Wonderful classical sound to the vocals on this song. The flowing & very fast and artistic shots lend a feminine & masculine vibe. Wonderful close up of her make-up shot. Sounds like the lyric, partially audible is actually a long poem set to melody. Met this band at MySpace & am trying to sign a couple of their songs into our music catalog. They are Factory Of Dreams.
by Devin Coldewey on February 11, 2010
Yesterday, in response to allegations of DMCA violations, several popular music blogs were wiped off the face of the net. They were hosted by Google via Blogger, and it was only after they were completely erased that the owners received emails to the effect of “We got one too many complaints — you’re deleted. Love, Google.” It’s trending around the net as “Musicblogocide 2010,” but that puts too much of it on Google’s lap, I think. After all, it’s the clumsy and outdated DMCA that actually led to the blogs being deleted.
It’s a bit of a sticky wicket, speculating about the legality of these things, but with such a decisive and bold action as the one Google has taken, we can probably reach some conclusions about how it should have gone down.
The sites in question were, of course, walking the line in terms of legality. MP3 blogs are scary to the music industry, because they represent such a challenge to the established promotional and sales flow. This is not the place for a whole argument about fair use, but I think most of what these blogs did would fall under that definition, woolly as it is. They hosted MP3s of artists they were discussing or promoting, but not whole albums. One of the bloggers notes that “everything I’ve posted for, let’s say, the past two years, has either been provided by a promotional company, came directly from the record label, or came directly from the artist.” I used to have an MP3 blog myself, and never received anything but thanks from the artists I tried to promote. So what happened here?
Well, Google is probably limited in what they can discuss publicly, but chances are that these blogs were fingered by some overzealous lawyers using the same sort of technique to catch copyright offenders as commercial fishermen use to catch tuna. These lawyers likely did a little searching for their clients’ names and properties, found a few MP3s, and then added the domains and any related domains to a list. They then filed DMCA violation paperwork against everyone on the list. How could a blog that had permission from the labels or artists to post every item get stuck in this net? Well, at the risk of stretching the metaphor too far, the DMCA isn’t exactly dolphin-safe.
I’m not a lawyer, so I won’t attempt to criticize the DMCA on any sort of technical grounds, but more eminent authorities have concluded that the act and its related laws are admirably well-designed to preserve the status quo. It’s clear that the laws had the interests of labels and such in mind, who certainly had a hand in setting them up. How else would it come to be so easy to get an innocent, probably beneficial personal blog completely effaced from the net?
The Blogger authorities have responded, somewhat, in this post. Essentially they’re saying “well, we just followed the rules.” And that’s true. They offered this service for free with a EULA and what they did was, if not the best move, at least not unprecedented. There are at least two problems presented, though.
First, the burden of proof is on the accused. That’s a bit disturbing, isn’t it? Any allegation is assumed to be true unless the person at which it is directed disputes it — a person who likely little understand of the technicalities of the law, and furthermore is often not even informed which track or post is allegedly in violation. Their recourse is limited and obscure. And mistaken or fraudulent takedown notices are far from rare. One of the bloggers affected cited four he’d received in the last year that had turned out to be out of order.
Second, the sites that were taken down were more than lists of links to MP3s. There was a lot of content on there that was most certainly not violating any law. Specifically, all the writing done by the bloggers and commenters. Some of these blogs had been going for years, and had built up large readerships as well as an enormous archive of commentary, history, interviews, all that kind of thing. Blogger threw the baby out with the bathwater, and there should be some kind of protection against that.
On that last point, it should probably be noted that while the blogs were described as being completely removed, I have no doubt that they’ve simply been taken offline. The content has not been zeroed off the servers and so on. After all, what if the owners challenged the DMCA notices and won? They could conceivably sue Blogger for destroying years of work that had nothing to do with the allegedly offending content. That last part I’m not sure about (Google is within the law in taking the blogs down) but a sympathetic judge might see the harm done and blame Google for acting rashly and negligently. So I’m guessing all that content is still around, though much damage will have been done whether the blogs are ever restored or not.
