Belvoir Castle will be hosting a Fireworks extravaganza this Saturday With a grand back drop to set things away..
MLE Pyrotechnics is host to this for the second go and is holding the event in the premise of the Duke of Rutland’s family house this will be judged by the herds.

Vanessa one of the promoters, said: “It’s a very swell place to be hosting such a evening. The fireworks are all set off from behind the lake and are reflected in the water.”

3 companies from across the country will stimulate guests with their dramatic exhibits to try and be reigned the greatest

The firms are Celebration Fireworks from Evesham, Pyromania Displays, Knaphill in Surrey and Spyrotechnics from Chesterfield with each putting on a 10 to 15 minute show to music. But the extravaganza doesn’t finish on that point.

Before the competition there will be a presentation to hear about the different types of fireworks and view how fantastic exhibits that dance to the music can be made by the team

and to round it of a electric pyro-musical presentation by the promoters will be done while the guests are voting

With beginnings in 2002 this annual event, Is showing to be vastly productive. The 3 lead professional firework companies chosen for this year’s display have won many important titles between them including the British Champions, British Musical Champions and Firework Champions.

And it’s more than fireworks, a Khoom Fay or Sky Lanterns are seen to fill the sky as they gently blow in the distance.

Parking and camping is available on site and visitors can show up from 5pm so enjoy the solid food and booze available from accredited venders or take a picnic while unwinding in the beautiful grounds of Belvoir Castle.

Bacardi, maker of world-class rum, is staging another colossal music event. Banking on the success of last year’s Bacardi B-Live at the Virgin Festival in Toronto, Bacardi has launched a series of Bacardi B-Live shows that will span 25 countries. The 25-nation tour will start in Toronto, Canada at the 2008 Virgin Festival. Bacardi B-Live is free and open to Virgin Festival ticket-holders over legal drinking age.

The Bacardi B-Live Series, which kicked off last September 6, 2008, is being led by music sensations from Europe, DJs Switch and SebastiAn. Both table masters have dazzled the dance floors of the hippest European clubs while party goers dance to their edgy brand of sound and beats.

Other talents, ranging from international music phenomenon Moby to Canada’s own homegrown DJ Deadmau5, performed the following day. Notable artists who will also grace the event include British trance demigod Lee Burridge and Chicago-based techno duo Flosstradamus. Other acts that are said to be the craze of the music scene will also make appearances.

The combination of the latest in techno and house music, the hippest party people, and world class Bacardi makes B-Live shows as “unforgettable experiences” according to Steven Sadoff, Brand Manager at Bacardi Canada.

Bacardi is also involved in other musical affairs. Most recently is their launching of the company’s music label, the Bacardi Bat Project. The said label offers music lovers an online site that allows MP3 download of songs for free. The Bacardi Bat Project also compensates music artists by commissioning them for their songs, which ranges from $500-$5000 per piece depending on the artist’s popularity and bankability.

Actually, anybody that tells you there is an exact formula you can follow to get
signed is lying. The truth is, there is no exact formula that will land you a record
deal, period. This may be disappointing for some to hear: I know I was disappointed
when I first heard the truth.

Although a record deal can sometimes come about just by being in the right place
at the right time, there are several things you can do to maximize the possibility of
attracting a major label or production company to get them interested in signing
you.

First and foremost, be ready! Make sure your skills are developed to the point that
they can compete with the best the industry has to offer. A&R, managers, and the
like are subject to hearing some pretty awful stuff. If you can offer something that
sounds amazing, it should greatly increase your chances of getting signed.
Remember if your stuff is not as good or better than what’s already out there, the
only thing your demo will have a good shot at is the office garbage can.

If you have to spend money somewhere, spend it on production and mixing. This
can’t be stressed enough. It all boils down to having good product. You can do
everything in your power to attract attention to your music, but If it sucks nobody is
going to care. Although some label A&R claim they can hear talent through low
budget production, in my experience it pays to have the best sounding product you
can. Because it is sometimes extremely difficult to get heard at all, it makes sense
not to blow it when you finally do get a chance by delivering the musical equivalent
of nails on a chalk board.

Now that you’ve got the skills and a tight product, you should be doing everything
in your power to create a buzz for yourself. In order to do this you’re going to need
a plan and a team to help you carry it out. You should be doing shows, selling CD’s,
trying to get some radio support (even if it’s just college radio), and doing anything
and everything else you can to get some kind of following.

It helps to have an established following, a good street team, and some strong
independent sales when seeking a record deal. The more you do on your own, the
less the label has to do, and ultimately the happier they are. In fact, A&R will often
seek you out (eg. come to your show to hear what all the fuss is about) if you’ve
done a really good job of promoting yourself.

