Wind Instruments: Their Role in Music

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Wind instruments use the vibrations inside a tube where air is transferred through a mouthpiece to make an air column vibrate. There are many types of wind instruments that change their pitch with the length of the column, these instruments make use of a mechanism or just the hand to change the length of the air column. Some instruments need a reed in the middle f the tube to produce sound. There are also other different instruments. Wind instruments mainly act for harmonizing.

Types of wind instruments:

1) Brass instruments: In brass instruments the lips of the player vibrates to vibrate the wind inside the instrument to vibrate. For example: trombone.
2) Woodwind instruments: In these instruments the player either causes a reed to vibrate inside the instrument which disturbs the air column. Or he blows against an edge or across the edge of an opening. For example: the flute.

To obtain variations in notes a player uses many methods, each depending on the type of instrument he is playing. There is a technique commonly used in flutes. In this technique the player closes openings in the tubular to change the length of the vibrating air column, he does this by the use of his finger or by the use of keys. This technique is used in most woodwind instruments.

Then there is the valve technique where there are a few tubes bundled together, the player rotates the air through different tubes at different times, he uses keys or other mechanisms to open and close these valves. This technique is used in almost all brass instruments.

Then there is another technique very commonly used, that is the slide-mechanism technique, there is some kind of a slider that changes the length of the air column. Such as in the trombone.

The players create varying sounds in these three ways, however these are the most common one there are also others.

Wind instruments play a different role in music, the brass instruments make good for musicals chorus. Whilst the woodwind instruments are great for solo performances. Wind instruments are dominant in music but they follow on from another league.

Stanton DeFreitas

Percussion: Vital to Rhythm in Music

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Percussion is a big part of music as we know it. Percussion instruments make use of the element of rhythmic hitting. The hit causes another object into vibration creating the sound, or music. When two objects collide to produce sound in music we call it percussion. Basically, percussion is a part of music that resembles making two objects collide.

As simple as rhythmic hitting is, the simplicity of which makes most of us think that percussion was the earliest form of musical instrument, the voice put aside.

There are basically two types of percussion instruments:

1) Membranophones: In these types of instruments there is a membrane on a frame which is struck to cause vibration, the vibration of the membrane produces sound.the most common example of membraphones are the Drums, the Bass Drums, the Bongos, the Tabla.
2) Idiophones: These are instruments that vibrate with their whole frame to produce the sound. The most common examples of Idiophones are Cymbals, celesta, the triangle.

The percussion instruments can be again classified by its functional terms, from functional terms there are two different types in which classification is possible.

1) Definite pitched: These are instruments that are played to produce harmonic sounds.
2) Indefinite pitched: These are instruments that produce crash or break-like sounds where the pitch is not important.

The pitch is important in the whole subject of music but in percussion it is vital. Percussion is a very important part of music when being played with other instruments, percussion keeps the actual rhythm of the whole track that is being followed by the co-musicians. The simplicity of the percussion makes it possible for the player to maintain the track being followed. Even if other musicians make mistakes the track is likely to not break down as long as the percussionist has not lost track himself. Thus, percussion is another part of the World music that will be highly regarded at all times to come for its importance.

Stanton DeFreitas

The King of Pop – Michael Jackson

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Today would have been Michael Joseph Jackson’s birthday and it would be a shame not to mention his contribution to the world of music, namely Pop music.

Pop music simply refers to the music, which is modified from instrumental music by mixing and tuning. The word Pop is generated from the term “popular”. Pop music consists of basic short tracks in a music album which is used to entertain music listeners with the use of fast musical nature of its. The pop music is designed to excite or energize people and the quality of the pop artist is so classified.

