There are various advantages of music. Some of them are mentioned below:

1. Source of nourishment

Listening to soothing and relaxing music can be a great source of nourishment. While for some people, a different genre can have the same soothing effect. Know the sort of music you prefer, soft or hard, and feel nourished and rejuvenated.

2. No more stress and anxiety

Music is known to be a holistic healer for centuries. It helps to relax your nerves and reduce stress. Moreover, it can help to uplift your mood in melancholic times and counteract anger. The key here is to listen to the music that you like. Forcing yourself to listen to something you do not like will only make the situation worse.

3. Good for health

Music is very good for your health. It helps boost the immune system. It helps to lower blood pressure and stabilize heartbeat. It has a calming effect on both mind and body. Listening to music can help you focus better and clear out the clutter in your head. This is automatically great for your health. You feel light and fresh.

4. Source of Meditation

Music is a great source of meditation. Listening to soothing music can help you to get rid of excess thoughts in your mind. It revitalizes and rejuvenates your soul. It can help you gain focus of important things and cut out the unwanted noise in the environment.

The internet has brought everything at the tip of our fingers. So whenever you feel depressed or ‘blue’ you can open up any music directory and listen to your favorite music. You can also sort out your favorite numbers according to genre in a music directory.

Music has many more advantages and is a source of inspiration for many. You can join a music forum of your favorite genre and find people of similar interest. A music forum can help you access different kinds of music that you find soothing and relaxing. It will have a beneficial effect on you.

Blues has a cyclical form of music, which repeats the progression of chords and has interaction between the singer and others. This theme was common to African and African American music styles. Blues has the twelve-bar blues chord progression at its heart. Other variations such as 8, 9 and 16 bar chords also exist, but the twelve-bar chord is the most popular. Distinctive blue notes, for giving expression and feeling to the music was played flat or gradually bent, from the minor third to the major third, in relation to the pitch of the major scale. This lent soul and depth to the music.

The history of Blues music evolved from the country side in the early 1900′s, with the African American population. The very word Blues originates from the term ‘Blue Devils’, meaning sadness or reflecting the human spirit at the lowest ebb. The music was a reflection of their joys, sadness, problems of everyday life, giving thanks to the Lord etc. Its motivating force was the heartache, deprivation and depression of everyday life, finding expression in haunting Blues music. The early instruments used were the Banjo and Diddley Bow, the instruments of the deep South and gradually evolved to the blues guitar style. Some of the early Blues musicians of note were Robert Johnson, Charley Patton and Son House etc. As African Americans migrated in larger numbers to cities, Blues music started having an urban character though its rural roots were not abandoned.

In the 50′s, Blues played a significant influence on popular music. Many of the well know Blues numbers such as "Hoochie Coochie Man", "I Just Want to Make Love to You" were penned in this era. Some of the well known music labels promoting the Blues genre during this time include Vee-Jay Records, J.O.B. Records and Sun Records. The fifties saw different variations of Blues music such as West Side, electric blues etc. Electric blues got a leg up in England, due to the much acclaimed tour of Muddy Waters.

During the 60′s and 70′s, music inspired by Blues had become a part of mainstream popular music, however the popular tide had ebbed and blues artistes started performing in Europe with success. The 1971 album, the magical "Endless Boogie" by B.B. King earned him the nick name "King of the Blues". With blues jam session performers such as Taj Mahal earned a Grammy nomination for Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture and the BAFTA a nomination.

After being on the wane for many years, Blues music has had a revival in America in the 80′s, especially in the Deep South. A new sub genre known as "Soul Blues" or "Southern Soul" has become popular. Bobby Rush, Bettye LaVette, Marvin Sease are some of the well known performers. Experimentation in Blues music continues and the music has kept evolving. In 2003, Martin Scorsese, the famous film director, made a concerted effort to popularize Blues music to a wider audience.

Blues music, born from the depths of desperation and deprivation, with the Blues guitar in the forefront, has come to stay and has a large fan following all over the world.

There are five different types of triads. They are: major, minor, diminished, augmented and suspended 4.