Next you are going to need a manager. Now you might be thinking you want to
manage yourself. Think again. Your buddy that follows you around to all your
shows, again, bad choice. At this point, you should be seriously considering seeking
out a professional manager. The right manager will make all the difference when it
comes to getting signed. What I mean by the right manager is one who digs your
music and will really hustle to get you put on. This manager should also have some
pretty good industry connections; otherwise the help he can offer you will be
limited.

As well as a personal manager, you’ll need a good entertainment attorney to
negotiate all your contracts (including the one with your manager) so you don’t get
screwed. Also, a good entertainment lawyer (one that actually has industry
connections) will be able to help get your music into the right hands as well. Make
sure the lawyer you retain is working for you, not the label or your manager!

Ok, so let’s recap. You’ve honed your skills, produced a tight product, created a
strong buzz, and got yourself a good personal manager and lawyer. Now what? Well,
from this point on your manager will basically put a plan of action together for you
and together you will carry it out. You should now be well on your way to your first
record deal. This can be a long road, so it’s important to keep a positive mental
attitude. Make sure everyone around you (your team) also stays positive. The music
business isn’t for the faint of heart! Good Luck!

Matty G is the creator of
The Record Deal
Doctor. The best resource for up and coming
Hip-Hop, Rap, and R&B artists and producers
seeking to further their careers.

I blame Eminem.

Prior to his sampling of Dido on his 2000 track Stan, I would have assigned Rap to the domain of angry disenfranchised African Americans like Iced Tea, Tupac Shakur or Snoop Doggy Dog. Now it would seem that most of the Top 40 is riddled with Rap Artists.

So when did Rap become mainstream? Is it that Rap Music has become more melodic or have we just broadened our listening tastes?

Basically Rap is a form of rhyming lyrics spoken rhythmically with a musical backdrop and, love him or hate him, Eminem has managed to bring Rap squarely into the Top 40 realm. Witness the turnaround of mainstream commentators who once claimed he and his lyrics would poison our children’s minds to his 2002 Oscar win for Lose Yourself from the film 8 Mile. The comparisons to the King himself, Elvis Presley are inevitable. And like the Rolling Stones, who helped translate blues to the white mainstream, Eminem’s lyrical talents turn stinging lyrics into hum-a-long pop tunes.

But Eminem is not the first white artist to create crossover hits from the Rap genre. From Bob Dylan’s 1965 Subterranean Homesick Blues to Blondie’s 1981 Rapture to 1986’s Aerosmith Run DMC collaboration Walk This Way and even Vanilla Ice’s 1990 Ice Ice Baby. And now the likes of 50 Cent, Nelly, Ludacris, Beastie Boys, Missy Elliott, Beyonce, Outkast, Usher and The Game continue the tradition.

Is it mere coincidence that Hate It Or Love It on The Game’s 2005 CD The Documentary reminds me of PM Dawn’s 1997 hit Set Adrift On Memory Bliss?

Is it the increasing reliance on sampling of other hits which have permeated our subconscious or using broader instrumentation and orchestration or the synthesized electronically programmed equivalent that pushes these tracks up the charts? Or is it the catchy choruses? I mean it may be just me, but who, but the most street cred Rap connoisseur, understands the allegorical coda of these yrics, while we can all hum or sing a long to the chorus just enough to want to buy or download the track and maybe even the whole album.

And it seems now that almost every rapper has at least one or two ballad style tracks, preferably with an R & B style mainstream artist to assist with that crossover. 2002’s Dilemma duet of Nelly and Destiny Child’s Kelly Rowlands or Work It with Justin Timberlake from the same album proves the rapper can also sing in these fusions of Soul meets Rap which hit the top of the charts and stay there.

So has Rap become mainstream or does the likes of Eminem merely represent a contrived marketing plan by Record Companies to pick up where Pop has sadly left off. Now that boy bands have almost died out and the titanic phenomenon that is American (or substitute your own country here) Idol has steamrollered over the singer/songwriter traditional pop consciousness has Rap merely mellowed to fill the void?

Sadly I cannot answer these questions definitively. The music industry and the record buying public are a fickle lot. Technology brings a two edged sword of making more music more available by downloading but also shrinking the market place income to the need for record companies to rely on “sure things”.

And Rappers aren’t that different to any other musician or anyone else with something to sell. They may be in the industry for all very noble purposes of being an artist or saying something important with their lyrics. But ultimately they too want to sell their records and make money and live comfortable celebrity lifestyles.

So Rap music over time has become more commercial and more digestible to the mass black and white audiences. Melodies are now familiar to Generation X, Y and Z and the Baby Boomers. Remixed to suit nightclub or coffee shop audiences.

And ultimately no matter how cynically we want to look at it, the more variety of music there is out there the more diverse our listening habits become.

And that can only be a good thing.

Peter Shuttlewood is the author of webzine freshread which contains articles on Popular Culture with an Australian slant. freshread - the everyday in a fresh way.

