2 Simple Tricks to Play Country Guitar

2 Simple Tricks to Play Country Guitar Sign up successful One of my first guitar teachers emphasized the difference between impression and expression. Country guitar is one hundred percent expression. When you play country guitar, youre not trying to show off how fast you can play a riff or pattern. Practice Your Expression With Your Favorite Country Songs Pick some of your favorite country songs to use for practice. If you dont have any favorites, I suggest using a Hank Williams or Patsy Cline album (preferably a vinyl copy if you have access to one). Nothings more basic and friendly (as well as educational) than the old stuff. Begin by strumming a simple three-chord pattern along with the music in the key that matches. I suggest that you start with C, F, and G7th. If that doesnt work, go up to D, G, and A7th. Once youve found the right chords, hit the bottom string of each chord, strum it, and then repeat. Practice this pattern with no embellishments. Once youre comfortable playing this, youll be ready to begin plucking individual notes. Country songs are played to convey emotions like love, heartache, loss, and simple pleasures like watching a sunset. If the song is in three-four time (one two three, one two three), it helps to match each measure with a three-syllable phrase. For example, if the song is about love, repeat the phrase I love you to yourself and assign each syllable a separate note that supports the power of this message. If the song is about heartache, assign the phrase I miss you to a set of notes. If the song is about loss, you can use a phrase like Im so blue. You can express a simple pleasure, like a picnic or sunset, with a phrase like aint this grand. If the song has a different theme, feel free to make up your own phrase and repeat the process. Add an extra word when you assign phrases to songs in common (four-four) time (I love you, dear). Coordinate Your Solos to Compliment The Songs Pattern Country solos should be mere embellishments of these three- or four-note patterns. Heres where you get the chance to practice and develop your open-handed technique (which should be as playful-sounding as possible). The verbal equivalent of a country guitar solo is an embellishment of a phrase. Its notes might be represent a phrase like I love you. Yes oh yes I do. Yes oh yes I do. I want you to love meto love me..to love me. If you do, Ill be true. You know that Ill be true. Take my hand (my hand my hand my hand) and love me tooand love me too.” Every phrase comprised of words other than the original three (yes oh yes I do. Yes oh yes I do) should be expressed musically with an alternating thumb-and-finger pattern. You might eventually want to take these patterns a step further, and use a more involved phrase like yes oh yes I do. You know I do. Yes oh yes I do and Ill be true.” For beginners who want to learn to play country guitar, I recommend Hank Williams Im So Lonesome, I Could Cry. Its both slow and in three-four time. Its three-note pattern is also easy to follow, and its dictated by the words in the song. Patsy Clines Your Cheatin Heart (in common time) is another great song for beginners. The message in a country song is usually simple and easy to understand. Country guitar patterns express the ups and downs we all experience in life. These tips should help you learn to play some basic country songs. If you need some additional help, find a teacher and sign up for guitar lessons, today! Samuel B. teaches beginner  guitar lessons in Austin, TX. He teaches lessons face-to-face without sheet music, which is his adaptation of Japanese instruction (involving a call-and-response method).  Learn more about Samuel 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 Lunchbox LP

