When I saw this title, I was afraid and I’m still afraid regarding my opinion about the subject. The subject is complex and difficult so I cannot resolve it overnight. I am an African. I do things the African way. I cannot write about African American music like a Western scholar. In my culture we live the past and the future in the present. When I listen to some African American music I can feel the past, the present and the future all at the same time. Now, the best way for me to handle this subject is to work by questions and answers.

[Question] Yaya! Who do you think you are?

Yaya Diallo - I don’t think! I am Farafin, which means I am a dark skin man. The word Africa is the Arabic name for our continent. In Bambara we call the so-called “Africa” Farafina. Farafina means the land of dark skin people. I am from Farafina and I am proud of it. I don’t want to be somebody else. People in general say African American. I would say American Farafin, which means dark skin human being who lives in America.

[Question] What is your African background?

Yaya Diallo - I come from far away. I was born in 1946 in Fienso (French Sudan), now Mali. My parents were nomadic. When I was very young I used to travel a lot. I grew up in the bush far from any western civilization. The music that I heard was very traditional and played live. I did not have a radio or TV. I had the opportunity to listen to the music of the different ethnic groups from the Ivory Coast, Burkina and Ghana. In some villages I heard Muslim songs coming from the mosques. By night, I would enjoy the frog symphonic orchestras. From 1946 to 1960 I was living in complete nature. My musical training is a long story but you can learn more from my book The Healing Drum.

[Question] What are your feelings about the civilized world?

Yaya Diallo - In the city I had strange feelings. I saw people listen to music through what I thought was two kinds of boxes. The first was a radio. You could change the singer with the tuning button, I thought. The second needed records. It read 78, 45 and 33 1/2. You had to adjust everything with something but I did not have a clue as to what. Even still, the only music that I heard was the Beatles, Rolling Stones and Johnny Holliday.

[Question] What do you think about the word African American?

Yaya Diallo - Dark skin people living in America are not different from people I met in Africa (Farafina). To me they are just different ethnic groups like the Yoruba, the Bantou, the Zoulou or the Touareg. Africa is not one culture. We have thousands and thousands of languages and different music. My wife is an African American from Louisville, KY. Her mother is from Dark Corner, MS and her father from Jackson, TN. Like my wife and family there was one African American man, James Brown, who saved my life with his music.

[Question] How can an African American man save the life of a traditional African?

Yaya Diallo - In 1967 I left my country to go to Montreal, Canada. On my way, in Paris, I saw a big picture of James Brown in the Olympia Theater. In my mind I thought, “Oh! A black man in Olympia in Paris, France.” In Montreal I was looking for a place to dance or listen to the music that I loved. One day I found a radio station that played black music. I heard James Brown and felt at home.

[Question] What do you think about African American music?

Yaya Diallo - I always say that I don’t think, I feel. When we talk about African American music we talk about Spirituals, Blues, Funk, Jazz, Gospel, Rap, dance music, etc. I want to talk on each one by one.

When people in Canada were dancing the twist, jerk and go-go, in my country a French man named Johnny Holliday was playing bad versions of Wilson Pickett and Ray Charles’ music in French. In America I found out this French man was a robber. He stole the music, sang it in French and looked like a genius for us Africans.

[Question] What did you feel when you started to dance?

Yaya Diallo - I used to go out to dance to Wilson Pickett, James Brown, and Sly and the Family Stone’s music. For me they were Africans. They had good beats, good feelings and most important, African Soul. I did not feel that from Chinese or European music. In the 70s I discovered the Funk music, The O’Jays, Parliament, Ohio Players, Kool and the Gang and JR Walker and the All Stars. I felt I was at home when I knew the Motown Family (Smokey Robinson, Diana Ross and the Supremes, the Temptations and Stevie Wonder). I could survive because I had those kinds of musicians.

[Question] In terms of music, what is the link between African and African Americans?

Yaya Diallo - African Americans are Africans from the village and sadly they just don’t know it! When you listen to the music you can find out. Kool and The Gang played Funky Stuff. When you listen to the drum part you will get the Dounouba part of the dance Sounou. Sounou was played in the 15th century and today is the dance young people love. In Africa we learn the past in the present and teach it to the next generation. The African Americans sometimes do not know how African they are.

[Question] Why can you say that they are African?

Yaya Diallo - The first time I heard the Four Tops I thought I was listening to the Bambara Farmers in the evening after a hard working day. The Temptations reminded me of the men Fire dancers and singers. I can listen to Temptations but I am afraid to see them. I am not initiated to the Fire dance and the music brings out memories about the secret ceremonies that happened afar in the village. Aretha Franklin is for me a great Djeli-mousso coming from the Empire of Mali in the 13th century. When I listen to African American music I don’t worry about the meaning, only what I feel.

