11 Ways to Practice Guitar While You Watch Shark Week

11 Ways to Practice Guitar While You Watch Shark Week Sign up successful When I first started learning to play guitar, I stared too much at my hands which really slowed down my ability to read tabs or chord charts while I played. Playing with the TV on pulled my eyes away from my hands and forced me to learn to rely on my muscle memory to form chords, scales, and riffs. I also used to get bored easily while practicing technical exercises such as scales and arpeggios. With the TV on in the background and my metronome clicking happily away, I can  run through technical exercises for  a whole episode of Shark Planet. Finally, watching TV distracts the nervous, busy parts of my brain that are mainly responsible for criticizing me constantly and wondering if I left the oven on. With my focus split and my busy-brain occupied, I can improvise in a freer, less-inhibited way. I find I feel less self-conscious and much more relaxed. Plus, its great to just spend more time with a guitar in my hands. If Im sitting around at home anyway, I might as well be playing! How to Practice Guitar While Watching TV For best results, I play an unplugged electric or hollow body electric guitar while watching TV. Its a little less annoying to the other members of my household, but I can still hear myself well enough to get the job done. When Im alone, I bust out my metronome for TV practice sessions as well. 11  Things You Can Practice While You Watch TV Ready to give it a shot? Ive selected  11 shark-approved  things you can practice while you enjoy Shark Week, your next Netflix binge, or a week long Harry Potter movie marathon. 1. Play Chromatic Scales Chromatic scales involve all the fingers of your left hand and theyre a great way to refine your right hand skills with your pick. Just like any other exercise, start with your metronome on a slow speed and work up to a faster tempo. 2. Play Pentatonic Scales Pentatonic scales are at the root of many of your favorite rock, pop, and blues songs. Plus, they are a great tool to have at your disposal when it comes time to improvise a solo. Practice them in many positions on the neck to get the pentatonic patterns locked in your muscle memory. 3. Play Major Scales Practicing major scales is a must for all musicians, no matter what instrument you play. There are five patterns you can learn  to play major scales all over the fretboard. 4. Play Minor Scales Minor scales give you a  sadder,  moodier sound. The melancholy vibe of these scales will help you express your grief  when Shark Week is over. 5. Play Scales in Different Modes Each scale can be played in a different order, known as a mode, for even more variety in sound and feeling. This guide from Guitar Habits can help you learn all seven modes in seven days. 6. Practice Chord Changes Keep your eyes on the TV as you practice switching from one chord to another. You can work through the chord changes in your favorite songs, or make up chord drills to give yourself a little extra challenge. 7. Play Arpeggios Arpeggio is a fancy word for broken chord, and theyre extremely versatile piece of  your guitar-skills arsenal.  Arpeggios are great for picking an accompaniment to a singer or for improvising solos. 8. Practice Fingerpicking It can take a lot of time to master the coordination that fingerpicking requires, so why not practice this technique while youre vegging out in front of the TV? 9. Practice Something That Challenges You Sometimes when youre playing something hard, the biggest obstacle to mastering it could actually  be your own mind. Get a little bit distracted with some TV while you play through challenging pieces (or parts of pieces) and you might break through your mental block. 10. Practice Something Easy Unwind by playing through your favorite, easy, fun pieces. After all, the best thing about playing guitar is the pleasure you get from making music. Enjoy yourself! 11. Get Creative You might like to improvise along with your TV, perhaps playing along to music in the show youre watching, or writing riffs inspired by what you see on the screen. Find what you enjoy and what makes sense for you to play. Remember, though playing in front of the TV can be fun and relaxing, its no substitute for focused and dedicated practice time. Your guitar teacher can help you make a plan for great guitar practice that helps you meet your musical goals. Practice every week like its Shark Week! Do you like to play guitar while you watch TV? Why or why not? Share your thoughts in the comments below! 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