Easy Guitar Tabs for Beginners

Easy Guitar Tabs for Beginners Sign up successful Guitar tabs show you which note needs to be played on which string by placing a fret number on the corresponding line, but they do not tell you which finger to use or the timing of the piece. Read guitar tabs from left to right and use your ear to determine the timing of each note. If youre struggling with a tab, its always a good idea to listen to a recording of the song, or work with a guitar teacher for some extra help. 3 Easy Guitar Tabs for Beginners Before playing the songs and riffs below, make sure your guitar is in tune. You can easily tune your guitar with an app on your smart phone. Heres a guitar tuning tutorial that shows you how. Now, onto the beginner guitar tabs Twinkle Twinkle Little Star You can play a wide range of notes without sliding all over the neck of your guitar in the song, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. For this tab, keep your left hand in what is known as first position. Your index finger will play all notes on the first fret, your middle finger plays all notes on the second fret, your ring finger plays the third fret, and your pinkie plays the fourth fret. Keeping your left hand still and using this fingering will help you build better speed and coordination as you learn how to play the guitar. Three Blind Mice You can also play Three Blind Mice in the same position noted above. Here is the tab for this catchy nursery rhyme. Happy Birthday Knowing how to play Happy Birthday on the guitar always comes in handy! Try out this familiar tune using the tab below. As you can see, Happy Birthday is a melody that can be played on just one string and is composed of four short phrases. The tricky part of this guitar tab is deciding on the right fingering. We recommend starting with your index finger on the second fret, your pinkie on the fifth fret, and your ring finger on the fourth fret. You can play the first phrase with your left hand in this position. To play the note on the seventh fret in the second phrase, you will need to slide your pinkie up to reach. You can then play the fifth fret with your middle finger. In the third phrase, you will have to slide your pinkie up again to reach the ninth fret, and then slide back down to play the fourth fret with your ring finger and the second fret with your index finger. For the final phrase, use your pinkie to play the tenth fret and your ring finger to play the ninth fret. Then, slide your hand down to play the fifth fret with your index finger and the seventh fret with your ring finger. Following this guide to the fingering of this piece enables you to hit all the notes while making minimal movements with your hand up and down the neck of the guitar. Easy Guitar Tabs for 3 Riffs A guitar riff is a short, catchy series of notes that is usually repeated a few times within a song. Riffs are typically simple to play and easily recognizable. Rock and pop music are full of great riffs that you can learn to play quickly. Here are a few examples with easy guitar tabs! Smoke on the Water This popular guitar riff comes from Deep Purples classic song Smoke on the Water. Youll notice that you need to play two notes on the same fret at the same time in order to play this riff. One easy way to accomplish this is to lay your index finger across multiple strings in a partial barre chord and only strum the G and D strings. Hold the partial barre shape with your left hand and move your hand from the third fret to the fifth and sixth frets as needed. Sunshine of Your Love This riff from Creams Sunshine of Your Love is also quick and easy to learn. To use the proper fingering on this riff, start with your ring finger on the twelfth fret and your index finger on the tenth. Now, this is a little bit tricky. When you play the first 10th fret note on your E string, slide your hand slightly up the neck to play the 10th fret with your ring finger. Now you can easily reach the 8th fret note that is coming up next. Youll notice that this riff calls for a bent string, as indicated by the b on the eighth fret of the A string. To bend this note, push the string up the neck of the guitar as you play. Bending a note creates a distinctive, bluesy tone. Satisfaction Guitar Riff Tabs One of the most-loved riffs in rock and roll comes from the Rolling Stones Satisfaction. Check out the tab below: You can play this awesome guitar riff all on one string! To practice the correct fingering and play with better speed, use your index finger to play the second fret, your ring finger on the fourth fret, and your pinkie on the fifth fret. Free Guitar Tabs for Beginners There are tons of free resources online where you can find easy guitar tabs for beginners. A couple of our favorite sites with popular songs include Ultimate Guitar and Songsterr. Keep in mind as you browse guitar tabs that most of what you see online was submitted by other guitarists just like you. If a tab doesnt sound quite right, somebody may have heard the song differently or made a mistake when transcribing it. Online guitar tabs are a great place to start when learning how to play your favorite songs. But if youre looking for more detailed instruction, nothing beats private guitar lessons! A guitar teacher can give you the attention and guidance you need to master tricky songs and riffs. Check out the guitar teachers at TakeLessons today to get started. Interested in Private Lessons? Search thousands of prescreened teachers for local and live, online lessons. Sign up for safe, affordable private lessons today! Search for Your Teacher Photo Credit: dustinphillips

