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Pink Acoustic Guitars – Ideal for Your Daughter Or Girlfriend

September 12th, 2009

It may come as a shock to you if your soon-to-be teenaged daughter suddenly wants a pink acoustic guitar. Usually it is the boys who want a guitar and not your little darling who was dressing up as a princess not so long ago. You might think about waiting to see if your daughters interest fades or buy a cheaper guitar in case she becomes bored with guitar playing and quits. But before you do this, you really need to consider a few things.

You’ve probably seen the TV show, Hannah Montana, which depicts a young girl who has attained status as a rock star. This is probably just one of the many reasons that it has become trendy for young women today to become muscians. There are many pluses and minuses when it comes to young girls yearning to become famous. But, as parents you can take what otherwise might just be a passing phase and use that pink acoustic guitar and turn it into a important and enduring passion.

Playing guitar can be very beneficial for young women to have a creative outlet that can process their feelings. Unlike years before, the pressures and expectations nowadays on young people, especially young girls are greater. This may be social pressures, body image pressures, likewise early sexual and academic pressures too. The trend with girls, quite often with scary results, is to internalize pain or stress. With their privacy in mind, you can guide them into enjoying creative outlets such as playing a guitar and encouraging them into these types of releasing all forms of their emotions – whether they be bad, good or somewhere in between.

Even in the solitude of her own space she can release these emotions in a creative way and express herself. Her guitar songs are hers alone, and she does not have to share them with anyone. However, parents can gain insight into what their daughter is going through that you may not normally hear about if they encourage her to perform, even if it is just for the family after dinner.

You need to keep a few things in mind when you make the decision to buy your daughter her first guitar, even a pin acoustic guitar. First, dont be cheap. Ignore anything you can find in the toy section of the local discount store. Inexpensive guitars are really very hard to play, even for experienced guitarists. The smartest thing you can do is visit your local music store or better yet, one that is dedicated to guitars.

There are several great guitars that hold a special visual allure for girls. Daisy Rock is a popular company that focuses on making guitars with girls in mind. They are not called The Girl Guitar Company for nothing. Daisy Rock carries everything from simple pink acoustic guitars to heart-shaped guitars and ones that come in the shapes of stars or butterflies.

Rather than making your little girls first guitar a surprise gift, take her to the store with you when you shop for it. Each guitar is a little bit different so each pink acoustic guitar is not made in the same way. By allowing your daughter to choose her own guitar, she will get the one that feels best in her hands and the one that sounds just right to her and it will earn a special place in her heart.

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Filed under: Music | Tags: guitar, hobbies, hobby, learn Guitar, Music, musical instrument, Play A Guitar, Play Guitar
September 12th, 2009 03:58:39

Audio Speakers And Your Home Theater System

September 08th, 2009

If you have recently moved into your own place you could be thinking of getting a home theatre system. Numerous individuals think that a home theatre system is just a DVD player that comes with audio speakers, however it is way more than that. It is time for you to do a little more research into what you need to get to build a proper home theatre system.

Having a dedicated room for your home theatre system is the initial step that you will need to take. There is nothing worse than having people over to watch a movie and have them set everything up in your living room. You ought to know that a living room is made for relaxing, and for when you have guests over for a chat – at least that is what it was for in the old days.

When you set up the speakers you have to make sure that they are placed in the correct positions around the room. They should be at the level of where you are sitting and each must be where the diagram shows. To get it right, you might want to mount the audio speakers on the wall. Some home theater systems do have speakers on stands, which is a little easier if you want to move things around.

Now, to get your kit started you will have to choose what you want to use as a screen. Do you wish to use a computer monitor, or a TV, and will it be an HDTV, or an HD computer monitor, or will you be humdrum and just get a standard def Television?

There is also another thing that you can go for. That is right, you do not require to have a TV or a monitor, you might go for a projector and play your video right off your wall.

You can also get a projector for when you really want to get that cinema feel. You can get the screen that goes with it, or you can simply paint one of the walls white so that you can project the image onto it.

When you choose this you should also make sure that your speakers can be set up to play correctly when watching through the projector. You can easily do this or you can get some other high quality speakers that you can connect to the projector for easy viewing.

If you are looking for more info about this then you can read: inexpensive floor standing speakers and low cost bookshelf speakers.


