celebrity 1 stop

You expect the celebrities to have hairstyles that are trendy, even trend-setting. For a start, they have access to top hair professionals, and money to buy all the best hair products and treatments available. If you’re wondering what hairstyle is in fashion, then looking at celebrity hairstyles is a good place to begin.

However, there are some things to consider before you copy that celebrity hairstyle:

- Do you have a team of hair professionals on call to tidy up your hair at a moment’s notice? If not, don’t expect your hairstyle to remain looking fabulous all day. If you like the look of a particular celebrity hairstyle, ask your hairstylist how much work is involved in producing the end result. Then check with yourself if you have the time for the blow-drying, curling, straightening, sculpturing etc. For example, the Jennifer Aniston look requires two sets of conditioning to straighten the hair, then shaping gel and calming serum, finishing with the use of the flat iron. If you don’t have time for this type of routine, go for something that looks great but doesn’t need a lot of fuss and bother to get it looking good.

- Does your shape face suit the celebrity hairstyle? It may look absolutely fabulous on Jennifer Lopez but it may do nothing enhancing for you. Check these celebrity face shapes with suitable hairstyles.

Oval face: Jennifer Aniston and Julia Roberts have this shape face. You could wear your hair from short to long, which ever suits your life-style.

Round face: Kate Winslet and Drew Barrymore have round faces. A short hairstyle swept back from the face will give you more height and fullness.

Rectangular/oblong face: Gwyneth Paltrow and Kirstie Alley shaped faces look better with short or medium hair, with bangs to soften the face. Avoid long hair.

Square face: Demi Moore and Sandra Bullock are included in this set. Short and medium length hairstyles are best suited keeping away from long hair.

Heart face: Ashley Judd and Michelle Pfeiffer look good with chin length or long hair. Stay away from short hair.

Triangular face: Kathy Ireland shape-faces should be wearing hair either short or tied at the nape.

Diamond face: Linda Evangelista and Katherine Hepburn type faces can wear any length of hair and look fabulous.

- Is your hair type suited to the celebrity hairstyle that you’d like? Some styles are created by the use of a flat-iron to get the straight look. If you want a style that is dead straight and you have hair with a natural curl, this is going to take some time! On the other hand, if you want the romantic, long tresses of curls and your hair hasn’t a single wave to it, you’re going to need a salon semi-perm or daily curling. Try to find a celebrity hairstyle that fits your hair type for ease of maintenance.

Celebrity hairstyles are constantly changing. What was a fashion statement only a year ago has already been replaced by something new. To keep up with the fashion trends use the internet. There are many sites dedicated to the latest trends. Compare what they say, and then, using what you know about yourself, find a celebrity hairstyle that is fashionable and makes you look fantastic too.

SUMMARY If you want a fashionable style, look to the celebrities. However, make sure that the celebrity hairstyles you like suit your face shape and hair type.

Check out this stunning picture gallery and commentaries of top Celebrity Hair Styles
http://www.hairstyleswatch.com

Look at the music industry at the moment.

There are genres, sub-genres and sub-sub-genres all trying to find some originality in the music, and while there is interesting stuff coming out at the moment what makes it interesting are the different layers and textures on offer not the sounds themselves.

All I’m trying to point out is that the chances of doing something completely original are very small, but not impossible. If you do come up with something completely original then congratulations to you. But if not, don’t worry.

Always remember that even though a song may not be totally original in its sound it’s uniqueness comes from you and you alone.

You are the originality behind the song not the song itself.

I remember a mate of mine played a song to me once and all of a sudden I was singing another song to it because it sounded similar. He got very upset and was going to throw the song away and abandon it because of that fact.

“I am never going to write a song that is totally me, totally original” he lamented, to which I replied “does it really matter? What matters is that you wrote it not someone else”.

He thought about it and decided to work on it a bit more. I told him he should at least change the key of the song. Only then would he be half way to completing it. Once he changed the key his whole perspective was altered to the point that the song took a whole new life.

It’s amazing to think that the smallest of changes can make a difference.

Once you realise its you that makes your song unique not the song itself then you will finally get off of the ‘It must be totally original’ trip that stops so many writers from writing.

It’s right up there with ‘My songs must be perfect’ and ‘ I wont write until I am ready to write’ as the main arguments that songwriters have with their critical inner voices.

All it does is stops you, the songwriter from doing what you absolutely love to do – writing songs.

Why would you want to stop yourself from writing songs?

You, as an individual, are a one of a kind in this world. With that in mind, would that mean that your songs are also a one of a kind if they are written from your point of view?

