Best Music Events in Austin, Texas

If you are looking for a place to live where there is always something going on, especially within the music industry, then Austin Texas is the place for you. No matter what type of music you are into, there are always awesome music events going on in Austin, and you can find concerts to go to pretty much every week if this is something you are into. The many Austin nightclubs boast some of the best entertainment in the city, and you will find some of the best in local entertainment here. If it is the larger, more well-known acts you are interested in, there are concerts and events going on all the time.

Austin Music Festivals

There are many different music festivals held in Austin throughout the year. The biggest, and probably the most popular, is the Austin City Limits Music Festival, which is the largest music festival the city holds every year. This festival goes on for three days, and is held at Zilker Park, which boasts 46 acres where some of the most popular artists from all over the world play. Some of the acts that have been featured at this music festival include The Eagles and The Strokes. Not only will you get to enjoy some great music, you can also find some delicious food and great shopping. There is even a concert venue for the little ones in your family, Kiddie Limits, where they can enjoy music that is written and performed just for them.

Another popular Austin music festival is the Austin Reggae Festival, which is a celebration of everything Jamaican, from music to food and culture. This festival is held in the spring, and there are four days of music and fun, so you probably will want to pitch a tent and enjoy the entire festival. This is a fun time for the whole family, and there is something for everyone to enjoy, no matter what their ages. Bring your family and a tent, and enjoy four days of music, fun and food.

Best Musical Instruments for Kids Under Age 5

As a parent, I am sure that you are dumbfounded by the sheer amount of musical toys on the market. We all like the idea of introducing our kids to music, but which instruments should we buy? Does my 3-year-old child really need a $300 guitar? As a professional musician and dad of a toddler who is currently dealing with this issue, I am going to try to greatly simplify the process for you in a way that will save you money without compromising your child's musical explorations. My emphasis will be on presenting cool (wood, handmade, Fair Trade, Eco-Friendly) alternatives to the cheesy plastic instruments sold at most toy stores. I like the idea of finding instruments with staying power -- ones that have the potential to be played for a lifetime assuming that they survive the toddler years - or at least can be saved as keepsakes. That toy drum adorned with popular cartoon characters is not going have much use after age 5, and is destined for a landfill.

The first thing I am going to do is separate musical toys from musical instruments. For clarity, I am defining a musical instrument as any device that has a direct correlation between a child's action and pitch. For example, hitting a drum, plucking a string, striking a key, or blowing air through it all result in a tone or pitch being produced. I will even go one step further and say that there must be some way to play an actual melody (note for note) on the toy in a way that resembles a real musical instrument (excluding drums and percussion instruments like shakers). This is difficult to put in words, but it will become very clear as you read on.

Working from this definition, most Musical Tables, and Toy Guitars with no strings and lots of flashy buttons do not qualify as musical instruments. I am not saying that these toys are bad or useless (purists will vehemently disagree) - simply that they are not musical instruments. We have an activity table that I thought I would hate, but as I observed my son discovering more things on it and "commanding it", I began to see some value. At 2, he could make it play the 'Counting to Ten Song' and the 'Alphabet Song' as he sang along. Nevertheless, we try to keep the flashy battery operated toys to a minimum.

5 Best Musical Instrument Apps for Android

For the average person, music helps relax the mind and calm the senses. For the music enthusiasts, lively beats and interesting words bring inspiration and entertainment.

Is music limited to radios, televisions and music players? Definitely not, for even the smallest of gadgets are completely capable of playing your favorite tunes. With the rise of smartphones and tablet PCs, listening to music must be a crucial feature. Most smartphones, tablet PCs and other portable gadgets run on a particular operating system, and Android is undoubtedly leading the race. The Android Market boasts of thousands of applications, and a considerable chunk of these is dedicated for all the music lovers all over the world.

Apart from music players, what other applications are dedicated for music? Here are the 5 best musical instrument applications for your Android gadget:

1. JCI Piano Chords

If you cannot afford a grandiose piano, this piano application will do. Created exclusively for all piano enthusiasts, the JCI Piano Chords application allows you to master the black-and-white musical keys, at least in a virtual way. Release yourself from the tension and play soft tunes, or excite yourself with pleasantly loud rhythms. With this application, you can adjust the reverb mix, roll keys and record anything that you have practiced.

Best Music Phones of All Time

It's a fact that there has been a tremendous demand for music phones. The growing trend has made mobile companies to offer entire series of mobile phones based on music feature being the focus. Examples are many like the Nokia Xpress Music series, Sony Ericsson "Walkman" series, Motorola's "Rokr" series and Samsung's "Beat" series.

When buying a music phone one is stuck with so many options that its hard to chose one, so usually when you go to buy a music phone whether the choice you are making is correct or not. Is the music phone i am going to buy worth the money it's priced at?. These are some of the questions that every one has in mind before purchase. So we have compiled a list of the best music phones to hit the market in recent years and those who are a hit in the market to this date. So when you buy any of these music phones you would surely not regret your decision. Here is the list of Top Five music phones of all times.

1. Nokia 5800 Xpress Music

Nokia's highly popular Xpress Music series has many fabulous music phones in its lineup. But the most famous music phone which is a great hit in the market, is 5800 Xpress Music.It was Nokia's first Symbian S60 touch phone. Nokia says it has shipped more then 8 million units worldwide since its launch.