Online Writing Lab English Writing Online Tutorpace

Online Writing Lab English Writing Online Tutorpace Online writing lab is useful for the students to finish their writing assignment or learn more about English writing. The online writing labs usually have many articles on different subjects and research on different topics. Articles based on some known facts as well as some collected and well researched data. The students are recommended to go through as many articles possible before submitting their writing assignments. The online writing lab helps improve the students knowledge as well as gives relevant ideas to improve their writing. Writing is a very basic and crucial part of English. Reading different literature content provides the student with a lot of insight and depth which helps them in their coursework. Reading more articles and researching on the given writing topic improves the standards of the assignment. There are different kinds of writing in English. Each kind has its own set of rules and regulations which need to be followed. The guidelines which are provided for the writing need to be taken seriously and thoroughly understood before writing the assignment. Its suggested that a rough draft is written prior to the final writing. Research for the given topic is the key in providing an impressive writing. The students always need to recite their sources used in their writing. There are hundreds of useful articles online which not only provide the content but also provide required explanation making it easy for the students to understand. Therefor online writing labs are one of the easily available tools for students to enhance their writing skills.

Whats the difference The simple, compound, and complex sentence!

Whats the difference The simple, compound, and complex sentence! Learn the difference between simple, compound and complex sentences with anticipations, interruptions, and afterthoughts. In just 17 minutes, you will know how to punctuate and structure every sentence you will ever want to write.   This article can also help you understand how to avoid common errors like fragment, run-on, and comma splice errors because understanding sentence structure is key to understanding punctuation, also. Writing concise sentences by being mindful of sentence structure will also help you avoid wordiness. Watch the Video Learn the difference between a simple sentence, a compound sentence, and a complex sentence in 17 minutes by watching this video. You will never need another explanation. Simple, Compound, and Complex Sentences There are three basic sentences types. They get their names from their structures. The structures can be either simple, joined as equals, or joined with a subordinate. Ill explain. What is a simple sentence? A simple sentence has a subject and a verb and sometimes an object or complement. The subject is who or what the sentence is about. The verb and the object or complement together are often called the predicate. A simple sentence has two parts: its subject and its predicate. She smiled. (subject + verb)She looked pretty. (subject + verb + complement)Simple sentence What is a compound sentence? A compound sentence has two or more simple sentences joined together, usually with a comma and a coordinating conjunction. She smiled, and she laughed. (Two sentences joined with a comma + coordinator.)Compound sentence. What is a complex sentence? A complex sentence is a simple sentence with subordinate clause joined to it. A subordinate clause depends on another clause to complete an idea, so we call subordinate clauses dependent clauses. She smiles when she is happy. (Independent clause + dependent clause)Complex sentence Error Correction Exercise:Learn how to correct comma errors Please follow and like us:

GCSE Exam Schedule and Key Dates for 2019

GCSE Exam Schedule and Key Dates for 2019 With the upcoming GCSE exam season fast approaching in the UK, it can   be difficult and feel time-consuming trying to locate key exam dates  in the May- June period. To help you through, we've gathered together some of the key dates for the 2019 GCSE exam season.   The majority of exam board timetables begin on Monday 13 May and finish between Wednesday 19 and Friday 21 June. GCSE results will be published on  Thursday 22  August 2019.   Please note: This is a guide to exam dates which could  be subject to change and have been set provisionally by the Awarding Body. Exam centres will provide definite confirmation of dates for students depending on their exam board using the specification code. Edexcel-  Monday 13 May â€" Wednesday 19 June OCR- Monday 13 May â€" Friday 21 June AQA-  Monday 13 May â€" Wednesday 19 June Resits for GCSE exams will be in November 2019 or in June 2020. Are you feeling stressed by the amount of revision or exams you have? Visit our recent blog for tips on mindfulness and simple breathing techniques to help you cope with exam stress.   If you need a tutor for the upcoming exam season, you can choose from 1000s of tutors on  Tutorfair  by clicking  here.   Have you seen our  resource centre? You can find plenty of past papers, subject syllabi and other educational resources! Here are our top picks for Revision: How to structure an Essay? KS3 Writing Test ISEB Common Entrance Past Papers AQA GCSE Past Exam Questions - To Kill a Mocking Bird

