Music and Band

By Chris Smith

Learning to play an instrument can be very rewarding and satisfying. The only real problem is what musical instrument to learn as there are so many available.

Learning an instrument is a fun personal challenge. The ultimate satisfaction is mastering a piece of music is the accomplishment of finishing, in some peoples eyes. The joy and satisfaction of being able to play a piece proficiently and thoughtful helps create the feeling of accomplishment.

But where to start with learning to play the piano . Actually playing the piano can be quite easy. The tone of the note only comes from pressing a key on a string. Most pianos contain 88 keys, separated between black and white. Piano keys are generally made by Ebony and Ivory, and the harder the player presses the key the louder the sound. The volume can also be controlled by two pedals found on most pianos. The right hand piano pedal is called the sustain pedal. When pressed simultaneously with a note, the sound created resonates and remains when the finger is removed from the key. This happens because inside the piano the dampers on the strings are removed when the pedal is pressed down thus meaning that the string will continue to resonate resulting in the sound continuing.

The sustain pedal can also be used to help create feeling and atmosphere. Often the pedal is used in quiet parts of the piece to help create this atmosphere, so please don’t think that the sustain pedal is only used when playing loudly. Use of the sustain pedal is a skill that all pianists will gain through regular practice. Over use of the pedal will effect the performance considerably.

The other pedal is sometimes used but more often than not, as much as the right pedal. This other pedal is used to help control the volume, helping to create a much quieter sound. For this to happen with the use of the pedal, when it is pressed down, the hammers inside the piano that strike the strings only strike one of the 2 or 3 strings inside the piano. The theory is, 1 string resonating is going to be quieter than 2 or 3 strings resonating. This said, pianists shouldn’t use the left pedal for soft playing and the right pedal for loud playing. You can still play quietly with the right pedal and loudly with the left pedal. For the ability of controlling volume you can not get better than your fingers which strike the note in the first place. Learning to play the piano at home can be beneficial, however it, like any other self teaching method, will require an amount of perseverance. There are many resources available on the internet for those people who want to learn how to play the piano. I would suggest www.pianoplayingtips.info as a good enough place to start. The main reason being is that this is written by a classically trained pianist and provides more than one suggested resource for learning the piano online. The resources also give other good pianist techniques such as improvisation, chords, sight reading, playing by ear etc. These are skills that all musicians should aim to perfect as well as their own instrument.

About the author
Chris is a classically trained conservatoir pianist who recommends www.pianoplayingtips.info as a great teaching resource.

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Learn the progressive method of piano teaching at http://www.theebookstar.com/product.php?products_id=90

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piano
how to
play piano

By Clyde Dennis

The exceptionally talented Rock group Dave Matthews Band have released their CD entitled Everyday. I am very confident and happy to announce that I believe Dave Matthews Band fans, and Rock fans alike will be pleased with this one. With the release of Everyday their artistic excellence is on full display as they have once again delivered a brilliant collection of tracks that could very well be their best work to date.

It’s a rare day indeed that I get a CD from an artist that I can truthfully say does not have a bad track in the bunch. I’m more than happy to announce that’s exactly what I must say about this one. There simply is NOT a bad one in the bunch. No fillers here at all.

These days it’s a very rare CD on which every single song is good or better than the one before it. This CD is certainly one of those rare CDs.

Listen to this CD and I believe you’ll find there’s not much to dis-like about it. The songs are inspired, the production is simply outstanding, and this is clearly the work of a group of musicians in top form. So much so that if you’re even mildly into Rock music you’ll enjoy this album.

While the entire album is really very good some of my favorites are track 1 - I Did It, track 2 - When The World Ends, and track 12 - Everyday

My Bonus Pick, and the one that got Sore […as in “Stuck On REpeat”] is track 4 - Dreams Of Our Fathers. This is a great track!

Everyday Release Notes:

Dave Matthews Band originally released Everyday on February 27, 2001 on the RCA Records label.

