound.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;DIY for those with lots of money&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;This is essentially the same way as the above but can be of a higher  specification dependent on the level of the budget you have.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Professional Installation&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;There are a variety of companies offering excellent professional home cinema  systems and if you are willing to spend £10,000&#39;s on the system then it is well  worth going down this route. Additionally they can link the rest of your home  into the system such as security, cameras, heating, lighting and even automated  curtains!&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt; &lt;DIV&gt; &lt;TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0&gt;   &lt;TBODY&gt;   &lt;TR&gt;     &lt;TD vAlign=top&gt;       &lt;DIV class=sig id=sig&gt;       &lt;P&gt;For more technology related articles and advice please visit &lt;A        href=&quot;http://www.freewebs.com/thetechnologystore/howtosandadvice.htm&quot;        target=_new&gt;http://www.freewebs.com/thetechnologystore/howtosandadvice.htm&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;/TD&gt;&lt;/TR&gt;&lt;/TBODY&gt;&lt;/TABLE&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt; &lt;DIV style=&quot;OVERFLOW: hidden&quot;&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;</description><link>http://1stpiano.blogspot.com/2011/05/how-to-choose-right-home-cinema-system.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509859924911167175.post-903821871533558086</guid><pubDate>Wed, 23 Feb 2011 00:14:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-02-22T16:13:03.538-08:00</atom:updated><title>4 CDs of Celtic Harp Wedding Music You Will Want for Your Wedding</title><description>&lt;DIV&gt; &lt;DIV id=body&gt; &lt;P&gt;By Marc Gunn &lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;B&gt;Haste To The Wedding by Anne Roos&lt;/B&gt;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Anne Roos performs Celtic music on the Celtic harp with accompanying  instruments. The tracks flow in the order that music flows at a wedding. Ideal  for future brides and lovers of Celtic music alike. This unique CD was recorded  live in a church, without overdubbing, to give the feeling of a live ensemble  performing at a wedding.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;B&gt;Vow: An Irish Wedding Celebration by Aine Minogue&lt;/B&gt;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;This is a beautiful CD of traditional Irish wedding ceremony music. The music  is very well-produced with a beautiful modern new age sound that could be  likened to Enya playing irish wedding music. The vocals are exquisite. The  performance is fantastic .The music is beautiful and enrapturing. All in all,  this is just a great CD and well worth the experience.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;B&gt;Princess of Flowers by Margaret Davis&lt;/B&gt;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;The instrument Margaret performs on, the Celtic Harp, is based on the  traditional British Isles instrument that predates the modern concert harp. Of  Scottish heritage herself, Margaret has created a repertoire of traditional  music from Ireland, Scotland, and England, as well as Medieval and Renaissance  music from England, France, and Germany. Find out more about her Celtic Harp  Wedding Music on her website.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;B&gt;A Celtic Renaissance Wedding by Brobdingnagian Bards&lt;/B&gt;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;No, it&#39;s not actually harp music. Instead, there&#39;s an autoharp. However, this  CD is a beautiful and mesmerizing album of romantic Celtic wedding music. In  addition to being one of the band&#39;s best-selling albums, it also receives  high-marks from wedding couples worldwide.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt; &lt;DIV&gt; &lt;TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0&gt;   &lt;TBODY&gt;   &lt;TR&gt;     &lt;TD vAlign=top&gt;       &lt;DIV class=sig id=sig&gt;       &lt;P&gt;Marc Gunn is an Irish and Scottish folk singer with a strange affinity        for Celtic ballads, drinking songs and cats. He is the lead singer for the        &lt;A href=&quot;http://www.thebards.net/&quot; target=_new&gt;Brobdingnagian Bards&lt;/A&gt;        who perform at numerous &lt;A href=&quot;http://celticweddings.bardscrier.com/&quot;        target=_new&gt;Celtic weddings&lt;/A&gt; in Central Texas. He is also &lt;A        href=&quot;http://www.celticmusicpodcast.com/&quot; target=_new&gt;Celtic music        podcaster and Irish music magazine publisher and    promoter.&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;/TD&gt;&lt;/TR&gt;&lt;/TBODY&gt;&lt;/TABLE&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;</description><link>http://1stpiano.blogspot.com/2011/02/4-cds-of-celtic-harp-wedding-music-you.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509859924911167175.post-7017047749453727983</guid><pubDate>Fri, 04 Feb 2011 03:17:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-02-03T19:17:28.255-08:00</atom:updated><title>How to Be Prepared for a Studio Recording Session</title><description>&lt;DIV&gt; &lt;DIV id=body&gt; &lt;P&gt;By David F Samuel &lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;The studio is not a place to hammer out your ideas so come to the table with  a dish that is ready to be dressed seasoned and served. You should understand  how to chart out your song before entering the recording studio and have charts  to give to all the session players involved and notes to give the engineer for  each tune.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Example for what kind of notes to give to engineer would be as follows: I  want the snare to sound sonically like the one on &quot;billie Jean&quot; from the  Thriller Album. I&#39;m looking for that tight in your face sound. Be specific for  the engineer/producer to know what you are looking for on the overall sound of  the mix.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;You should also grasp the importance of playing to a click track and have the  bpm&#39;s (beats per minute) figured out for each track beforehand.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;In order to be successful in the studio you must be able to perform to a  click track. This allows you to utilize the day and age of cutting and pasting  in the studio. Not to mention it can save you a lot of money &amp;amp;  heartache.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;For example, let&#39;s just say you killed the first chorus with the most magical  guitar part but could not find it on the remainder of the songs chorus sections.  No worries mate, we will take the magic and spread it over the whole song  fitting it in perfectly because you played to a click track. Saving you time and  money with countless takes trying to capture the same mojo you had on the first  take.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;After you have conquered the ability to play through your song by reading a  chart and playing to a click track you are now ready to venture on to find  yourself a studio to capture this masterpiece. Just remember these little  practical tips and you should be just fine.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;1. I don&#39;t care if you have Pro-Tools! I have heard demos that have come out  of million dollar studios that did not sound as good as a home studio powered by  a PC. Why is this? Most likely they could not afford the engineer that knew how  to work the million dollar studio.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;You are better off looking for a guy who has a reputation of making artist  sound great instead of looking for a high end studio. A good engineer/producer  is able to make a decent home studio recording sound closer to an L.A. recording  than an L.A. studio with a bad engineer.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;2. Make sure you listen to other recordings the studio engineer has released.  It seems simple enough but how many bands forget to do this? They get all caught  up with what equipment the studio has and what it looks like when they should be  more concerned with how good is the guy running the show.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;3. Is he personable? The engineer should be knowledgeable but he should also  be very personable. You don&#39;t want to be spending 8 hours a day in a studio with  a guy who is a tool to work with. Find a good balance of character. This is your  baby you are investing in.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;4. Bring your favorite albums to reference sounds with. This will help out  tremendously in your communication efforts with your engineer. For example if  you love the way the drum kit sounds in U2&#39;s Joshua tree album bring it so he  can have an idea of how they are tracking the kit. He should be able to get a  good idea on what kind of reverb they are using, did they use close miking  techniques and how they mixed it all from taking a quick listen to your CD that  you brought in. You can use this same idea to tell him about guitars, vocals  production etc.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;5. Be ready to be under the microscope. Prepare yourself to be humbled  through the studio experience. If you have never done any recording before this  can be a horrifying experience. The truth is you are never as good as you think  you are. In the studio there is a saying, &quot;The tape never lies.&quot; I have had  clients swear they did not sound like that. There must be something wrong with  the recording. It is quite embarrassing for me and them.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;6. If you are entering the recording sessions with a band make a pack with  them; a signed contract if you have to saying that you will not break up after  the recording project. There is nothing more strenuous on a band than the  recording process. You are totally naked before one another not to mention a  stranger ( the engineer ) who is in the room with you at all times poking and  prodding at you.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;7. The last but most important thing to remember is this. Do not be married  to your ideas when you go to record them in the studio. The recording process is  where you will realize if the ideas are good or not.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;You might realize the track needs to slow down for the chorus to really soar.  