About Music Blog

Those who learn Spanish in Chile also have an opportunity to learn about local culture, including music and dance. While modern genres like rock and metal are popular, traditional folk music is also beloved. The different regions of Chile have different types of folk music, with the music of Easter Island and of the Mapuche people being the most distinct. One band, Los Huasos Quincheros, has been able to transcend these differences and produce a folk music sound that is popular throughout the entire country.

Believe it or not, this group has been popular since the 1930s. Four young college students started the group with the goal of popularizing traditional Chilean folk music. Although all the original band members have been replaced over time, the band itself has endured, taking on its own life and identity.

After the rise of the Los Huasos Quincheros’ fame, other groups specializing in folkloric music arrived on the scene, including Los de Ramon, Los Cantores de Santa Cruz, and El Duo Rey Silva. This musical resurgence was not meant to be political in nature, but instead was meant to be a form of entertainment. Traditional folk music became very widespread not only in Chile, but also in other Latin American countries as well.

Musicians in the group today include Benjamín Mackenna, Antonio Antonich, Ricardo Videla and Patricio Reyes. In total, there have been more than 18 members. Some of these musicians have made Los Huasos Quincheros their life’s work, remaining with the band for decades. For example, Mackenna began singing and playing guitar for Los Huasos Quincheros in 1958 and Ricardo Videla began his musical career with the group in 1965.

Los Huasos Quincheros (also known as Los Quincheros) have met with an impressive amount of accolades over the years. They were nominated for a World Music Award in 1970. They’ve traveled to over 70 countries and performed in prestigious venues like the Kennedy Center, the Metropolitan Opera House, and Paul VI Vatican Hall. They are also recognized for selling a million records in London. The group had had 16 albums to date. The last one was from 1977 and called “Las Memorias de Patito.”

They recently staged a show called Tiempo de Recordar, or “Time to Remember,” to help people impacted by the recent earthquake. The show’s purpose was to use song to strengthen and rebuild the Chileans’ positive spirit.

The music created by Los Huasos Quincheros inspires a feeling of nostalgia for simpler times. It is evocative of traditions, the Chilean people and the country’s landscapes. Clearly, people respond to this music, as Los Huasos Quincheros have been performing for an impressive eight decades. More information about the group can be found at http://www.quincheros.cl/. Who knows? When you learn Spanish in Chile, you just might get to see them perform!

When you study Spanish in Chile through Latin Immersion, cultural lessons will be an integral part of the Spanish immersion school in Santiago, Chile.

To move music from a computer to your iPhone, you can use iTunes. For other phones, you can use Bluetooth or your phone’s Sd card.

Cell phones are not anymore used solely for making and receiving calls. Today, you can utilize your phone for other purposes, including listening to music. The music on your phone may be downloaded either through a software program in your mobile phone that needs a net connection or from your laptop or computer. If you want to move some music from your computer to your cellular phone, there are 3 strategies to do so:

Utilizing iTunes for your iPhone

One of the numerous iphone help problems that first time users raise is moving songs from their computers to their iPhones. Here are very easy steps to do it:

* Set up iTunes in your laptop or computer.
* Using the universal serial bus cable provided in the package, connect your iPhone to your computer. As soon as iTunes recognizes your mobile phone, the iTunes window automatically opens.
* On the left side of the iTunes screen, simply click your iPhone’s symbol under “Devices”.
* Click “Music”, then “Sync Music”.
* Select whether you want to move the entire music library or selected playlists, artists, pictures, and genres.
* Click “Apply” at the bottom of the iTunes screen. You will notice your iPhone displaying “Sync in Progress” until the tracks have been moved completely.

You can even transfer music and other files from your personal computer to your iPhone automatically over Wi-Fi if you are utilizing iOS 5.0 or higher. Simply go to “Settings”, then “General”. Click “iTunes Sync”, then press “Synch Now”.

