Adjustable Piano Bench Advantages - Three Important Reasons to Purchase an Adjustable Bench

For all musicians, whether they are playing the piano, guitar, harp and any other instrument, one of the important areas of interest would be correct seating and posture. When you are researching the different bench options, you need to look at the widely used adjustable piano bench styles since they offer excellent features than any other models. This article will examine the three important reasons to purchase an adjustable bench: comfort, versatility and height variability.

When your torso and hands have the correct coordination this will result in additional skill and less stress, lowering the risk of incapacitating, long-term injuries related to musicians like carpal tunnel syndrome. In order to get this coordination, you need a bench with the correct height. Although most piano benches will be the standard height, you can find differences in the overall height and built as this will vary significantly. The height variability for most benches can be adjusted from 18 to 24 inches in height to successfully enable the player to match their height with the piano to reduce stress and increase their musical efficiency.

Aside from the height adjustment feature, all adjustable benches will have a top that is fully padded with foam and covered in genuine leather or vinyl. When a musician is interested in their instrument, most times they will spend several hours practicing in the same position. During this time a bench that is fully padded will become a valuable asset, plus it offers added comfort to make long practice sessions feasible without discomfort. There are other bench models that will not offer full comfort from the thick padding and foam like the adjustable models.

Often times, the active musicians have to practice and perform in many different spaces and settings. The adjustable benches are known to be the most versatile because they are easily transportable and could be used with many instruments when adjusted. The best possible seating position of individual players can easily be preserved regardless of when and how the adjustable bench is used. In general, you can find adjustable piano bench in wide selection of colors and styles including models with genuine leather covers. This bench will be the ideal choice for pianists who are playing duets and would like a double adjustable bench with dual seating. Whenever you are ready to buy a new bench, you can find speciality niche online stores offering a great selection of benches with affordable prices, plus direct shipping to your front door.

It is much more convenient to purchase a piano bench online, rather than from a local piano store. Often the local merchant will not have an adjustable piano bench in stock, or have the proper color to meet your needs.

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Death Metal Elitists, Brutality Are Resurrected Through Reissues Of Their Three Studio Albums

BRUTALITY - Screams Of Anguish, When The Sky Turns Black, In Mourning
Metal Mind Productions

Remember when Florida's death metal scene was at its prime back in the late eighties to the early nineties? Man, who can forget when such prominent bands as Death, Morbid Angel, Angel Witch, Diabolic, Atheist, Deicide, Monstrosity, Cynic, Malevolent Creation, and last but not least Brutality, which decimated the local club scene. Yes, Tampa's Brutality was one such band, which played blasting, cranium crushing, and blast beat driven death metal from the heart. What sucks about their situation is that their "Screams Of Anguish" debut LP came out towards the middle of 1993, at a time when the death metal scene in the US, especially in Florida was losing ground to grunge and alternative metal groups. Also, their existence as a prominent death metal band was overshadowed by many of their more popular counterparts mentioned above, which definitely did not help the band gain much ground among serious death metal fans.

"Screams Of Anguish" was a solid attempt at creating some of the most brutal death metal ever to torment human ears. My first time listening to "Screams..." was quite an earth and soul shattering experience. The music on this monster just came out of my stereo speakers and ripped off my ears and more... All I can say is: "wow, it was pure sonic violence at its best". Just listen to the barbaric acts of their aural misery on the twisted "Septicemic Plague", and you'll be just amazed how well these guys could play with such precision at 1000 miles per hour. "Screams Of Anguish" showed just how capable Brutality was at executing extreme death metal without any limits on speed, heaviness and pure aggression. The bonus track of "Sadistic" makes "Screams Of Anguish" even more evil, sick and twisted.

Album number two, "When The Sky Turns Black" was not as brutally fast and raw like its predecessor, but definitely showed the quintet's penchant for playing melodic solos and rhythms that just felt right at home to that death metal head. Musically, this record displayed the band's mature songwriting skills along with their ability to write lyrics inspired by real life events such as the Branch Davidian mass suicide and the likelihood of the ending of our world. Just one listen to "Shrine Of The Master" and you will be thrown into a tailspin with its whirlwind of chaotic riffs; in you face rhythms, corroded vocal patterns, and drumming as vicious as a Cobra's bite.

There is also an acoustic instrumental in the shape of "Awakening", one of their more doom and gloom offerings. You'll also be treated to a special bonus track in the form of "Cryptorium", which shatters all barriers within the extreme death metal circles when it comes to speed, aggression and overall feel for the band's darkened emotions.

