Category: Music

The variety of artists who have recorded “Blue Moon” reads like music history: Django Reinhardt, Mel Torme, Billie Holiday, Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, Elvis Presley, Julie London, Sam Cooke, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, The Supremes, Bob Dylan and even My Morning Jacket.

But the most famous version, recorded by Pittsburgh-based doo-wop group the Marcels, came as a shock in 1961, when the song was known as a slow, lilting ballad. Composer Richard Rogers hated it so much that he submitted full-page advertisements urging people not to buy it.

Despite the negative reaction from the musical elite, it was a massive hit. The Marcels’ version, which immortalized the phrase, “bomp-baba-bomp-ba-bomp-ba-bomp-bomp,” became an international #1 hit, and is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.

The controversy that surrounded the Marcels’ “Blue Moon” only served to add another element to its already unusual history, which began in 1935 with composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist Lorenz Hart.

Rodgers and Hart also wrote such songs as “My Romance”, “My Funny Valentine”, “The Lady Is A Tramp”, “Bewitched, Bothered And Bewildered” and many more.

The music for “Blue Moon” was originally written for actress Jean Harlow to sing in the 1934 MGM film Hollywood Party, as “Prayer (Oh Lord, Make Me a Movie Star)”. It was never used.

Hart would go on to revise the tune with different lyrics (“The Bad In Every Man”, “It’s Just That Kind Of Play”) but neither one became a hit.

MGM’s head of publishing, Jack Robbins, told Hart that it needed a punchy title and romantic lyrics. Hart was reluctant to do so, but in the end, a classic was born.

Based on the idiom “once in a blue moon,” referring to something that rarely happens, the result was: “Blue moon, you saw me standing alone, without a dream in my heart, without a love of my own.” The rest became history.

You as an artist have multiple avenues to go when you’re looking to buy beats. You can go on Soundclick.com and look at the chart’s Top 10. You can search on Google and see what comes up. You can go to Rocbattle.com and check out the top producers and see some battles. You can even go to MyFlashStore.com to look for beats. But there is something you will soon learn about all these different sites. Either they are priced really cheap or they are up for free download ready to use with one simple tag at the beginning.

Why purchase or lease instrumentals when you can just get them for free?

That’s a perfectly legitimate question to ask yourself as a rapper or singer. Besides most of these producers are doing the exact same beat whether it’s a knock-off Lex Luger dirty south joint or knock-off Drake type beat. Add that with the quality of their production and the question becomes why invest in these? First of all let me explain that you are not looking in the right places for the gems. If you want dope quality and originality you might have to dig a little deeper. If you’re looking to establish that all important artist and producer relationship you’re going to have to look even harder for that.

With all that terrible news out of the way let me stress the good news!

The good news is that there are producers out there that love to work with you artists. They have their own style and want to be known for something more than a knock-off producer. They respect and cherish the rappers and singers that come and do business with them. They don’t even really care about the business, it’s about making dope music!

Why should you buy from these producers? The answer is simple, when you lease a beat or buy It exclusively you are not just buying something. This is not comparable to buying the latest Jordans or going to the club. These beats can change your life! It’s an investment not just in the producer making them but more importantly you! You are the ones that complete the canvas based on the producer’s foundation. The finished track could be the one that catches on and blows you up to heights you never dreamed!

Think about this for a minute; if you were a mechanic working on cars you need to invest in a garage, tools, an office, etc. Without these things you cannot run your business! Same thing with a plumber or any other profession. You can’t just cheap skate your way to success. People who do that tend to never last long because they never truly believe in themselves. Artists that truly believe in themselves have no problem when they buy beats because they know what it represents.

Your car could be a great place to enjoy your favorite music, however, many of you still tolerate questionable sound quality that you would never tolerate with your theater system at home. There are also some who attempt to assemble sophisticated sound systems in their vehicles, but a single installation mistake can keep the sound system from reaching its full potential.