Using Bluetooth

To transfer songs from your computer to your cell phone using Bluetooth, just stick to these steps:

* Enable wireless bluetooth both in your computer and your cell phone.
* Match both devices by letting your computer find your cell phone or the other approach available.
* Enter a pairing code if necessary.
* Once matched, choose the songs from your computer that you want to transmit to your cellphone.
* Right click and choose “send via Bluetooth”.
* A status bar will be shown, showing that the songs you selected are being transferred to your mobile phone.

Utilizing your phone’s Sdcard

When moving music from your laptop or computer to your Sdcard, you can connect your cellphone to your computer using the cable supplied in your cell phone package. You can also take away the micro SD card from your cell phone, use a micro SD adapter, and insert it to the SD slot of your computer. Once your SD card has been recognized, follow these methods:

* Head to “My Computer” and choose your cell phone’s SD card.
* Open the music folder of your mobile phone.
* Pick the music from your personal computer which you want to send to your cellphone.
* Just drag and drop the files to the music folder of your cell phone.
* When songs are transferred, close the music folder of the mobile phone.
* Go to “My Computer”, right click on your micro sd card, and select “Eject”.
* Unplug your cable or take out your SD card once the computer prompts you that it’s now safe to remove the hardware.

With these very simple steps, you can copy music files from your computer to your cellular telephone easily, whether through ITunes, Bluetooth, or your phone’s micro sd card. You can now enjoy listening to your favorite music at the convenience of your cell phone.

Written by Patricia Strasser. To get more detailed iphone help, problems and also answers, please check out http://iphone.experthelp.com/iphone-help

By Christian Walker

Beat making: It is fun! Well, fun for those of us that love making our own music. The term beats refers to any music that concentrates on drums and percussion such as hip hop, dubstep, and rap. Dance music could also be included in this mix.

It used to be that making beats that were broadcast quality required a lot of money. You had to hire musicians, book studio time, pay a sound engineer, and then have your glass master copied. All of this cost thousands of dollars.

Beat Making Technology Lets You Make Professional Beats At Home

That’s right; you can now make beats from your own personal computer for very little money. In fact there are beat making programs available on the internet like Ordrummer that are open source and free to download. Of course you can’t expect the same quality from these free programs that you can get from some of the ones you have to buy. Still, even some of the less expensive software programs can make a beat that sounds as good as ones produced in expensive LA sound studios.

The Big Bang of Beats

Once you select your beat making software you are going to want to get a solid kick bass sound to anchor your beat. There is nothing quite as lame as an anemic sounding kick bass drum in your mix.

The Secret to a Massive Kick Sound

When a lady wants more body and fullness to her hair, just ask her what she does. She will tell you that she gets it layered and that is exactly what you need to get a massive kick sound. The trick is to take 2 or more tracks in your beat making software and assign them to the kick pattern. Then you load in kick samples on each of them that have parts of the overall sound you want.

For instance, on the first kick track you might load a kick that has some snap to it but is missing that thump that you want to feel in your chest.

In the second track you then will load a kick sample that has the thump but was a little muddy sounding and on the third track you might include a kick sample that was very heavy in the mid range frequencies. Now, when they are all played together you can achieve the sound that you wanted.

You will probably need to adjust the volume on the tracks to optimize the sound. For instance, if you want less snap just turn down the track volume on the snappy sample. If you want more bass, boost the track with the thump bass on it. You get the idea.

So as you can see, if you want a better kick sound in your mix, just copy your kick pattern to more than one track and them mix and match samples, play around with the volumes until you get what you want.

Then you have a nice bed of sound to lay down the rest of your beat on.

Beat making is fun and it is especially fun if your beats sound professional when you are done. But sometimes no matter how hard you try, your beat just doesn’t have the sound you want. You will find hints and tips on my blog so click My Make Beats Blog so that you can make your beats sound great.

Click on my review on a great beat maker

By Kershawn Q. Permides

When you are decorating your backyard escape like most homeowners you are probably looking for some garden wind chimes to add a little organic music to your outdoor space. When searching for the right wind chime for your backyard it is important to take into consideration the tune it plays and the way it looks, that’s why choosing from one of the few chimes at a local store can be tough.

