FROM REGGAE SUNSPLASH TO REGGAE SUMFEST. JAMAICA'S MUSIC FESTIVAL (SUMFEST)

This year the organizers and promoters of “Reggae Sumfest” said that they will have to spend about $2 million (JmD) to upgrade the facilities at Catherine Hall. Catherine Hall is the home of reggae sumfest and it has the capacity to accommodate some 17,000 – 20,000 people. But it doesnt matter what happen the show must go on.

Tourists from all over the world and even Jamaicans are preparing for this summer festival. This years Reggae Sumfest is date for July 17 – 23, 2011. A number of artistes will be featured on this years show. R. Kelly is said to be one of the international artiste to perform.

Reggae Sumfest has revived the tradition of having a summer music festival in Jamaica. In 1978 Reggae Sunsplash was launched as music festival in the northern parts of Jamaica. Reggae Sunsplash was doing well with great musical genres like ska, rock steady, reggae and soca. The event was the favourite for many music lovers in Jamaica and the world. However, it losses its musical flavour in the mid 1990s.

In 1993 Reggae Sumfest was launched. The major sponsor was Red Stripe. Reggae Sumfest became the greatest reggae show in Jamaica and the world. This great musical festival came just in time to boots the music and entertainment industry of Jamaica. With the energetic elements of dance Hall music the festival has become one of the most exciting musical events in the world.

Today, Montego Bay is the home of Reggae Sumfest and is the ideal location since it is the tourist capital of the Caribbean. Montego also has a number of hotels and entertainment lounges for visitors and locals to enjoy.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT REGGAE SUMFEST VISIT: http://www.reggaesumfest.com/

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Tupac Shakur also known as 2Pac would have been forty (40) years old this week.

Do you remember the popular, young and vibrant American rapper Tupac Shakur. 2Pac (which is musician name) would have been forty years old on June 16, 2011. He would have just reach the peak of his music and acting career if he wasn't murdered. He is sadly missed by a great number of individuals all over the globe.
Today I want to joint with a number of individuals and say happy birthday to Tupac Shakur one of America's greatest rapper. R.I.P.
Tupac Shakur's name is written down in history as a great contributor to black and hiphop music.

 Tupac Shakur was born on June 16, 1971. He started is music career in the late 1980s. He is sometimes called Pac or 2Pac in his music career. He started his acting career in 1990 which complemented his hip hop style of performance.

On September 7, 1996 Tupac was shot several times in Las Vagas, he was taken to hospital and died 6 days after. Tupac Shakur have sold over 75 million albums and was named as one of the greatest Hip Hop artiste of all time.

Related Articles

Tupac Remembered

Tupac's Murderer Confesses

Tupac's Biography

Tupac's Funeral Video Views

Video from: runarmyof1

Have a peaceful day.

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Free Music Lessons - Free Piano and Keyboard Lessons for beginners. Don't miss your free music lesson online today. Start playing the piano/keyboard is minutes.

This a great opportunity to learn the piano or keyboard for free.
Here is a list of our piano/keyboard lessons for beginners that we have published so far. Take your time and go through each topic.

HOW TO PLAY THE PIANO

The Letters on the Piano/Keyboard

Basic Piano/Keyboard Lesson

Letter Name for the Black Keys on the Piano/Keyboard

Playing C and G major scales

Playing D and A major scales

Playing E and B major scales

Playing F# and C# major scales

Old Macdonald had a Farm

Three Little Birds by Bob Marley

 

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RHYTHM, AN ELEMENT IN MUSIC. What is rhythm all about? (beats, meter, accent, syncopation & tempo)

Rhythm is an arrangement of sounds and silences to create specific musical patterns during time. Rhythm also includes beat, meter, accent, syncopation and tempo. Let us look at these interrelated aspects of rhythm.

