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Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Conga Drums Are Vital In Latin Music

By Benedict Perez

From Africa, the ancient musical instrument the conga wound its way to Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. It was originally just a solid hollowed-out log with animal skin fastened to it. In an assortment of sizes and shapes, this instrument produces different sounds.

These drums are available in four sizes. The biggest is the tumba and the smallest is the nino or boy in Spanish. Some players have all these drums in a set.

Nowadays, these drums are not just made from wood; many models are made from fiberglass. The modern versions of these drums have a skin that can be tuned. No matter what their physical designs are, these instruments are a fundamental part of the percussive section of Latin music of the Americas.

The large Bantu makuta drum may be the predecessor of the tumbadora, a Cuban hand drum that is barrel-shaped known as the conga. The tumbadoras come in three sizes: large bass tumbadora, medium tres por dos, and smaller quinto. The quinto is capable of doing the most complicated rhythm configurations, the two bigger drums do basic rhythm.

This drum is of African origin, but it must be noted that the tumbadora and the bongos would not have been made if not for Europes manufacturing know-how and materials, including wine barrels from Spain. Like all percussion instruments designed in this manner, notes are created with the heel of the hand and the fingers. The drum head when slapped produces a different tone.

Congueros are persons who play this drum. While rumberos are the people who dance as they follow the players trail. This instrument got its name in the 1950s when Latin music became popular in the USA.

New York jazz and Cuban son music joined together to become mambo, and later salsa. TV personality Desi Arnaz, a Latin musician, was instrumental in popularizing these drums. The word conga comes from the rhythm la conga which was used in Cubas carnaval or carnival. - 18780

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The Advantages Of An All In One Home Theater To Watch Downloaded Movies

By Ashley R Richardson

Although technology is an remarkable thing when it comes to television and the enjoyment of movies at home, not every person understands what is involved in purchasing all a person wishes to take pleasure in a home theater system.

Avoiding the theaters saves time and energy, as it is so pleasant to have the experience right at home. For the folks who want a great system but don't know where to start, they can now get an all in one home theater package. An all in one home theater package has all of the workings that are essential to turn your family room into your own private theater.

All in one home theater systems are intended to help the beginner create a truly rewarding movie experience all at a reasonable cost. These all in one home theater systems are helping more and more people convert the family rooms in their home into mini-sized and private movie theaters.

One of the greatest things about purchasing an all in one home theater system is the fact that it is so practically priced. Many packages start as low as $200.00 but the sophisticated systems can cost well into the thousands of dollars depending on a person's wishes and wants.

All in one home theater systems are sold at most electronic retail stores as well as nationwide discount chains. A basic all in one home theater will usually have speakers, a surround sound receiver and even a DVD/CD player that comes in a compact parcel.

An all in one home theater package is intended to enhance the living space and not to overpower or take over the room. Most of the apparatus are small and they do not take up much space.

When a individual buys an all in one home theater system, they will find that all of the components are extremely easy to install and even come with their own connection cables. An all in one home theater has very crucial requirements of a Television with AV inputs and audio outputs as well as a DVD player. Most all in one home theater systems will come with its own remote control so that the entire system can be controlled from one central place without several remotes.

An all in one home theater system is the ideal supplement to any house and it is a great way to watch all of the movies that you can now download straight to your computer and then transfer to a DVD. - 18780

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Write For The World

By Robert M Petrie

The great thing about writing is that there are only so many different words and we all have access to them. The different way these words are put together is what makes for some brilliant pieces of work and we all have our own chance to arrange the words how we want, to produce our own work.

If we produce our own work then how do we know if it is worthy of the public to read. Up until recently it has always been down to some body within a Company of Publishers that decides whether you work will see the light of day. This is what can be so soul destroying for anyone that writes.

The many writers around the world are no longer held back by the so called experts who never consider what the public may like and decide what work to Publish based on their own opinions.

Those Stories or Books may have been loved by millions yet they have never had the chance to get out there into the world.

Now of course, Thanks to the Internet we can write what ever we want to and make it available to the world without having to go through anyone for approval. I for one think this is great and it means that there is a lot more material available for people to enjoy.

To be a writer is an fantastic feeling, to express your views and make up your own world within a book. You can decide how your story develops, you make the decisions. I write and I enjoy it, my work is available for anyone who wants to read it. that is not to say it will be your kind of thing, but there may be some of you that enjoy it.