Last but not least, album-number three and their final record as a group, "In Mourning" was a strong contender, but the band were not proud of this studio output. I personally enjoyed it for what it had to offer by way of heaviness, a strong production and sound. It definitely did not compare to their debut CD "Screams Of Anguish", but was entertaining for its pissed off nature. I enjoyed this album a lot and can remember playing it for days on end. There is also a killer bonus track on here in the shape of "Certain Annihilation", which smokes!

Hopefully, Brutality will resurface for one last time to lay claim to that recognition they never got. They sincerely deserve it, and would be very cool to see them reform to bring back their fourth studio album to fruition.

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The '80's: Death of a Legend and the Birth of Three Stars

I hate it to begin on a sad note, but the fact is, if you're gonna write about music in general or just the 1980's in particular, you cannot ignore the following information. At the close of 1980 on December 8, former member of the legendary group the Beatles, John Lennon and his wife Yoko, were returning to their apartment building in Manhattan, New York. The couple had been at a recording studio, where Lennon was working on the follow up to his just released album, "Double Fantasy".

He was approaching the building's entrance when a young man called out to him, "Mr Lennon!" The young man was 25 year old Mark David Chapman. Before Lennon could turn around, Chapman brandished a.38 revolver and shot the performer five times in the back. Lennon would later pass away in transit to the hospital. The cruelest irony is that just a few hours earlier, Lennon had autographed an album for his killer. The entire music world, along with the rest of the world mourned the passing of the man who once asked us to "Imagine", a peaceful and violent-free world. Chapman was found legally insane and was remanded to an institution, where he is to this day.

Despite this terrible tragedy, the '80's were a "totally awesome" decade for music. Seeing the creation of a new medium that would revolutionize the way we listen to music. Listen? Hmmm..., I should say watch music. At 1 minute passed midnight, on August 1st, 1981, "MTV" premiered it's first music video. It was the "Buggles', prophetic tune, "Video Killed the Radio Star". A one-hit wonder, we soon said bye-bye to the Buggles, but MTV would remain and become a monster! The idea was just this, a 24hr. cable t.v. channel that would become to music what ESPN had become to sports. Of course, in the very beginning, the numbers were small, but then president of MTV, 27 year-old Robert Pittman hung in there. He knew he had a winner. Pittman was right. Only reaching 2.5 million viewers in '81, by 1983, the music channel had become the highest-rated cable program to date, with over 13 million households watching. By 1984, the ratings were off the chart! MTV was a phenomenon and everyone knew it.

New artists, Madonna, Duran Duran, Human League, Def Leppard, Prince, along with many others, were lining up to make videos. No longer just selling a certain sound, artist were now selling a look to go along with it. Seeing the unbelievable popularity, even established artist like, Fleetwood Mac, Van Halen, Genesis, and Aerosmith were signing on for this venture. Some, even seemed to enjoy it. Over the years, MTV has changed. For me, I'm not real crazy about where it has headed. You see, I'm of the generation that remembers when music television was just that. Music videos only, all day, all night, all the time. Not a fan now, I liken MTV to an old girlfriend. I don't like where the relationship ended up, but I had a lot of fun in the beginning.

In November of 1982, Epic Records released the album Thriller. It was soul/pop star Micheal Jackson's 2cnd solo project. His first solo album, 1979's Off the Wall, was quite a success, but it would not compare to the ground and record breaking phenomenon that would become Thriller. Produced by Quincy Jones and Jackson for a budget of $750,000, it has since made that money back several times over selling around 110 million copies. It remains the best-selling album in the U.S. to this day. Filled with pop and dance music, seven of the nine tracks on the album scored a spot in top 10 on the billboard charts. Songs like "Billie Jean", "Beat It", and "Wanna Be Startin Somethin", were among these hits. The album won a record 8 Grammys The 24 year-old Jackson was propelled to superstardom, the likes of which only a very few artist have ever known. And MTV was there, playing a part in all the success. The music videos created for Thriller were like none ever before seen. They were professional, slick, and well choreographed. The video for the album's title song was presented as a mini-movie.

Directed by John Landis, of "Animal House" and "An American Werewolf in London" fame, the video incorporated dialogue and a storyline. Legendary horror-film actor, Vincent Price, even narrated. Millions of MTV viewers tuned in to watch the video's premiere. Micheal Jackson was a worldwide superstar. His name was on the lips of every pop music fan on the globe. However, fame is a double edged sword. Over the the course of the remaining and the next two decades, Jackson's ever-growing bizarre behavior and life-style was becoming the source of media gossip and news. Then allegations of child sexual abuse and a sudden and strange quicky marriage and divorce to Lisa Marie Pressley, (daughter of the late Elvis Pressley), had fans concerned and wondering about the popstar. Jackson went from popstar to media oddity. Despite all this, Jackson's contribution to music cannot be forgotten, and Thriller is considered one of the great achievements in pop music history.