(Useful topic link - The elements in music)

Beat is very important because it allows the music to flow in an organized way. Beat is a regular, repeated pulsation that divides music into equal units of time. So if the music is slow then the beats are arranged to move at a slow pace. It is important to note that the beats in music are not notes but they are pulse that the arranger or conductor used to create melodies and other rhythmic patterns. Therefore a note can be a fraction less than a beat, can be the same length as a beat and even longer than a beat. The pulse that is created by your heart is a perfect example because it is a steady regular pattern.

Let us now look at the term “Meter”.

Meter is the organization of beats into regular groups. When a group of set number of beats is used then a measure is created. The first beat in the group is usually stressed. This stressed beat is called the down beat.

There are different types of meter. Each meter is named according to the number of beats in each measure. Some types of meter as they relates to music are; duple meter, triple meter, quadruple meter, sextuple meter, quintuple meter among others. In this article we will only focus on three types of meter. They are; duple, triple and quadruple meter.

Duple meter is when each measure in the music has two beats in it. A group of two beats in each measure is counted like this:

Triple meter is when each measure in the music has three beats in it. A group of three beats in each measure is counted like this:

Quadruple meter is when there are four beats in each measure. A group of four beats in each measure is counted like this:

Click link for topic on Time Signature

MUSIC LESSONS: Music Theory Lesson: What are Time Signatures?

MUSIC LESSONS: Music Theory Lesson: Time Signatures (part 2)

 

 

Accent and Syncopation are two effective musical techniques used to enhance the rhythmic structure of a piece of music. Accent is when a note in the group of beats in the measure is played stronger than normal times in the music. The symbol used to illustrate accent is >. (When the accent sign (>) is placed over specific notes in each measure it means that the note must be played stronger than the other notes.)

Syncopation is an “off-beat” note that is stressed or accented. If you listen to a jazz music then you will hear a lot of syncopation.

The tempo of the music definitely has an effect on the rhythm. Tempo refers to the pace of the music. However, there are different types of musical terms that are used to tell us the tempo that is to be used or suitable for the music. Two popular tempo terms are; andante and allegro.

Andante means – at walking pace or moderately slow.

Allegro means – fast.

Some other tempo terms used in music are;

Largo – very slow

Grave – solemn and very slow

Adagio – slow

Moderato – moderate

Allegretto – moderately fast

Vivace – lively

Presto – very fast

Prestissimo – as fast as possible

It is very important to note that most tempo terms used in music are normally Italian.

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UNIQUE MUSIC LESSONS WITH VICTOR WOOTEN AND OTHER GREAT MUSIC TEACHERS.

VICTOR WOOTEN'S Music/Nature Camp

For parents who are looking for an ideal environment for their children to learn music; check out Victor Wooten’s Bass/Nature Camp and Music/Nature Camp. Learn to play music in an awesome environment. Enjoy natural fresh air and learn great musical skills from great teachers.

NOW DOING REGISTRATIONS FOR MUSIC NATURE CAMP!! HURRY BEFORE CLOSING DATE!!

CLICK THIS LINK FOR FURTHER DETAILS.

or

VICTOR WOOTEN'S WEBSITE

FREE PIANO/KEYBOARD LESSONS: Another great musical piece for beginners, children and anyone who is learning to play the keyboard or piano.

Hi guys! Here is another popular but simple song that I have used over the years for my piano and keyboard beginner students. While learning to play this piece, your will gain confidence in learning the white keys on the keyboard. Like other simple songs that I have posted in the pass, I know you will catch this one quickly and will be waiting for other simple lessons.

The song we will be looking at today is "Old Macdonald Had a Farm".
Below is a simple sheet music with the melody of the song.

Even though you should know all the letter names of the keys on the keyboard by now, here is model showing the best notes to use for this song.

Thank you for particiating in this lesson. Feel free to take a look at all the other articles that I have posted on this site. Please remember to leave your comments!!

FREE KEYBOARD/PIANO LESSON: How to play "Three Little Birds" by Bob Marley!!

Hi my friends! Today I want to show you how to play the melody for Three Little Birds by Bob Marley.
Below is a document with the letter names used. I have also provided a model of the keyboard showing what notes to used for the song.