In this post, I have gathered some tips on how to get the best sound quality in your car. These tips could be used for simple factory system upgrades to more advanced setups. I hope that after you have read this, you will never have to endure bad sound quality in your car again. It might surprise you that even the simplest enhancements to your car’s sound system can produce obvious results.

1. Consider replacing your car’s speakers

While car sound systems have significantly improved over the years, some manufacturers still use relatively cheaper speakers and amps that do not offer the best sound quality. You might hear noticeable improvements by assembling a better set of aftermarket speakers. You will probably even get a tighter bass and enhanced clarity.

2. Download music files with higher quality

Downloading higher quality music files does not help you save some memory space in your music player. However, be wary not to compress your music files too much, as you will lose high and low-frequency information that makes a song interesting. In a car sound system, you will be able to tell if something is definitely missing.

It is a well-known fact that the higher the bitrate, the better the sound. So, if you are playing music through an iPod, or your smartphone, you need to use a little compression, but don’t use too much. Another option is to stream music, in which you can explore the settings to improve the sound quality. You might want to try getting an Android auto head unit that offers a wide range of music apps.

3. Bypass the built-in digital-to-analog converter

Your music player’s DAC does not deliver the same performance as your car’s DAC, in which case an advanced converter would normally do the job right. You’re lucky if you can connect your music player to a stereo via USB because you can successfully bypass your device’s DAC. But you will need to confirm if the Hands-on Research information is available in the stereo unit.

4. Get a car amplifier

A separate amplifier is able to provide cleaner power than your built-in car stereo and you will notice the big difference in terms of sound quality. It does not matter what genre you listen to, whether it is pop, rock, or even classical music. Getting an amplifier for your car’s audio system is essential in getting a better sound in your car.

It is also advisable that you first know the difference between the volume level and the amp level. You might find yourself getting annoyed with a nasty and distorted sound when you set the amp level way too high.

5. Add an equalizer

You are going to need an equalizer to get rid of treble, midrange, and bass peaks. It is either built into the receiver or it can be mounted on a processor in your dashboard, or near the amplifiers. An equalizer will offer multiple points for frequency response adjustments and it can kill peaks and improve bass response.

6. Buy or build a sub box

Another great way to improve your car’s audio system is to get a subwoofer. If you’re building one, just make sure that it has been properly sealed because air leaks can significantly hurt the sub’s overall performance. To add, ensure that you build a box that has the correct interior volume for the subwoofer you have chosen.

Buying a subwoofer, on the other hand, enables you to bring the bottom octave of your favorite music back into balance. With this addition, you will be able to hear your favorite tunes in a new light. It will also aid in helping your full-range speaker as well. If you are searching for the best car subwoofers available now, you might want to check BestListForCar

Conclusion

Now that you have learned some new tips on how to better improve the sound quality of your car’s audio system, it is now up to you to make it happen. If you follow these tips, you will never have to put up with your stereo’s bad sound quality ever again. After all, listening to your favorite music while you are driving takes the experience to a whole new level.

Canine Freestyle also known as doggie dancing began developing recently in the early 1990s when several dog trainers from around the world started practicing their obedience routines and heelwork to music. With music playing in the background, it was natural to want to do the doggie boogie and start choreographing their movements to fit the music.

At first it was simply heelwork to music in which the dog and handler move as one with the dog close to the handler’s side as they walk around the ring performing some basic obedience moves. Mary Rae from England, and Carolyn Scott from the United States were two of the first more famous dog trainers to start performing their heelwork to music. Today heelwork to music is still a category of doggie dancing.

From there people started getting more creative and began borrowing ideas and movements from dressage. Movement became more free and creative. Handlers began moving with their dogs in lateral, diagonal, circular and backward movements. Trainers opened up their heelwork to include five positions, the right heel, left heel, front heel, follow position and middle heel where the dog is between your legs. People found canine freestyle to be a liberating space where anything could go unlike the strict obedience, rally and agility areas where certain moves were expected at certain spots at certain times. Canine Freestyle training develops a more balanced, agile and happy dog than other dog sports. In fact having a happy dog that has a good connection with the handler is one of the requirements and judging aspects of the sport. Doggie Dancing is the sport where tails wag.

