Title - The Picture of Music - Author - Lesley Anne Sears - Book Reviews

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"The Picture of Music" is an ultimate step-by-step guide to playing piano that cannot only help teach the beginner, it can brush up the advanced player as well. Lesley Anne Sears has changed my view of sheet music from one of undecipherable symbols with only faint recognition to one of order, patterns of notes, and beauty. For most of us, the adages "How soon we forget" or "Use it or lose it" applies to music. Like many children, I took piano lessons during my single digit years, played a few other instruments in my teens, but now, decades later I can't read a note.

Lesley Anne Sears writes from a humble, non-threatening and clearly entertaining introductory level, unpretentiously assuming no prior musical knowledge or skill exists with the reader. Using the most clever examples and simple demonstrations, she starts with locating on the keyboard and Clef Middle C. Once you see C, you got it. From there it's all about intervals - up and down. She calls this "The See C Piano Method."?

If this sounds too easy to be true, it's true it is so easy. The work and genius has all gone into the Herculean effort creating this book. Her teaching skills using the visualization of musical descriptions, the orderly progression of exercises and the extensive use of drawings, graphics, keyboard diagrams, and kitty cats make for a uniquely effective method. Yes, kitty cats - the line drawings of playful cats put the reader at ease, defusing any frustration, and provide love and support. Plus you don't feel as if you're playing music alone!

"The Picture of Music" is not a book to read, but a philosophy of instruction to savor, absorb, assimilate and cherish. The work that went into the course curriculum needs to be matched with the desire to learn by the student. In essence, I shall learn to play as I teach my child -- what fun!

Lesley Anne Sears unselfishly offers her prized "See C Piano Method"? of instruction so one's innately human aspiration of playing music by converting written music to the keyboard becomes effortlessly possible. Thoughtfully, even the spiral binding of her book enables you to place it upright on a piano or a music stand thus having the pages remain open. Her varying use of type, font, boldface and italics to punctuate her words adds expression and feeling to her book, from her pianissimo (soft) common font to a mezzo forte (moderately loud) bold, larger type.

Laden with graphics, musical notes and given an uncrowded, spacious amount of room per page makes her work a "multimedia" presentation - or as much so as can be achieved by a book. And the Kitty, ah yes, the most playful of relaxing line drawings imaginable, adds the depth of a warm and fuzzy feeling and love to her work. I would highly recommend this book and will keep it in my music reference library to use for instruction in the future. To Lesley Anne Sears, from her readers' standing ovation praising her masterpiece, we shout Bravissimo!

Reviewed by: Gary R. Sorkin

Gary R. Sorkin is the Senior Editor for Pacific Book Review. Please visit Pacific Book Review at:
http://www.pacificbookreview.com/

Give Your Electric Guitar A Performance Upgrade

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If you happen to be a keen guitar player and treasure your particular axe of choice, you'll no doubt at some stage have contemplated the most effective way to offer your guitar a performance upgrade. So what possibilities may be out there that won't involve butchering the guitar and are comparatively straightforward to undertake? Needless to say, if your guitar is a costly model there is every probability that it sported top of the range components, but let us assume for the sake of this particular article, that it is a mid-price to budget model.

The most clear and audible improvement can be had in the pickup area. The materials and the production process of some stock pickups may be less than great, which is reflected by the sound. Some really great replacement humbucking pickups and single coil pickups are available from the big-name companies and additionally some smaller boutique pickup makers. Replacement pickups are generally produced with a more hands-on approach and bespoke versions are offered by several of them.

In my opinion, another early port of call are the original machine heads or tuners. Often the stock tuners are not that great and are maufactured with less good materials. If your guitar is struggling to keep in tune then this is a must (check that your pickups are not too close to the strings as the magnets can occasionally cause tuning issues). You might also just fancy the quality feel and functionality of a top of the range set of tuners. Schaller are an organization who make superb examples for the many various kinds of guitar around.

In case your guitar arrived with a plastic nut then this could also benefit massively from an upgrade. You can buy a new ready-made nut in many different materials such as brass or graphite, or if you are handy with a file you may be confident enough to cut and file a new nut out of bone. This is not the most simple upgrade and the procedure is beyond the scope of this article. Search on line for additional information on this upgrade.