Of course, it’s not just music pirates who are now worried. Since these blogs were popular and (in a relative way) legitimate, it seems that the dagger now hangs above every person that ever dared to share. It’s like the immense fines levied against minor P2P offenders: the RIAA and its lawyers are barking up the wrong tree and biting the wrong ankles. And since they show no sign of changing their tack, we must appeal to the middle man — in this case, Google and Blogger. What could they have done?
Well, to begin with, a presumption of innocent would be nice. They say that they usually just put the offending post in draft status and alert the owner. So far, so good. But what line was crossed that these blogs were not only removed, but removed with no warning? A cordial notice of suspension would be a hundred times better than a real removal:
“We’ve received several complaints about your blog. Because of their number and previous complaints against you, we’ve temporarily suspended your account until this issue can be resolved. View the complaints here. If you feel these allegations are baseless, fill out this form and we will forward it to the complainants. We apologize for any inconvenience.”
Wouldn’t that be nice? If you’re going to give someone the means to walk in the margins of the law (and free blogging accounts are certainly that), then it would be ethical to provide some means of negotiating with it. Google offers a loaded gun to anyone who asks; there’s no need to defend someone if they take the gun and hold up a bank with it, but if they do, at least make sure they get read their rights before they get hauled off.
Lastly, lest I be accused of promoting kid-glove treatment of those ignorant of the law and EULA, people who intend to work in the margins of the law should make sure they know what those margins are, and how to navigate them. It is their responsibility, after all, and ignorance is not a valid defense. I was careful to add a disclaimer that was linked in every MP3 post I wrote which provided contact information and copyright acknowledgment. I’m guessing these blogs did as well; they wouldn’t have been so friendly with the musicians they worked with if they didn’t. But it’s a first line of defense, and if I (and they) were serious about having a website that provided a questionably legal service, I would have put some serious CYA boilerplate in there.
This little fracas is, I am guessing, far from over, so we can expect further developments. But I felt it was important to weigh in following the event itself in order that I can weigh the actual results against what is most desirable. These disputes don’t always end happily, but they often serve to further demarcate ambiguous areas of the law, and future settlements will walk more freely once they clear the backs of their fallen brethren. That came out a bit more dramatic than I had intended, but you understand me. We’re making a new media omelet, and some eggs are about to get cracked.
There are many people out there who just love to sing or imagine themselves with a great singing career. However, there may be a few things lacking from their technique or ability that will set them back from others in the music industry. While there are many different things that can help a singing voice to become better, following some singing tips will greatly improve the chance of making it big. Even for those who sing only for small groups or in a church choir, the tips that are given by others in the music industry can certainly improve just about any voice.
As any vocal coach will say, singing should be a relaxing hobby, so there is no need to be tense. Those singers who are much more relaxed with their mouths and tongues will have a much better sound than those who keep their mouths more closed than open or have their tension in their tongues. These two singing tips alone can greatly improve a singing voice as this is where the majority of the problems come into play. Many singers find it useful to sing while looking in a mirror so they can determine if their mouth needs to open further or their tongue is too tense.
Understanding the correct way to breathe while singing is also important to have a great singing voice. Many people tend to take in too much air or don’t breathe deeply enough to maintain a note for any length of time. It is important to allow breath to come naturally as it does in everyday life. Some other great singing tips include believing what is being sung and having the energy to sing the song. Since it often take a lot of physical energy to actually produce the notes to sing any song, a singer must be energized in order to hit higher notes and keep the note held for any length of time.
Following as many of these tips is essential for any singer to do a much better job. It really doesn’t matter if someone is singing in church or on stage in Nashville, they must understand that these tips will allow them to be the best singer they can be. The hard work involved in perfecting a singing voice will pay off when singing in public the next time.
This is just a follow up from Kurb promotion talking specific stuff for musicians websites and blogs when you’re dealing with music business and Online Artist Management. If you’re looking for music marketing services or free regular advice visit kurb’s music marketing, management, and blog! Here’s some tips on developing your artist blog or music website- posts spaced months apart make the site look dead and inactive, we need to get the posting frequency up so fans see that the band has an active presence and the website is worth coming back to or recommending. Our key outcomes for visitors that is: sign ups, sales, and social networks, free downloads must be prominent. Often I will include these prompts at the head of each post so visitors are always made aware of particular propositions we are pushing.
