Carrie Underwood: Making a Splash in the Country Music Scene

By Greg Shuey

Ever since she won the much-coveted Idol crown in 2005, Carrie Underwood has enjoyed a very beautiful music career which turned her into a country music superstar.

Her Idol win has paved the way for a string of successes for this Checotah-native who has instantly captured the competition's judges when she sang Bonnie Rait's "I Can't Make You Love Me" during her audition. Since getting the golden ticket to Hollywood, Carrie Underwood has not stopped hitting it high with her songs and eventually took the title of American Idol.

For four seasons, Kelly Clarkson, the first Idol winner solely brandished the Idol banner in the mainstream music scene. This despite the fact that there have been two other winners after her: Ruben Studdard and Fantasia Barrino. Aside from second season runner up Clay Aikem, Kelly was the only notable Idol contestant ruling the charts. But all of that changed when Carrie Underwood joined the champs' circle.

As soon as she has won the show, fans and critics alike were immediately drawn to Carrie Underwood's music. She released her winning piece. "Inside Your Heaven," which received very good airplay. Her debut album Some Hearts was released sometime after that. And it was the start of a very fruitful career for this Checotah-native. It produced massive hits like "Jesus, Take the Wheel," "Wasted," "I Ain't in Checotah Anymore," and "Before He Cheats." The album landed at the top of the Billboard Albums chart and stayed there for eleven weeks.

She managed to nab several awards for her first venture into the music scene. Her single "Jesus, Take the Wheel" was responsible for her awards given by different award-giving bodies like the Gospel Music Association, CMT, Academy of Country Music, Country Music Association, American Music Awards, Billboard, and the Grammys.

The release of her sophomore album Carnival Ride further solidified Carrie Underwood's superstar status. She proved that she is no one-hit wonder. With number one hits like "So Small," "All American Girl," "Last Name," "Just a Dream," and "I Told You So," she was able to prove the kind of talent and star quality she possesses.

Just when you think that things could not get any better for this country superstar, she was recently named by Forbes.com as the top earner out of all the other American Idol contestants. It was reported that she earned $14 million since June 2008. After four years, she has sold nearly 10 million albums and 10.7 million digital downloads. She has, once again, bested other Idol alumnus such as Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken, Jennifer Hudson, Kellie Pickler and Chris Daughtry.

Clearly, Carrie Underwood's music has reached superstar level. This country superstar has managed to achieve in a short period of time what others would work hard for all their life. She is truly at the peak of success. - 18762

About the Author:

Carrie Underwood music is to die for! Carrie is such a talented musician! Not only that, she is so beautiful. Visit us right now to learn more about Carrie Underwood!

Is a Broadband Connection Necessary for Music Downloads

By Susan Reynolds

For anyone who has recently gotten into the world or download music and who uses a dialup connection there is one question which usually exists. Nearly all of these people wonder whether it would be a good idea to upgrade their dialup connection to a broadband connection of some type in order to download their music. The truth is that downloading music on broadband is almost a must.

There is simply no denying the truth. Downloading music without a broadband connection is a difficult process. Getting music with broadband is really the only effective way of downloading music.

Some people may wonder to themselves why they should upgrade to broadband. Like most things which offer superior service, broadband connections cost more than dialup service. One of the most obvious advantages to a broadband connection is that it won't tie up your phone line. This applies to DSL as well.

The consistency of broadband is another huge benefit. Dialup connections are notorious for randomly dropping the connection. This can be an especially large problem since many dialup services have automatic boot features which disconnect users who are not actively moving their mouse of using their keyboard.

One of the questions some people have who are wondering about upgrading to broadband is why it is so much faster than dialup. This can be especially confusing with DSL which is capable of delivering broadband speeds despite the fact that it works over the very same phone lines that dialup uses. Dialup is limited in two fashions. Physically it can achieve higher speeds than 56K but regulations exist which prevent this. It is also bogged down by the fact that it is connecting to a distant routing station. DSL is capable of these speeds because no regulations exist on it and it connects to routing stations which are within 1.5 miles of the home using it.

Unlike dialup modems broadband connections are not limited in these ways. There are no regulations in place limiting their top speeds. Lower end broadband connections are capable of reaching over 500kbps and some of the fastest broadband connections available are capable of reaching as high as 65Mbps or megabits per second.

In every way possible it is preferable to download music on a broadband connection. It may be possible to download on a dialup but a number of potential problems exist. For one, it can take a long time to download music this way. A typical dialup modem will take over 9 minutes to download a normal sized music file. Most broadband connections can do this same download in under a minute. Dialup is also notorious for disconnecting which can quickly put a stop to your music download.

No matter how you want to look at it broadband is the way to go. There is so much music available on the internet at great prices and in some cases even for free. If you are using a dialup connection you simply can't enjoy the music the way you want to. By simply upgrading to a broadband connection you will have access to all the music you could ever want. - 18762

About the Author:

Susan Reynolds is the webmaster for Free Music Downloads portal. For more information visit: http://www.musicdownload3mp.com

How To Learn Electric Guitar

By Payo W Perry

I remember when I first decided to learn electric guitar. I had an attraction to the instrument for many years but it was only when a friend of mine got one as a Christmas gift and I was able to hold it in my hands that the passion ignited big time. I couldn't wait any longer and decided there and then that I HAD to have one.

