Acoustic Guitar DVD Lessons: Achieve Success Practicing At Home

By Johnathan Jones

All the great guitarist have struggled at some point in learning to play the guitar. As far as guitar lessons for beginners there are different ways to go, such as a private instructor, signing up for classes at your local community center, self-teaching method with books and online lessons which I recommend because they're cheaper and flexible to a persons schedule. Whichever way you choose be sure to keep in mind there are no "play guitar like a pro in one hour" course. It takes lots of practice and dedication to become a good guitarist.

If you are just beginning acoustic guitar, then you have taken the first step towards a very rewarding and interesting hobby. I have been playing acoustic guitar for nearly 20 years, and I can honestly tell you, looking back, I have never regretted the hours of sweat and toil I have put into it. "Sweat and toil?", you ask. Well yes, I'm afraid so.

MAKE A COMMITMENT RIGHT NOW TO CONSISTENTLY PRACTICE YOUR GUITAR. Now, this is the point where practicing the guitar can be like a diet...it works for a little while, and yet you eventually fall back into the old habits that you are used to. Dieting is not what we want here.

You owe it to yourself to be the best player you can be, so make that choice right now and say to yourself, "I commit to practicing my instrument in a consistent manner that leads to me learning how to play the guitar in a snap".

In other words, even if you are new to the world of guitar playing, even if you only recently have started taking guitar lessons, you might benefit from learning the funk-skunk technique. The funk-skunk technique consists of a player's right hand strumming the strings. While this is occurring, the left hand is muting, the net effect of this action is that all of the strings are not fretted or raked at the same time.

When you are choosing your repertoire, you can spread your net wide. No need to stick to the Top Forty, go for the Top One Hundred of whatever decade you feel comfortable with. An easy way out that does not need too much research is to just jot down a bunch of Beatles titles.

These are songs that everybody in the world knows the words to, or at least they can fake it. Some artists that are always popular at singalongs are James Taylor, Leonard Cohen and Greenday. Oh, and maybe Suzanne Vega. Billy Joel's "Piano Man" and "Captain Jack" are songs that get a crowd going but maybe you need some vocal skills for those.

Backing tracks are audio tracks you can buy or download that give you accompaniment to your guitar practice. As you grow as a guitar player, you will find that your backing tracks, sometimes referred to as "jamtracks" will be as useful a tool as your metronome or your guitar tuner. There is no lead guitar or vocalist on your backing tracks just the backing that you can play lead guitar in front of. - 23812

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Xbox 360 Games at Their Finest

By Larry Moon

The Xbox 360 is the first of the three gaming consoles in the seventh generation that was released and because of that, the Xbox 360 currently has the most titles. This means that searching for the right games for your Xbox 360 system can be pretty tough. The newest games have an average price around $60 no matter how good or bad the game may be. Instead of trying your luck with games that have attractive box art, consider getting these 6 highly ranked Xbox 360 titles.

Gears Of War 2 was one of the most highly anticipated games of the year. It was this highly anticipated because of the games phenomenal games of the year, because of the crazy good graphics, high speed game play, and single and multi-player action. This is a must have game for warfare buffs, and definitely well worth the money.

Role-Playing games have been in high demand on the Xbox 360 ever since Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion came out. If you liked Oblivion, then you will surely like Fallout 3. Fallout 3 is an engrossing action role-playing game with a great story line, and a post World War II setting. This game comes with eccentric open-ended game play and unbelievable graphics, and is setting the pace moving forward in the Role-playing game industry.

If you prefer treating yourself in a darker atmosphere, consider playing Dead Space. Dead Space is recognized by reviewers as the "World's Scariest Game". That should be more than enough to buy this thrilling third-person shooter.

Evolved 2 is the next game listed here for people not wanting to spend $60 on a video game. This game was given high levels of commendation as the best Xbox Live arcade game on the market at the time it was released to the public. Because it is an Xbox Live arcade title you can pick up for a bit less than a normal brand new game.