Michael Joseph Jackson was born in Indiana in USA on 29th of August 1958. He was an artist with many qualities: singing, dancing, lyrics-writing and playing music itself. He became a popular, GLOBAL figure for nearly four decades. He began his solo career in pop music in 1971. In addition, by the early 1980s he became a popular and dominant figure in music. Michael Jackson’s album “Thriller” is until now the most sold album in the world. He received 13 Grammy Awards and 26 American Music Awards over his storied career. He was also been inducted to the Rock ‘n Roll Hall Of Fame twice. Moreover, he has been cited numerous times as the most successful entertainer of all times. Michael Jackson died of propofol intoxication on June 25th, 2009.

Some of the classic songs recorded and performed by Michael Jackson were “Bad”, “Dangerous”, “Beat it”, “Black ‘n White” and many others. His Music videos were also very popular with all the various graphical effects and skillful choreography.

The contributions that Michael made to the world of music are endless, and his contributions inspired many artists. He inspired not only singers or musicians but also dancers as he had a reputation for his unique style of dancing. Michael Jackson remained active throughout his life and was thinking to publicly retire after 2010 when a final tour was complete. Unfortunately, his death occurred earlier. RIP Michael Jackson!

Stanton DeFreitas

The Development of African Music

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Africa is a very vast continent and therefore its regions have many distinct musical traditions. According to the distinction in places, the African Music can be divided into two parts: The North-African Music and the Sub-Saharan Music.

The Music of North Africa has been influenced by the music of Berber and Taureg music of the desert Nomads. The region’s music has been later developed in the same way as the Algerian Rai. The Music there failed to develop further as it became a part of the Maghreb of the Arab world.

The Music of Sub-Saharan part has music that has been influenced by the vast openness. The sub-Saharans use very quieter instruments than rest of the world as the cause. Besides the voice, the instruments used in the Sub-Saharan part are also unique. The vocals of the sub-Saharan master the yodel and melisma are two very tough vocal techniques.

African musical instruments involve a wide range of drums, rattles and the double bells. They also use melodic instruments such as the kora, which is a harp- stringed instrument. They also use types of wood-flutes.
The most prized instrument that you can notice amongst all African instruments is the hand piano, also called the Mbira.

The other part of the Africans is the way they move tribally. Tribes have their different ways of playing and the musical instruments are sometimes played to show the mood of a tribe to another.

The African music has many influences in the more modern and western music of today. The Blues, Jazz and Reggae music have all been influenced by the African Music styles and rhythms. This music were carried by the African slaves to parts of the world, then the music was used along with the other forms of music and the other genres like Jazz and Blues took birth.

Stanton DeFreitas

The Latest Sporting Event In Kenya – The Kenya Premier League Football Tournament

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The latest sports event in Kenya that has been capturing the news headlines is the Kenya Premier League football tournaments. The Kenya Premier League (KPL) has been growing in popularity during the past few years. People are becoming more interested in the KPL league as seen in the number of football fans who attend various league matches. While before you could only see a handful of spectators during football matches, nowadays spectators are increasing in numbers. The inclusion of KPL matches in DSTV’s Supersports channel has made the league very popular not only in Kenya but in other countries across the world as well.

During the last season, the KPL league matches were marked with a spirit of excitement as fans attended football matches in large numbers to support their teams. This was witnessed by the number of fans attracted by football teams like Gor Mahia, Sofapaka and Ulinzi Stars. The teams exhibited a very competitive spirit but Ulinzi Stars became the eventual winners after beating Gor Mahia to the top position in the league.

This season’s KPL matches are gathering momentum as competing teams enter the second leg of the Kenyan Premier League Top eight tournaments. The top team will get one million shillings prize money. The teams are therefore doing their level best to win this prize.

Last season’s League winners Ulinzi stars will be facing the first runners up, Gor Mahia at the Nyayo National Stadium on 18th of March 2011. The first match they played three weeks ago ended in a barren draw. Therefore, it is a must-win for either of the two teams to have hope of making it to the final of the competition. This is likely to attract more fans who are interested to see which team will win.

As momentum rises on Kenya’s latest sports event, Kenyan football fans are growing in numbers and are waiting to see who will be the eventual winner of this season’s Kenya Premier League.