In the mid-eighties, after the popularity of Thriller had died down, and the release of Van Halen's album, "1984", the hard rock movement had taken a new turn. Instead of the black-clad and long straight hair of hard rock and heavy metal bands of the past, with the influence of MTV, these new hard rockers had big poofy hair, wore make-up, and were basically pretty boys with guitars and high voices. Bands like "Twisted Sister", "Poison", "Ratt", "Quiet Riot", "Def Leppard", "Guns 'n" Roses", and the irrepressible "Motley Crue", were entertaining the guys with hard beats and lightening fast guitar numbers and making the girls swoon with their bad boy attitudes, love ballads, and good looks. Ballads like, Motley Crue's "Home Sweet Home", and The band, Warrent's "Heaven", were big hits on MTV. In 1986, rock group, "Bon Jovi" with frontman, Jon Bon Jovi at the helm, released their 2nd album, New Jersey. It was an instant success.

The song tracks, "Living on a Prayer" and "Wanted Dead or Alive", were hits on the pop charts as well as MTV. There was a host of these so-called "hair bands", the group, Tesla had hits with "Love Song" and their cover of "Signs". Germany import, "The Scorpions", hit it big with their album, Love at First Sting. Def Leppard's long awaited 2cnd album, Hysteria, was sagging, until they released, "Pour Some Sugar on Me", "Love Bites", and the the title track. Then the album soared to the top of the charts. With songs like "Sweet Child 'O Mine", Welcome to the Jungle", and "Paradise City", Guns 'n' Roses' debut album, Appetite for Destruction, became one the top selling albums of 1987.

But as the '80's came to a close, so did the reign of the hair-bands. Hard-core rap was now appearing on the scene. No longer subjugated to the underground or the mean streets of urban cities, rap groups like Run DMC and N.W.A. were bringing their voices and their message into the mainstream.

On the flip side of the coin there were non hard-core rappers like, "The Beastie Boys" and "DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince", that were bringing in audiences with a softer less threatening sound. Also, the Seattle sound that became known as "Grunge Rock", was about to explode on the scene. The '80's were over, but the music created during the decade would and still influence the young artist to come.

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Three Big Home Audio Formats From The Previous 150 Years

One of the initial reasonably priced home entertainment technologies were the fascinating vinyl records. Compact discs were yet another revolutionary disc medium that appeared almost 100 years later. The non-disc counterpoint to both, tape cassettes, were popular commencing in the later years of vinyl and concluding in the earlier years of CDs. The three distinct media enabled people all over to hear their favorite songs (or skip over or through them) anytime they wished, with each exhibiting strong and weak points.

The classic vinyl records were an outgrowth of the invention of the gramophone, which at last ensured that a broad range of Americans and those in other industrialized states would be able to afford to listen to various non-live songs whenever they so desired. Thomas Edison had earlier invented a contraption that made use of wax or tinfoil cylinders, but this appliance, devised by Emile Berliner, utilized space-saving vinyl discs instead. Little grooves in a vinyl record would emit sound via a vibrating stylus which moved over them, with the audio then being amplified by an attachment of some kind. As a positive, sounds from many frequencies could be replicated on a vinyl record, but as a drawback, records' surfaces were easily damaged and the discs were often warped under higher temperatures.

The gramophone was rather large, though, and tape players were supposed to be a smaller alternative. A long piece of tape wound over a pair of spools, all encased in plastic, composed an audio cassette, the medium read by these machines. The tape inside of a cassette, readable by playback components through a gap on the underside of the plastic case, had aural information magnetically written into it. A significant advantage of cassettes was their capacity to be taken places, with a number of portable players being popular for quite some time. Major drawbacks included the risk of the tape becoming snagged and possibly even damaged by a player, and playback pitch varying with the factory-set speeds of players.

The most popular purchasable audio format at present, aside from mp3s, is the compact disc. A spiral track with incredibly tiny pits of different lengths, which a player's laser picks up on and transmits to decoding firmware in the machine, is imprinted on each compact disc. The main drawback with CDs is their likelihood of being scratched on either of their surfaces, although this problem has been somewhat alleviated by the development of re-surfacing solutions for the clear side on the bottom.

Without needing to rely on radio, we had the option to hear our favorite songs anytime on Beatles vinyl records, Allman Brothers cassettes, Nirvana CDs, and tons of others. Thus, our lives were without a doubt more enriched by the availability of these three technologies.

SoundStage Direct, LLC is an online independent store based in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. SSD has the largest selection of Beatles vinyl online. You don't want to miss amazing closeout deals available at our LP outlet! We have vinyl records for everyone and a variety of genres and formats available and ready to be shipped at your doorstep.

Seth Frank
SoundStage Direct, LLC

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