Music

Swell can be used as a noun, verb or adjective. In most of its forms, swell relates to expansion or rounding.

Nylon string is a safe, harmonic and humane replacement for the gut strings harvested from animals that used to adorn string instruments. Most nylon guitar strings come pre-cut to fit particular...

Bachata is style of music that features vocals and guitar. It is a style that finds its origins among the poor of the Dominican Republic. While only moderately successful for several decades, it...

Downloading free music to your computer is easy and convenient, and it produces far better results than downloading illegally. Legal music companies also offer the benefit of burning a CD with a...

These days, with the popularity of mobile devices, more things are being done online than ever. Writers are able to write, store and edit their work without ever having to download software....

Metal guitar playing is exciting, but also daunting to the neophyte. After listening to such noted ax-men as Kerry King, Kirk Hammett or Dave Mustaine, one can get the impression that their guitar...

Pre-recorded accompaniment tracks are a great boon to soloists for both performance and practice purposes. Accompaniment tracks spare soloists the costs and rehearsal hassles associated with a...

Whether playing in a band, recording in a studio, or merely playing music as a hobby at home, knowing what instrument you want to purchase is important. Knowing the differences between digital...

Every family of instruments has its own unique means of producing the vibrations necessary for a musical tone. As a member of the brass family, the trumpet's notes are produced through the pitched...

Proper instrument maintenance is an important part of any musician's responsibilities. Brass instruments must be cleaned frequently in order to counteract the effects of gunk buildup from oil,...

Bells are one of the simplest of percussion instruments and the most entertaining to build yourself. Following the common practice of creating "found percussion" instruments using items from...

Finding out the name of a song is easier if you recognize the artist or know something about the song. The best and quickest resource can be a friend who is a music buff or music historian. If...

The traditional piano has 88 keys and covers a range of just over seven octaves. The piano, because it allows players to play chords and melody lines simultaneously, is a popular instrument for...

The harmonica is an instrument that's commonly used in every type of music from blues to rock, and from country to jazz. The First Act Learn & Play Harmonica is intended for children and...

Writing songs for a guitar can be approached in different ways. Determine the best way for you to write a song for a guitar with advice from an active guitar instructor in this free video on...

Identifying cadences means to find two or more chords in a composition or phrase that convey a feeling of completion. Find out how to identify cadences with tips from an active guitar instructor...

Scales are a great way to develop technique, tone production and learning to synchronize and coordinate the left hand sequence. Discover how to use scales from an active guitar instructor in this...

When learning lead guitar, you'll first need to make sure you're in a key or playing against some cord progressions that belong in a key. Start playing lead guitar with advice from an active...

Guitar picks can be used on any guitar and, it comes down to personal preference on how exactly you hold it. Determine the best way for you to hold a guitar pick with tips from an active guitar...

When tuning a guitar to itself, you'll need either a electronic tuner or a pitchfork. Tune your guitar to itself with guidance from an active guitar instructor in this free video on learning guitar.

Natural harmonics means that the harmonics fall on the guitar's finger board naturally. Learn to play natural harmonics with help from an active guitar instructor in this free video on learning...

Harmony vocals are created when a consonant note or notes are sung together at the same time. These vocals are usually sung in a homophonic texture that creates pleasing-sounding melodies. Harmony...

In this How to you will learn how to play a C chord on a standard tuned Ukulele. The C is a very easy chord to play and sounds good in many different chord progression or picking patterns

Are you planning a long trip for the holidays or summer vacation? Help the time go faster by playing travel games together. Singing together while you drive is a great way to have fun and it...

Having an out of tune guitar while on the go can be a very frustrating thing if a tuner is not nearby. Being a guitarist for the past several years, I know that all too well. So I am going to...

Do you have a potential hit song running around in your head and want to get it down on paper? Many people have done just that and some unknown people have made it big selling their songs. This...

Do you remember that wonderful scene from "Bridges of Madison County" when Meryl Streep as Francesca was working in her kitchen and listening to an opera? It made her heart swell and...

Sounds worth a thousand pictures: Speakers get artistic. Alive and calculating: The HP-12C lives on. Cool stuff worth tracking. And finally … hand signals for the military.

I recently just helped out a band that was just starting out with developing more stage presence, and the band, though they still have a long ways to go, has definitely improved how they interact...

Playing your iPod or mp3 player's music through your guitar is an easy and cool way to listen to your music.

Have you ever found yourself singing a song over and over again and you just can't seem to get it out of your head no matter what? This stinks, especially if you don't even like the song! It's...

Ableton Live is a great program for music producers and djs alike. It offers great tools for creating music in the moment or doing more linear recordings. I'm going to walk you through how to make...

Music always makes time fly--especially when you're studying. Music certainly makes it easier to power through the most boring subjects. Fortunately, you don't need an MP3 player or any other...

Discovering that a favorite CD, DVD or video game disk is scratched can be upsetting, especially if the scratch renders the expensive disk to unplayable. Fortunately, even if a disk begins to...

If you're looking for something to do to amuse yourself, try making phone keypad music. You can do this with a standard push-button phone or a cell phone. You can even play some simple songs by...

Nearly all banjo heads now are made of Mylar plastic and often painted white. Painting your banjo head can be a great way to make your instrument stand out. You can use a solid color or a design....

Based in San Dimas, California, Charvel is a company that manufactures electric guitars. Charvel instruments are available only through authorized dealers. Fender Musical Instruments Corporation...

Two-part inventions are a type of baroque keyboard piece created by the immortal Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750). Written for the sake of teaching technique, two-part inventions feature...

Classic vinyl record albums are a huge collectors item. Some older record albums have been auctioned for hundreds--even thousands--of dollars. Some music enthusiasts believe the old analogue sound...

Looking for some new tunes to play on your iPod, but a little short on cash to pay for them through iTunes or Amazon? The iTunes store usually has a number of free downloads available each week,...

Want to connect your laptop to your keyboard or other MIDI instrument? MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is the language electronic instruments use to communicate with one another and...

Most musicians can read music by sight, but transposing is a skill possessed by far fewer instrumentalists. Learning to transpose by sight takes a lot of practice, but transposing bass to treble...

No matter what styles and genres of music you enjoy listening to, the power of this universally-loved art form is its ability to communicate ideas and feelings that might otherwise be...

The harmonica is a great instrument for children to start with even from a young age. Harmonicas are affordable and fairly simple to use at the basic level. Learning the harmonica will teach basic...

Now that Sirius Satellite Radio has merged with its long-time competitor XM, it has become the gold standard in non-terrestrial radio broadcasting. Sirius is the only place you can hear the...

If you are looking for ways to learn how to play the piano, you should really consider "Rocket Piano" piano lessons. The "Rocket Piano" method is a completely interactive...

Rightfully or wrongly, musicians are often stereotyped. From the effete neighbor who looks down his nose as we load our gear into the car to the drunken bar patron who thinks his request to “Play...

Greetings, class. Today’s topic is: How to write an effective ad for music instruction. I’ll start out with this cheerful note. One way in which the current economic conditions has particularly...

Tuning is somewhat of an art, and is obviously among the most important skills to perfect. Whether you own a Gibson or other guitar brand, tuning procedures are identical. Electronic tuners are...

A Les Paul style guitar is one of the easier versions to restring. Unlike the Stratocaster, the Les Paul has everything you need easily accessible on the top of the guitar. Changing the strings is...