Having a lot of written content on your site is essential if you’re going to bring in Google traffic, so we need to produce written content. Usually when I’m doing content and branding work for Online Artist Management we aim for 1 post each week on the blog then we collate these 4 posts with any other content available to make up our monthly email mail out. I’ve been doing my blog for 2 years now but it averages 200 hits a day and I am never short of leads, when you can get that kind of traction you should be able to pick up fans without even the benefit of other more aggressive But I’ve written 300 posts in that time so that’s the kind of commitment you’re looking at, but from my perspective it’s worth it because I never have to look for “fans” now, there’s always someone ready to pay me for what I do.
It’s a great struggle for me because the written word is my natural medium, whereas a lot of artists find it more of a chore. If you can make this part of your promotion routine it would be great, with some other clients. I have to write their blogs etc. for them and I have to charge them significantly for this and it still doesn’t substitute for the artists directly contributing this to engage the fans. So you want to be concentrating on writing as much down as possible, but we also want strong visual content. Sounds like you’ve got the video stuff covered so I’ll wait and see what you come up with before making any detailed suggestions, although long term it probably be advisable to improve the presentation of your site, and also stay mindful of what exactly our key propositions are (whether that’s an email sign up or sale of a product or service).
I think initially we should start with a free song in exchange for an email sign up and to push the album, design a landing page for the album to push fans toward and also think about another page where we might develop an alternative offer compromised of other offerings outside your album. I have been doing some Google promo for bands and musicians website, but I think it’s important for us to discuss improving your homepage. I think you said you could do the changes yourself? I think it’s really important to get the feel of the site and social pages right before launching into some of our Artist Management and promotion strategies. For more information visit us at:
Neil Young will be touring the Gulf Coast this September in an effort to aid those affected by the BP oil spill. He will be performing four concerts in the region and has asked that concert goers bring non-perishable food items to the shows. Those items will be donated to the Bay Area Food Bank, which serves communities in Alabama, Florida and Mississippi. Young has also enlisted the help of Tyson Foods, who will be donating 100,000 pounds of chicken—the equivalent of 400,000 meals—to the food bank. Additionally, all profits from the sale of limited-edition t-shirts, available only at the concerts, will go to the food bank. Young also hopes that the concerts will help bring funds to businesses in the area affected by the BP oil spill. “Millions of people who live along the Gulf Coast struggle with hunger and the economic impact of the oil spill has only made matters worse,” Young said in a recent press release. Dates for the concerts are below.
9/20 – Panama City, FL – Marina Civic Center
9/25 – Biloxi, MS – IP Showroom
9/26 – Mobile, AL – Saenger Theatre
9/28 – Pensacola, FL – Saenger Theatre
Apple loses big in DRM ruling: jailbreaks are “fair use”| Last updated 2 days ago
Every three years, the Library of Congress has the thankless task of listening to people complain about the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The DMCA forbade most attempts to bypass the digital locks on things like DVDs, music, and computer software, but it also gave the Library the ability to wave its magical copyright wand and make certain DRM cracks legal for three years at a time.
This time, the Library went (comparatively) nuts, allowing widespread bypassing of the CSS encryption on DVDs, declaring iPhone jailbreaking to be “fair use,” and letting consumers crack their legally purchased e-books in order to have them read aloud by computers.
The DMCA was passed in 1998, so this is the fourth go-round for the Library. In the past, people have usually complained that DRM prevented them from making legitimate use of items like DVDs—format-shifting a copy to one’s iPod, for instance, was forbidden. The Register of Copyrights (who is part of the Library of Congress) dutifully listened to these complaints and then did… very little. Previous exemptions could charitably be described as “parsimonious.” After all, if you need a two-minute clip of a film, you could always get it from a VHS tape or by taping a TV screen. Right?
