Mega Music Talent

Posts Tagged ‘Classical’

This tutor provides a good start for pupils beginning the classical guitar either in groups or as individuals. Tests, space for compositions, and a practice register are included. As well as solo pieces, duets and ensembles help the pupil develop a sense of rhythm. New information is shown in boxes for easy reference, the text is clearly and simply written, and the book is illustrated throughout.

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Being able to read guitar sheet music can prove an invaluable asset in today’s market. We all know that becoming a pro guitarist means entering a very competitive field. You need every advantage you can get, and then some. Before we go any further let’s first answer one basic question: isn’t being able to read guitar tabs good enough? If you’re looking to make a name for yourself or earn a living as a guitar player then the answer would be “no”. This by no means negates the importance of tab, but in a world that is often oversaturated with guitar players, knowing how to read guitar sheet music can make the difference between success and failure. Let’s break things down so we can understand them better.

Guitar Tab

While tablature or tab seems to be a rather recent invention that came along with the electric guitar, the truth is that it has been around for hundreds of years. Even before the invention of the instruments we know today as “guitar”, we see examples of tablature being used usually with fretted instruments such as the lute. Examples of tab in the Western world today date as far back as the 1300′s. In Asia tabs was used even before that.

In today’s world guitar tab is composed of six lines that represent the six guitar strings, four in the case of the bass guitar on which numbers are placed which correspond to the frets on the guitar. Most tabs, tablature, tab formats today do not show you the rhythm. The information presented gives you a clear picture of what strings and frets should be played. The tablature format does not give you information in regards to the notes (pitches) that are being played.

Sheet Music

The sheet music for guitar on the other hand provides you with rhythmic as well as note (pitch) information. This is very important becauseit is like getting a detailed blueprint of a hotrod car. It allows you to see “inside” and understand exactly how the parts work. This is fantastic because you can use this information to fix your hotrod if it breaks down, or build yourself a new one. In much the same way, knowing how to read sheet music allows you to understand and break things down, analyze your favorite artists or composers and use those techniques when building your own material, songs.

The ability to “see” inside the music gives you a huge advantage by allowing you to manipulate and direct the musical flow of your ideas in such a way as to achieve maximum impact. To put it plainly, the ability to understand sheet music will allow you to create and juggle musical ideas with skills far beyond what other musicians posses.

In reality, I don’t think that all can be reduced to a question of guitar tablature versus notation. Traditional guitar sheet music does have its problems when it comes to marking strings and frets to be used. Traditional notation for the guitar does allow for the string to be identified. This, when used in conjunction with the indicated note gives you the fret number. However this tends to fill up the visual space making the notation much harder to read and follow. A combination of sheet music with tablature attached seems to be the best answer. Notation will also allow for the indication of the finger that needs to be used for certain note.

While a combination of notation and tablature will yield the best results, we will focus more on sheet music in this article because of the simple fact that most guitarists know how to read tablature, so it’s the learning of sheet music notation that will set you apart from the rest of the herd.

Learning to read notation? hell or heaven sent

If you understand the benefit of being able to read sheet music but are intimidated by the look and feel of sheet music notation, then take a deep breath and relax because always seem worse than they are. I know the feeling of looking at notation and feeling like you are looking at ancient hieroglyphs. In truth music is not nearly as complicated as it seems at first glance. It just takes a little patience and perseverance to learn but the results are definitely worth it.

You might be thinking that you will never be able to crack the code of notation. Guess I’ll just have to prove to you that it’s not nearly as difficult as you may think by showing you some notation basics right here and now.

Say hello to the musical notes

Sheet music is usually written on staff made up of five lines. You can write notes either on the line or in between the lines. One easy way to remember the notes that are on the lines of the staff is by recalling the following acronym: Every Good Boy Does Fine (E G B D F). This corresponds to the notes on the lines of the staff as read from the bottom up. In order to remember the notes that are in this space is between the lines, just remember FACE (F A C E as read from the bottom up). So now, if you have to tell me what note resides on the fourth space of the staff, as read from the bottom up, you can easily think of FACE and figure out that E is the note we were looking for. There you have it, less than a minute and you already know all the notes that are on the staff. If you just put a blank staff in front of you and quiz yourself over what note lies on a particular line or space, you’ll soon be able to recall them without thinking of the acronyms listed.

