How To Find New Interesting Guitar Chords Using a Capo

How To Find New Interesting Guitar Chords Using a Capo Suzy S. So youve memorized the basic major and minor chords, and learned a few easy guitar songs. Whats next? Check out what a capo can do for you in this guest post by Perth Amboy, NJ teacher  Jeff S... In case youre unfamiliar with a capo, theyre those metal devices that clip onto the neck of a guitar, as you see in the photo above. If youre a guitarist and you dont own a capo yet, but are curious about them, my hope is that youll want to get one after reading this article. And for guitarists who already own a capo but havent fully exploited its potential, this article should tweak your interest. What Exactly Can a Capo Do For Me? Capos come in incredibly handy in instantly providing a one-step solution to play along with songs written and sung in keys unfriendly to guitar (such as Ab, Bb, Eb, Cm, Fm, etc.). For instance, if you wanted to play Adeles Rollin In The Deep on guitar so that it matches up with the recording, all youd have to do is put the capo at the 3rd fret and play Am, E, G, and F chords (that you likely already know in 1st position). Simple, huh? There are countless other songs you can use capos for to play on guitar, even if they werent written on guitar or if theres no guitar in the recording. All you need is basic guitar chord knowledge. How Does It Affect the Sound? Depending on how far down the neck the capo needs to be placed to match up with the key of a song, it can either subtly or drastically alter the personality of them. The results will vary from song to song, but capos will immediately render new tonal colors, increasing the brightness and making your playing and songwriting more diverse and engaging. If you want to hear some amazing examples of how magical songs can sound with capos, listen to the Beatles classic Here Comes The Sun, written by the late great George Harrison. The capo is on the 7th fret, which creates a feeling of optimism and sparkle that would be completely missing without the capo. The use of the capo has increased exponentially since then and just about every artist (or their guitarist) has one and uses it extensively. Check out the incredibly mood-inducing and engaging capoed guitar on Passengers Let Her Go and the guitar work on Taylor Swifts Safe And Sound, for example. If youre still in doubt about the power of the capo, try playing those songs without the capo and listen to the difference. What If Im Not Super-Knowledgeable About Keys and Chord Names? You can effectively integrate the capo into your playing even if you know little to nothing about music theory and dont know too many chord names. Let me illustrate: say you want to create a higher-pitched G chord. Just clamp your capo on the 5th fret and play a conventional D chord form (see chart below) and you will instantly hear it in a crisp and refreshing new way. Next, lets say you want to brighten up the otherwise deep and dull E chord in first position. Just clamp your capo on the 7th fret and play a standard (1st position) version of an A chord (again, see chart). Voila! Youve instantly brightened the previously low-end E chord. Play that while your jam partner or singer plays the conventional E chord and youve got a very rich tonally-diverse sound. Familiarize yourself with all the capoed versions of the major and minor chords in the chart and soon youll be thanking the capo gods every night. Is There an Easy Way to Get Started With My Capo? You bet! I suggest you pick out two or three of your favorite guitar songs  that  youre really comfortable with and can almost play blindfolded. Then use the chart below to find different places further down the neck to play the chords that youve been playing in 1st position. Try several voicings of the chords until you find one youre drawn to. Relearn the song using a capo and these new chord shapes. Just doing this will widen your tonal range on the guitar without you having to play (much more challenging) barre chords, and it will also add a new chordal dimension to your playing. And the added benefit is that these new capoed versions of your favorite songs will make your future jams much more interesting. All you really need to get started on your capo adventure is a little time, an open mind, and (of course) a capo! Jeff S. teaches guitar, ukulele, speaking voice, songwriting, and more in Perth Amboy, NJ, as well as online.  Jeff has created and taught songwriting and music business classes at colleges, universities, and music schools throughout the country for many years. Learn more  about Jeff here!   Interested in Private Lessons? Search thousands of teachers for local and live, online lessons. Sign up for convenient, affordable private lessons today! Search for Your Teacher Photo by James Kim