For those who have wind chimes, you know that based on the material of your chimes, glass, bamboo or metal wind chimes, you can alter the sound of your chime. With understanding this simple fact you can begin to change the sound that you hear each and every time you are outdoors. In order to get the sound that you are looking for from your chimes it is important to consider the type of chime you buy, as some are delicate and others offer deeper tones to the listener.

Aside from the sound that your garden wind chimes makes you want to be positive that they look appealing. For that reason there are a number of materials accessible to help make your backyard precisely as you would like it. Collectors and homeowners have an opportunity to elect from metal wind chimes, like bronze of copper, wood chimes and even bamboo chimes. You can choose a chime that tells your guests something about you, whether it’s your style or interests, it is just another way to mark your space as your own.

It is important to pay attention to the manufacturer and location of which you buy your chimes from to determine the quality you are obtaining. Prices on garden wind chimes should be reasonable and the durability should always be guaranteed, especially if you live in an area that suffers from harsh weather conditions. There are sites online dedicates their energy to designing high quality wind chimes for homeowners, renters and collectors alike, all with the same dedicated precision and expertise that will keep their customers wanting another chime for all their neighbors.

When you are careful about selecting your wind chimes you can have just the right sound you want to listen to when you garden outside. With a cool breeze, your metal wind chimes can give off a gentle tune for you to enjoy outdoors. Not to mention, garden wind chimes are a great springtime gift for anyone you want to share the delicate tunes with.

Set the mood for your home garden by using garden wind chimes and maybe having metal wind chimes.

By Christian Walker

Making beats is a growing hobby that used to be way beyond the reach of the ordinary citizen. It took a lot of money to hire musicians, book studio time, and record your tracks. We are talking thousands of dollars just to get a glass master. Then you need to get the glass master duplicated and distributed which was several thousand more. So unless you were rich or you had such talent and drive that someone in the recording industry noticed you, you were just out of luck.

Digital Beat Makers Have Changed All of That

A beat maker is a computer program that allows you to place sound samples on a grid and then play them back to create music. These samples are pre-recorded do that you don’t have to hire musicians, or book a studio. You have it all on your PC. So selecting the best beat maker for yourself is important.

There are basically 3 levels of beat makers and understanding the difference between them can help you choose the best beat maker for your needs. These levels are as follows.

1) Freebies

2) Low-Cost (around $50 or less)

3) And High End (Cha-Ching)

In my studio I have all 3 types and I am here to tell you that many of the low-cost beat makers are giving the expensive boys a run for their money in the quality department. Some of these beat makers can produce your beats in 44.1 kHz, stereo sound. That is the industry standard for music recorded on CD.

It can bring tears to your eyes the first time you hear the beats that you could only imagine coming to you in live stereo sound. It can also bring tears to your eyes if they end up sounding like a cricket in an empty soda pop can. So you need to choose wisely.

The Freebies

To be honest with you, I would just skip these all together unless you just want to fool around and make beats for yourself. These are not the best beat makers. That being said, Or Drumbox is the best beat maker for free. In fact, if you spend a lot of money getting descent sound samples it can do a pretty good job, but then you have defeated the purpose of free.

The Low-Cost Beat Makers

If you are a beginner or intermediate beat producer, this is where you need to start looking. The best beat makers in this category come with thousands of priority sound samples all recorded at 44.1 kHz, 16 bit stereo. They should also render your final beat track as a wav file instead of an mp3. No professional studio will take you seriously if you present them with mp3′s of your work.

Lastly, remember the old computer adage “junk in, junk out”? The same is true with beat makers. If you use junky free sound samples from the internet, don’t be surprised when your beat ends up sounding like the sound-track to an 80′s video game.

As a studio owner and producer, I would like to invite you to take a look at my two favorite beat makers. Just click Beyond Dub Turbo.

Also visit my blog Dubturb free for beat making tips and tricks.

