- Sit in a circle with your friends and ask questions about how other people’s instrument works. It’s important to know your instrument yourself first, but knowing why a bigger drum sounds deeper can be as useful to a drummer as it is to the trumpet guy.
- Stay simple: Try to keep the riffs and jam songs simple and clear. If in doubt, don’t play – less is more. If you think you can genuinely contribute, then play – and play hard
. - Practice hacks: Include scales and chord progressions into your practice schedule. A good way to practice both is to play along to rock songs that have improvised solos.
- Try themes: We once did a jam about colors. Each of us got a color (blue, red, yellow) and each one had to come up with a riff that he thinks fits the color. Pretty amazing (and unexpected) results.
- Try styles: If you like hard rock, don’t jam hard rock, because hard rock is – well – really hard. It’s easier to start out with something like reggae or ska, because the more complex your genre is by nature, the harder it gets. Hard rock is like classical music on the electric guitar. You can’t really “jam” it (at first).
- Keep the songs short: Time yourself to play the song and wrap it up within 4 minutes. The worst things most jam beginners do is stretch things over 10 minutes to half an hour. Just get in, play, get out. Keep things crisp and fresh.
- Discussion: After a jam, find out what works and what doesn’t. Try to pin point areas of improvement and try criticizing each other – constructively.
Source::http://www.thegoodmusician.com/2007/08/7-tips-for-jam-beginners/
Tips For Jamming
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Awaken By Maher Zain
Awaken By Maher Zain
We were given so many prizes
We changed the desert into oasis
We built buildings of different lengths and sizes
And we felt so very satisfied
We bought and bought
We couldn't stop buying
We gave charity to the poor 'cause
We couldn't stand their crying
We thought we paid our dues
But in fact
To ourselves we're just lying
Oh...I'm walking with my head lowered in shame from my place
I'm walking with my head lowered from my race
Yes it's easy to blame everything on the west
When in fact all focus should be on ourselves
We were told what to buy and we'd bought
We went to London, Paris and Costa Del Sol
We made show we were seen in the most exlusive shops
Yes we felt so very satisfied
We felt our money gave us infinite power
We forgot to teach our children about history and honor
We didn't have any time to lose
When we were.. (were)
So busy feeling so satisfied
I'm walking with my head lowered in shame from my place
I'm walking with my head lowered from my race
Yes it's easy to blame everything on the west
When in fact all focus should be on ourselves
We became the visuals without a soul
despite the heat
Our homes felt so empty and cold
To fill the emptiness
We bought and bought
Maybe all the fancy cars
And bling will make us feel satisfied
My dear brother and sister
It's time to change inside
Open your eyes
Don't throw away what's right aside
Before the day comes
When there's nowhere to run and hide
Now ask yourself 'cause Allah's watching you
Is He satisfied?
Is Allah satisfied?
Is Allah satisfied?
Is Allah satisfied?
Oh..I'm walking with my head lowered in shame from my place
I'm walking with my head lowered from my race
Yes it's easy to blame everything on the west
When in fact all focus should be on ourselves
Tips Of Diet
MAKES A GOOD DIET
* Pick one place at home and work that you will do all your eating. Be sure you are seated. Don't eat anywhere but in that place. Enjoy your food by sitting down and eating slowly. Sitting down focuses your attention more directly on the activity of eating. By eating in the same place you identify and associate that place with the idea that it is the only area in which you should eat.
* Shop for Groceries only after eating. You will be less likely to buy foods impulsively – especially foods you don’t need.
* When you shop for groceries stick to your shopping list. This helps you guard against impulse buying. Make sure you list is complete and do not buy any extra food items.
* Watch food labels. Foods with a high percentage of fat (or carbohydrates that are sugars) will slow down your weight loss program Don't just count grams, count percentage of total calories that are fat or sugars.
* Don't think that just because you are eating low fat/low calorie foods that you can eat all that you want. The calories still add up and must be burned off regardless of what kind of food you eat. Balance is the key.
* If you are going to a restaurant, decide ahead of time what you will be eating. Stick to it.
* Exercise – If you want to stay healthy and make weight loss permanent you just cant do without exercise. Along with cutting down on the fat you eat exercising regularly may be your best ally in improving your all around health and bringing your weight loss under control.
