Download Music Online - Getting the Best Deal, Legally

The days of getting in your car and driving to the nearest record store for your tunes are a thing of the past. Filling your MP3 player with music by downloading it off the Internet is not the wave of the future... it's here right now! However, back when you were buying CDs, at least you knew your music was legal and you weren't violating any laws.


Nowadays, you need to be careful and well-informed about music copyright regulations. Otherwise, you could very well be the next target of a very expensive recording industry lawsuit. So, how do you know that you are not only downloading your music legally, but you are also getting the best value for your money? A good place to start is to completely eliminate any site that offers you unlimited music at no charge. Yes, every now and then an up-and-coming artist will offer his own music free on his website. However, if you're using a website or download network that allows you completely free access to tracks by well-known bands, you should run the other way... fast! So, does that mean you're stuck with sites that charge expensive download fees for each song you choose? Absolutely not!


The plans offered by legal music download sites offer a variety of membership and purchase options, and you are sure to find one that will work for you. I'll outline a few of the pricing plans here, and with a bit of research you will be able to easily uncover others. First, there are the music sites that have a standard per-download charge. These do not require any type of membership fee, and you usually can only preview short clips of songs before you purchase them. The price per track at these sites usually starts around $0.99, and I've seen it go as high as $1.29. Another popular way to sell music online is to offer a paid membership, with per-track download charges.


These web sites often allow their members to stream unlimited music, and charge a reduced per-track fee (generally about $0.67) if the member would like to download a song to burn to a CD or load on their MP3 player. Finally, one of my favorite pricing models is a monthly subscription that will allow a pre-determined number of downloads each month. These sites usually offer a free trial period so that you can become familiar with the types of music they have available, and will even allow you to download a limited number of songs free during this time. (I've seen this deal offered for anywhere from 10 to 25 free tracks.) If you then decide not to continue your membership past the trial period, the songs you've already downloaded are legally yours to keep.

By Chad Connors

Chad Connors is a 21-year-old college student who loves being able to download his music on the Internet. His website, Reviewer's Choice, has an entire section devoted to helping you select the best music download site. Visit it today at
http://reviewers-choice-online.com/category/music/

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Why Everyone Loves Singing Songs

You have to admit that even if you don't have a great singing voice, there's just something about singing songs that make you feel a little bit happier inside. You might not do it in public, and you might not even admit when you do it in private, but chances are you sing periodically throughout the day. Music has the ability to take you to a whole new world, giving you the escape that you need to survive throughout the day. Through singing, people can share their experiences, emotions, and dreams with the world. It's a beautiful process that is often taken for granted.

So what is it about singing songs that is so special? Some might say that singing can give someone an instant rock star quality, which most people desperately seek in their own lives. Others think that singing is just a natural process that happens after someone hears a sound. If you ask me, everyone loves singing songs because it allows them to step into a new character, similar to why people enjoy dressing up on Halloween. Even people who love their lives like to take a break from them every now and again. Singing songs can provide that outlet for people to escape from life, even if it's only for three brief minutes.

If you need an escape while you're at home, then you should consider trying some karaoke. You don't have to do it in front of a crowd of people unless you really want to, and you might be surprised by how quickly it will make you feel better. A good karaoke software program will let you be a singing superstar and track your performance so you can constantly improve.

You have a lot of karaoke options, but the main two things you can choose from are karaoke machines and karaoke software. The machines will sit somewhere in your house where you can access them whenever you need to. The software, on the other hand, will convert your computer or game system into a karaoke machine so that you can save some space and still enjoy all the benefits of the machine. Whatever you get is up to you. After that, all you have to do is pick a song and wait to jump into a whole new world.

Finally you must remember that you should not pay for the same music twice. there is some decent karaoke software that will actually convert your current MP3's and CD's into karaoke songs. This will save you a huge amount of money as you will not need to but specific karaoke CDs.

Anyway why would you actually pay for the same music twice?

I have found that Singing Superstar is relatively inexpensive, and it pays for itself after the first or second use. You will save hundreds of dollars in karaoke music CDs by just using some simple conversion software on your computer or game system.

To see more information on the latest and greatest Karaoke Software you should visit our review page here: Quality Karaoke Software

Rest assured, I have tried Singing-Superstar and can personally recommend this product.

From my review I have found that Singing Superstar is easy to use, offers loads of extra features, and is the closest I have come to having a professional karaoke experience without even leaving the house.

Only Singing-Superstar lets you use the power of your PC to sing along with almost any song ever made...
Singing Super Star lets you sing solo or join in with up to 6 mates to create a real life singing performance.
Join in the karaoke revolution and see if you have what it takes to become a Singing Superstar.

By Kelly Michaels


Kelly Michaels
Independent Reviewer
http://www.karaokesingingreview.com/

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Songwriting Instruction - What to Write About?