Maybe a verse needs to be dropped in order to get to the listener to the hook  more quickly? You never really know until the recording process truly begins so  be prepared for a few changes. Come with an open heart and mind and surrender to  the song. We are a slave to the music.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Enjoy the gift of creating music!&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt; &lt;DIV&gt; &lt;TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0&gt;   &lt;TBODY&gt;   &lt;TR&gt;     &lt;TD vAlign=top&gt;       &lt;DIV class=sig id=sig&gt;       &lt;P&gt;If you would like to hear a few of my studio recordings you can        download them absolutely free click here for free tracks &lt;A        href=&quot;http://www.thedavidsamuelproject.com/davidsamuel&quot;        target=_new&gt;http://www.thedavidsamuelproject.com/davidsamuel&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;/TD&gt;&lt;/TR&gt;&lt;/TBODY&gt;&lt;/TABLE&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;</description><link>http://1stpiano.blogspot.com/2011/02/how-to-be-prepared-for-studio-recording.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509859924911167175.post-3440329250863845007</guid><pubDate>Fri, 19 Nov 2010 00:51:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-11-18T16:49:29.460-08:00</atom:updated><title>Why Is DUBTurbo the Best Beat Making Software?</title><description>&lt;DIV id=body&gt; &lt;P&gt;By Ryan Gill &lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Why Is DUBTurbo The Best Beat Maker? Read This And Find Out...&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;If you want to make your own music online or on your computer then you may  well have heard of DUBTurbo. If you haven&#39;t it will not be long before you  do!&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Especially if you are interested in making real rap, dance and pretty much  any electronic music that you can think off.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;So why should you pick DUBTurbo?&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Well there are a few different options out there but the problem is that most  of them are for people that really know what they are doing.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;You will need to know how to master, record and have a recording studio with  all of the features and equipment in order to use high end solutions like Cubase  or Fruity Loops. Of course if you have got the money and a few years to spare  while you learn all about production this might suit you.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;For most of us however that want to start this new awesome hobby it is not  feasible to spend this much money, especially not knowing whether or not you  will like it!&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Well this is where DUBTurbo comes in and it gives you most of the functions  of a high end beat maker but has been made for the complete beginner so you will  be able to pick it up and start running with it!&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;There are others out there but they really do not give you the quality  DUBTurbo does and here is the main reason:&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;We had a look and found some beat makers that just use.mp3&#39;s, sure you will  get a smaller file size but you will LOSE quality. Plus and this is a big one,  try and sell your beat as an.mp3 file and you will get laughed at.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;You see when you sell your beats you will need to split your track into  separate pieces like the drum track, the keys, etc...&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Also you will need to export a .wav file that is Stereo 44.1 which is studio  quality!&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;This is what makes DUBTurbo the best choice as you have all the features of  the more in-depth solutions above but also easy enough for anyone to use!&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;You will also be able to save your beats and burn onto CD and take them with  you!&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt; &lt;DIV&gt; &lt;TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0&gt;   &lt;TBODY&gt;   &lt;TR&gt;     &lt;TD vAlign=top&gt;       &lt;DIV class=sig id=sig&gt;       &lt;P&gt;Check out the full site at: &lt;A        href=&quot;http://www.wix.com/generationlead10/probeatmaker&quot; target=_new&gt;Click        Here!&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;/TD&gt;&lt;/TR&gt;&lt;/TBODY&gt;&lt;/TABLE&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt; &lt;DIV&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/DIV&gt;</description><link>http://1stpiano.blogspot.com/2010/11/why-is-dubturbo-best-beat-making.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509859924911167175.post-8965218890683736679</guid><pubDate>Wed, 10 Nov 2010 03:41:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-11-09T19:40:53.059-08:00</atom:updated><title>Review - Yamaha YPG635 88 Key Weighted Portable Grand Piano</title><description>&lt;DIV&gt;&lt;FONT size=2&gt; &lt;DIV id=body&gt; &lt;P&gt;By Christopher Braun &lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Combine a great sounding piano sound with attractive wood finish, then add in  a host of useful and advanced features and the Yamaha YPG-635 88 key weighted  portable grand piano might just be the perfect portable digital piano for you.  After this review, you will know significantly more about the YPG-635 including  its pros and cons and other important considerations you should be aware  about.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Overview&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;The Yamaha YPG-635 digital piano comes with standard 64 note polyphony, a  two-way speaker system (separate woofers and tweeters), a handy digital display,  a multi track recorder, built-in reverb effects and digital signal processing  (DSP) which adds different special effects.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;If that&#39;s not enough, Yamaha also throws in a fully adjustable metronome is  also available together with a total of 130 voices, 12 special effects and drums  kits, and 361 &lt;EM&gt;XGlite&lt;/EM&gt; voices. That&#39;s quite an impressive list of voices  and features for a piano of this modest cost.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;The Good&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;For me, the big selling point of the Yamaha YPG-635 portable grand piano is  the piano action which is very similar to a real piano. Just like a real  acoustic piano, the weighed hammer standard action keys enables responsiveness  and a touch that feels heavier on the low parts and lighter on the high notes.  Every time I play this model when I see it in a music store I&#39;m always blown  away by how fun it is to play.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Equally impressive is the pleasing quality of the grand piano sound which is  all made possible by Yamaha&#39;s proprietary &lt;EM&gt;AWM &lt;/EM&gt;technology which produces  exquisitely realistic sounds. What makes sound quality even better is the  digital signal processing which enhances the overall sound quality of the piano  and really takes it to the next level.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;I can&#39;t let this review go by without mentioning the aesthetic quality of  this model. The neutral wood accents really make one of the most attractive  portable pianos I&#39;ve seen in a long while and make it the perfect addition to  any room.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;The Bad&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Sometimes I found myself overwhelmed by the sheer number of features the  YPG-635 has. As someone who just likes to sit down and play the piano it can get  overwhelming. However, once you read the manual and figure out what each button  does you&#39;ll have no problems.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Another possible downside for this model would be its small display which can  be quite of a hindrance to those who are relying on the display for digital  sheet music while playing. Sadly, there is no available option to make it  bigger.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Unless you are using an external amplifier, the volume of the speakers might  actually be disappointing to those who play with the YPG-635 in front of a live  audience.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Final Verdict&lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Overall, the Yamaha YPG-635 88 key portable grand piano is a terrific buy  considering its realistic grand piano sound and authentic piano action. When you  take into account the incredible number of features that Yamaha has packed into  this piano, nothing can come close. Somehow Yamaha has found that elusive sweet  spot of sound, action, features and price. That&#39;s quite a remarkable achievement  in a very competitive market.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Despite a few minor annoyances, this model scores so amazingly well on every  criteria that I don&#39;t hesitate to give the flagship Yamaha YPG-635 top marks all  around. So when it comes to looking for a great portable digital piano for a  reasonable cost, this particular model should be the first model on your list to  consider.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt; &lt;DIV&gt; &lt;TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0&gt;   &lt;TBODY&gt;   &lt;TR&gt;     &lt;TD vAlign=top&gt;       &lt;DIV class=sig id=sig&gt;       &lt;P&gt;For a more in-depth reviews and ratings of the Yamaha YPG-635 and other        popular digital pianos, check out pianist Christopher Braun&#39;s website &lt;A        href=&quot;http://digitalpianosreviewed.com/&quot;        target=_new&gt;DigitalPianosReviewed.com&lt;/A&gt;.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;/TD&gt;&lt;/TR&gt;&lt;/TBODY&gt;&lt;/TABLE&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;</description><link>http://1stpiano.blogspot.com/2010/11/review-yamaha-ypg635-88-key-weighted.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509859924911167175.post-6836347463879674522</guid><pubDate>Fri, 29 Oct 2010 00:36:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-10-28T17:34:40.138-07:00</atom:updated><title>Thinking of Buying a Second-hand Piano Privately?</title><description>&lt;DIV&gt;&lt;FONT size=2&gt; &lt;DIV id=body&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;FONT size=2&gt;By David A Robinson &lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Hundreds of second-hand pianos change hands privately every year. Only a mall  number are in good playing condition. We know for buying second-hand pianos and  preparing them for resale is an important part of our business. Of the many  pianos offered to us we actually buy fewer than one in ten of them - and almost  every one needs work on it to a greater or lesser extent&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;When looking for a piano it is important to remember two things.