Final note

So as you can see learning how to read music is not that difficult, and while it may take a little bit of time to take it all in, the benefits are huge. Stick with it and you will soon see yourself standing head and shoulders above the crowd of guitarists out there.

Author Bio: With a vast experience, Ben Dressen teaches guitar and performs in the NY area. Visit him and get a free sheet music and tab classical piece and free tips at his guitar sheet music store classical guitar tabs.

Frederic Chopin is one of the better known composers of the classical era, with compositions such as his “Minute Waltz” and the “Funeral March” making him world famous. We all know a Chopin piece when we hear it ? even if some of us do not recognise the composer!

Here are a few things that you might not know about Chopin:

1. What Did He Look Like?

There is only one known photograph of Chopin. It was taken in 1849 in Bisson in the same year that he died. You can view that photograph here: http://www.er.uqam.ca/merlin/ga991424/images/compositeurs/Chopin.jpg

2. Chopin The Inventor

Chopin invented popular musical forms such as the ballade and was also a leader in innovations in the forms of the piano sonata, mazurka, waltz, noctume, etude, impromptu and prelude.

3. A Polish Birth

Chopin was born in 1810 in the village of Zelazowa Wola near Warsaw, Poland to a French father and Polish mother. He left Poland in 1830 during the “Great Immigration” following the suppression of the Polish in the November Uprising.

4. Polish Origins But a French Name

Chopin is reported to have remained a Polish patriot, however in order to rely on using Russian documentation, he performed under a French name. Later in life, he even adopted French nationality.

5. A Child Prodigy

Chopin received his first piano tuition at the age of 6, although he had already been playing piano and had previously received help from his older sister Ludwika. He received tuition from the respected Wojciech Zywny. He soon out-grew his tutor, and started public performances which drew comments and comparisons with Beethoven, and particularly with Mozart as a child.

6. Royal Fans

At around the age of 11, Chopin performed for Tzar Alexander I of Russia during an opening of the Polish parliament. He was later invited to the Belweder Palace as a “playmate” of the Russian Polish ruler Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich of Russia. He was also a summer guest of Prince Antoni Radziwill.

7. Chopin’s Works

Chopin wrote many pieces, with the manuscripts of over 230 surviving. These works include such popular pieces as:
Chopin wrote many pieces, with the manuscripts of over 230 surviving. These works include such popular pieces as:
•2 concertos for piano and orchestra, Opp. 11 and 21
•27 études (twelve in the Op. 10 cycle, twelve in the Op. 25 cycle, and three in 58 mazurkas
•a collection without an opus number)
•26 preludes
•20 waltzes
•17 polonaises (orchestral accompaniment)
•17 polonaises (cello with accompanying piano)
•21 nocturnes
•5 rondos
•4 ballades
•4 impromptus
•4 scherzos
•4 sets of variations
•3 piano sonatas, Opp. 4, 35, and 58
•3 écossaises

8. Chopin’s Death

Chopin passed away in 1849 at the age of 39 in Paris by the side of his sister Ludwika and a number of other distinguished attendants. It is unclear to this day whether he died as a result of Tuberculosis or Cystic Fibrosis. Either way he passed away at a young age, even for the time.

9. Memorials to Chopin

According to Chopin’s wishes, his heart was removed and preserved in alcohol, before being encased in a pillar in the Holy Cross Church in Poland.

The funeral was held a few weeks later in Paris and was attended by somewhere in the order of three thousand people, and then buried at Pere Lachaise Cemetery.

Author Bio: This article was written by Gary Tallon to celebrate Chappell of Bond Street’s collection of sheet music by Frederic Chopin amongst their collection of 50,000 titles of sheet music.

