DAYTON, Ohio – When Motown Records released Michael Jackson’s second solo album Ben, August 1972, songwriters Arthur “Hakim” Stokes, Floyd Weatherspoon, Dana Meyers and Allen “Venny” Levinsky were thrilled. Their song “What Goes Around Comes Around” was featured on Jackson’s newest release, giving them a reason to celebrate. Dayton songwriters Stokes and Weatherspoon remember the song’s history and said they are proud it featured on a Jackson-Motown album.

Stokes said the song was written between 1970 and 1971, while in a group called The Four Corners, (Stokes, Weatherspoon, Meyers, and Jerome Johnson.)

Meyers, Weatherspoon and Stokes performed the song for Levinsky, who was a friend of Motown songwriter Hal Davis. “The song was created at a rehearsal and put together with words and a melody,” Stokes said. “Venny liked it enough to send it to Hal.”

The writers were excited about the possibility of Motown buying their song, but weren’t sure it would happen. “If you knew Venny, you’d know he liked to stretch the truth, so we didn’t believe he knew Hal,” Weatherspoon said. “When Hal came to town, Venny said, ‘This is Hal Davis.’ We didn’t believe him.” The writers were shocked to discover Levensky was serious about being friends with Davis, and found out the two grew up together.

Davis traveled to Dayton frequently to visit Levensky, and during one of his visits, he met the writers of “What Goes Around Comes Around.” Davis heard the song in Los Angeles when Levensky sent it to him, and according to Stokes, “Hal liked the song.”

Davis and the writers talked about the song and two other tracks planned for Jackson. “Hal played us some tracks – songs without words,” Weatherspoon said. “He let us hear ‘Got to Be There’ and ‘I Wanna Be Where You Are’ without words.”

When Ben was released, Motown sent the writers copies of the album, and according to Stokes, he and the writers were excited to hear Jackson sing their song. Stokes said, “Michael sounded amazing.”

The Dayton songwriters wrote another song Motown bought, called “I’m Glad it Rained.” The song remained unreleased until 1995, when Motown issued it on Soulsation! – A Jackson 5, 4-CD box set. Stokes said he and the writers were happy to hear the Jackson 5′s version, but surprised by the lyrics. “Lyrically the song was changed, but I liked their version” he said. “When they put an album together, they sift through a lot of material. It was pleasing just to know [the song] made the grade.” Motown bought the song after Levensky sent their recording to Davis.

“They put a lot of spice in to it, but that’s the music business,” Weatherspoon said.

After Jackson’s album Ben released, The Four Corners traveled to Kansas City to perform several shows. When their two-week gig ended, the group moved to Los Angeles. “Hal became our point of contact,” Stokes said.

After The Four Corners moved California, they reformed their band. Members Kerry Rutledge, Curtis Sanford, Larry Hines and Lloyd Jones joined Stokes in creating Platypus. (Weatherspoon was an original member, but left the group to move back to Dayton.)

Stokes never worked with Jackson, but was able to meet him. He and Rutledge wrote a song and Rutledge presented it to Davis in his office. “Hal didn’t end up using the song, but it was a slow, love ballad called ‘Make Me Feel Good,’” Stokes said. “Hal liked the song and set it up so Kerry and I could meet in his office. Hal had Michael come over to the office that day. Michael thought it was a good song with a good melody.” Though Jackson and Davis enjoyed the song, Stokes said he never found out if Jackson recorded the song.

Weatherspoon and Stokes said they treasure their memories at Motown, and are grateful their music was recorded by Jackson solo and the Jackson 5. “Just to have any contact with greatness is amazing,” Stokes said.

Weatherspoon said he and the other writers were touched by Jackson. “We’re part of history,” he said. “Michael’s one of the greatest entertainers and for us to even have a little part in his history is mind-blowing.”

Today, Hakim Stokes and Floyd Weatherspoon are in a local group called Touch. Joining them are members Xonerale Freeman, Anthony “Plum” Brown and Jonathan Rice. Touch will be performing free at the Pavilion in Downtown Dayton Riverscape Sept. 4, 2010. The show starts at 7 p.m.

Unbeknownst to many, there are in fact more than forty different types of gamelan in Bali. This is saying something for such a small island.

The most common type is called gong kebyar (exploding gong) which is overwhelmingly dominant at festivals and competitions. Originating in Buleleng in the early 20th century, it emerged as a secular gamelan for flamboyant, fast-paced music and dance performances held usually in the market place outside in temple. In the space of only ten or twenty years, this ensemble and its capricious music swept the island by storm. Smaller than the stately ceremonial gamelan, gong gede, it was quickly adopted into religious ceremonies and soon replaced it in all regencies outside of Bangli. Now in Bali there are more than 10,000 sets of the versatile gong kebyar. Almost every banjar and every temple own at least one set and large numbers of wealthy Balinese have commissioned sets for themselves as well. Kebyar music is characterized by its loud sound and lightening pace, and its emotional music tends to both attract and deter curious tourists.