Vegan Health Benefits Things You Should Know

Vegan Health Benefits Things You Should Know Vegan Health Benefits: Why So Many Are Being Drawn To The Philosophy ChaptersDo You Give Vegans A Bad Name?A True Wellness Experiment: Turning Scepticism Into ConvictionIs A Vegan Diet Plan Right For Me?When Veganism Takes The LimelightRecommendations For A Healthy Vegan Lifestylebase your meals on starchy carbohydrates like potatoes, pasta, bread and rice, choosing wholegrain wherever possible; that you do ingest some dairy substitutes  like yoghurts or vegan cheeses and milks (ideally opting for low fat and sugar-free options); that you eat beans and pulses to keep your protein levels up; that you eat oils and spreads (however in small amounts); and, finally, that you keep drinking 6-8 cups of water a day.The key to getting the right nutrients from vegan foods is to understand what makes up a healthy and balanced diet and planning your meals around this knowledge. The biggest risk for vegans is that they might experience a drop in essential nutrients like calcium, iron and vitamin B12.You can take some cooking classes and learn yummy vegan recipes f or a balanced diet!The key to a healthy vegan lifestyle is to understand what makes up a balanced diet, and to ensure you supplement anything missing. Photo credit: derrickbrutel on VisualhuntIf you are vegan and pregnant, it is all the more important that you eat well and ensure that you and your baby are getting the right amount of energy, nutrients and vitamins to keep you and the baby healthy, whilst facilitating the growth of your unborn child.Since a vegan diet consists of mainly plants, or foods made from plants, you will more than likely need to source some vegan alternatives to fulfil your body's needs.For a list of places you can buy vegan food  to everyday essential food items, You'll find details on vegan alternatives, like vegan cheese, non-dairy milk, vegan chocolate and nut-based ice cream.For ideas on which foods to play around with when going vegan, consider recipes containing fruits and veggies, soybeans, quinoa, tofu, spinach, broccoli, flaxseed, soy milk, almonds , walnuts, cereal, ovo, canola, beans, peas and salad, for example.To reassure you that implementing a vegan diet plan for the first time isn't as daunting as you might think, here are a few dos and don'ts for you to abide by:DoDon'tEat whole, quality plant-based foodsOverload on vegan junk food - just because it is vegan doesn't mean it is healthy in quantityDrink plenty of fluid - 6-8 glasses is the recommended amountForget about protein - there's a number of products you can incorporate into your diet to keep your protein levels upStick to your favourite recipes - just try to find vegan-friendly alternatives so as not to overwhelm youForget to treat yourself and dine out - with Veganism on the rise, there are many eateries that will now cater for vegan dietsIf you are feeling overwhelmed by the idea of changing your entire way of life as a result of following the vegan approach, then remember that it doesn't have to be a difficult process. You'll soon learn to adjust, and will mo st likely never look back once you've had a taste of vegan life.

What is a Scatter Plot

What is a Scatter Plot A scatter plot is a graphical representation of the relationship between two variables and this relationship is usually plotted on an X-Y coordinate axis. A scatter plot is generally marked with dots and it clearly shows how the variables vary with respect to each other, and based on this representation many conclusions and estimations regarding the variables are calculated. When we join the major portion of dots, we get a straight line known as the line of best fit and this is the line that best fits the data. Example 1: Analyze whether the scatter plot given below has positive trend, negative trend or no trend? A scatter plot shows positive trend if y value tends to increase as x value increases. A scatter plot shows negative trend if y value tends to decrease as x value increases. A scatter plot is said to have no trend if no general pattern is observed. The above given scatter plot shows positive trend because clearly as x is increasing, y values are also increasing moving upward! Example 2: Analyze whether the scatter plot given below has positive trend, negative trend or no trend? The above given scatter plot showsnegative trend because clearly as x is increasing, y values are decreasing thus moving downward!

How To Add And Subtract Integers

How To Add And Subtract Integers Integers are all positive and negative numbers occur on a number line. A number line represents all the integers. So they are the negative and positive whole numbers. We do not include any fractions in the integers. So numbers like -3, -8, 0, 99, 345 are all integers and , 7,33 and 45/87 are not considered as integers. The following examples will show how to add and subtract integers. Example 1:-Sam had $15 and he went to the store and purchased a candy for $6. He met his friend there which gave him $5 which he borrowed from him. What is the total amount of money Sam now have? Solution 1:-Sam had $15 in the beginning, he purchased $6 for a candy. Total amount left with him is 15 6 = $9 He met his friend who gave him $5 back Total amount he has now = 9 + 5 = $14 Hence total amount left with Sam is $14. Example 2:-Jacky has $65 in his bank account, he purchased a cd player for $21 which he sold to his friend for $25. How much money does Jacky has now? Solution 1:-The amount of money Jacky has in its account is $65 So the cost of cd player is $21 Amount left with him is 65 21 = $44 He sold it to his friend for $25 Total amount he has now = 44 + 25 = $69

