The LuxMob Info Tags

IPOD music is a great choice for getting the newest songs quickly and without the bothers of traveling to the music store. There are many locations right on the web that can provide you with the best of the best for much less. There are several locations that do offer a wide range of choice when it comes to IPOD music. Some offer more than others or they offer a better quality product. It will take a little looking to find the most affordable choice that is also the one that has what you would like to download.

Once you find the right location for your IPOD music, you can easily and quickly (it seems almost instantly) download them to your PC, your notebook, or you can check out iPod music downloads as well. There are specific services that are available to provide you with the ability to get great quality songs on your iPod. If you choose iPod music, you can find the right location to download from on the web to your iPod, take the music with you wherever you decide to go and, if you like them; you can even burn them to CD.

No matter if you choose iPod music or find a few great songs to download to your PC, there are many services that are providing this ability to you. If you are skilled, you can even find a few free iPod music downloads. Of course, to get the best products available, you may want to go with a paid service. It also pays for you to take your time in checking out a few of the services for their fees and their membership details. With so much competition out there, you are sure to find a great deal being offered to new members. Music downloads are fast becoming the best way to get the songs you want to see quickly.

Feel free to visit this site as I will be posting new reviews and tips.

Please visit some of my other sites Ipod Musicand Ipod Music Downloads

For more information please visit my website at Ipod-music.free-info-review.com” title=”Ipod Music”>Ipod Music

Peace of Music, a local music solutions company, offers workshops for youth throughout the Philadelphia area via its CODA (Community Outreach, Development, and Achievement) Program. Through schools, libraries, after school and community programs, CODA provides over a dozen music related workshops, including “Hip Hop Jazz Musicology” and “Creating an Instrumental” to students ranging in age from 5 - 18. The focus of CODA Program is providing quality youth music programs that empower our children, as well as the community as a whole.

“Not only was the performance educational, it was original and interactive,” says Christolyn Carter-El, After School Leader at Charles Durham Library. “Many of the students who participated in the program are in foster homes, some are special needs and many are just plain ‘active,’ yet the healing power and ‘peace of music’ was able to reach each and every one of them. For just a moment they were able to express themselves in a creative and fun way; they were able to just be kids.”

CODA Program’s “Introduction to Latin Style & Rhythm” workshop was included as part of the Northeast Frankford Boys and Girls Club’s Open House in celebration of Latino Heritage Month. The Peace of Music team provided the children with a “hands on approach that members are still talking about,” said Ninette Cooper, Unit Director of the program.

Tangible achievements are at the core of CODA’s approach, and the program has produced several finished CDs featuring songs written and performed by the youth. “Students are able to learn about the production process from conception to completion, including creating a fully-packaged CD,” says Nathan “Doc” Jones, CEO of Peace of Music.

CODA’s new educational newsletter, “CODA Connection,” which targets parents, educators, community organizations, and community leaders will be published this Spring.

Contact:
Nathan “Doc” Jones
Founder & CEO

Peace of Music CODA Program
P.O. Box 11787
Philadelphia PA 19101-0787

www.codaprogram.com
em coda@apeaceofmusic.com
ph 888-250-6341 x703

Kaya Casper is the publisher of Naturally You! Magazine http://www.NaturallyYouMagazine.com and can be reached at kcasper@NaturallyYouMagazine.com

The capital is chock full with incredible venues to explore. These are simply two attractions.

The famous London Eye is known as the Millennium Wheel, for those that do not realise, it is actually an observation wheel; a chance & for the London masses to behold the city from lots of and varying perspectives from around the heavens.

With up to 40 kilometres of eye-opening views on sunny days, the Millennium Wheel presents its guests with great panoramas of our capital and many of its acclaimed monuments. The wheel is, ok to visit the Millennium Wheel at either morning time or in the evening - the tough judgment will probably be determining which you’d rather do, visit during the daytime whilst the landmarks can be seen, or possibly at nighttime for a decidedly astonishing view of our capital’s night lights. You can see which shows in London are on with Time Out.

Theatreland around our capital has been in existence since back in the times of Victoria, indeed, the majority of the theatres are of latter Victorian or Edwardian design. All the buildings have a brilliant appearance and this can boost the appeal of visiting. West end theatre shows go on for a deviating amount of time. This can be dependent on their admission numbers.