Agility movements were introduced as people developed a wide variety of creative jumping tricks such as jumping through your arms, jumping over your back, rebounding off your waist. People also started having their dogs weave through their legs. First forward then backward, while crawling and even doing figure eights. Weaving became a foundational move in canine freestyle.

Carolyn Scott and Rookie, her golden retriever, awed the audiences with their very musical style of dancing together. Their most popular routine being performed to Grease. Then other trainers started telling stories and being comedic or dramatic with their routines. Attila and Fly will always be remembered for their Charlie Chapman routine and their Gladiator routine. Both are quite classics.

Canine Freestyle is such an awesome sport because any dog of any age any breed and even handicapped dogs can participate and compete. This sport allows dog and handlers to choose movements and songs that suit them with no strict requirements of what you must do. You can easily train in the comfort of your own home, yard or park. No special equipment is needed. There is no special need to train in a class. Although training with others always helps with overcoming distractions and helping you to develop ideas better. People of all ages can enjoy this sport from young children to elderly people in wheelchairs, or walkers. It is great exercise for the dog and handler but easy to do with whatever physical limitations one might have.

Whether you are training to dance for your friends and show off all the cool tricks and moves you know, or volunteering at a nursing home or entertaining people at a park. You can take your show to the road and compete in a variety of different competitive organizations or just enjoy performing your dance routines. Doggie Dancing is the fun dog sport to train.

Rock music is a well accepted form of music, which is a combination of drums, guitars and bass. This music uses keyboard instruments like piano, synthesisers, organ, etc. There is a band of musicians who focus only on rock music and they are called rock band. Rock music is becoming increasingly popular throughout the world. Hard rock is specially liked by the western youth.

Today, people are crazy about music. They want to listen their favourite music whenever they have leisure time. Music is created to give you pleasure. The fascinating world of music lets you enjoy music in one form or other. There are various types of music these days: pop music, folk music, jazz music and rock music. All these type of music are enjoyable to hear. The songs take you through different emotions. Rock music is loud and fast than anything you’ve heard before.

In 1960, British and American rock bands became popular. Bands like Alice Cooper, Judas Priest, Queen, Black Sabbath, etc. are some of the famous bands. In 1980,the genre that was quite popular was glam metal. The various artists like Twisted Sister, Guns N’ Roses, Bon Jovi, Queen, Kiss, Sweet and the New York Dolls were the artists of 1980’s.

This type of music became popular in the 1950s in America and Europe. This famous music is mainly based on older musical styles like the rhythm and blues music originated by African American performers such as Chuck Berry and Little Richard. The music has a heavy focus on guitar, drums and powerful vocals. The most popular artist of rock music in the early days was Elvis Presley. His dance and powerful music can surprise anyone. “The Beatles” became successful in the 1960’s. This group was inspired by Blues and rhythm.

Rock music is evolving itself and coming in a variety of styles. Other music forms like heavy metal are also a form of rock music. Some of the heavy metal bands include Metallic and Megadeth. Rock music comes in a wide range of forms like soft pop and heavy metal. This “Rock ‘N Roll” type of music became popular in 1950s and 1960s. This new sound came from many musical styles.

In the initial days, this music was admired only in small clubs and on radio. Afterwards, it became famous with the programs like American Bandstand. Then, people could view their favourite bands on the television. Many people criticised about this type of music as they did not like the loud and fast lyrics.

Rock music began with jazz music, blues tunes, etc. It also featured electrically amplified guitars, drummers and harmonicas. By the mid-1950, performers like Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Joe Turner became famous with the white audiences. Radio disc jockeys named this music rock ‘n roll.

