How Read Music

For some people learning to read music comes naturally while for the majority it can be quite hard to do. But like many things in life it can be very rewarding to do. Either way like many other things in life it will require some effort, patience and practice to get to grips with it properly.

Once you have mastered it people will see a big difference in the way you perform. A person’s ability to read music well is the difference between an average player and being a world class performer that always has the audience mesmerized with their skill. Of course like many things you cannot master it until you have a firm grasp of the basics. As the old Chinese proverb goes a journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step.

So let’s get to the basics!

Learning how to read music is very similar to learning to read and write there are some basic rules that you need to follow that everyone does. Straying from this basic foundation can lead to problems later on. Music is not formatted the same as writing, where this is on a single line musical notes are displayed over five lines and contain a treble clef.

There are various clef types with the two most common being the bass clef and the treble clef. One way of remembering these is that the treble clef is the right hand on a piano and the bass clef is the left hand. I realise that you may not be playing the piano but this is the easiest way to explain it. There are other types of clef and you should not let this worry you too much at this stage as you can play excellent sounding music with just the notes that are on these two types of clef.

The way to read notes is dependent on their position on the five lines or between them. The following are read from the bottom to the top…

This article is an excerpt from How to read Music by M-Audio Direct, the UK’s leading supplier of M-Audio electronic music equipment.

Cables & Leads Take on Monster Cables

Press Release: Derby 10 Sept 2009 – Cable & Leads are delighted to announce that they have taken on the Monster Cable range to their already vast portfolio of cables. With immediate effect customers will be able to purchase market leading Audio & Visual cables, with the full range to follow shortly.

How to Use a MIDI Device

MIDI devices are one of the most common ways of interfacing with music digitally. They are devices designed to communicate between computers and allow music artists and composers to create songs as if utilising the actual instrument itself. MIDI’s are used worldwide by many music enthusiasts and provide an excellent way to start familiarising oneself with digital composition.

Why HDMI doesn’t have to cost as much as you think

Modern technology can cost the earth when you are trying to keep up with it. This is not really the case as buying wisely and doing some homework before hand can save you a lot of money.

What is VGA?

VGA, or otherwise known as Video Graphics Array, is a standardised resolution for computer monitors and projectors and allows for resolutions of a certain value of pixels to be displayed on screen. It was developed by IBM and supersedes the original EGA (Enhanced Graphics Display) which was also developed by IBM but only supported resolutions up to 640 x 350 pixels. VGA has several different types, each with its own maximum resolution display. What’s the difference? A higher resolution display can hold more pixels on a screen; therefore, there is more information that can be displayed. This usually results in neater and better looking graphics.

There are seven sub systems of VGA. These are separated into specific categories, including graphics controllers, display memory, serialiser, attribute controller, sequencer and the CRT controller. Each of these parts performs a different task and as a result, displays text and graphics on the screen. The CPU processor of a machine will process all the necessary information, and then feed it to the VGA which will then process it. The VGA system in itself is quite outdated, although standard PC’s do boot up in VGA mode, with the maximum resolution size of 640 x 480 and 16 colours.

Since VGA is much too outdated to be used in common systems such as laptops and PC’s, it has evolved into something much more complex – the XGA. This is the first step up that IBM developed that resembles something closer to what we would expect of home computers and laptop resolutions, allowing 800 x 600 pixels of high colour (16 bits per pixel) and 1024 x 768, the standard resolution that most computers run on nowadays with a palette of 256 colours. Electronic equipment such as projectors and digital cameras also use XGA support. XGA is much more aesthetically pleasing, due to the larger amount of pixels that it can hold.

Another variety of the VGA cable that we have includes the SVGA, or otherwise known as the Super Virtual Graphics Array, which was originally released as an extension to the original VGA set by IBM in 1987. SVGA was formed as a means of standardizing for cross-compatible graphics display and display adapters. While we may think of SVGA as an enhanced, better product in comparison to the XGA display, it in itself does not have a specific resolution definition and is more so a means of generalizing a higher level of graphics display featuring resolutions of 1024 x 768, and versions of SVGA which could support up to 32-bit colour.

VGA has and still is the basic fundamental of graphics display for digital devices. Although it has now been replaced by the more commonly used XGA and SVGA standards, VGA still exists as an important graphics base that will continue to guide how graphics display and resolution will operate. The VGA system has since revolutionized the display of graphics and digital equipment that still exists today, especially with low resolution technology.

