We face stress in our daily life due to a variety of reasons like death, job loss or work-related tension, and its effect is sometimes devastating. The physical impact of stress can result in back or abdominal pain, heart attacks, diarrhea, blood pressure, hypertension, depression, ulcers, paralytic attacks, etc. Stress plays a major role in improving or decreasing productivity and accordin... read more »

As a special area teacher, music teachers give instruction to every student in the school. It's often challenging to learn so many names, to give so many grades, and to teach so many classes, each with their own dynamic. The following suggestions for classroom management are especially applicable to music teachers, but may prove useful to any special area teacher. Establish Environment G... read more »

For years, I have heard that music has the ability to heal and nurture. Although it sounds like a good gesture, the truth is that I never really believed it. Although many older adults use the saying that "music will set you free", until recently, I had never taken the the time to give the idea much thought. Even after thinking about it, the idea that music had so mucd power was too far... read more »

iPods are great until your computer crashes and you lose your entire library of songs; then you've got what seems like a great backup on your iPod...except if you use iTunes, you can only put music and videos on it; you can't transfer anything from your iPod to your computer. Just like with most other computer-related issues, though, there's a way to do it--more than one, in fa... read more »

Today's music industry is a loud and crowed machine, with performers of all levels screaming just to get a mediocre following. We are past the bygone era of MTV, in a time where even the "video star" is dead and buried. What does it take to get your music the recognition it deserves? How do you rise above playing shows to empty rooms? I've noticed that many articles don'... read more »

STARTER GUITAR CHORDS: G, D, C The trick to teaching guitar is systematic repetition. Using the right fingers on the right strings is very important. Here are a few chords and tips to get you started. TIP #1: Getting off on the right . . . hand. The absolute first thing one preparing to play guitar should do is identify their dominant hand. Are you right handed or left han... read more »

Despite what follows, Michael Jackson was just a man. A great entertainer, an even greater philanthropist, and I'm sure a good son, brother and father. He is just a human being though, and not meant in any way to be worshiped. When I was younger we used to rush to the store to purchase 45 singles because we usually couldn't afford the entire album. For the younger among us, the most ... read more »

When I was a little girl I wanted to learn to sing like my two favorite artists: Billie Holiday and Etta James. Both have a great rasp in their voice. I had already started developing my own style by singing along and mimicking the sounds that I heard. A quick vibrato, a gritty belt, a sliding long note. I asked my mother for voice lessons and she brought me to a very nice older woman who qui... read more »

Here are a few thing you need to know about your voice: 1. You have vocal chords which vibrate to create sound. 2. These vocal chords can not vibrate on their own. They vibrate when air from the lungs passes over them. Without air you could not make a sound. 3. The highness or lowness of a sound is determined by the speed of the vibrations the vocal chords make. 4. To make a higher sound yo... read more »

Being a Los Angeles vocal coach I meet a lot, lot, lot of singers on a weekly basis. I have recently been inspired to emphasize to my students the importance of a basic education on the terminology of singing. I have found that many singers coming to me for lessons can not correctly define basic words. So here is a list of definitions: sound- vibrations that travel through the air (or another ... read more »