Career Coaching in Birmingham

Career Coaching in Birmingham Where Can You Find a Career Coach in Birmingham? ChaptersWhy Should You Get Career Coaching?Career Coaches in BirminghamWhere Can You Find a Career Coach in Birmingham?Career Coaching Agencies in BirminghamGet Online Career Coaching“Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher.” - Oprah WinfreyIt’s becoming increasingly common for professionals to have a change of heart and to either retrain for a different career or leave one career for another.The idea that you stay in the same career your whole life is outdated. Be it children, moving house, etc., there are many things that can cause a change in career.To help you do this, there are career coaches in Birmingham that can provide support either in the short-term or the long-term.Ready for an adventure?In this article, we're going to have a look at the reasons why you should consider getting career coaching, the career coaches in Birmingham, where you can find them, and how career coaching agencies can also help you further your career.Find personal dev elopment training courses with a qualified coach on Superprof. TraceyPersonal development Teacher 4.92 (9) £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors NatashaPersonal development Teacher 5.00 (7) £55/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors AntonellaPersonal development Teacher 5.00 (1) £15/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors IsamPersonal development Teacher 5.00 (3) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors AndriyPersonal development Teacher £40/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MichelePersonal development Teacher 4.73 (7) £40/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors FlloydPersonal development Teacher 5.00 (11) £40/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors OliverPersonal development Teacher 4.33 (4) £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutorsWhy Should You Get Career Coaching?Career coaching and live coaching are becoming more popular in larger cities in the UK. To get your dream job, gain new skills, or change careers, etc., it might be worthwhile ge tting in touch with a coach.Do you need help getting ready for an interview? (Source: StartupStockPhotos)If you're interested in a career change or just looking at another career path, a career coach could help you with your job search, finding a new employer, and starting a new job with a better salary or prospects.Learn to Speak in PublicWho’s never got nervous before having to speak in front of a group of people?This isn’t an innate skill but it’s often required in many lines of work. A career coach could help you get over the nervousness and also help you improve your presentation skills.Many jobs require that you speak in public. Be it in a meeting, while giving a presentation, or just while talking to the general public, your speaking skills could be improved thanks to a career coach.Getting Ready for an InterviewKnowing how to present yourself, highlight key skills, and talking about yourself in a job interview is easier said than done. You’ll need to prepare for any question they might ask you. A career coach can train you before the big day and make sure you’ve done everything you can to get that job.You don't want to be caught off-guard by an unusual question or panic during an interview. After all, you only get one chance to make a first impression and you don't want to miss out on the chance of a lifetime because you weren't ready for the interview.Managing a TeamHow you should manage a team isn’t always obvious, especially if you’ve no experience in doing it. Before you get a promotion, a career coach could train you in this skill. With role-playing exercises, a career coach could teach you how to confidently manage a team.Even if you don't currently manage any teams, these management skills could be incredibly useful if you're vying for a management role in your current company, applying to management roles, or even considering starting your own company where you may eventually end up in charge of others.Changing CareersAre you sick of your job?  Feeling burnt out or need to step away from your current career? Interested in a new career? Thinking about a career transition?Ask for some help on how to change careers from a career coach who’ll help you make the right decisions. Whether you’re appraising your skills, helping you look for work, writing covering letters, preparing for an interview, or setting up your own business, career coaching could be a great solution.For those looking to transition to a new job or changing career, a career coach could help them with networking, integrating into a new workplace, learning valuable transferable skills, or getting a career assessment.You can also get career coaching in London.Career Coaches in BirminghamWho are these career coaches?Some people are a little wary of trusting career coaches since they've never met them and there are few qualifications to actually validate their experience.A career coach can help you get ready for an interview. (Source: Altnet )Itâ €™s a good idea to ask about each coach’s experience and qualifications before you let them help you change your career. The first hours of your sessions should be spent getting to know one another.There’s no set route to becoming a career coach. Some will have changed careers after years of experience working in a business, others may still be students. Each type of career coach has its pros and cons. You need to work out what you need before hiring your career coach.Birmingham is a big city where you can meet all types of people. As one of the UK’s biggest cities, you’ll have no problem finding the type of coach you’re looking for.Whether you’re looking for an expert in personal development or leadership, an HR or recruitment consultant, elocution, there are plenty of different types of career coaches you can find on Superprof, for example.The age and experience will vary wildly from one coach to another. Of course, those who aren’t very experienced will tend to char ge less than those with years of experience.  