Natalie Cox Harp Music

Art work has always held a special place in the world, and it can also be a type of therapy for individuals. It doesn’t matter if you feel you have special skills in the area of art or not. The goal of art therapy is to be able to express your thoughts and your feelings in the art. This can be very useful for those that find it hard to grasp the words to verbally say what is going on inside of them.

Art therapy can be used with people from all backgrounds and of all ages. This is why it is such an effective tool. It can also be used for couples or for families instead of just with individuals. For example having each family member draw a picture of how they see the family as a whole can give some insight as to the feelings of each member.

Most therapists tell their patients to explore their own feelings and ideas in the art. The goal is to free the mind and to create what is there without questioning it. A person needs to not worry about their artistic ability. The experience can be very freeing and most people feel that a burden has been lifted as they transfer their feelings onto the paper.

Rather than just interpreting what has been drawn, the therapist or counselor will allow the creator to explain it. This is another very important part of the therapeutic process. This is important as each person can look at a piece of art and perceive it differently. Allowing the creator to share the true meaning of it will ensure that the wrong impression of the art isn’t taken.

This type of therapy allows for freedom of expression. Many people find it easier to share their thoughts and feelings with the paper first. Then they aren’t so isolated from them and they can continue to share them. It is a way to warm up the conversation and to allow the therapist to help the individual on various levels.

Most individuals who are enrolled in education programs to become a counselor or a therapist will be exposed to the concepts of art therapy. Some many choose to incorporate it as part of the options they have for treatment. Others will choose to specialize in this type of therapy.

There are many professionals out there that offer the option of art therapy. You may want to find out more about it so you can determine if it is right for you or someone in your family. There are a variety of techniques involved that help a person get to the root of their feels. It will take time to see results from art therapy but that is true of any type of it that is used in society.

Studies have shown that art therapy can be an effective tool to help individuals with seeing their fears, evaluating their choices, getting through a trauma, enhancing their self confidence, and even improving their relationships with friends and family members. You will find that art therapy has become more accepted as a form of treatment by many specialists.

By: Cindy Browne

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These games are for players of all ages, and can be used without frustration by even the youngest people in your family. You can include players of all ages for a four player free for all, or you can record your songs for a video playback mode that shows your Mii character as a rock star, or you can play all of the instruments yourself for an interesting way to control the four players.

The games are also a great way to incorporate your whole family in the fun, since there aren’t any rules for playing. If you are tired of seeing your family sitting on the couch with a controller in their hands, then this is definitely one of the best options that you have to get up and moving, and having fun with all the people you love the most.

The Wii music release has made this game console extra appealing to more and more people, and even those who never imagined themselves playing a video game are now finding themselves picking up the remote or nunchuk to learn some new moves. The songs are from all different genres, making it a good choice when you have a lot of different people who want to play the game with you.

Singing Games

If music is one of the things that you love, then the singing games are going to be a big hit in your home. The game and microphone combination set is sold for around sixty dollars, making it an affordable way to play. All you need to do is stick the disc in, and sing into the microphone as you would normally sing along to a song. The songs are typically based on pre-teen idols, though, so they may be better suited for kids of a certain age.

You can also compete against friends and family using the duet, versus or team player modes on the system. Once you know how well you can do on your own, then you can also take lessons from the voice coach on the game to improve your overall sound and score.

Type of Play

The Wii music release is one that involves a lot of free play, making it easier to learn to play the instruments on your own. For example, most commercially made programs have a follow the leader type of game play, where individual notes are not allowed. The games on this system, however, involve plenty of room for error and imagination, so that you can play that guitar solo that other games can’t include.

The songs are also set in a progressive way, so that you can learn as you work through the easier songs to the harder songs. Since its conception, these games have sold hundreds of thousands of copies, and are one of the best games for anyone who wants to play in an individual style, without having to follow the notes on the screen.

By: David Charlie James

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Have you heard about Rock Band Video Game? No matter what your age, anyone who has ever imagined themselves playing in a band is about to be able to retire that “air guitar” they’ve been playing. Rock Band video game is the brand new gaming sensation that is set to “rock your world”!

MTV’s Harmonix has come up with the ultimate in music and rhythm gaming. All wrapped up for the holidays in their latest release for PS2, PS3 and Xbox360, Rock Band. You can play the game by yourself or get others to join in and play lead guitar, bass, drums or do lead vocals with you. The best part is that you can have up to four players “jam” with you and play at the same time. There are many different levels, so cudos to Rock Band’s creators for coming up with such an innovative, multi-layered game. No more sitting on the sidelines for you parents. Now you can play along with your kids as part of the same band!

Create your own band logo and then create your own character, complete with multiple avatars that can be set up to play a wide variety of musical instruments. Score high enough and the Rock Band game will advance you to it’s “live” performance level on each instrument or the vocals. This is where you can actually perform your own live solos! Who needs karaoke when you can do it “for real”?

Judging from the pre-release “buzz”, if you plan to wow your friends and family with the Rock Band game, you need to jump on getting a copy as soon as it is released. Pre-order sales have already been limited by the manufacturer to only one per household, so be prepared. This awesome game will probably sell out in record time.