• Major (1, 3, 5) (C E G)
• Minor (1, flat 3, 5) (C Eb G)
• Diminished (1, flat 3, flat 5) (C Eb Gb)
• Augmented (1, 3, sharp 5) (C E G#)
• Suspended 4 (1 4 5) (C F G)

The first note of the scale is called the root. In this case, C is the root note. When a chord is stacked with the Root note on the bottom, 3rd in the middle and 5th on top it is in root position. When the 3rd is on the bottom, 5th in the middle and the root note is on top it is 1st inversion. When the 5th note is on the bottom, the root note is in the middle and the 3rd note is on top it is in 2nd inversion.

All triads can be put into root position, 1st inversion and 2nd inversion. For example; D minor has the root note D, the 3rd note F and the 5th note A. Root position would be D F A. First inversion would be F A D. 2nd inversion would be A D F. Inversions become very useful when applied to chord progressions.

If we compare the C major triad (C E G) with the A minor triad (A C E), we see they have the two notes C and E in common. The G note from the C major triad is only a tone away from the A note in the A minor triad. If We played a progression which had C major going to A minor we could use an inversion to get between the two triads quickly. If C major was in root position an(C E G), then you would use A minor in 1st inversion (C E A). This limits finger movement for a guitarist which is of great use for getting quickly between chords.

Triads should be used as part of daily practice. They can be highly effective when used in performance situations. They can provide different options when composing songs.

Instrumental technology has consistently advanced and evolved over the years, when looking back at flutes made out of animal bones dating back 40,000 years, to the electric guitars of the 1960′s, instruments have developed in a unprecedented way.

Ancient Western Africans are the first known race to use beats, by playing the hand drum in rhythmic form. The tradition and teaching of how to play African rhythmic beats is known as a Groit. Which is the passing of different beats orally, i.e. There are 3 basic sounds from a hand drum, each can be played with either the left or right hand. The Groit call each of these by different sounds "Goon Doon Go Do Pa Ta". This simple system is now used world wide by Djembe players.

Modern Beats evolved rapidly due to the popularity of the nightclub scene of the early 1980′s. Disco, house, techno and hip hop music we’re born from this change in dance style. This era produced decks, Synthesisers, drum machines and sequencers, they are still the instrument of choice when producing music with modern beats, as they mimic and emphasize traditional acoustic instrumentation. When Computers developed and became more readily available in the 1990′s, the way in which music and especially beats could be changed was recognised. With these new systems in place the birth of electric dance music became mainstream.

Modern Beats have proven to be adaptable and an expected presence in current music, it’s no longer just used in dance and house genres. Modern Beats are now a frequent presence in all genres, and used by artists from Katy Perry to Michael Jackson.

How is heavy metal guitar different from ordinary guitar playing? It is usually characterized by fast rhythms and a handful of disparate harsh sounding chords. In this article, you will learn some common heavy metal chords. It will follow the usual fingering convention, that is, the index finger, middle finger, ring finger and the little finger would be labeled 1, 2,3, and 4, respectively. The six unfretted strings, which produce the pitches E, A, D, G, B, and higher E, will be identified as the first to the sixth string, respectively, with the first string being the bottommost, lowest sounding E string.

So as not to confuse beginners, we will avoid using too many technical terms. Let’s start off with power chords. These chords are the primary chords that we use in heavy metal. We will use fingers 1 and 3. Finger 1 will be positioned on the first string (the lowest string) on the first fret, and finger 3 will be on the second string on the third fret. What you will hear is the F Power Chord. It’s basically an F chord, with a dissonant sound coming from your positioned finger 3. You can move this finger setup across the fret board to produce different notes at different octaves. For variation and a more throaty sound, you can position finger 2 on the third string (D string) at the third fret. Include any of the three upper strings when you strum downwards with your pick. For practice, use the same finger formation and move one fret towards the body of the guitar, and then another fret in the same direction. Go back and forth along four successive frets, all the while maintaining the same finger formation.

Next, let’s study the inverted power chords. For this chord, we will also use finger 1 and 3, however, finger 1 will be pressing the second string on the first fret, while finger 3 will be on the first string, third fret. It’s basically the inverted position of the power chord, which is why we call it inverted power chord. This formation produces the G chord sound.

Although not as frequently used as the power chords, it breaks the monotony of the power chords. For practice, you can maintain the same finger formation and move one string up going one fret backward, that is, away from the body of the guitar. From this fret, use the same finger position and move back down one string. Follow this with a move to the next fret on the same strings, followed, again by a move to the next fret. Move up one string on the same fret. Go back and forth on these positions. These chords are used infrequently simply to give variety to your power chords.