CD Track List Follows:

1. I Did It
2. When The World Ends
3. Space Between, The
4. Dreams Of Our Fathers
5. So Right
6. If I Had It All
7. What You Are
8. Angel
9. Fool To Think
10. Sleep To Dream Her
11. Mother Father
12. Everyday

Dave Matthews Band: Dave Matthews (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, baritone guitar); Leroi Moore (flute, contra bass clarinet, alto & tenor saxophone, background vocals); Boyd Tinsley (violin, background vocals); Stefan Lessard (electric bass); Carter Beauford (vibraphone, drums, bongos, congas, background vocals). Additional personnel: Vusi Mahlasela (vocals); Carlos Santana (electric guitar); Glen Ballard (keyboards, programming). Recorded at Conway Studios, Hollywood,
California.

About the author
weblinks

By Tony Connor

You’ve got your shiny new Zune, now what? Fill it up with music of course!

You might be surprised to know there are quite a number of options out there. Yes, you can pay 99c per song at Amazon or where ever, but it’s worth looking into some of the other services and deciding what is your best strategy.

Free download networks are not really a good choice unless you REALLY want computer viruses, adware, spyware etc. There are also significant issues regarding the legality of these sites and the music quality is poor.

There are a number of online services now that offer unlimited downloads for a one off price. The price is typically between $30-$40. That means it pays back after you download about 30-40 songs - the equivalent of three CDs! I’m sure you were planning to get more music than that for your Zune! This also gives you the flexibility to download songs you’re not sure you will like, listen to them for a while, and then delete them if it turns out you don’t like them. A key thing to look for in these sites is ease of use - you don’t want to have to be an expert in the various software programs available, and you want to find the song you’re looking for quickly. You also want a site with great customer service that will help you if you have problems.

These sites started out with only music available, but they have now branched out to movies, music videos, TV shows, games and more. They also supply software to enable you to burn the music, movies etc. onto CDs or DVDs too. When you are deciding make sure you are clear on what you are paying for. Some sites have one price with all the software etc. bundled in, others charge for it separately. You just need to made sure you factor this in when deciding between them.

The bottom line is that for less than $40 you can fill your Zune with literally thousands of songs AND save money! Plus you get movies and TV shows as a bonus.

About the author
You can find a list of the top Zune download sites at Zune Download Sites or Zune Download Sites Guide

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music
download
zune

Family Gras will take place on the neutral ground of Veterans Memorial Boulevard across from Lakeside Shopping center in Metairie

January 25 5:30pm-7:45pm
January 26 11am-7:15pm
January 27 11am-6:30pm

The Gretna Stage will be located at the corner of the Westbank Expressway and Franklin Avenue on the Riverside of the Westabnk Expressway.  This area is in between Franklin Avenue and Stump Boulevard. 

January 26 11am-4pm
January 27 11am-4pm

http://www.familygras.com

Family Gras will take place on the neutral ground of Veterans Memorial Boulevard across from Lakeside Shopping center in Metairie

January 25 5:30pm-7:45pm
January 26 11am-7:15pm
January 27 11am-6:30pm

The Gretna Stage will be located at the corner of the Westbank Expressway and Franklin Avenue on the Riverside of the Westabnk Expressway.  This area is in between Franklin Avenue and Stump Boulevard. 

January 26 11am-4pm
January 27 11am-4pm

http://www.familygras.com

Family Gras will take place on the neutral ground of Veterans Memorial Boulevard across from Lakeside Shopping center in Metairie

January 25 5:30pm-7:45pm
January 26 11am-7:15pm
January 27 11am-6:30pm

The Gretna Stage will be located at the corner of the Westbank Expressway and Franklin Avenue on the Riverside of the Westabnk Expressway.  This area is in between Franklin Avenue and Stump Boulevard. 

January 26 11am-4pm
January 27 11am-4pm

http://www.familygras.com

The Concert at Christmastime performed by the New Orleans Concert Band was a great success! We received many compliments from the audience, which was pretty decent in size. This concert featured music from composers like Offenbach (Galop), Kabalevsky (Overture to Colas Breugnon), Fergal Carroll (Song of Lir) among others. We rounded out the performance with our long time tradition: Leroy Anderson’s Christmas Festival and Sleigh Ride. Yours truly provided the horse sound at the end of Sleigh Ride.

Now we’re on hiatus until January, and our next concert is scheduled for March 9th. I’ll try and post some audio clips once we get the CD from this last concert.

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music
christmas
christmas music
holiday music
band
band review
music review

It’s that time of year again.  Two of the groups I regularly perform with are gearing up for the holiday season with appropriate music.  The brass ensemble at church has been running through collections of carols we’ve been purchasing from www.virtualsheetmusic.com, and the New Orleans Concert Band has started pulling out some
familiar Christmas and Holiday songs in some not so familiar arrangements.

