J A M B U Z Z !!!!

The internet has changed the way we do many things in our lives. Most of these changes have had to do with the way we buy things that we need or want, from household appliances, home decor, medicine, fashion apparel, and food. Of course, musical instruments like drums, pianos, and guitars are not far behind. In the past, musicians would have quailed at the idea of buying a guitar that they have never seen or touched before.

This seems to have changed, as I’ve mentioned. Any nonbelievers would only need to take a peek at E-Bay to see how many guitars and other musical instruments are being sold and bought daily. I’m not suggesting, of course, that guitarists should just go ahead and buy their guitars and not carefully consider the possible consequences of buying online. There are still many hazards associated with purchasing a guitar you’ve never seen, especially if you’re buying from someone or from a company you’ve never heard of before.

One of the annoyances is the shipping. Musicians are very finicky about the way their instruments are touched and handled. So even if we’d like to think that the guitar you just bought is being carefully handled by everyone it comes in contact with, from the store down to the delivery guys, sometimes it doesn’t always happen that way. There may be times when your newly-bought instrument will arrive with some dings and scratches, due to a number of possible reasons, such as improper packaging from the store or rough handling during shipping. Before shipping a guitar, you should consider getting the instrument packaged professionally. Some online companies can do that for you. A perk of using a service like this is that it allows the buyer to contact the store before the instrument is shipped.

Dealer and shipping problems aside, perhaps the most intimidating concept of buying an instrument online is that you don’t even get a chance of playing that instrument before you’ve paid for it. Anyone who has sat in a music store and played a variety of models of the same guitar, then you’d know that quality varies wildly from instrument to instrument. Of course, anything that is made out of an unpredictable material such as wood will certainly have differing degrees of quality. Sure, it may look jazzy and shiny, but in the end, looks aren’t what you’re really looking for in a guitar, are you?

The result of this is you might get your new guitar via the mail and find out that it’s not at the level of quality that you’d hoped it would be. But fear not, because most online music shops are offering 24-hour or 48-hour return policies to protect you and your investment. What retailers will generally not tell you, however, is that they are usually required, by law, to provide a 30 day return policy.

Hundreds of guitar shops and music stores abound on the Internet. Many of them operate as a music store in a specific area and also offer mail order via the web. However, there are also several music shops that only operate through the World Wide Web. These music retailers, as it is their only means of doing business, are somewhat more experienced in buying and selling online, so the purchasing procedure will likely be somewhat smoother.

Mark Edison is a musician and writer working for http://www.lowpricesmusicalinstruments.com, where quality guitars at great prices are sold. Visit us for your guitar needs.

- Mark Edison

Popularity: 67% [?]

Technorati Tags: internet, iTunes, musicians, playing the guitar, playing-guitar

Tags: internet, iTunes, musicians, playing the guitar, playing-guitar

Ever since I was a small boy I knew I’d be famous. I didn’t make it to the pinnacle, instead I became a local legend in Nashville and let me tell you, some of the most awesome rockin’ guitar players, the best there’s ever been. That sounds like the song from The Charlie Daniel’s Band ‘The Devil Went Down To Georgia’ which he recorded in 1979 orginally penned by the legend Vasser Clements. That features the devil and his fiddle and we’re going to a talk a bit about guitars and how it’s possible they changed into today’s electric guitar.

When you think of guitars, do you have a brand name in mind? I do it’s the Gibson guitar and numero uno (maybe I’ll check eBay to see if it’s available) was designed in 1936 and was designated the ES-150. Still you hear about it and, there are groups who will tell you,… ‘That’s the best sound you’ll ever get from a guitar.

One thing is certain; the guitar in all its incarnations, either acoustic or the electric guitar is a far cry from the first one, and its ancestry is a difficult. There is evidence (though not definitive) that says the guitar from Spain comes from the Romans and traces its lineage to 400 AD. It wouldn’t have looked much like today’s version, called a Tanbur which is lute like musical instrument from Asia Minor and Syria, most often having three strings; but it seems likely our modern electric guitar may have orginated with the Cithara. The cithara, possessing from three to twelve strings, was carefully designed with a wooden soundboard, box shaped body (resonator) and that doesn’t sound too distant from the electric guitar of today.

What’s likely is some talented music lover of long ago took elements from both, combining his own talents into the musical instrumentwhat would become the guitar|. Without a doubt the world was different then and the way ideas, concepts and crafts were communicated, travelled at a snail’s pace and may have taken decades to cross from one area of the world to another. And while today they might be called street musicians, long ago they hailed to the name of traveling troubadours.

The instrument, however it may have looked continued to adapt to the times and refine itself and in 1200 AD had evolved into a guitar with curved back and broad fingerboard (probably Moorish) and a different version which is probably the distant relation of today’s acoustic guitar (probably Spanish or Latin).

While the guitar was always home at celebrations, however it played second fiddle (sorry, couldn’t resist) for for countless years by the vihuela and lute, which would become too complicated for everyday performing, and those travelling musicians of long ago looked to the four and five string guitar, which again garnered its rightful place in history. The fifth string giving the guitar its rock solid (excuse the pun) reputation, versatility and longevity.

Looking back into time, we can see the twists and turns, and certainly no one back then (hey Edison wasn’t even born yet) could envision the current instrument it has evolved into. Yet those music lovers of long ago constructed something of beauty, integrity and a bit of magic, since the design of today’s guitar very much resembles those made one hundred and fifty years ago.

- Ron Rogers

Popularity: 66% [?]

Technorati Tags: guitar, play the guitar, playing the guitar

Tags: guitar, play the guitar, playing the guitar

The way to get the right sort of motive to play your guitar is to perform in front of a number of people. Are you easy playing in front of an audience and enjoy every moment of it? Of course it does not have to be a conventional event for you to perform.

The right venue to rehearse your guitar melody collection is to gather a small group in your own home. Your audience could be your own family relatives. There are many times when you can perform and play your music in the home and maybe you will also encourage others in your family or among your pals to play on their instruments in such a setting. This of course needs some planning to prepare a domestic performance and for your own preparation also.

But what should you do if the idea of performing does not appeal to you? There is one way you could still practice your guitar and that is to play in private and imagine that you are playing in front of a crowd. To make your imagination more realistic, you could organize to put some empty chairs in front, as if you are awaiting some audience to arrive. In these types of fake shows, you must be honest to your self and diligently play every part of your original plan from start to the end and if you make a slip, what can be done?

You might decide not to stop at a mistake and carry on with your playing in this type of quiet and peaceful show. This kind of setting would re-enforce your own sensation of discipline and self-confidence as you go on taking lessons from your mistakes as you play your guitar.

You could even record your performance so that you can check it later for defects etc. You need not make this recording plan too complicated there are cellular phones and mp3 players, which help you to do this with ease. The act of recording is like having a critic in the public and listening to other artists recordings will also be of great benefit.

You must have great aspirations to be with the top rungs of guitar players and this can be done when you continually listen to others playing who are better to you. When you practice and memorize your guitar pieces or songs, remember to always play your music at the same aesthetic level as when you perform.

As you learn your music you will also discover your position, posture and your stress level. The sense of joy and happiness that you experience during practice would spread to the audience when you play in front of the populace.

Popularity: 67% [?]

Technorati Tags: guitar, guitar-playing, playing the guitar

Tags: guitar, guitar-playing, playing the guitar