The next most popular gamelan is angklung which has four keys in South Bali and anything up to seven keys in Buleleng. It provides cremation music all over the island and in Central and East Bali it is also used in temple anniversaries and private ceremonies. Angklung is high-pitched and highly rhythmic with note intervals resembling that of the Western major scale, and to the occidental ear sounds lively and jolly. To the Balinese, with its close association to cremations, it evokes melancholy and sadness.

Another common ensemble is the pair of bamboo xylophones called rindik in South Bali and grantang in the north. Heard playing restaurants and hotel lobbies across the island, these instruments and their cheerful and airy music were created by farmers in their breaks between tending to their crops and livestock.

©2009 Vaughan Hatch

For further articles about Balinese gamelan and dance, see www.balimusic.org

Buying a flute, advice from The Balanced Scale

Step Up / Intermediate Flute

Your biggest consideration in the purchase of a new/used flute is your budget. One might expect to spend between $1500.00 and $5000.00 for a step up / intermediate flute. While there are some cost savings associated with buying a used flute, there is also a certain amount of risk involved. A used flute will most likely need to be adjusted and balanced for your personal touch.

Some brand names to look for

Generally brand name instruments are your best choice: Altus 1007, Yamaha 500, Pearl Quantz, Sankyo, Muramatsu EX, GX and AD, Powell Signature, and Miyazawa 401 to name a few.

Features of a Step Up/Intermediate Flute:

Body tube

The body tube may be made of brass with silver plating, nickel silver or varying grades of silver. You also have the option of choosing the awalla thickness of the body tube. The different materials and construction provide different tonal characteristics.

Toneholes

Toneholes may be “drawn” and “rolled” from the body tube, or they can be soldered on. There is much debate as to the difference in sound between the two.

Keys

aYa keys and pointed, or French keys, are available as options on some step up flutes. aYa keys connect to the key mechanism or arm at the rear of the key cup, focusing finger pressure on the back of the pad.

The pointed or French arms connect to the key mechanism at the center of the key cup, focusing the finger pressure directly on the center of the pad. Other key features may include split E mechanism, inline/offset G, and aGizmoa key for low B.

The key on the left is pointed (french),abd the key on the right is a Y key; notice where they connect to the cup.

Key regulation

Regulation of the key mechanism on entry/student/intermediate model flutes is accomplished through the use of adjustment screws. Some screws are visible from the front view and others are set behind the keys.

Some stepup/intermediate flutes have Plateau (closed) style keys, however, the French (open) keys are used by the majority of professional players because they force proper technique and the open holes make it easier to produce tonal nuances.

Case

Finally, a sturdy case that fits the contour of the flute is essential to ensure that your new companion remains safe and snug. Always store your swab and wiping cloth in an external acase covera. This will ensure extra lint and moisture will not accumulate in and on your flute. Case covers are often padded for that aextraa level of security just in acasea.

I hope this was helpfull, if you have any questions, comments, queries or would like to suggest something please contribute below.

Do you have any questions...ask here

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A marriage of music and mechanics

If you look all over the internet you will find that many sites offer free sheet music for just about every instrument. When looking for sheet music especially piano sheet music there are many different genres to choose from and this makes finding the music much easier. As the turn of the century arrived piano sheet music became very popular among young adults, many people were playing the piano and parlor music became the new trend to sweep the country, this made sheet music very popular. So much so, that every home had a piano and more often than not at least one member of the family could play it.

Sometimes it is hard to read sheet music, this is not because it is hard in general it just takes practice, the more you practice reading the sheet music the better you will becomes at it. When learning any instrument and you want to learn like a pro you need to learn the sheet music, understand it and process it.

Music directors and other musicians use sheet music for different songs and it covers many different vocal ranges and instruments. It will only teach you how to play songs and compositions by rote. Nonetheless, not everyone is blessed with the ability to play songs by ear. Musicians back then publish their songs in these unbound sheets of paper. Going back to the 19th century most of the songs in the USA became popular by sheet music. In the past not all songs were written down so most of the popular might have been lost.

If you are looking to improve your musical talents a create resource is the internet, you can download free sheet music and this will benefit you in many ways because it allows you to play other pieces of music. Musicians that are struggling musicians find it much easier to find sheet music, most of the time they can download it from the internet for free. Today, sheet music is found on many music sites on the Internet with some giving an option of free downloads.

