Brett Hoffman – Leicester Music Festival

04Jul

Interesting Facts About Tomorrowland

Posted by Brett Hoffman / Blog, Music Festivals

One of the biggest electronic music festivals held in Belgium, Tomorrowland lasts for over two weeks once a year. Since its initiation in 2005, the popularity of this music festival has skyrocketed to the very top currently. Tickets are usually sold out within a few minutes of the online counters being open. Every year people from all over the world turn up to participate in one of the biggest electronic music festivals. Over 100s of DJs turn up to showcase their music and win over new fans.
Here are a few interesting facts about Tomorrowland:
· The first edition of Tomorrowland was free to the Belgium locals. This was promoted in order to fill up the festival with people. However, the organizers incurred losses of up to 150,000 Euros, causing the organizers to stop this practice from 2006 onwards.
· The Belgium festival follows a strict no drug policy. Before entering the festival grounds, the visitors are asked to get rid of all of their illicit substances, once they are caught with it on the grounds, they are immediately sent away from the festival grounds.
· The Tomorrowland edition of 2012 saw the highest portable Ferris wheel in action. It could go up to 60 meters in the sky and was free for any patrons who were looking for an adventure ride.
· The magnificent art installations set up each year at the Tomorrowland festival are fiercely guarded by the organizers. Any person found tampering with the installations is asked to leave the grounds immediately.
· In 2009, there was an accident at the festival site due to the high intensity lasers that were used. Two people suffered from bleeding and later lodged a complaint against the organizers which were later dropped.
· In 2012, the ticket server crashed as a result of too many people trying to log into the system at the same time. This led to the organizers to switch to Paylogic to avoid such incidents in the future.

All About Coachella

Posted by Brett Hoffman / Music Festivals

Coachella Music Festival originated in 1999 in the Colorado Desert when Pearl Jam had a dispute with Ticketmaster over the service fees. This led to the creation of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival which is attended by over 500,000 people every year, from all over the world. Musical genres from several genres like rock, hip hop, indie, electronic dance music, etc. are featured at the festival.
Coachella has been held at Empire Polo Grounds in Indio ever since its inception in 1999. These huge grounds are capable of accommodating over half a million people making it ideal for the festival. As it kept growing each year, the organizers expanded the festival beyond a single day, and now it leads to a week-long festival. Many celebrities also make it a point to attend the Coachella festival making it a huge drawing point for ordinary folks.
Getting A Ticket
If you are planning on attending Coachella this year, you need to be extra vigilant to get yourself the prized tickets. You will be required to register around six months in advance to be informed about the ticket sale dates and time. Once you get an email about the date and time of the sale of tickets, you will have to wait in an online queue to wait your turn. You will need to be quick with your payment. Otherwise the tickets will be passed on to the next person in the queue. After you have successfully paid for the tickets, they will be mailed to your address.
Since the music played at Coachella includes many genres, a lot of people come from all over the world to listen to live music and be introduced to new bands and DJs. Many music lovers use this opportunity to discover new music genres and artists. So pack your bags and head on over to Coachella for a once in a lifetime experience.

Have Fun At Bonnaroo!

Posted by Brett Hoffman / Music Festivals

Every year there are a huge number of music festivals that attract people from all over the world. Among them, the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival has been becoming very popular since its inception in 2016. The organizers are trying to give back to the local community by using local labour as well using solar power to energize the festival.
Here are the reasons why Bonnaroo exceed other North American festivals:
· Get ready for adventure
The sense of getting together with fellow music lovers from all over the world is an experience like no other. The organizers offer plenty of extra activities to keep the fun level up at the festival. The early morning yoga sessions are a great way to beat the hangover of the night before.
· Low Priced Tickets
Bonnaroo organizers are insistent on keeping ticket prices low t the Bonnaroo festival to give access to it to people from all walks of life. This makes it popular among the adventure seeking music fans who are running on low budgets.
· Festival Location
Bonnaroo is held at a 700 acre farm south of Nashville, making it the perfect spot for a short getaway from the daily drivels of life. The solar panels installed at the farm site were set up with contributions from the festival goers, making it environmentally friendly at the same time.