Ever wondered what it took for ordinary men with extraordinary music sense to reach the pinnacle of stardom. The world has witnessed the rise of many guitar players who have paved their way and reached the ultimate glory. So, what was the star material that made them the legends that they are?

Of course, it must have taken the rare combination of unmatched musical genius, immeasurable dedication and quality hard-work. They must have been through endless jamming sessions and long practice hours. After all, it’s not a joke to master this splendid skill. It’s pleasing the way, these men rose from their plain conditions and became eternal in history of musicians.

The all time great guitar stars are hard to list down; there will always be indifference for the top spots among the guitar lovers. It’s their immense amount of love and loyalty for the legends that would lead to the controversy. But there are a few names that have equal amount of following and respect among all guitar players.

Take the all time great Jimi Hendrix for instance, the kind of genius that he would demonstrate not only in his recording and films alone, but also his stage performances would create a spell-bounding effect on the audiences. Hendrix teared apart the basics of guitar playing, dazzling the listeners with a fresh approach to sound and space innovations like the use of Univibe and Octavia effect.

Few people know about the hard time that he had to go through as a child and the effort to reach perfection in his initial years. He had learned by practising almost persistently watching others play through his tips from more experienced players, and by listening to records. Hendrix started playing from the music class to the local bands and ultimately reached the point of fame. Hendrix had started with humble beginnings and had to face lots of barriers to establish his talent and success came in only after much of frustrated experiences on the ground level.

Some believe that these men did not have to do a lot of hard work, but their success was accountable to something they had a flair for. It’s easier said than done, it’s true that they did had a rare gift of musical genius but it requires a lot more than that, to be what they are.

Same could be said for B.B King, who had a revolutionary yet sophisticated style of soloing that would practically influence every electric blues guitarist that followed. King too had to face lots of difficulties and hardships and which had forced him to go back. But the maestro returned with preparation and started working with the local bands. He soon realised that he had, what it takes to be a musical wizard and he then formed his own band.

The kind of supreme conviction for his goals is something to admire. For over 50 years King has played in thousands of performances and was conferred the prestigious Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. With his matchless style, King had gained visibility with the rock audiences and continued to be cherished by his numerous fans.

Another big name that comes to mind is that of Eric Clapton. It first appeared on the walls of London in1965, “Clapton is God”. Clapton started with a bang only at the age of twenty and was playing only since he was fifteen. But Clapton had already soloing with improvisational spirit that has astounded his fans and peers for forty years. He had made enormous contribution to genres such as psychadelic, blues rock and heavy metal.

Another name that’s hard to forget is that of Duane Allman. The legend’s contribution to the albums went on to become a part of rock history. Duane was motivated to guitar by his brother’s guitar playing and also by attending the concert of B.B. King whose music had promptly created a spell on him.

Allman had been a cheery light-spirited hippie all his childhood and his adult life. All these men have much in common; they have all strived hard to get to the top and had absolute conviction going all the way through exigent conditions. They not only showed their striking music brilliance they did it so effortlessly that it seemed incredibly easy.

These guitarists had an astonishing ability to express, bond with the listeners and tell rich musical tales through playing. There vibrant guitar sound integrated melody and warp and singlehandedly altered the visage of popular music. But one has to bear in mind that, the kind of power that these stars were able to exhibit was not just a matter of a few practice sessions, but it was tons of hard-work, after which success followed. Once they had achieved success it was equally demanding to maintain their places and do justice to the kind of expectations of their followers and the music community.

Author Bio: If You Like To learn How to play Guitar Click Here

The GUITAR is one of the most admired musical instruments of all times. It’s not only popular with the music-bugs, but it also tends to create a remarkable style statement. The rocking head shake style of the guitar players is so cool; it makes the audience go crazy.

