Speed exercises for I've used these myself, and have found them to be quite amazing, both in strengthening your fingers and in training your mind. If you look at the patterns, they represent the three patterns that most scales are composed of: Half step -whole step, whole step - half step, whole step - whole step. If you get fast enough at playing it, people will worship you. If male, your penis will be enlarged, if female, your breasts will grow a size. Family tree of the Greek gods Key: The essential Olympians' names are given in bold font. See also List of Greek mythological figures Notes External links Media related to Family trees of Greek mythology at Wikimedia Commons
21 Cool 3 Notes-Per-String Exercises to Rock On! Photo by Jsome1 Playing 3 notes per string exercises is something I do on a regular basis. I use them to warm up, to become a faster guitar player and to spice up my improvisation. 3 notes per string licks and scales are generally used for speed picking. If you practice these exercises properly and often enough you will increase your speed. The 3 notes per string exercises are played using the alternate picking technique. Once you get the hang of it, it can become quite addictive, but be careful though. The one and only reason why these monster guitar players become so incredibly fast is that they practice long hours for days, weeks, months and years.
Math and Music If all art aspires to the condition of music, all the sciences aspire to the condition of mathematics. - George Santanaya Music is the pleasure of the human soul experiences from counting without being aware that it is counting. - Gottfried Leibniz Mathematics and music have a strange connection. Back when I was teaching High School Algebra, I had a student who was gifted in music, but not so gifted with mathematics. "Give me an A" = 440hz Some basics: Music is made up of sound. There are two constant values in music. Here is a complete list of 8 octaves in the audible range and their corresponding frequencies. Pythagoras The first person to make the connection between math and music was Pythagoras of Samos, a famous philosopher and cult leader who lived most of the time in southern Italy in 5th century BC. One bit of evidence of underlying rational numbers was in Greek music. Many of the ancient Greek harps (kitharas) had six strings corresponding to these notes. Scales Harmonics
Alternate Sleep Cycles Most people only think that there is one way to sleep: Go to sleep at night for 6-8 hours, wake up in the morning, stay awake for 16-18 hours and then repeat. Actually, that is called a monophasic sleep cycle, which is only 1 of 5 major sleep cycles that have been used successfully throughout history. The other 4 are considered polyphasic sleep cycles due to the multiple number of naps they require each day. How is this possible? Well the most important of every sleep cycle is the Stage 4 REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep, which has been shown to provide the benefits of sleep to the brain above all other stages of sleep. This way, you still get the benefits of 8 hours of sleep without wasting all of the time it takes to get to REM cycles, resulting in a much more efficient sleep cycle. Uberman Cycle: 20 to 30 minute naps every 4 hours, resulting in 6 naps each day. Everyman Cycle: One longer “core” nap that is supplemented with several 20-30 minute naps. Dymaxion Cycle: Biphasic/Siesta Cycle:
Interactive 3D model of Solar System Planets and Night Sky 10 Essentials On Guitar Improvisation Photo by Simone13 AKA John Pastorello Besides writing and playing songs I just love improvising. When I practice improvising I always first pour myself a cup of green tea, I put on some folk music (e.g. Ray La Montagne, Damien Rice, Stephen Fretwell, Glen Hansard, Sheryl Crow, etc.) on Last.fm or Spotify.com and then I start to improvise over these songs. Other times I practice melodic patterns, triads, arpeggios, licks, everything that will spice up my improvisation skills. Improvising is one of the most fun and fulfilling aspects of guitar playing, but also something that requires a lot of hard work and dedication. Here are 10 basic essentials that will help you become a better improviser. 1 – Pentatonics / blues Learn to play the pentatonic/blues scale all over the neck in all five shapes. 2 – Major Scale Next to the pentatonic scale, the major scale is the most important scale to learn. Once you can play the scale in all positions, connect the different positions with each other.
Amusing Ourselves to Death: Huxley vs Orwell A clever comic over on the accuracy of George Orwell’s predictions about future society over that of Aldous Huxley. It’s informative and scary at the same time. “In short, Orwell feared that what we hate would ruin us. 9 Mindfulness Rituals to Make Your Day Better | zen habits “Smile, breathe and go slowly.” - Thich Nhat Hanh, Zen Buddhist monk Post written by Leo Babauta. Are you simply moving through your day, without fully living? I did this for many years. It was as if life were just passing by, and I was waiting for something to happen. But today isn’t preparation for tomorrow. Fully live today by being mindful. You don’t need to do all of these, but give a few of them a try to see if they make your day better. Mindfulness Rituals Ritual isn’t about doing a routine mindlessly. Here are a few of my favorites: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. These rituals aren’t the only time you should be mindful, but they’re great reminders.