Not every guitarist records. In fact, most guitarists will never make a recording of themselves. However, many of the burdens associated with the task of recording have been, in recent years, pushed aside. In the past, it was necessary to assemble an entire team of people to make recordings. You had to have one or two engineers, usually a producer, several band members and generally a few hangers-on who just wanted to get in on the action. As technology has increased, the amount of labor associated with recording has decreased, along with the number of people needed to produce recordings.

For most guitarists who want to record, especially in a home studio, the recording environment will consist of three primary things: the guitar, the amplifier or direct device, and the recording device. All three of these are of equal importance in producing quality guitar recordings.

First, you must make sure that your guitar is of quality and in good working condition. If you’re not up to the challenge yourself, take it to a quality repairperson who will be able to make sure that your string heights are adjusted correctly, the action is comfortable and that your electronics are in working order and free of buzzing and other electrical noise.

Second, the amplifier or direct interface. More and more these days, guitar recordings are made with direct recording interfaces, such as the Line6 POD. These types of devices can be great time-savers in the studio and, more and more, can offer you a tone equivalent to or better than a traditional amplified signal. If you’re more of a purist, make sure that you have a quality microphone to pick up the signal from your amplifier (the standard is a Shure SM57) and that your signal is free from interference. This means making sure that your amplifier, microphone and microphone cables are free of buzzing and that all fluorescent lights in the recording environment are turned off. Fluorescent lights, although great energy-saving devices, reflect up to sixty percent of their energy back into the system. If an amplifier or loudspeaker is hooked up to the system, a beautiful 60-cycle hum ensues, ensuring that whatever recordings you make are utterly useless.

Third, the recording device. For most of us these days, our primary recording device is a home computer. Macintosh has been the industry standard for years, but most PC makers have revved up their models enough (and made them crash-free enough, thank you very much) so, although the majority of studios still use Macs, the only real difference is your personal preference. Whatever type of computer you decide to purchase, however, make sure that you max it out with speed and memory.

Although many computer programs and direct recording devices will have some pretty good-sounding presets, to get original tones, make sure that you experiment and try to come up with something that sounds original. Many presets are loaded with gain and effects to make them sound impressive to first time hearers. Remember, a whole lot of great guitar sounds have been recorded with a minimal amount of distortion, and effects can always be added later, so don’t risk screwing up a great take by committing your effects to tape right away, without being sure of the tone that you’re going for.

Good Luck!

You can find more information about guitars, recording and recording techniques at http://www.guitar-4u.com

I can’t believe how poorly Caruso and others were copied by experts! Often, the technician or intellectual copies the old recordings at the wrong speed making the vocal horrible, out of tune and, for the fine ear, unrecognizable. Here’s some observations on the old recordings. I’ll also cover how to improve the sound of the copy.

Make sure that the old disc is clean. Gently wipe away dust with a camel’s hair brush.

If you have an old mechanical device such as a Victrola, set the microphone about 18″ from the front sound hole. Try a few recordings to see where exactly to place the mic for the least machine noise.

I believe Edison disc were recorded at 80 rpms. Don’t let that throw you. The trick is to record the Edison disc on a cassette deck that has a variable pitch control. After getting an acceptable recording-On playback, bump the pitch contol up a few notches.

Here’s part of the trick. All songs are recorded in a particular “key”. That is, the note should correspond to some note on a piano or other musical instrument. If you are not a musician, try to get a friend that know a little bit about music. If you have a keyboard, that would help too.

Now, when you play back the cassette, attempt to find the “key” on the piano or keyboard. If this doesn’t make much sense. Stop! Get that music friend to help you. What you should do is try to find the “key” of the song. If the music sounds flat, turn the pitch control forward. If the music sounds sharp, turn the pitch control backwards.

Remember, country songs from the twenties won’t be in F#, they probably will be in F major. There shouldn’t be any in G#, etc. Use your ear to approximate the original “key” hence the original speed.

You only want to bumb up the rpm speed replicated on the cassette tape by two rmps. Sooo..take it easy, you might go beyond the original key. Don’t move the pitch control too far. This take a little time to get the feel of it.

Victor records as with other phonograph records were recorded on mechanical machines. I heard that they recorded at 76 rpms. I don’t know this one for sure. Try to bump up the pitch control to get the right “key.”

If you can download copyright free music-like public domain stuff. You can later convert to analog on a cassette disc with a pitch control and do the work of getting the right speed. Some of these recordings on the web are done quite well except for the proper speed. In other words, they have done most of the work for you.

Good Luck. I think you’ll have a blast preserving the past!

When memorizing music there are several things you can do that will make your job that much easier. Memorizing music is important as most people know you play better when having the music in your head rather than having your head in the music. So where to start when memorizing music effectively?