One of the best musical album, “Sticks and Stones” has everything from fun to catchy guitar riffs. It covers a range of emotions and depicts the depth of their talent. The album grabs attention with the song “Cathedral.”. The catchy rock beat combines with a variety of instrumentation. The title track “Sticks and Stones” is also worth listening. The hard to resist lyrics would make your day. The instrumental track “ZOZ” is a classic jam track with brilliant double guitar interface. Another noteworthy feature of this track is the striking beats. Another beautiful track is “All Roads Lead to Home”. This track shows the fast and catchy style of the band. Lastly, there is a song that most college students can appreciate. “Raise a Glass”, an old Irish folk song has people singing along in the background. The album is a mixture of a broad variety of the music in the history of rock. This rock album is definitely worth listening and deserves a space on your iPod.

You can find a variety of rock music videos online and find the top tracks in the rock music charts. Don’t wait, just browse the internet to get your favourite rock

When children are young, it is easy to control the type of music they listen to. Mostly, children listen to what the parents do. Parents may choose to listen to music written specifically for kids, but at other times, the family may listen to whoever set the stereo station last.

The question becomes: Is Rock music safe for children?

Nearly all the best-selling albums of all time are Rock. But is this ‘rebellious’ genre of music having a positive or negative impact on children and society?

As with just about every subject, there are many pros and cons.

The fact is: Rock is a form of art that promotes creativity and expression. Many songs have very poetic lyrics and send off great messages to people. A big message sent through music these days is world change.

In 1985, Live Aid was put on by many rock musicians from Black Sabbath to U2. It raised over 232 million dollars for famine relief in Ethiopia and was inspired by the song ‘The Tide is Turning’ by Roger Waters of Pink Floyd.

Even today, many bands put on benefits for a plethora of causes. Several bands have toured in Iraq to perform for our troops overseas. Also many rock benefit concerts were put on to raise money after the 9-11 attacks, Hurricane Katrina, and the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake.

Bands also promote Christianity in their music, especially in today’s day and age. Popular bands, such as P.O.D., Flyleaf, Pillar, and many others, widely and openly promote religion through their music. And other bands, such as Breaking Benjamin and Chevelle, subtly promote it through their poetic and abstract lyrics.

Looking at their generosity of both their talent and money, it is clear that many Artists have chosen to spread joy. Are there other benefits?

Music in general, as well as Rock, can inspire children to pick up a healthy hobby of playing music. Learning an instrument helps a child find a form of creativity they can express in an unimaginable amount of ways. Even if they aren’t going to become the next icon, enjoying music can often grant the listener or player an outlet for emotional issues or traumatic events as life progresses.

However, much like all good things, inevitably, you will also find the bad.

Many artists express their feelings through morbid and perverse metaphors and talk about dark taboo subjects. These artists have a breathtaking talent that people should be open to, but they are simply not for children.

Parental advisories can’t always be trusted. For instance, the songs ‘Digital Bath’ and ‘Lhabia’ by Deftones talks about a daydream of grisly melancholic acts, acted out of boredom. This album has no parental advisory on it at all. Yet, that same band has songs against drugs, racism, and other positive influences, but is also not for young children.

As much as the R.I.A.A. tries to help, they are not the parents of America.

As our children start to discovery their own taste in music, parents need to monitor the content and words. Maybe your child has found a singer or band that they really like. You have listened to the song and approve. Make sure when you buy that CD though, you carefully listen to all of the songs or simply purchase the one song that you approved.

Rock seems to be the most controversial but it also has many positive influences that should be taken in to consideration. There are some negatives that come with it, and those should be filtered out by the parents.

As a family and society, we do not want record companies, or anyone else for that matter, to decide what we feel is appropriate or not. We enjoy the privilege of making that decision. We do appreciate their input, hence the labeling. But, when it comes down to it, we are the parents; we will take responsibility for what our children are plugging in their ears.