So, you want to write a song but don't know where to start or what to write about. Well, you're not alone. Sitting there staring at a blank piece of paper or computer screen is something that happens to all of us. In this article, I'm going to give you a few ideas for coming up with things to write about. Hopefully, these tips will get you on your way to writing your first great song.
Do me a favor. Right now...turn on the radio. I don't care what station it is. It can be rock, country, R&B, or easy listening for all I care. Just turn on the radio and wait until a song comes on. When it does, listen to the lyrics. Yeah, I know...a lot of songs have lyrics that are impossible to understand. This is especially true with speed metal. Anyway, listen to the lyrics. What is the singer singing about? Write down the general topic. After you're done, pick another song and do the same thing. Keep doing this until you have a list of about 20 or 30 topics.

If you listen to enough songs, you will begin to see patterns. Over the 45 years that I've been listening to music, the categories that seem to pop up the most are love, hate, overcoming adversity, war, poverty, nostalgia, novelty songs, charity and giving to others, and some very obtuse themes that are quite hard to categorize. These main themes should give you plenty of ammunition to use for your songwriting arsenal.

But if listening to songs on the radio isn't enough, go look at your own life. Certainly you've had experiences in your life. The older you are, the more experiences you're sure to have had. Many times, a personal story, whether it's sad, funny, or overcoming your own adversity, is going to be perfect material for a great song. As a matter of fact, some of the best songs ever written were written from personal experience. For example, Harry Chapin's song "Taxi" was written loosely based from his personal experience at the United States Air Force Academy.

The key to coming up with an idea is to clear your mind and not censor yourself. Too many people say, "That's a dumb idea" before they even give it a chance. Don't do it! Let yourself be a kid again. Kids will say and do anything and not think about looking or acting stupid. As a songwriter, sometimes we have to do the same thing.

By Steven Wagenheim

To YOUR Songwriting Success
Steven Wagenheim

Want to get more great FREE tips on songwriting? Visit my blog at http://songwriting-tips-online.blogspot.com/

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Easy Guitar Songs For Beginner Guitarists

There's no doubt about it, almost all people who start learning how to play the guitar do so, to be able to play popular songs. And the quicker the better! Thankfully, there are many very famous songs which are easy to learn and play, even for novice guitarists.

So once you are comfortable with your basic chords, chord changes and alternate plucking, have a go at these popular, yet easy guitar songs:

Good Riddance - Green Day

A very fun and energetic song that will improve your chord change technique, strumming skills, as well as single string plucking. The first part of the song involves arpeggiating, than strumming chords G, C9 and D, which is very easy, since your 3rd and 4th fingers hardly need to move. The second part of the song involves adding more chords to the simple strumming pattern, making this a great beginner guitar song to learn.

Greensleeves - English Folk Song

A very popular song from long ago, that most people associate with medieval times. This song is great for beginners, as it is made up of 2 separate sections, both involving fingerpicking:

The first is comprised of chord arpeggios. The chords you'll need to know are: Am, C, D, E, B7, G.

The second section of the song is the melody, where you'll be fingerpicking single and double strings. Easy to learn, and loads of fun to play!

No Woman No Cry - Bob Marley

Probably one of the most famous songs in the world, it's easy to play and your friends and family will love listening to it. The main section involves 3 chords which are very easy to switch in between. The second section involves bar chord strumming, which might be somewhat challenging for beginners, but hey, it's great for practicing bar chords.

Godfather Theme (Speak Softly Love) - Slash

The ever popular theme to The Godfather movie got a new twist after Slash played it's cover version. This is an electric guitar song, a beginner guitar solo song actually. You'll be picking individual strings, and practicing vibratos and slides while learning this song. You'll need to set up a nice sound on your amplifier, with a bit of distortion and a slight delay (echo).

Wonderwall - Oasis

A very popular song that will really improve your strumming and chord changing skills. To get the authentic Oasis sound, you'll need to place a capo at fret 2, so if you haven't purchased one yet, you'll need to go out to your local music shop before you start learning this song. You'll be strumming 6 chords, but the great part is that your 3rd and 4th fingers stay on the E and B strings of fret 3 throughout the song, making it easy for beginner guitarists who haven't come to terms with changing chords yet.

Playing songs is a great way of learning and advancing your guitar techniques and skills, as it makes practicing the guitar fun and motivating. Learn how to play the above, as well as many other beginner guitar songs at TheGuitarLesson.com. The website provides video guitar lessons for beginners with animated tabs and easy to follow, step-by-step instructions.

By Tom Fontana

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Easy Acoustic Guitar Tabs For Beginners

Using tablature is a great way to learn to play the guitar. Fortunately, easy acoustic guitar tabs are readily available.