Talking about the history of guitar, the use of similar musical instruments dates long back to thousands of years. The cool instrument has its roots back to Europe and central Asia. Since then the guitar has evolved aesthetically. The guitar has many forms broadly two- acoustic guitar which includes classical guitar, ten-string guitar, Portuguese guitar, Archtop guitar and many other. The other type is the electric guitar and electric bass guitar.

The guitar has well maintained its special place across the music lover’s community. I can be said that the guitar is all the rage with all almost age-groups, especially among the youth. The young music lovers aspire to learn the jamming style which seems greatly appealing and simple which indeed is not. Learning guitar takes a great deal of effort and dedication, coupled with immense passion for music which is found wanting in most cases. As a beginner player the first step should be to understand the instrument itself. . It is important for the new players to acclimatise with various parts of guitar. It means getting introduced to basic segments like the head stocks, nut, machine heads, truss rods, neck, body, pickups, electronics etc. All this is to fundamentally understand what is where and how it works. Next comes the part of holding the guitar in the right position. Guitar can be made to meet the requirements of both left and right-handed players. Traditionally, the dominant hand is assigned the task of strumming or plucking the strings. For majority of people this means using the right-hand. This is because the tune expression is largely determined by the plucking hand while the other hand is assigned the lesser mechanical work of gripping the strings. Starting with the playing, its important to build vigour and dexterity to be more like a pro, so that the gauche fingers can be moved smoothly for effortless tunes.

After being comfortable with the strings, the learner should emphasise on techniques of strumming styles, percussive strum, deadening, staccato strum, tricked out scales, hammer-on, pull offs, transposing keys, vibrato, palm muting etc. This could take a while, but the great golden rule applies here, that of practising more and more for flawless motions. After this the simple tunes can be started with and slowly going ahead with different range of tunes which cover number of chords. The basic chords are very important, once a player learns them he or she will be able to bang out a decent range of several songs. If the learner likes to be taught then e should ask a guitarist to show few basic chords, this is the best mode to learn and will go a long way. After this, taking a cue from the internet itself can help. This can be done by looking at the tablature of songs which shows where to put the finger to play the chords to a tune. It is perhaps a great way for guitar learners who can’t read music. Now, comes learning to play ‘barre’ chords. These are basically chord shapes that can be moved up and down the neck of the guitar. When a learner ‘barre’ the chord with finger, he is moving the top fret down to get in the different key. The easiest way of learning the ‘barre’ chord is by using a book and practising the shapes on the guitar and moving them up and down on the neck. For beginners the fingers get cramps and sores, but over time the hands will become stronger and fingers will develop calluses. Learning finger picking can also enhance the playing; many songs are entirely composed of finger picking. There are many different styles of it, it takes time to get comfortable with how the fingers move, but with time it will almost move by themselves. After being conversant with the guitar the most important part comes that of practise. The more a player practises; his fingers will glide smoothly and effortlessly over the neck of the guitar. As a thumb rule the best way to learn is to play that song. People who have become pros in guitar have not achieved it over-night. Of course, it has taken long hours of practice, hard-work and dedication. It is after years of good practice sessions that bring out a true guitarist in oneself. Some of the new learners find it difficult to move ahead and learn fresh and more difficult lessons but what can stop a guitarist whose true soul knows nothing but the essential ardour for music.

Author Bio: If You Like To learn How to play Guitar Click Here

Beginners can sometimes feel overwhelmed when they start learning classical guitar.  The technique, sight reading, interpretation and the whole complexity of the experience can make one feel a bit anxious about what proper steps should be taken to gain visible results.  It doesn’t help that classical music as a whole conjures up images of snobbish people that aren’t very interested in letting someone in their private circles.

Well, it’s not like that at all.  Learning classical guitar can be fun and rewarding if you keep in mind the things we will be discussing in this article. and no, it’s not mandatory to wear your tuxedo,  pull out a monocle and start speaking in a “highbrow” tone.

Jumping straight into complicated material is one of the biggest mistakes that beginners make and it leads only to frustration. Imagine for a second that you are trying to work on your car’s engine with the blueprint in front of you.  Now, if you have never taken an auto mechanic course and don’t know much about how engines work you won’t get very far. You might be able to figure out where certain parts are by looking at the blueprint but you’ll have no idea what exactly they do and how you should fix them.