[Question] What do you think about Jazz?

Yaya Diallo - Really, to tell the truth, I don’t feel jazz. Many people coming from Africa feel the same way. I learned about jazz in 1980 when I recorded my first album, Nangape, on Onzou Records. That opened the door for me with jazz. Jazz magazines like Cadence and Down Beat wrote articles on me like I was a “jazz man.” I was invited to do workshops at the Creative Music Studio in Woodstock, NY. I met jazz big names like Art Blakey. He said, “Yaya is the only African that I can jazz, that I can play with and be comfortable.” I completed a trio with Don Cherry and Ed Blackwell in the Symphony Space in New York.

[Question] What about Gospel?

Yaya Diallo - To me gospel means religion or church but my father-in-law changed my mind. When going to church with him I saw a big band and a big choir. People were singing and I forgot that I was in church. I was surprised; I saw ladies in a trance like in my village but they called it shouting. This reminded me of the Mania Secret Society where only woman go into a trance when praising god (See The Healing Drum).

[Question] What is rap?

Yaya Diallo - I love rap! I use to lie about buying rap and say that it was for my children. Rap is the old tradition of the Fulani people in Mali. It tells life stories through poetry that is recited quickly. Nomadic people have to explain their daily journey through this same quick form, but without the foul language. Today, the young people think that they have reinvented the wheel.

[Question] Yaya, what is wrong with African American music today?

Yaya Diallo - Today everything is easy. Instead of buying a drum set you buy a drum machine. Computers do everything. You can get almost every sound by pressing a button. This is the type of world that we live in today. The young Africans love it like we used to love James Brown. Time is the only thing that has changed!

[Question] How did African American music change American Society?

Yaya Diallo - We changed everything! We changed the style of dance; we created new sounds, new styles, and new way to dress … EVERYTHING! Country music is the white version of the Blues. Rock-n-roll comes from our music. People forget that Jimmie Hendricks was a Blues player that just changed his sound and look. Without James Brown, Sly and Family Stone and the Motown Family there would be no Madonna, no Celiene Dion, no techno, and no disco. African Americans brought this to the world. It is sad because people do not recognize it. We changed the world and it will never be the same again.

[Question] How do people know you in America?

Yaya Diallo - I am the author of two books, The Healing Drum and At the Threshold of the African Soul. I have four CDs, Nanagape, The Healing Drum, Dombaa Folee, and Dounoukan. I thank Onzou Records, the first company that trusted me to make my first album in 1980. That was not easy!

“The History of African American Music” by Malian musician/author Yaya Diallo was written to celebrate Black History Month. The article is translated into English by LaKesha Churn and edited for English grammar and clarification by Stephen Conroy, Producer/Publisher of the independent label to first produce Yaya Diallo in 1980 on Onzou records, http://www.onzou.com

Music marketing is by and large difficult for most artists, that is something we need to realise. Marketing yourself, being confident to allow people to listen to your tracks and most importantly, handling criticism takes a bit of time to get used to. In the majority of cases though, marketing plans do fail. you may have a great sounding track, but if it is not marketed properly then it will just be white noise.

However all is not lost.

The main reasons why music marketing fails is that 1) there is always some money involved, and 2) we market our music.

They all sound a bit strange I know, but my plan is for you to get over these hurdles and to get your music out there without any hassle. I will take each of the above points in turn, but remember they are interlinked:

1) Money marketing. This is bad. The economics of this is so: you have to sell slot of tracks to get back the amount you spent on marketing, then you need to sell a few more to make any profit. The problems is, why are we spending so much money on music marketing, or, why are we spending any money on marketing at all?! The Internet has greatly reduced the cost of marketing by 100%. Yep, marketing should be free, then any tracks that you do sell is pure profit. There are so many music marketing strategies, some of which are simple ideas that are not being utilised.

Here are some fantastic free marketing strategies are not being used, at all. How about leaflet distribution, flyers, making a mailing list then advertising your new tracks on that (they already like your tracks because they have signed upto your mailing list). Applying to competitions will always bring in some much needed traffic as competitions generate 1) leads and interest from the host site, 2) your tracks will get viral marketed especially if it has become in the top 3. Viral marketing is just another way of spreading interest, all the people who voted for your tracks will recommend the great track that they heard, and you name spreads. 3) You can always advertise the fact that you got in first, second or third in X competition (always state how many other competitors were there as well- coming third out of four entries is nothing to promote really).

Surely the ultimate advertising strategy is…give away your MP3s for FREE! A simple technique that promotes your tracks. People then trust you, they love quality items, they assume then, “hmm, if this is free, and it’s good, what would his selling tracks be like?” Free stuff sells pay goods, fact. Give away alot of free stuff…MP3s being the main one, and then be patient.