Another type of chord that is used to break away from the power chord has a very throaty sound. It has a simple finger formation. Use finger 1 to press both the first and second strings on the third fret, and mute the other strings. You can also use finger 1 and 2 for pressing the strings, especially if you want to quickly create a similar sound by moving one fret either forward or backward.

The album Cat Stevens Greatest Hits was released in June, 1975. The album contains twelve tracks chosen from Cat’s five previous studio albums. The collection reached peak radio chart positions of: #’s 1, 6 and 2 in the U.S., Canada and U.K. respectively.

What makes this collection so valuable is its inclusion of lesser-known material in the same mix as the radio hits. For instance "Wild World", which reached number 11 on the U.S. radio charts, opens the album while the lesser-known (but equally beautiful) "Can’t Keep It In" and "Hard Headed Woman" bat third and fourth in the same line-up. It’s the perfect mix of the "known" and the "unknown."

Of course it doesn’t hurt to have "Oh Very Young", "Peace Train" and "Morning Has Broken" to help support the "lesser-known" tunes on the album. Each of these songs placed eleventh or higher on the U.S. charts while the album’s twelfth and closing track "Another Saturday Night" was a number one hit in Canada. This collection is a virtual hit machine. However, in keeping with our original theory it is also a collection properly representing Steven’s song catalogue (through 1975.)

The song "Sitting" may not have lit up the charts. But one listen will reveal the same songwriting brilliance as found in Steven’s (originally born Steven Demetre Georgiou) more well-known hits. The heavy-handed piano opening demands the listener’s attention as does Cat’s opening vocal sung in a confident growl: "Oh I’m on my way I know I am. Somewhere not so far from here. All I know is all I feel right now. I feel the power growing in my hair." The infectious (and quite powerful) melody is further supported by some of Steven’s most poignant lyrics: "Oh I’m on my way I know I am, but times there were when I thought not. Bleeding half my soul in bad company, I thank the moon I had the strength to stop. I’m not making love to anyone’s wishes, only for that light I see. ‘Cause when I’m dead and lowered low in my grave, that’s gonna be the only thing that’s left of me."

Also included in this collection is perhaps Cat Steven’s finest song "Father and Son". The song, a conversation between a father and his son, finds Stevens singing both roles. The deeper more confident voice is that of the father while the higher registered, desperate and sometimes angry voice represents the son. A true masterpiece yet thankfully this collection gives equal time to the lesser-known tracks "Moonshadow", "Two Fine People" and "Ready".

No greatest hits compilation can truly capture an artist of Cat Steven’s magnitude’s work. However, this collection of Cat Stevens’ greatest hits comes wonderfully close.

"Angels" starts off very simply, with Rebecca’s beautiful, unconventional voice accompanied sparsely by piano. As the song goes on, it comes to its full, lush, orchestral potential, while remaining poignant and bittersweet. It also kicks off the album well by setting a precedent for unusual themes. Specifically, "Angels" deals with people who die young and how they are lucky, "because they don’t have to live in the shadows of the things they leave behind."

Rebecca betrays her rock and roll influence in "Up the Walls of the World". It is powerful and inspiring while remaining shrouded in enigma and metaphor. "Forever after, they’ll hear the laughter, the ones who rose up the walls of the world", the chorus goes. For me, it conjures an image of an army of free thinkers besieging and pouring into the walled garden of paradise.

"Stand On Your Own" is one of my favourite songs of all time. I used to scribble the lyrics in the margins of my diary when I was in the throes of that deadly torture they call adolescent girlhood. In the lyrics, Rebecca Timmons has falling stars streaming across the sky, imparting wisdom to a lost soul standing on the ground.

"Coming of the Dream" is another one that touches me so deeply, even now, that I can barely talk about it. It’s an ecstatic, tears-of-joy-streaming-down-your-face, saving-your-life kind of song that is choking me up even as I type these words.

My mother would sometimes put this album on in the background when we were entertaining. When Track 14, "Sleep", came on, everyone in the room would fall silent, and the hairs on the backs of our neck would stand up. One of us would be obliged to get up and change the CD. It’s an eery, skin-crawling lullaby about witch trials.

The last song, "Calling", is basically a six-minute opera. I could have written a paper about it in university. It’s enormously creative and very difficult to describe, though I am inclined to compare it to Bohemian Rhapsody, if Bohemian Rhapsody dealt with the nature of the universe and the dawn of a new age of enlightenment.