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Pianos are not all of the same quality.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Before 1914, in the boom years of piano sales, huge numbers were made in  small workshops to satisfy the demand for cheap pianos. They were of poor  quality when new and hundreds are still around, several generations later, in  dreadful condition.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;There were some excellent pianos made in the 1920&#39;s and 1930&#39;s. They are now  60,70,80, years old - nearly old age in the lifespan of a piano. If they have  been well maintained during their life they can still be good instruments, but  if they have been neglected or abused they will be tired, second rate  pianos.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Some will be &quot;the family heirloom&quot; passed down through several generations,  much loved but often unplayed and neglected. Such pianos may have sentimental  value to their owners but their true worth, as a playing piano, may be nil.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Pianos do not last forever &lt;/STRONG&gt;&lt;BR&gt;A piano is made up of around  5000 parts many of which move. Although enormously strong and heavy it is very  complicated and sensitive to damp, dryness, changes in temperature, wear and  tear and neglect.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;A good piano, well maintained, has much the same useful lifespan as a human -  few are in really good shape after 80 years! Remember that the piano you buy  will probably be the only one you ever buy so look for the youngest and best  quality instrument you can find.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;So What Should I Look For In A Second-hand Piano?&lt;/STRONG&gt; &lt;BR&gt;Very  few people have any technical knowledge about pianos. The list below will give  you an idea of some of the problems often found in second-hand pianos.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Sticking keys or hammers&lt;/STRONG&gt; &lt;BR&gt;This is usually the result of  being in a damp atmosphere. The felt absorbs moisture, swells and movement is  restricted. If only one or two notes are sticking it may be possible to ease  them. If lots are sticking the action (i.e. the moving parts inside the piano)  probably needs to be dismantled and rebuilt. Expensive!&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Noisy keys or noise from the action&lt;/STRONG&gt; &lt;BR&gt;A sign of wear. A  tuner may be able to make adjustments to lessen the unwanted noises but if it is  badly worn a rebuild will be required.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Hard Tone&lt;/STRONG&gt; &lt;BR&gt;Probably the result of worn and compressed  hammer felts. If they are not too badly worn they may be able to be reshaped.  Really heavily worn hammers cannot be treated in this way and new hammerheads  need to be fitted.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Dull, dead tone&lt;/STRONG&gt; &lt;BR&gt;This may be partially due to worn  hammers but is more likely to indicate that the piano strings have lost their  original suppleness and need replacing. This is a major undertaking and only  high quality pianos can justify the cost.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;The dull tone may also be the result of splits having developed in the wooden  soundboard. These can be repaired but, again, it is only worth doing this to  really good pianos.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Out of tune&lt;/STRONG&gt; &lt;BR&gt;Every piano goes out of tune as the tension  in the strings changes slightly. If the entire piano is out of tune it is  probably because it has not been tuned for some time. Depending upon how far it  has fallen below pitch one or more tunings should put this right.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;If, However, only one section of a few notes is really very badly out of tune  and is clearly very much worse than the rest of the piano, this signals really  problems. IT si likely that the tuning plank has lost its ability to hold the  tuning pins tightly enough to keep tension on the strings. It is common on  pianos made before the 1960&#39;s. They were not built to withstand the dry  atmospheres created by modern central heating systems. The timber loses moisture  and shrinks, the pins go slack and the piano is beyond economical repair and  useless for playing purposes. Avoid at all costs.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Woodworm&lt;/STRONG&gt; &lt;BR&gt;More common in older pianos. They attack the  timber - look for small holes and tiny heaps of wood dust. To check, the piano  needs to be dismantled as far as practicable and closely examined with a torch.  Look behind it and under the keyboard. Avoid anything that has or has had  woodworm.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Moths and mice&lt;/STRONG&gt; &lt;BR&gt;Damage the felt hammers, dampers and key  washers. Minor damage is not important but extensive damage is costly to put  right.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Cracked frames&lt;/STRONG&gt; &lt;BR&gt;The strings are carried on a cast iron  frame. Examine the entire frame carefully with a torch. Although cracked frames  are not common, should the frame be cracked the piano is a write off.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Uneven piano keys&lt;/STRONG&gt; &lt;BR&gt;Kneel down until your eyes are level  with the piano keys. They should be level along the whole length. If they are  not they will need to be adjusted by a skilled piano tuner to make the piano  easier to play.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;If the keys form an arc with either a rise or a depression in the centre it  is probable that the wooden frame on which the keys sit has warped. Avoid.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Pedals not working&lt;/STRONG&gt; &lt;BR&gt;The pedals are connected to the  action by levers. If the levers are dislodged the &quot;loud&quot; or &quot;soft&quot; pedals will  not work. Relatively simple to put right but best done by a piano tuner.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Casework&lt;/STRONG&gt; &lt;BR&gt;The condition of the casework has no bearing on  whether the piano plays properly or not. The heart of the piano is inside - the  casework is largely decorative. A clean attractive case can conceal a total  wreck inside. Never buy a second hand piano just because the case work looks  good or will match your room.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;If you do find a piano which plays well but has casework in poor condition  remember that although pianos can be stripped and repolished the cost is such  that only pianos of really good quality can ever justify the expense.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Avoid&lt;/STRONG&gt; &lt;BR&gt;* Pianos with fretwork fronts - very old &lt;BR&gt;*  Pianos with candlesticks or candlestick marks (look carefully). They are likely  to be at least 90 years old. &lt;BR&gt;* Pianos with flowers and garlands inlaid.  Pretty but again pre-1914. &lt;BR&gt;* Pianos with heavily carved legs &lt;BR&gt;* Pianos  with wooden pedals with brass button ends &lt;BR&gt;* Pianos advertised as &quot;suit  beginner&quot;. They are almost without exception dreadful pianos which the owner  wants to get rid of and are usually totally unsuitable for any pianist. &lt;BR&gt;*  Pianos with wooden frames. &lt;BR&gt;* Pianos stored in garages or outhouses. We&#39;ve  yet to come across one in decent condition after being stored in an outhouse.  &lt;BR&gt;* Pianos which have not been tuned or played for years.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Buy if possible&lt;/STRONG&gt; &lt;BR&gt;Overstrung pianos i.e. the bass and  treble strings cross over each other &lt;BR&gt;Pianos which were new from the 1950&#39;s  on. They are best in central heating &lt;BR&gt;Pianos which have been regularly tuned  and maintained. Ask who the piano tuner is and check with him on the condition  of the piano - he will remember it.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Extra costs&lt;/STRONG&gt; &lt;BR&gt;Remember that in addition to the cost of the  piano you will have the expense of&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Advertising&lt;/STRONG&gt; &lt;BR&gt;* Following up any pianos offered (mileage,  time and frustration!) &lt;BR&gt;* Transport, especially if stairs are involved &lt;BR&gt;*  Tuning once in your home &lt;BR&gt;* Essential repairs recommended by the tuner&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Together this generally adds up to around £200 and my be very much more if  your piano needs a lot of work.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;Expert Advice&lt;/STRONG&gt; &lt;BR&gt;The person selling the piano may genuinely  be unaware of the faults in their piano (and some may well be aware but say  nothing!) Before you buy privately please, please ask a reputable independent  piano tuner to check the piano for you. He will charge you for this but may save  you wasting money through buying a bad piano. We regret that because we may well  be competing against you to purchase the piano in which you are interested we  cannot be considered to be impartial and cannot provide this service.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;STRONG&gt;How much should I pay?&lt;/STRONG&gt; &lt;BR&gt;An impossible question to answer  since the value depends upon its original quality, present condition, age and  how much it will cost to bring it into proper playing condition.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;One word of advice though- never, ever buy a piano simply because it is  cheap. Cheap pianos are cheap because they are usually worthless as playing  instruments. There may be rare cases where good quality pianos are sold below  their true market value but your chance of coming across this kind of bargain is  about the same as winning the lottery.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Equally do not think that by paying more to a private seller that it  guarantees that you are buying a good quality piano. Most piano owners have a  greatly inflated idea of how much their piano is worth and ask a price which may  have no relation to its age, condition or true value.