How To Reduce Feedback

If you've performed live on stage or even a casual jam with your friends at band practice -- one of the most annoying things guitarists have is a thing called FEEDBACK!

If you don't know what feedback is -- it's that terrible high pitched sound that comes from speakers.

It usually happens when you place your microphone too close to the speaker or play your guitar directly in front of the amplifier.

Not only does this damage your ears, but it puts your audience off when they come to hear you play!

Now I'm not an expert on the dynamics of feedback. But I have performed on stage many times and have learnt a few tricks to avoid feedback from occurring...

The first step is to turn down your treble on your amplifier. Too much treble invites feedback so don't have too much treble in your amplifier settings.

The second step is to turn the volume on your guitar up only 3/4. Don't turn your volume up full as this is invites huge feedback! Always leave a little room on your volume, so don't turn it up all the way. Only 3/4 and I guarantee you will reduce feedback at least 80% with this trick.

One other trick is to turn down the gain or distortion on your amp. When you play softly, you can turn your gain or distortion full. But when you start playing with some serious volume, turn your gain only 50%.

You will still get the same sound and distortion, but this is the trick to avoiding feedback from occurring when you play loudly.

Finally, if you're using an effects pedal, only turn it up 3/4 the way. Like your guitar -- always leave a bit of leeway as it offers more control over the sound and keeps your playing tight!

Remember this -- if you keep control of your volumes, you reduce the level of feedback and have a much tighter sound as an over all band. If you turn everything up full and try to rule the world -- you'll sound a mess and out of control.

Written by ELMORE MUSIC

STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN

The Story Behind the Song

By Kathy Unruh

Stairway to Heaven was the song that everyone wanted to learn when I first started playing the guitar. It was the one song that could define you as a good guitarist among your peers.

Stairway to Heaven was written by Robert Plant and Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin. They began recording in 1970 and the project was slowly brought to completion one year later in 1971 (after the lyrics were added.) Here are some interesting facts about Stairway to Heaven...

• It was performed by Led Zeppelin for the very first time in conjunction with the first concert they gave in Northern Ireland at Belfast's Ulster Hall.

• It is cited as the most played song on FM radio stations in the United States, despite never being released as a single there.

• Stairway to Heaven is one of the most well-known popular songs in rock and roll history, despite the fact that it was never released as a single.

• It is the biggest-selling single piece of sheet music clocking up an average of 15,000 copies yearly.

• It is considered by many to be one of the greatest rock and roll songs of all time.

• The opening chord progression in Stairway to Heaven is nearly identical to the 1968 instrumental "Taurus" by the group Spirit.

Some critics have accused Led Zeppelin of recording a hidden Satanic message in Stairway To Heaven that can be heard when it's played backward. The band has ignored such claims for the most part. Singer/composer Robert Plant replied to a question on this subject by saying:

"To me it's very sad, because 'Stairway To Heaven' was written with every best intention, and as far as reversing tapes and putting messages on the end, that's not my idea of making music."

Swan Song Records also issued the following statement at the time which said:

"Our turntables only play in one direction—forwards."

I personally don't believe there is anything sinister at all about the song Stairway to Heaven. The words are really quite thought provoking. It begins with words about living a life that is only satisfied with material things...

"There's a lady is sure,
all that glitters is gold,
and she's buying a stairway to heaven.
When she gets there she knows,
if the stores are all closed,
with a word she can get what she came for."

As the song progresses it becomes more reflective and even somewhat spiritual...

"Your head is hummin' and it won't go, in case you don't know,
the piper's calling you to join him.
Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run,
there's still time to change the road you're on."

I guess everyone must decide for themselves how they feel about this song. As a guitar teacher, I definitley think it's worth learning because it is a true rock and roll classic.

If you're just beginning to learn guitar, you might find Stairway to Heaven a bit of a challenge to play, but it's not impossible. Those of you who have been playing for awhile shouldn't have any problem. Of course, if your in a band, then this song is a must to know as it is a great crowd pleaser. You will definitely gain recognition and a good response if you can play it well.