A student, for example, could help other students with managing stress or preparing for exams.Each type of career coach has its advantages and disadvantages and it's up to you to do your research and separate the wheat from the chaff.There’s also career coaching in Manchester. TraceyPersonal development Teacher 4.92 (9) £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors NatashaPersonal development Teacher 5.00 (7) £55/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors AntonellaPersonal development Teacher 5.00 (1) £15/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors IsamPersonal development Teacher 5.00 (3) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors AndriyPersonal development Teacher £40/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MichelePersonal development Teacher 4.73 (7) £40/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors FlloydPersonal development Teacher 5.00 (11) £40/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors OliverPersonal development Teacher 4.33 (4) £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutorsWhere Can You Find a Career Coach in Birmingham?There are plenty of different ways to become a career coach. Career coaches can either work for themselves or in an agency. You can easily find agencies by searching online. You may even just come across some as you’re walking around Birmingham.If you feel like you're overwhelmed with work, give a career coach a call. (Source: rawpixel)So how can you find the right career coach?Word of MouthThis method is as old as time as still just as effective. You might know someone who’s already enlisted the help of a career coach. You could ask them for advice. Speak to those around you and see if they know any career coaches or say that you’re looking for one.If you never stop talking about the fact that you're looking for a career coach, your friends and family will undoubtedly mention it to others.Online SearchBy searching “career coaching Birmingham” online, you’ll find tonnes of r esults for coaches and agencies that made their own website so that you could find them. You can read up about them and get in touch with them.The internet is a powerful tool and should be one of the first places you go when you start looking for a career coach. Any coach worth their salt will have an online presence.Classified AdsIn supermarkets or local businesses, you can find announcements and classifieds ads for career coaches. Some even leave little slips on the end of their ad with their phone number on for you to take away.When you take one of these slips, consider saving the number directly into your phone as its very easy to end up with a tonne of these lying around in your wallet and not have a clue why you have a random phone number on a piece of paper.Online PlatformsJust like Superprof, online platforms allow career coaches and clients to get in touch with one another. The clients can find the coach whose profile they like and, in some cases, get an hour of coaching fo r free. You can also find coaches from anywhere in the world thanks to online tutorials over programmes like Skype.If you’re in Yorkshire, you can also find career coaches in Leeds.Career Coaching Agencies in BirminghamWhether it’s breathing exercises for managing stress, public speaking, conducting meetings, retraining, personality tests, building self-confidence, supervising projects, personal development, or leadership, take your time and work towards your career goals.Your career coaching sessions can take place anywhere you like! (Source: InspiredImages)In Birmingham, like many other cities, you can find career coaching agencies. The advantage of these agencies is that you’ll have the choice of several coaches.Furthermore, the agency will work towards offering you the best coaching possible, work with your strengths and weaknesses, and help you pursue your passion and get a job that you love.There are a number of career coaching businesses in Birmingham.Find out more abou t career coaching in Glasgow.Get Online Career CoachingYou can now get career coaching online. Some sites can provide coaching virtually. A coach can keep in touch with you through email, for example. You can also get online personality questionnaires, etc.To get professional guidance, these sites will help when you first get started. While they won’t help in the long-term, it could be a good way to get started if you don’t have the means to pay a private tutor or career coach.With a career coach, you could even enjoy some coaching in the great outdoors.  Cafés and bars are also a good idea.What better way to change careers?Keep in mind that even if you're unemployed, you can get help job hunting, interviewing for jobs, and starting a new career path with the help of a career coach.