Stanton DeFreitas

An Integral part of Music : Stringed Instruments

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The use in the world of music is so varied that it can be very often noticed or to put it more precisely – heard. String instruments have made their place in all forms and genres of music. No matter where in the world you are there are stringed instruments there. The Guitar- noticed in most part of the world now, The Guqin in China, The Sitar originating from India, then there’s the thumb piano in Africa. So as you see, the use of strings in musical instruments is various.

There are mainly three types of stringed instruments:

1. The Lutes: they have strings on a frame where the frame has a neck and a bout and the strings run on the neck as well.
2. The Harps: The strings in such instruments are inside the frame. They are struck from the outside.
3. The Zithers: The strings on a Zither are on the frame itself. But the frame is with only a single body segments.

The basic of making music from stringed instruments is vibrating the strings. There are many different techniques of vibrating the strings, and instruments can also be classified in that manner. To put together there are many different ways to vibrate strings upon which an instrument can be classified. There are three usual ways of making the strings vibrate – plucking, bowing and striking.

Plucking is the way instruments such as the guitar, hard, oud, lute, sitar and instruments of that sort are played. Plucking on the strings with a finger or a pick to make the strings vibrate.

Bowing is another method used to play instruments such as the violin, viola, cello, etc. There is a stick with a bow, many hairs are stretched between its ends, when the player bows the strings the strings vibrate to make sound.

Striking is the third most common method of playing the stringed instruments striking is like percussion, striking the strings to vibrate. Most instruments can be struck percussively to make its strings vibrate.

Now you have a good summary of stringed instruments, how they are played, their types and classifications and the various ways stringed instruments have had success in most genres of music around the world.

Stanton DeFreitas

World Music: The Conception

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World music can be defined as the music that is traditional in parts of the world. World music started as a genre around the 80’s. World music simply tends to be the music that is common in certain parts of the World. And the genre only represents the music that is unknown to someone, for example – if you live in the USA, the classical, local, or folk music from Ireland would be World Music to you. So coming to it simply, World music is the music that originates from any other part of the world other than your own.

World music is a broad topic to discuss on. And when we start to speak of the music we will naturally come to the topic of instruments and musicians.

Firstly, a discussion on the types of instruments used in world music. All around the world the musicians have been developing certain instruments throughout history and the use of instruments to create music has dated itself back almost as long as the cultural and social developments itself, many versions of these ancient instruments are still popular today, such as the Guqin from China. The types of instruments used are divided into these following groups: stringed, percussion, wind, plucked and tonged instruments, keyboards and electronic synthesizers.

Throughout the world people have invented many different types of instruments at different times, sometimes similar versions of the same instrument were created. Like the Bongo drum and the Tabla, which are percussion instruments that are of the similar kind. There are also thousands of different types of plucked instruments like the guitar, there was the Moorish guitar, the Latin guitar played around the 1200s.

So, the widespread use of instruments is clearly visible with many resembling another with a slight difference. This little variation that makes local music is the World music that is so different all together.

Make it a point to listen and learn about music from around the world and you will see how interesting such a journey will be.

Stanton DeFreitas

Taking a Bus Trip

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Travel by Bus is becoming more popular all over the world as demand of travelling by bus is increasing daily. In order to give the best services to bus users, the invention of the latest and modern bus models is necessary. The automakers are now manufacturing the best buses that will make any journey comfortable. There are features that are present in the modern buses that make them the best mode of transport to opt to any time you are travelling. Such features like airbags, safety belts and comfortable seats. Some buses have gone a mile ahead to entertain their customers by installing television in the buses. You can listen to music or even watch the news and know what is happening all over the globe in the comfort of these buses.

To those of you, who do not let a day pass without going through a newspaper, worry not if you have to use these buses. This is because newspapers are now available. You can therefore conclude that these buses are client friendly. They offer everything that can make your life comfortable anytime you use them. Unlike other means of transport, the use of these buses is very economical. In these days when the state of the economy is greatly affecting one’s lifestyle you should always opt for the best but relative cheap means of transport.