Filed under: Music | Tags: audio, entertainment, films, gadgets, hobby, home theater, movies, Music, technology
September 08th, 2009 04:49:42

What’s So Hot About Guitar in a Nutshell?

August 31st, 2009

Guitar in a Nutshell is relatively new on the ‘guitar website’ market. It basically presents beginners with simple system of strums and chord connectors which quickly accelerate you into playing songs.

These fast results are attained largely through it’s system of strums and how they can be applied universally to an enormous range of guitar songs. The ethic of practicing correctly is guaranteed through the use of a separate Practice Module and a Songbook shows you how to put the Guitar in a Nutshell system into immediate effect with real songs.

The method is learned in it’s basic form with just 4 lessons, available to watch online from a Guitar in a Nutshell DVD recording. Following that, lessons are also expanded into improver and intermediate levels which ensure an even learning curve, crucial for successful learning.

Aside from complete beginners the guitar world is full of people caught in ruts and not improving. It’s a frustrating and de-motivating place to be, often ending in such discouragement that the student is convinced they have no natural talent for guitar and quit without ever moving past a typical beginner level.

This is largely explained by substandard teaching methods and a general lack of clarity from guitar lessons in general about how beginners really learn effectively.

Guitar in a Nutshell tends to pride itself on delivering lessons which have 100% transparent clarity. This means that students watching the lessons understand every aspect covered. After all, it was through the real life teaching of beginners on guitar that the method was born as it was noticed that they all effectively shared the same problems.

It was in response to the teaching challenge of “How can I get these classic problems solved and deliver a simple system to beginners for playing guitar songs?” that created Guitar in a Nutshell.

So when searching for and trying out different methods for learning guitar, be sure and include Guitar in a Nutshell in your list of considerations!

The author is a contributing tutor with Guitar in a Nutshell. Visit the site for lots of free sample videos to try out. There’s also a series of important articles on learning to play acoustic guitar which you can sign up for.


Filed under: Music | Tags: arts, guitar, hobbies, hobby, how to, learn to play guita, leisure, Music, musical instruments, recreation
August 31st, 2009 04:08:12

What’s So Hot About Guitar in a Nutshell?

August 23rd, 2009

Guitar in a Nutshell is relatively new on the ‘guitar website’ market. It basically presents beginners with simple system of strums and chord connectors which quickly accelerate you into playing songs.

These fast results are attained largely through it’s system of strums and how they can be applied universally to an enormous range of guitar songs. The ethic of practicing correctly is guaranteed through the use of a separate Practice Module and a Songbook shows you how to put the Guitar in a Nutshell system into immediate effect with real songs.

The method is learned in it’s basic form with just 4 lessons, available to watch online from a Guitar in a Nutshell DVD recording. Following that, lessons are also expanded into improver and intermediate levels which ensure an even learning curve, crucial for successful learning.

Aside from complete beginners the guitar world is full of people caught in ruts and not improving. It’s a frustrating and de-motivating place to be, often ending in such discouragement that the student is convinced they have no natural talent for guitar and quit without ever moving past a typical beginner level.

It’s mostly through inferior instruction, confusing and unnecessary lesson content plus a general lack in understanding of how beginner students learn that lead most people to this situation.

A hallmark of Guitar in a Nutshell is the clarity it delivers in online lessons, generally its objective is to ensure that every lesson is understood 100% by any student who watches it. The method was actually born out of teaching real life beginner guitar students on a 1-1 basis. Through this work it was noticed that essentially they all shared the same challenges and problems when trying to learn the instrument.

It was in response to the teaching challenge of “How can I get these classic problems solved and deliver a simple system to beginners for playing guitar songs?” that created Guitar in a Nutshell.

I encourage to look far and wide when deciding on which guitar lessons to take, choose the best ones you can find. Just remember to include Guitar in a Nutshell in your searching and give the sample lessons a go, you may be quite surprised.

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Filed under: Music | Tags: arts, guitar, hobbies, hobby, how to, learn to play guita, leisure, Music, musical instruments, recreation
August 23rd, 2009 05:43:52

The Importance of Guitar Chords

August 18th, 2009

Most beginners are introduced to guitar chords at the earliest stage of learning guitar. They are a foundation upon which not only harmony but also melody are build and derived and so their importance cannot be ignored.

A great common myth is that you must learn 100’s of different chords but in reality all it takes is a simple set of 10 to launch you into 100’s of popular songs!