Harmonix has plans to eventually set up an international, online Rock Band video game community where you can go to find new bandmembers or just compare “notes”. While they are working on that, get your coworkers to play Rock Band with you. The conversation at the water cooler will definitely change. Who needs to talk about football scores when you got more points for adding that cool new rift last night!

By: Jim Hodges

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The title “Spanish guitar” is a reference to the instrument’s origin rather than the music played on it. It is also called the “nylon string guitar,” “classical guitar,” or “gut string guitar.” It is certainly one of the most recognizable instruments in the world today, and its history can be traced back for approximately four centuries. Thanks to ancient carvings and statues, we know that instruments similar to the modern guitar have existed for at least 5,000 years. However, the Spanish guitar is believed to have evolved under the combined influences of the Renaissance five string guitar, the baroque guitar, the lute, and the vihuela.

The latter half of the Middle Ages was a very good time for the guitar. Thanks to the resurgence of human innovation, a variety of instruments were invented or improved upon. The Renaissance five string guitar, for example. This musical instrument, sometimes called a gittern, resembled a small lute and was carved from a single piece of wood with a curved peg box. The vihuela, another instrument of the period, was developed in Spain during the early sixteenth century. This instrument had six double strings made of gut and was tuned almost exactly like the modern Spanish guitar. Finally the baroque guitar, or early romantic guitar, was developed in Italy in the late sixteenth century. It, too, was a six-stringed instrument. In looking at the attributes of each, it is evident that all of these instruments eventually combined and evolved into the Spanish guitar. Our modern instrument, like several of its predecessors, has six strings (usually) and is an acoustic instrument that utilizes a soundboard as a resonator. It uses nylon strings, which are similar to the earlier gut strings in that they are fairly low tension, especially in comparison to their steel cousins.

As previously stated, the reference to Spain in the term “Spanish guitar” is a nod to the instrument’s repertoire. Not surprisingly, given its family history, music for the Spanish guitar includes not only that written specifically for the instrument but that written for the vihuela, lute, baroque guitar, and Renaissance guitar as well. It is even possible to use the Spanish guitar to play music originally written for the violin and cello, as is sometimes done with the compositions of Johann Sebastian Bach.

The earliest music written specifically for the Spanish guitar dates from the late eighteenth century and corresponds to addition of the instrument’s sixth string. However, it was not until the middle of the nineteenth century that the Spanish guitar began to establish its own unique genre. Francisco Tarrega was central to this movement and is credited with incorporating some aspects of flamenco into his composition. It was at this time that Spain was establishing itself as a force in music, and the guitar was central to the country’s reputation in Europe.

Today, the Spanish guitar remains a popular instrument all over the Western world. It has become widely used in popular music and rock and roll, a trend sometimes credited to Mason Williams’ ever popular 1968 hit, Classic Gas.

By: Victor Epand

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Almost every age group we have, has karaoke lovers, and they all seem to enjoy the karaoke songs no matter what age group they are most applicable to. Having said that, every age group pretty much has its favorites though. If you are a Karaoke Disc Jockey it might be beneficial for you to know what songs would fit in best or be most popular with the general age group of your audience. Here are just a few examples of how you could categorize your music according to audience age group.

Suppose you are doing a birthday party for pre schoolers or entertaining a family group. Here is where your job is really going to get challenging, trying to please such a wide diversity of age groups. Perhaps at one time the little ones would have run off to play while the adults did their little sing along. Not anymore these little ones want in on the action. Most likely if they have learned how to talk then they are ready to sink karaoke songs.
Often these songs that are favored on the nursery rhyme or kindergarten songs such as, Baa Baa Black sheep, Oh Susanna, or old MacDonald had a farm. Think back and you’ll remember how much you enjoyed them as a kid.

Ok, so now you have tired out the little ones lets move onto the preteens. These are so hard to please. They pretty well choose their karaoke songs based on what the older ones will like. Only problem here is if parents are present then they might not be too happy at their pre teeners belting out some heavy metal music. Try and find a happy medium here. You just might convince the kids to sing out some Daddy A Go Go karaoke songs. They may or may not be their favorites but they do find them amusing.

For all the in-betweens now is going to be your easiest part. For the teens you are going to need a selection of the most current karaoke songs, in rock, heavy rock and rap. Then for the parents you’re looking at songs from the 50’s up to the 80’s. Oh yes there’s a bit more that has got to be included here. For each of these eras you need a selection of rock and roll, country western, jazz, and perhaps some blues.

For the senior there something sad about their music, and that’s becomes it comes from a time when so many of their loved ones were killed in the wars. So the music they seem to play and love the most is what is called the old war songs. To your best to have a selection of Karaoke songs to fit this age group. Such as the white cliffs of Dover, or I’ll take you home again Kathleen. One only needs to look at the face of one of the seniors singing these songs and you will see a flood of memories pass across their face.

So doing a karaoke party for a mixed group can be pretty challenging when it comes to the music. After all you do want to be popular amongst all age groups. If you have a tight budget however, you might want to stick to entertaining the age group that you have the most music for.