By Christian Walker

Today we are going to take a look at three digital beat makers, Ordrummer, Dub Turbo, and BTV SOLO. I chose these three because they are affordable and yet produce a very good quality beat track. All of them are capable of producing a beat track in the wav format at the industry standard of 44.1 kHz, 16 bit stereo.

Ordrummer is an open source beat maker meaning it is free to download and use and that is its greatest advantage. Dub Turbo is a 16 track, digital beat maker that utilizes pre-mixed and mastered sound samples so that your finished beat track is rendered at a professional level. Its greatest asset is the staggering number of samples that come with Dub Turbo: 4000 samples! BTV SOLO is the new kid on the block and is already making waves. It is the same price as Dub Turbo, but it only has about 1000 samples that come with it; however, BTV SOLO comes with a complete sound editing suite that includes special effects such as reverb, high and low pass filters, and audio signal comperssors.

Which should I chose? Dub Turbo, BTV SOLO, Or Ordrummer? It really depends on what you want to accomplish with your beat making. If you just want to play around and have some fun, then go with the freebie, Ordrummer. It comes with sample libraries and its only drawback is that if you want a professional sound, you are going to have to either buy or record better sample sounds than those that come with it.

If you want to produce professional quality beat tracks quickly and you do not want to spend days learning sound engineering, then Dub Turbo is your choice. You can have a sick beat finished and burned to CD within an hour after downloading the program.

If you want to learn sound engineering or you know about signal compression, equalization, and other advanced audio engineering techniques, then BTV SOLO is your choice.

A Final Word about Dub Turbo, BTV SOLO and Ordrummer. Sound quality is the most important thing to consider when making a beat or producing any kind of music as far as that is concerned. No one will listen to your beats, no matter how clever they are constructed, if they sound like a cricket in jumping around in an empty soda can.

You need the full throated thump of the kick bass and the searing hiss of the cymbals along with the tonal hits on the congas to breathe life into your beats.

So avoid digital beat makers that make your beat creations sound like they escaped from an 80′s video game and make sure they get the beat maker they deserve.

You want your beats to sound great but end up with beat tracks that sound like an 80′s video game, don’t give up. I know becauase I was in your position a few years back. Click on Make Beats for tips and tricks on beat making.

Visit Dubturbo Free for more information on Dub Turbo Beat maker.

By Paul Malcolm

Everyone always remembers the music of his or her youth. Certain songs seem to have a timeless ability to bring us back to a point in our life long past. The impression that live music can have on us is amazing. While pop culture is always evolving, many groups today have started their careers as Internet sensations. However, many bands and artists have stuck to the traditional method of promoting themselves by playing live gigs and winning over fans one show at a time.

While some may argue that live shows are a lost art, live music is arguably just as popular as it ever was. Though many venues now regularly rely on DJs to provide sound for the crowd, many still have live musicians playing their instruments as music for the masses. Usually clubs rely on DJs while bars and pubs would be more inclined to have a band or artist serve as the musical entertainment. Depending on the vibe you are looking for, there are websites dedicated to promoting different types of events. Particular sites focus on which live bands are playing in various cities around the world, specifically informing visitors as to where and what type of live music can be found one any given day. Many of us who want to enjoy live music on a night out are unsure where to go. These sites aim to take the guesswork out of locating venues where this occurs.

In the past, bands tried desperately to get signed to major labels and relied on these business to make a name for them. With the capabilities of modern equipment and home studio technology, it seems that the major label is no longer needed. Bands can work independently to produce their own music, and subsequently promote themselves. This has brought the art of the live show back from the dead. Most of the biggest artists in the world make a huge percentage of their income from live shows. This business model is not lost on the smaller guys.

Bands and artists now have the ability to create music without boundaries, to make music without any big business telling them how to sound. This has allowed unparalleled creativity to come from all corners of the globe. More importantly, this has allowed bands the freedom to play whatever songs they like, wherever they like. In the past even small bands would be ‘encouraged’ to play their top songs at venues their managers deemed suitable. Without these chains, many musical acts are free to put on shows that truly display their creativity and originality. This is great news for the fans of live music.