What To Do If Youre Wait-Listed

What To Do If You're Wait-Listed The following piece was written by Paul Bodine. Paul has been featured in ourAdmissions Expert seriesand is the author of the best-selling admissions guide, Great Applications for Business School. He currently runs his own firm, Paul Bodine Admissions Consulting. It's that time of year: daydreaming as notification day loomed of joining your dream school you've instead learned you were wait-listed. Congratulations. You werent rejected; you qualified for admission. The admissions committee found your qualifications impressive and believes you can handle their program, but they had some 'issues' with aspects of your application or just found other applicants to be a better fit for next year's class. The truth is, how long you stay in wait-list purgatory? And what steps, if any, can you take to get out? This will depend on not only the school that wait-listed you, but on the unpredictable characteristics of the applicant pool youre competing against. A great deal will simply be beyond your control. But that doesnt you mean you must simply, passively wait and hope (or despair). That said, unless the school completely discourages further contact, take a proactive approach and launch a sustained and positive wait-list campaign. If the school is open to contact or updates, plan a strategy of regular, but not annoying, contacts designed to demonstrate your enthusiasm and fit for the schools program and culture. An effective wait-list campaign typically has three key components (again, depending on what the school permits): updating the school on new developments since you submitted your application, addressing weaknesses in your application, and reaffirming fit with the school. Recent Developments Inform the school of new achievements, initiatives, and developments. Show them that youre an even stronger applicant than you were when you applied. These developments can take the form of promotions or raises, new leadership roles at or outside work, or technical skills acquired on the job. Have you raised your GMAT score? Have you led a project or organization? Started volunteering? Taken your department, business, or club in a new direction? Have you earned a patent? Launched a business? All of these are worth informing the admissions committee about. Be sure to briefly state why you think this new development has strengthened your candidacy. Addressing Concerns If you review your application objectively (perhaps with the help of a consultant), its usually possible to arrive at some idea of what's holding your candidacy back. Applications are often wait-listed because of poor numbers (GMAT and/or GPA), vague career goals or weak work experience, insufficient community or extracurricular involvement, poorly demonstrated interest in the school, or inadequate emphasis on what makes the applicants profile or potential contribution unique. Some of these factors can be addressed, such as by taking courses in areas of weakness, retaking the GMAT, joining Toastmasters or some other professional organization, passing a CFA exam, or proactively taking on more leadership at work. Affirming Fit Reinforce your commitment to and interest in this school's program, but without repeating any of the school-specific material you mentioned in your application. Cite new examples of the ways you have reached out to learn about the wait-listing school. For example, demonstrate how your recent visit deepened your interest in the program. Perhaps you sat in on a class (Which one? What impressed you?) or chatted up students (What were their names? What did they say?). Or perhaps your work or research interests have recently led you to explore a faculty members work or touch on the mission of one of the schools institutes. If so, deliberately and specifically flesh out the bridge between your work or research interest and that faculty member or institute. Update emails are only one way to demonstrate sustained enthusiasm for the school. Some schools are open to receiving an additional letter of recommendation as long as it adds new insights into your professional, community, or even personal life. An additional letter of recommendation offers you a perfect opportunity to have a third-party do damage control on any weaknesses that may be holding your application back, by emphasizing offsetting facts or skills. It needs to be said that if you are wait-listed by schools that explicitly instruct you not to send in new information once youve been wait-listed, you must comply with their instructions. Don't give them a reason to regret keeping your candidacy alive. Keep in mind that being wait-listed does not necessarily mean your application has an 'issue' or one you can do anything about. You may well have been wait-listed only because you don't enhance or round out the entering class's diversity as well as someone else. So do what you can within the limits that the school's wait-list guidelines place on you, but don't take this personally. As a wait-listed applicant, you are likely to be viewed with greater favor if you decide to reapply the following year and have taken any steps you can in the intervening months to improve your profile. For wait-listing schools that permit applicant contact, the wait-list can be the ultimate test of your passion for attending the school. In my experience, when spots open up later in the wait-list process, schools will respond to applicants who have continued to show sustained interest and commitment to improvement. The majority of schools do not rank their wait-listees, so who gets pulled off may well come down to subjective factors such as demonstrated enthusiasm. So demonstrate it. Visit Paul Bodine Admissions Consulting for more information. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of Varsity Tutors.