If you take a moment to peek at the track list here…

http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/1494805/a/Rebecca+Timmons.htm

…you will see that the album has 17 tracks, but only 13 of them are songs. The other four are intro tracks, only a few seconds long, which use sound effects to introduce the songs that follow. This is one of those creative techniques that, sadly, is no longer pragmatic for recording artists and labels who aim to make their releases compatible with the digital age. Albums are seldom played from beginning to end anymore, but instead are fragmented, their components scattered to the four winds of the iPod shuffle. While there are many things about the digital age that I love and embrace, I must admit that the decline of "the album" as an art form makes me sad. I have been complimented by some of my fans for shelling out the extra few hundred dollars to the printers to have all my song lyrics printed out in their entirety in my CD booklets. This, too, is becoming an archaic practice when consumers can easily look up your lyrics online. I’m just old school, I guess. But I’ll get off my soapbox now.

The music of Rebecca Timmons is unspeakably beautiful. Her poetry is profound, her voice expressive, and her style unique. You must not miss it. It’s a little heard to find, but you can still buy it online if you hunt for it.

While it is apparent that music is a part of human history, concerts today are bigger and better than ever. Live shows have come back in full swing with technology helping to create larger than life performances. Giant video, aesthetic lighting and fireworks are some of the elements that continue to make live concerts interesting. The quality of sound has greatly increased for a live performance as advances in technology has allowed for better speakers, instruments and production values. Furthermore many concert venues themselves are designed to deliver the most pristine and crystal clear melodies as advances in building materials has also contributed to the increase in live sound quality.

This is in contrast to when live shows started, when hearing the singer could be difficult, or the drummer would drown out the rest of the group. Live music is now a very important income stream for many artists and subsequently the quality of product, a live music performance, has increased in entertainment value. There are a number of concerts in different genres of live music that one can attend and find locally. There has also been an increase in the number of music festivals, where one can find and discover a multitude of new performers.

Live music does live on, and today there are more varied acts and options for a music fan than we had in the past. With the increase in the independent music scene, many artists support themselves, advertise and promote for their own show. This has created a condition where bands will work harder than ever to try and make it to the big time, going the extra mile to put on a good performance and capture the audience. This is true for all types of live music, as orchestral based performances and organizations are also relying on live shows to support their organization. Many shows incorporate extravagant performers, dancers and visual effects to enhance the emotional experience and value of the experience.

This is a specialized site where one gets to know which band or artist is performing in a given town. Perhaps you want to go out for the night and are unsure what live music options are available; here is a resource guide to planning a great evening with friends. Perhaps you find yourself in a new town and are unsure of the local hotspots for live music, again, this is a resource guide to help you rock out! Musicians and bands who are also looking to promote themselves will find this resource site a great way of connecting with new fans and finding new bands to possible put on shows with. There will always be a market for live music, as long as artists keep pushing the creative envelope, we music fans will keep coming.

Also in 2002, artists and members of country music voted her as Number One on CMT’s The 40 Greatest Women of Country Music. She was also ranked 46th in the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time" by Rolling Stone magazine.

Patsy Cline was born on September 8, 1932 in Gore Virginia. Sadly at 30 years of age and at the height of her career she was killed in a plane crash in 1963.

Her first marriage was to a contractor named Gerald Cline in 1953 but it only lasted four years.

Her first performance on radio was in the Jimmy McCoy show. Her increasing appearances on local radio stations and events resulted in her attracting a large following.

In her early 20s Bill Peer, her manager at that time, got her signed to Four Star Records. By coincidence while at Four Star she met legendary producer Owen Bradley who worked for Decca Records. In 1960 Patsy signed on with Decca directly under the supervision of Owen. He had a reputation for working with and developing the careers of female country singers such as Brenda Lee, Loretta Lynn and many more.

Owen felt that Patsy had a lot of potential and with the proper guidance would achieve higher successes. He felt that her voice would lend itself better to singing pop music although she did not seem that interested in it at the time.

In the mid 50s several important events happened to move her career along. In January of 1956 she made her network television debut on the Grand Ole Opry show. In the late fall of that year she auditioned for a television show broadcast in New York and she appeared on the show Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts.

The producers of the show insisted that she sing a song that she had recorded titled "Walkin’ After Midnight". Originally she was not keen on the song but Godfrey’s staff eventually won out. They also insisted that she not wear the cowgirl outfits that she had traditionally worn and instead wear cocktail style dresses.