* Water is essential to all bodily functions and has no calories. It is the perfect drink for dieters. You need eight 8 oz. glasses of water daily.
* Be happy: you're OK! Resisting all those tempting foods is NOT going to kill you.
* Let someone else be the walking garbage disposal: you are no longer responsible for eating up the leftovers after a meal.
* Success is when you can look beyond food...and look down and see your feet.
* Each day you stay on your weight-loss diet brings you closer to your weight goal.
* The purpose of getting together with people is to enjoy their company...not eating.
* Chart or graph your weight loss and serving selections.
* Take small servings - avoid gorging yourself.
* Consuming most calories in one big meal is the worst way to
diet. Eat 4 or 5 small meals rather than in one all-out feeding frenzy.
* If your schedule only permits you to eat one major meal in a day, eat it in the morning to midday hours rather than afternoon/evening hours.
* Repeat: "I'm learning a way to live, not just a way to diet."
* Limit your time in the grocery store. The longer you stay, the more you will buy.
* Never starve yourself, especially before going out to eat (or you will binge). Never skip meals, you must have some kind of nourishment regularly or your body's starvation defences will kick in, lower your metabolism, and store fat.
* Be patient - it took years to gain weight; it takes time to lose weight.
* "Nibble" food and "linger" over drinks. Do the "Push Away From The Table Exercise."
* Chew your food completely: digestion begins in the mouth. Avoid "washing" half-chewed food down.
* Lose weight with a supportive friend or in a support group.
* Emphasize your weight loss triumphs and work towards making them more frequent
* Find a weight loss "buddy," club, or support group. This will help you stay with your weight loss program.
*Use mustard on your sandwiches instead of mayonnaise. Mustard has no fat & very little calories while Mayo, is loaded with fat. If you just don’t like the taste of mustard, find a low-fat alternative, but avoid mayonnaise at all costs.
* Weigh yourself each week. Don't be worried about small daily changes in your weight. You shouldn't lose more than 1 - 2 pounds a week. There may be weeks when you don't lose weight. This is normal. Stay on your diet to lose weight.
* Bake, roast, or broil your food instead of frying. Remove all fat from meats and skin from poultry before cooking.
* Drink 6 to 8 glasses of water each day. This will help flush out your body while also suppressing your appetite
*If you haven't done so already, switch to diet soft drinks. An average 12 Oz can of regular soda contains around 120 calories, while the diet version usually has one or zero. If you drink 3 cans a day, you'll be saving 360 calories right there. Now multiply that by 7 days a week, 30 days a month and 365 days a year... You'll be saving a lot of calories!
* Limit alcohol. Alcoholic drinks have many calories & little else.
* Schedule your exercise time just as you plan your other activities of the day. Treat this time as an important appointment you don’t want to miss
* Write your weight goal & post it where you'll see it everyday.
* You are responsible for what you do & what you eat.
* Eat to live, not live to eat. Overeating can KILL you!
* Don't give it up if you don't want to, just reduce your intake.
Info::Love Is Complicated::
Hate or Like Love???
Why is love so complicated? Love is a headache and a heart breaking adventure. Most of the people involved will come from it with deep scars that they can never completely make disappear. And yet, we are always eager to go back and try times and times again. Why is that? Simply because, no matter how hurtful love can be it is still the most fulfilling emotion known to human life. A life without love is a life not fully lived, a complete waste. Then, you would ask what make such a beautiful thing so complicated?
Well, I would tell you that it is because it asks more from us than anything else. Love can never get satisfied with a partial commitment. Love demands your full attention and all your energy to produce fruits at the end of the day. It is not therefore love that is so complicated but mainly us that can not live up to its expectations. We tend to believe that words will make up for our lack of devotions, and sex will solve all our shortcomings in a relation. Unfortunately, love is much more than physical satisfaction and beautiful words.
As an example, marriages often suffer from open truth. Most men and women would tell you how hurtful their partner is. This always occur after two people know too much of each other. It is the time when the nice words and the sex can not make up for all our flaws. It is the time when partners do not try to hide their personal disappointments as they do not receive what they bargained for. It is the time when truth is said to hurt because we are feeling cheated by love. In reality, love never fails us. We fail love.