Having a selection of standard Holiday music for your band is very important if you are playing during the Holiday time of year.  You can find music for a variety of group sizes on the web.  Take a look at www.virtualsheetmusic.com for starters.

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music
christmas
christmas music
holiday music
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Those of you who read this blog know the topics tend be primarily music and band related (hence the clever url www.musicandband.com).  However, every now and then I like to veer slightly to include something that is tied in with music, like the movie “Across the Universe”, for example.

Music and Magic together in a show is not the newest thing out there.  However, the high-energy collision of music with stunning magic that is known as Thrillusions is a fresh and exciting ride through a world where you honestly don’t know what to expect next.

My wife and I were fortunate to have seen two showings of Thrillusions at Harrah’s Casino in New Orleans.  If you are in the area where this show is performing and have a chance to get tickets, I suggest you give Thrillusions a look - you won’t be disappointed. 

At the center of Thrillusions is the master of illusions, Philippart.  His appearance to me conjures thoughts of characters from a Cirque du Soleil or perhaps Cats performance.  He skillfully and delightfully weaves his magic whilst playing to the crowd quite well.  Philippart’s sidekick, Anja, is a great foil to his magic schemes.  Together, they display a great mix of amazement and humor.  It is very enjoyable to watch them in this act.

Aside from the nucleus of the magic in Thrillusions lies a collection of top-notch music and dance performances.  To provide the act some variety, Thrillusions includes performances by several noted celebrity singer impersonators.  Hollie Vest entrances the crowd with her spot on Tina Turner performance.  She really gets into working the crowd.  In fact, on each of the two performances I saw Hollie pull up a collection of willing (or semi-willing) male volunteers on stage with her as her backup dancers for “Proud Mary”.  Who said Ike would ever get the last laugh?

David Bowie was also represented thanks to David Brighton.  Of the impressionists in Thrillusions, I think David Brighton had the closest resemblance to the original performer.  He too was strongly playing to the crowd as he sang a number of hits from the Bowie library.

Rounding out the impressionist group in Thrillusions was Prince, nicely portrayed by Vince Gibbs.  Vince is clearly on his game as he was turning in a smoldering collection of Prince classics.  He wasn’t beyond throwing in a few dance moves as well.

Present throughout the show of Thrillusions is the high-energy dance of the Thrillusions dancers.  Choreographed nicely by Bart Doerfler and lead dancer Jennifer Vossmer, the Thrillusions dancers open the show and give the audience non-stop excitement and palpable energy.  The energy in Thrillusions is flowing from the opening number, and it reaches a fever pitch with the finale, which involves a classic New Orleans second line.

Thrillusions is in the process of wrapping up their premier U.S. performance at Harrah’s.  I was able to speak briefly with Philippart and Hollie Vest after one showing, and Hollie indicated to me their goal of bringing this show to Las Vegas.  With their brand of stunning magic and amazing music and dance performance, it seems it won’t be long before Thrillusions calls Vegas home.

Find out where Thrillusions will be performing next at http://www.thrillusions.com/

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music
review
thrillusions
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new orleans

As Thomas Wolfe wrote, you can’t go home again.  Of course, that doesn’t mean you can’t visit once in awhile.

Recently, my alma mater, Brother Martin High School in New Orleans, held an Alumni Band event in conjunction with the school football game that day.  This was the second consecutive alumni band event the school has held in recent years, and it was the first alumni event of any type I attended.

I saw guys I went to school with that I haven’t seen in many years (that’s me in the center, BTW).  It was great catching up with old friends from years gone by and doing a little reminiscing.  Marching band was one of the best aspects of my time in high school.  Music has always been there for me, and with marching band in high school, I was given the chance to really challenge myself and be part of a great group of people.  I made friends with people in my class as well as those younger and older than me.  The band was a unit, like the expression goes: the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

This was the second year of this event, and the size of the group has increased from last year.  I’m looking forward to making this a regular event on my calendar.

If you have kids in school, or you are yourself in school now and have an inclination to join an activity, I personally recommend some form of music or band program.  The experiences and the memories you or they will gain will last long after graduation.

Trust me, I speak from experience.

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band
music
high school
alumni