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;We have to repeat - before you part with money please get a report from an  independent tuner.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt; &lt;DIV&gt; &lt;TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0&gt;   &lt;TBODY&gt;   &lt;TR&gt;     &lt;TD vAlign=top&gt;       &lt;DIV class=sig id=sig&gt;       &lt;P&gt;Dave Robinson is a web expert who works with Bruce Millers in Aberdeen.        They are 100 year old musical instrument supplier with a wealth of        knowledge about &lt;A        href=&quot;http://www.brucemillersdirect.co.uk/pianos-&amp;amp;-keyboards/&quot;        target=_new&gt;pianos and  keyboards&lt;/A&gt;.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;/TD&gt;&lt;/TR&gt;&lt;/TBODY&gt;&lt;/TABLE&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;</description><link>http://1stpiano.blogspot.com/2010/10/thinking-of-buying-second-hand-piano.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509859924911167175.post-1386251219669226298</guid><pubDate>Thu, 14 Oct 2010 04:03:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-10-13T21:03:51.457-07:00</atom:updated><title>Music Promotion Companies - Don&#39;t Get Ripped Off!</title><description>&lt;DIV&gt;&lt;FONT size=2&gt; &lt;DIV id=body&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;FONT size=2&gt;By Chris Rockett &lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Music promotion companies are great for bands who have a little bit of a  marketing budget. You can get more fans and more success without having to spend  hours and hours every day in front of the computer spamming the social networks  and record companies.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;I think it&#39;s a crime that so many musicians spend two to three hours a day  promoting their music, then spend only an hour a week actually producing any  songs.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;There is a little sum I like to do that keeps me on track with my music  marketing. It goes like this...&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Spend 80% of your time making music.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Spend 20% of your time marketing music.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;The 20% may be two hours a week talking and working with music promotion  companies creating a marketing plan.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Making better and better music is like rocket fuel for all your marketing  efforts because suddenly people will be falling in love with what you do and the  real fans will start rolling in.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;I have a dream....&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Let&#39;s say you&#39;re in a band with four other dudes...&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Now you go to them and say you have an idea that if you all put in $300 a  month, you could employ a music promotion company. This will help you play  bigger and bigger shows and easily pay the costs.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;It will be a hard sell, but if you can pull it off you will be able to hire  one of the great music promotion companies out there.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;But what will they do for you?&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;- Radio Promotion: Now your music will be blasted out and promoted to all the  top national and local stations.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;- Online Music Magazines and Ezines: There are too many to count and it would  take you hours to do this yourself.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;- Blogs: Some people call them the new A&amp;amp;R, and your music promotion  companies will have a big list.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;- Directories: Full of fans looking for new music.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;- Music Podcasts: Another great place to pick up new fans.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;- Indie Record Labels: Get a small deal then move to a major. Works like  magic!&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt; &lt;DIV&gt; &lt;TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0&gt;   &lt;TBODY&gt;   &lt;TR&gt;     &lt;TD vAlign=top&gt;       &lt;DIV class=sig id=sig&gt;       &lt;P&gt;&lt;B&gt;I got your back...&lt;/B&gt;&lt;/P&gt;       &lt;P&gt;To learn the No1 secret to working with Music Promotion Companies click        here: &lt;A        href=&quot;http://www.promoteyourmusic.net/music-promotion/music-promotion-companies-2&quot;        target=_new&gt;Music promotion companies&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/P&gt;       &lt;P&gt;To learn the music marketing methods I used to sell 2000 CDs myself        without spending a dime penny sign up here: &lt;A        href=&quot;http://www.promoteyourmusic.net/get-signed/record-labels-looking-for-artists&quot;        target=_new&gt;Record Labels Looking for  Artists&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;/TD&gt;&lt;/TR&gt;&lt;/TBODY&gt;&lt;/TABLE&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;</description><link>http://1stpiano.blogspot.com/2010/10/music-promotion-companies-dont-get.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509859924911167175.post-940298351321418157</guid><pubDate>Thu, 09 Sep 2010 06:46:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-09-08T23:46:19.061-07:00</atom:updated><title>Sonic Producer Software - Beat Makers Special</title><description>&lt;DIV&gt;&lt;FONT size=2&gt; &lt;DIV id=body&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;FONT size=2&gt;By Rebbeca Stone &lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Do you want to have Sonic Producer software to help you create your own  beats? Well, is you are then I cannot blame you, because personally this  software has also allowed me to make and form my own brand of music and beats  that sound professional. I like this product so much, and I find the technology  very intuitive and user friendly.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;The Sonic Producer software in my experience is created ahead of its time.  What I mean is that, although there are a lot of other beat making software  available online who seem to offer similar services as the Sonic Producer  software does, but I find that they pale in comparison. Not only did the Sonic  Producer software seem to anticipate the need of every musician, but the quality  of sound it produces is just simply amazing.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;The things I like about this product are the following:&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt; It includes production lessons. In it, it discusses all about Pro Tools,  lessons in keyboard and other instruments and also included is software  instruments. This means that you do not only have the chance to create your own  beats for music, you also have the opportunity to learn to use other musical  instruments for your blends.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt; The membership area allows members to download all the high quality  instrumentals, which you can enjoy the use of as well.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt; It save your music in MP3 format which makes it very convenient for you to  enjoy your music anytime and easier also to share your creations.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt; For those still deciding on what to get, the Sonic Producer software  manufacturers even have free online demos which anyone can easily avail of. This  online demo is really great as it allows us musician and artists a like to have  a real feel of the equipment even before we make a commitment in purchasing it.  Is this not great or what? And to top it all, this online demo is absolutely  free of charge so you can experiment all you want and enjoy the use of the  software, without fear of buying something that is not tested or not suited to  your needs.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;What I have enumerated are just some of the features of the Sonic Producer  software that really made it the best for me. Do not just take my word on it and  try it out for yourself and experience real pleasure in creating such great  beats for your music.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt; &lt;DIV&gt; &lt;TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0&gt;   &lt;TBODY&gt;   &lt;TR&gt;     &lt;TD vAlign=top&gt;       &lt;DIV class=sig id=sig&gt;       &lt;P&gt;Sonic Producer Software - Beat Makers Special read more on &lt;A        href=&quot;http://www.sonicproducerbeatmaking.com/&quot; target=_new&gt;Sonic Producer        review&lt;/A&gt;. Read about how I make hip hop beats at home on my &amp;gt; &lt;A        href=&quot;http://www.sonicproducerbeatmaking.com/&quot; target=_new&gt;The Best Beat        Making Software&lt;/A&gt;  blog&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;/TD&gt;&lt;/TR&gt;&lt;/TBODY&gt;&lt;/TABLE&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;</description><link>http://1stpiano.blogspot.com/2010/09/sonic-producer-software-beat-makers.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509859924911167175.post-3611199864593955659</guid><pubDate>Tue, 29 Jun 2010 03:26:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-06-28T20:25:10.188-07:00</atom:updated><title>Flat Screen TV Mounts</title><description>&lt;DIV&gt;&lt;FONT size=2&gt; &lt;DIV id=body&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;FONT size=2&gt;By David Patullo &lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;The device that holds flat screen televisions in a stable or fixed position  are known as a TV mounts. There are mounts that can be used to hang the new  types of televisions on the wall there are also mounts that can stand on a desk  or on the floor depending on the size of the television.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Flat screen TV mounts are devices that are necessary to hang a flat screen  television. The mounts usually come with a complete kit that is needed to mount  the television. There are things that need to be noted before installing the  device. Flat screen TV mounts should not be placed near the sources of heat as  this may cause damage to the flat screen TV in place. It should be placed on a  stable platform or floor area; this is to prevent wobbling of the flat screen TV  in place. If the mount is intended for wall installation it is necessary to  ensure that there are no electrical or any house hold cable connection behind  the target area of placement.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;The tools you need to install the TV mounts are a screw driver, a stud  finder, a power drill, a small hammer and a wrench. The time it will take you to  install the mount and the television on it depend on the size of the TV; larger  ones may require two persons to install.