I agree with Fred Noad, when discussing memorization in his book, Solo Guitar playing, he states…Learn to play a piece from beginning to end with absolutely correct fingering and with complete continuity (however slow) before committing it to memory.

To learn music in this fashion helps with an overall visual memory of the piece and it helps with continuity rather than have the piece sound disjointed and fragmented. If you think about it you will realize that our thoughts and memories are nothing more than powerful images or, pictures, if you like.

To prove my point let’s say I ask you to think of an elephant. What do you see? Is it the word elephant written down (which could be a picture) or is it a picture or part picture the animal itself? I bet you I know the answer. Another test would be to ask how you dreamed at night. Do you dream in words or are your dreams a series of pictures rather like a scene from a movie?

You need to work with your brain rather than against it. Why not utilize the natural operation of your memory? It’s crazy not to!

I also know from my days at Teacher’s College that most people have different strengths when it comes to learning something new based on the body’s different senses. Some people are visual learners, some learn better with their tactile (touching) sense and some are strong auditory learners.

What is clear in most literature about memory is that a combination of as many of your senses as possible is a stronger way of learning anything. Because of this we should employ most of our senses when learning a new piece of music. Of course we can’t include taste and smell to any great degree (unless you want to eat your music!) but we should definitely try to use our other senses of sight, hearing and touch.

So, having established a method of learning a new piece of music what comes next? What are the nuts and bolts, so to speak?

I would actually take a step back. That is, start not with playing a piece of music but rather just reading it, just like a book, on its own. What I would be looking for is how it is put together. I would look at the key, form, and structure of the music? What about sequences and repetitions? What about dynamics, articulation and tone?

Breaking a piece up into its component parts first before you start to play it and get a visual memory of the piece allows you to take a short-cut of sorts. If you understand where the repeats are, for example, you have already cut down on the amount of bars you have to memorize. If you know about the dynamics of the piece before you play it physically your brain won’t have to deal with too much information at once.

As Sharon Isbin says in the Classical Guitar Answer Book…”The more you understand the language and structure of a piece, the easier it will be to memorize.”

I liken it to driving to an unfamiliar place or suburb in your car and using a roadmap. If you just turn up and expect to find the street it would be very difficult indeed. But if you look at the map beforehand you stand a much better chance of finding your destination by noticing the signs along the way. You recognize where you are, with much less stress!

Of course, I’m talking about reading the music AWAY from the guitar. This should be your very first step. I would then employ the Noad method after this.

Next I would test my memory by playing the separate phrases in the music. If you definitely know a phrase, try to string it together with the next phrase in the piece and so on until you get to the end of the piece. If you are not confident to play phrases try playing one bar at a time and going back to the printed music when a bar is forgotten.

In this way the music can be overlapped until the whole piece can be played by memory.

I would leave the piece for several days to a week after that. Then I would test my memory again by trying to play the whole piece, making note of where I faltered or needed to consolidate. Leaving it for a period of time allows your subconscious brain to keep “working” on it for you. The subconscious is really quite powerful and when you get out of its way, you’ll be amazed at what it can achieve.

Studying a new piece in this fashion should yield results. And remember, the more you practice (properly) the easier it will become. Good luck!

Trevor Maurice is an Australian, living in beautiful seaside Maroubra, in the eastern suburbs of Sydney.

He’s been involved in playing guitar (mainly classical) for longer than he cares to remember and has also taught the instrument for many years. He is teacher trained, having a Diploma of Education (Majoring in music)

He has also taught Primary (Elementary) school for many years and had a long-held dream to build a quality website for the classical guitar that is of use to anyone even slightly interested in this beautiful instrument. He has now made that dream a reality with the highly rated…

http://www.learnclassicalguitar.com/index.html

Music Review

Title: “Set It Off ”

Artist: Harliquinny’s and Bunker Crew

Year: 1986

Label: Champion Records (London, England)

Time for a histroy lesson. While I was shopping at Everybody’s
Records in Cincinnati, Ohio I came across a reprint of this
song. I knew this record was digitally remastered so I brought
it!

This song at the time was a monster hit in the Cincy area clubs
and on the radio mixshows. The beats at 110 beats per minuite
(BPM) This song wasn’t hardcore nor to fast. Just right to
groove with your guy or girl or just groove by yourself. For
DJ’s This track is very easy to mix in and out of. This was a
very very good crowd pleaser.

Another version of ” Set It Off ” by a group called Streffe (
The Male Version). This is still being played in some clubs in
this area. If you are into “old School” music check out these
songs and send us your reply on what you think.

Don’t Hate On Music

$habba Staff Writter- shabba Staff Writter-
http://www.cincinnatiohioonline.com/blog

“The Earth Has Music 4 Those Who Listen”- Alexander O’Neal