Music has a profound effect on your body, mind, and psyche. In fact, there’s a growing field of health care known as Music Theraphy, which uses music to heal.

Those who practice music therapy are finding a benefit in using music to help cancer patients, children with ADD, and others, and even hospitals are beginning to use music and music therapy to help with pain management, to help ward off depression, to promote movement, to calm patients, to ease muscle tension, and for many other benefits that music and music therapy can bring.


December 31, 2010

Downloading Movies Online Made Easy! Here's a Simple Way


I gotta admit - I'm a massive movie buff.  For me there's nothing better than sitting down with some snacks and watching a flick.  Lately I've gotten a number of questions from readers wondering where they can go to download movies online, so I decided to put together a quick article answering this question.

There's a lot of people who now download all the movies they watch.  The web has made it easy to download movies so you don't need to go out to the store to pick up the newest movie.

The selection of movies online is incredible.  You can pick from far more movies on the net than you ever could in a video store.  Whether it's a golden oldie or a new release, most likely you can grab it online.

How is it possible find movie downloads?

December 16, 2010

Dance, Monkey, Dance! Tips For Overcoming Stage Fright.


Last night at Banjo Jim's I had the fight or flight response when I got on stage to sing. My heart started throbbing in my chest, my throat got tight, and I felt like I had to pee, even though I had just peed several times. I was looking forward to being back home in NYC, playing and singing in front of people I know and love. 
I was bummed that the next fifty minutes might turn out poorly due to unexpected stage fright. Performing is my favorite thing to do when I'm doing it well, and the opposite when I'm dying a slow death out there. If you have ever had a fear of public speaking, any kind of performance anxiety or stage fear, you have felt what I was feeling last night.
In the front of three rows were Abeline and Lucas who had both taken my "Sing Better in A Day" singing class earlier in the day. We had just talked about stage fright. I discussed a number of tools for overcoming stage fright, and there I was with a loud hum going off in my brain and shaky hands.  I have been a vocal coach and singing teacher for almost twenty years.
I have given thousands of singing lessons, and worked on performance with hundreds of voice students, I have spent hours and hours helping students with a fear of public speaking, but there I was, sweaty and tongue-tied. All I could do was say what I remembered Joie Blaney telling me - you're not nervous, you're excited to play - and say, "Apparently, I'm very excited to see you guys. I'm really glad you're here."

A singing teacher can get stage fright, too.

December 4, 2010

Essential Accessories For Your Electric Guitar

The first thing to get is an electric tuner. You might have the skill to tune by ear which is great. No one should just rely on using a tuner and never learn how to tune without one. The problem is that if you are playing at places there are times where it is so loud that you can't tune by ear because you can't hear the guitar. You have to have an electric tuner.

Get strap locks for your guitar. Strap locks are a way of attaching the strap to the guitar through a system that ensures that it will not fall. It will bolt onto the guitar through ball bearings holding it no matter how much it moves or how much weight is hanging from the guitar. This is a great way to protect your guitar from being damaged.

Get a practice amp with a headphone jack. Not all times you can play with your large amplifier. Having a headphone jack is even better because you can plug in headphones and practice while not disturbing others.

A mutli effects peddle is something you might consider buying. This will let you play many different effects at the same time. The advantage of this is that you will sound nicer when you play and it can make playing your guitar more fun.

November 24, 2010

Music Education for Parents: Teaching Kids Music and Keeping Them Motivated


It is very important to try to avoid instilling this attitude on your children, "I don't want to go to work but I do".  On the surface it may sound like a simple high quality work ethic, and you probably heard it from your parents, but it really does not work on children.

If you are teaching kids music this is certainly not the way to keep them motivated.  As adults we must work to earn money to live.  When teaching kids music you must remember your child does not need to practice music to live.

There is a very limited time and place to focus on teaching kids music by force and by all means, do it when needed, but that should be the exception and not the norm.  If your child is happy they will stay motivated and study their lessons with interest.

The motivation element of teaching kids music rests almost 100% on the parents and teacher.  When teaching kids music, especially when they are young (age 5 or 6) they have a very high level of respect for their parents and teachers.  Many times they may even have more respect for the teacher than the parents.

November 22, 2010

Should You Buy a Nikon Camera, or Go With a Canon USA Camera?