How Beatboxing Can Help Your Child Become a Better Musician

How Beatboxing Can Help Your Child Become a Better Musician Suzy S. Want to help your child become a better singer or musician? Beatboxing may not be the first thing that comes to mind, but youd be surprised at how learning this skill can supplement your childs music lessons. Learn more in this guest post Musicianship is a funny thing. Whether trained in jazz, opera, classical, or soul, you can bet your bottom dollar that there are a range of techniques and tricks you would have never expected to be of help in boosting your child’s budding musical skill.  One of these techniques is beatboxing. Yes, beatboxing: an a cappella style of music-making via vocal percussion. Beatboxing not only teaches your child a greater sense of timing and rhythm, it also improves listening skills and can actually work to strengthen and protect his or her vocal cords. Whats more, it will widen your childs musical scope, which will improve creativity and overall musicianship. Here’s a quick breakdown of why learning to beatbox can help young musicians get on top of their musical game: Aural Skills and Improvising You can’t learn to beatbox from sheet music; you need to be able to listen and repeat in a ‘copycat’ style training your mind to get used to the way the sounds can work together. Eventually, the goal is to be able to improvise using the sounds you’ve learned to make. Being able to improvise relies  almost completely  on strong aural skills, and the best way to strengthen them is through the same sort of ‘listen-and-repeat’ style of exercises, precisely what children will learn when they try their hand at beatboxing. Rhythm and Timing Beatboxing is essentially a way of creating a sequence of different rhythms, which play off each other to create a complicated, yet logical, sequence of beats. To pull this off, musicians need a pretty firm understanding of musical timing and how different rhythmic and percussive sounds can combine to create a particular effect. Having a strong sense of rhythm and being able to play to complicated time signatures will be a necessity as your child becomes a more developed musician no matter what style or instrument they’re learning. For instance, jazz musicians need a strong handle on syncopation, a way of playing unexpected rhythms that are sometimes off-beat. Learning how to create fast, complicated rhythms from sequences of quick, improvised beats will boost your childs technical prowess and confidence over difficult passages.   Plus, being able to move in time to a steady beat is also linked to stronger language and reading skills. Breath Control Being able to breathe properly is essential to beatboxing. For singers and woodwind players, having good breath control is just as important. When you beatbox, you need to know how to command breath to produce different types of sounds, from a higher ‘hi-hat’ sound to a bass drum. There’s also the need to have enough breath to carry on with the performance, which means your child will need to learn how to incorporate breath into the beat itself. For vocalists, strong breath control is one of the most important factors in controlling your voice. Whether belting out a gospel tune or shattering glass with a powerful aria,  they’ll need to know exactly the amount of breath that’s required to create the tone and sound they want. How young musicians learn to exhale will alter the quality of the sound, volume, pitch, and tone of their voice; so learning how to manipulate it as a beatboxer will increase control over their range. It’s the same principle for woodwind players: different types of exhaled breath will resonate differently through the instrument, each bringing out a different sound and tone. Protecting the Vocal Cords As well as the benefits for your child’s capabilities as a musician, beatboxing can actually help strengthen and protect the vocal cords.  When you sing, you rely almost entirely on your vocal cords to produce sound, which when overused can lead to the development of scar tissue.  However, beatboxers use their entire vocal tract to create different sounds, which spreads energy across different structures, therefore minimizing strain on one particular area. Muscles used when beatboxing work to elongate the vocal tract, which can also help singers reach higher notes. Getting Started The best thing about beatboxing is that you first learn by copying. While it’s always easiest to be led by a tutor who knows what they’re doing, there are plenty of video tutorials online to help your child get his or her head around beatboxing before formally heading in for a lesson. Your child will typically start to learn to beatbox by learning how to make percussion sounds like a drum kit. For instance, they’ll be able to mimic sounds of hi-hat cymbal, the tom-tom, and bass drum, and learn how to put them together to make basic beats. As they get better, they’ll learn more complex sounds to add to the mix. Monica Karpinski is a staff member at Ingenium Academy, a summer music program for talented young musicians around the world, aged 14-18. All students are taught beatboxing, regardless of style, previous training, or instrument they play. Interested in Private Lessons? Search thousands of teachers for local and live, online lessons. Sign up for convenient, affordable private lessons today! Search for Your Teacher Photo by  Eoin C