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;The mounts can be purchased on any stores or hardware that offers electronics  and entertainment gadgets. It is also possible to shop online for these mounts  you just have to make sure it is compatible with your TV. It is best to canvass  for the prices of flat screen TV mounts. There are online reviews that are also  helpful in making your decision. Today&#39;s modern day televisions are designed to  be mounted making it necessary to have flat screen TV mounts as a  requirement.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;There are different kinds of TV mounts, there are those that can be rotated  and face the position that you may desire. This is a simple way of handling the  viewing angle of your TV; the cost of TV mount is dependent on the materials it  is made of. Some wall mounts have ball bearing rotators that are made of  titanium and some are made of stamped metal. Of course the titanium material  would cost higher compared to other materials in use.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;The most important thing to take note in considering a TV mount is if it is  solid and sturdy, ensuring that it is capable of holding the entire weight of  your TV. If the mount is of poor quality it may damage your TV. You should be  careful then in making your decisions when buying for a flat screen TV mount. If  it is for a wall installation not only should you ensure the integrity of your  mount you should also make sure that your wall is stable enough to hold such  weight. Sometimes we have the right tools and devices but have the wrong area of  emplacements. In any case we have to be careful before making installation of  our flat screen TV and mounts the area of installation should be a primary  consideration as well.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt; &lt;DIV&gt; &lt;TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0&gt;   &lt;TBODY&gt;   &lt;TR&gt;     &lt;TD vAlign=top&gt;       &lt;DIV class=sig id=sig&gt;       &lt;P&gt;David has been writing articles for nearly 2 years. Come visit his        latest website that helps people find the best &lt;A        href=&quot;http://bestflatscreentvcenter.com/&quot; target=_new&gt;flat screen tv&lt;/A&gt;        and the best &lt;A        href=&quot;http://bestflatscreentvcenter.com/16/50-inch-televisions/&quot;        target=_new&gt;50 inch televisions&lt;/A&gt; to buy when making their next        television  purchase.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;/TD&gt;&lt;/TR&gt;&lt;/TBODY&gt;&lt;/TABLE&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;</description><link>http://1stpiano.blogspot.com/2010/06/flat-screen-tv-mounts.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509859924911167175.post-2542555322974849800</guid><pubDate>Fri, 25 Jun 2010 02:08:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-06-24T19:07:48.340-07:00</atom:updated><title>Can Crowdsourcing Solve the 3 Toughest Issues of Music Licensing?</title><description>&lt;DIV&gt;&lt;FONT size=2&gt; &lt;DIV id=body&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;FONT size=2&gt;By Scott J McIntosh&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Music licensing can be boiled down to three tasks - locating the perfect  song, negotiating a license for that song, and agreeing on a price. These are  not simple tasks though and have long required multiple entities to complete the  process. The Internet, however, has made these tasks less difficult as of late  and the new process of crowdsourcing may be the simplest way to quickly complete  all three.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;It&#39;s no secret that locating the perfect music for commercials, film, or  television can be a daunting task. With thousands of new songs being uploaded to  the web weekly, quickly filtering through them to locate specific types of music  that are best matches for a project is simply not possible. This may be the  reason that studios and music supervisors continue to work with labels and  publishers to license mainstream music as opposed to working with new  independents. Even though it is more expensive and can be difficult to license  music from these entities, these are songs that are well known and don&#39;t require  an extensive search. Another benefit is that these songs are proven hits and  already familiar to the audience.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Consider, however, the much easier process of just explaining the type of  music needed in advance and having songwriters search their libraries or compose  new songs to fit the project. The crowdsourcing model is perfect for this  scenario because it allows the person or studio needing music to describe  exactly what they need beforehand. Then songwriters just pitch matching songs as  a bid to win the project. This saves those needing music the time required to  search through multiple songwriters&#39; catalogs or music licensing firms&#39; catalogs  trying to locate particular types of songs. Instead, the music comes to them in  a single location designed to help them quickly hear, rate, and eliminate songs  as they are submitted.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;The other issues when licensing songs are negotiating the actual license  agreement and price for use of the music. Of course, this is a more daunting  task when working with labels and publishers as the prices will be much higher  to accommodate for all the included parties. Working directly with independents  can reduce costs but may be more difficult when licensing questions come up.  Most independents won&#39;t have a licensing department working on their behalf to  discuss different options. This can backfire when contracts become too difficult  to be easily understood by songwriters who are not familiar with the  process.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;By using the crowdsourcing method, the song licensing contract and price  being paid would be shown in advance. Only songwriters and composers who agreed  with the license and payment would enter their songs for consideration. So by  using crowdsourcing, those needing music would describe what they are looking  for and establish the price and license in advance. Then all they need to do is  sit back while songwriters submit custom music. In this scenario, the process  almost works in reverse, the price and license is preset and the music is  located after. It is not a search process though to locate the music as the  music will just arrive from composers all over the world thanks to the  internet.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Crowdsourcing songwriters and composers may not be the all-in-one solution  when it comes to &lt;A href=&quot;http://musikpitch.com&quot; target=_new rel=nofollow&gt;music  licensing&lt;/A&gt;. But to quickly get custom songs composed for many projects,  crowdsourcing is one of the better solutions available online.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt; &lt;DIV&gt; &lt;TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0&gt;   &lt;TBODY&gt;   &lt;TR&gt;     &lt;TD vAlign=top&gt;       &lt;DIV class=sig id=sig&gt;       &lt;P&gt;Scott McIntosh&lt;/P&gt;       &lt;P&gt;MusikPitch allows anyone needing &lt;A href=&quot;http://musikpitch.com&quot;        target=_new&gt;custom songs&lt;/A&gt; for film, jingles, videos, or other projects        to run a song contest. Just describe the music you need, set a price you&#39;d        like to pay, and sit back as songwriters around the world compete to        win.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;/TD&gt;&lt;/TR&gt;&lt;/TBODY&gt;&lt;/TABLE&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;</description><link>http://1stpiano.blogspot.com/2010/06/can-crowdsourcing-solve-3-toughest.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509859924911167175.post-1634425019815657595</guid><pubDate>Wed, 16 Jun 2010 08:35:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-06-16T01:34:58.302-07:00</atom:updated><title>Tips to Make Your Own Karaoke CD</title><description>&lt;DIV&gt;&lt;FONT size=2&gt; &lt;DIV id=body&gt; &lt;P&gt;&lt;FONT size=2&gt;By Mishaun Taylor &lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Having your own karaoke system will provide you with one of the most awesome  and inspiring entertainment activities you could ever own. You get to practice  in your privacy of your home, or have a karaoke party anywhere you want - home,  office, school, or even outdoors in the park, club, or beach.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;The requirements are pretty basic such as:&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt; A computer, desktop or laptop &lt;BR&gt; A CD writer that is capable of handling  CD+G, WAV, and MP3 files &lt;BR&gt; Speakers &lt;BR&gt; Microphone &lt;BR&gt; Writable blank  CDs &lt;BR&gt; Karaoke Software&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;The key to writing your karaoke CD is to make sure your software is the right  one. This ultimately means a paid software like Singing Superstar that will not  scam or infect your computer. Freeware can be very risky because there is a  price to pay - your computer could be exposed to a host of malicious files that  could damage system and data files, and be very difficult to remove. Other  peripherals like the microphone, speakers, and CDs can be either branded or a  lesser known device.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Here are some tips you can adopt when creating your karaoke library:&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt; Create a folder for your karaoke songs so that easy retrieval is possible.  You can enjoy song after song without having to search all over for them. This  will be especially useful when you&#39;re singing as a group or having a karaoke  party. &lt;BR&gt; If you download a karaoke voice remover software like Singing  Superstar or another type of software, you won&#39;t need to buy the CDs, or go  through a lengthy process just to make one CD. A software like this will create  the karaoke CD in minutes. You can even take extra time to label your CDs  according to genre or singer. In fact, with a software like the Singing  Superstar, you won&#39;t even have to burn karaoke CDs since you can store them in  your computer. &lt;BR&gt; Some karaoke software is licensed to sell, so make sure the  software you finally decide to use is also licensed &lt;BR&gt; Be sure to separate  the karaoke songs from the regular songs because it will save you time in the  long run &lt;BR&gt; A CDR disk can contain up to 18 songs, depending on the length of  each song, so before you start burning your karaoke CDs, group them into batches  of 18 &lt;BR&gt; The CDs you should buy should be 6x and 4x&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;The key to building your hard copies for your karaoke library is  organization. Aside from the hardware, you should have proper filing bins,  labels and even index cards to help you find CDs easily. Take your time when  planning your karaoke song library because if you do it right the first time,  then you won&#39;t have to re-do everything again.