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วันพุธที่ 13 สิงหาคม พ.ศ. 2551

Modellivesmusic Part Jimi Hendrix

Modellivesmusic Part Jimi Hendrix
The Guitars of Jimi Hendrix
By: Daniel Lehrman
To most people the truth about when Jimi Hendrix got his first guitar and what types of guitars he played throughout his career is somewhat of a mystery. Although, he was unarguably the greatest guitar player ever, and with his fertile musical mind, perhaps the greatest composer of our generation or ever for that matter. No disrespect intended, putting Jimi in company with Bach, Beethoven and the likes. True Genius.

The path that will be described here is what I would consider the most accurate, after a lot of research and a little voodoo-magic. Realistically though, boiling down the mixture may leave some people to disagree with me, and I welcome the input.

The evidence and consistencies suggest that his first guitar was a cheap acoustic his dad gave to him, as early as eleven years old. The story goes as such, that even at a young age of six years, his school teacher mentioned to his dad, Jimi obsesses over having a guitar so much that it may be contributing to some mental health issues. Not to discount todays teachers, but that was a very perceptive statement at that time.

His first electric guitar was bought from Myers Music in Seattle in 1959. Professed to be a white, single pickup Supro Ozark. The next axe that Hendrix played was a red Danelectro single pickup Silvertone, nicknamed Betty Jean. In'62, while doing some gigs with the King Casuals in Tennessee, he traded his Danelectro for an Epiphone Wilshire, which had dual pickups and a glued on mahogany neck with a solid mahogany body, as opposed to the bolt on Fender Stratocaster guitar necks.

In 1964, Jimi would play rhythm guitar for the Isley Brothers. During this nine month gig, he finally got his first Fender guitar, a blond'59 Duo-Sonic. He next played with Little Richard in '65, and briefly played a Fender Jazzmaster. However, he switched back to a Dou-Sonic when he played with Curtis Knight and the Squires. Even though Jimi later returned to the Jazzmaster.

A point of interest is that none of the gigs he had with the bands mentioned above lasted very long, because Jimi's guitar work stole the show. His unbelievable guitar abilities were noticed by all immediately, which took the focus away from the musical-icons he worked for.

Jimi purchased his first Strat from Manny's Music in New York in '66 in the summer. Early on he would use a variety of CBS Strats with rosewood fretboards. While he was staying in Greenwich Village in late '66 and '67 he narrowed down his choices to a '60's era Reverse Fender Stratocasterblack or white Fender Strats using maple fretboards. Which, most likely is the reason the Fender Stratocaster is the most important guitar in the history of guitars and music.

From then on he played Fender Stratocasters with large headstocks. One of his many unusual playing techniques was to play a right handed guitar backwards, or in the left handed position, obviously because Jimi was left handed. In order to do that one must reverse the strings and (bone) nut so the low E was still on the top. My understanding was that he preferred the controls on the top of the guitar. Apparently he could work his magic easier with the voluminous amount of tricks he performed, partly by messing with the volume control knob. Jimi was not much on tone controls or guitar setup. Mostly Jimi spent the bulk of time modifying his tremolo to do things like lower the pitch more than usual and create trem sounds otherwise unheard of.

Naturally Jim Hendrix had purchased and played a tremendous assortment of guitars in his lifetime. During my fact finding mission, this is the list of the other guitars Jimi most likely owned and played; a Gibson ES-330, a Gibson Firebird, a Mosrite electric resonator guitar, a Guild 12 string acoustic, a Black Widow Spider acoustic, several Rickenbacker's including a bass Rick, a double neck Mosrite, a Hagstrom 8 string bass(it was the on played on Spanish Castle Magic from the Axis Bold As Love album', a '67 Gibson Flying V, a '67 Gretsch Corvette, a lefty Guild Starfire Deluxe, a Hofner electric, a '55 Gibson Les Paul, a Gibson Dove acoustic, a Martin acoustic, a '68 Gibson SG Custom and a black lefty Flying V. Wow!

It is not surprising that Jimi owned so many guitars. The depth of knowledge and pure unadulterated playing style was not limited to just electric guitars and Stratocasters. His unique abilities allowed him to play any guitar with the deep soul jarring vibes that were all his. It would be unrealistic to think he was limited to one style of guitar. Or for that matter, one type of music. Jimi's interest in music extended to the world of classical music as well.

Lost to many, is the fact that Jimi was one of the best rhythm guitarists ever, most folk know him for his lead and solo guitar work, he was also an adept bass player too. And last, he was a master at the acoustic guitar, using chords in a manner unknown to mankind at that time. This combo of skills and abilities produced the man who will be forever the patron saint of rock guitar.

A long article to read indeed. A true joy putting the info together. It turned out to be a long path to find the truth. Enjoy it.

วันพฤหัสบดีที่ 7 สิงหาคม พ.ศ. 2551

Modellivesmusic Part Flutes

Welcome to my Modellivesmusic blog Again.Here you will learn about Modellivesmusic tips and how to find good information
Playing Native American Flutes For A Unique Spiritual Journey
By: Craig Chambers
Native American flutes are extremely popular for use in ceremonies and rituals, or as home decor collection pieces. I have always enjoyed Native flute music for its pleasing sound quality and ability to bring a tranquil calm to the atmosphere where it is played. Hearing Native flutes always reminds me of my mother's kitchen where she often had flute music playing to bring a peaceful calm to her home. The mesmerizing flute music revives the soul and brings about a calming affect on the spirit of all who hear it.