Bypass the Publishers and get your own work out there for the people of this world to read. We have the stepping stone before us in the form of the Internet. - 18780

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Your Guide To Convert MP3 Format To CD Format

By Susan Reynolds

Wav files when compressed result into MP3 files. The resulting MP3 files have many advantages such as light weight and portability. You can easily store more than a hundred MP3 files in one single CD ROM. The music quality also remains as good as the wav files. With so many advantages, you would not want to convert the MP3 back to CD format. However, it is the inability of many CD players that may get you to do the conversion. A number of car CD payers are known to not recognize the MP3 format.

MP3 files are actually the data files that can be played on a computer with utmost ease. Converting the MP3 files back into the CD format would require you to have a decoder. The decoding utility makes it possible to convert the MP3 files into the wav files.

In case you have a CD writer setup in your PC, your job is simplified. With CD writers comes a software utility to burn the CD. In case you do not find the utility on your PC, you may browse the CD that came along with your CD writer and install the utility. The utility may be named something similar to a "CD burner?. Every different utility would have an interface of its own. However, the following steps are common to most software utilities.

Any utility would give you a few options to start with, namely data, audio, photo and video, backup, favorites, and extras. You need to click on the option that says "Audio?, "Burn a music CD? or something similar to it. A click on this option would open up another dialog box that has an empty panel and probably a button that says "Add?, "Browse? etc. Once you have located one such button, you may click it, and the same would let you browse the MP3 files for conversion. Every file added to the panel will convert the file into the CD format. An indicator will keep you informed about the remaining space on the CD. The indicator could be a progress bar or something else.

Once all the files are added, you may click on the "Next? button. The window that you see next, may ask you to fill up a few details such as the CD title, artist name and so on. You would also find a "Next? or a "Burn? button on the same window. Click the button and the burn process should trigger. After the burn process has completed, you will be informed by an alert box.

With the above sequence of steps, you can convert the MP3 files into CD format. If you do not have a CD writer or the required software, you may download and install a decoder from the internet. The decoding software you install would also function more or less on the same pattern. - 18780

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How To Learn Guitar By Yourself

By Jesscee Clark

I have done some research on this, as it was where I was, and I found a connection between people who need to "play fast" and people who already play but just need to play "faster". The link is sort of straightforward, yet awfully surpassing.

Through what I learned, I believe there are two parallels:

1. Study the techniques involved which will make your overall playing faster, and

2. Re-focus your practice sessions onto the basic ideas that newbies learn, which will allow you to become a quicker player.

There is a helpful acronym that you may use to help target your practice and enhance your playing : M.O.S.T.

M for Memorization

You can have the world's best "ear", but if you don't memory:

a) the fret board notes and b) the major and scales,

It won't matter how good your ear is. The most exasperating thing about learning a new song is finding that chord or note that you know you've learned but just can't remember! It is funny that song writers don't give you time in the middle of their pieces to find that A minor chord, or work out if a Db minor chord works in a song in B, and then if it does, where it is on the fret board!

If you're a beginner - LEARN THE FRETBOARD and memorize it!

If you are more advanced - STUDY THE FRETBOARD and memorize it! You might think you already know it, but are you jump from one note or chord to any other straight away without contemplating it?

O for Observation

Human beings work best when all of the senses work in unison. Try plugging your ears with cotton wool and then attempting to play a song. Not superb are you.

Your senses of sight, sound and touch all interweave to play guitar. When you play a song very well, you can even taste the applause ( just teasing ). The more you play, the more your fingers put themselves in the right places, your muscles retain a memory of those positions.

You begin to see patterns and relationships on the fret board. You hear yourself play the proper notes and chords and that gives you confidence, which is vital in fast playing.

Memorization is the foundation for observation, and observation is the key to coaching your mind and hands to work in concert instantly.

S for strength and T for training

This is not weight training! It is really dexterity training (but MODT is not a word ). However, being dexterous means you have strength in your fingers in order to play the chords you must play when you want to play them.

Beginners regularly struggle to hold down chords and play scales with all 4 fingers. Consistent and correct practice is the sole way to build strength, muscle memory and finger dexterity. - 18780

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