Area of a Pyramid - Online Tutoring

Area of a Pyramid - Online Tutoring Pyramid is a geometric figure formed by a polygon base joined to a point.This point is called as the apex. Theedges of the base and the apex form a triangle. Area of the pyramid when all the side faces are the same isB+ 1/2PL. Here B is the base area of the pyramid, P is the perimeter of the base and L is the slant height. Example 1: What is the area of the pyramid which has a rectangular base with dimensions 4 cm, 8cm and slant height 6 cm? The rectangular base dimensions are 4 cm and 8 cm respectively. The base area = 4 cm * 8 cm = 32 cm2. The base perimeter = 2(8 + 4) = 2 * 12 = 24 cm. Slant height = 6 cm. Area of the pyramid = B+ 1/2PL Hence, Area = 32 + 1/2(24 * 6) = 104 cm2. Area of the pyramid = 104 cm2. Example 2: What is the area of the pyramid which has a rectangular base with dimensions 3 cm, 6 cm and slant height 10 cm? The rectangular base dimensions are 3 cm and 6 cm respectively. The base area = 3 cm * 6 cm = 18 cm2. The base perimeter = 2(3 + 6) = 2 * 9 = 18 cm. Slant height, L = 10 cm. Area of the pyramid = B+ 1/2PL Hence, area = 18 + 1/2(18 * 10) = 108 cm2. Area of the pyramid = 108 cm2.

Is the SAT Essay Required

Is the SAT Essay Required Typically, a portion of SAT prep time is dedicated to success on the essay section. As of late, however, a large number of schools are making the SAT essay optional to applicants. Ivy League schools including Brown, Harvard, and Yale are no longer requiring students to sit for the essay section of the exam. This begs the question, what does this mean for you? Is the SAT essay really required? When examining the requirement behind the SAT essay, its important to understand the SAT essay basics, the benefits and drawbacks of taking the essay, and how recent changes apply to you. Looking to gain a deeper understanding of the SAT essay requirement? Keep reading to learn more about whether the SAT essay is truly required. SAT essay basics The SATs essay is a 50-minute assessment in which youre asked to read a passage and to then write an essay that explains how the author forms his or her persuasive argument. A successful SAT essay will point to evidence from the passage as support for its explanation. The essay is scored on the following criteria: Readinghow well you understood the passage and its central ideas. Analysisyour ability to give insightful analysis of the passage and to evaluate the authors use of evidence and reasoning. Writingyour essay is well organized and shows a good command of standard writing conventions and style. [RELATED: What is an Average SAT Score?] Changes to the SAT essay In 2016, the SAT changed its essay portion from required to optional. This began raising the question for students and colleges alike as to whether to continue using the essay for admissions. Now that the essay is optional for test-takers, many schools are changing their application requirements, as well. In the first eight months of 2018, a slew of prominent schools, including Harvard, Dartmouth, and Yale, announced that they would no longer require the SAT essay. The end result is that only a handful of schools nationwide require the essay, although others still recommend that students take it. There are several reasons schools give for dropping the essay requirement. One primary reason is that many public school students are now able to take the SAT for free during the school day, and those tests dont always include the optional essay, which costs an additional amount. Also, colleges and universities generally already require applicants to show their writing ability in other ways, making the essay test less essential to some admissions processes. [RELATED: ACT and SAT Test Dates for 2018-2019] Who should take the SAT essay? Although the essay is now optional for test-takers and most colleges are no longer requiring it, that doesnt mean you shouldnt consider taking it. First, find out whether any of the schools youre interested in require or recommend the essay. You can find this information here. If your schools of interest require you to submit an essay score, be sure to sit for it on test day. Additionally, if the schools youre interested in dont require the SAT essay, it could still be a good way to showcase your writing skills to these schools. If you choose not to take the essay, inquire about other ways you can show your writing skills to these potential schools. Regardless of whether a school requires or recommends the SAT essay, they still view writing as an important skill for college success. Typically, schools will require their own essays as part of the overall application process, and some are asking students to submit a graded high school essay as an example of their writing skills. Use those opportunities, as well as the SAT essay if you so choose, to showcase your style and analytical abilities, and make the case that youre a worthy applicant. [RELATED: What I Wish I Knew About Taking the ACT/SAT] Any topics you want to know more about? Let us know! The Varsity Tutors Blog editors love hearing your feedback and opinions. Feel free to email us at blog@varsitytutors.com.