8 Things to Consider When Creating a Study Schedule for the MCAT

8 Things to Consider When Creating a Study Schedule for the MCAT MCAT Medical School Admissions The Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) is one of the most challenging graduate school entry exams. While the content and strategy is difficult, it is essential for students to focus on planning when preparing for this lengthy exam. A successful MCAT preparation begins with creating a study schedule that manages to accommodate your other commitments while meeting your preparation needs. Here are eight tips to assist you in preparing your own study schedule for the exam: 1. Consider when you want toapply and begin medical school With 50+ hours of prerequisite courses and a year-long process for applying to medical school, planning for the MCAT can be daunting. There are two ways of approaching this based on what type of student you are: Traditional Students: Traditional students are those who plan to finish college in four years and start medical school the fall after graduation. Typically, traditional students finish their prerequisite courses by spring of their Sophomore year and schedule their test during their junior year. This allows them enough time to take the MCAT twice (if needed) prior to May, when applications open. Nontraditional students: A nontraditional student is anyone who does not fall under the category above. These students tend to struggle scheduling their MCAT because their timeline is not as strictly defined. In order to apply, you will need a score report for your MCAT prior to May of the year of application (e.g. If you want to matriculate in Fall 2018, you will need to take your tes t no later than April 2017 so that you receive a score report by May of 2017, when applications open). Also, keep in mind that you may want to retake the exam and should plan for a retake just in case your score does not match your goal. 2. Evaluate if you are prepared to begin studying for the MCAT Before deciding to take the MCAT you should have completed ALL your prerequisite courses. While some may advise that you can ‘self-teach’, most students struggle with this and see severe deficiencies on their score reports.Evaluate what events are coming up in your life in the next six months. Work, personal, or school events can drastically affect your study schedule. When setting up your study schedule, factor in birthdays, weddings, exams and other major events so that you do not overbook your study schedule. Make sure to leave yourself some wiggle room when planning your study schedule. Most students have some bumps along the way studying. Whether it’s the flu or car trouble, make sure you leave yourself some buffer time to deal with regular life. 3. Register for your test as early as possible and set a score goal Test registration fees increase closer to your testing date, while site availability decreases. Be sure to register early so that you can plan for your test date. In addition, use this as a motivator throughout your study plan by counting down the days. Research medical schools and note their median scores for matriculants. Set your target score slightly above the median score of schools that you would like to attend. 4. Your study schedule should be about 100 days Each student will vary in how much time they need to prepare for the MCAT. In general, a minimum of 100 days is sufficient to review the material and take a variety of practice passages and exams. Your preparation should consist of about 60% content review and 40% strategy and testing. 5. Invest in a variety of practice materials A common mistake students make when preparing for the exam is using one brand of test preparation materials. While this seems ideal since the materials usually integrate well, it also leaves the student vulnerable to a few common problems.1) Students often develop a bias towards how they approach test questions and become used to that style of writing and questioning. When the structure of questions or passages varies, they tend to not score as well. 2) While every test preparation company does their best to review all the content, they may miss some topics or not explain them in a way that resounds with the student. This is where students benefit from a variety of content review books, practice passages, and exams. In addition, reading multiple test preparation sources with the same content will reinforce the content through repetition. 6. Invest in a planner that breaks down your day into hours, days, weeks, and months Most pre-medical students are overachievers and lead extremely busy lives. Given this type of lifestyle, it is easy to lose track of how a day, week, or even a month is spent. Studying for the MCAT is like training for a marathon, every session counts towards your long-term goal. Using a planner that breaks down your time allows you to track your short-term study habits, while also keeping track of your long-term goal for your exam. Ideally, you should be tracking how many hours you study per day while noting how much you can accomplish during that time frame. 7. Evaluate and adjust your study schedule. Track your progress Use your planner to evaluate whether you are sticking to your study schedule and meeting your goals. This will allow you to assess whether you need to change study habits, environment, or lessen commitments. In addition to a planner, an excel sheet or notebook tracking passage and exam results is a useful tool to measure progress. This will allow you to assess whether you are on track to meet your target score and what areas of content are weak. 8. Beware of burnout and don’t be afraid to alter your plans or test date While studying for the MCAT can be all consuming, it is important to balance the exam. With a 100-day study schedule, you should be able to take at least one day a week off from studying and testing. Breaks allow you to refresh and remember why you are studying for such an arduous exam.As you approach your test date, it is normal to consider rescheduling your exam if you are not meeting your score goals or are behind on your study schedule. You can reschedule your exam up until 1 month prior to your test. Relax and take the time you need to do well; you will be glad you did!