By: Rachel Patterson

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Especially if you are someone who depends on their laptop for livelihood, the last thing you want is for your baby, toddler, child or teenager to constantly want to use it for their own entertainment. There’s some important stuff in there! So buying a laptop for your kids could be a really good investment.

For babies – they sell fake laptops with bright colors, and big buttons that make appealing sounds. Vtech makes few baby laptops that may suit your needs. Believe it or not, these are also great incentives for new babies to crawl. Just place the lap top across the room to entice your baby to crawl. Once they crawl, place the lap top on the couch to entice your baby to pull themselves up.

For toddlers – Choosing a play lap top with their favorite cartoon or show character as the theme could really suck them in. It could provide them with a lifetime of memories they’ll remember forever as they learn numbers/ alphabets/ languages.

For kids and teenagers – Spending more than $500 on a lap top would be a mistake. With poor education on how to treat a computer properly, they’re bound to bust. But do not buy them a net book, because those do not have CD drives, which will impede them from watching DVD’s on there, and burning their purchased music onto blank CDs. If your teenager loves to take tons of pictures, you can bump up to more memory. For children, chances are all they are doing are writing papers on word processors, or playing online games. So the least expensive will probably do the trick.

By: Marta Sauret

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music for all ages

In The Muppet Show Kermit the frog sings an inspirational song called The Rainbow Connection. It goes like this:

Why are there so many songs about rainbows and what’s on the other side? Rainbows are visions and only illusions and rainbows have nothing to hide.

That’s what they say and some choose to believe it I know they’re wrong – wait and see!

Someday I’ll find it, the Rainbow Connection The lovers, the dreamers and me!

Get the CD of this song and play it for your child in piano lessons, or get the piano sheet music to this beautiful melody. Then ask your child what they think. “Do you think there is a Rainbow Connection? What could it be? If there is a Rainbow Connection for reaching your dreamw, would you like to know what is?” Once you have their curiosity and attention share this secret with them.

To make the Rainbow Connection you have to know what your values are. A value is anything that’s really important you. When you ask a child what’s really important and special to them they usually give answers like these:

My Dog – My Friends – My Race Wheels Car – My DadYour child may even say, as many students have told me, that they really love playing the piano. Then explain that these are values that naturally give us our energy for life. Then tell your child what your values are. For example, “I go to work each day because I love my family. I love what I do as well because I’ve learned to do it well, but mostly I work because I really love my family and want to provide for them.”

To achieve our dreams and our purpose in life we first have to know what our values are. I love children, teaching piano, writing, and helping kids achieve their musical dreams! I put all of my favorite things together to fit together a worthwhile purpose that fills my life with energy and joy. I really love what I do, and my family. Everyday I get up and think of so many things that I want to do and write about, and look forward to sharing my creative gifts with my family and others who also share my values.

If I didn’t know what my values are I would literally be lost. I might try to associate with people or professional groups who don’t share my values and who undervalue my work and my purpose. To protect myself I let others know what my values are. That way people who disagree with my purpose and don’t share my values will tell me so. You might think, “Why would you want people to tell you that?” Because people who do share my purpose and my values with let me know that too. In this way I can find the right people and resources to connect to. In this way I become “The Chooser.” This is important because that’s how dreams are achieved – By Choosing. By knowing what your values are you won’t be confused and go along with things that aren’t really you.

For some valuable piano resources parents can use to help their children make the Rainbow Connection and achieve their musical dreams visit, Piano Adventure Bears Music Education Resources. These wonderful stories feature the Piano Adventure Bear Characters, Mrs. Treble Beary and her new piano student, Albeart Littlebud.

By: Cynthia VanLandingham

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If you are considering running your own Karaoke business then you must consider yourself a professional. Perhaps you have got all your equipment, now its just a matter of getting your karaoke music.

Your first inclination will be to run out and buy all your favorites. I mean they are your favorites so everyone must love them as well right? Well not really. You are going to have to broaden your thinking when it comes to choosing your karaoke music. You can take some of the guess work out of this if you have some type of business marketing plan.

You need to determine what is your target market is going to be. In other words who is going to use your services. What type of functions do you want to cater to. If you are in this to make money ,then you are probably thinking that you will cater to whoever wants you. That’s fine, just be prepared in your choice of karaoke music so you don’t end up bombing out at an event. Remember you may be hired for a karaoke party at a seniors club, and not do so well. Then there you find out someone was there that was thinking of having a karaoke night, for their bowling banquet. You will probably not be their choice because of the way this event is going. However, on the other hand if you had had the right choice of music, it would have gone much smoother. Word of mouth is going to be your best advertisement, in more ways than one.

You may not have a budget that is going to let you go out and fully stock up on every category of karaoke music there is, in the beginning. So start listing what are the most likely events that will use your services first. Only you will know this for sure but here are some possibilities.

-Karaoke bars
-Karaoke Parties
-Birthday parties
-Wedding showers
-Family get togethers
-Club events
-Weddings
-Seniors clubs
-Children’s birthday parties

No doubt you will add to the list. Also there are several on the list that you most likely will do only on a rare occasion. So start organizing the list, from more probably down to least likely.
Now figure out what your music budget is going to be. Take