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;You should also have a system which can track down your karaoke CDs so that  if anyone borrows any, you have a file. With the huge popularity of karaoke  parties today, no doubt once people know you have an extensive hard copy  library, they&#39;ll be making a beeline to borrow what they can.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt; &lt;DIV&gt; &lt;TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0&gt;   &lt;TBODY&gt;   &lt;TR&gt;     &lt;TD vAlign=top&gt;       &lt;DIV class=sig id=sig&gt;       &lt;P&gt;How would you like to save a ton of money and still have the best        karaoke tracks available? &lt;A href=&quot;http://www.softwarevocalremover.com&quot;        target=_new&gt;Karaoke Software&lt;/A&gt; will tell you how to create your own        karaoke tracks from the music you already have, saving money and ensuring        tons of  fun!&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;/TD&gt;&lt;/TR&gt;&lt;/TBODY&gt;&lt;/TABLE&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;</description><link>http://1stpiano.blogspot.com/2010/06/tips-to-make-your-own-karaoke-cd.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509859924911167175.post-6633335771721266629</guid><pubDate>Wed, 26 May 2010 15:42:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-05-25T18:41:40.939-07:00</atom:updated><title>Whether You&#39;re a Beginner Or Pro, Dean Acoustic Guitars Rock Since 1976</title><description>&lt;DIV&gt; &lt;DIV id=body&gt; &lt;P&gt;By Robert Dant &lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Currently owned by Armadillo Enterprises, in Tampa, Florida, the Dean creates  many types of guitars. When a search for the perfect electric bass guitar is on  the rock and roll agenda, look no further, a Dean would be a great choice  whether one is a beginner or a professional. Should the individual decide to  look into this American guitar manufacturer, they might be asking what is a Dean  acoustic electric guitar?&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Dean Guitars were born in Chicago, Illinois, founded by Dean Zelinsky, this  guitar company has created a bass electric guitar with a big body, big sound,  full size bass guitar that rules the music world. If excellent pick up is what  the musician is looking for, whether they are a professional or just a novice,  then the Dean for sound and quality is where it&#39;s at.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Rocking the music world since 1976, this guitar will fit into any jam  session, country or rock, blue grass or classical, this is the guitar of choice  for musicians. With models like the Denominator, Metalman, Rhapsody and the  Razorback V, the player has their choice of electric bass guitars. Metal rockers  prefer the tried and true Dean quality when jamming and many rock musicians tout  their electric bass guitars as supreme for large sound and fantastic pick up.  And if one is interested in owning more than one type of instrument, Dean also  carries a line of over 50 acoustic guitars as well.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;One of the top 100 music companies in the world, Dean creates many styles and  designs. Owners can brag about their rocking, tight style and flashy designs,  individualized to suit the player. Quality controlled production of these  beauties takes place in a 110,000 foot warehouse in Tampa, and these guitars can  be custom ordered and shipped all over the world. Rugged and durable each guitar  is designed to rock the musician as far as they want to take it, from the back  yard garage to the rock and roll stage, the Dean acoustic electric guitar is the  musician&#39;s choice.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Junior guitars are available for children just beginning playing, easy fit  and tapered bodies make these guitars ready to rock for beginners. Technology  advanced sound design and body shape makes Dean the logical choice when starting  a band or playing in the basement, a Dean design should be the first choice and  only choice when shopping for that perfect instrument.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt; &lt;DIV&gt; &lt;TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0&gt;   &lt;TBODY&gt;   &lt;TR&gt;     &lt;TD vAlign=top&gt;       &lt;DIV class=sig id=sig&gt;       &lt;P&gt;Now that you know what is a &lt;A        href=&quot;http://www.acousticelectricbass.net/dean-acoustic-electric-bass/&quot;        target=_new&gt;Dean acoustic electric bass&lt;/A&gt;, it&#39;s time to find the perfect        one. A quick internet search can land the searcher many choices and        resources for purchasing that perfect guitar.&lt;/P&gt;       &lt;P&gt;One such resource is the site: &lt;A        href=&quot;http://www.acousticelectricbass.net/dean-acoustic-electric-bass/&quot;        target=_new&gt;Acoustic Electric  Bass&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;/TD&gt;&lt;/TR&gt;&lt;/TBODY&gt;&lt;/TABLE&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;FONT face=&quot;Tahoma&quot; size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;=======&lt;br&gt;Email scanned by PC Tools - No viruses or spyware found.&lt;br&gt;(Email Guard: 7.0.0.18, Virus/Spyware Database: 6.15070)&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.pctools.com/?cclick=EmailFooterClean_51&gt;http://www.pctools.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;=======&lt;/FONT&gt; </description><link>http://1stpiano.blogspot.com/2010/05/whether-youre-beginner-or-pro-dean.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509859924911167175.post-3702965435194190408</guid><pubDate>Fri, 14 May 2010 14:46:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-05-13T17:45:18.636-07:00</atom:updated><title>CDJ 200 - Technical Excellence With Fantastic Sound Effects</title><description>&lt;DIV&gt; &lt;DIV id=body&gt; &lt;P&gt;By Mark McBride &lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;The Pioneer CDJ 200 desktop CD/mp3 player is a professional DJ CD turntable  that is suitable for both entry level and professional players. The CDJ 200 is  suited for a wide variety of genre with multiple digital effects. It is both  versatile and easy to use and its overall design and build quality make it both  portable and robust.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;The CDJ-200 has taken many innovative features that are normally found on the  more expensive CD DJ players and come up with an exceptional CD player.  Including feature such as full mp3 playback, Hot loop, Beat loop and a one  button Loop cutter.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;With the CDJ-200 being fully mp3 compatible, DJ&#39;s can easily stay up to date  with the latest downloadable music trends and tracks without the need to  reformat the audio file to mp3 before copying to a CD.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;An established highlight of Pioneers Pro DJ CDJ players, is the jog wheel.  The jog wheel has many functions including creating amazing sound effects when  used in conjunction with the digital jog break. It can produce Jet, Zip and Wah  phaser like, effects, while playing tracks. The Jog wheel can also be used for  super fast searching for tracks or find precise cue point or speed up and slow  down the music while playing tracks.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;The CDJ 200 has its own built in oil dampened suspension system that helps  protect your CD&#39;s from heavy vibrations or knocks, making it difficult to miss  or skip the audio tracks.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Pioneer have made this CD turntable &#39;player friendly&#39; while making it look as  good as it sounds. The Pioneer CDJ 200 is great value and hands down beats other  DJ CD players in this price range because of the fantastic features, many taken  from the most useful of the more expensive CD decks.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;With these advanced features Pioneer have produced a CD player/mixer offering  a professional solution without a heavy price tag.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt; &lt;DIV&gt; &lt;TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0&gt;   &lt;TBODY&gt;   &lt;TR&gt;     &lt;TD vAlign=top&gt;       &lt;DIV class=sig id=sig&gt;       &lt;P&gt;Get started creating your own unique sound effects and mixes - Get more        information on the Pioneer CJD 200 desktop CD/mp3 player Click this link        &lt;A href=&quot;http://cdj200.co.uk/&quot; target=_new&gt;CDJ    200&lt;/A&gt;.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;/TD&gt;&lt;/TR&gt;&lt;/TBODY&gt;&lt;/TABLE&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;FONT face=&quot;Tahoma&quot; size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;=======&lt;br&gt;Email scanned by PC Tools - No viruses or spyware found.&lt;br&gt;(Email Guard: 7.0.0.18, Virus/Spyware Database: 6.14990)&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.pctools.com/?cclick=EmailFooterClean_51&gt;http://www.pctools.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;=======&lt;/FONT&gt; </description><link>http://1stpiano.blogspot.com/2010/05/cdj-200-technical-excellence-with.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509859924911167175.post-503492841670644103</guid><pubDate>Fri, 30 Apr 2010 20:27:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-04-29T23:27:41.576-07:00</atom:updated><title>Take Your MP4 Player With You on May Day Travel</title><description>&lt;DIV&gt; &lt;DIV id=body&gt; &lt;P&gt;By Tracy Liao &lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;The May Day is around the corner, and it&#39;s such a great idea to have a travel  in the mild spring days. Either climbing mountains or going on a picnic is a  favorable choice. Of course, if you take along an entertainment device such as  an 8GB or 16GB mp4 player with you, especially when you are having barbecue or  snack, you will feel relieved and relaxed. Today we will recommend you some hot  players which can be suitable for your journey.