Whatever genre suits your fancy, there is a local venue that will cater to your needs. Many of these venues will have regular bands that perform on weekends, while others choose to vary their lineup weekly. The point is that there is no shortage of artists to see; it’s up to you to choose where you would like to go!

When looking for live music or shows be sure to visit www.livemusiclistings.com and find out all the live music in Toronto and concerts in your neighbourhood.

By Jim Blevins

Until he and his fellow students Nick Mason, Syd Barrett and Richard Wright formed a rock band, Roger Waters was a student of architecture at London’s Regent Street Polytechnic in the mod 1960′s. By 1966, the group settled on the name Pink Floyd, and in August, 1967, the band released their debut album, a psychedelic rock collection called The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, which was largely written by Barrett. The following year, Barrett left the group and was replaced by David Gilmour. The musical genius Roger Waters expressed as the new leader propelled the band into new styles of progressive rock.

Roger Waters musical style was instrumental in Pink Floyd’s truly creative ways of expression. Waters wanted their work to be a cohesive unit, so he developed concept albums that told a complete story. The group produced four albums during the 1970s:

• The Dark Side of the Moon, 1973

• Wish You Were Here, 1975

• Animals, 1977

• The Wall, 1979

Two of these, The Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall are among the best-selling albums of all time and continue to contribute to Pink Floyd’s enduring popularity among its loyal fan base.

In 1985, Waters decided to leave Pink Floyd and pursue his musical career on his own. There was a long legal battle over the music and the name Pink Floyd that ensued. During this period, the creativity of Roger Waters music led to more concept albums, including:

• The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking, 1984

• Radio K.A.O.S., 1987

• Amused to Death, 1992

Waters’ creative genius in his solo career is most apparent with his live productions of the two classic Pink Floyd albums The Dark Side Of The Moon and The Wall. The first of these performances was The Wall—Live in Berlin, which was staged in 1990 before an audience of 200,000. Guest musicians included Sinead O’Connor, Cyndi Lauper and Van Morrison joined him onstage as the story of Pink, the central character of the album, was revealed. Following this, The Dark Side of the Moon Tour began in 2006 and continued into 2008.

Displaying the depth of his musical genius, Roger Waters reaches for new heights in his current tour, The Wall Live. The performances feature fireworks, giant puppets, crashing airplanes, and, of course, The Wall. This tour is now well into its second year with U.S. shows scheduled from May 1st in Houston through July 14th in Philadelphia. The tour’s band includes guitarists Snowy White, Dave Kilminster, and G.E. Smith, keyboardist Jon Carin, organist Harry Waters, and drummer Graham Broad.

Attending a Roger Waters concert is at the top of the list of Jim Blevins favorite things to do. Ticket Sizzle is a great resource for locating Roger Waters and Dave Matthews Band tickets.

Country music is well and alive, being enjoyed worldwide. Country music is as popular in far away Germany and Asia, as much as it has been in the deep south of America. And the more that country music widens in popularity, there’s more and more mixtures of pop crossing over, groups such as Rascal Flatts and Lady Antebellum, plust the birth of pop queens such as Taylor Swift. Over the years, counry music songs have been written about home town loyalty, to lost and new found love. But New country songs and pop have invented a new flavour of music, with a hip beat, whilst keeping the fantastic deep storylines that country music is so well known for.

While country-pop is crossing over with a growing popularity, traditional country songs and pop have been mixed for years. The song “Rhinesone Cowboy” was an awesome hit by Glen Campbell, and other artists like John Denver have carved a hot trail into this new country song journey since the 1970′s. Olivia Newton-John even brought out a great new country pop style song in the 1970′s called “Let Me Be There”. Since then other country pop style songs have been written by the drove, Dolly Parton, with such popular hits like “Why’d You Come Here Lookin’ Like That” and “Yellow Roses” as well as her awesome self-penned hit “9 to 5″ and she popularized “I Will Always Love You” the amazing soundtrack from the movie “The Body Guard” with Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston.