You've probably heard of tabs before, and maybe you've tried already to learn them but have just gotten frustrated. Like anything else, tabs can be a really challenging to learn if you don't have a teacher who is really good. You can struggle along and maybe learn some basic principles of playing gutiar, but you'll probably hit a plateau and be unable to excel beyond that point. Maybe you've already hit that plateau; if you have, some easy acoustic guitar tabs may be able to help you.

If you walk into your local music school and sign up for studio lessons, you will probably find out very quickly how expensive that can be. After just a few lessons, you will spend much more than you probably expected. The truth is, there's no real reason to spend all that money. You can easily get online and find a lot of information on easy acoustic guitar tabs. There's even a few complete programs that are really good, and which are certainly much cheaper than a traditional music academy.

Tabs are much easier to learn than classic staff notation. They use diagrams of your fretboard, and you just put your fingers on the frets indicated in the picture. After some basic lessons, you will be rapidly on your way to playing the guitar. With some easy acoustic guitar tabs, you can start a band, play for your kids or just learn for yourself!

Learn Easy Acoustic Guitar Tabs

About Acoustic Guitar Tabs

By Lia March

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Easy to Learn Guitar Songs - 3 Fun and Simple Songs That Require 3 Easy Chords

Well first of all, what counts as "easy to learn" depends greatly on your current skill level. An "easy" song for an expert player could be so complex that no beginner or intermediate could touch it. Since you're searching on easy to play though, let's assume you're a beginner. Here are three simple songs you can play with three chords or less.

1) Breakfast at Tiffany's

This popular 90's tune is made up of three of the simplest chords out there, D, A and G. These are the three of the most common chords you'll find among three chord songs, and they can be combined in a number of ways. You probably won't even need to look at the music for Breakfast at Tiffany's, if you can play A, G and D, you'll be able to pick the easy progression out by ear.

2) Semi-Charmed Life

This song again uses G and D much like the last one, but instead of an A chord, Semi Charmed Life used a C. Listening to this song will reveal an even simpler strumming pattern than Breakfast at Tiffany's as the strumming is more or less just rapid and continuous. This is a song that's also very easy to sing over while playing.

3) Love Me Do

This classic Beatles tune uses G, C and C7. Whoa, whoa, C7? That isn't one of the standard beginner chords! Don't worry, a C7 is just like a C but with one extra note, and switching from C to C7 is just as easy, or easier, than switching to a different chord, since three of your fingers are already in place!

These are only three of the large number of simple songs that you can play with only a few chords. There are hundreds of songs like these, but why stop there? Imagine if you could play ANY chord! Click here to check out Guitar Chord Legend. This simple software download gives you easy access to over 7000 chords. With this program you can play any one of the thousands of chord files on the internet! You could literally learn any song you could possible want to! Good luck and keep practicing!

By Randy Rhoads

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Learn Guitar - Learn Music and Enjoy Life!

Guitar Lessons, Piano Lessons, all of that may sound boring. But, have you ever wanted to try playing some instrument? Playing guitar for example? If not, I must say this now: Playing an instrument is one of the most exciting, enjoyable things that a human being can do. Yeah, it's similar to having a great training lesson mixed with some of the best pleasures that you ever have feel.

For a lot of children, playing an instrument is something that they HAVE to do, I mean, they are forced into doing it and it becomes nasty, horrible thing; not only that, if you are a parent, and if you force your child into playing an instrument, you could be erasing from his life an opportunity to enjoy music. So play nicely, let your child discover which instrument does he like most, and encourage him or her to do it.

And what about you? Yeah, surely some of you could say, "oh man, it's too late now to learn playing guitar." Well, let me tell you this, it's never too late, and it is always fun! yeah, there are a lot of chances of enjoying the process of learning even from scratch: why?. well, as you progress, even if that progress is just "from making noise" to "playing some notes" you will feel rewarded, you will feel like something accomplished, and let me tell you this: you will ask for more. Your life will never be the same again, you'll double your happiness!!

Just prove it, you can access some great learning guitar methods in this page, and you can find more on Internet, so, give the music a try!

By Ruben D. Martin

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How to Increase Vocal Range For Powerful Singing

Have you ever wondered if you have any chance to reach notes you naturally can't? Well the answer is probably YES! There are many very helpful exercises you can use to Increase vocal range. It's not as difficult as it seems! You just need a little guidance, will, and practice.

To learn how to increase vocal range we recommend you start by reading this article and make sure to practice all the different elements outlined on a regular basis. Well, 'practice does make perfect!".

To Increase vocal range, you first have to find the notes (you can help yourself with a keyboard) on which singing seems completely comfortable and natural.

Using these notes, do a vocal warm up. What is this? It's the way all singers get prepared for their lessons and performances. Do some vocalizations, going up and down a scale using those notes to get your instrument (in this case your body!) ready for action, and over the main part.