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Aesthetic type-Mplayer Eyes&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;The love for beauty is a nature of all human beings. The player excellent in  design will interest us. The most classic digital product-mp3 has become our  indispensable part. The classic image of Disney - Mickey Mouse is favored by so  many people. And many girls are crazy about the lovely Mplayer Eyes created by  iriver.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;The Mplayer is the upgraded version of the iriver Mplayer. Ten LED light  creating two eyes are added. As a pure mp3 player, Mplayer Eyes supports MP3,  WMA and ASF. The ear of the mouse acts as the play key. There are pink and blue  ones of the unique Mplayer Eyes. It must be the killer of the girls.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Shooting type-Newman F6&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Now the digital products are of integrity, the &lt;A  href=&quot;http://www.chinazrh.com/wholesale-mobile-phones-c-130.html&quot; target=_new  rel=nofollow&gt;mobile phones&lt;/A&gt; are basically coming with camera and so are the  mp4 players. For the young guys, the portable shooting device is necessary  equipment. Newman F6 comes with 500, 0000 pixels camera which can fully satisfy  your daily shooting. And it comes with the 3.0 inch TFT LCD screen.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Touch type-ainol V900HDA&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Currently, the new items in all fields like iPad, MOTO Milestone and OPPK39  apply the touch design. The consumers tend to have a fancy for the convenient  touch operation. Are there any nice HD MP4 players? Ainol V9000HDA uses the LTPS  screen which will not make the users feel blinding or tired. The concave design  will give you nice touch feeling. And it applies the key and touch operation  system.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt; &lt;DIV&gt; &lt;TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0&gt;   &lt;TBODY&gt;   &lt;TR&gt;     &lt;TD vAlign=top&gt;       &lt;DIV class=sig id=sig&gt;       &lt;P&gt;Tracy is from chinazrh, an excellent china wholesale electronics        supplier, which serves you the best wholesale consumer electronics        including the 8GB and &lt;A        href=&quot;http://www.chinazrh.com/wholesale-mp3-and-media-player-mp4-players-c-142_2.html&quot;        target=_new&gt;16GB mp4 player&lt;/A&gt;. Welcome to find more information about        the wholesale mp4 you need and welcome your valuable      suggestions.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;/TD&gt;&lt;/TR&gt;&lt;/TBODY&gt;&lt;/TABLE&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;FONT face=&quot;Tahoma&quot; size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;=======&lt;br&gt;Email scanned by PC Tools - No viruses or spyware found.&lt;br&gt;(Email Guard: 7.0.0.18, Virus/Spyware Database: 6.14890)&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.pctools.com/?cclick=EmailFooterClean_51&gt;http://www.pctools.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;=======&lt;/FONT&gt; </description><link>http://1stpiano.blogspot.com/2010/04/take-your-mp4-player-with-you-on-may.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509859924911167175.post-8249820397444420999</guid><pubDate>Wed, 21 Apr 2010 16:20:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-04-20T19:19:45.281-07:00</atom:updated><title>Audio Mastering Software - Turn Your Home Into a Studio</title><description>&lt;DIV&gt; &lt;DIV id=body&gt; &lt;P&gt;By Tom Hudson &lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;You may not be a professional at producing high quality musical discs, but  that doesn&#39;t mean everyone else has to know that! As audio mastering software  becomes more widely available to non-professionals, hobbyists, and struggling  musicians and bands, more people are finding ways to produce their own top notch  musical discs right from their own homes.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;There is some expense in the initial purchase of your audio mastering  software, but the price is far less substantial than paying professional from a  studio to make your music sound crisp, clear, and professional. If you are  already paying someone else a nice price to put those finishing touches on your  music and equip them to playback on stereo systems, then why not make a one-time  investment and start learning to do it yourself?&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;If you have been suffering with low quality, unfinished sounding discs  because you couldn&#39;t afford to pay professional rates or don&#39;t have a  professional studio in your local area, then it&#39;s time to put some serious  thought to purchasing your own audio mastering software and polishing off your  musical creations so they sound more professional.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;There are different types of audio mastering software out there and which one  you select will depend on several things:&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;* Your intended use.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;* How often it will be used.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;* Your budget.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;The first thing you will need to determine is your budget. You can purchase  relatively cheap audio mastering software that will get the job done in most  cases or you can purchase more expensive software programs which will literally  do it all and help you create professional level musical discs that can be  played on stereos and used in any desired manner.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Once you know how much you can reasonably afford to invest at this time, it&#39;s  time to start looking around at different types of audio mastering software and  determining which ones will meet your needs.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Think about what you intend to use the software for and how often you plan to  use it. If you are just creating a compilation of downloaded music for your  personal use every now and then you aren&#39;t likely to invest as much money in  audio mastering software as someone who intends to polish off live performances  of their band and sell them at all of their gigs.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;If your intentions are to sell the final product, then you will need to  invest in a more comprehensive audio mastering software that will help you  develop real skill at giving your tunes that crisp, detailed sound that  listeners expect from a disc they have paid good money for. This doesn&#39;t mean  the audio mastering software you select is going to come with a huge price tag.  It simply means you will want to pay for very good software if so you can get  the same professional sound that you would get by having someone else do the  work.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Now, working with audio mastering software in your own home may take some  practice. You will get everything you need to start learning with most software  purchases, but you will need some time to practice and develop your skills and  tune your ear to the best musical sounds before you start creating professional  discs to be sold.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Just about anyone who is musically inclined can get the hang of high quality  &lt;A  href=&quot;http://www.makeyourownbeatseasy.com/music-software/audio-mastering-software.php&quot;  target=_new rel=nofollow&gt;Audio Mastering Software&lt;/A&gt; and turn their own home  into a productive music studio!&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt; &lt;DIV&gt; &lt;TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0&gt;   &lt;TBODY&gt;   &lt;TR&gt;     &lt;TD vAlign=top&gt;       &lt;DIV class=sig id=sig&gt;       &lt;P&gt;Learn how to make your own beats using &lt;A        href=&quot;http://www.makeyourownbeatseasy.com/music-software/music-mixing-software.php&quot;        target=_new&gt;Music mixing Software&lt;/A&gt;. One of the best ways to stand out        is by choosing something new and  risky.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;/TD&gt;&lt;/TR&gt;&lt;/TBODY&gt;&lt;/TABLE&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;FONT face=&quot;Tahoma&quot; size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;=======&lt;br&gt;Email scanned by PC Tools - No viruses or spyware found.&lt;br&gt;(Email Guard: 7.0.0.18, Virus/Spyware Database: 6.14820)&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.pctools.com/?cclick=EmailFooterClean_51&gt;http://www.pctools.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;=======&lt;/FONT&gt; </description><link>http://1stpiano.blogspot.com/2010/04/audio-mastering-software-turn-your-home.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509859924911167175.post-7894700924901074196</guid><pubDate>Fri, 09 Apr 2010 17:48:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-04-08T20:45:30.010-07:00</atom:updated><title>Carl Flesch &quot;Cliff Notes&quot; - Simply Violin - Violin Scales &amp; Arpeggios in One, Two, and Three Octaves</title><description>&lt;DIV id=body&gt; &lt;P&gt;By Sheila R. Graves &lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Many of us who have taught from the violin scale book by Carl Flesch have  wished for a &quot;Cliff Notes&quot; version -- one that includes the familiar fingerings  but without all the extra material, such as octaves, tenths, and parallel  thirds. Of course, these have their place. But most students could benefit from  a more simple (and portable) version.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Most violin scale books other than Flesch are lacking in several areas.  First, they do not use the Flesch fingerings, which are widely considered to be  standard in America as well as abroad. Most also lack arpeggios. Finally, they  are often hard to read and/or densely spaced on the page. For these reasons,  many (if not most) advanced students continue to study from the Flesch book,  even though they may never use the majority of its pages.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;I have also wished that a &quot;progressive&quot; book would come available -- one that  included scales in one and two octaves rather than just three octaves. Even  better would be a book including arpeggios with fingerings that are consistent  not only within octaves, but between them as well.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Simply Violin: Violin Scales and Arpeggios in One, Two, and Octaves (based on  Flesch) solves many of these problems. This book employs consistent fingerings.  Plus, the notes are well spaced and there is ample room for the teacher to  change fingerings if desired.