We jump into relationships without being sure of how strongly we love the person, and if we are ready to commit. And when we fail, we just jump to a new one without resolving the issues that made us fail the first one. So, is love complicated? Not really. But we, humans, are. We have so many issues, work related, family related, our differences, our religions, our beliefs, our fears, and all our expectations. By the time we enroll ourselves into a relationship, our mind is already so full that we do not take time to think and realize what we are signing for. We push ourselves forward in the heat of the moment.
Most relations start when one person feels lonely and need company, or one person is pressured by his peers to find someone because of his age, social position, family tradition, or simply because he is bored! How then do you expect to live up to something as demanding as love if you commit to it for dubious reasons? Love can only be effective and lasting if it is inspired from love.
It might sound like a monumental task, but yet it is possible. All you need is the right mindset and take responsibility in your relationships. For love to work and produce its wonderful miracles you must give yourself completely into it and only with people you really love in your heart. |
Music::History of Jamming::
A BRIEF BUT ACCURATE HISTORY OF JAMMING
The term "jam" stems from the ancient Egyptian phrase "jamius tablatutorus" which literally meant "a meeting of latin-speaking druids of questionable musical skill". Archaeologists believe that the first evidence of communal jamming can be seen the ancient Egyptian society, where it is believed that villagers hit clay pots with sticks and performed country and western music to scare evil spirits away. Jamming was not just for the peasants however. It is reported that amongst Pharaoh Tutenkhamen's many riches found in his tomb was a set of partially preserved D'Addario Nylons. Although not in top condition, they were certainly in no worse condition than the strings on Liam's Ibanez.
From simple spiritual superstitions, the people of Ancient Egypt soon developed jamming into a semi-organised semi-regular event, often having impromptu performances at weddings and Spartan slaying festivals.
Many archaeologists believe that the great Pyramids were actually in fact ancient jamming studios, used by young Egyptian amateur musicians who had annoyed too many neighbours playing at home. The unique structure and design of the pyramids was said to be perfect acoustically, however that same unique structure was not accustomed to such atonal dissonance, and many of the pyramids internally collapsed, killing all within.
There is a school of thought that jamming may have been evident prior to the ancient Egyptians...well prior. It is reported by some palaeontologists that a certain species of dinosaur (the Wonderiftheyherdus). which roamed the Earth some 60 millions years ago, was the first creatures to come together to create organised sound. Although this theory is extremely controversial, recent discoveries of ancient rock paintings in Yellowstone National Park in the US (depicted below) clearly prove that the Woneriftheyherdus was musically apt.
What is clear however is that after the demise of ancient Egypt, the practice of jamming was not seen again in documented history until the height of the Roman Empire; around 200B.C
With the Romans came modern roads, new architecture, commerce, trade and new technologies. It was not long until jamming became a fundamental part of Roman social practice, with most Roman men proficient on the electric guitar and clarinet. Roman women were traditionally not permitted to play a musical instrument, and therefore were quite proficient at the drums.
With Roman ingenuity and technology came new and exciting ways to produce and distribute sound. It is reported that the Roman Baths were actually heated by smooth 4-part harmonies, produced by slaves from the African Congo. Many historians believe that the Colosseum was originally built so that Julius Caesar didn't have to host any more jam sessions at his personal residence. It wasn't until the coming of Jesus Christ in 0B.C (approx.) that the Colosseum was used for more sinister purposes; firstly a line-dancing venue, and then the Circus Maximus.
It is not surprising to note that Jesus Christ (or J.C to his groupies) was an avid jammer. He never missed an opportunity to spread the word and lay out a smooth cover. His complete demolition of the market in the Church courtyard still inspires rock guitarists to smash their guitars to this day.
Being a budding young carpenter in down-town Jerusalem saw Jesus create the world's first wooden guitar (guitars previously had only been made out of primitive materials such as fibreglass and chloro-fluro-carbons). It is often mused by theologists and biblical historians that the last supper was one of the greatest jam nights of all, with Judas' track "Trust Me" by the Bare Naked Ladies taking out top honours. Apparently Jesus' satirical rendition of "The Son'll Come Out Tomorrow" from the musical "Annie" was slammed for its controversial connotations and general poor taste.