Best 5 Math Apps For High School Students - by TutorNerds

Best 5 Math Apps For High School Students - by TutorNerds Tips From An Orange County Private Tutor: Best 5 Math Apps For High School Students Math classes, of course, are core subjects; however its also one of the most difficult subjects for about half of high school students in America. Long gone are the days when we simply did arithmetic. Todays high school students will be doing calculus, trigonometry, and other advanced math that generally was not required until college. In order to thrive in today’s world of super math, there are some great, and often free, apps that students can use to help them along the way (READ: 5 Awesome SAT Apps).                         via androidpit.com 1. Graphing Calculator by Mathlab This graphing calculator app includes important concepts such as algebra, polygraphs, implicit functions, parametric equations, and inequalities. Many students’ brains will be buzzing just hearing those terms so why not try out this app for both high school and college? One nice thing about this app is that it can replace very expensive old-fashioned handheld graphing calculators. Although it’s advertised as free, depending on what type of computer or mobile device a student has, they may have to pay a small fee of about $5. This is pretty reasonable considering that an old fashioned graphing calculator costs well over $80. 2. Math Ref Math Ref is only $.99 and provides students with a unit converter, which is especially helpful as a timesaver so that students dont have to continually look up different conversions or make needless mistakes. Math Ref can be used for linear algebra, trigonometry, derivatives, integration, vector calculus, differential equations and more basic math such as algebra and geometry 3. MyScript Calculator MyScript calculator is an app that transforms stylus or finger handwriting on a mobile device into more readable handwriting. Countless students of any age have made careless math errors because they cant read their own handwriting. MyScript turns the illegible handwriting of a student rushing to get homework done into readable and easily computable writing. This app is simple yet effective. 4. Calculus Math App Lite Finally, there’s a math app for the right-brainers out there. Calculus Math App Lite provides students with interpretations of mathematical theories while, at the same time, providing artistic depictions. This is a great idea for the calculus students out there who would rather be spending time drawing pictures or reading a book. Calculus Math App Lite provides narrated tutorials on the basic concepts of calculus, videos to introduce beginners to the entire world of calculus, and information about its history and theory. This will be especially helpful for students who dont want to do something simply because they are told, but rather want to know why this is an important concept to learn. 5. Trigonometry Formulas The Trigonometry Formulas App provides users with basic trig formulas on their mobile device. This is great for students who are taking their first trig class or who are simply reviewing trigonometry for college entrance exams. This app provides tables for derivatives and integration, a list of formula groups, and a full list of formulas. With math being more stressful than ever and the Common Core curriculum and college entrance exams integrating more advanced math in 2016, its important for students to become comfortable with advanced math subjects such as calculus and trigonometry at a younger age. Students should also practice formulas on a daily basis so that theyre able to do well in their math classes at school as well as be prepared for those important exams. Remember, in math, practice makes perfect but theres no reason why students cant make the practice easier and more fun (READ: Ask a Private Irvine English Tutor: Writing Apps). That all being said, apps will only help you so much. If youre struggling in math, and find yourself falling behind, dont hesitate to sign up for one of our excellent Orange County math tutors. All blog entries, with the exception of guest bloggers, are written by Tutor Nerds. Are you an education professional? If so, email us at pr@tutornerds.com for guest blogging and collaborations. We want to make this the best free education resource in SoCal, so feel free to suggest what you would like to see us post about â€" our Orange County private academic tutors are happy to help.