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;The two octave scales in this book are particularly nice for students who are  auditioning for an intermediate youth orchestra. Further, all of them use the  same fingering pattern, which allows the student to memorize them easily.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;In this new book, I believe that I have found a viable alternative to Flesch  that I can recommend in my shop to violin teachers who are looking for a more  user-friendly version of Flesch. And, the book contains scales in one and two  octaves, allowing for students of any level to begin scales and progress to  Flesch fingerings in a logical and progressive way.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt; &lt;DIV&gt; &lt;TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0&gt;   &lt;TBODY&gt;   &lt;TR&gt;     &lt;TD vAlign=top&gt;       &lt;DIV class=sig id=sig&gt;       &lt;P&gt;Sheila Graves&lt;BR&gt;Violin Dealer&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;/TD&gt;&lt;/TR&gt;&lt;/TBODY&gt;&lt;/TABLE&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt; &lt;DIV&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;FONT face=&quot;Tahoma&quot; size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;=======&lt;br&gt;Email scanned by PC Tools - No viruses or spyware found.&lt;br&gt;(Email Guard: 7.0.0.18, Virus/Spyware Database: 6.14740)&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.pctools.com/?cclick=EmailFooterClean_51&gt;http://www.pctools.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;=======&lt;/FONT&gt; </description><link>http://1stpiano.blogspot.com/2010/04/carl-flesch-cliff-notes-simply-violin.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509859924911167175.post-2957795621375159594</guid><pubDate>Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:07:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-03-10T17:08:40.710-08:00</atom:updated><title>Dance the Night Away on Your Patio With Wireless Outdoor Speakers</title><description>&lt;DIV id=body&gt; &lt;P&gt;By Mark Perseth &lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;Wireless outdoor speakers can help change your home and your life. When  decorating your home, typically you will focus on the indoor rooms and get them  to represent your unique style. One the indoors are taken care of, the typical  homeowner then focuses on making the outdoor landscaping look attractive. It is  at this moment, when homeowners begin to discover the world of outdoor speakers  ( in general) and wireless outdoor speakers (in specific).&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;After building out the landscaping with trees, bushes, flowers (and the soil  beds they are planted in), the only thing left to top it off is to add some  lighting and a sound system. Lighting is easy to understand since most people  have some sort of &quot;lightscape&quot; on their property, but installing a sound system  is a decision that will pay dividends far into the future.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;By installing an outdoor sound system, you can transform your patio into a  dance floor worthy of &quot;Fred &amp;amp; Ginger&quot;. Your guests will enjoy dancing their  hearts out while sipping cocktails, enjoying your food and listening to your  cool tunes. You could even erect a large white screen and turn your backyard  into an outdoor movie theater on a warm summer night. Or in a quiet time, you  could simply enjoy a nice cool beer on a hot day with jazz notes tingling your  ears.&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P&gt;So we know we need to add an outdoor sound system and mount speakers to relay  the music. But why would you want to use wireless speakers. The reason to use  wireless outdoor speakers is that you will not have to worry about the speaker  wire or the power wires getting in the way. By going wireless with your  speakers, you can mount them anywhere as long as they can relay the signal from  the audio source and as long as their solar panels can get sunlight for at least  8 hours a day.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt; &lt;DIV&gt; &lt;TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0&gt;   &lt;TBODY&gt;   &lt;TR&gt;     &lt;TD vAlign=top&gt;       &lt;DIV class=sig id=sig&gt;       &lt;P&gt;Mark writes articles about his passions. One of these passions is &lt;A        href=&quot;http://carpiohelpdesk.com/wireless-outdoor-speakers/&quot;        target=_new&gt;Wireless Outdoor Speakers&lt;/A&gt;, which he talks about at his        website that covers the topic of &lt;A href=&quot;http://soundenforcement.com/&quot;        target=_new&gt;Wireless Outdoor Speakers&lt;/A&gt; at his website about speakers        and sound systems.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;/TD&gt;&lt;/TR&gt;&lt;/TBODY&gt;&lt;/TABLE&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt; &lt;DIV&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;FONT face=&quot;Tahoma&quot; size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;=======&lt;br&gt;Email scanned by PC Tools - No viruses or spyware found.&lt;br&gt;(Email Guard: 7.0.0.18, Virus/Spyware Database: 6.14530)&lt;br&gt;&lt;a href=http://www.pctools.com/?cclick=EmailFooterClean_51&gt;http://www.pctools.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;=======&lt;/FONT&gt; </description><link>http://1stpiano.blogspot.com/2010/03/dance-night-away-on-your-patio-with.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509859924911167175.post-2859792227156101314</guid><pubDate>Thu, 21 Jan 2010 18:01:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-01-20T19:01:02.224-08:00</atom:updated><title>The Secrets to Making Piano Accompaniment Sound Professional</title><description>&lt;DIV&gt; &lt;P class=MsoNormal style=&quot;MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;FONT face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;If  you are a piano accompanist but your accompaniment doesn&#39;t sound well, or you  want to be an accompanist but you don&#39;t know anything and you can&#39;t find a  teacher who can teaches you &lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;A href=&quot;http://www.howtoaccompany.com&quot;&gt;&lt;FONT  face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;how to play accompaniment piano&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&lt;FONT  face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt; effectively, don&#39;t worry, this home study piano courses  will teach you become a better piano accompaniment!&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P class=MsoNormal style=&quot;MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =  &quot;urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office&quot; /&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;FONT  face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P class=MsoNormal style=&quot;MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;FONT face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;In  this &quot;&lt;EM&gt;&lt;B style=&quot;mso-bidi-font-weight: normal&quot;&gt;&lt;SPAN  style=&quot;FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: Arial&quot;&gt;Mastering The Art Of Piano  Accompaniment Course&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/B&gt;&lt;/EM&gt;&lt;EM&gt;&lt;SPAN  style=&quot;FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: Arial&quot;&gt;&quot;&lt;/SPAN&gt;&lt;/EM&gt; Yoke Wong, an  experienced accompanist will share her valuable techniques. For examples, how to  improve the dexterity of your hands, &lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;A  href=&quot;http://www.howtoaccompany.com&quot;&gt;&lt;FONT face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;how to play  accompaniment piano&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&lt;FONT face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt; using left hand and  right hand chords with various accompaniments, how to accompany &#39;on the spot&#39;  (the never heard music before), how to use three pedals on the piano. The course  is suitable for intermediate to advanced piano players.&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P class=MsoNormal style=&quot;MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;FONT  face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P class=MsoNormal style=&quot;MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;FONT face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;The  &quot;Mastering The Art Of Piano Accompaniment&quot; course consists of 3 DVDs (an hour  each) and a handbook of various &lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;A  href=&quot;http://www.howtoaccompany.com&quot;&gt;&lt;FONT face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;how to play  accompaniment piano&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&lt;FONT face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt; techniques including  chordal styles, rhythmic patterns and sheet music will be provided.&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P class=MsoNormal style=&quot;MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;FONT  face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P class=MsoNormal style=&quot;MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;FONT face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;This  home study course costs are $125 (retail price), $99 USD (sale price) with a  30-day guarantee and you get the skills, enjoyment plus $24.95 bonus lead sheet,  bonus resource ($19 value). All materials are practical and successfully tested;  they can be reviewed as often as you want, at any time. If you take a private  piano lesson that will cost you from $65-$105 per hour, not include your  gasoline. &lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P class=MsoNormal style=&quot;MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;FONT  face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/P&gt; &lt;P class=MsoNormal style=&quot;MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt&quot;&gt;&lt;FONT  face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;Click &lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;A  href=&quot;http://www.howtoaccompany.com&quot;&gt;&lt;FONT  face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt;here&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/A&gt;&lt;FONT face=&quot;Times New Roman&quot;&gt; for further  information.&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;</description><link>http://1stpiano.blogspot.com/2010/01/secrets-to-making-piano-accompaniment.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Unknown)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item></channel></rss>