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Showing posts from January, 2014

Grandpa Makes The Most Metal Album Since… Forever!

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

Free Guitar Theory Handouts by Charlie Parker

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

Does Your Playlist Help Define Your Personality?

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

2014 Grammy Award Winners (surprised?)

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

The Most Relaxing Song In The World, Ever!

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

A Collection of All The Most Common Chords (Tabs)

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

Bedtime Playlist (best songs to listen to when you go to bed)

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Everyone has their own rituals and traditions when it comes to settling in for the night, these are some of the most relaxing and melodic songs I have come across in my time. Feel free to leave yours in the comments. 1) Mogwai – Close Encounters This song starts of with slow melodic rhodes, and builds into a full fledge symphony of the sandman by the time the song is over. 2) Heroin – The Velvet Underground This is one of the most iconic songs of rock and roll, and for good reason. It has the ability to take you to a different place when you listen to it in bed with some nice headphones on. RIP Lou. 3) Wishing Well – Buckethead This is a true masterpiece, recorded when Buckethead was only 24 years old this song has an instant nostalgic effect on the listener and easily sends you off to sleep without a care in the world. 4) Big Black Car – Gregory Alan Isakov A beautiful song that I first heard on a commercial, I wont say for what

Tips On Starting A Band

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    Once you're confident enough with your talent to actually form a band, start looking for people who'd be willing to join you. Ask friends and have them spread the word that you're looking for bandmates. If this doesn't reap any results, place an ad in the newspaper or on billboards at local colleges (if you don't mind young members). There has to be harmony in a band — both when it comes to the genre of music you want to play and personal relationships. Remember that your bandmates will be with you through thick and thin so they should be people you trust, creatively and personally. As well, a band needs a good leader, and although that role is oftentimes assumed by the singer, this rule isn't carved in stone. Upon the formation of the band, discuss with your partners what kind of goals you have with this venture and make sure that everybody agrees. Do you want the band to be nothing more than a Sunday afternoon distraction? Do you want to make a reco

8 Musical Facts That Will Blow Your Mind!

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1) It has been proven that the chills we get while listening to a certain song is caused be the brains release of dopamine into the blood. Scientists recruited people who reliably get shivers when listening to an affective score. The chills are a consistent, in the moment measure of pleasure than asking how test subjects felt. Scientists used brain-imaging techniques that revealed that the music caused dopamine peaks coupled with emotional arousal. The release of dopamine during music explains why such a high value is put on it and why music can manipulate our emotions. The effect that music has on us is quite comparable to other pleasures. Some examples are the joy of eating food, sex, and other tangible rewards. Music can quite literally move us or the chemicals in our brains. The fact that music can really give us a rush like sex does is incredible. Well, the sensation is released from the same part of the brain at least. Listening to actual non-terrible music has an additi

How to Discover New Music

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Different ways you can discover new music online Music is slowly but surely becoming something we look at as the way it is, and what's out there is out there and thats it. But there are a few places online you can still discover new music whether its an indy artist or just something you haven't heard before. Here is a list of websites online that will help you discover that cool new band, or that epic new song. Enjoy! -Ben Jammin Kraft  1. Daytrotter They call themselves “The source for new music from emerging bands” but there’s so much from established bands here as well. Daytrotter records live sessions with musicians (recently: Mumford and Sons, The Lumineers) and makes them available for you to watch/listen to (you need to be a member to watch videos). You can queue up music in the Daytrotter player on the bottom of your page while you listen to varied playlists from readers as well as artists. There are always live sessions coming up (Grace Potter and the

Leo Fender - Evolution of the "Tele-bass"

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Fenders Early Bass Designs. 1951 -  Fender Precision Bass - Telecaster inspired design, slab construction. 20 fret, bolt on one piece maple neck and fret board with black fret markers. Single layer white or black plastic "tele-bass" pick guard. old school split coil pickup 1 volume 1 tone knob. The "skunk" stripe, was a piece of dark wood (usually walnut or rosewood) fitted into the back of the neck where they routed out for the truss rod assembly. They eventually stopped doing this when they started using a 2 piece necks, but they brought it back for the   vintage look of the reissue models. 1953 -  Fender Precision Bass - First upgrade was made in 1953 when the Pbass got contoured edges                           making it more comfortable to hold and play. 1957 -  Fender Precision Bass - Rethought and reinvigorated the Pbass was redesigned to look more like the stratocaster guitar. New pickguards made of a single layer of gold anodized alumin

Leo Fender - A Moment In Bass Guitar History

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 Leo Fender The Man Behind The Music We All Know And Love. The electric bass guitar has been rumbling the hearts of people on this earth for nearly 80 years.  It wasn't until 1950 that Leo Fender put his mind into creating one of the most Iconic foot notes in Electric Bass Guitar technology to this day, The Fender Precision Bass.  The original prototype was a four string bass designed after the 6 string telecaster electric guitar (which was very popular at that time) in 1950 and marketed in 1951. It went through many adjustments and design updates over time and in 1957 it was redesigned to look more like the ever classic Fender Stratocaster electric guitar and to this day is the most popular design for the bass.  Leo Fender along with designing mostly all of Fender's classic products was also responsible for designing basses for Musicman and many a custom axe for 'G&L (George and Leo) Musical Products'.  After contracting a streptococca

20 Of The Highest Rockers Of All Time

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Who Were The Highest Rockers Of Rock N Roll? Back when sex and drugs were still a part of rock-n-roll, these legends of rock wrote the book, ripped out the pages and rolled them into a joint. No one is glorifying drug use or dying in a bloody pool of your own vomit. However, it was once not only accepted but expected for musicians to live a life of excess. The mere mortals of the world could live vicariously through these rock gods. Here are 20 of the most drugged-out musicians of the rock and roll era: 1. Keith Richards Rolling Stones   guitarist, Keith Richards, who has frequently made music magazines’ top ten musicians most likely to die, is not ready to dance with Mr. D quite yet. He has spent time with sister morphine, her brother heroin, cousin cocaine and the rest of the family, all while creating a fifty year rock dynasty with partner in crime, Mick Jagger. Despite a life lived as the poster child for rock-n-roll excess, he never overdosed, for which he a