The Internet has brought forth many resources for musicians, from one-click access to research of songs, pieces and bands, to easy access to catalogues full of thousands of instruments and other products that can be ordered and shipped directly to them with a few simple clicks. As pieces of music get complicated for the person playing it the notation of the music becomes more complicated and the difficulty to the compose the music becomes harder, because of all this you will learn how to write the music as you go along. There are literally thousands, if not millions of musical pieces for violinists to play.

To have a good grasp of the notes for a guitar a good suggestion is that you learn them slowly and with concentration. Most violin music is written in the middle C so when producing notes they are written on the treble clef. When you learn a piece of music with traditional sheet music you are not just learning the notes you are also learning another language.

DJ Premier is one of the best producers in the history of hip hop music. The Source magazine along with about.com each voted him the number producer of all time. Chris Martin was born in Brooklyn, New York but also spent time in Houston, Texas while he was growing up. He attended school at Prairie View A&M outside of Houston and studied computer science. As a young DJ he was known as “Waxmaster C” and along with managing record store could play a variety of different instruments. Since the 90’s there have been no more then three producers that could test the skills of DJ Premiers status including Dr. Dre, Prince Paul and RZA. He has produced “New York State of Mind” for Nas “Ten Crack Commandments” for the Notorious B.I.G. along with several other songs by top artists. His most known production work is with Gangstarr, he produced nearly every single song that they had.

The thing that set DJ Premier apart from all the other DJ’s at the time was the fact that he combined the small vocal portions from multiple artists to make one hook on a track. His name represents being the first and that is what he wanted to be the first and best in his style of producing beats. He had a scratched chorus and two-bar break that made up the rhythms of his tracks. He also began to use ominous atonal samples on the work he did with Jeru’s “The Sun Rises In The East” album in 1994. Another interesting thing he does is for the clean albums that he releases, he personally edits out any language and fills it with a sound effect to make it more enjoyable to listen to.

DJ Premier isn’t finished producing beats, he currently owns two record label. Founded in 2002 Year-Round Records has released numerous mixtapes along with singles for the NYG’z along with Blaq Poet.

Jimi Hendrix Biography

& Top 10 Songs

by Andy Jackson

Source: HotPopRock

I have listened to Jimi Hendrix since I can remember and he was probably the first person I ever wanted to be when I was a kid. I love the guitar but I can play it about as much as I can walk on the moon. When I was much younger I attempted to take guitar lessons, but I didn’t have my own guitar and had to use my dads. The problem with that is, I’m left handed and my dad right handed and so we had to keep switching the strings about which my dad moaned at. There was no way I could play the guitar left handed like Jimi so I eventually gave up and decided to appreciate the guitar skills in others and focus my energy on other things.

Jimi was born on November 27th 1942 in Seattle, Washington and is remembered as one of the greatest guitarists of all time (the greatest to me). Jimi first became famous within the USA (his home country) and ended his career in London, England. Jimi made success in the US when he performed at the Monteray Pop Festival in 1967, he later headlined at the Woodstock Festival in 1969. Jimi had many influences to his music, including Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Curtis Mayfield and even Pete Townshend (The Who) and was also influenced by his Native American heritage.
Over the years Jimi helped to revolutionize music by developing several guitar techniques (using overdriven amplifiers to produce guitar feedback), and was one of the first performers to use stereophonic and phasing effects in the recording studio. Jimi is also well known for his flamboyant dress sense and stage performances.

Jimi was found dead in the basement flat of the Samarkand Hotel in London (I went to see for myself on a visit) and the cause of death was said to be he had died by drowning on his own vomit after drinking red wine and taking several sleeping pills. The circumstances leading upto Jimi’s death still remain somewhat a mystery and the details vary from report to report.

Jimi was inducted into the Rock N’ Roll Hall Of Fame in 1992 and holds many other achievements such as Melody Maker’ pop musician of the year 1967 and 1968, Rolling Stone Magazines number 1 of their 100 Greatest Guitarists Of All Time, and also has his star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.

Jimi released several studio albums (some notable ones being Are You Experienced, Axis: Bold as Love, Rainbow Bridge and Electric Ladyland) and has also released several live albums (Band Of Gypsys, Isle of Wight, and Bleeding Heart to name a few). Some of Jimi’s most popular singles were: Hey Joe, Stone Free, Purple Haze, All Along the Watchtower, Foxy Lady, Voodoo Child and Little Wing.

There have been many artists and bands who have covered Jimi’s songs over the years (The Cure – Purple Haze, Stone Free – Eric Clapton, Bold As Love – The Pretenders) and there have been also several tribute albums released in his honor.

