Showing posts with label Beginners. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Beginners. Show all posts

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Why Beginners Should Not Rely On YouTube For Guitar Tutorials

Although it is very tempting to pop online and do a quick search for guitar tutorials, you need to be very wary of what you'll find. You may be looking for guitar instructional videos, tab charts, chord charts or other instructional material, and the great thing about the web is that it offers an almost limitless supply of instructional material. Unfortunately there's a problem, because the web isn't owned by anyone, no one runs it, no one looks after it and no one trawls the net weeding out information or advice which is incorrect or sub standard.

It might be very nice if this was the case, but as it is, anyone can post anything they like and claim it as being instructional. What you may find though is that you're being instructed to play your guitar the wrong way. Playing a guitar isn't easy, as it requires a good deal of perseverance. If you can get through the first few days without giving up then there's a good chance you'll make it. A number of people quit quite early on in the process because they find that it's just too difficult or too uncomfortable.

Certainly to begin with most people find it hard to stretch their fingers around the fret board and hold down the right strings on the right frets, making a sound that is pure and pleasant. Moving from one chord to another is also very difficult, and it can be easy for people to give up. But some people move to the net and start looking for guitar tutorials, assuming that since they're struggling with working out how to make their guitar sound less like a pigeon gargling there must be plenty of other people struggling too, and that as a result someone somewhere will have provided some help.

Whether you're looking at mending a cuckoo clock, painting golf balls or tracking down the Lesser Spotted Purple Warbler, you'll find that there will be a group of people somewhere with the same interest, providing help and support to those likeminded individuals. The online community of guitar enthusiasts is massive, and with broadband now so widely available online videos have become the biggest way in which people now search for information.

In fact if you base the statistics just on the number of searches carried out per month you'll find that YouTube is actually the second biggest search engine, beaten only by Google (who of course own YouTube anyway!) This means that if you start looking for video guitar tutorials you will find them. But if you're just starting out learning to play guitar how are you going to be able to identify which are the good ones and which aren't?

If you knew nothing at all about the Lesser Spotted Purple Warbler and you looked online and found a website informing you confidently that in order to find this delightful creature you would need to lie in wait at 3am in the middle of a snowy moor you might well find yourself shivering unnecessarily, oblivious to the fact that you ought to be up a tree in the middle of summer.

So the real problem is that the availability of guitar instructional videos is itself not enough. Beginners looking for guitar tutorials need to be given some form of help, not just in playing the guitar, but in identifying which guitar video tutorials are good, and recommended, and which are likely to be offering the wrong advice, or encouraging poor techniques. One of the best ways of overcoming this problem is not to rely on massive video sites such as YouTube, but to go to a specialist video tutorials site where all of the video guitar tutorials have been created to a high standard. YouTube might be big, but it may not necessarily be the best option for guitar tutorials.

If you're looking for high quality guitar tutorials then visit Allaxess.com where you can browse a free library of guitar instructional videos.


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Saturday, July 9, 2011

Best Acoustic Guitar for Beginners

The best acoustic guitar for beginners is an excellent start-off musical instrument that graces the hands of many wannabe musicians. Its musical notes are loved by all. Usually, renowned players start their careers with these acoustic guitars and slowly progress gaining experience, eventually shifting onto regular or electric guitars.

In the early stages of learning, students need not have an expert guitar in order to express themselves musically. It is enough if they have an entry-level, one that can produce quality sound, and there are many such guitars available on the market nowadays.

For children, it is enough if they have a small fret board initially and later on they can be given a better acoustic guitar with which they can start some serious learning. There is a wide range of best acoustic guitar for beginners and some of the best ones, along with their key features are discussed below.

Yamaha FG700S

One big name is Yamaha, who has dominated this field for many years together. They have an established and greater fame which will attract people. Their fret boards are made of rose wood and they also have a die-cast. This is one top of the range model.

Takamine G-340

Another highly demanded product on the market. Those who do not compromise on the quality of tone, mostly do not prefer it as the best acoustic guitar for beginners due to its lack of popularity. Still, it's among the top 10 guitars for ambitious musicians.