15Mar

Benefits Of Music Lessons

Posted by Brett Hoffman / Benefits Of Music

Kids these days have busy schedules filled with different kinds of activities to prepare them for their future. As a result, it has become necessary to find a way for these kids to relax and enjoy their creative side as well. Music lessons are a great way to help young kids get a feeling of balance in their busy lives. It’s not exactly necessary they learn how to play Beethoven or other advanced classical music, all they need to learn is how to string a few notes together and learn to enjoy music.
Here are a few benefits to introducing music lessons to kids at a young age:
· Improvement in Academic Skills
Math and music are similar in more ways than one. The beat, scales, and rhythm follow a particular mathematical pattern to appear pleasant to the human ear. Music helps a child grasp mathematical facts faster and apply them to problems in school. Some teachers have found that songs can be used to create mnemonic devices to help students remember facts better.
· Improves Physical Skills
Some musical instruments master better coordination of their arms and feet thereby improving their motor skills. Experts recommend learning instruments as way to induce high energy kids to mellow down a bit. It also helps them develop ambidexterity which could be useful in the future.
· Improves Social Skills
Since music lessons introduce kids up to different avenues and more social interactions, it makes them better at adapting to any kind of social situation. It also gives kids to learn how to play as part of a group, teaching them the importance of being a team player.
· Teaches them Discipline And Patience
Since learning a musical instrument requires a lot of patience and discipline, children learnt these very important life skills early on. As they get better with at playing their instruments with constant practice, they learn how to reach a goal by being constant and having a schedule to adhere to.

19Jan

Health Advantages Offered By Music

Posted by Brett Hoffman / Benefits Of Music

Music is often credited with a lot of physical and mental health benefits by scientists all over the world. Here are a few advantages they offer:
· Help Manage Pain Better
Music has been observed to help reduce the intensity of pain in many cases like palliative medicine, geriatric care and so on.
· Motivate People Harder
Have you wondered about the kind of music played at gyms? These are often fast paced music which motivates people to work out harder and encourage them to continue even when they reach the end of their stamina. Music is also used by some students while studying to work harder.
· Improve Performance
Surgeons often play music in their operation theatre to help them get better focused while operating on their patients. It also helps people improve their endurance while performing on high stress jobs.
· Speed Up Post Workout Recovery
Most people tend to feel low on adrenaline after a high intensity workout. Relaxing music can help you get back into your groove quickly as your body gets relaxed faster. Although slower paced music is preferred, any pace music can help your recover after a workout.
· Improve Sleep
It has been observed by scientists that classical music improves sleep in people. It has also been used to treat cases of insomnia, especially among college students. Some parents of newborn babies also use classical music to help their babies get used to a sleep pattern.
· Control Diet Better
Playing soft music while eating can help reduce the amount of food eaten. It also offers a quieter ambience and encourages meaningful conversation at the dining table.
· Reduce Stress
Today’s stressful daily schedules have led to many people to suffer from lifestyle diseases at a very young age itself. Music can help relieve stress and trigger the biochemical stress reducers in the body. Listening to music on a daily music can help you elevate your tension and stress related to life and work.

05Dec

Basics Of Music Language

Posted by Brett Hoffman / Learning Music

Music is a beautiful language that is made up different parts. Each part is similar to a sentence made of words which are in turn made up of letters. The alphabets used to write music are put together to create different melodies and musical phrases. While many music artists are self-taught, it is necessary to learn basic music theory to be able to communicate with other musicians. Here are a few things that are a part of every musician’s knowledge base:
· Alphabets
The alphabets used in music are similar to English language alphabets. Each letter is assigned to represent a particular note in music. This is actually very easy to learn.
· Scales
Musical scales are actually a linear arrangement of different musical notes. These scales and pieces of scales form a huge part of the musical vocabulary as they are used in abundance in literally every song.
· Intervals
The distance between two notes in any song or musical phrase is called an interval. Every interval is named in order to make it easier to decide the harmonies.
· Chords
The combination of certain scales to create a particular sound is called a chord. These chords offer organization, structure and shape to any song. If you are playing in a band or along with a group of musicians, it is necessary to learn the chords.
· Key Signatures
The key signatures of a song can tell you the tonality or the key of the song as well as which notes the song is using. Expert musicians recommend studying key signatures in order to avoid all your songs from sounding the same.
Every musician worth their salt have to learn the basic point of music as mentioned above. At the end of the day music is the way you interact with other musicians, and if you don’t speak the same language, it becomes difficult to put across your thoughts about music.

14Sep

All About Sheet Music

Posted by Brett Hoffman / Learning Music

The language of music can be represented on paper using different symbols and notations. This makes it easy for everyone to read music just like they would read a book. However, it is necessary to know the basics of sheet music before you can attempt playing the music while reading it at the same time.
Here are a few tips to remember while entering this wonderful world of music:
· Learn the basic symbols of notation which include the staff, the notes and the clefs. Since all sheet music contains these symbols, these are crucial to know how to read sheet music.
· The fraction seen on sheet music represents the meter or the beat of the song. The numerator of the fraction represents the number of beats to a particular measure, and the bottom number represents the note value for one beat.
· A scale consists of 8 consecutive notes. Each scale will be different according to the music it creates. For example, the C major scale comprises of notes C,D,E,F,G,A,B,C. Once the C major scale is practiced, the other notes will come by easily. Interestingly each of the notes of the C major scale corresponds to the white key on the keyboard.