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Kathy Unruh is a singer/songwriter and webmaster of ABC Learn Guitar. She has been writing songs and providing guitar lessons to students of all ages for over 25 years.

Four Online Promotional Steps

By Lance Trebesch

Today’s artists have a wide range of possibilities to promote themselves, especially online. But that means you must compete with other groups to gain an online presence. There are four key steps in online marketing to gain a successful start with promoting your music on the internet.

1. Submit to Directories

The first step is to submit. Submit to directories, online radios, and online magazines – anywhere that plays or features music. The more places that play your track, the more people will hear and recognize your music. Thousands of people listen to free online radios daily and most of these stations allow artists to submit their music to them. Similarly, directories permit you to add your website with a brief description, which is then added to the directory site. An even better idea is to make a friend submit your site or music for you so you are not always pushing your own music.

You must be careful when submitting to sites, however, because search directories like Google will downgrade you if your incoming links look unnatural. This means that when someone performs a search for your site, it will not show up in the top search results because the search engine is punishing you. Try submitting your site or music to a couple sites weekly with various anchor texts. For example, the words “an awesome rock blog” are the anchor text to the link www.motorcityrocks.com. Also, do not always submit your site with a link pointing to your homepage. Sometimes submit your site with a link to the secondary page of your website to make the links seem more natural.

* Anchor text – visible, descriptive text you click on for a hyperlink.

2. Give Away Music

Secondly, offer your music at no cost. With the plethora of options available to users to download free MP3s, strictly offering your music for purchase hurts your online status. When a listener gets your MP3 for free, he or she has a greater possibility of returning to your site to hear more music by you if they liked what they heard. Only after listening and liking your music will they purchase your album. You have to be sure not to give away too much music, though, because the listener will have no reason to purchase your album if they can find everything for free.

Adding a podcast or MP3 to your sites also allows users to hear your music without paying anything for it. The hardest part in adding music to the site, however, is the recording, so start by focusing on a quality recording of your music. To add music to the site:

• Find a computer with audio input capability and an easy to use audio encoding application. This is easy if your music is on CD, just rip it with iTunes or a similar application. If it is in some other analog or digital (mini-disc) format, it gets a little harder, but applications are freely out there.

• Then with MP3 file in hand, you can upload the file to your web site and link like you would link a web page or other media/image file.

• From there, there are more complicated ways of doing it so it is more "presentable" with a nice embedded player, etc.

3. Make Business Friends

The third step is to build professional online relationships to boost your online presence. You know a lot about music, so comment on it. Look up blogs related to rock music and add meaningful comments to help others reading the blogs. Most of the time the comment box asks for your URL, which is a great way to promote your own website or blog while helping others by posting comments.

Blogger ethics state if one blogger comments or links to another’s site, the other blogger will comment or link back. This is a great way to build an online relationship and promote one another’s music. An additional option, besides just commenting on their blogs, is to help them out somehow. When you find online radio stations to submit your music to, compile a list and send the list to them. They will in return promote your music to thank you for your help.

Besides commenting on blogs, creating a blog can prove very beneficial in online rock music marketing as well.

4. Utilize Social Networks

Connect yourself to tons of different social networking sites. YouTube, Yahoo Video, and Google Video allow you to post different videos onto the site at no cost, like the OKGo video that was fairly inexpensive and still receives views daily. Post all your music videos and add links to your website to these videos.

MyBlogLog allows users to share different sites and build a community based on various interests. You can also add your site to your profile and view who else has your site as their favorite. Although just over a year old, MyBlogLog is quickly gaining popularity, which presents a great way establish yourself early in the community. Similarly, Ning allows you to create a social network for any topic. Joining and commenting on various rock music networks and creating your own network for group provides the best methods to get the most out of Ning.

Finally, joining the additional social network sites like LinkedIn, Facebook and MySpace are all necessary in promoting you or your band. Finding friends and friends of friends can boost you music and be helpful in additional ways. Network as often as possible both online and offline.

These four simple steps provide a great way to start promoting your music online. Remember to submit, give away, and comment. Online marketing is a continuous process you must constantly work on, but it pays off in the end.