The Librarian and the Register, cautious folks that they are, have moved slowly, but after more than a decade of the DMCA, they are increasingly willing to acknowledge its harms. That lead to this morning’s ruling, which provides DRM circumvention exemptions for the following six classes of works:
(1) Motion pictures on DVDs that are lawfully made and acquired and that are protected by the Content Scrambling System when circumvention is accomplished solely in order to accomplish the incorporation of short portions of motion pictures into new works for the purpose of criticism or comment, and where the person engaging in circumvention believes and has reasonable grounds for believing that circumvention is necessary to fulfill the purpose of the use in the following instances:
(i) Educational uses by college and university professors and by college and university film and media studies students; (ii) Documentary filmmaking; (iii) Noncommercial videos.
(2) Computer programs that enable wireless telephone handsets to execute software applications, where circumvention is accomplished for the sole purpose of enabling interoperability of such applications, when they have been lawfully obtained, with computer programs on the telephone handset.
(3) Computer programs, in the form of firmware or software, that enable used wireless telephone handsets to connect to a wireless telecommunications network, when circumvention is initiated by the owner of the copy of the computer program solely in order to connect to a wireless telecommunications network and access to the network is authorized by the operator of the network.
(4) Video games accessible on personal computers and protected by technological protection measures that control access to lawfully obtained works, when circumvention is accomplished solely for the purpose of good faith testing for, investigating, or correcting security flaws or vulnerabilities, if:
(i) The information derived from the security testing is used primarily to promote the security of the owner or operator of a computer, computer system, or computer network; and (ii) The information derived from the security testing is used or maintained in a manner that does not facilitate copyright infringement or a violation of applicable law.
(5) Computer programs protected by dongles that prevent access due to malfunction or damage and which are obsolete. A dongle shall be considered obsolete if it is no longer manufactured or if a replacement or repair is no longer reasonably available in the commercial marketplace; and
(6) Literary works distributed in ebook format when all existing ebook editions of the work (including digital text editions made available by authorized entities) contain access controls that prevent the enabling either of the book’s read-aloud function or of screen readers that render the text into a specialized format.
The language here can be opaque, so let’s parse these a bit.
First up: DVDs! Previous exemptions have been carved out for college professors who might use film clips in class. But note the broad nature of the new rule—it applies to everyone. As long as you are making a documentary or noncommercial video, you’re in.
The exemption only covers “short portions of motion pictures,” since the Register was not convinced that longer portions would necessarily be fair use. And if there’s some other way of getting the clips short of bypassing DRM, you should take it.
According to the official explanatory text (PDF), “Where alternatives to circumvention can be used to achieve the noninfringing purpose, such noncircumventing alternatives should be used.” Thus, if you have screen capture software and need only a low-quality copy for some purpose, you should use that.
But the exemption is a key one, despite its limiting language. As the Librarian of Congress finally admitted, “I agree with the Register that the record demonstrates that it is sometimes necessary to circumvent access controls on DVDs in order to make these kinds of fair uses of short portions of motion pictures.”
The most surprising ruling was on “jailbreaking” one’s phone (exemption number two), replacing the company-provided operating system with a hacked version that has fewer limitations. Make no mistake: this was all about Apple. And Apple lost.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation argued that jailbreaking one’s iPhone should be allowed, even though it required one to bypass some DRM and then to reuse a small bit of Apple’s copyright firmware code. Apple showed up at the hearings to say, in numerous ways, that the idea was terrible, ridiculous, and illegal. In large part, that was because the limit on jailbreaking was needed to preserve Apple’s controlled ecosystem, which the company said was of great value to consumers.
That might be true, the Register agreed, but what did it have to do with copyright?
“Apple is not concerned that the practice of jailbreaking will displace sales of its firmware or of iPhones,” wrote the Register, explaining her thinking by running through the “four factors” of the fair use test. “Indeed, since one cannot engage in that practice unless one has acquired an iPhone, it would be difficult to make that argument. Rather, the harm that Apple fears is harm to its reputation. Apple is concerned that jailbreaking will breach the integrity of the iPhone’s ecosystem. The Register concludes that such alleged adverse effects are not in the nature of the harm that the fourth fair use factor is intended to address.”
