I Got The Music™

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Just a couple of weeks before the festival season is really going to kick off. Many small festivals have already been done and gone, but it’s waiting for the big ones.

The first two weekends in June are going to be big.

In the UK Isle of Wight will rock the island with some of the biggest bands current and past. The Stone Roses, Paul Weller, The Killers, Bon Jovi and The Script will try to keep the rain away and  Read the rest of this entry »

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Will Smith aka The Fresh Prince was live on BBC One with Graham Norton together with his son Jaden. You expect with this amount of talent in the room a perfomance is inevitable. What isn’t expected is guests to bring on additional unannounced guests which take an A list cast to triple AAA.

Will and Jaden kicked off with some impromptu beat box and rapping. Last time, Will got 8 million viewers for his song with Gary Barlow. To trash the record this time he brought in the amazing Jazzy Jeff! This of course flow smoothly into the Fresh Prince of Bel Air theme song. The crowd knew the lyrics better than son Jaden.

As if this was not amazing enough, Tom Jones’s from the Voice song It’s not unusual was played to introduce the ever amazing Carlton (Alfonso Ribeiro). The three together with Graham did their Jump On It – the origins of Gangnam Style?

Will Smith’s original Fresh Prince of Bel Air TV Show was shown exclusively in the UK by the BBC in the 1990′s.

The live performance without his son but with Gary Barlow and Tom Jones on the sofa with Graham Norton hosting.

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Eurovision 2013

Last night music fans across Europe were treated to the largest European music spectacle: the Eurovision Song Contest. As per usual the weird and whacky were out amongst some great artists to showcase the musical talent of their respective country.

This year the event was in Malmo, Sweden after last year’s win by Loreen with the powerful balad Euphoria. Sweden put down a brilliant show. For a change only one host, Petra Mede, a comedienne and television host. I have to say she had some brilliant lines which went well with the crowd.

Naturally the contest had it’s usual curiosity of artists, sometimes leaving the audience speechless.

France seemed to go for a look a like Madonna, Finland went for the gay vote with two girls kissing, the UK decided to go for a golden oldie with Bonnie Tyler, the Netherlands kept it plain and simple with Anouk, Greece’s kilt boys sang about Alcohol is Free and Romania went all out with Cezar’s gothic opera song.

Winner of the night was Denmark’s Emmelie de Forest with Only Teardrops. A catchy current song, with some great flute and drum play.

The morning after the night before many countries are go about conspiracies to defend their losses. The usual political block voting is very popular as well as “we were in the wrong place in the line-up” and many other excuses. Here I was thinking it was all about the song!

Surprisingly, this years main controversy appeared after Denmark’s win – potential plagiarism. Nothing new in this, as it comes up every so often and not only with winning songs.

I wonder what you think?

Emmelie De Forest – Only Teardrops

(Denmark Eurovision 2013)

K-Otic – I Surrender

Most likely you have never heard of the second song as it is by a Dutch Popband, created during one of the first of many singing shows called Starmaker (like X-Factor or American Idol). Just listen to both of them and try to strip away as much of the production, just listen to the rhythm and build. I have to say, to my ear, they do sound very similar, probably about 80% or more. Both are a decent song and I do think Denmark had a fair chance to win. I don’t think they were the best, but they won. These songs have been out for a good couple of months so any protest should have come out earlier.

Still, let me know your thoughts. Leave a comment with Yes for “they are pretty much the same” and No for “they are not, or I don’t care”.

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Something new for 2012, what is the popular t-shirt of the month? February’s t-shirt is this gorgeous Boobalicious design.

Boobalicious T-shirt from IGotTheMusic.com

This one has proved to be the most popular shirt this month. Is that because 2012 has seen an increase in chest size or have women finally started to love their curves?

Mariah Carey and Beyoncé are both examples on how music can flow just like the body.

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Time is flying and it is now only 150 days to the London 2012 Olympics. I can’t wait for the opening ceremony to start, always a great collaboration of music and sport

Most eyes will be fixed on the 100m mens final – can Usain Bolt defend his titel? I cannot wait to see some of the other events. My favourites at the moment are Beach Volleybal, Diving and BMX.

To show my support to my team and some of the sport I have created some amazing shirts.

More designs will follow over the next weeks so keep an eye out here. Leave a comment if you want your favourite  sport or country to be added.

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It’s one of the mysteries that always fascinates me – how do you record your voice?

As with any sound you can’t see it, so you have to imagine the waves of sound like Disney and Fantasia did all those years ago.

We really are spoiled for choice today as we can record some excellent music using a computer and a simple set up with a USB microphone plugging straight into the computer. Amazing stuff.

I’m not going to go all geeky on you, but the choice is pretty overwhelming. When you speak with the kind people that are sound / studio engineers you realize that many of them take professional courses lasting years to pick the best mic for the job.

USB Microphone SL300

As that idea doesn’t suit most people, I looked for a kit that would also hide the sound of that annoying computer fan – which makes you sound like you’re talking underwater!

With users such as the BBC, MTV and Universal studios this basic set up must be doing something right.

The ‘trick’ is to have a vocal booth which screens out the background noise and concentrates the sound into the microphone. Sounds simple, but can be very, very expensive. Luckily the kit I found was only a few hundred to do what I needed and is significantly cheaper than hiring a recording studio every day 

Makes your YouTube videos sound superb too.

So the microphone choice boils down to the SL150, SL 300 or SL600 with the Vocal Booth sound screen. That makes it a personal preference with whatever budget you’re working with.

Happy Recording.

 Click that image above to see where to get my recomendation and see for yourself.

*yes I might get pennies from that but you can always search for things yourself

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• Yeti Pro USB condenser microphone touts 24-bit / 192 kHz digital recording, XLR output, we go hands-on (engadget.com)

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Travis Wong featured as part of Jon Chu’s LXD: Legion of Extraordinary Dancers. A trailer for the official project which will be released in the summer of 2009, Travis is featured as a character in the LXD series where he will perform martial arts, tricking, and freerunning. Read the rest of this entry »

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Halloween has origins in the ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain (pronounced sow-in), which means roughly “summer’s end”. This Gaelic festival was celebrated mainly in Ireland and Scotland. It marked the end of summer and harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night of the 31st October the worlds of the living and the dead became thin and blurred and that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. It is believed that the need to ward off harmful spirits led to the wearing of costumes and masks.

With its roots in Celtic cultures, Halloween is not celebrated in all countries and regions of the world, and among those that do the traditions and importance of the celebration vary significantly. Celebration in the United States has seen a significant impact on how the holiday is observed in other nations. The history of Halloween traditions in a given country also lends context to how it is presently celebrated. But many countries have been influenced by the strongly commercialised version as celebrated in the USA. This to the benefit of many confectionary and costume makers.
Read the rest of this entry »

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Ok. Is there anything I could possibly hook up to my piano or even a type of microphone or any type of technology out there where I can record my music I play on my piano and then it will convert it to music notes on music sheet paper through my laptop? I know I’ve seen it and movies and probably recording studio where they play the piano and the music notes appear on the computer screen on sheet music.

There are several programs, Sibelius Student Edition,  called cake walk and you have to buy a keyboard, hook it up to your laptop, and when u play, the notes appear on the screen. Also i could reccomend Finale. the downside is that calk walk is about $400.

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