Pepsi or Coke? Harry Potter or Twilight? Apple or Windows? Nikon or Canon? For me, it's Pepsi, Harry Potter and Apple hands down, but the last one is a stumper. Is one really better than the other? Is Apple really better than Windows? Well... technically not. 
It's a matter of taste and opinion. The same goes for the other two. There's no conclusive evidence to prove that one brand is superior to the other; on the contrary, everything to be said about their cameras suggests the opposite.
Each is a multi-billion dollar company, so obviously neither make or sell bad products. They use the same materials -- one does not impregnate its cameras with fairy dust, thereby creating a magical photography tool to rule all others. Some people prefer Nikon DSLRs and Canon compact digital cameras, while others like Canon DSLRs and Nikon point-and-shoots. And yes, some people are brand-snobs; some would never deign to touch a Canon, while others spit on Nikons.
The truth is you'll probably be able to find exactly what you need with either a Nikon or a Canon. They have a habit of releasing new cameras months within each other, always trying to top one another, but typically ending up with pretty similar products. They all have different specs, and that's what you should really be focusing on. What kind of lens do you want? What's the minimum resolution you're willing to work with? What sort of ISO range are you looking for? Do you want to be able to shoot movies with this camera?

November 19, 2010

Learn to Play the Guitar Online: How To Locate Classes!


Whenever you are attempting to learn to play the guitar for the first time, it can be difficult.  There are so many different chords to learn and overall, it is not the easiest instrument to learn.  

In this article, we are going to discuss how you can learn how to play the guitar quickly, easily and online.  Believe it or not, most people do not realize that you can learn to play the guitar online.   

How do online classes work for guitar lessons?  Stay tuned, for that is the next topic that we are going to talk about.

If you have been dying to play the guitar but simply do not have the time to commit to a class, going online is going to be your best option and one of the biggest draws is the fact that you certainly do not have to schedule classes.  You can typically take your online class whenever you have the time, so you will have the ability to learn how to play the guitar at your own pace.
 

November 18, 2010

5 Tips To Learn Guitar Chords For Beginners


The main difficulties faced by most beginners is the memorization of guitar chords and the ability to change them smoothly. Some gave up as it seems like an impossible task for them. As much as we dread it, it is a process that we cannot fast forward.
Recalling chords instantly and playing any song that you like is the ultimate goal for all beginners. However, you need to complete the initial stage of playing your first song perfectly. This article provides helpful tips for beginners who want to learn guitar chords successfully.
5 Tips to learn guitar chords for beginners:
1. Getting a guitar chord book
2. Getting into the right finger positions
3. Changing chords
4. Remembering chords
5. How To Practice Effectively

The Benefit of Music

Research has shown that music has a profound effect on your body and psyche. In fact, there’s a growing field of health care known as Music Therapy, which uses music to heal.

Those who practice music therapy are finding a benefit in using music to help cancer patients, children with ADD, and others, and even hospitals are beginning to use music and music therapy to help with pain management, to help ward off depression, to promote movement, to calm patients, to ease muscle tension, and for many other benefits that music and music therapy can bring.

This is not surprising, as music affects the body and mind in many powerful ways. There are some of effects of music, which help to explain the effectiveness of music therapy:

Music with a strong beat can stimulate brainwaves to resonate in sync with the beat, with faster beats bringing sharper concentration and more alert thinking, and a slower tempo promoting a calm, meditative state.

Also, that the change in brainwave activity levels that music can bring can also enable the brain to shift speeds more easily on its own as needed, which means that music can bring lasting benefits to your state of mind, even after you’ve stopped listening.

With alterations in brainwaves comes changes in other bodily functions. Those governed by the autonomic nervous system, such as breathing and heart rate can also be altered by the changes music can bring.

This can mean slower breathing, slower heart rate, and an activation of the relaxation response, among other things. This is why music and music therapy can help counteract or prevent the damaging effects of chronic stress, greatly promoting not only relaxation, but health.

Music can also be used to bring a more positive state of mind, helping to keep depression and anxiety at bay. This can help prevent the stress response from wreaking havoc on the body, and can help keep creativity andottimism levels higher, bringing many other benefits.

Music has also been found to bring many other benefits, such as lowering blood pressure (which can also reduce the risk of stroke and other health problems over time), boost immunity, ease muscle tension, and more. With so many benefits and such profound physical effects, it’s no surprise that so many are seeing music as an important tool to help the body in staying (or becoming) healthy.

With all these benefits that music can carry, it's no surprise that music therapy is growing in popularity.


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