Once you have finished your free marketing, start again. Just keep on promoting yourself by free processes. It gets your name banded around, people will see your Webpage link and click on it increasing your traffic. It might not too successful in the first few months or maybe even a year, but stick with it, gaining visitor confidence will ultimately prevail.

2) The above is great, but why would anyone buy any track from you in the first place? To most surfers you are faceless, they don’t see you on the music videos, so why should they buy anything from you?

Harsh words I know, I’m sorry, but it is true. That is the real reason why there are thousands of good groups and artists out there in Internet land marketing away, spending cash and showing nothing for it. They marketed first, wanting cash, and their visitors are literally saying “I don’t think so”. You then become the banner ad- looks really good, but never gets the click.

What you need to do is create content within your site. Simple as that. Without content you are just another site that the visitor has no real reason to come back to. Content also increases the chances of you being picked up by the search engines. Please note:Google, and the other big search engines have stated that their thousands of calculations per site includes content search. This is a fundamental statement, even if you are a music site giving away your MP3s.

If you have ever looked for MP3s within the search engines, there are about 6 million sites dedicated to the term MP3. Now, your one site has to be found by a visitor, the chances are very low. However, if your site has content focused keywords, such as “good guitar riffs”, “how to gig” etc, then you will be picked up much easily than a simple MP3 search. Within the various pages that you have created you put, “download free guitar MP3s” or something that suits your music, and you then advertise your MP3s through the “back door”. Content will also bring back the visitors, they love a site that they are interested in, they sign up to your news-letter, and then you email them with new updates, your new MP3s etc. Then you start to create your own little buzz, you create people willing to listen to your tracks.

A sideline to content is always relevant, up-to-date content. Offering tapes with your tracks on is music marketing suicide. I have seen these actually being offered on some websites. Offering a tape states that 1. You are not up-to-date hence your sounds won’t be, 2. You are offering poor quality, hence your tracks won’t shine, and 3. You have to pay out for the tape (postage and packaging etc). People on the Internet want things now, not tomorrow, offering MP3s, even short WAV files is giving the visitor what they want- immediate access to your tracks.

Relevant content is just as important as current content. If you have a rock website stick to rock related web pages. If I was into hip-hop I wouldn’t go onto your rock site and look at hip-hop related articles. Obvious I know, but scarily this has been done. It also has another effect. The search engines see topic specific sites as just that, topic specific. If you stray away from your chosen topic it will not look good for you with the engines. They will see that your relevance has reduced and so to will your page ranking.

Content is not that easy to accomplish. It comes with time, you need to tweak, track whether that has done any good to your traffic or click throughs. You could also just be writing alot of drivel. Content needs to be “Search Engine Focused”, you need to honestly persuade people to buy from you, you need to have a one to one style (like you are talking to a friend), and definitely not be boring. Nearly forgot, you need to assess who your audience is. Are they young, middle aged, technophobic? You writing style should cater for your audience. For example, a younger audience will like more colour, more tech information, a friendly banter, and up-to-date chart acts. Generally if you write as you would talk to a friend then you will be on safe lines.

Dominic Hough has made music for over 18 years. On his site http://www.make-your-own-dance-and-techno-songs.com he has proved that you can make, and market your own techno songs for free. His site also covers sampling, MP3s, loops and much more.

…Nothing like being prepared…

It would serve you well to keep that in mind. Whether or not you going to play your gig, your recording session, or just jam with the band, the list below comprises (in my honest, humble opinion) ten of the most important accessories you need to have in your gig bag. They are not necessarily listed in order of importance; I think they all are equally necessary…

1. Strings

Ok…DUHHH!! Of course you need strings. Kinda hard to play without them. The thing is that you would not believe how many times people are just unprepared…and then they break one. Nothing more embarassing than having to take a break during your gig to change a string. There could be a little bit of a double-whammy here…it would be best if you had a backup guitar (strung up and tuned, of course), but if you don’t have one, having a few sets of strings in your bag can save you.

2. Picks

Umm…Double DUHHH. This one comes from personal experience. I never really thought about keeping extra picks in my bag, but there was one time in particular that I found I needed one and I didn’t have any! I had to try and do the Billy Gibbons/Brian May deal and use a quarter (yeah, I know…Billy uses a peso and Brian uses some sort of British coin…but you get the point). If you have never tried to play with a quarter and then have to, it can be quite a different experience when compared to picks that you are used to.

3. Cords

Triple DUHHH. No question about that. The deal here is make sure your cords are in good shape. I’ve had them go out on me in the middle of a gig (thank God for having a back-up). The cheaper ones with the molded plastic ends can cause you problems because if you develop a short-circuit in the plug you are pretty much done. I prefer the cords that have ends you can unscrew to get to the actual solder connection to the plug. Like #1 and #2 this may seem to be a no-brainer…but you really do need all three.