You’ll find that tickets are not as high priced as they were famous for being, on the other hand they are still not uncostly. If someone reserves the tickets enough in advance they might well purchase them at a better price. Look so one can get reduced prices that different companies may be able to give. Maybe it would be enjoyable to go & for a meal before the theatre, or perhaps at reside in one of the London hotels afterwards. Time Out is sure to ensure your trip to a theatre more simple - and more pleasurable with its traditional advice of which are the number one performances in our capital and perhaps which nights out people should flee from.

Over the years, Dire Straits and Mark Knopfler have participated in numerous performances and recordings for good causes. On July 13, 1985, Live Aid was seen by millions as the birth of the “charity concert,” and Dire Straits was there with versions of “Sultans of Swing” “Money for Nothing” (before it was a hit song). Later that night, they crossed the parking lot and did another sell-out show at Wembley Arena during their massive worldwide “Brothers in Arms Live in 85″ tour.

The Eighties saw many additional charity concert appearances. In June 1986, Dire Straits also participated in the 10th anniversary concert and celebration for the Prince’s Trust Charity. Paul McCartney, Phil Collins, Elton John and many others also appeared. In 1987, Mark Knopfler performed several songs with Nashville guitar legend Chet Atkins for Amnesty International’s “Secret Policeman’s Third Ball.” In 1988, Dire Straits was the headline act for the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Party Concert at Wembley Stadium. Eric Clapton joined the band as rhythm guitarist and performed a slower-tempo version of “Wonderful Tonight.”

In the Nineties, Dire Straits appeared for the Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy charity at an all-day all-star concert in 1990 in Knebworth. In 1997, Knopfler performed at the Royal Albert Hall’s “Music For Montserrat” concert. Dire Straits had recorded their hit album “Brothers in Arms” at George Martin’s Air Studios in Montserrat, a tiny British territorial island which was hit by Hurricane Hugo in 1989 and later devastated by a volcano in 1995.

In 2002, Knopfler reunited Dire Straits under the banner “Mark Knopfler and Friends” for a series of four concerts in July. Four separate British charities benefited from the shows: Teenage Cancer Trust, Save the Baby, Leuka 2000, and Countryside Education Trust. As for getting Dire Straits back together for good, Knopfler told reporters at the time, “I would only do that for a charity. I’m glad I’ve experienced it all - I had a lot of fun with it - but I like things the way they are.”

Mark Knopfler’s distinctive guitar work can be heard on charity recordings of “Let It Be” (1987’s single to benefit the victims of the Zeebrugge Ferry disaster), “Voices That Care” (1991, as a tribute to those serving in Operation Desert Storm), and “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door (1996’s recording to benefit the victims and families of the horrific school shooting in Dunblane, Scotland).

Mark Knopfler is a singer, songwriter and guitar player touring in 2006 with Emmylou Harris to promote their new album “All the Roadrunning.” For Mark Knopfler news, biography, photographs, and tour information visit the site: http://www.knopfler.info

What is the big deal with music? Do you know that over 50 million people searched Overture for the term “music” during the month of November, 2005? What’s all the fuss about? Is it true that music moves the soul? Is it true that a song can take us back to a specific time or memory in our lives?

Music is something that has been interwoven in all of our lives from the time we were first born to now. We even know songs that were released before we were born. This probably reveals information about my age, but I was not around when the Beatles were popular, when Elvis was making all the women hot, and when Patsy Cline was belting out her tunes. That is the great thing about music; a great song will be around for a long time. If you are anything like me, you can’t wait to hear all the great songs and artists that have yet to come. I have to tip my hat to the songwriters because I don’t know how they do it. Kudos to you all.

I mentioned something a second ago about tunes and that gets me thinking; now we go to iTunes to buy music for our iPods. Go figure. We have made the transition from records to 8-tracks to tapes to CDs and now everything is purely digital. Have you ever heard of a MP3? We can fit thousands of songs on one tiny little memory chip. We can even listen to satellite radio anywhere on the globe so we are never away from our favorite music. What’s next? It will sure be interesting to watch and find out.

Thanks for playing along with my pondering of music and its popularity. Have fun with your iPods, keep your radios on, and enjoy the tunes.

Jason D. Barrett is currently focused on writing informative articles for InfoBriefs.com, child insurance articles for ChildInsure.com, and technology articles for ScoutTechnology.com. This is part of his highly successful internet property development approach. Please feel free to contact Jason through one of his sites to see how he can help you develop your own internet property!