The originality you seek exists inside of you.

Think about it…

Corey Stewart is a published Singer/Songwriter from Australia who has his own songwriting website Songwriting Zen.

He also has a FREE eReport for you to download. It’s called “11 Ways To Eliminate Writers Block FOREVER!” and you can get it HERE

The 1970s was probably the first decade in which the cynicism of a generation was widely reflected in the popular culture and music of that generation. Like most decades, musically the ‘70s could be divided up into five year periods; the first years saw the rise of the influence of indie band the Velvet Underground and a shift away from bubble gum rock of the ‘60s; the Beatles broke up and suddenly everyone was experimenting.

In the garages of the United States and the United Kingdom, kids were figuring out just what the hell they really COULD do with their guitars and their electronic equipment, not to mention a pissed off voice. While the United Kingdom turned out some synthy stuff, the States and several bands in the UK were much more focused on the do it yourself grind that punk music offered. The indie ethos was thus created through the actions of the proto punk bands; they separated themselves from their cultural norms through their outward appearances as much as their music. Richard Hell, the Ramones, and in the UK the Sex Pistols all had their roots in the indie movement, and several of them never left the scene behind. Once again, indie was to have a huge influence on popular, although in the case of punk the major labels would not pick up on the fervor until the latter half of the 1990s, when (just as in the ‘70s) annoying music again ruled the day.

Another indie development in the 1970s was the creation of progressive rock. Now, this rock was totally at odds with Beatles, Byrds, and all the other peaceful music of the ‘60s. It created its sound using a full range of instruments, and was just as experimental as the electronica movement of the 1990s. Unlike punk, though, progressive rock was to catch big label attention early in its development, and made the jump from indie to “scene” relatively quickly. In fact, a big part of the growth of punk was in reaction to the commercialization of prog rock.

New Wave was the third form of music to develop on the indie scene, and like progressive rock it was quickly usurped and mutilated by labels, who would sign anyone with any connection to the true sound. This type of music was pretty much right in between punk and prog; experimental and edgy at the same time. In fact, some of the most influential artists in the New Wave movement are still cited by label successes such as U2 today; Elvis Costello was known for his pointed lyrics, and Blondie was perhaps the most well-known band of this era (although today they are labeled as disco in many ignorant quarters). Sire Records and Stiff Records were two of the major players in the indie market in the ‘70s.

Of course, when a new sound is created, sooner or later someone will capitalize on the potential money. When the big labels came knocking, it was the Clash and the Cult that answered the door; their New Wave sound was the newest hit on radio in the early ‘80s and signaled the end of New Wave as far as indie scene followers were concerned.

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There are many different guitar tunings that are used in Rock and Metal music besides standard tuning. Guitar players in these genres like to use these tunings because they give a heavier and darker sound to their music.

Some of the more popular tunings used are Dropped D, Dropped C, Dropped B, E Flat, D, C and open G. Here are the descriptions of how the strings should be tuned and some of the bands that use them.

Dropped D tuning:

E ———-1st string

B ———-2nd string

G ———-3rd string

D ———-4th string

A ———-5th string

D ———-6th string (thickest)

This tuning enables power chords to be played with a single finger on the lowest three strings and produces a dark sound with it. If you’re music doesn’t fit together with this dark sound, you can place a capo on the 2nd fret and can still easily play power chords.

Some bands that use Dropped D tuning are:

Alice in Chains, Foo Fighters, Godsmack, Led Zepplin, Nirvana, Rage Against The Machine, Silverchair, Soundgarden and Velvet Revolver.

Dropped C tuning:

D ———-1st string

A ———-2nd string

F ———-3rd string

C ———-4th string

G ———-5th string

C ———-6th string (thickest)

Dropped C tuning is the Dropped D with each string lowered one whole step. Dropped C tuning produces a very low and heavy sound and is used by many of the new Heavy Metal bands.

Some bands that use Dropped C tuning are:

30 Seconds to Mars, Atreyu, Buckethead, Bullet for My Valentine, Children of Bodom, Godsmack, Bad Religion, Metallica, Mudvayne, P.O.D., Papa Roach, Rammstein, Shadows Fall, System of a Down, Three Days Grace and Ozzy Osbourne.

Dropped B tuning:

C# ———-1st string

G# ———-2nd string

E ———-3rd string

B ———-4th string

F# ———5th string

B ———-6th string (thickest)

This tuning will need heavier gauge strings to be effective. Also you might have to widen the string grooves as well as adjust the tension in the neck of your guitar.