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This article was contributed by Lance Trebesch of TicketPrinting.com

Contact: lance@ticketprinting.com

Guitar Chord Charts

Below is a great list of FREE GUITAR CHORD CHARTS. They are easy to read and understand. The circles on the fretboard show where to put your fingers. With quality practice time, they should help you learn and memorize new guitar chords. Enjoy them!

PLAY YOUR FAVORITE SONGS - Clapton, Green Day & More...

Basic Major Guitar Chord Charts

Major Chords
E 6 5 4 3 2 1 o_______o_o |_|_|_o_|_| |_o_o_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_|	A 6 5 4 3 2 1 __o_______o |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_o_o_o_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_|	C 6 5 4 3 2 1 ______o___o |_|_|_|_o_| |_|_o_|_|_| |_o_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_|	D 6 5 4 3 2 1 x___o______ |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_o_|_o |_|_|_|_o_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_|	G 6 5 4 3 2 1 ____o_o_o__ |_|_|_|_|_| |_o_|_|_|_| o_|_|_|_|_o |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_|

Basic Minor Guitar Chord Charts

Minor Chords
Em 6 5 4 3 2 1 o_____o_o_o |_|_|_|_|_| |_o_o_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_|	Am 6 5 4 3 2 1 __o_______o |_|_|_|_o_| |_|_o_o_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_|	Cm 6 5 4 3 2 1 ______o___x |_|_o_|_o_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_o_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_|	Dm 6 5 4 3 2 1 x___o______ |_|_|_|_|_o |_|_|_o_|_| |_|_|_|_o_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_|	Gm 6 5 4 3 2 1 ____o_o_x_x |_o_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| o_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_|

Minor 7 Guitar Chord Charts

Minor 7 Chords
Em7 6 5 4 3 2 1 o___o_o_o_o |_|_|_|_|_| |_o_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_|	Am7 6 5 4 3 2 1 __o___o___o |_|_|_|_o_| |_|_o_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_|	Cm 6 5 4 3 2 1 ______o___x |_|_o_|_o_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_o_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_|	Dm7 6 5 4 3 2 1 x___o______ |_|_|_|_o_o |_|_|_o_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_|	Gm7 6 5 4 3 2 1 __x________ |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| o_|_o_o_o_o |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_|	Bm7 6 5 4 3 2 1 x___o___o__ |_|_|_|_|_| |_o_|_o_|_o |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_|

Dominant 7 Guitar Chord Charts

Dom 7 Chords
E7 6 5 4 3 2 1 o___o___o_o |_|_|_o_|_| |_o_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_|	A7 6 5 4 3 2 1 __o___o___o |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_o_|_o_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_|	C7 6 5 4 3 2 1 __________o |_|_|_|_o_| |_|_o_|_|_| |_o_|_o_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_|	D7 6 5 4 3 2 1 x___o______ |_|_|_|_o_| |_|_|_o_|_o |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_|	G7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ____o_o_o__ |_|_|_|_|_o |_o_|_|_|_| o_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_|	B7 6 5 4 3 2 1 x_______o__ |_|_o_|_|_| |_o_|_o_|_o |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_|

Major 7 Guitar Chord Charts

Major 7 Chords
Ema7 6 5 4 3 2 1 o_______o_o |_|_o_o_|_| |_o_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_|	Ama7 6 5 4 3 2 1 __o_______o |_|_|_o_|_| |_|_o_|_o_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_|	Cma7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ______o_o_o |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_o_|_|_| |_o_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_|	Dma7 6 5 4 3 2 1 x___o______ |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_o_o_o |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_|	Gma7 6 5 4 3 2 1 __x_o_o_o__ |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_o o_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_| |_|_|_|_|_|

Movable Guitar Chord Charts

You have probably noticed that the above list of Guitar Chord Charts omits several letter names. The tuning of the guitar is such that only certain keys can take advantage of the "easy" chords. The other keys require the use of movable chords, guitar chords that do not use open strings. The value of learning movable chords is that one chord formation can be used in several different keys simply by moving the chord up or down the neck of the guitar. Below is a list of Guitar Chord Charts of several of the standard movable guitar chords.

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