Glimpses of jamming can also be seen in the Old Testament, with rumours and mythology suggesting that the Ark of the Covenant actually carried Moses' Jackson Flying V, rather than the 10 Commandments. Unfortunately Moses entered the desert without his electronic tuner, condemning his people to 40 years of melodic and cognitive dissonance.
It is these roots in Christianity that has seen the art of jamming develop and become firmly entrenched in the Western world. Impromptu musical get-togethers became a tradition throughout the Renaissance period in both England and France. Many French Queens were beheaded for poor song choice, or forgetting to bring the music stand to rehearsals.
It is often thought that the first ever barbershop quartet was the well-known grouping of Robin Hood, Little John, Friar Tuck and Will Scarlet, who formed after a series of surprisingly successful impromptu jam sessions in Sherwood Forest. After many successful singles on the medieval charts, Robin married the love of his life, Maid Marion, who, according to the other members, wrestled for creative control of the group. Unfortunately, 2 years later the group broke up and was never heard from again.
Interestingly, jamming did not just follow Christianity through the ages, but can be seen developing in different cultures many hundreds of years ago. Japan's Samurai warriors were extremely proficient musicians, often dedicating their entire weekends to perfecting a single riff or paradiddle.
In ancient Japanese, which happens to be identical to modern Japanese and ancient Dutch, the word "Samurai" literally means "death by meticulous rhythm", and it is thought that the Samurai warriors were the first people to rub their bows across twine, causing a blood-curdling aural weapon to repel enemies. This technique is known today as playing the violin.
Jamming really began to emerge as a modern cultural tradition during the early 19th Century, particularly in France and England. It is said that war expedites development, and there is certainly no doubt that the savage war between the English and French saw a dramatic increase in the use of music and impromptu jamming as a means of boosting morale amongst the troops. It is often said that the first ever marching band was actually an early jam session, whose performers refused to postpone yet again after receiving urgent marching orders. Unfortunately most of them were shot by their own countrymen who were sick of hearing rough three part harmonies accompanied only by snare drums and piccolos.
Conversely, the French army embraced the tradition of jamming, with Napoleon reportedly organising, and performing at, many early jamming events across his expanding empire. His throaty French ballads are often accredited to the French eventually losing the war to England, and being a pack of snivelling surrender monkeys ever since.
It is thought that through the adversity of war, the practice of jamming was fully and finally entrenched into modern culture. During Worl War II, it was not uncommon for a soldier to go into battle with a fully-loaded semi-automatic Gibson and an ammo pouch full of pub song tabs. Many a jamming session was instigated by the British troops on the beach during the horrific days at Dunkirk, until it became clear that perfecting four-part harmonies was not nearly as pressing as evacuating from France.
In fact the world famous Marshall amps were born on the beaches of Dunkirk, after a group of British engineers and radio operators wired up some primitive speakers and microphones, so that their morale-boosting jam sessions could be heard across most of Northern Europe. This primitive speaker set-up was later used to marshal the troops onto the correct ships, and hence the great "Marshall" brand of amplifiers was forged. Conflicting reports that the Roman Empire were using Marshall amps long before Dunkirk have been ridiculed as ridiculous.
During the 1960's and 1970's, jamming became a weapon of political gain, with all American troops in Vietnam issued and trained on an Ibanez well before touching an M-16. In these early days however, string breakages under fire were common, and soon every platoon had a section bass player who ensured that the rhythm never stopped whilst guitars were being restrung. Often awed by the power drop-d riffs and soaring solos, the Vietcong were often caught toe-tapping and completely unawares.
It is thought that the jamming phenomenon has also gone inter-galactic with astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin reportedly had a quick jam on the surface of the moon, just to stick it up the Russians who, at the time, couldn't organise a jam night at a guitar shop.
Later, during the height of the Cold War, U.S President Nixon is said to have attempted to cool the tension with his Russian counterpart, by organising a series of acapella barbershop sessions.
These were apparently extremely unsuccessful, as it wasn't until later that the Americans learnt that "bup-shoo-waaaa" actually means "your mother is a whore" in Russian.
Through its long and rocky history, the tradition of jamming has grown and developed into an integral part of modern culture. Although used mostly for social purposes today, it is still not without its theological, violent and political undertones. All of these elements merge to create this diverse and truly unique cultural past-time enjoyed by all!
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