4. Tuner

No more DUHHH’s here (well…maybe there is one later on). I’m sure we have all been in situations where we tune to everyone else by ear, and for the most part that might be OK for practice. For live and recording situations, however, a tuner is a must-have item. Especially for recording. I was hired out to play on this one fellow’s demo, and I didn’t have a tuner with me - “no big deal…” I thought. “They will have one at the studio.” Guess what? No tuner. We spent at least a half-hour trying to tune up by ear to this guy’s keyboard.

I have found that chromatic tuners are the best. One band I was in tuned down 1/2 step to give a little edge in the vocal department, and being able to tune exactly down was great. The “needle” tuners of old can be touchy, so I would go for ones with some sort of LED or digital display.

(By the way, there is a BIG difference between tuning down 1/2 step and tuning to A430Hz (?). We were the house band during jam night one time, and this crusty guy comes up and asks how we are tuned. I said “1/2 step down”…and he looked at me like I had lobsters crawing out of my ears. “What the ?!@# is 1/2 step? Do you mean A430Hz?” Whew…what a jerk. ‘A’ is actually pitched at A440Hz.)

Pedal tuners are an excellent way to be able to keep in tune while not having to undo your cords to plug in to an “offline” tuner (and this will keep the sound man from kicking your butt when you pull the cord and send a great sounding “POP” through the PA).

Do youself a favor. If you don’t have a tuner - get one!

5. Strap Locks

It makes me shudder just to think about it. Get in your way-back machine and go to 1984 (mmm…mullets…). I was jamming in my cousin’s garage with my very first band. The guy we had for a singer was a guitar player as well. The problem was he thought he was Paul Stanley and was jumping around in front of the mike with both arms in the air. I’m sure you can figure out what happened next…

He had a Les Paul copy. Not expensive, but it was his only guitar. The strap came off and the guitar landed - face first - onto the cold, hard, concrete floor. Makes me nauseous even now. Cracked the neck, chipped the headstock, smashed in the volume and tone controls…what a mess.

All I can say is - get some strap locks. For the uninformed, strap locks are nifty little devices that have a ball-lock system. The pins on the guitar have a large hole in the end of them , and the other piece (which is affixed to your strap so it won’t pull through the hole) plugs in and locks - it can’t come undone unless you push the release button on the piece mounted to the strap.

Strap locks wil help you to make sure your most prized possession (your guitar…what else?!?) won’t have to same fate as my old singer’s.

6. Surge Protector

Man, we were fired up. A new club had opened in town and was getting the rep for being “the place to play” - and we managed to get a gig!

We came in, checked out the stage, made sure that we had enough power sources, and went to town setting up.

I plugged my wireless unit, my footpedal effects unit, and my amp in…and turned the power on. POP!! My wireless was, well, DEAD. Same with the amp. Somehow my pedal unit made it through and I had to run a line-out direct from the unit to the PA. Sounded OK, but I had no stage volume (we were too cheap to get monitors back then). I couldn’t hear myself that well that night…

I ended up “paying” my bass player with a bottle of his favorite tequila to rip the amp apart (this guy was an electronics whiz) and see what was wrong. Luckily it was only a blown fuse, but it could have been a lot worse. Sadly, the wireless receiver did not meet with the same fate.

I never - repeat, NEVER - have plugged in anywhere without using my own power strip with a surge protector after that. Period. Lesson learned.

7. Guitar Stand

Nothing can look more unprofessional than having to lean your guitar against something when you are taking your breaks. Not to mention, you don’t want your guitar to fall over. Trust me…you need a stand. Also, it looks pretty cool to have your guitar arsenal displayed in front of the crowd…

8. Capo

This one really depends on your playing style, so I don’t know if it is “required”…but it a capo can come in handy.

For the uninitiated, a capo is a device that clamps around your guitar neck to “change” the position of the nut. It allows you to use the same chord fingerings in different keys, and there for get different voicings. For example, play an open ‘D’ chord. Now place your capo between the first and second frets and play the same chord…it is now an ‘E’. Pretty simple, and some songs (especially some acoustic numbers) are downright impossible to play without one.

Cheap…simple…and used by millions.

9. String Cleaner

I don’t know about you but I can get pretty sweaty after playing four sets in a seedy little dive on the edge of town. The eventual result of this if you don’t use some sort of string cleaner is having to take a chisel to scrape out the crud that builds up on your fretboard (ok - a chisel may be exaggerating a bit).

Your guitar is an investment. Clean it and take care if it!