So, the next time your child wants to listen to a song they like, instead of immediately refusing, listen with both ears. You will learn much of what your child likes and dislikes. You will gain insight into the thinking of your child. You will also learn what to absolutely deny your child.

Jazz is an American art form whose roots date back to the mid-19th century slave songs and chants. The early 20th century saw the art form blossom as instrumental music in the southern United States, mainly along the Mississippi river and specifically New Orleans, Louisiana.

Early instrumental jazz combos of New Orleans varied in instrumentation.  More often than not, these early jazz groups generally consisted of trumpet, clarinet, trombone, tuba and drums.  This instrumentation became what is known as the “dixieland” combo, making its way up the Mississippi river to Chicago where the music became popularized by jazz greats such as Louis Armstrong.

Dixieland combos can be thought of as groups that play “polyphonic” improvisational music.  Each instrument is independent of every other instrument, with each player creating separate musical improvisations based on known melodies, or “tunes” of the day.

The players of these early jazz combos each had a separate role within the group.  The trumpet player was depended upon to state the melody of the song, while the clarinet would improvise complex lines above him.  The trombonists role was to improvise or “fill in” the middle register with lines and notes that were essential to the chord changes of the song itself.  The tuba player (or bass player) generally laid down root notes (and 5ths) of each chord on beats 1 and 3 of each measure.  The tuba served as the harmonic anchor for the group. Lastly, it was the drummers role to keep everyone together by keeping a steady beat throughout the entirety of the song.

As jazz music developed throughout the 1940s and 1950s, jazz combo instrumentation began to become more standardized.  The jazz “quintet” and “sextet” became very popular during this time.  The quintet consisted of trumpet and alto (or tenor) sax as the main melodic instruments while the rhythm section (piano, bass and drums) took care of rhythm and harmony. 

The sextet added a trombone to form what essentially was a three horn front line, with rhythm section accompaniment.  The extra melodic instrument of the sextet made it possible for the horns to add more harmonic depth to the sound of the group.  Each instrument had a role not only as a melodic voice, but also as an integral component of the harmonic structure as well.

Modern jazz combos consist of a variety of instrumentation – 4, 5 horn combos are common place.  As the group grows in size however, the name “combo” is replaced by “band” or “little big band”. 

The jazz combo has provided a musical and creative outlet for countless musicians over the last 100 years.  The jazz combo continues to provide jazz musicians the opportunity to work together to make music not only as a group but also to develop their own voice as individual jazz improvisers.  It is, and probably always will be, the perfect vehicle for learning the art of jazz improvisation.

1. Intro

Here I will show you how to mix a dubstep track in 12 easy steps.Obviously mixing is subjective, but following this guide will keep you your track on the right track. The thing about using samples and synth’s is that no matter how well prepared the sound is, even if you sample it from a commercial dubstep record, as soon as you add it in with a new mix it will lose most of its good features. This is because fat sounds, in fat tracks sound that way they do due to the relationship they have with each other, and they way they were processed (compressed etc) with each other – Not necessarily because they are individually amazing sounds. This is why learning how to mix dubstep correctly will make the difference between getting to the top, and staying at home in your bedroom. The best tip I can give is, listen, then listen some more. The devil is in the detail.

Learning these tips should take around 5-10 mix downs to grasp the basics, I can usually mix down a track to release quality in 3 hours after doing about 100 mix downs. These tips are very effective.

2. Dubstep Frequency Range

These frequency ranges should help you add or subtract the correct EQ, beware, adding a certain element to all sounds will give poor results eg, bite. You can use the frequency map included to great effect.

Dubstep Sub bass: 20hz – 100hz. Prominent frequency 30hz.