17 Tips For Recording Acoustic Guitar At Your Home Studio

17 Tips For Recording Acoustic Guitar At Your Home Studio Suzy S. Curious about recording acoustic guitar tracks at your home studio? Check out these helpful tips for before and during the session from Perth Amboy, NJ teacher  Jeff S... If youve tried recording acoustic guitar before, theres a good chance you know how demoralizing it can be to think youve captured a wonderful performance, only to learn later that its sonically flawed. Id like to offer some tips, with hopes they will assist you in rendering consistently clean and clear acoustic guitar tracks. Before you even begin, here are some tips for setting up: Find the place in the room that you feel your acoustic guitar or voice sounds best, make a mark on the floor, and also take detailed notes. Include the height of the mic off the ground, the distance between you and the mic, and the angle of yourself and the guitar in relation to the mic. Better yet, have someone take a picture of you recording in your “sweet spot.” Spend some time choosing and verifying the tempo at which you’re going to record the song. Experiment with a few different tempos until you find just the right one. Determine the mood of the song  you are recording and base all your decisions around that. Is the guitar meant to be gentle? Aggressive? Graceful? Attacky? Both the guitar part and the vocal approach will fly or die by your accurate assessment of the mood! Record acoustic guitar and vocals in mono, as these are monophonic sources. Once you get a beginning-to-end performance of the main guitar part, you can think about recording it again and either using the second part to beef up the sound or run one guitar track on the left channel and one on the right. Some engineers like to record with two different mics simultaneously, pointing one at one part of the guitar and one at another part of the guitar. Experiment and see what floats your boat. Record both guitar and vocal without any reverb, effects, or EQ adjustments. Add what you wish after it, but cut the tracks dry. This gives you much more flexibility when you mix. Set your volume levels so that you don’t end up pushing the meter into the red more than once or twice per track (even that might cause distortion enough to ruin an otherwise good track) and then focus on maintaining that level and waveform size as you replay or re-sing the part. Count in one or two measures before you start recording the guitar part. Don’t have the volume of the click track up so high that it bleeds through the headphones into the microphone. Its prudent to record with a click track, but you need to make sure its not so loud that the clicks get picked up in your vocal or instrument mic. Consider extra purchases. If your recording room isnt soundproofed and you dont have the time or the budget to make it so, dont worry. There are several effective and reasonably priced options that will quell the bleed-throughs. Three you might consider are sE Electronics Reflexion Filter X Portable Vocal Booth (just under $125), sE Electronics Reflexion Filter Pro model (just under $250), or the Auralex Pro Max (just under $350).  You might also want to consider getting a wind screen. Next, heres a list of some of the most important tips to keep in mind during your session: Be cognizant of noises, including your own breathing, arm, and hand noises as you move them on the guitar, and other noises that could come from the chair you’re sitting on, the floor, and so on. These will all contaminate your tracks. Nothing is more agonizing than thinking that your performance and recording were pristine, only to later discover that your stomach rumbled or the chair creaked. After you record a track or two, listen to the guitar track for squeaks. Some guitarists hands and styles lend themselves to more squeaking than others. Squeaks are hard to avoid altogether, but aside from being aware of them, you can get coated strings that help reduce squeaking. If youre generally pleased with a performance you record, but it has a few squeaks, write down the times where they occur and then decide whether you’re going to punch in replacement sections or look for a squeakless performance of the section in another part of the song (that you can cut and paste into the squeaky area). Remember to re-tune your guitar (and all other instruments) often during the recording process. As soon as you think you have recorded an acceptable main acoustic guitar part, throw down a quick reference (scratch) vocal (one or two takesâ€"don’t finesse the performance) to see if the vocals work well with the guitar part. In evaluating their synergy, make sure the guitar is not “stepping” on the vocal (i.e. interfering or drawing attention away from) and that there arent any glaring rhythmic or chordal anomalies. Sometimes when you separate the guitar and vocal parts and record them independently, you might alter how you play the guitar part, which makes for a stilted performance. Also, listen to make sure you are not holding out chords or notes too long (or not long enough). If your digital audio workstation (DAW) doesnt automatically save your recordings as they evolve, then you need to remember to click the save button early and often. If applicable, let the final chord of the song ring out until you can’t hear it anymore. And be ever so quiet as it does. Be sure not to breathe loud or move your hands or body. If the song has a fade-out ending, play the fade at least 15 seconds longer than you think you need. Before you decide to end your recording session, listen to the track all the way through. Its easy to lose perspective when you are doing both the engineering and recording. Take notes as to possible EQ modifications you need to make, possible spots you need to punch in, and times and specifics about any performance or recording anomalies that you hear. This way you have a game plan of things to tackle when you return to the project. As you can see, there are a lot of important details to keep in mind when recording acoustic guitar on your own.  But along with those concerns and oversight measures comes an enpowering experience with lots of advantages.  Those include the freedom of recording any day and time youd like without a reservation, deposit, or committing to a minimum block of hours; the ability to leisurely listen and evaluate the quality of various takes;  experimenting as much as youd like with  altering the position of equipment and recording environment without oversight or added expense; using and comparing different types of mics and guitars, etc. So take your time, enjoy the experience, remember to have fun, and pat yourself on the back every once in a while. Jeff S. teaches guitar, ukulele, speaking voice, songwriting, and more in Perth Amboy, NJ, as well as online.  Jeff has created and taught songwriting and music business classes at colleges, universities, and music schools throughout the country for many years. Learn more  about Jeff here!   Interested in Private Lessons? Search thousands of teachers for local and live, online lessons. Sign up for convenient, affordable private lessons today! Search for Your Teacher Photo  by erik  forsberg