The country pop genre experienced a revival in the 1990s in the hands of country queens like Shania Twain, Faith Hill, Trisha Yearwood and LeeAnn Rimes with hits that topped both the country and pop charts such as “Independence Day” and “Can’t Fight the Moonlight”. Groups like the Dixie Chicks and Lonestar were able to attract fans from both traditional country music listeners and contemporary and pop music lovers.

Recently, new country songs and pop singers are flooding into the country music genre, creating exciting new styles of hybrid new country music. The Grammy Awards had the presence of Lady Antebellum and Taylor Swift, with Swift winning 4 awards and Antebellum topping it with 5 awards won. Taylor Swift has been recorded as the youngest and only soloist to win the country album of the year with her new album, “Fearless” which is an incredble effort.

There’s definitely a place in modern country for the creative rythm and hip beat of crossover pop singers and it’s only becoming more popular. There’s a trend growing faster than ever for country and pop lovers to follow a wider audience of both styles and many in between, and this has created a very unique opportunity for artists in both genres. So whether you a die hard Alan Jackson fan, or really love the latest Lady Gaga style pop songs, get ready and clear a space on your shelves for the new country music songs in your CD shelf or MP3 player.

CD cases you can make in your house include paper CD cases, reused food box CD cases, and cardstock CD cases.

CDs are affordable materials for holding different information. When you purchase them in bulk, they become a lot cheaper. Nevertheless, they all just come in a single case. CD cases help protect your CDs from dirt and damage. If you have a lot of CDs with no cases at home, you can make CD cases by yourself.

Paper CD cases

Applying paper items to build CD cases is a very convenient and simple method to store your disks separately. They can also be printed with the disks details. While you can try this yourself, there are websites that can help you create customized CD cases. One of these websites is the Paper CD Case. They will offer you a form in which you’ll fill up with the CD’s necessary details, such as the title of the album, title of the songs, the names of the performers, or other related details if it has things besides music tracks. After which, a PDF will be created with the CD’s details. All you have to do now is print the file using your printer with standard paper. Directions on how to fold the paper will also be given, so you can create the structure of the case very easily. You don’t even need any type of cutting tools or glue to create the case. Moreover, since paper CD cases aren’t sturdy materials, you should place them in a more secure place, like floppy disk holders to protect them from destruction.

Re-cycled food box CD cases

Rather than throwing out your breakfast cereal boxes, you can recycle them and make them into CD cases. Start making the case by preparing a ruler, cutter, a pair of scissors, bone folder, big sewing needle, and embroidery thread. Prepare the container by opening it and folding it. Then, using your ruler, measure 5.5 inches by 10 inches on one part of the box and cut this measurement with scissors. Then, measure five inches from the shorter side to the middle and fold the cardboard in two. Use the bone folder to build a crisp fold. After which, get your big needle and make some holes on the sides of the cardboard. Run the thread through the holes while keeping the cardboard folded in two. You must then make a slit on one side of the case where you will insert the CDs.

Cardstock CD cases

Cardstock is also another material you can utilize to create a personalized CD case. They’re slightly thicker compared to ordinary paper, and they also come in various beautiful colors. You can start creating the cardstock CD case by selecting which color you want to use. Then, get a ruler and any object you can use to create a score, such as the back tip of a pen. Measure half an inch from both long sides of the card stock and score these. Then, measure five inches from one of the shorter sides and score this, as well. Make another measurement of an inch on the other smaller side and score this, too. Then, eliminate half an inch from the sides that measure one inches and five inches. Fold the card stock in the middle to create 2 equal sides. Then, glue the tabs on the edges to finish the card stock CD case.

Personalize your homemade CD case. Decorate it with stickers or in any way that you desire.

Written by Patricia Strasser. Know more about floppy disk holders by heading to http://www.everydayplastics.com/FloppyDiskHolders.php