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July, 2007:

Trouble-free Magic

Jul 21st, 2007
by Karaoke Lover.
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When it comes to singing and having fun, Magic Sing is the most reliable tool there is in the market. The best thing about it is it’s uncomplicated. No fuss, no hassles, just pure fun fun fun!

For one, there are no bulky accessories with Magic Sing. It’s easy to carry, easy to store. Another thing is that Magic Sing has minimal requirements. Magic-Sing is not a complex device. All you have to do is plug up the cables to their proper audio and video docks on the television. You also don’t need to clutch bulky speakers together with this wireless karaoke microphone. The wireless mic makes use of the television speakers to pitch the sound. There’s no pack of vcds or video wares to carry along, since there are built-in songs and sing chips available.

If you have been into a karaoke lounge, you probably know how the song selection and entering your song choices work. It’s the same with Magic Sing. You would just peek at the song list in the handbook and start thumping the song number of the tune of your pick in the microphone keypads. Afterward, you can sing all you want!

There is even amateur and professional type of microphone based on your singing proficiency. It will present you a rating based on your performance after the song. Imagine that as easier and more exciting than those freaky comments judges give to reality singing competitions in the idiot box. The amateur kind is more lenient than professional type. In amateur type, you’re little pitch mistakes is usually pardoned unlike the professional one which cuts your points due to the slight sharps and flats you make. Magic Sing judges your singing as outstanding and superb if you get a ninety-six and above score. If you’re cut short from having an excellent score, you can always put extra effort in your next performance. That is, if the such effort comes with a respectable voice. 

Trouble-free magic. Trouble-free fun! That’s Magic Sing!
 

…of Flats, Sharps, and Musical Scales of the Globe

Jul 18th, 2007
by Karaoke Lover.
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Being a viewer of American idol, I always hear judges Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell give comments to the contestants like, ‘It was too pitchy’ ‘There were a lot of flat parts in the middle’ or ‘There were a couple of sharps here and there’ besides the usual comments about their performance level, choice of song, or event the wardrobe. That made me wonder what do these flats and sharps mean, being a no-brainer in notes and pitches since I’m practically tone deaf.
 
As I’ve learned, these flats and sharps actually comprise the musical scale. When Randy says there were flats, these are the notes sung lower than the supposed pitch, whereas when Paula says there were sharps, these are the notes sung higher than the actual pitch.

A musical scale happens to be a set of notes arranged from the lowest pitch to the highest. A, B,C,D,E,F, and G are the notes in the scale of Western composers, and the distance between these notes (a note and the next highest note by the same name) is what they call an octave.

Here the flats and sharps come in—sharps are half tones above notes while flats are half tones below notes. A half step is the distance between a note and its sharp or a note and its flat. On a piano keyboard, the black keys play the sharp and flats while the white keys play the full steps in the scale. In the Western scale, there are 12 full steps—the letter notes and the half steps all together.

Speaking of musical scales, in the Eastern part of the world, their music sounds differently like in China, India and Saudi Arabia. As I continue my query about musical scales, I also learned that Asian music has more kinds of notes than Western music (that’s probably why the Chinese and Indian singers I see perform on cable TV sounds more complicated..). The Arabs has 17 steps, while the Indian scale has 22 steps, how about that!

And so, there ends my journey about flats, sharps and the musical scales of the globe. At least I know them by theory, if not by application.

Singing in Groups

Jul 15th, 2007
by Karaoke Lover.
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In medieval Europe, the music of a choir, which is a group of singers chant together, was an essential part of church masses. Usually during this period, the monks in monasteries sing in Latin. At present, music sung by choirs is based on this tradition of the church, called choral music.

Another kind of singing in groups are large scale musical performances called oratorios, where they sing a story. This type is based on Bible stories of the Jews and the Christians. Unlike choir music, oratorios do not have to be executed in church. An orchestra, with a choir and soloists, perform orations where the soloists sing necessary elements individually. The narrator conveys the tale in form of a song. Johann Sebastian Bach, a German composer, is famous for his church cantatas, which are stories sung by one or two singers who are complemented by different instruments.

Gospel music is one type of singing in groups as well. It’s particular among the Black American church singers who blend touches of jazz, hymns and their religious folksongs. Gospel choirs are worm and emotional, with audiences stamping their feet, clapping and dancing.

Of course, not all who sing in groups are choirs. Music groups include pop and rock bands, jazz bands, folk singers and a lot more. In a band, two or three can sing in the group, with one lead and the rest as back-up vocals. All of them can sing together too, like folk singers who can also alternate in singing.

And who wouldn’t be familiar with the famous boy bands singing in groups? There was New Kids in the Block during the early ‘90s, and in the mid to late ‘90s, more singing male groups emerged like Westlife, Backstreet Boys, and N’sync, to name a few. Indeed, their crooning and serenading, blending in their different tones made a lot of girl fans scream and shout!

Wouldn’t it be fun to sing in a group? Why not grab your friends and have a singing spree–sing like a choir, or perform like a boy band (or girl band for that matter). (:

Music from Strings

Jul 13th, 2007
by Karaoke Lover.
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There is a diverse array of instruments under the strings category, one of which is the most versatile and unique of all the stringed instruments. Read through and find out. (:

In the 1500s and 1600s there were the six-stringed instrument called the viol, then the violin emerged which is a smaller instrument and makes a louder sound than the viol. Violinists made marks in music like the Italian musician Niccolo Paganini, modern violinists Yehudi Menuhin and Korean Kyung Wah Chung. Then there’s the family of strings which can form the string quintet. Besides the violin, there’s the viola, cello and double bass. Charles Mingus is an American jazz musician who plays double bass standing up.

Lyres and harps are popular all over the world during the ancient times. From the legend of Orpheus playing the lyre, to religious festivals of Africa, lyres and harps were used. The lute is another kind which is plucked like a guitar. Banjos and ukeleles were played in America and England, sitars made raga music in India, zithers were played in China, Japan, and Korea, while guitars originated in Spain. There were classical, acoustic and folk guitars, until in the later years electric guitars were developed. Orville Gibson, Les Paul and Leo Fender are just three of the well-known names in guitar making. When it comes to guitar playing, one of the legends is American guitarist Jimi Hendrix.

A keyboard is also a stringed instrument, which includes the clavichord, harpsichord and the piano. If you open the lid and look inside, there you’ll find the strings. But the most versatile and unique of all stringed instruments is the chords found in your voice box. The human voice has its own vibrating strings and resonator in just the same way as a stringed instrument like the guitar does. You sing high notes by tightening your vocal chords; low notes are created when your vocal chords become looser. We have a range such as the soprano, alto, tenor and bass. The three tenors Jose Carreras, Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti are among the great singers of the world, thus have great stringed instruments in them!