Seagull S6

One of the best products for the beginners. It has a solid cedar top and the body is completely made of mahogany wood. They produce the best quality sound and expressions. The only drawback is their price, still worth it though.

Fender CD140S

It is one of the lowest price guitars on the market. It is used by many beginners as they produce crystal clear sound and very high clarity. The disadvantage is that their life span is short, they do not support long run ambitions.

Epiphone EL-00

Customers who have bought this guitar recommend it for beginner to intermediate guitar players. The surprising note is the quality that it puts out at the marked price. It is really cheap considering the brilliant sound it produces.

Ibanez AC30NT

This is a type of electric guitar made for beginners. It features an affordable price tag and also produces a decent quality of sound output.

The best beginner acoustic guitars offer great quality sound at an affordable price and now that we've touched on some of the better guitar options on the market, you should have no trouble finding the best acoustic guitar for beginners. Time to rock n roll...

Click here now to find out the best acoustic guitar with affordable price in the market today such as the Yamaha FG700S acoustic guitar.


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Saturday, July 2, 2011

Digital DJ Equipment - The Gear For Pro DJs, Beginners And The Rest

What is the digital DJ equipment?

To be a digital DJ, you can use a very smart piece of gear generally called the DJ controller or console that plugs into your laptop. It combines 2 decks and a mixer all in one and allows you to play digital (MP3, wave, wma, flac) directly from your Mac or PC.

It works with an advanced software which analyses your tracks, helps you cue them up and allows you to simulate real vinyl and CD decks.

Many of them have a built in range of sound effects and advanced tools making it easier for you not only to mix, but to easily find, loop and even remix on the fly to some extent.

So why not be a PC DJ and just use a laptop on its own?

Some of the new digital DJ equipment breed just use a laptop to mix. Typically, this could be a guy on a low budget, who's never DJed before, blagging his way to gigs with a cracked version of a mixing software on a PC.

Did I mention, he's got a ton of MP3s copied from other DJs playlists and downloaded from "somewhere" on the Internet?

These guys generally can get a few gigs thanks to their smart promotion tricks and sit smugly behind their PCs, mixing with a mouse.

Yuck.

The image isn't a great one. What people see is a chancer who's trying to be cool and who's DJing to try to get money and girls by preening around and using his mouse to mix.

It's what I refer to as a mouse DJ. My advice?

Don't become one of these guys. They tend not to last too long.

If you want real gigs, a name for yourself and above all some respect then invest some of your cash and get a decent controller at least.

Mastering the gear and learning the basics of mixing, even if it is assisted by BPM counters and wave forms will get you some credit.

Some vinyl DJs may still look down their noses at you but more about that later.

Seeing a cheapskate in the booth on a PC and cracked software with little else sends out a message that this guy is a fake imposter.

That's why you should get yourself some real gear.

Being ready to doll out a few hundred on a controller sets you apart from the mouse DJs.

What DJ controllers are recommended?

I'd like to recommend you 3 different models of USB controller. This should correspond to your budget. I can't control what budget you have, but I can suggest that you always invest more in your gear.

Why? Because I know that if you buy a cheap controller, you'll end up buying a better one later on down the road. The total cost is of course, higher than if you'd invested more at the start.

In addition to this, no one wants to be seen with a plastic toy in a club. If you're passionate about becoming a digital DJ, then you should splash out some more.

Using CDs or vinyl with MP3s. Is this still digital?

It's still possible to mix using digital music and keep on using vinyls or CDS. This means that you (according to some people) still look cooler.

Whether you do or not is a matter of opinion.

If you like using CDs or vinyls to mix but you want to make the most of the convenience MP3 or digital DJing offers then you still can.

How?

By using time coded vinyl or CD to mix.

So what are the advantages of digital DJing?

Deciding how to approach DJing is important. Is mixing with MP3s looked down on with disdain in the dubstep and d'n'b world? Let's say you fit in better with vinyls.

But mixing with MP3s is more acceptable in other environments.

It's an important decision to make for you. Read more with my article to help you decide if having digital DJ equipment is really for you.

This article and many more other DJ tips, advice and a free guide to getting DJ gigs can be found at The Total DJ Blog


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