Top bass: 44khz – 20khz – Prominent frequency 220hz

808 Kick Drum: 20 Hz – 4khz – Prominent frequency 60hz.

909 Kick Drum: 40hz – 7.5khz – Prominent frequency 110hz

D&B Kick Drum: 120hz – 7.5khz – Prominent frequency 150hz

Crash: 500hz – 20khz Prominent Frequency 2khz

Congas: 120hz – 7.5khz – Prominent frequency 500hz

Claps: 2khz – 16khz – Prominent frequency 6khz

Pads: 110hz – 20khz – Prominent frequency 800hz

Rising FX: 20hz – 20khz – Prominent frequency 1.7khz

Stabs: 500hz – 10khz – Prominent Frequency 3.5khz

You can use the above to give each part to your dubstep mix its own space. This enables the listener to hear each sound clearly with out it sounding muddled. Use careful EQ to create a space for each part, you can either do this by cutting the frequencies of other instruments around the sound you are trying to give space to (the most effective way) or boosting the frequencies of the part in question. Using frequency cuts is best because the human brain will deem a sound more natural sounding by using a cut. This is because of what happens in the real world, sounds are absorbed by different materials (like wood, and concrete) resulting in certain frequencies being removed. Therefore when boosting EQ the brain will not be used to it as it, were as a cut will sound perfectly expectable. A good trick if you don’t want to boost a frequency, is to cut all the other frequencies apart from the one you want to boost and then turn the whole volume up. As a rule a 1DB boost is equivalent to a 3DB cut.

Here are the frequency ranges and there associated attributes, boosting / cutting EQ to a part in these frequencies will enhance or diminish the attribute:

Weight: – 20hz – 150hz

Warmth: 220hz – 380hz

Muddiness: 250hz – 400hz

Knock / Punch: 600hz – 1khz

Definition / Bite: 1khz – 2khz

Clarity: 4khz – 7.5khz

Air and Sparkle: 7.5khz – 20khz

If the above is not familiar with you take a few days to learn this by putting it in to practice. Get a dubstep mix you have done, but are not happy with and try and get every thing separated so each part can be heard clearly.

Power Tip: Don’t go mad with EQ, use volume first, then if you have to use a EQ, cut of around 2/6db, if finally you need to boost never go over 6db of boost until you have done at least 100 mix downs and are very confident with EQ.

The main reason people go wrong is they see EQ as a ‘sonic sculpting’ tool. Which it can be, but in small amounts. Try and avoid this to start with. If you ever get a chance to see a professional engineers desk after a mix down, you will see there are lots of subtle cuts, and a few well placed boosts. Not drastic, huge boosts everywhere, like most people do when they start out, including me and probably everyone, ever! Always remember that if you cut one end of the frequency spectrum comparatively you are boosting the other end.

Power Tip: As a rule use gentle wide boosts to bring subtle attention to a part, and narrow surgical cuts to remove problem frequencies.

Music Success in Nine Weeks by Ariel Hyatt has just been released in its second edition. Many of you indie musicians have wondered if the book is worth the purchase, and I’d like to break down the chapters in order to help you make an informed decision. Ariel Hyatt is the founder of Ariel Publicity & Cyber PR, a New York-based digital firm that connects artists, authors and filmmakers to blogs, podcasts, Internet radio stations and social media sites. Over the past 13 years, her firm has represented over 1,400 musicians in all musical genres.

In my own career as an indie musician, I have had to be mindful of my business, not only my music. To be an indie musician requires an entrepreneurial mindset, and I read a lot of books on the music business, and being an entrepreneur that have helped me reach my goals.

As a client of Ariel’s, and an owner of the first edition of the first edition of Music Success in Nine Weeks, I was eager to learn how the editions differed from each other. While the concept of breaking tasks into nine weeks is the same, it is obvious to me that the second edition has even more meat than the first.

Week 1: Getting Mentally Prepared

The first week of Ariel’s Music Success in Nine Weeks program is all about setting goals, and getting into the right mindset. The music business is not for the lazy or weak-hearted, and you need to be prepared for the long haul. This means getting into the correct mindset for success, and creating realistic goals that you can work towards.