Some bands that use Dropped B tuning are:

Audioslave, Limp Bizkit, Machine Head, Mudvayne, Slipknot and Stone Sour.

Eb tuning:

Eb ———1st string

Bb ———2nd string

Gb ———3rd string

Db ———4th string

Ab ———5th string

Eb ———6th string (thickest)

This tuning is Standard tuning turned down a half step. There are a few reasons that bands use this tuning instead of Standard tuning. One reason is to sound heavier by using heavy gauge strings. By tuning down a half step it is easier to bend these heavy gauged strings. Another reason why some bands use this tuning is to compliment the lead singers voice.

Bands that use Eb tuning are:

Alice in Chains, Anthrax, Dream Theater, Guns N’ Roses, Jimi Hendrix, Kiss, Megadeth, Metallica, Motorhead, Nirvana, Poison, Slayer, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Stone Sour, Van Halen, Weezer and Yngwie Malmsteen.

D tuning:

D ———-1st string

A ———-2nd string

F ———-3rd string

C ———-4th string

G ———-5th string

D ———-6th string (thickest)

D tuning is also known as whole step down tuning and as you have probably already guessed, it’s Standard tuning tuned down a whole step. D tuning has been used mainly in Heavy Metal music.

Bands that have used D tuning are:

Alice in Chains, The Beatles, Bullet For My Valentine, Bob Dylan, Children of Bodom, Dream Theater, Guns N’ Roses, Motley Crue, Nirvana, Pink Floyd, Racer X and Soundgarden.

C tuning:

C ———-1st string

G ———-2nd string

Eb ———3rd string

Bb ———4th string

F ———-5th string

C ———-6th string (thickest)

C tuning also produces a low sound that is mostly used by Hard Rock and Metal bands. The tuning is 2 whole steps below Standard tuning, which gives it a heavy sound but still maintains the same intervals as Standard tuning.

Bands that have used C tuning are:

Atreyu, Black Sabbath, Bullet For My Valentine, Deftones, Dream Theater, Jimi Hendrix, P.O.D., Queens of the Stone Age, Slipknot, Steve Vai and The Who.

G tuning:

D ———-1st string

B ———-2nd string

G ———-3rd string

D ———-4th string

G ———-5th string

D ———-6th string (thickest)

Other than the Drop D tuning, G Tuning is one of the most popular alternate guitar tunings.

Some bands that have used G tuning are:

The Rolling Stones, The Black Crowes, Led Zeppelin, The Who, Pink Floyd and Pearl Jam.

These are just some of the alternate guitar tunings that are available to you to experiment with. Play around with them and see which tunings fit your style of music.

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If you want to learn how to play acoustic guitar there are some things that you need to know right from the start. Believe me when I say that they will save you a great deal of frustration.

Here are some great tips that should help:

1# Because you will need to practice often (and sometimes you wont want to)-, playing along to a favorite song can be a great motivator. Even if you are a raw beginner you will be surprised at how many songs you can play along to.

“Google” your favorite song and see if there’s a result that offers chord charts for them. Study the charts to find a song you know that has a simple chord progression, these will be chords that you can already play or would like to learn. Download the chord charts and start practicing. You’ll be amazed at how good you will feel when you are playing along to your well loved songs.

2# Make sure that your guitar is tuned properly. You may not believe this but I’ve met people who wanted to know how to play acoustic guitar that didn’t know that each string on a guitar had to be tuned to a specific pith!. It’s not a case of getting the tuning nearly right either, you need to get it “spot on” why? because you will judge your playing by the way you sound and if just one string is slightly of pitch, your “sound” wont be as good as you would like or indeed would have been had your guitar been in tune.

To make sure your guitar is in tune you can use a set of inexpensive pitch pipes. Learn to tune from string to string. Use an electronic guitar tuner or tune from a piano or another guitar. To save room in this article I wont go into detail but you can find some excellent information here:

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Guitar/Setting_up_the_Guitar

3# Decide on what type of pick (plectrum)you want to use. This is one of the most overlooked pieces of equipment. Picks come in various gauges. A very thin pick will give a much softer sound than a thick one so try experimenting and choose the pick that achieves the sound you want. Some guitarist wear a pick on there thumb and some guitarists just use their fingers. It’s all a matter of choice and something you do need to be aware of.

4# Now you’ll have to excuse me here as I’m going to use a word that some people find quite upsetting. Are you ready? The word is “practice”. I’m sorry but it just had to be said. Of course, we all promise we will practice but there’s always a good film on or the big game just about to start and a hundred other excuses. I’m no different, so here my suggestion.