There are different types of bus services all over the world.

Some of the buses include:

• The inner city buses
• The inter-state or inter-provincial buses and
• The intercontinental buses

You should board the bus that will take you to your destination. Remember the distance matters a lot and it determines the charges. Many companies that deal with these buses services are situated in North America. The booking offices of these companies are in Canada or the USA. If you want to book tickets they are available online. You can as well visit other websites to compares the charges of these buses. Always go for the one that is charging reasonable charges and has the best services.

Bon Voyage!

Stanton B.J. DeFreitas

Travel to Miami Beach

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Travel to Miami Beach and leave to tell the story. This is one of the best beaches in the world. We have people travelling all the way from USA and other countries to visit this beach. There are very interesting and attracting features that makes your journey a memorable one. The waves of the warm and blue water attract many people. Some of you have never seen such great waves. It such a big surprise to the travelers that makes them spends more and more days enjoying the waves. The white sand is also another feature that makes you visit this beach.

This beach is among the top ten best beaches in the world. For it to be in this category it means it poses such great features and sites that are worthy your visit. If you enjoy swimming you can comfortable swim as you and enjoy the hot climate along the beach. For the sake of your accommodation, there are standard restaurants located near the beach. They offer high standard services. There are varieties of food thus giving you a chance to choose the ones for your choice. These restaurants are designed in such a way to offer accommodation to couples families or individuals. You should not worry if you visit the beach with your family, the rooms will be available and a very spacious.

As for security, Miami is known to be a harmonious town. You should not be afraid of anything when you visit the beach. The restaurants management also provides you with enough security while in the restaurants. The weather of Miami Beach is fantastic and inexpressible. The colorful lighting of this beach especially in the night is pulling the travelers in the beach. This beach always remains busy all seasons all over the year. You can travel Miami Beach to explore new experience and share with others.

By Stanton B.J. DeFreitas

Diabetes – The Silent Killer

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Diabetes is one of the most serious health problems all over the World. The rate of diabetes is increasing at an alarming rate in all the countries including America. About sixteen million people are suffering from diabetes. Out of which five million people are insulin dependent.

This disease can strike at any time irrespective of age and sex. Diabetes usually occurs after 40 years of age. However, it can happen in early ages of life. Children are also developing diabetes at early ages. The fatty people, both male and female, doing less physical work and eat rich foods are more susceptible to diabetes.

People become diabetic due to lack of insulin in the body or absence of appropriate working condition of insulin in side body. This happens mostly when body cannot convert glucose into needed energy. As a result, glucose and fats start to deposit in the bloodstream and patients start to experience different complications in their body. Insulin usually secretes from the pancreas of the body. There are mainly two types of diabetics; these are i) insulin dependent and ii) non-insulin dependent. Insulin dependent diabetes is more severe than the non-insulin dependent.

At the first glance diabetes can appear to be a disease of food habits and intake control. However if you take proper medication at the initial stage of your diabetic detection you can start to control it easily. If you miss the opportunity to control diabetes for too long, your other major body organs like the kidney, heart, lungs etc will start to work inefficiently. If the case reaches its peak toll, it might result in partial paralysis and major organ failure. It can also become a sole reason for other serious diseases like blindness, heart disease, kidney disease and so on. This could lead to the sudden demise of a person.

There is a common proverb about diabetics “Once you get diabetes it will remain with you until death”. But you can control diabetes and can lead a healthy life. This means you have to maintain a disciplined life. This includes taking little amount of food, doing regular physical work or physical exercise and taking medicine as per physician’s advice.

Physical exercise plays a vital role in controlling diabetes. Regular physical exercise will help you to burn out fat from the body. So, do physical exercise regularly to control diabetes and lead a healthy life.

Stanton B.J. DeFreitas