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Song Writing Tips & Tricks

  There are literally hundreds of different methods used to write a song, and every musician has tailored their own rhyme and reason of doing things. Sometimes it’s as easy as playing some piano and having the words write themselves, or it can start with a poem and a mission to find the right music to fit it. I have compiled some of the ways I have come across to write your own music. Please keep in mind that these are only a few of many different ways to come up with your own material, and these are great ways to learn. But you get much more satisfaction if you start from scratch. Enjoy, and I hope this helps.   Scaffolding Stuck? Here’s an old trick to get you going. What a good song offers is structure, repetition, form and balance. Not always easy to create, but easy to borrow. You can build on the form of another song, without sounding at all like that song. Much as a scaffold is used to frame a skyscraper — the scaffold may look familiar, but once removed yields a unique b

Grandpa Makes The Most Metal Album Since… Forever!

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  Christopher Lee, An English actor from England… Just turned 92 years old and decided he would do something no one ever expected him to do, again… You see, old Chris has made a metal album before, in fact.. you would be surprised to know that he is literally the most metal grandpa out there, and possible the most metal dude in general. But this is not the first time he has worked on a metal album.  Christopher Lee has made cameos on several heavy metal albums and released his first full-length solo effort, called Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross , in 2010. The album is a collection of words akin to heavy metal Yahtzee. Here's what the music video looks like: The above pictures are from the music video "The Bloody Verdict of Verden," and it looks like it came straight out of hell, or where ever it is Satan dwells. Its a unique mix of medi evil and death metal, and its friggin cool. You have probably guess by now that old Chris here is the singer on this collab

Free Guitar Theory Handouts by Charlie Parker

  “Music is your own experience, your own thoughts, your wisdom. If you don’t live it, it won’t come out of your horn. They teach you there’s a boundary line to music. But, man, there’s no boundary line to art.” Charlie Parker ***   Warm Up and Cross Picking Exercises Notes of the Fretboard Nashville Number System and Sharps and Flats Table C.A.G.E.D. – Major Scale in the Key of C C.A.G.E.D. – Minor Blues Scale in the Key of C C.A.G.E.D. – Four Scales in Movable Closed Positions Derivative and Parallel Major Scale Modes Order of Major Scale Arpeggios and Modes Power Chords Bar Chords Major Scale Chord Inversions in C 9th Chord Inversions in C 6th Chord Inversions in C A String Root Chords in C Guitar Tunings Blank Guitar Tab Sheet Blank Guitar Tab Sheet 2 Blank Guitar Tab with Chord Charts Blank Guitar Chord Charts Blank Guitar Chord Charts 2

Does Your Playlist Help Define Your Personality?

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Could the playlists lurking on your iPod really reveal information about your personality? Research conducted by psychologists Jason Rentfrow and Sam Gosling suggests that knowing the type of music you listen to can actually lead to surprisingly accurate predictions about your personality. For example, researchers found that people could make accurate judgments about an individual's levels of extraversion, creativity and open-mindedness after listening to ten of their favourite songs. Extraverts tend to seek out songs with heavy bass lines, while those who enjoy more complex styles such as jazz and classical music tend to be more creative and have higher IQ-scores. Another study conducted by researchers at Heriot-Watt University looked at more than 36,000 participants from all over the world. Participants were asked to rate more than 104 different musical styles in addition to offering information about aspects of their personality. The following are just some of the personali

2014 Grammy Award Winners (surprised?)

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  Album of the Year Andrew Kelly / Reuters Winner: Random Access Memories , Daft Punk The Blessed Unrest , Sara Bareilles Good Kid, M.A.A.D City , Kendrick Lamar The Heist , Macklemore and Ryan Lewis Red , Taylor Swift Record of the Year Lucas Jackson / Reuters Winner: “Get Lucky,” Daft Punk featuring Pharrell “Radioactive,” Imagine Dragons “Royals,” Lorde “Locked Out of Heaven,” Bruno Mars “Blurred Lines,” Robin Thicke featuring Pharrell and T.I. Song of the Year Phil Mccarten / Reuters Winner: “Royals,” Lorde “Just Give Me a Reason,” Pink featuring Nate Ruess “Locked Out of Heaven,” Bruno Mars “Roar,” Katy Perry “Same Love,” Macklemore and Ryan Lewis featuring Mary Lambert Best Country Album Eric Henderson / Reuters Winner: Same Trailer Different Park , Kacey Musgraves Night Train , Jason Aldean Two Lanes of Freedom , Tim McGraw Based on a True Story , Blake Shelton Red , Taylor Swift Best Pop Vocal Album The Associated Press Winner:

The Most Relaxing Song In The World, Ever!

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Scientists from British Academy of Sound Therapy got together with Marconi Union   and formed what they are calling the most relaxing song in the world. Its use of slow melodic pulses and eary build ups really get you sinking into your chair with a feeling of nostalgia you probably only heard before conception. The song features guitar, piano and manipulated field recordings. It is punctuated throughout by low tones that supposedly induce a trance-like state. This propelled the band into the media spotlight and news reports, and was reported in newspapers worldwide. Characteristically, MU declined almost all requests for interviews with the exception of a brief interview with Jarvis Cocker, during which they explicitly stated that they refused to make any claims about the so called therapeutic properties of the track, their interest in the project had been limited to the process of writing it in collaboration with the sound therapy professionals and they had set about making a

A Collection of All The Most Common Chords (Tabs)

A 0 0 2 2 2 0 A 5 7 7 6 5 5 A x x 0 9 109 A#7 (Bb7) x x 3 3 3 4 A(add B) 0 0 2 4 2 0 A(add B) x 0 7 6 0 0 A(no 3rd) x 0 2 2 x 0 A/C# 0 4 x 2 5 0 A/C# x 4 2 2 2 x A/C# x 4 7 x x x A/D x x 0 6 5 5 A/E 0 0 2 2 2 0 A/G 3 x 2 2 2 0 A13 0 0 2 0 2 2 A5 5 7 7 x x x A5 x 0 2 2 x x A6 0 0 2 2 2 2 A6 x x 0 141414 A6sus4 x 0 2 2 3 2 A7 x 0 2 2 2 3 A7sus4 x 0 2 2 3 3 A9 x x 0 121212 Ab 4 6 6 5 4 4 Ab x x 6 5 4 4 Abmaj 4 6 6 5 4 4 Ab/A x 0 1 1 1 0 Ab5 4 6 6 x x x Ab7 x x 1 1 1 2 Ab9 x x 6 5 7 6 Am x 0 2 2 1 0 Am x 0 7 5 5 5 Amaj x 0 2 2 2 0 Am(add B) 0 0 7 5 0 0 Am7 x 0 2 0 1 0 Am7 x 0 2 2 1 3 Am7/G 1