This might sound crazy coming from someone that owns a reed making business,
but the best reeds for you are the ones you’ll make yourself.

At MKL Reeds and Oboe:Space, we get many questions about finding the ideal reed
and what we think the “best” scrape is.

As an oboist, you’ll always be striving to make better reeds. But without sounding
too zen… the answer is already in you.

What you need in a reed is unique and depends upon you, your personality and the
way you play. There is no “best” or “right” reed for everyone, no matter who you are.
Even when you make your own reeds, your own definition of the ideal reed should
change and evolve with the musical situation you are in.

There are a few qualities that MUST be present in a reed, no matter whose it is or
where you get it, or even what “kind” of scrape it is.

A good, functioning reed of any kind RESPONDS and is STABLE.

When those 2 core qualities are present, the other benefits that come along for the
ride are plentiful. In my opinion, having response and stability (most often) takes
care of pitch and even results in helping produce a respectable tone because the
reed is both easy to play and is holding together properly.

Before I think or do any kind of detailed scraping, however, my reeds must have
these core qualities. It must respond when I want it to and it must hold together no
matter where in my mouth I put it or how I choose to blow. Getting to this stage of
the game in reedmaking takes skill and practice, but is pretty much the same from
reed to reed (assuming I continue to use consistent materials, like shape and gouge,
and also that your gouge is good and centered).

I don’t know if other reedmakers actually think of reedmaking this way, but I would
venture to guess that even without thinking about it, these are the core qualities
“everyone” goes for initially.

Thinking about RESPONSE and STABILITY first keeps me focused. I strongle
recommend not going for any more “detail” until you have these 2 qualities in your
reed. This will make sure that you have a strong foundation for a good, consistent,
dependable reed. These are the reeds that we strive to sell to our customers at MKL
Reeds.

Now that we’ve covered the basics, things can get more personal…

The “best” reed for you enters next, when you start applying your own personal
tastes, preferences and habits. Unless you find someone who plays JUST like you do
and has exactly the same oral physiology and uses their air the exact same way you
do (you will never find that person), then the “best” reed for you is the one that you
make for yourself.

It’s that simple.

Commercial reeds satisfy the basic needs of oboe players, but in most cases can’t
don’t and shouldn’t go beyond that. I won’t argue that you may find some really
great reeds for yourself out there, but I’d still say that even the great reeds you find
could be surpassed with your own reedmaking efforts.

So beyond response and stability, what goes into making not just a good, but a
really great reed? We’ll save the importance of a good gouge for another time,
because that is a big topic. But besides having a great gouge, (which in itself is a
quest and an art) you need the shape that works for you.

There are tons of things to consider when choosing a shape, and you’ll only find
what’s right for you through experimentation.

The right shape for you will “fit” with your gouge and offer you things in a reed that
you might never have thought about. You might discover that what feels really good
to YOU is to have a reed that is slightly wider, allowing you to feel slightly “under” at
first. Then you find either you like that feeling because your air gets you up to pitch
perfectly, or you might make a note of this and use this shape for making the “best”
reed for playing with that church organ pitched at 438.

You might find a gouge/shape combo that makes amazingly focused, smallish reeds
that are “best” for chamber music. There might be yet another combo that makes
the most perfect low-register reeds for that second-oboe audition.

The possibilities are endless, and this is only one aspect of the freedom you have
when making the best reed for you. Finding a gouge/shape combo is very individual
and specific to you and your tastes.

Other qualities that change from person to person are how large the opening of the
reed is and how much is scraped out of different areas of the reed. Of course, this
all comes back to the different physical attributes of each person. Think of all the
obvious differences you see from one oboist to another, like height, stature, age,
etc.

These differences are important when choosing the best reed for you. Not to
mention the many difference you can’t see, like the palate, tongue or position of
teeth. These are differences that make every oboist sound and play differently.

Another important thing that determines the “best” oboe reeds for you is your
instrument. You might think, “an oboe is an oboe,” but it is really a bit more
complicated than that.

When people ask what the best reed is for them, you can’t possibly know the age/
quality/type of instrument they are playing on.

I do pretty much stand by my belief that “a good reed is always a good reed,” but
there are certain qualities of an oboe that necessitate certain qualities in a reed.
You’ll find it rather hard to find any reed that “responds” on an oboe that is really
out of adjustment.