After you are all done with these notes you can start searching to go further. Try to start doing your scales on higher notes, going slowly up on the keyboard if you are using one as guidance, always making sure you are not too uncomfortable. Never force your voice, especially if you have no personalized guidance. Your limit for higher notes should be higher than it usually was if you have warmed up properly.

Now try singing lower than you usually can. Only working on reaching high notes can get your voice to loose its power on your lower register, so make sure you work both ways. This way you will make sure you really do Increase vocal range, and not only learn how to go higher while shortening your reach regarding lower notes!

When doing your exercises try to handle your air with your tummy. To Increase vocal range, you should make sure you learn "diaphragmatic breathing". This kind of breathing will make you get more air into your body when inhaling, and most importantly, help you handle it. Going lower on your register will require you to let more air go while keeping enough of it for finishing the notes. At the same time, high notes will require more strength, and you will tend to force your throat muscles, which you won't do if you are working with the ones on your abdominal area.

This is a good way to Increase vocal range, but executing this exercises the right way requires special attention, and preferably personalized guidance to make sure you won't get hurt. make sure to pay particular attention to your breathing, as once you can control this effectively all the other elements will fall into place.

By Paul Hockney

Paul Hockney is a keen singer provides lots of FREE singing tips and techniques, so if you're learning how to sing better and you're on a budget then check out his great new singing resource.

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Learn Piano Notes

Well to learn to play piano notes can be sometimes time consuming for an individual. People sometimes make piano playing a lot harder than what it should be, because they do not want another person to know their skills as well as they do. While other people are always so happy to help others in learning to play. I actually learned piano notes from an instructor when I was a bit younger than I am today. She taught me some good things, but I actually learned more from the online program that I had purchased awhile ago.

I was amazed that learning piano notes would be that easy to do in such a short amount of time. My family was shocked as well by how fast I picked up the songs and notes by doing it all online. Learning piano notes can be tricky and it does take some practice to learn, the key is you have to be consistent with playing everyday. Knowing your notes first hand helps you play at ease, because you know what notes you are playing and you do not have to constantly be looking down at the piano keys.

If you learn to play piano notes online you will be able to save a lot of time and money. For example you will not have to leave the comfort of your house, you will then be saving money on gas, money for lessons, and for piano books. The good thing is that you do not have to set up certain times to receive your lessons, you will be able to do them at anytime of the day!

If you are serious about learning to play piano notes take a look at my blog!
http://natalieds.blogspot.com/

Learn Piano Notes! By Natalie Sho

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Good Singing Tips to Perform Well on Stage

If you are endowed with a great singing voice and you want to enhance your talent, you can actually find good singing tips to help you become a good singer. Some simple things that you should not do when singing may bring out your greatest potential in singing and will also help you take care of your talent.

If you want to become a great singer, below are some good singing tips that might help you in your quest for that great performance or a great singing career.

* Do not drink alcohol or coffee before a performance. Coffee has caffeine that causes dehydration and you need your vocal cords to be hydrated to put them in their best condition. Alcohol also has a dehydrating effect too aside from the fact that it can spoil your ability to sing properly.

* Don't cough harshly or keep clearing your throat. Clearing your throat or coughing harshly can cause friction and strain in the vocal cords, which can also affect your singing voice. If you want to take care of your voice, a gentle cough would be preferable.

* Avoid talking in noisy environment that will lead you to yell. Big crowds and noisy bars will often lead you to yell or talk loudly. This can intensely strain your vocal cords in and hurt your voice, so avoid talking too much in these places. Avoid screaming as well.

* Avoid stress the day before or on the day of your performance. Do not stay late the night of your performance. A little stretching and breathing exercise will also help your voice to be free from stress during a singing performance.

* Stretch your jaw and face muscles to relieve it from any tension. Loosening your jaw will be good for your singing, as it will allow you to bring out your best tone and help you hit the higher notes.

* Do not smoke or take drugs. Smoking is bad for your lungs and vocal tracts that directly affect your singing voice. Smoking and drugs cause health problems that can put your voice and singing career at risk.

These are just good singing tips to help you take care of your asset. In your practice or rehearsal sessions, you also need to keep in mind some important tips also to enhance your singing. If you are doing your singing practice, it is also important to give yourself time to relax so you can perform you vocalization well. Practicing at higher notes than your original performance will also give you confidence on stage and will let you relax on your performance.

These are just some of the good singing tips that will help you in your performance. Aside from keeping in mind that your voice is in good shape during your performance, also keep in mind to maintain eye contact and be able to make a connection with your audience during your performance. A great voice accompanied by your great stage presence will also bring out an enjoyable performance.

By Carolyn Anderson

Carolyn Anderson is a freelance author who enjoys a lot of hobbies and skills. For those who love singing, she recommends this american idol audition tips. Another highly recommended resource is fun games for couples, for couples who are looking for great ways to spend their time with each other.

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