Week 2: Your Perfect Pitch

The second week teaches you how to create an elevator pitch: a description of your music that you can easily repeat in the time it takes to travel one floor of an elevator to another. The best music pitch is memorable, and one that you are happy to use again and again.

Week 3: Optimizing Your Website

The purpose of your music website is not just to hold music clips and display your next gig date. Your website needs to pull potential fans in, and enable them to join your cause. Ariel offers practical suggestions for how your website can be used to build your fanbase.

Week 4: Social Media For Musicians

With social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter, the potential to build a global audience via the internet has grown exponentially. Week 4 of Music Success in Nine Weeks defines “Web 2.0”, and shows you which social media sites a musician needs to create an online presence.

Week 5: Blogging

Back in the day, a static website containing your music, photo, and bio was enough. Having a blog on your website enables you to show your personality, connect with other bloggers, and also be found by search engines. Week 5 explains the importance of having a website that updates frequently so that your fans can return to your site, and connect with you.

Week 6: Connecting with Fans Via Your Newsletter List and Conducting Surveys

Your band newsletter can be used for more than blasting out the dates for your next gig. Your newsletter should be used to build and grow your relationship with your fans. Once your have their trust, you can also reach out to them to ask them what they want from you. It’s a lot better than guessing.

Week 7: How to Build Your Mailing List

Once you have an email list, it’s also important to add more names each month. Week 7 shows you tips and tricks to grow a healthy fan email list.

Week 8: Real Live Networking Tips

In addition to having an online presence, it is still important for musicians to meet people offline, and make connections with them. Week 8 teaches you how to make an authentic connection in person.

Week 9: Creating a Continuum Program

As enlightening as the rest of this book is, in my opinion, Week 9 of Music Success in Nine Weeks is the high point of the book. Once you build your fanbase, and have permission to contact them regularly, it’s time to get your fans to purchase merch from you on a regular basis. Whether it’s CDs, t-shirts, or any other kind of band swag, creating a product line will make the difference in your band’s bottom line.

Another bonus of purchasing Ariel Hyatt’s Music Success in Nine Weeks is that you get free lifetime membership to Ariel’s closed online Mastermind Forum. In the forum you meet other musicians like yourself who are working the program, and you have the added support of Ariel and her staff. In the spirit of full disclosure, I am also one of her forum moderators, but as a musician myself, I receive as much as I give, and I recommend Ariel Hyatt’s book and services to any musician who wants to take their career to the next level.

Music quartets remind us of days gone by and the genre of romantic songs that touched our hearts. Four-part vocal harmony has been a staple of the music scene since ancient times, which historically featured small madrigal groups and a’capella choruses.

By mid 19th century men’s, women’s and mixed chorale assemblies vocalized in the form of barbershop quartets, gospel choirs and popular music ensembles. The commonality of these diverse musical expressions was their presentation with or sans instrumental accompaniment.

During the 1940’s and 1950’s a close vocal harmony resurgence revived popular music, inspiring scores of melodic singing groups including the renowned Ames Brothers, Mills Brothers, Williams Brothers, Andrews Sisters, McGuire Sisters, Four Lads and Platters. This era’s harmonizing success utilized the classic format of selecting easily singable and recognizable melodies thus conspiring to inspire an unforgettable blend of diverse vocal parts.

Traditionally, larger family groups enjoy a harmonizing advantage due to possessing similar vocal timbres within various ranges. Everything from church choirs to school performances and street corner crooning encouraged what began as family entertainment gatherings before — and in spite of — TV’s attention consuming invention.

Early male quartets coveted a dominant moving baseline — evident in Elvis’ Jordanaires Singers–immortalized within Johnny Cash’s hit record “Daddy Sang Base.” Modern pop music harmonics emphasized a closer, tighter structure highlighting dissonance topped with elegant high notes.

The historical invention of close harmony, its traditional audience appreciation and progressive refinement through diverse music eras has reached its zenith within popular modern reprises.