Major Building Blocks for Early Readers

Major Building Blocks for Early Readers Major Building Blocks for Early Readers How to Support Your Young Reader at Home If your child is an early elementary school student, you likely know how critical these first few years are in his or her reading development. According to the National Association for the Education of Young Children and the International Reading Association, learning to read and write isnt an automaticparents and teachers must expose young children to books and experiences in drawing, pretend play and symbolic activities and guide their instruction in learning to recognize letters and sounds in order for them to become literate. Also, the spectrum of literacy development is wide. Some children may acquire skills at different times than others, and the best teachers try different approaches and techniques based on the knowledge that students have. As your child navigates preschool through the early elementary grades, he or she will acquire a range of literacy skills that will help him or her become a capable reader. Here are a few of those building blocks and tips for how you can best support your readers learning (as researched in depth by the National Reading Panel, a collaborative jointly established by the U.S. Department of Education and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development): Phonemic awareness Put simply, the smallest units (or sounds) of spoken language are called phonemes. As your child learns more about language, he or she must understand that words are composed of different sounds (/t/ /a/ /p/ in tap and /p/ /I/ in pie, for example), that some words make the same sounds (bag, band and bet all start with the /b/ sound) and often, sounds are formed from multiple letters. Songs and games are a great way to help children understand the various sounds that words make. Give your child a word (row) and have him or her add sounds to the beginning and end of the word to form new words (such as grow when /g/ is added to the beginning, or rows when /s/ is added to the end). Phonics Phonics instruction includes the teaching of letter sounds, the relationships between letters and sounds, and decoding words. One of the more effective approaches to helping students learn phonics is encouraging them to spell words out based on how they sound. Your child will learn different categories of phonics, such as consonant blends (bl, br, sl, scr), short vowels (cat, dot), long vowels (stay, road, tie) and consonant digraphs (sh, ph, gh). As your child begins to understand the sounds associated with these different letters and letter groups, he or she can use that knowledge to sound out new words. Fluency The goal for all students is to get them to read fluentlywith accuracy, speed and good expression. Without a doubt, practice makes perfect. Read aloud with your child every day. Take turns being the reader and allowing your child to read aloud and offer constructive feedback when your child reads. Vocabulary At a young age, children must learn high-frequency words that are common in written and oral language. Often, these sight words are not easy to decode, and therefore, it is important that newer readers can recognize them on sight. Over time, children must also learn words that are commonly used but unlikely to be known. Reading, writing and talking are the best ways to help children expand their vocabulary. Reading comprehension These days, there is great emphasis on the importance of reading comprehensionand it has long been known that reading comprehension is essential in the acquisition of literacy skills. A form of active thinking, comprehension involves inferring information that the author does not say explicitly, interpreting ideas and thinking through texts meaning. There are many reading comprehension strategies that you can try at home: summarizing passages while reading a story (and having your child do the same), asking questions about the story, thinking through the plot, structure, problem and setting of a story, and pausing to confirm understanding while reading challenging or intricate passages. It is easy to take for granted that a child will learn to read, but there are many pieces that must fall into place for it to happen. While you may not know exactly how to teach phonemic awareness or the best reading comprehension strategies for your child, your role as supporter is still critically important. As your childs teacher sends home reading exercises and assignments, invest the time to work on them with your child, knowing that the end result will be your child becoming a proficient reader and a stronger student.