Guitar chords are grouped into different families and this is decided by how the chord is built, in other words, it’s structure. As a beginner you only need to worry about learning 3 families of chords. These are the most important and form a basis upon which all others are constructed. They are Major,Minor and Dominant 7 chords.

For beginners it can be quite a challenge to sound guitar chords clearly, even the easier ones. Most find that learning the shapes are relatively easy however. If you are not used to playing guitar it’s likely that your fingers will hurt until a layer of harder skin has built up. This normally takes a month or two.

I refer to this as a kind of ‘pain barrier’ which all guitar players must go through. After a few weeks the skin on the tops of your fingers will harden and once this happens, playing guitar chords will no longer hurt you.

The main distinction we make between chords is whether they are moveable or not. Chord shapes which cannot be moved are normally referred to as Open Chords and generally involve the using of open strings on the guitar. These normally represent the beginner guitar chords we all start of learning.

The second kind are called Barre Chords (pronounced Bar). Barre chords are much harder than Open Chords and as a result beginners will normally wait anything up to a year before learning them. Barre chords can be moved up and down the neck to form new chords without any problem. The main advantage of learning them is the new array of keys they will open for you to play songs in.

Try to resist the urge to learn an overwhelming amount of guitar chords in the beginning stages. It’s counter productive and will ultimately frustrate you. Instead concentrate on a small group of highly used ones and put them into action through songs. By approaching guitar chords in this way you’ll develop a very useable collection over which you have a mastery.

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Filed under: Music | Tags: guitar, guitar chords, hobbies, hobby, how to, leisure, Music, musical instruments, recreation
August 18th, 2009 04:33:12

Learn to Play Guitar At Home

August 13th, 2009

Learning to play guitar correctly is challenging even with great instruction. If you’re just starting out no doubt you’ll already have a burning desire to produce some kind of music from your guitar no matter what it is!

Guitar lessons come in all shapes and sizes, so how do you know which ones are going to be best for you?

Begin by looking at the kinds of things you’d eventually like to be playing. What style of music is it? What we’re looking for here is a general compass point which is going to provide direction for future guitar lessons. If it’s Jazz or Classical guitar for example then 1-1 lessons are advised.

Guitar styles such as Blues and Rock have much more freedom and on many occasions it’s up to you to find your own path in all aspects including technique and style of playing. There will always be things you cant do as you learn to play guitar, no one can do it all, but what you must strive to do is connect with your own musical personality. That is uniquely yours.

Don’t accept a poor standard when it comes to lessons for guitar. If they are being effective then you should understand everything clearly and know exactly what you should do at practice time step by step. Unfortunately there are a lot of poor guitar teachers around so choose wisely.

Using the web to learn from home is a wonderful option and there are a few fantastic websites offering very cost effective solutions to learn guitar. You’ll need to be self motivated and have a strong desire to play, this may be a problem for some but generally learning guitar online is excellent.

Of course all of this means very little with one word, practice. Youre going to have to do a lot of it and not just that but it must be regular and done slowly so as to give you brain the time it needs to record everything properly.

As a last point remember that all musicians find their own way. Youre going to have unique musical problems but the answers are always there with perseverance and motivation to get through them. When you learn to play guitar you learn about yourself.

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Filed under: Music | Tags: guitar, hobbies, hobby, learn to play guitar, leisure, Music, musical instruments, recreation
August 13th, 2009 04:28:31

Acoustic Guitar Tabs – Vital To Learning Guitar Successfully

August 06th, 2009

When you play acoustic guitar, you have the advantage of a totally different, and much easier, kind of music notation. No more notes and staffs and time signatures. This is simpler and more intuitive. Its acoustic guitar tabs, which are notations based on the positions of the instruments strings. The greatest advantage is not having to learn to read music the traditional way. A number of string instruments utilize tabs.

“Tabs” is short for tablature. Acoustic guitar tabs are like a little picture of your guitar strings. The first row is the top string and the sixth row is the bottom one. On each of the rows, or lines, the numbers indicate the fret you’re supposed to be playing. A 0 (zero) is used to indicate an open string, while an X indicates a muffled string.

The area between the two metal bars on the neck or fingerboard of a guitar is called a fret, if you are not familiar with this. On an acoustic guitar, there are usually 21 to 24 frets. The dots on the frets are visual guides for your convenience when playing.