This article was written by Robert Deans. Robert is the SEO copywriter for www.cables-leads.co.uk. Cables & Leads are the UK’s Premier online retailer of audio, video and computer cables. For more articles by Robert, or more information please visit Cables & Leads

Cables & Leads Press Release

Press Release: Derby 6th Aug 2009 – Established online retailer MediaAtlantic LTD is delighted to announce the launch of their new breakaway website www.cables-leads.co.uk. The site will be aimed at everybody from individual users to large organisations. It will host a variety of popular and specialist cables, including named and own branded cables & leads.

Adding Music to Myspace

Want to know why there are so many people who think Myspace is better than Facebook? One of the main reasons is because Myspace allows users to add their favourite songs to their own profile home page – allowing you to show off some of the best of your collection and add some diversity to your own page. That’s something Facebook doesn’t have – everybody’s Facebook is the same dull white and blue, and with Myspace music, there is an extra touch that makes a profile completely unique.

In order to add music to your profile, you have to first log into your Myspace account. Afterwards, find the link where it says Music. This should be in the top navigation bar where you can find all the other links such as Home and Profile. Afterwards, you should be brought to a page which displays albums and artists. There should be a search bar to the right of the page. Click on it and enter an artist of your choice… Read more about How to add music to your Myspace profile.

M-Audio Direct launches – New major online retailer for the UK

With only a week since its initial launch, M-Audio is set to take its share as one of the larger online retailers for the latest M-Audio products in the United Kingdom. M-Audio Direct is a new website which features the latest M-Audio digital equipment including keyboards, audio monitors, handheld recorders and digital DJ equipment such as the M-Audio Torq Xponent.

MIDI Controllers- The All In One Solution To Digital Music

MIDI Controllers are simply instruments which have been specially designed to work as a digital recording device. They are commonly used by audio users who are tired of composing music through a mouse or keyboard and want to take compositions to the next level, by the knobs, faders and keys that a standard instrument would have. Using a MIDI controller ensures that you will have more control over what you create – and since they operate electronically, you can record virtually hundreds of different compositions without having to worry about where they will be stored.

What are some of the possible uses of a MIDI? Aside from being mainly used in recording studios at home or in professional sets, MIDI’s can be used in live performances bringing digitalized sounds to a stage. A common example of this would be a MIDI Keyboard Controller, which allows an artist to both play and alter the sound signals that are electronically sent.
If the main purpose of buying a MIDI controller is to record digital music, they come in masses and can be found in any major music retailer. These MIDI’s come in a range of size and styles and cover anything from drum kits to guitars. If you are looking for a digital replacement for an instrument in order to incorporate it digitally, a MIDI is the best solution there is.

How does a MIDI work? There are a few steps that are required in order for a MIDI to function properly. This includes making sure that a connected PC or desktop has the proper soundcard to handle MIDI compatibility. Some older models of computers will not have this, and therefore before buying a MIDI make sure that your preferred PC is capable of handling a MIDI.

Setting up the MIDI becomes the second part to this process. Many MIDI’s operate through the use of a USB controller which simply runs off DC power, but while this is common it is not universal. There may be additional tweaking required if the MIDI controller device is more complex, and some additional wiring may be needed.

Finally, after all the set up and compatibility checks have been complete, all you need to do now is start running your sequencer. A sequencer is simply a device which converts the digital signals given off by a MIDI into what humans come to understand as ‘sound’. Sequencers come as both hardware and software, but having a program on the computer to manage all the recordings is recommended. Quality music studio recording software would be able to cover this and act as a sequencer and save some time trying to configure hardware.

When you are looking for the all-in-one solution to making music digital, choosing a MIDI controller is the best way to go about it. They are reliable, convenient and allow you to record and compose just the way you would with any real instrument. You don’t need to be a genius to start up a home music studio, because when it comes to MIDI’s, they were created to be used by anyone.

For more information on MIDI’s including a full range of M-Audio MIDI’s please visit www.m-audiodirect.co.uk , Take a look at our MIDI Buyers Guide

The World of Digital DJ’s

The world of a DJ has been significantly altered by the introduction of digitalized DJ systems, creating a different, technologically assisted approach to the art of mixing. Digital DJ technology, such as the M-Audio Torq Xponent, has the capability to allow a DJ to control every aspect of their sound and create a more sophisticated way in which they choose to play their music MP3’s.