Again, who better to make a reed for your oboe than YOU? No one else deals with
the trials and tribulations of your oboe everyday, so how could anyone else make
the best reeds for it?

Although it is hopefully pretty easy to find and/or make yourself a decent reed,
there is so much more opportunity available to you when you start to make your
own reeds and experiment with what you need, and what your instrument may
require as well.

Reedmaking is truly an art, and like any art, it is up to the artist to mold and shape
it.

Oboist and online entrepreneur Maryn Leister helps beginner and professional
oboists to be more productive and have more fun on the oboe. She publishes the
weekly Oboe:Space newsletter and gives away more FREE oboe reed tips than she
can remember with her Reed Guru service.

Sign-up for the Oboe:Space newsletter and start getting your FREE oboe reed tips
now at http://www.oboespace.com

There are a number of guitar accessories that you might want to
buy for your guitar. Guitar accessories are relatively cheap and
if you are buying a guitar, you might be able to pick up a good
deal if you want to buy a number of accessories as well.

Here is a list of guitar accessories to consider (in order of
popularity*):

Guitar cases and bags

Guitar tuner/pitch pipe

Guitar strings

Effects pedals/Foot Switches

Amplifiers

Guitar stands

Plectrums (also known as picks)

Guitar Leads/Cables

Guitar straps

Guitar Capo

Guitar Slide

Headphones

Metronome

Cleaning and maintenance (polish, nut file set, wrench set, fret
file set)

Footstool

Stringwinder (also known as a pegwinder)

Straplok set

Power adaptor for effects pedals

Gui
tar Cases and Bags

If you plan on gigging a lot or travelling on planes/trains etc.
I recommend buying a guitar case, otherwise a padded gig bag
will do just fine. The Kinsman guitar cases and guitar bags are
a very good quality and are also one of the most popular. The
Kinsman guitar bags come in three grades.

1) Standard - hardly any padding and one small pouch for music
books and accessories 2) Deluxe - quite well padded, with two
pouches 3) Premium - extremely well padded, with large and small
pouches and a shoulder strap.

The Kinsman guitar cases are made for Stratocasters,
Telecasters, Les Paul shape, electric, acoustic or bass guitars.

Gui
tar tuner/pitch pipe

There are hundreds of guitar tuners to choose from on the
market. The best brands in order of popularity* are:

Korg

Stagg

Yamaha

Intelli

Seiko

Qwik Tune

Boss

Ibanez

The two guitar tuners that stand out from the rest are the Stagg
Automatic Guitar/Bass Tuner and the Korg GA-30. These two guitar
tuners are sold more than any other guitar tuner on the market.

Guita
r Strings

It’s always wise to have a spare set of guitar strings to hand.
You never know when one will brake and leave you in a difficult
situation. You will need to buy steel strings for electric, bass
or acoustic guitars and nylon strings for classical, Spanish or
Flamenco guitars

Here is a list of the top brands of guitar strings, in order of
popularity*:

Ernie Ball

D’addario

Martin

Fender

Elixir

GHS

Augustine

Earthwood

Dan electro

Gibson

Markley

Newtone

Savarez

Rotosound

Darco

Dean

Elites

Thomastick

Tonesearch

Maxima

Warwick

Rickenbacker

PRS

Legacy

John Pearse

DR

Eff
ects pedals

For some groovy sounds you will need to buy an effects pedal.
The two most popular are the Jim Dunlop GCB-95 Original Cry Baby
Wah Wah Effects Pedal and the Ibanez Tone-Lok Series SM7 Smash
Box Effects Pedal.

Here is a list of the top brands in order of popularity*:

Ibanez

Jim Dunlop

Korg

DigiTech

Vox

MXR

Yamaha

Dan electro

Amp
lifiers

Amplifiers are used with electric guitars, bass guitars and
electro-acoustic guitars. You will need to buy a lead to connect
up to your guitar. There are many types of guitar amplifiers
ranging from the smallest which is normally 10 watts up to 500
watts! or more:

Practice amps (these are normally quite small) Standard amps
(used for playing in bands or gigging) Bass amps (used only with
bass guitars) Keyboard amps (used with electronic keyboards and
stage pianos) Mixer amps Speakers and Monitors Combo amps (also
known as combination amplifiers) Amp heads

Which brand of Amplifier do I choose? There are a number of
brands of guitar amplifiers, here is a list in order of the most
popular*:

Marshall

Fender

Vox

Peavey

Laney

Line 6

Mesa Boogie

Kustom

Crate

Carlsbro

Ashdown

BB Blaster

Yamaha

Warwick

Dean

Crafter

Cruiser

Danelectro

All guitar amplifiers sound different. Some (like Marshall and
Line 6) are good for Rock and Roll, others have a softer and
less bright sound like the popular Vox amps and Mesa Boogie.