Action-packed games do not have to be 3-D and bloody and Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 proves it. This Xbox Live Arcade shooter was greatly praised by critics for the different modes to choose from. It is much better than its predecessor and some consider it as the best Xbox Live Arcade game during the time of its release. Because it is an Xbox Live Arcade title, it is a lot cheaper than the other games mentioned.

Another game that made headlines this year was a game called Braid. This is an interesting but extremely fun game that will stimulate your mind, and make you think. Puzzle games can be challenging but the musical score, and story line come very high touted by review sites.

Choosing a title can be hard if you really are unaware of what to look for in a game. Make sure that you do some extensive research on the gaming titles out there to see which ones fit you so that you get the most for your money. - 23812

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Top Action Movies Of All Time - Can You Guess The Movie Quote

By S Flynn

Ever since I can remember I have been a huge fan of action movies, and growing up I still remember sitting down with the rest of the family and watching those classic Arnie, Stallone, Van Dame and Steven Seagal movies. In recent years my enthusiasm for action movies hasn't changed and think that the newer breed of action stars such as Denzel Washinton, Jason Statham, Jet Li and plenty of others have taken action films to a fresh, unique and equally entertaining level.

Lets see how well you know your action movies by working out which quote comes from the movie that I consider to be the all time best action movies...

1) She says the jungle... it just came alive and took him.

2) Tweety Bird - Any sign of Wile E. Coyote? -William Strannix - No. Meet at the bird cage as planned, Roadrunner, out! Krill You're the roadrunner? - William Strannix - Yeah, never been caught. Mee-meep.

3) The guy is a used car salesman! This just keeps getting better and better! I'm sorry, Harry, I know this is hard for you. But you gotta admit if this was me you'd be laughing your a-- off!

4) Pai Mei taught you the five point palm-exploding heart technique?

5) Lower your flags and march straight back to England, stopping at every home you pass by to beg forgiveness for a hundred years of theft, rape, and murder. Do that and your men shall live. Do it not, and every one of you will die today.

6) (Doctor) - You broke my arm! - (Mental patient) - There's 215 bones in the human body. That's one.

7) It's good to hear your voice Johnny, it's been a long time. Look John, you've done some damage here, they don't want anymore trouble. That's why I've come. I want to come in there and fly you the hell out. Just you and me. We'll work this thing out together. Is that fair enough?

8) Bad Guy - Aha, very good. There are rules, Jack, and I want you to get this right. NO ONE goes off the bus. If you try to take any passengers off the bus, I will detonate it. I want my money by 11AM. - Cop - We can't pull that kind of money in time! - Bad Guy - FOCUS, JACK! Your concern is the bus. And don't try to call. The radio's down. Now, the number of the bus is 2525, it's running downtown from Venice. It's at the corner of Ocean Park & Main.

9) - (main character) - Why did you pick me? - Dr. Albert Hirsch - You really don't remember, do you? We didn't pick you. You picked us. You volunteered. Right here. Right here, even after you were warned.

10) (before main character jumps from roof) I promise I will never even THINK about going up in a tall building again. Oh, God. Please don't let me die (this movie was set in a tall building) - 23812

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How did you go?? If you would like to find out my 10 greatest action films click on this link best action movies of all time and scroll down to the heading titled 10 best action movies of all time

Guitar Instructional DVD: Learn With The Pros

By Leon Geathers

Like you probably have done, I have read a ton of interviews with great players and articles written by many of these same players. I often found it frustrating whenever the subject of learning to play guitar came up or when advice was offered on improving one's playing. With a small number of exceptions, very little time and space was offered on this.

Its not uncommon to see the player's advice be summed up in a grand total of three words: Practice! Practice!! Practice!!! Well of course we all know that practicing is the main ingredient. But rarely are we told much more than that. In my long quest to become an excellent player and to help my students do the same I carefully took note of what worked and what didn't. What parts conventional wisdom is accurate and what parts are (at least in my opinion) are not. I believe the twenty concepts that have proven to bring great results to those who use them are:

Believe in yourself. You have probably heard that phrase many times before. Its unfortunate how many people still refuse to invest their own beliefs into themselves. I wrote an article on Perseverance which deals indirectly with believing in yourself. Please read it if you have a problem believing that you can reach your goals.