Don’t promise yourself that you will practice for an hour every day. Make that a promise of twenty minutes everyday. Little and often is best I find. Have your guitar and chord books or tabs to hand if you’re watching TV, that way you can have five minutes practice during the commercial break (and sometimes longer). I find that this works really well as it’s sort of unplanned (and far more enjoyable than most of the commercials).

I hope that these tips will help you on your way to becoming a great guitarist.

Practice, Practice, Practice. That’s how to play acoustic guitar.

Play On.

If you have enjoyed this article you can find more great information at:

How To Play Acoustic Guitar

and the best part is it’s entirely FREE

Music ought to have life in it. A guitar is the instrument that brings life and its the heart of music. How much life it can bring will whatsoever depend on the guitarist skill. Mastering this skill can be developed by anybody with a passion for music and this instrument in particular.

Every bit of information is available in the Internet relating to learning various parts of a guitar. In fact if you have a strong will and a quick learner, the Internet is one of the best way to learn guitar. Most enthusiasts argue that it’s difficult to learn to play a Guitar without any guidance but that’s not the case.

Guitar tab plays a major and important role in guitar playing. There are different tabs arranged in a proper sequence so that the outcome sounds good. More information on this can be found in guitartab dot com. It gives information on many tabs and acoustic treats. For Example, amazing grace, hotel California, jingle bell rock, sweet home Alabama and more. Its a very easy site to navigate. Top of this site you will find Guitar Tab. On the left panel there are also different links like TABROBOT dot com, A-Z Archive, Guitar Chords and Lyrics, All-Guitar-Tabs.Net and so on. You can also get Top Tabs frequently visited by users.

In a page with nearly 1,739,318 tabs in 911tabs.com, guitar tab is the third option. Bass tab, drum tab, piano tab are amongst others available. However, just next to all tabs there’s a search engine provided which needs brand name or song name. Plain white, Rihana are some of the top 7 guitar tabs available. e-chords.com also gives information about all tabs and you can download the entire tab.

Peter Gitundu Researches and Reports on Guitar. For More Information on Guitar Tab, Visit His Site at GUITAR TAB

You Can Also Post Pour Views About Guitar Tab At You Can Also Post Pour Views About GUITAR TAB

Classic rock – the definition defies most, and yet, everyone knows a classic rock song when they hear one. What makes it classic exactly? Well, for starters, it should be an older song. Nineties rock tunes do not qualify. Generally, 70′s, maybe a few 80′s and 60′s can qualify for the esteemed title of “classic rock.”

Generally, classic rock history begins with artists that still occupy radio time today, most of whom still generate huge crowds and pack large venues. The Who, Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane – all of these artists are included in the classic rock genre. But does every song ever recorded by them qualify? No. Just the ones we remember, in our heads and in our hearts.

Classic Rock History – Come on Baby Light My Fire

The Doors with Jim Morrison leading the pack came onto the scene in the late 60′s, featuring dark themes (Riders on the Storm for one) along with cryptic song lyrics. Cementing them into the roots of rock and roll history was Jim Morrison’s untimely death.

Revolver, the Beatles’ thirteenth album released in America. A turning point for The Beatles because it represented styles from their original, earlier works as well as experimental stylings for their latter works. Revolver is often hailed as one of the best albums in classic rock history.

The Rolling Stones, with Mick Jagger still in the mix today, has given the world a bevy of classic rock songs. The album, Sticky Fingers, in particular, was released at a time when the band was experimenting and still struggling to sculpt its identity.

Who Are You?

It’s hard to turn on the television set these days without hearing one or two classic rock songs. Whether they are starting a television series or used for a commercial, advertisers know that nostalgia sells, especially for the middle-aged demographic. The Who has released a number of (now) classic rock songs and one of them starts the program CSI, making it even more popular than ever.

Wish You Were Here

Pink Floyd, those crazy Englishmen, have sold millions of albums world-wide. But what puts them at the top of the heap of classic rock history? Longevity. That’s what all of these bands and their songs that have stuck with us to modern day have in common. These songs are timeless. The album Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd may not have been their most popular album, but it does delve into some sticky mental issues that founding member Syd Barrett was having at the time.

Led Zeppelin – Enough Said

Led Zeppelin produced perhaps, the most agreed upon classic rock song ever: Stairway to Heaven. This song is comprised of several different and distinct “sections” that give a living, breathing feel to the music. This song is probably the single most requested song on American airwaves today. Composed by Jimmy Page with vocals executed by Robert Plant, this song is the anchor of all classic rock songs.