Fisher-Price at It Again

Fisher-Price at It Again Photo Via: http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com Looking for the perfect toy this holiday season for your niece, nephew, brother or sister? Or maybe you have kids of your own that you’re looking to purchase new and exciting toys for? Or maybe you’ve got a Secret Santa that you just have no idea what to get and you’re 15 minutes away from buying a Visa gift card and calling it a day. Well look no further, because there’s a new toy in town and you aren’t going to want to miss this one. Seriously, remain seated. Fisher-Price, that extremely popular toy company that you remember from your childhood, faced a bit of backlash when a known meme maker, Adam Padilla, created a meme featuring a not-real, though extremely funny, toy that he linked to the company. They have since gotten many complains via Twitter (because people have no idea how to take a joke and must complain somewhere), to which they’ve had to respond that they have not, in fact, created said toy. So what’s the toy that’s creating controversy? Well, when Emma Stone hosted “Saturday Night Live,” the company was the butt of the joke when they created a fake ad for a toy for “sensitive boys.” The toy was a wishing well, a place where “sensitive boys” could go and cry or talk to themselves. Following this fake ad, Padilla created his own meme of a Fisher-Price toy that he called the “Happy Hour Playset.” The toy features three toddlers standing at a pretend bar (think toy kitchen, but rather a bar) and holding plastic beer bottles. One of the toddlers appears to be posing as the bartender. As college students, we can all appreciate how hilarious this sounds, and I’m sure many of us truly wish that it was a real toy. However, while obviously funny and meant to be satirical, the more serious parents aren’t too thrilled that the popular company name is being displayed in such negative lights. The company made a statement and claimed that they had nothing to do with this “product,” going on to state that it wasn’t ever “endorsed, produced or approved by Fisher-Price.” The picture was posted to one of our favorite social media sites, Instagram, and while we can appreciate it (and probably wish that it was a real thing for multiple reasons), not everyone can. Fisher-Price appears to be on the same side however, in saying that it appreciates “the suggestions as obvious love of the brand.” So why is this relevant to you? Well, in my family, every year we must come up with Christmas lists of things that we want, but my family never really gets us anything on those lists. So this year, we’re filling our lists with ridiculous items that we would love to have. This is going to be one of those items. Can you imagine sitting in your dorm room at your toy-kitchen-esque bar enjoying a mixed drink with your roommates while watching Spongebob re-runs and avoiding homework? I can, and I think it’s going to be the perfect gift for any college student. All jokes aside, brand issues like this come up all too often, though the way that Fisher-Price is handling the issue is commendable. There’s no obvious harm being done to the company (as there shouldn’t be, since they’ve done nothing wrong), so they’ve been good sports in claiming that these fake ads and products are simply meant as flattery to a company that’s so well-known and loved. There are plenty of toy companies out there, but their brand name is one that people recognize, and perhaps that is why they are at the forefront of these fake ads, especially in light of the holidays, which typically leads to an increase in ads for all companies anyway. For all you advertising majors, bad publicity is a very real thing, but it doesn’t look like that’s the case here. At least, not yet. If customers of the company continue complaining about such pictures and fake ads, there may be another story here soon. Especially since the company has actually had to come out and say they do not endorse and have not made this toy, even though it should be fairly obvious to anyone with any sort of brain that this would be the case. But for the time being, no publicity is bad publicity and Fisher-Price is still the toy company we all turn to for our ridiculous, fake kitchen and cleaning items, needs. So until you can find the children’s toy bar at a Toys R Us nearest you, maybe it’s best to stick to Nordstrom’s $85 rock for your pointless Christmas gifts this year. Next year, check back in with Fisher-Price and see how they’re coming along.

GSK Campaign Aims To Help Prevent Meningitis

GSK Campaign Aims To Help Prevent Meningitis https://raymondpronk.files.wordpress.com U.S. Paralympic cyclist and meningitis survivor Jamie Schanbaum helped launch the campaign with world-renowned photographer Anne Geddes and Dr. Len Friedland, Vice President, Director Scientific Affairs and Public Health, Vaccines North America for GSK. U.S. Paralympian wheelchair rugby player and meningitis survivor Nick Springer will also tell his story of survival throughout the campaign to help educate on the importance of vaccination. “I was in my first semester at my dream college when I learned one of the hardest lessons of my life. What I first thought was the flu turned out to be meningitis and I ended up losing all of my fingers and both legs below the knees,” Schanbaum said in the press release. The largest vaccines manufacturer in the world,  GSK launched a website to help parents and young people learn about meningococcal meningitis, the risk factors, how it can be spread, the symptoms, the impact of the disease and protective measures.  Visit  www.meningitis.com  for more information. “When it comes to meningitis, what you don’t know  can  hurt you. That’s why I have joined with GSK in this effort to educate others about meningitis, Schanbaum said. I urge everyone to take five minutes to learn the facts and what they can do to help prevent it.”