Create a strategy! You need a strategy that will layout exactly how you are going to reach your goals. Dreaming alone won't take you anywhere. Telling yourself that you are going to play your guitar everyday isn't enough. There is a lot more that goes into being an excellent player than simply playing your guitar.

For instance, the process may go like this: I notice I have trouble with a fast scale passage in a piece I am playing. I notice a particular note starts disappearing when I reach a certain speed. The note is being missed.

But for many people, it is a very disconcerting experience. I have gotten letters from people who have read some things I have written, and become afraid to practice! They are so aware of, and on their guard against, excess muscle tension, and the devastating effects for the developing player, they are afraid to touch a string!

What I didn't know was that even though I was learning to keep up with these chord changes, I had so much muscle tension in my arms and other parts of my body, that I was locking in tensions that didn't have to be there, and would come back to haunt me a few years later as I attempted the classical repertoire, where you don't really get away with things like that. As the years went by, and especially in teaching others, I realized that it doesn't have to be that way for anybody! There is a way of going about it that doesn't create or allow this situation.

Bar chords are what I am referring to. I am going to address the physical, technical aspects of learning these chords in a way that will enable you to avoid the difficulties that attend the learning of them for most players. - 23812

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Limited time only! Get unheard of deals on how to play guitar chords before supplies run out. Visit guitar instructional dvd today!

Interested In Learning To Play The Piano? These 5 Tips Can Help

By Michelle Edward

Are you interested in learning to play the piano? It's one of the more difficult instruments to learn and there are a lot of people who put in a lot of effort towards learning but don't manage to succeed.

The piano evokes a lot of feelings when played; you can show anger, romance, anxiety, sadness, and other feelings. Of all the musical instruments of today's times, the piano is by far the most romantic.

A lot of people run into difficulties when learning to play the piano. If you've had trouble mastering this complex and rewarding skill, this article is for you. Below are five tips for learning to play the piano:

Tip 1: Make sure that you have access to a synthesizer or piano. It's not easy to learn how to play piano. Without the instrument, things will really be hard. A book or piano music is not enough to learn everything you have to know about piano playing. So the first step is to get a piano; you can borrow one or you can purchase a new piano.

Tip 2: You have to undergo piano lessons. Lessons are available in different forms. If you want to learn fast, you can combine the different forms of piano lessons. If ever you combine the piano lessons, you have to schedule them so that the lessons will not be mixed up. You can enroll in a piano lesson. You can also use a CD or DVD or even piano lesson books. There are also those who prefer to undergo online lessons. This way, you will learn quickly.

Tip 3: Ask other, more experienced players for advice. Proficient piano players can help you figure out which areas of your piano playing are in need of improvement. They can also give you some tips on exercises to help you become a better player. Each player has a different approach to the instrument, but the advice of experts is always valuable; just watching and listening to other piano players can also help you to progress.

Tip 4: Like they say about getting to Carnegie Hall: practice, practice, practice. Make your piano lessons a priority and make time for them every day. Spend at least 15 minutes per day practicing and preferably 30 minutes. Remember to warm up before your practice sessions.

Tip 5: Be patient. No one sits down at the piano for the first time and starts playing complex, difficult compositions. Start like everyone else does: with the basics. You'll need to learn some music theory and how to read sheet music if you don't already. You'll begin playing by practicing your scales and working on some elementary exercises. Master each exercise and each piece you learn before you move on to the next challenge. Refresh regularly by incorporating pieces you've already learned into your practice sessions even as you work to master new and more challenging pieces.

These are the five most important tips for learning to play the piano. It's not that hard to do as long as you start with the basics and work step by step towards proficiency with this incredibly expressive instrument. - 23812

About the Author:

Michelle Edward is classically trained to Grade 8 in Solo Piano. To learn to play piano online, check out Michelle's Review of Play Piano Tonight at her website now.