Classic rock is a genre well known and loved by people in their teens all the way into their later years. In it, we find comfort and excitement, a nostalgia that is timeless and one we firmly believe will never be duplicated.

Wendy Pan is an accomplished niche website developer and author.

To learn more about classic rock history, please visit Oldies Music Site for current articles and discussions.

While watching Monday night football, on an uneventful evening on December 8, 1980, I was nursing a hangover, when I heard Howard Cosell interrupt the game with a news flash. John Lennon was shot in New York City? Could that be true? It was true. Later, he was pronounced dead. I was in shock. Then my brother, Mark, telephoned me with the news. We both were John Lennon fans.

The Beatles, the fab four of the 60s, were each given character descriptions or nicknames adopted by their fans. John was the smart one, Paul was the cute one, George was the mysterious one and Ringo was the funny one.

I always felt John Lennon’s character description or nickname, should have been dubbed the “misunderstood Beatle,” because he seemed to always stir up controversy concerning his beliefs. He couldn’t quite make his comments clear, and the media didn’t help.

Take for instance, the comment he made on March 4, 1966, when he said, “the Beatles are more popular than Jesus.” What he meant was that more people would go see the Beatles, than go to church on Sunday. Which may have been true. He generalized a wee bit by laying the blame on America, when he meant England.

Lennon was interviewed for the London Evening Standard by Maureen Cleave, who was a friend, and made an off-the-cuff remark regarding religion. Lennon said, “Christianity, will go. It will vanish and shrink. We’re more popular than Jesus now; I don’t know which will go first– rock and roll or Christianity. Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It’s them twisting it that ruins it for me.”

On August 11, 1966, The Beatles held a press conference in Chicago, in order to address the growing furor.

Lennon: I suppose if I had said television was more popular than Jesus, I would have got away with it, but I just happened to be talking to a journalist friend (Maureen Cleave), and I used the word “Beatles” as a remote thing, not as what I think–as Beatles, as those other Beatles, like other people see us. I just said they are having more influence on kids and things than anything else, including Jesus. But I said it in that way, which is the wrong way.”

Reporter: Some teenagers have repeated your statements–”I like The Beatles more than Jesus Christ.” What do you think about that?

Lennon: Well, originally I pointed out that fact in reference to England. that we meant more to kids than Jesus did, or religion at that time. I wasn’t knocking it or putting it down. I was just saying it as a fact, and it’s true more for England than here. I’m not saying that we’re better or greater, or comparing us with Jesus Christ as a person or God as a thing, or whatever it is. I just said what I said and it was wrong. Or it was taken wrong. And now it’s all this.

Reporter: But are you prepared to apologize?

Lennon: I wasn’t saying whatever they’re saying I was saying. I’m sorry I said it really. I never meant it to be a lousy anti-religious thing. I apologize if that will make you happy. I still don’t know quite what I’ve done. I’ve tried to tell you what I did do, but if you want me to apologize, if that will make you happy, then OK, I’m sorry.

John Lennon returned to the subject later that year, when he told Look magazine that, “I believe Jesus was right, Buddha was right, and all of those people like that are right. They’re all saying the same thing–and I believe it. I believe what Jesus actually said–the basic things he laid down about love and goodness–and not what people say he said. If Jesus being more popular means more control, I don’t want that. I’d sooner they’d all follow us even if it’s just to dance and sing for the rest of their lives. If they took more interest in what Jesus–or any of them–said, if they did that, we’d all be there with them.

Although there was little reaction to his statement in England, Christians elsewhere embarked upon a massive campaign to destroy Beatle albums and other paraphernalia. The Archbishop of Boston admitted that he was probably right, but many still refused to forgive him.

I can relate to his controversial statement, because I have made similar statements, such as, when I drive by a gambling casino on a Sunday, I’ll say–”look at all those cars–try to pack them in a church parking lot.” Of course, my meaning was that gambling is more popular than Jesus. I hope that isn’t the truth–here in America. Am I in trouble for saying that?