The bridge and tailpiece is another area worthy of consideration. Quite often guitars come with cheaply manufactured versions from China or Korea and impressive gains can be had by utilising versions made from lightweight aluminium and other fancy materials. Again the Schaller range is worth looking at.

There are some other simple upgrades for example changing the standard strap buttons with strap locks to keep your guitar secure if standing and playing, those talked about above are the most essential.

If you really want to go all out there are companies out there who will give your guitar a complete refinish in whatever colour you would like. Not everyone's cup of tea but if that normal sunburst finish is no longer cutting it for you, this may well be just what you need.

Best of luck!

Jim Ward is a keen guitar player and often writes about various aspects of the electric guitar. For excellent replacement guitar pickups he recommends visting: TubGuitarPickups.co.uk, and for a great new guitar bridge he suggests Schaller Electronics.

Why Vans Warped Festival is Famous

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There are a zillion reasons why Vans Warped Touring Festival has become the greatest of all times. Out of all the reasons, the most predominant one is their insistent tendency to 'stay ahead of the curve' which in turn, provides them with a competitive advantage to gauge the changing tastes of the crowd. As a result of which, they are able to take tactical decisions such as calling upon the newbies and hooking them up in the tour. Once they do it, they build curiosity around the same. The feeling of 'not knowing what's in store for them' triggers the audience to explore, and people happen to pour in- in large numbers.

Many a times, Vans Warped Tour has been able to showcase snowboarders performing their latest moves months before X-games could telecast them.

All in all, because of their pro-activeness, Vans Warped Tour happens to stand out in the front among other touring festivals held in North America.

The other reason which makes Vans Warped Tour greater than the rest is the variety. And why not- after all, there is no other place on the earth where you can witness more than one hundred bands jamming live along with a dozen of extreme sport athletes performing brave stunts! The kind of musical instruments, lights, stages, merchandize outlets and ramps make it nothing less than a pure entertainment package deal.

And if you think it is all about the youth then you are terribly mistaken. Vans Warped Tour has a 'Reverse Daycare' tent where you can leave your folks/ guardians and explore the attractions of the tour. You may check out the skateboarding ramp, BMX Stunt bikers, merchandize, play videos games or even grab a bite and once you are done with it, you can come back to the 'Reverse Daycare' and leave home with your folks.

In terms of audience, Vans Warped Tour swanks of a having a diverse one. Since the tour features a whole lot of bands featuring different styles of music such as Alternate Rock, Punk, SKA, Goth, Reggae and many more, it is obviously bound to happen. But the best part is, no matter how crazy the fans are for their favorites, yet they have a lot of respect for one another and for the universal appeal of music.

The kind of activities involved in the tour makes it easy to set up almost anywhere- be it a park, stadium or even a green pasture. As a result of which, Vans Warped Tour happens to be the most approachable festive event for the audience.

In true sense, the Vans Warped Tour can be called as a 'Road Trip'. The Vans Warped Tour begins in middle of June and concludes in middle of August. For two months, the tour travels to different cities stretching across different parts of North America and Canada. In fact, a couple of years ago, the tour held fifty shows in less than sixty days entertaining more than seventy thousand people in North America. The tour has become so popular that off lately it has been able to go abroad to nations, such as Japan, New Zealand and Europe.

But if you are attending the Vans Warped Tour and you wish to add more fun to the experience, then there are a few things that you have to keep in mind. Firstly, you need to carry enough cash to buy food and drinks. But if cash is too heavy for you, then you may carry a credit card, because most of the vendors in here accept major credit cards. Secondly, do not forget to get your mobile phone. It could be a trouble to arrange change for calling up from phone booths. Thirdly, check the weather before you step out of your home. You may carry a sunscreen and a cap if it is hot. If the weather is cloudy, then grabbing an extra pair of shorts and a T shirt would be a good idea. But whatever it is, it is essential for you to wear comfortable shoes because you would have to run around a lot.

The author has been writing articles online for over 4 years now. Not only does this author specialize in health, fitness and relationships you can also check out his latest websites on mikenfreak 98 and Hockey Gifts [http://hockeygifts.org]