Thanksgiving in Argentina

Thanksgiving in Argentina One of the best Thanksgivings Ive had was actually spent outside the United States, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, three years ago.Our Argentine turkey.Thanksgiving, of course, is a holiday usually only celebrated in the U.S. and Canada, but my wife, two other yanqui friends and I put together a pretty nice Thanksgiving feast for all of our Argentine friends. It wasnt easy to get all the necessary ingredients, especially the most important one, the turkey. But one of our friends from the U.S. knew a butcher who said he could get them delivered from the countryside, and Thanksgiving day another friend from the U.S. stuffed two small turkeys (by U.S. Thanksgiving turkey standards) into a backpack, got on the subway and brought them to our apartment.We had tried to do the traditional Thanksgiving feast at the traditional time, which is around 3 pm, but our Argentine friends nearly revolted, and we ate closer to 10 pm. We had turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes all of our traditional Thanksgi ving foods, as well as fernet and coke, and mate. Despite a small kitchen and a smaller stove, we managed to roast two great turkeys, and more than enough food for everyone that came I think there were 18 in all. Ive never been so proud of my turkey roasting skills.After eating a dinner which I think all of our Argentine friends enjoyed, we talked, played games and music, and had a good time. It was great. Our friends there had shared so much of their culture with us, so it was cool to share a uniquely U.S. and Canadian tradition with them.In some versions of the original story, Thanksgiving was originally a cross-cultural celebration, when European settlers and Native Americans, came together to give thanks for a good harvest season. Of course, the relationship between the Europeans and Native Americans didnt turn out so well and this version of Thanksgiving might not even be accurate, but whatever, those guys were jerks. Argentine Thanksgiving was great.

