You want to get off to a good start as a blues guitar player, you will need five notes. Well, five notes in any key. The five notes you will need is a scale called the minor pentatonic. If you are playing in the key of E the notes you are going to be using are E G A B D.

The minor pentatonic scale and the changing relationships between those five notes will enable you to give your guitar playing the distinctive blues flavor. Get to know this scale by experimenting with simple tunes. You can make them up for yourself and play them up and down the guitar neck.

As you spend some time playing your own tunes you can listen to CDs of the great blues guitarists. Get familiar with how you are using the five notes of the minor pentatonic scale and see how the guitarists of the twenties, thirties, forties, fifties and sixties used them. See how those old blues guitar players played inside the scale and how they ventured outside it to add some spice to the blues. Listen to how they used slides, hammer-ons and pull-offs as well as up and down picking.

                                                   Continue.............  

l

You don’t have to watch BET or turn a radio dial to know some of today’s popular soul and R&B artists. After all, who hasn’t heard of names like Alicia Keys, Mary J. Blige and Anthony Hamilton? These artists have essentially become superstars, many of them seemingly on their way to becoming legends. Although we have anointed several of these artists as the "king" of this and the "queen" of that, some are wondering if these acclamations have been made far too soon.

It Ain’t Nothing like the Old School

Old school artists such as Prince, Luther Vandross and Natalie Cole have taken their rightful place among the industry’s elite. Their contributions are forever branded in time and even more amazingly, still revered and adored by countless listeners today. You won’t find a party on any block that isn’t blaring out classic Al Green or kicking things into gear with Zap’s "More Bounce to the Ounce". Many of the up and coming talents even hone their skills by trying to duplicate the masterful recordings of old school performers. American Idol is a prime example. You don’t see contestants singing Keisha Cole or Robin Thicke’s latest jams. They’re challenged with the classics, forced to show the world what they’ve got through classic blues, rock and soul tunes.

Continue...........
 

-

Write Music That Appeals To Peoples Emotions

By: Richie Gilbert

Whether you choose to write music first or start with the lyrics, please remember one thing: The melody is always king!

I want to explain why I believe that statement to be true.

I know when it comes to songwriting all of the elements must fit together just so. There has to be a perfect marriage of lyric, melody, structure and feel. That is the hallmark of a great song.

But I have heard too many songs that seem to focus primarily on the lyrics. The writer has poured out his or her soul to create a truly touching and beautiful story. Then those wonderful lyrics are paired with a mediocre, or even (gasp!) boring melody.

 

Continue.................

By: Ninja Keet

The odds for the average aspiring recording artist or band to get signed to a good record deal has become increasingly lower every year. But, it is most likely not your shortcomings as an artist that keeps you from getting signed. You are probably the hottest new act the world has to offer, but the record labels won't immediately know that. They want a full-packaged deal. They would rather see that you have a proven track record of marketability, a desirable image, and volume of record sales. In other words, they want you to do the initial job of promoting yourself before they step in with an offer. It is after all just business to them.

A few factors you have to deal with that makes it hard to get signed is the unpredictable economy and the constantly changing music industry. With the increased popularity of music downloads, less people are buying albums and CDs. This is causing a few record labels to go defunct. They can't afford to sign an artist or band with raw talent and develop that person or band from scratch only to result in the whole project going bust. This is why the record labels are so picky on who they give a record deal to.

There are other alternative methods you can implement to achieving your dreams of being that famous rock star or rapper. More and more artists are bypassing the record deal in favor of the power of the Internet. These artists are selling their own music online.                                     Continue.............

Articles Source: http://www.ArticleBiz.com