And the Register concluded that a jailbroken phone used “fewer than 50 bytes of code out of more than 8 million bytes, or approximately 1/160,000 of the copyrighted work as a whole. Where the alleged infringement consists of the making of an unauthorized derivative work, and the only modifications are so de minimis, the fact that iPhone users are using almost the entire iPhone firmware for the purpose for which it was provided to them by Apple undermines the significance” of Apple’s argument.
The conclusion is sure to irritate Steve Jobs: “On balance, the Register concludes that when one jailbreaks a smartphone in order to make the operating system on that phone interoperable with an independently created application that has not been approved by the maker of the smartphone or the maker of its operating system, the modifications that are made purely for the purpose of such interoperability are fair uses.”
Exemption four is quite clear—security research on DRM-limited video games is allowed—but why is it there? What research needs to be done?
It turns out that the real target here is the DRM itself, specifically two controversial systems called SecuROM and SafeDisc. Professor Alex Halderman, a longtime security researcher in this area, begged the Library to let him investigate these kinds of invasive DRM without legal worries.
“The evidence relating to SecuROM tends to be highly speculative,” said the Register, explaining her approval of the exemption, “but Professor Halderman asserted that this situation has been crying out for an investigation by reputable security researchers in order to rigorously determine the nature of the problem that this system cause[s], and dispel this uncertainty about exactly what’s going on. He believed that the prohibition on circumvention is at least in part to blame for the lack of rigorous, independent analysis.”
But the SafeDisc situation is clearer. “In contrast to SecuROM, SafeDisc has created a verifiable security vulnerability on a large number of computers. Opponents of the proposed class did not dispute that SafeDisc created a security vulnerability, but they argued that the security flaw was patched by Microsoft in 2007, without the need of an exemption. However, SafeDisc was preloaded on nearly every copy of Microsoft’s Windows XP and Windows 2003 operating systems and was on the market for over six years before a security researcher discovered malware exploiting the security. The vulnerability had the capacity to affect nearly one billion PCs.”
Given what’s at stake, the Library decided to allow such security research.
Remember how Amazon got into trouble with publishers for allowing its Kindle to do automated text-to-speech? Publishers objected that this could cut into their audiobook money and that it might violate their rights.
Amazon may have clamped down on the feature in response, but the Library of Congress has now given users the right to crack e-book DRM in order to hear the words. Exemption number six only applies in cases where there is no alternative; if e-book vendors offer any sort of version that allows screen-reading or text-to-speech, even if the price is significantly higher, people must use that version rather than bypass DRM.
But if there are no commercial alternatives, e-book buyers are at last legally allowed to bypass DRM.
Other, broader exemptions were not allowed. Bypassing the DRM on purchased music when the authentication servers have gone dark? Still illegal. Bypassing the DRM on streaming video in order to watch it on non-supported platforms? Nope.
But the exemptions that did make it were carefully thought out and actually helpful this time around. That’s the good news. The bad news is that they must be re-argued every three years, and the Library has taken so long getting its most recent ruling out that that the next review happens just two years from now.
So enjoy your exemptions while you can.
So, Does “Indie” Really Mean Anything Anymore?
Author Info
Monday, July 26, 2010
“Indie cred” used to stand for something. It meant selling 7-inches at local record stores, not paying radio stations for spins, and not watering things down for mainstream acceptance. But these days, everyone has direct access to the fan, major labels are weaker than ever, and traditional endpoints like terrestrial radio are losing influence.
Meanwhile, the worlds of indie and major seem increasingly blurred. So-called indie bands are often upstreamed into the major label world (for example, Interpol onto Capitol), and so-called “indie distributors” like RED are often owned by majors (in this case, Sony Music Entertainment).
So, what does “indie” really mean anymore? And, is it dead? That was the smart question asked by Paste writer Nick Purdy, who chatted with A2IM chief Rich Bengloff on the matter. Bengloff pointed to continued access issues involving traditional brick-n-mortar retailers and radio stations, offering a reminder that old-school formats still wield considerable influence. But Bengloff is stumping for many of the same issues as the RIAA, including anti-piracy objectives (A2IM supports ‘graduated response’); demands for recording royalties from terrestrial radio plays, and even DMCA-related concerns (A2IM is working to appeal the outcome of Veoh v. UMG).