10. Batteries

This goes in the “may be needed” section. If you use a wireless, you use batteries. If you use foot pedals, you may use batteries (unless you use an AC adaptor). If you use a wireless microphone, you use batteries.

I think this goes without saying anything more. You can tell when your battery in your wireless is going dead - bad quality, bad sounding signal - then nothing. Make sure you have plenty of back ups. I had to get myself in the habit of remembering to get some before every gig.

11. Gig Bag

BONUS ITEM!!

You get your money’s worth here at 1StopGuitar.com, I’ll tell you what…

DUHHH (I told you there may be another one)!!! It’s hard to put all of this stuff in your gig bag if you don’t have one. ‘Nuff said.

12. Your head

ANOTHER BONUS ITEM!! SOMEONE STOP HIM BEFORE HE GOES INSANE!!!

Anytime you play, you need to remain focused. Sure, there are other things going on in your life. Letting your mind wander can lead to mistakes…been there, done that. Try to clear your mind before you play and just “let it flow, dude”.

13. Fun

To quote The Beatles in “She’s Leaving Home” from “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”:

“Fun is the one thing that money can’t buy”.

You can’t put this in your gig bag, but remember - it’s GOT to be fun!!

Well, that’s about it. Obviously I wanted to have a little fun (see item #13) here, but the points made and lessons learned are real.

And remember:

…Nothing like being prepared…

Jerry Mathis has 25 years of guitar experience - playing, teaching, recording and performing live. Visit his website http://www.1StopGuitar.com to get all of your guitar tablatures, articles, reviews, accessories and more all in one place!

Recent careful GPS measurements conducted on the 13-14th Aug have proven that Mount Blanc amounts to 4810.9 m. Mount-Blanc is smothered by a dense icecap which has grown bigger by 2.8 m in barely two years furthermore more unexpectedly the amount of the ice has all but grown twofold . Least ways that’s as reported by the scientists.

The amount of ice was calculated for the first time in 2000. It was measured at 14100 meters cubed above 4760 metres. It was scarcely 13500 meters cubed in 2004 potentially ascribable to the high temperatures with +ve temp even at 4900 m elevation. All the same the icecap has virtually doubled since then and today measures 21000 metres cubed.

Chamonix town’s reputable near by weather man William Derrick said the development in the mass of the ice cap is one of the perverse consequences of global warming: Snow has not augmented overall in the Alpes only with climate change we are having a lot of hotter westerly winds which bring rainfall lower down however during summertime this translates to significant snowfall that falls above 3500 m elevation thus the amount of the ice cap is growing. Contrast this to the state of affairs during wintertime when snow crystals are very cold and are transferred by wind and so do’t rest on the top.

Chamonix Mont Blanc is not just well known for Mont Blanc it is also a world renowned skiing area and alpinism mecca with lot’s of ski deals and accommodation bargains to be found.

Posture is so important to developing good piano technique that without it students may never learn to play the piano with ease. Stories that use analogies are a great way to get through to children without hurting their feelings.

Here are five simple analogies to help your child sit correctly at the piano and play with more flexibility and ease.

1. Imagine while you are sitting on the piano bench that you can stretch your neck and the top of your head up to the ceiling like a giraffe’s.

2. Imagine that your arms are angel’s wings and swing them out from your sides until your elbows are pointing horizontally.

3. Rounding your hands and imagine that your fingers are spider’s legs and walk your fingers on the keys as you play.

4. Sit back on the piano bench and imagine that you are in charge of the piano.

5. Sit back on the piano bench and reach your arms out to the piano so your elbows are in front of your tummy. Imagine that you are glued to the seat and cannot scoot forward.

Always use the word imagine when you are instructing your child to sit properly at the piano. This works because it will help your child develop a secure mind-body connection that’s essential to playing with ease and comfort, so that playing the piano feels natural to students. Using the word “imagination” encourages children to use and develop this important creative skill needed for piano and other performing arts.

For great home piano activities parents can use to help children ages 5 to 11 develop their musical talent, visit Piano Adventure Bears Music Education Resources You’ll find a treasure box filled with piano resources to create an exciting musical adventure for your child - right in your own home! Visit their website and subscribe to their f’ree internet newsletter so you can download f’ree piano sheet music and mp3s of original piano compositions.

These exciting stories, games, piano lessons, and inspirational gifts feature the Piano Adventure Bears, Mrs. Treble Beary and her new piano student, Albeart Littlebud. Young students follow along with Albeart to learn what piano lessons are all about in a fun way that kids readily understand appreciate. Click here to visit PianoAdventureBears.com For a wealth of information about piano lessons, visit tallypiano.com

Piano playing doesn’t have to be boring. There’s no law that says you have to play a song the same way everyone else plays it. By learning some basic music theory and chord formations, you can have the time of your life playing music like you’ve always wanted to.