If you look at the history of Indian instruments, you will realize that along with the drum, the flute has a big role in the daily lives, festivities and traditions of many Indigenous people. Native American flute music takes you on a spiritual journey where generations look to their forefathers to lead them, and use their instruments to connect them with the spiritual world.

Flutes in one form or another have existed for hundreds of years and have been part of many Tribes and cultures around the world. The research of flute instruments in history shows us that they did exist in ancient cultures. The origin and design of the Native American flute is a little more difficult to research due to the fact that there were no written languages among North American Tribes at that time. It wasn't until travelers documented their discoveries, that record of the Native American flute is found in history.

You can't take in the true value of Native flute music until you realize that society came close to crushing this amazing art from with severe assimilation rules. The 1900's brought with it harsh rules for Native Americans that almost succeeded to forever silence their culture and people. Along with many other Indigenous traditions, these rules stopped the dispersion of Native flute music. It wasn't until the mid-1900's that assimilation laws started to decrease and Native traditions were able to be practiced within the Tribe and out in the open once again.

Over time, the prestige of the Native American flute flourished to the point that flute makers began producing these instruments in large numbers to sell, and not just for personal playing purposes. The materials used to make the flutes also advanced from undeveloped crude instruments to more refined, with the use of power tools and the ability to find various types of woods, plastics and metals.

Now days, there are a variety of choices available when choosing a Native style flute, and it is just a matter of personal opinion. There are some recommendations you should keep in mind though when buying an instrument. There are various styles of flutes, but all have one of two different sound qualities. The sound tone of the flute is based on whether it is a Plains style or a Woodlands style. A Plains style flute produces a buzz type sound while a Woodlands style will produce a bell sound.

No matter which sound style of flute you buy, it is essential to check the characteristics of that specific instrument, including the mouthpiece, size, shape and number of holes, in order to find one that is right for you. Native American flutes also come in many different types of wood ranging from exotic, rather expensive woods, to simple pieces of pine, cane or bamboo.

Thanks to the general enjoyment of flute music, you can conveniently buy Native American flutes online, in various music stores, and in decor shops that sell Indian musical instruments and southwest home decorating accessories. If you are looking for a simple instrument to learn to play, or are looking for real Indian musical instruments for playing in Indian powwows and ceremonies, consider keeping the culture and instruments of American Indians alive with the peaceful harmony of Native American flutes.

วันอาทิตย์ที่ 3 สิงหาคม พ.ศ. 2551

Modellives Part Progressive Rock

Modellives Part Progressive Rock
Progressive Rock Bands that Inspired the World
By: Groshan Fabiola
Progressive rock appeared in the late 1960s when rock artists wanted to break down the barriers of radio formatted pop and rock and progress this music genre to a place where it could achieve a more sophisticated sound, similar to that of classical music or jazz. Progressive rock is very hard to define in one conclusive way and we have progressive rock bands to prove that. Some of the most important bands of the 70s that defined this rock form did not have the same sound.

Psychedelic music is believed to be the starting point of progressive rock. Some people also believe that bands like The Beatles contributed to the progressive rock movement. However, the two progressive rock bands that most people see as being the first of this new- found genre were King Crimson and Yes. These progressive rock bands appeared at the end of the 1960s and although the first band was attributed to hard progressive rock sub- genre and the second to symphonic rock, they were both catalogued as progressive rock bands, as their sound was unique and more sophisticated. Genesis is yet another rock band that aspired to progressive rock. Their third progressive rock album set things straight for this band. They were a symphonic rock band and thus a progressive rock band.

Great Britain was the first country that started the progressive rock movement, but Italy was not far behind either. Banco Del Mutuo Soccorco and Premiata Forneria Marconi were progressive rock bands that led the way for all rock bands all over Europe to progress and define this rock genre. As far as the progressive rock movement is concerned, these two European countries were the ones that opened all doors and invited all rock bands to evolve and give the world great progressive rock albums. However, Great Britain is still the top promoter of progressive rock bands, with Caravan, another progressive rock band from this country, being the one that defined the third sub- genre of progressive rock: Canterbury. So, at the end of the 1960s, progressive rock bands established three sub- genres: hard prog, symphonic and Canterbury.

The 1970s represented the crowning of progressive rock as a genre and some of the greatest progressive rock albums were released in this decade. Jethro Tull’s “Thick as a brick” or Rush’s “2112” are only two of the most appreciated progressive rock albums released in the 70s. Moreover, this decade brought another ten sub- genres of progressive rock to life, and many progressive rock bands came forth in this period. As if progressive rock was not complicated enough, art folk, classical prog, folk prog, ambient, Rio, pomp prog, jazz fusion, electronic, Zeuhl and krautrock were listed as sub- genres of the 60s rock genre.

In the next two decades, progressive rock did not progress as much as it had up to that moment. In the 80s, it was dethroned by the punk movement and progressive rock bands chose to give birth to another sub- genre: neo progressive. There were few progressive rock albums released in the 80s, some of the most prolific ones being Rush’s “Moving Pictures” or Fate’s Warning’s “No Exit”. Progressive metal rock was also listed as a sub- genre in this period. The 1990s were dominated by the development of metal prog, through Dream Theatre. This decade is mainly characterized by the revival of the progressive scene of the seventies.