If your car engine would be your guitar playing, then your blueprints would be the sheet music. But there is another component that must be brought into the mix for things to work. Either take classical guitar lessons or teach yourself using a classical guitar method such as the one by Mateo Carcassi or Sagreras.

These books have been written in such a way as to gradually give you tangible results.  Because they are method books, they teach the student in a progressive and correct way, and as a result you may find yourself tackling your favorite piece easily and with great results.  They use exercises as well as “studies” (musical pieces  devoted to teaching you a certain technique) to build your technical as well as interpretative skills. Besides teaching technique, methods also facilitate intimate knowledge of your instrument, which is just a fancy way of saying that you will know your guitar inside and out. But can you really teach yourself classical guitar? Yes, you can. Two of the greatest classical guitar players ever, Tarrega and Segovia, where self taught.

In the beginning it is a good idea to spend at least half of your practice time doing exercises.  This will help you become more limber on the guitar and you will also see great progress in the pieces you’re working on.

After you get a classical guitar method and you start working it, the next step is getting some material so you can build your repertoire.  Pick carefully so that you balance your own personal taste with the level of the piece. In other words, the piece you choose should be one that you like and at the level that you can handle technically.

You may go to a gym wanting to be Arnold Schwarzenegger, however trying to weight lift 250 pounds when you can barely get 70 pounds off the ground isn’t the way to do it.  If you do attempt it, instead of bigger muscles you will probably end up in the hospital.  It’s the same thing that’s happening when you attempt to play pieces that are way above your current level.  Having said that, it should be noted that it’s good to get pieces that challenge you a little bit.  This makes you grow.  You will have to use your good judgment as to what constitutes challenging. Just like getting a hernia isn’t a muscle building technique, playing way above your level will only lead to failure and frustration.

Because of the nature of baroque music and of his compositions, Bach’s works are extremely conducive towards gaining great balance and technique on the instrument.  Therefore, any student would benefit immensely by learning from the master’s material. Bach’s pieces are also great for developing great tone and they are fun to play.  For example: Prelude BWV999 (originally for lute), while incredibly beautiful in its sound is also great for working with the fretboard hand because it is based on a series of chord progressions combined with a loosely melodic bass line.

If you don’t own a metronome, GET ONE! Learn to play slow and in time with it. This way you will form all the right reflexes and once you move the material up to speed the difference will be clear. Arguably, mastering rhythm with a metronome is an essential quality that will separate the amateur from the pro. To the people that may scoff at this and not understand the true importance of working with a metronome, think of it this way: imagine something as simple as a person walking across a hallway. If I ask you to describe them you would probably tell me what they looked like, what they had on and so forth. Now imagine another person walking across the hallway, but this guy is very shaky on his feet, he sometimes double steps, stumbles and flails his hands about trying to keep balance while walking. If I asked you to describe this guy, you’d probably tell me that he had a crazy walk, and he couldn’t walk straight etc.. That would be the impression that would stick with you. Same with your rhythm skills. If you don’t master them, people won’t be able to remember or appreciate your playing because their attention will constantly be distracted by the tempo stumbling and bumbling about.

If you follow the steps noted above you will see great improvement in your overall classical guitar playing.  Not only will this affect your playing but also your enjoyment of the instrument.  As you follow this route you will see results and feel satisfaction. Like a veil being lifted, you will be able to see the path you must follow and pretty soon you will be tackling with great ease and elegance the piece that seemed so hard a while back. As always, if you need some advice as to the material you should be pursuing, or what book you should get, feel free to drop me a line.

The author Ben Dressen has studied classical guitar, performed and taught in both Europe and the United States. He brings a wealth of information that is based both on classical principles that have stood the test of time and modern real-world techniques that give results. For an example of the Bach’s Prelude BWV999 go here: rezzonator.com/ba.html