For beginners, I would recommend either the Peavey Backstage or
the BB10 blaster amp. The Peavey Backstage is by far the most
popular and best value for money beginner’s guitar amp on the
market.

Gui
tar stands or Guitar Hangers

There are lots of different types of guitar stands, it really
depends on which stand is more suited to you. There is the
standard guitar stand, the universal guitar stand, the auto grab
guitar stand, the double and triple guitar stand and the wall
mounted guitar stand. The standard guitar stand is the most
popular and comes in three different types: i) electric/bass,
ii) classical and iii) universal.

The most popular* brands are:

Stagg

Hercules

QuikLok

Giraffe

Warwick

Fender

String Swing

Ibanez

Ple
ctrums also known as picks

Plectrums are very cheap and can be bought individually, or in
packs. Most commonly you can buy plectrums on the web in packs
of 6. Guitar plectrums come in different gauges. Usually the
thinner ones are used with Classical, Spanish or Flamenco
guitars, the medium gauges with Electric and Acoustic guitars
and the thickest ones with Basses.

There are lots of brands of plectrums. The most popular* are:

Stagg

Jim Dunlop

Fender

Gibson

Gui
tar Leads/Cables

Guitar Leads normally come in different lengths: The most common
is the 15 feet/4.5 metre leads. This length is ample if you are
playing in a band.

Popular* brands of guitar leads/cables are:

Ibanez

Peavey

Stagg

Gui
tar straps

If you want to buy a gift for a guitarist, there is nothing
better than a nice leather guitar strap.

Levys and Gibson are the most famous brands of guitar straps,
Levys have the most comprehensive selection. Other guitar straps
to look out for are Dickies and Wrangler.

Gui
tar Capos

A capo is a clamp that you can use on different frets of the
guitar to change the pitch of the open strings. Each fret on the
guitar is a half step. If you place the capo on the 1st fret,
all of the open strings will sound a semi-tone higher than
normal, this makes changing the key of a song easy. Dunlop and
Shubb are the most popular* guitar capos.

Gui
tar Slide

The guitar slide is a tube of some hard material about one to
two inches long. Commonly, it’s made from glass and metals. Each
type of guitar slide has distinct characteristics, tonality, and
overall sound. The guitar slide is pressed lightly against the
strings so as not to touch the strings of the fret, producing a
sustained tone which can be varied in pitch by moving the slide
across the neck. A quick side-to-side motion is often used in
this way to generate vibrato. The most popular brand to go for
is Dunlop.

Headph
ones

If you want to play at home but don’t want to disturb your
neighbours, then a good set of headphones is recommended. Any
headphones will do, so take your pick from any of the following
leading brands:

Acer

Acoustic Research

Advance

Advent

Aiwa

AKG

Alpine

Altec Lansing

Amphony

Apple

Artwizz

Audio-Technica

Behringer

Belkin

Beyerdynamic

Bluetake

BoomGear

Bose

Bravo

British Telecom Clarion

Compucessory

Cornbow

Creative Labs

Denon

Design Go

Direct Sound

Dolphin Music

Etymotic Research

Fostex

Franklin

Gainward

Gemini Sound Products Genius

GN Netcom

Grado

Griffin Technology Grundig

Hama

Harman Kardon Hewlett Packard

Jensen

JVC

Jwin

Kenwood

Kinyo

Kondor Limited Koss

Labtec

Logic 3

Logitech

Macally

Maxell

Ministry Of Sound MM Gear

Nady Systems

Nesa Vision

Nike

Numark

Olympus

Panasonic

Philips

Pioneer

Plane Quiet

Plantronics

Power Acoustik

Pyle

Pyramid

Roland

Rosen

Samson

Sanyo

Sennheiser

Shure

Skull Candy Sony

Stagg

Stanton

Starvision

Technics

Toshiba

Trust

Ultimate Ears Ultrasone

Unwired

Vestax

Vic Firth

Vivanco

Wharfedale

XO Vision

XtremeMac

Yamaha

Zalman Tech

Met
ronome

If you want to play your guitar in time then you are going to
need to buy a metronome. You can choose from modern electronic
metronomes or traditional mechanical metronomes. Traditional
metronomes look very nice and are made from either plastic or
wood, they are also known as pendulum metronomes because the
ticking sound is produced by a small pendulum that swings back
and forth, much like the old Grandfather clocks. The Traditional
wooden or plastic metronomes tend to be a lot more expensive
than the electronic metronomes.