Every musician has a different method of arranging. Some start with the bass, some start with the melody, some just arrange everything all at once. You’ll eventually discover the process that works best for you, but here’s a basic guideline list to get you started.

- Play the song as written. Pay careful attention to the melody and harmonies so you understand how the song is supposed to sound before altering it. Make sure you can play the song very well before moving on to an arrangement.

- Analyze the song’s chord structure and form. Know all the chord changes and any key changes. Separate the piece into parts using the letter system discussed in this course; often, you’ll be able to add some spice to an arrangement by simply knowing where a verse switches into a chorus.

- Look at the song’s context to determine the appropriate sort of arrangement. For instance, if you’re working on a classical lullaby or wedding song, you probably won’t want to add western bass or a march beat. Of course, there’s no rule saying you can’t do that if you’re going for a comical effect. Just be aware of the effect every sort of arrangement technique will have on a song.

- Change the bass chording pattern based on the just-analyzed song’s context. Working with “Git Alone Little Dogies”? Try a western bass. A classical romantic song? Give upward inversions or arpeggios a go. Just keep switching the bass pattern until you find something you like. After awhile, you’ll acquire the ability to naturally know what to do. Until then, try it all.

- Add fillers to the melody. Again, be aware of what’s appropriate. If you’re playing a western bass, try grace notes and twangs. If the song is in Alberti bass, add some glissandos or delicate octave harmonies. Remember that certain fillers, like runs or straddle-downs, work best when you’re holding a half note or higher in the melody.

- Add dynamic variation. This is where the form analysis comes in handy. If you know a key or part change is coming up, consider the ways in which you can take the dynamic up or down to create a textured, interesting effect. Try not to make the whole song extremely loud or extremely soft. Remember, variety is the spice of life!

The piano arrangement you create is bound only by the limits of your imagination. Try everything and don’t get discouraged — you’ll get the hang of it eventually. Now pick a song and get to it!

Duane Shinn is the author of over 500 music books and products such as DVD’s, CD’s, musical games for kids, chord charts, musical software, and piano lesson instructional courses for adults. He holds advanced degrees from Southern Oregon University and was the founder of Piano University in Southern Oregon. He can be reached at http://www.chordpiano.com. He is the author of the popular free 101-week e-mail newsletter titled “Amazing Secrets Of Exciting Piano Chords & Sizzling Piano Chord Progressions” with over 56,650 current subscribers. Those interested may obtain a free subscription by going to http://www.playpiano.com.

Originally, Inuit throat singing was a form of entertainment among Inuit women while the men were away on hunting trips. It was an activity that was primarily done by Inuit women although there have been some men doing it as well. In the Inuit language Inuktitut, throat singing is called katajjaq, pirkusirtuk or nipaquhiit depending on the Canadian Arctic region. It was regarded more as a type of vocal or breathing game in the Inuit culture rather than a form of music.

Inuit throat singing is generally done by two individuals but can involve four or more people together as well. In Inuit throat singing, two Inuit women would face each other either standing or crouching down while holding each other’s arms. One would lead with short deep rhythmic sounds while the other would respond. The leader would repeat sounds with short gaps in between. The follower would fill in these gaps with her own rhythmic sounds. Sometimes both Inuit women would be doing a dance like movement like rocking from left to right while throat singing. Sounds produced can be voiced or unvoiced and produced by inhalation or exhalation. Both Inuktitut words and meaningless syllables are used in Inuit throat singing songs. However, when words are used in throat singing, no particular meaning is placed on them for a song. When meaningless syllables are used, they are often portrayals of sounds the Inuit hear in their natural environment such as animal sounds or even water running down a creek. Popular Inuit throat singing songs are usually identified by the first word or sound that is produced in each song.

Inuit throat singing is a skill that has to be taught and developed. Inuit throat singers try to show their vocal abilities in a fun competitive manner and the first one to either run out of breath, stop or laugh is declared the loser of the game. Each game usually lasts from one to three minutes. In a group of Inuit women, the overall winner is the one who beats the largest number of her competitors in this fun filled activity.

Unfortunately, there is no written record of when the Inuit first developed their form of throat singing which differs from the type found in Mongolia and other parts of the world that has some form of throat singing. The Inuit did not keep any written records and history was simply passed down from generation to generation orally. It was reported that at one point in time, Inuit women would actually have their lips almost touching while using each other’s mouth cavity as a sound resonator. This technique is not used anymore.