Viewers of Godfrey’s show were so enthralled with Patsy that radio stations got many requests to play her records.

As fate would have it "Walkin’ After Midnight" reached #2 on the Country chart and #12 on the pop chart making Patsy one of the first country singers to have a crossover pop hit. The mid 50s were also memorable in that she met Charley Dick her husband. In 1958 they had a daughter named Julie and the marriage lasted for the rest of her life.

The early 60s were memorable for more hits such as her first one for Decca Records, "I Fall To Pieces". She then recorded the song "Crazy" written by Willie Nelson. She also had hits with "She’s Got You" and "Sweet Dreams."

And in 1961 she gave birth to a son named Randy.

Patsy’s voice was one of the best commercial voices to ever hit the recording studios. Even though she couldn’t read music and was basically self-taught she sang with perfect pitch. When she recorded a song she pretty much ‘owned’ it. This referred to the fact that when someone heard it, because it was so unique with her tone and phrasing that it would always be associated with her no matter how many other people recorded it.

Patsy was highly respected for her singing voice but even more so as a kind-hearted, good person who would help anyone in need. Honky Tonk pianist Del Wood said she would give anyone the skirt of her backside if they needed it. Loretta Lynn and Dottie West said that Cline always gave of herself to friends such as buying groceries and furniture for them when they were having difficulty making ends meet and even taking them on the road with her as wardrobe assistants. On occasion she would even pay a singer’s rent for a time, enabling them to stay in Nashville and continue to pursue their dreams.

Another story of her goodness is when she was involved in a horrific car crash accident where she was thrown into the windshield nearly killing her. Upon arriving at the scene Dottie West picked pieces of glass from Patsy’s hair and went with her in the ambulance. When the ambulance arrived at the hospital Patsy insisted that the driver of the other vehicle be treated first.

And so, not only was she a singers’ singer but a kind woman who did so much for others.

She truly deserves legendary status for her singing the Patsy Cline sound that was so evident in her recordings.

Kruder & Dorfmeister

Named after its members Peter Kruder and Richard Dorfmeister, this Austrian duo mostly creates remixes of pop, hip-hop, and drum and bass songs. Madonna, Roni Size, Count Basic, Depeche Mode, and David Holmes are just a few of the artists that they have remixed. Sampler-processed vocals, echoes, and deep basslines are blended with trip-hop type of beats. This gives their music an unhurried, subtle, and serene mood.

Boards of Canada

It is one of those downtempo artists who is often considered as one of the downtempo electronica music pioneers. This music duo from Scotland can be distinguished by their unique musicscapes. Consisting of brothers Mike Sandison and Marcus Eoin, Boards of Canada combines innocent child-like melodies with psychedelic and darker-colored sound textures, creating warm and melancholic moods. Their music videos contain themes of childhood, nostalgia, and nature.

Air

A music duo from France, founded by Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel. Their main influences include the synthesizer sounds of the 1970s, Pink Floyd, Vangelis, and the soft rock duo The Carpenters. With its atmospheric sounds, Air is somewhat similar to Röyksopp and Sigur Rós. In their debut album Moon Safari, they combined symphonic and disco-like elements, to create ambient, but at the same time joyous tracks.

Zero 7

It is a British duo, consisting of Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker. When compared to other downtempo artists, their music is often said to be most similar to the aforementioned Air. Lush picturesque soundscapes and atmospheric sound effects are common to both artists. Zero 7 can be recognized by their laid-back grooves, gentle use of brass, and soft melancholic melodies, that are supported by colorful ambient textures, Rhodes piano, and sweeping strings. This all gives their music a delightful and seductive mood.

Thievery Corporation

Thievery Corporation is a Washington, D.C. based duo, founded by Rob Garza and Eric Hilton. Their songs reflect their appreciation for a broad range of different music styles – dub, acid jazz, reggae, Indian classical, Middle Eastern, and Brazilian are mixed with a lounge aesthetic. Their music also addresses political issues, opposing war and exploitative trade agreements, while supporting human rights and food programs.

The downtempo artists listed here are just a tip of the iceberg – there are numerous other bands that make this music style much more diverse. However, by listening to any of those abovementioned artists, one should get a better understanding of this genre and its overall character, since all these bands use elements specific to downtempo music.