The leading metronome brands in order of popularity* are:

Wittner

Korg

Yamaha

Seiko

Qwik Time

Cleaning and maintenance (polish, nut file set, wrench set,
fret file set)

To look after your guitar you will need to at least buy some
guitar polish. Gibson produce a good guitar polish and also
Doctor Ducks Axe Wax is very popular. If you are serious about
guitar playing then you might want to have a nut file, fret file
or wrench set. You can keep your guitar in top playing condition.

Footstool

The guitar footstool is used mainly by Classical, Spanish or
Flamenco guitarists. Their style of playing and the way they
hold the guitar makes the use of a footstool quite important.

Stringwinder (also known as a pegwinder)

If you have lots of guitars, own a guitar shop, or tune guitars
on a regular basis, the guitar stringwinder comes in handy as a
real time saver. Instead of turning the guitar pegs by hand, you
can use the stringwinder to speed up the process.

Straplok set

For replacing the bolt that holds on your guitar strap.

Power adaptor for effects pedals

If you use effects pedals then you will need a power adaptor to
connect to the mains.

If you are ready to buy some guitar accessories you can find a
comprehensive selection here: Guitar
accessories, tuners, bags, cases, guitar strings, stands and
more…

*Please note that the above article makes references to guitar
accessories listed in popularity order. The popularity order of
these guitar accessories is taken from www.Soundsmusical.com -
the leading UK musical instrument website.

I hope this article has been useful and you are now more
informed about guitar accessories.

Today I would like to talk about a very powerful studio tracking technique, that isn’t well known, but if properly executed, will make you sound as tight as if the band was playing together.

What I am referring to is a guide track. A guide track can be thought of as the template of the song. Usually it is performed by the rhythm guitar—sometimes the keyboards, and all subsequent tracks follow this musical tour guide. The vocals should be on the guide track as well.

The easiest way to begin a guide track is simply to play and sing along using a single microphone. If you only have a few tracks (4 to always leave your guide track as your last track. There are a few things that should be noted about the guide track. First you should always start the guide track with a count. Even if a single instrument will begin the song in production. A count gives all musicians that are waiting for their point to begin the starting gun for the song.

The guide track can be quickly laid down. There is no need to reach for sonic perfection on this track since it will eventually be deleted. It’s more important that the track keep the rhythm, tempo, and dynamics of the song on task. If you drift tempo on the guide track, all subsequent tracks will follow suit.

The guide track gives you the unique ability to give direction to the players waiting down the line. For example if there is a pause, or a blank spot in the song, COUNT aloud until the music starts. All players in the queue will hit that re-start point with ease and precision. You can also give verbal directions such as “play more dynamically here”, “the song slows down here”, or “there is a key change coming up”. Also if the guide track is played and sung with feeling, the future players will respond to that as well.

Once the guide track is done, begin laying the foundations of the music—that is the rhythm, bass, and drums. All other instruments, vocals, and “sweetening” sits on top of this foundation. When the foundation is complete, begin your overdubs. This will be solos, musical hooks, and sounds that will give the song interest.

Record your vocals last. At this point, it is a matter of personal preference if you want to take down the guide track to record your vocals. Some singers do not want the distraction of the chatter that sometimes goes with a guide track. Other times the count will still be necessary because the vocals begin with or before the music.

A good guide track gives everyone who follows a well-lit pathway. It cues and gives direction, it establishes the tempo, and the attitude of the song. When you are riding atop a guide track, it is easy to hang onto the handles.

Gary “g-man” Wesselhoff is an acoustic blues writer/performer working the Chicago Metro area. You can contact him at: gman@gmanblues.com

Please Visit his site: http://www.gmanblues.com

Once you know what your Unique Selling Proposition is as a musician (we covered this in the last issue), it’s time to ask yourself what kind of venue you want to be letting those talents out in. This is the process that will help you determine your “Perfect Performance Venue” so that you don’t waste your energy and efforts searching for performances in the wrong area!