Check out acoustic guitar tabs and you’ll notice that the numbers run all in one line, indicating which fret to use on the one string you’re plucking. Those numbers tell you that you’re supposed to be playing each of them individually. If there’s a number on each line and the numbers are on top of each other, then you’re supposed to play the notes simultaneously, strumming away on all six of your strings.

When researching acoustic guitar tabs you will find things like hammer-ons, pull-offs, bends and slides. The letter “h” notates hammer-ons. This might be noted on a line as 7h9. Pull-offs are noted in the same way by the letter “p”. Bends are notated by “b”s and slides, “/” (slash).

After understanding how to read tabs, surf online for easy acoustic guitar tabs and pick a familiar but simple song and practice playing it. You will be amazed at how easily you can read tabs, even while it takes a bit of a time to familiarize yourself to read and play acoustic guitar tabs.

You’ll pick up a tune much more quickly if you can also listen to it while you’re trying to learn it. You get more detail and an added feel for the beat, even with a song you think you know by heart. Acoustic guitar tabs make learning more enjoyable, and it wont take long to have a small repertoire you can trot out at parties or just jam around with in the privacy of your own home.

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Filed under: Music | Tags: guitar, hobbies, hobby, learn Guitar, Music, musical instrument, Play A Guitar, Play Guitar
August 06th, 2009 12:28:35

Buy A Cheap Acoustic Guitar – What You Need To Get Started

July 18th, 2009

The materials used to construct musical instruments are what drive the price. Wood is a big part of the cost of a guitar. Although guitars can be made from graphite or plastic, wood gives the sound youre looking for even with a cheap acoustic guitar. If you purchase a guitar that isnt constructed from wood it wont sound right to you and it may cause you to quit the guitar from sheer frustration. You are better off getting a cheap acoustic guitar crafted from wood than trying to save money with a plastic model that you will only disappoint you.

Although the Seagull S6 isnt the most cheap acoustic guitar going, it does offer fantastic value for the money that you spend on it. This guitar is a great start for any beginner. It creates a beautiful sound with its solid cedar top and mahogany sides and back. Even professionals will keep one of these in their collections among their more expensive ones. It’s a guitar that anyone who is serious about becoming a guitar player should look into investing in. It costs around $400 to $500, but you’ll understand the great value of it once you get into playing. A great place to look for special deals and compare prices for this guitar would be to do a little web browsing about it.

A solid, dependable choice for a cheap acoustic guitar is the Yamaha F310. It features a top of solid spruce along with a back and sides made from mahogany. The price might fit better for your budget, coming in at $150-$200 and it is a universal choice for the serious novice.

The Epiphone DR-100, at $120 to $150, is another pricing step down in an excellent cheap acoustic guitar. Its top is manufactured of select-grade spruce, while its back and sides are crafted from mahogany. Its meant for beginners and would require a trade-up down the road. However, if youre still not certain whether youll stick with the guitar or not, this is a fine, decent quality instrument to enjoy in the meantime.

Even if you are looking for a really cheap acoustic guitar you are better off to avoid those with a cost below $100. Practically speaking, in the $100 price range there are no bargains. Many such guitars will be very disappointing. The cheap acoustic guitars under $100 are usually of such poor quality that may lead many inexperienced players to give up on learning to play guitar. This is particularly sad for young people, which are maybe at their first encounter with music and willing to play. So, stay away from those guitars under $100, since at that price you will not find stuff of even modest quality.

If you can’t pony up for a better quality acoustic guitar, try to buy one second hand instead. If you buy a used guitar, it will have already developed a full and rich tone that you will not find in a brand new one. Many stores have a special section for used cheap acoustic guitars and you can play each one until you find the one that suits your needs.

A solid wood top is a must-have, even for a cheap acoustic guitar. A guitar with with a solid wood top, instead of a plywood top, has a richer and fuller tone. A guitar with also the sides and the back made of solid wood is even better, if your budget allows it.

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Filed under: Music | Tags: guitar, hobbies, hobby, learn Guitar, Music, musical instrument, Play A Guitar, Play Guitar
July 18th, 2009 04:48:32

Playing Guitar – Learn The Right Way To Avoid Burnout

July 16th, 2009

Without the proper posture, playing guitar for long periods of time can cause back strain. Here are a couple of tips about holding your guitar in the correct fashion. Pick up the guitar so that the back of the guitar rests against your stomach. If you play right handed the neck of the guitar should be aiming towards the left. Gently rest the body of the guitar against your upper right thigh. You should hold the guitar neck with your left hand and drape your right arm over the body of the guitar so that your hands can easily reach the strings. Your position should feel both comfortable and natural while you are playing guitar.