Inuit throat singing was actually forbidden by Christian priests for almost 100 years but since this religious ban was lifted, there has been a resurfacing of this traditional activity in the Inuit communities during the last 20 to 30 years. Interestingly enough, there has been a lot of interest among the younger Inuit generations in this revival in addition to the Inuit elders who are trying to bring throat singing back as part of present Inuit culture. Many of the young Inuit women who have taken up throat singing claim that it is a way for them to express their Inuit identities in the modern world where many Inuit traditions have already been lost. The revival of Inuit throat singing has been so popular that in September of 2001, the first throat singing conference was held in Puvernituk, Nunavik where different types of Inuit throat singing from different Arctic regions of Canada were demonstrated and shared. There has even been a small number of Inuit throat singing CDs produced.

Clint Leung is owner of Free Spirit Gallery www.FreeSpiritGallery.ca , an online gallery specializing in Inuit Eskimo and Northwest Native American art including carvings, sculpture and prints. Also numerous information resource articles with photos of authentic Inuit art and Native American Indian art.

Whether you are a guitarist, singer, drummer or violinist, you should always get good professional advice when it comes to purchasing any equipment.

When considering purchasing a musical instrument, the most important thing is to go for good quality. There is nothing worse than listening to a good performer playing a bad instrument or using a cheap microphone. A poor instrument can often be much harder to play, making it much harder for a beginner.

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Unless you have a professional musician or teacher to go with you, it’s not a good idea to purchase second-hand instruments or equipment. You’ll find that as you progress as a musician, you will be ready to purchase a top-of-the-line instrument. In the long run, you can never go wrong with top quality.

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The Author: David Willis

David Willis has made quite an impact on Australian EDUCATION and the ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY. An accomplished pianist, singer and actor, David owns the Gold Coast branch of the Australian Talent School, teaching professionals and amateurs of all ages the art of Singing and Presentation, whilst nurturing their passion for Music and Performance. As a former Music and Arts Consultant for the Victorian Education Department he made many contacts with Music Retailers around Australia and is still able to negotiate brilliant deals.

Now that Halloween is over, it’s safe to talk about traditional piano lessons - the tedium, the boredom, the overbearing teachers with their incessant metronome beats.

Do we really need this? Do we really need yet another polished perfomer who can play Czerny and Beethoven on cue? Don’t we have enough of these skilled typists already? I think so. And frankly, I just don’t get it. I don’t get why anyone would want to learn how to play other people’s music.

Of course this music is worthy of preserving, but I’m speaking about being creative at the piano. I’m talking about the ability to sit down at the keyboard and just play without forethought or planning.

Is there value in this kind of approach to playing? Yes! And while improvisation and composition are taught, it’s not emphasized. It’s relegated to inferior status while the poor student spends time first learning how to read notes and then recreating what has already been done. What a shame.

It doesn’t have to be this way. We can lead with an emphasis on creativity first! To do this does not require more than a very rudimentary knowledge of chords, a way to play them, and a guided instruction on how to improvise. Imagine the joy students will feel when they realize how easy it is to create music!

Edward Weiss is a pianist/composer and webmaster of Quiescence Music’s online piano lessons. He has been helping students learn how to play piano in the New Age style for over 14 years and works with students in private, in groups, and now over the internet. Stop by now at http://www.quiescencemusic.com/piano_lessons.html for a FREE piano lesson!

As a teacher, your class has just finished an intensive unit on tall tales, or perhaps an author’s study. You’ve read numerous examples of vivid, powerful writing, discussed these, pointed out the salient characteristics, listed the aspects of story that really brought them to life. All in all, an extremely rich, satisfying, language arts experience. So motivating, in fact, that you decide a terrific culminating activity would be to have students use what they learned as a jumping off point for creating stories of their own. Give the children an opportunity to apply the stuff of good writing to their own writing - using literature as the jumping off point.

Your students begin the writers’ workshop with a little less enthusiasm than you anticipated. Some students get off to a great start, but are “finishing” fifteen minutes later. They seem resistant to revision - after all, they’re “done”. Others spend an inordinate amount of time “thinking” about what to write about and cannot seem to put pencil to paper. Another student has visited the pencil sharpener about seventeen times, grinding the offending pencil into a stub. Meanwhile, some students, claiming to be involved in a “peer conference” are disrupting the class with chatter, another is “illustrating” while another is reading the latest Harry Potter book, looking for inspiration. Still other students launch into creative, but rambling tales that become near epics, from which a successful conclusion seems impossible. A number of students have their hands raised, or approach your desk, all wanting your attention and input at the same time. You have a knot in your stomach and are overwhelmed by the sense that things are spiraling out of control. Three weeks later you’ve managed to conduct individual conferences with only a handful of students, you’re needling, redirecting, challenging, and somehow it doesn’t seem as though much progress has been made. The luster has gone out of this project, that seemed so bright at the start. The students are bored, you’re frustrated, and most everyone in the class looks forward to being done with it.