Enjoy!!

VIEW  PIANO LESSONS ON THIS SITE!

HOW TO PLAY THE PIANO

The Letters on the Piano/Keyboard

Basic Piano/Keyboard Lesson

Letter Name for the Black Keys on the Piano/Keyboard

Notes used on the Keyboard.

Have a great day!!

 

The Elements in Music - What are the different elements of music?

It doesn’t matter what country or race you belongs to, there must be an appreciation or love for some genre of music. When we listen to our favourite style of music it definitely has some physical and emotional effect on us. But do we take time to identify the different components that exist in all the different styles of music we listen to?

The music we love listening to has special pack of ingredient which is referred to as musical elements. Today we will look at some of the main elements of music and what they mean to us as listeners.

Some of the main elements of music are rhythm, timbre/instrumentation, melody, harmony, texture, musical form, genre/style, pitch, tempo and articulation.

Rhythm

Rhythm is one of the most important elements of music. According to Roger Kamien in his book, Music: An Appreciation (4^th Edition), Rhythm is the flow of music through time; the pattern of durations of notes and silences in music. So therefore rhythm is an arrangement of sounds and silences to create specific musical patterns during a particular time or duration. Rhythm also includes beat, meter, accent, syncopation and tempo.

Timbre/Instrumentation

Timbre (which is pronounced tam’-ber) refers to the quality of sound that differentiate one from another. We are able to identify a trumpet different from a saxophone in music because of the timbre or tone colour of the instrument.

Instrumentation includes the wide variety of musical instruments that exist based on an era and culture of the composer. All musical instruments have its purpose and time in music. Some categories of musical instruments are; voice, brass, keyboard, electronic (electrophone), percussion, strings and woodwind.

Melody

Melody is a series of notes that are place at different pitch creating a tune. When you hear a saxophone playing “Marry had a Little Lamb” you will recognize the song because of the tune or melody. A good melody has a beginning, development and an ending. Some important aspects of melody are tonality (the key of the music), intervals, phrasing, articulation and cadence.

Harmony

Harmony refers to harmonic notation that accompanies the melody of a song. For example; when an individual is singing and the piano is playing in the background supporting the soloist, the piano that accompanies the singer is creating harmony. One interrelated aspect of harmony is chords. A chord includes three or more notes playing at the same time. Harmony can be created by other musical instruments even voices.

Texture

According to Roger Kamien in his book, Music: An Appreciation (4^th Edition), texture refers to how many different layers of sound are heard at once, whether they are melody or harmony, and how they are related to each other. Monophonic, polyphonic and homophonic are three popular textures that can be identified easily in music.

Musical Form

Most music that we listen to is designed so that we can identify the verses and chorus. Musical Form is the way in which a musical piece is structured or designed. In musical form music can have repetition, contrast and variation. There are different types of form; however, two popular types of forms are Three Part (Ternary) ABA and Two Part (Binary) AB.

Genre/Style

Genre/Style simply refers to the type of music. The types of music are based on culture and geographical location. Some genres of music are; Hip hop, R&B, Souls ballad, Reggae, Rock and Gospel.

Dynamics, Pitch, Tempo and Articulation

Dynamics, pitch, tempo and articulation can be classified as part of the expressive features in music.

Dynamics is how soft or loud the music is.

Pitch is the highness and lowness of sound in music.

Tempo refers to the speed of the music, how fast or slow the music is been played.

Articulation refers to how notes in music are been played. Notes can be played short and detached (staccato) and smooth flowing into each other (legato).

Thanks you for reading this article! Please subscribe so that you can get future articles on the same or other topics. The author intends to write more articles explaining each element in details.

VIEW  PIANO LESSONS ON THIS SITE!

HOW TO PLAY THE PIANO

The Letters on the Piano/Keyboard

Basic Piano/Keyboard Lesson

Letter Name for the Black Keys on the Piano/Keyboard

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