Take some time to do this visualisation. It will only take a few minutes, but you can go on for as long as you want. Think about your performance, and imagine yourself performing somewhere. Now step back from that performance but remain in the venue. Look around, and absorb the setting, the area, the smell, the sounds, the size, the facilities. Is that the type of venue you want to be performing in?

Remember that a venue is very important. You may be so desperate to perform so you could just play anywhere, but what about performing when you’d really enjoy it?

Get a piece of paper and scribble down exactly how you want the venue to be, and what sort of venue you want. Then, from today, make a point to keep that list with you and read it over at several points in a day. Keep it safe with you, and keep it in the back of your mind when you’re doing something. Although you’re not focussing on it fully, it’s still there. Keep it there.

If you do this, you’ll begin to see all kinds of beautiful and superb venues in areas that you are in every day, but you just don’t open your eyes to it. You’ll immediately be attracted to it and may even work on getting yourself a gig there.

Remember, the Universal Law Of Attraction brings to you whatever you desire as long as you really get clear and decrease your resistance!

Kavit Haria is the Musicians’ Coach - a life coach for musicians. He is well-known worldwide in the music industry for his ability to work with musicians and help them achieve the results they wish to in their lives. Sign up to his free fortnightly newsletter at http://www.coachkavit.com

Your first guitar can become a good friend that you’ll have around you for many years. On the other hand, it can be something that you put in the attic after six months and basically forget about.

If a parent or loved one is reading. Dear friend, make sure the first guitar that you purchase as a gift is playable and not a piece of junk. Your son or daughter, regardless of talent, may be turned off from the git-go with a lousy instrument. Seek out an adult friend who plays guitar to go with you for the purchase.

The following refers to acoustic guitars.

If you are just beginning guitar, it’s important (I think) that you get a first guitar with the following traits.

Your guitar should play easily. Since you may be beginning, it’s a good idea to take a guitar playing friend with you to the music store to try out guitars. He or she can tell you whether the instrument is easy or difficult to play. Remember, you don’t have to agree with all your friend says about the guitar. But he or she has been playing guitar and their input is very valuable.

Your guitar should stay in tune. In tune basically means the strings don’t loosen,even slightly, on you guitar as you play it.

You guitar should sound good. When your friend is playing the guitar that you’re looking at, does it sound smooth,warm-when he ends the song, does the chord seem to float for a while in the air? That’s sort of what you’re looking for.
And for 80% of us in North America-Your guitar should be reasonably priced.

Here are some recommendations based on my own experience. They are not all inclusive and I am not endorsing a particular brand.

Low Priced Guitar-For the money, if feel that Yahama is a fine beginner acoustic guitar. I have never played a bad one. I’ve never played one that would slowly go out of tune as you did a gig or played more than one song.

If you got the money (or mom or pop’s got it) Martin, I believe, is hard to beat. The sustain or how long the note goes on after you stop picking is incredible. The Martin tone is warm, distinct and….beautiful.Other quality instruments that I have played and that I can give my imperfect heads up are Gibson, Acoutic Fender, and the lower priced guitars made by the above companies.

Before I depart, I offer the following tips:

Buy a case with your guitar. You have made a serious investment to purchase something that should give you enjoyment for many years. It would be a shame if Bubba, the bull-dog, pushed your guitar down the stairs or left his reprocessed lunch on the guitar laying on the floor! If you don’t have a lot of money, just buy a cheap case. It will give you protection for your guitar. Additionally, it’s easier to carry around.
Guitar picks-When you buy your first guitar, make sure you get picks. Buy one light, one medium, and one heavy. As you learn the guitar, select the pick that you like best-the one that works for you. The medium pick is a good place to start for the beginner.

Guitar tuner-These little electronic devices are relatively cheap. They allow you to turn your guitar as close to perfect as you can get. They are a good and useable investment.
The recommendations above are only for steel-string, acoustic guitars. If you’re in to electric guitars,you can find relevant information on the web about them.

Good luck on finding and purchasing your first guitar. I hope that you will develop your new craft and find years of enjoyment in your purchase.

Gene Smith is an essayist, songwriter and author. His songs include Mina de Plata and Silver Mine. He has published songs in the US and in Europe. He has also produced several spoken word book CDs. He lives in West Virginia, U.S.A.