Tutoring the Overlap Between Teaching, Coaching and Mentoring

Tutoring the Overlap Between Teaching, Coaching and Mentoring Often when I’m called upon to explain the role of a tutor, I say that our main goal is to unlock whatever is standing in the way of a student achieving. In that respect, I see the job of a tutor as a combination of teacher, coach and a mentor. After discussing this idea with a set of successful tutors, teachers, life coaches and psychologists, these seem to be fairly good descriptions of each: Teaching A teacher imparts knowledge and understanding, usually following some form of curriculum or lesson plan. Most often they will teach a group of students (can be done one-on-one) and will work over a pre-determined time period. Examples include: school teachers, driving instructors, IT training. Coaching A coach will support an individual to achieve a specific goal, often it will be immediate and over a defined time period. The coach does not need to have any personal experience in that particular field, but instead challenges that person to grow and find answers for themselves. This work is mostly done one-on-one but can be done in groups too. Examples include: life coaches, sports coaches, personal trainers. Mentoring A mentor usually works one-on-one, and their approach is usually less structured and more organic than the other two. They share their own specific experience to help guide an individual who is setting out, or struggling, on a path that they themselves undertook in the past. A mentor is generally more long-term in their approach, and they will usually take a broader view of a person. Examples include: Corporate mentors, Obi Wan Kenobi from Star Wars*, university peer mentors. In hindsight, when I was at school… …some of the best teachers I had not only taught their subjects but were also like coaches and mentors to me. My belief is that the best tutors are those who, to varying degrees, undertake all three of these roles. At times, your job may be simply just to teach. You have identified a topic that needs to be covered and you teach it. You plan your work and work this plan. You test to assess what your student has taken onboard and create new plans based on this testing. Other times your job is to work out why a student has not been learning in school. They’re sitting in the same class as 30 other students who seem to ‘get it’ and they’re the only one who’s not. This kind of work requires a combination of mentoring and coaching. Coaching when you’re focused on why they may not have understood a particular topic, and mentoring when you’re helping them negotiate the tough world of being a student and also helping them understand why they might want to do well in school. Tutoring is the hybrid of teaching, coaching and mentoring because it involves imparting knowledge and wisdom to students, coaching them to reach their full potential and sharing specific personal experiences with them so they can grow as people. The question to ask now is why is it on the increase? Some would argue that Tutoring is merely more visible right now. That is true, but there does seem to be a marked increase. With numerous studies indicating that the return on investments for business coaching are 6 times the initial investment, it’s no surprise why so many companies are now offering coaching to their employees (1.) Results are seen in improved teamwork, morale and many other ‘soft’ skills. (2.) Mentoring programmes are equally popular with 71% of the 500 largest American companies which offer them (3.) However, coaching and mentoring programs haven’t always been so popular and it is only recently that they are becoming widely accepted, especially as people are appreciating the importance of a more subtle model of human development. As more adults receive coaching and mentoring, they may be wanting the same for their children and this is where tutoring comes in; because it helps children to improve academically whilst (when done well) very much preparing them for the challenges of life. An extra note from Mark: Thank you for taking your time to read this blog. Over the coming months I’ll be producing a number of blogs that will outline skills and tips for both parents and tutors, compiled from my notes and interviews I have conducted over the last few years. I’ve had the great fortune to interview a large number of highly successful and well-regarded tutors, as well as educational psychologists, teachers (the ones who are actually in schools) and parents to produce these blog posts. Please keep a look out on the Tutorfair blog to read more. References 1. 2004 MetrixGlobal Study â€" 689%, 2001 Manchester Group Study on Coaching â€" return almost 6 times investment â€" both http://leaderfuledge.com/resources-podcasts-papers-a-links/articles/101.html 2. 85% managers say enhancing team morale is the main value of coaching â€" chartered managers institute. http://leaderfuledge.com/resources-podcasts-papers-a-links/articles/101.html 3. 2007 Lydell Bridgeford on http://www.insala.com/Articles/leadership-coaching/mentoring-current-trends.asp * Visit www.management-mentors.com to find out more about mentoring and of course more importantly, see why Yoda is a coach and Obi Wan is a mentor.