All this didn’t bother Lennon, he continued using religious remarks in his songs, one was God, released in 1971. The lyrics are as follows:

God (words and music by John Lennon)

God is a concept

By which we measure

Our pain

I’ll say it again

God is a concept

By which we measure

Our Pain

I don’t believe in magic

I don’t believe in I-ching

I don’t believe in bible

I don’t believe in tarot

I don’t believe in Hitler

I don’t believe in Jesus

I don’t believe in Kennedy

I don’t believe in Buddha

I don’t believe in mantra

I don’t believe in Gita

I don’t believe in yoga

I don’t believe in kings

I don’t believe in Elvis

I don’t believe in Zimmerman

I don’t believe in Beatles

I just believe in me

Yoko and me

And that’s reality

The dream is over

What can I say?

The dream is over

Yesterday

I was a dream weaver

But now I’m reborn

I was the walrus

But now I’m John

And so dear friends

You just have to carry on

The dream is over

THE END

Once again, Lennon was misunderstood. He was put off by many Christians. I always understood the style of Lennon. I felt he was reaching out to question things we dared not ask. He was a buffer between reality and make believe. Some considered it threatening. I considered it harmless. Although he did say “I don’t believe in Jesus.” And he did say, “I don’t believe in bible.” Maybe he should have left them out of the song, at least to avoid controversy and save his career.. But, Lennon was Lennon, and he didn’t care. He was saying he has the freedom to say what he wants to say, or sing what he wants to sing. I’m sure it hurt his career. Paul McCartney’s career only blossomed. Not intending to leave out George and Ringo. Their careers remained stable.

I always thought a more fitting song for John Lennon would have been–Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood, written and performed by a fellow musician and friend, Eric Burdon. He, also, authored a book under the same title.

In 1973, Lennon wrote and sang the song, Imagine, a very critical– but popular song. It questioned the existence of heaven and hell and no religion, too. This, too, was angered by Christians. His message was clear to me. He was simply stating, if there wasn’t any of these things he’s imagining, the world would live in peace–as one. What would there be to fight about? There would be no wars. Many wars are about religion. The song is all about imagination. He’s not a terrorist wanting to blow up the world. The lyrics are as follows:

Imagine

(words and music by John Lennon)

Imagine there’s no heaven

It’s easy if you try

No hell below us

Above us only sky

Imagine all the people

Living for today

Imagine there’s no countries

It isn’t hard to do

Nothing to kill or die for

And no religion too

Imagine all the people

Living life in peace

You may say I’m a dreamer

But I’m not the only one

I hope someday you’ll join us

And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions

I wonder if you can

No need for greed or hunger

A brotherhood of man

Imagine all the people

Sharing all the world

You may say I’m a dreamer

But I’m not the only one

I hope someday you’ll join us

And the world will live as one

THE END

Lennon was always the outspoken one. Some say he was a hypocrite when he preached about love and peace–not war. In 1969, he demonstrated his beliefs in his penned song, Give Peace A Chance, after his departure from The Beatles, during his solo career.

He defended many rights and causes. He was an anti-war activist. His beliefs were misconstrued and often he was taken as a socialist or communist. President Nixon wanted him deported. Lennon stood up and fought for his right to stay where he loved to be–in New York City, U.S.A. Sadly enough, it was also the place he was killed by a deranged fan.

During his solo career, Lennon wrote and sang songs of rebellion with his political views. He would socialize with antiwar leaders, such as, Jerry Rubin, Abbie Hoffman, and others. Lennon and his friends organized a concert in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in December of 1971, dubbed the “Free John Sinclair” concert. Sinclair was a local antiwar activist who was serving ten years in the state prison for selling two joints of marijuana to an undercover cop. Lennon appeared onstage along with Phil Ochs, Stevie Wonder and other musicians, plus antiwar radical Jerry Rubin and Bobby Seale of the Black Panthers. There was 20,000 in attendance; two days after the concert, the state of Michigan released John Sinclair from prison. During this time, a song written and sung by Lennon was released, entitled John Sinclair.

In 1972, Lennon released an anti-sexism song, entitled, Woman Is The Nigger of the World, implying that as black people were discriminated against in some countries, so were women globally. The lyrics are as follows:

Woman Is The Nigger of the World

(words and music by John Lennon)

Woman is the nigger of the world

Yes she is…think about it

Woman is the nigger of the world

Think about it…do something about it

We make her paint her face and dance

If she won’t be a slave, we say that she don’t love us

If she’s real, we say she’s trying to be a man

While putting her down, we pretend that she’s above us

Woman is the nigger of the world…yes she is

If you don’t believe me, take a look at the one you’re with

Woman is the slave of the slaves

Ah, yeah…better scream about it

We make her bear and raise our children

And then we leave her flat for being a fat old mother hen

We tell her home is the only place she should be

Then we complain that she’s too unworldly to be our friend

Woman is the nigger of the world…yes she is

If you don’t believe me, take a look at the one you’re with

Woman is the slave to the slaves

Yeah…alright…hit it!