So what is the difference then? In the digital sphere, Bengloff also pointed to issues getting exposure on platforms like the iTunes Store. But anyone can upload and chart on iTunes these days, and an artist website is a dedicated showcase and retailer unto itself. In that light, is the term “indie” just another relic of a not-too-distant past? It’s a question worth asking…
To read comments:
From a Bob Lefsetz letter:
There's a fascinating and quite boring article in the latest issue of "Newsweek" about the creativity gap, how creativity is declining in America. Reading it I couldn't stop thinking about the music business. Ahmet Ertegun wrote songs. Sure, he liked getting paid, but getting rich was not his primary motive for getting into the business, it was his love of music. And he wasn't wealthy enough to be able to go it alone, he enlisted the bank account of his dentist. Contrast that with the executives of today. Who got into music because of the money. Or the flash. That creative spark of Ahmet, the ability to put multiple elements together to create something infectious, that's absent in today's conference room. I'll even give Clive Davis credit, although I felt his mainstream, formula concoctions squeezed out vitality, there was a creative process at work, based on the music more than the marketing. Today's labels are all about the deal. And we all know, they came to innovative online marketing last. It's no wonder that the labels were trumped by MTV three decades ago...they couldn't SEE the power of music on television! But it's even worse in the sphere of concert promotion. Promoters have traditionally been businessmen, pure and simple. Buying a product and selling it. Sure, Bill Graham added more, but isn't it fascinating that he had a background in theatre! In other words, maybe Michael Rapino can't save Live Nation because he can't come up with enough breakthrough creative concepts. As for Randy Phillips and AEG, how difficult is it to scoop the cream off the top? The real skill is building from the bottom, taking something outside and making it mainstream. But the music business squeezed the innovators out. Every young kid with an idea was fired, if he even got a job to begin with, and went into tech, and sure, many of those ideas failed, like stiff albums, but we ended up with Facebook and iPhone apps and so many cool gadgets and software. Whereas in music we've got nothing new, just endless riffs on what came before. Even the artists. We didn't nurture creativity, we were only interested in good-looking automatons we could tell what to do. So, when you finally got them in an interview, they spoke about clothes and thanked their sponsors. Go off script and you get punished. But weren't we always drawn to those who went off script? In other words, businessmen squeezed all the creativity out in the name of profits. And now the business is in the hands of the concert promoters, who were always the least creative element in the chain. The label built the stars, the concert promoter sold them. Now the promoter must build the star, but he doesn't know how. As for fixing his own business, he's flummoxed. He thinks if he just lowers the price, somehow people will magically appear. But they don't. We're drawn to cool. To the wow factor. And sure, these can occasionally be manufactured, but less in music and more in movies. Music's appeal is its authenticity. Eliminate that, and you've got product. But people will only overpay to go to a crowded, overheated auditorium if the act has that something extra, that je ne sais quois. Wasn't that Bowie's appeal? He was just one step beyond. In both music and staging. No band-aid is going to fix the music business. The solution will come from innovative ideas, implemented by those with creative risk ingrained in their DNA. In other words, the music business can't be fixed by the usual suspects, those presently in charge, because they just don't have it in them, they lack creativity. John Sculley could steer Apple, make the books balance, but only Steve Jobs could come up with the products people salivated over, that throngs clamored to buy. Only musicians more familiar with studios than hairstylists can create the underlying product. Sure, an executive can delineate market realities, but as soon as the executive starts changing the music, that's where trouble begins. Hits exist in their own rarefied air. The audience comes to them. Hiring Dr. Luke to create a me-too concoction that runs up the chart and is quickly forgotten is what's killing the business, not what's keeping it alive. The bands in Brooklyn may be too out there to ever break through, but they've got the right idea, throw out the conventions, start over with a clean slate, focus on music and fun, then the money might follow. http://www.newsweek.com/2010/07/10/the-creativity-crisis.html
AS A TAG LINE = SONGS2SHARE IS DOING SOMETHING VERY CREATIVE & WE HELP EVERY LAYER OF SONGWRITER MAKE GREAT SONG MATERIAL.