If you are right handed, you use your left hand to press the strings and construct chords while playing guitar. Your left hand fingers are bent and pressed down on the strings and fret board.

The guitar neck’s back is curved, so that your hand will naturally conform with the shape of its neck. Your thumb should arch over the top of the neck when you hold it properly. From there, your thumb is in position for constructing chords.When you are constructing chords it is ok to press your thumb into the back of the guitar neck, albeit this is more in common with playing guitar scales. You should try both thumb positions and then you will be able to use the one that is most comfortable for you.

Strum the strings with your right hand to make sounds. Position your right arm over the body of the guitar. Your right bicep should rest on the top of the guitar. Position your right hand in front of the guitar’s sound hole. When playing guitar, the sound comes out of the sound hole.

Many people chose to play guitar with a pick. In order to use a pick it should be held between the forefinger and thumb of your dominant hand. Then the pick is pulled across the strings in order to “strum”. It is similar to plucking, but more pressure is necessary then you would use with just your fingers.

If you’re left handed, you’ll be happy to know that guitars are available for left-handed players. If you can’t find a suitable one for playing guitar left-handed, simply buy a regular guitar and have re-stringing done to reverse the order of the strings.

When playing guitar, holding the instrument properly as well as maintaining a good posture permits you to play longer and is crucial to achieving the correct tone. Get into the habit of starting properly and it will serve you well.

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Filed under: Music | Tags: guitar, hobbies, hobby, learn Guitar, Music, musical instrument, Play A Guitar, Play Guitar
July 16th, 2009 06:34:51

Beginner Acoustic Guitars – Get The Right Guitar For your Needs

July 11th, 2009

When you’re out looking for a beginner acoustic guitar, you have to know what kind of music you’ll be playing on it. Latin and certain kinds of pop and folk melodies sound right on a classical guitar with nylon strings. Rock, bluegrass, and other kinds of pop and folk tunes work better on a guitar with steel strings. The only way you can really determine which of the two is right for you is to actually play both of them.

Many instructors recommend a guitar with nylon strings as a first beginner acoustic guitar. The reason is that those strings are not so hard on the guitarists fingertips. However, if your idea of great music is rock and more rock, a guitar with nylon strings will never produce a tone that will satisfy the rock idol in you.

If you want to learn to play music made by steel strings then the obvious choice is a steel-string guitar. Yes, your fingers are going to hurt for some time, but you’ll develop calluses after a couple of months of regular practice. The same is true if you wish to play classical guitar music. Don’t be persuaded to get a steel-string is all you want to play is classical music.

Here are some pointers for you when looking for a classical nylon-string guitar. Classical guitars have the same relative dimensions. The distinct features of classical guitars are their small bodies and wide fingerboards and most importantly, their classical sound. Despite same physical features, each classical guitars still have their own feel and tone so try several to find the beginner acoustic guitar that best matches your taste. A six-string dreadnought is the most commonly purchased beginner acoustic guitar. There are only slight size variations among dreadnoughts, and they offer the kind of tone that is popular with guitarists who are just starting out.

The tone of the beginner acoustic guitar is determined by the type of wood it is crafted out of. A spruce top is the most common for a beginner acoustic guitar. A solid top is better than a two-piece top, because it is more durable so be sure to keep an eye out for that. Mahogany, rosewood, or spruce are probably the options you will find for the back and sides. A mahogany back and sides will provide a lighter tone. So, if that’s what you’re looking for, mahogany is your best option. Rosewood provides a heavier tone when it is used for the back and sides.

The space between the neck and the strings is called the action. Low action is one thing a beginning will want to consider in a beginner acoustic guitar. Action that is too high makes for difficult playing. This will just be another hurdle to overcome in the learning process.

While you’re out purchasing a beginner acoustic guitar, you’ll want to pick up a decent electronic tuner at the same time. You haven’t had enough experience yet to develop the ear of an expert. If you can spend less time in tuning your new guitar, you’ll have that much more time for practicing on it and actually playing.

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Filed under: Music | Tags: guitar, hobbies, hobby, learn Guitar, Music, musical instrument, Play A Guitar, Play Guitar
July 11th, 2009 04:07:42