We insult her every day on TV

And wonder why she has no guts or confidence

When she’s young we kill her will to be free

While telling her not to be so smart we put her down for being so dumb

Woman is the nigger of the world

Yes she is…if you don’t believe me, take a look at the one you’re with

Woman is the slave to the slaves

Yes she is…if you don’t believe me, you better scream about it

We make her paint her face and dance

We make her paint her face and dance

We make her paint her face and dance

We make her paint her face and dance

We make her paint her face and dance

We make her paint her face and dance

THE END

On a happier note, in 1971, Lennon, also, wrote and sang the song, entitled, Happy Xmas. This became a holiday favorite. It’s questionable why he left out Christ in Christmas. But “X” is the Greek symbol of Christ.

This year marks the 26th anniversary of the death of John Lennon. His killer is still imprisoned, as he should be. The music world was robbed of this musical genius. I sure miss his works and imagination. If it weren’t for his outspoken beliefs, he may have still been with us today. It may have been what killed him. But just imagine (I wonder if you can)–then there never would have been a John Lennon.

Earl D. Erickson, is an internet author. He writes exactly how he feels–coming from the heart. His stories can be read by going directly to his websites and logging onto the Ezine Articles or by going to Ezine Articles and log onto his name under expert authors. He is currently writing a book about his life struggles with alcoholism and drug addiction, suicide, grief and depression.

The book is entitled, Blurred Vision: Diary of an Incorrigible Alcoholic. He hopes to finish that project early next year.

Mr. Erickson loves to listen to music and explore its history, read, photograph, watching old movies and television classics, gardening and the great outdoors. He owns and manages his website at: http://ComfortAndLoss.com

Mr. Erickson is a native and lifelong resident of Tacoma, Washington.

If you want to learn how to play acoustic guitar there are some things that you need to know right from the start. Believe me when I say that they will save you a great deal of frustration.

Here are some great tips that should help:

1# Because you will need to practice often (and sometimes you wont want to)-, playing along to a favorite song can be a great motivator. Even if you are a raw beginner you will be surprised at how many songs you can play along to.

“Google” your favorite song and see if there’s a result that offers chord charts for them. Study the charts to find a song you know that has a simple chord progression, these will be chords that you can already play or would like to learn. Download the chord charts and start practicing. You’ll be amazed at how good you will feel when you are playing along to your well loved songs.

2# Make sure that your guitar is tuned properly. You may not believe this but I’ve met people who wanted to know how to play acoustic guitar that didn’t know that each string on a guitar had to be tuned to a specific pith!. It’s not a case of getting the tuning nearly right either, you need to get it “spot on” why? because you will judge your playing by the way you sound and if just one string is slightly of pitch, your “sound” wont be as good as you would like or indeed would have been had your guitar been in tune.

To make sure your guitar is in tune you can use a set of inexpensive pitch pipes. Learn to tune from string to string. Use an electronic guitar tuner or tune from a piano or another guitar. To save room in this article I wont go into detail but you can find some excellent information here:

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Guitar/Setting_up_the_Guitar

3# Decide on what type of pick (plectrum)you want to use. This is one of the most overlooked pieces of equipment. Picks come in various gauges. A very thin pick will give a much softer sound than a thick one so try experimenting and choose the pick that achieves the sound you want. Some guitarist wear a pick on there thumb and some guitarists just use their fingers. It’s all a matter of choice and something you do need to be aware of.

4# Now you’ll have to excuse me here as I’m going to use a word that some people find quite upsetting. Are you ready? The word is “practice”. I’m sorry but it just had to be said. Of course, we all promise we will practice but there’s always a good film on or the big game just about to start and a hundred other excuses. I’m no different, so here my suggestion.

Don’t promise yourself that you will practice for an hour every day. Make that a promise of twenty minutes everyday. Little and often is best I find. Have your guitar and chord books or tabs to hand if you’re watching TV, that way you can have five minutes practice during the commercial break (and sometimes longer). I find that this works really well as it’s sort of unplanned (and far more enjoyable than most of the commercials).

I hope that these tips will help you on your way to becoming a great guitarist.

Practice, Practice, Practice. That’s how to play acoustic guitar.

Play On.