Most people kind of graduate to electric after playing acoustic guitar for a while, there's kind of a time honored rite of passage there! Personally I think its good to be able to strum and play some chords on acoustic first, it will definitely give you head start once you start in on electric.

An important decision is what style of guitar will be your main interest? What is the style you're most excited about and feel the most motivation to learn? It's important as learning electric guitar is a very different experience depending on what you want to learn. Someone taking electric guitar lessons for Jazz, for example, is going to be a world apart from another learning Metal right?

There's no real hard and fast rule for how to learn electric guitar correctly. That's why its so cool and accessible to everyone. For the fastest results my advice would be to use a combination of lessons with a local tutor and teaching yourself online. There are many resources for how to play electric guitar so take advantage of them all in combination.

As a final thought please avoid jumping into the deep end and trying to learn things which are currently beyond your ability. You have to build up your technique gradually over time and this requires some patience, common sense and restraint. Its really for the best since to kill yourself trying to play something way beyond your technical level as a beginner is a one way street to frustration and failure. You've been warned!

So long as you practice regularly - a little bit each day, and use a variety of learning resources youll be giving yourself the best chances of success on guitar. Make sure when you learn electric guitar that you stay within your range as a beginner, I'm repeating this because of its importance! - 18762

About the Author:

The writer has been teaching electric guitar professionally for many years and regularly writes for online guitar websites. For FREE video tutorials on how to play electric guitar visit his very popular website famousriffs.com where youll discover a wealth of fantastic resources to learn electric guitar.

The Cool Way To Learn How to Play Ska Guitar

By Jesscee Clark

Many of us want to learn how to play ska guitar like an expert, but we what do not realize is the degree of effort and time it requires.

Nowadays, everyone seems to be so involved in their busy routine that they are unable to take out any time for their private interests and needs. There are numerous of us who need to discover how to play ska guitar, but can not the time to go to a pro or they don't have the cash for it.

A relatively cheaper and easier source to learn how to play ska guitar is through the internet. The web hosts a number of sources that target to offer you help in mastering the art of playing guitar.

You can also look for a source that offers you a range of source in one complete and comprehensive package. This can be done through conducting your own research in finding the perfect source. You can use feedback from other people and even reviews by experts for this purpose.

You can always search the Net for related info ; reviews are one the most important sources of info in this regard. These reviews are often written by expert writers, who have years and years of professional experience ; so it is safe to trust these reviews.

Search for a program that can allow you to learn all the basics of guitar playing, along with basics of metal music gets easier, if you know about qualities of a good guitar learning program. As explained above, reviews can provide you useful information on guitar learning programs, and can help you choose the best program, possible.

It is crucial to find the right source for yourself in order to learn how to play ska guitar, but your job is not done by only doing that. It's your responsibility to remain determined and patient thru out the method. This could significantly boost your odds of learning how to play ska guitar.

If you face any problems or are making the same mistake again and again again, then you mustn't throw in the towel on your interest or doubt the program, but instead work harder towards your target of turning into a pro ska guitar player. Books are always beneficial in explaining the concept of guitar playing, with special target chords and scales.

If the source is right, then your success is wholly up to the quantity of effort you put into it. Furthermore, you can seek help from the strong online community for setting you in the right direction and finding the source that offers you maximum benefits. - 18762

About the Author:

Learn and Master Guitar is a trustworthy program. This program also permits you to discover how to play ska guitar.

Personalized Guitar Picks: Music is all Preference

By Ari Cooper-Smith

Personalized picks are very fun and have become very popular over the past few years. Many people collect special guitar picks from their favorite bands or artist. It has become a form of guitar memorabilia with some selling for thousands of dollars. You could even customize your own guitar picks to promote your band at your net upcoming gig.

People often get personalized guitar picks at concerts. They are highly sought after by die-hard fans as they feature a photo, logo or even signature. Just to have the guitar pick that your favorite guitarist used has very heavy sentimental value.

If you are playing gigs and are looking to do a little self promotion then personalized guitar picks can help you in this endeavor. They are cheap if you don't get carried away with graphics and you do not need to have the Sistine Chapel on them, a simple band logo or signature of you or your group will suffice. This can be a way to get people to remember you, spread your name and get people interested in seeing what you're all about. This might seem like a trivial, waste of time but you would be surprised what word of mouth can do in the music industry.

If you are interested in getting personalized guitar picks then the internet is the best place to start. You can find almost any guitar pick on the internet. They work as great gifts and are very cheap too. Simply go to eBay or just do a search in Google and you will no doubt have a lot to choose from. You could also try your local music store. I am sure they would have some.

If you are a concert going person they could be something you start to collect. They can be used as nostalgic pieces of your life when you saw this band and that band. Some people are addicted to live music and will follow musicians and a specific scene around for many years. In this time you could acquire hundreds, maybe thousands of picks. Collecting personalized guitar picks might seem lame, but it's no lamer than collecting stamps and people pay ridiculous amounts of money for some of them.

So you see the guitar pick is so much more than just a way to strum your guitar. They have most definitely found a niche and are a great aspect of defining and expressing your devotion to music. Personalized guitar picks just have a certain something about them. Since there are thousands of picks in the world to choose from when you are deciding to buy one, this will give you a little direction. If you see what kind of picks your favorite guitarists use maybe it will help you see what's what. - 18762

About the Author:

Guitar For Beginners Blog is a great for guitar lovers and people want to learn how to play. Wanna know more about guitars and personalized guitar picks. Click here now: Personalised Guitar Picks