Does this scenario sound familiar? What exactly is it that can bridge the gap between great literature and its application to student writing?

The answer is twofold — skills and a practical methodology that works in the real world of the classroom.

There is a common misconception that if we read a lot, talk about what we read, and then provide plenty of outlets for writing, that in the process, good writing will emerge. Truthfully, for the extremely well-read, self motivated, or innately gifted writer, there is some possibility of this. However, for most students and teachers, something is missing. Simply encouraging students to engage in “free-writing” followed by a conference is not enough to produce a community of strong, enthusiastic writers. What is missing are specific instructional strategies designed to teach the specific skills inherent in powerful writing!

During the whole language era, the idea of teaching discrete skills took on a negative connotation. Somehow, practicing specific writing skills seemed to suggest “basel-izing” the writing process. This was unfortunate, because, in all art forms - in music, theater, the visual arts, and in writing, powerful communication is delivered through carefully honed skills. For example, a talented pianist did not become proficient by simply sitting down and “just playing”. A skilled teacher will provide the young pianist with age appropriate, stimulating pieces of music, as well as scales, arpeggios, and exercises to strengthen the fingers and build dexterity. The student learns how to read notes, hear pitches, and learn musical expressiveness through carefully planned exercises and etudes. All of this “skill-work” does not hamper creativity, rather, it provides a vehicle for the successful expression of creative, personal musical thought, sentiment, and intention. In other words, the skills disappear in an invisible support and delivery system that informs and empowers the musician. The same thing is true in writing.

What are the skills necessary to inform and empower good writing? In narrative writing (writing characterized by a main character who experiences a significant event or problem, within a setting, who grows or changes in the process) the skills necessary to shape and support a story are as follows: - an entertaining beginning that draws the reader in and gets the story rolling - powerful elaborative detail that focuses on story critical characters, settings, and/or objects - a sense of suspense or anticipation which builds story tension, and inspires the reader to read on - a single, significant main event (problem, adventure, or life-changing experience)

- a conclusion which draws the main event to a close and an extended ending which demonstrates how the main character has grown or changed.

Once the basic skills are identified, educators need to have a practical, effective methodology for teaching these skills. The methodology needs to be based on solid educational theory and needs to be proven successful in the real world of the classroom. During an instructional improvement program at our school (Mill Hill School in Fairfield, CT) designed to improve student writing, we developed a methodology for the delivery of these key writing skills for our students in grades 2 - 5. The methodology involved whole class instruction, delivered minimally twice a week for 30 - 45 minutes. Whole class instruction provided consistency and assured experiences for all students, that was often lacking in the teach-on-demand scenario common in the writers’ workshop conference model. There are also many other benefits associated with whole class instruction. These include a greater level of directed conversation between students about writing, and opportunities for the class as a whole to benefit from the writerly conversations.

The whole class instruction looks like this:

1. INTRODUCE/DEFINE SKILL through the use of literature. (Middle grade novels provide the best examples of all of the key skills.)

* 2. MODELING - The teacher models the skill in isolation, asking productive questions and “thinking out loud” as an author. (The quality of the questions you ask will determine the quality of student responses. This also is the most powerful method of building vocabulary.)

3. GUIDED PRACTICE - Provide students with an opportunity to practice the skill you’ve modeled. This is a “before and after” revision exercise. Circulate and offer suggestions, share strong examples and excellent attempts.

Steps 1, 2, 3 are repeated numerous times before step 4: Application.

4. APPLICATION - Students apply the skill to a process piece or a timed prompt.

*Most important step!

This methodology made the teaching of writing more manageable, provided a common vocabulary for writing, ensured a greater level of objectivity and accountability, established a powerful reading writing connection, and ultimately nurtured a community of confident, enthusiastic writers. In fact, during the five years we spent developing the specific skill lessons and delivering these skills through the methodology described above, our narrative writing scores for our fourth graders on the Connecticut Mastery Test improved dramatically:

YEAR Percent of students at goal —– ————————— YEAR 1 47%

YEAR 2 65% YEAR 3 75% YEAR 4 81% YEAR 5 92%

These results were not limited to Mill Hill School. In Wilson’s Mills School in North Carolina, as well as in districts in Rhode Island and Alberta Province Canada, to name just a few, when this approach was used consistently, similar results were common. More importantly, students began to become confident, enthusiastic, lifelong writers, and teachers began to feel successful and fulfilled as the facilitators of a practical, effective instructional program that gets results. Eventually, the lessons and methodology became available through an educational consulting firm and publisher, Empowering Writers.

So now think back to the frustrated, disillusioned teacher and class first described and imagine how her scenario would be different using the Empowering Writers methodology.