If you have enjoyed this article you can find more great information at:

How To Play Acoustic Guitar

and the best part is it’s entirely FREE

There are many different guitar tunings that are used in Rock and Metal music besides standard tuning. Guitar players in these genres like to use these tunings because they give a heavier and darker sound to their music.

Some of the more popular tunings used are Dropped D, Dropped C, Dropped B, E Flat, D, C and open G. Here are the descriptions of how the strings should be tuned and some of the bands that use them.

Dropped D tuning:

E ———-1st string

B ———-2nd string

G ———-3rd string

D ———-4th string

A ———-5th string

D ———-6th string (thickest)

This tuning enables power chords to be played with a single finger on the lowest three strings and produces a dark sound with it. If you’re music doesn’t fit together with this dark sound, you can place a capo on the 2nd fret and can still easily play power chords.

Some bands that use Dropped D tuning are:

Alice in Chains, Foo Fighters, Godsmack, Led Zepplin, Nirvana, Rage Against The Machine, Silverchair, Soundgarden and Velvet Revolver.

Dropped C tuning:

D ———-1st string

A ———-2nd string

F ———-3rd string

C ———-4th string

G ———-5th string

C ———-6th string (thickest)

Dropped C tuning is the Dropped D with each string lowered one whole step. Dropped C tuning produces a very low and heavy sound and is used by many of the new Heavy Metal bands.

Some bands that use Dropped C tuning are:

30 Seconds to Mars, Atreyu, Buckethead, Bullet for My Valentine, Children of Bodom, Godsmack, Bad Religion, Metallica, Mudvayne, P.O.D., Papa Roach, Rammstein, Shadows Fall, System of a Down, Three Days Grace and Ozzy Osbourne.

Dropped B tuning:

C# ———-1st string

G# ———-2nd string

E ———-3rd string

B ———-4th string

F# ———5th string

B ———-6th string (thickest)

This tuning will need heavier gauge strings to be effective. Also you might have to widen the string grooves as well as adjust the tension in the neck of your guitar.

Some bands that use Dropped B tuning are:

Audioslave, Limp Bizkit, Machine Head, Mudvayne, Slipknot and Stone Sour.

Eb tuning:

Eb ———1st string

Bb ———2nd string

Gb ———3rd string

Db ———4th string

Ab ———5th string

Eb ———6th string (thickest)

This tuning is Standard tuning turned down a half step. There are a few reasons that bands use this tuning instead of Standard tuning. One reason is to sound heavier by using heavy gauge strings. By tuning down a half step it is easier to bend these heavy gauged strings. Another reason why some bands use this tuning is to compliment the lead singers voice.

Bands that use Eb tuning are:

Alice in Chains, Anthrax, Dream Theater, Guns N’ Roses, Jimi Hendrix, Kiss, Megadeth, Metallica, Motorhead, Nirvana, Poison, Slayer, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Stone Sour, Van Halen, Weezer and Yngwie Malmsteen.

D tuning:

D ———-1st string

A ———-2nd string

F ———-3rd string

C ———-4th string

G ———-5th string

D ———-6th string (thickest)

D tuning is also known as whole step down tuning and as you have probably already guessed, it’s Standard tuning tuned down a whole step. D tuning has been used mainly in Heavy Metal music.

Bands that have used D tuning are:

Alice in Chains, The Beatles, Bullet For My Valentine, Bob Dylan, Children of Bodom, Dream Theater, Guns N’ Roses, Motley Crue, Nirvana, Pink Floyd, Racer X and Soundgarden.

C tuning:

C ———-1st string

G ———-2nd string

Eb ———3rd string

Bb ———4th string

F ———-5th string

C ———-6th string (thickest)

C tuning also produces a low sound that is mostly used by Hard Rock and Metal bands. The tuning is 2 whole steps below Standard tuning, which gives it a heavy sound but still maintains the same intervals as Standard tuning.

Bands that have used C tuning are:

Atreyu, Black Sabbath, Bullet For My Valentine, Deftones, Dream Theater, Jimi Hendrix, P.O.D., Queens of the Stone Age, Slipknot, Steve Vai and The Who.

G tuning:

D ———-1st string

B ———-2nd string

G ———-3rd string

D ———-4th string

G ———-5th string

D ———-6th string (thickest)

Other than the Drop D tuning, G Tuning is one of the most popular alternate guitar tunings.

Some bands that have used G tuning are:

The Rolling Stones, The Black Crowes, Led Zeppelin, The Who, Pink Floyd and Pearl Jam.

These are just some of the alternate guitar tunings that are available to you to experiment with. Play around with them and see which tunings fit your style of music.

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