My Top 10 Jimi Hendrix Songs are:

01. All Along The Watchtower

02. Hey Joe

03. Purple Haze

04. Voodoo Child

05. Crosstown Traffic

06. Little Wing

07. Stepping Stone

08. Look Over Yonder

09. Izabella

10. Spanish Castle Magic

Source: HotPopRock

Glee-Ful Highlights From Episode “Night of Neglect”
After a month of reruns (and a marathon on Good Friday), Glee finally came back this week, but I have to admit that I was disappointed. The episode is all over the place: the focus is on the maligned glee kids once again, but now they’ve formed another group that needs aid. Sue is as insidious as ever in her pursuit of destroying Will and the club, and Gwyneth Paltrow shows up to revel in her …
Read more on PopSugar

Lord Patten: BBC ‘must spend big on top talent’
He told staff yesterday that the public had the ‘right’ to expect the BBC to hire the best talent, even if doing so was ‘costly’.
Read more on Daily Mail

http://www.myspace.com/orianthi

hope that helped.

Expert: Kevon Bullet Simpson
Contact: www.worldofdancetour.com
Bio: Bulletyme has taught at Dance New Amsterdam, Peridance, and the Broadway Dance Center. His credits include Mann Music Center, Telemundo, Pepsi, The House of Blues, and New Line Cinema to name a few.
Filmmaker: Louis Nathan

Duration : 0:1:24

[youtube 0WZeAOcNjkQ]

Expert: Kevon Bullet Simpson
Contact: www.worldofdancetour.com
Bio: Bulletyme has taught at Dance New Amsterdam, Peridance, and the Broadway Dance Center. His credits include Mann Music Center, Telemundo, Pepsi, The House of Blues, and New Line Cinema to name a few.
Filmmaker: Louis Nathan

Duration : 0:1:13

[youtube u1FzQP21ExM]

Did you ever notice how most people who start off at a young age taking piano lessons rarely continue past high school? Then, when these people grow into adults many of them will eventually regret their decision to quit. So much so that, many will actually seek out a new piano teacher and start all over again.

Why do most people quit? I don’t think it’s because they’re not motivated or they don’t like music. I believe it’s because they don’t realize why they’re taking piano lessons in the first place. Sure they can tell you that music is important and they probably should be trying harder but the fact is most simply cannot tell you the real reason for learning in the first place.

Do you want to know why? Ok, here it is. I truly believe that music is engrained into our subconscious and most of us truly want a way to express ourselves in ways that words cannot. Not only has music been around since the dawn of time, way longer than most modern forms of entertainment but, music is an integral part of our humanity.

Music resides deep within us and when we hear it, sing it, play it, share it, learn it, teach it or even dance to it, we get a little closer to who we truly are; multi-dimensional beings who are ultimately creative.

So why do we quit? Because we get discouraged when we cannot express ourselves through music the way we want to. Usually this happens because we compare our abilities to others and the distance between the way we play music now and where we want to get seems insurmountable. But, here’s the good news. Nothing can get in your way of learning if you just realize that know matter how you play you cannot be bad. Expressing yourself in any way with music is a good thing and can never ever be bad.

Now, I’m not going to go as far as saying that most piano teachers cause their students to quit because that would mean that it’s intentional. Nothing could be further from the truth. However, I do believe that many teachers lack the necessary skills to teach their students how to play from within. What does that mean? It means that teachers know how to teach notes, scales, rhythm, harmony and how to play a piece of music. What most of them fail to realize is that there is much more to teaching music than just what the mind can absorb.

If teachers knew how to tap into the souls of their students by providing the right motivational, emotional and spiritual information then, it would be easier for their students to overcome all the obstacles of learning to play. In fact, no obstacle is too big to overcome on the way to learning to be a great artist or musician. The drive is within all of us, it just needs to be recognized.

So, how can teachers learn the necessary skills? By learning how to tap into their own creative energy. You see it’s all about energy. It would be impossible for a teacher to share information about energy if the teacher lacks the creative energy themselves. Creative energy comes from within. In my experience, many teachers have never learned how therefore can’t possibly teach it.

Learning to tap into creative energy is a process which can be learned. It’s never too late. The first step to learning is realizing that you are not already connected to this energy. Then, once you realize that you’re not connected you begin to search for ways to get connected. How? By focusing on the reasons you play music. For example; you do not play music to impress rather you play music to inspire.

Music causes emotional changes within us that are positive. Most music anyway. Of course you have to be wary of low energy music that disguises itself as high energy music such as heavy pounding rock with repetitive angry lyrics. But, piano does not fall into this category. Piano music is the perfect outlet to express innate creative energy. If more teachers are to see the results they desire then more teachers will have to tap into their own creative energy.

Paul Tobey
http://www.articlesbase.com/education-articles/why-take-piano-lessons-110231.html