Received this e-mail newsletter from The Pantry Lady. She manages the organic foods co-op that I belong to. Here information is good stuff. Just passing it along to our readers. Cheers ~ Roberta
Building Blocks of Health - Vitamin B9
What is it and How Does it Work?
Vitamin B9 also known ad Folic Acid or Folate plays an important role in the body by
During pregnancy when cell production is at it’s most rapid, Folic acid is essential for protecting the fetus from neural tube defects which can lead to disorders such as Spinal Bifida, brain tumors, cardiovascular problems, poor nerve development and limb defromities. In severe cases, lack of Folic acid can lead to anencephaly (mal-formation or lack of a brain). This is why it is very important for women who are or could become pregnant to take in at least 400 to 600 mcg of Folic Acid per day since cell growth starts at the moment of conception.
Some people use Folic Acid to prevent colon or cervical cancer. A deficiency of the vitamin makes the cells of the cervix more susceptible to viral attack which can lead to cancer.
Folic acid can also help prevent stroke or heart disease by clearing the body of excess homocysteine. By doing this, it helps lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels. In a recent study, people who consumed at least 300 mcg of folic acid per day had a 20% lower risk of stroke and a 13% lower risk of heart disease.
Oh yes you can. Symptoms for a folic acid deficiency include diarrhea, weight loss, anemia, and a red sore swollen tongue. low amounts during pregnancy include the symptoms discussed earlier.
Some medications can interfere with the body’s ability to use this vitamin so check with your doctor. Also B9 supplements should always be taken along with B12 and B6 as these vitamins work together. B12 helps free the the folate for absorption.
Can I take too much?
In most cases no. B9 is a water-soluble nutrient so what your body does not use, it flushes away. However, folic acid will interfere with the action of anti seizure and anticancer medications. People with epilepsy should not take high doses of folic acid because it might cause seizures. Cancer patients should also avoid folic acid because the cancer drug blocks folic acid to starve cancer cells.
Where can I find it?
Folate is derived from the word foliage. Folate can be found in green leafy vegetables such as spinach. It is also found in broccoli, asparagus, seeds, liver and dried peas and beans. Folate is damaged by heat so don’t cook with too much water or heat. For best results, eat the vegetables raw or juiced for maximum benefit.
How much do I need?
Infants
Children
Adults 13-up
More Information
For more information, please visit these sites
Lifeclinic.com - Vitamin B9 (Folic Acid) & Reduce Your Risk of Stroke with Folic Acid
WebMD.com - Folic Acid & Folic Acid and Pregnancy
TLC Cooking - How Folate Works
CDC Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - Folic Acid Homepage
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Have you ever been asking yourself: “How can I improve my solos building up ideas in a more, thematic way?” Some people like to talk the “call and response” technique but, in my experience, little or no time is spent on how to practically teach your brain to do that step by step. So here there are 3 main techniques you can use to develop your solos thematically: 1) Imitation In this short article, I’ll introduce the concept of imitation. Step 1: Choosea very simple rhythmic and harmonic setting (e.g., 4/4 , G7) Step 2: Choose a very short melody (3-4 notes) and play it over and over. Step 3: Create a variation of the original melody using the same rhythm and melodic curve (if you don’t know what a melodic curve is, just write the notes of your melody down and then join them. You’ll immediately see what your curve is). Step 4: Play the new melody 4 times, then play a new set of notes (still same melodic curve) Step 5: Now choose a chord progression (e.g., II V I or an easy standard) and practice imitation throughout the harmonic progression. You can play the same set of notes thoughout or decide to change notes in different areas of the tune (e.g., AABA) There you have 5 easy steps to start working on your thematic soloing. In my next post I’ll introduce the concept of “Extension”. |
Francesco
Also visit: www.topguitarlessonsreviewed.blogspot.com
