What You Need To Know About The CMA Awards

The Country Music Association (CMA) Awards, usually referred to as the CMAs, is held every year to celebrate the best new songs and albums by country musicians and groups. The association was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee and originally consisted of 233 members. Today, the association is made up of over 6,000 music professionals from more than 40 countries around the world.

A Brief History of Country Music

The origin of country music can be traced back as far as the 1920’s. Many people especially those from outside the USA often think that it is a new music genre due to the rise of young country singers and groups such as Taylor Swift and Lady Antebellum who brought the genre back to life and introduced it to the world once again.

The Best Song From All Three of the MIA Albums

M.I.A. Has many interesting songs and is an amazing electronica artist. What is also interesting is that she went all the way from a little war-torn island, Sri Lanka, to a leading top-ten artist in the USA and in Europe. But which song is the best from all of the three M.I.A. albums?

Top 50 Wedding Songs

Music is a universal language which sometimes even speaks louder and clearer than your own words or thoughts can express. It is towards this that I thought of putting together a playlist of Love Songs For Weddings which speaks through you the joy and happiness you share as you get married. It expresses your love in just the appropriate tone and content without going over the rainbow.

Twenty Jazz Standards That Every Jazz Musician Should Know By Heart

For jazz musicians, there are really about twenty jazz standards that everyone should know. And I’m not talking just being able to read them out of a fake book. I’m talking about REALLY knowing, from memory. There are twenty jazz standards that every musician should know, and here they are.

The Long, Strange Trip of Arlo Guthrie’s “The City of New Orleans”

Arlo Guthrie’s biggest hit, “The City of New Orleans,” was written and first recorded by singer-songwriter Steve Goodman, who says that all of the song’s lyrics happened to him on a train trip to Illinois with his wife. Guthrie wanted a rock song to shed his folkie image; its producers sped up the “depressing tempo” of Arlo’s best take to create a rock classic.

How Three Singing Australian Sheepherders Produced “Hang On Sloopy”

The McCoys’ garage band classic “Hang On Sloopy” was first recorded by R&B group the Vibrations as “My Girl Sloopy.” The McCoys were discovered by the Strangeloves (“I Want Candy”), three producers from Brooklyn who rode the British Invasion wave by pretending to be singing Australian sheepherders. Some believe that the song’s inspiration was New Orleans jazz pianist Dorothy “Dottie” Sloop, who performed from the 1930s to the 1950s as “Sloopy.”

How to Get Local Gigs

Find out how to get gigs in your local area. Where should you start?

The 3 Best Drummers Ever

Drummers are a funny breed. Who are the best three drummers ever? Here are the best three drummers and a little info about them.

Are You Procrastinating Before Music Instrumental Practice? Learn How to Stop It

One of my previous articles begins with “practice is a dirty word”. The realization that you’ll have to put in the time (in particular, hours) to get the results you want, stop many dead in their tracks before they even set foot near their instrument. It gets all too easy to ‘do it later/tomorrow/in the coming days/week’ etc. Before you know, what you should and could have done today becomes what you definitely should have done this WEEK, but as yet, you still haven’t ‘got round to doing’.

How to Sing: What You Need to Know Before Being a Singer!

Find out what is it that is needed to know before you decided to sing! Be if professionally or personal pleasure!

Five Problems With Private Guitar Lessons

Often, private lessons are a great way to learn how to play the guitar. However, there are a number of problems that people taking private lessons encounter frequently. This article reviews five of the most common.

Your Essential Djembe Drum Buying Guide

Shopping for djembe drums can be daunting, if you don’t know what you need. This article goes through the various aspects you need to consider when buying a djemb drum.

Your Essential Guide to African Drums and Percussion Instruments

It’s amazing how many of today’s drums and percussion instruments originated from Africa. Learn more about the various different types of African drums and percussion instruments which are still widely used today.

The Song That Sounded Disco’s Death Knell

“My Sharona” by power pop band the Knack was 1979’s biggest hit; it broke disco’s stranglehold on the pop charts and pioneered new wave rock. Written in 15 minutes, lead singer Doug Fieger’s inspiration for the lyric was 17-year-old Sharona Alperin, a Los Angeles high school senior; that’s Sharona on the picture sleeve of the single.