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<title>Latest Articles by ChrisChew</title>
<link>http://www.populate.net/</link>
<description>Articles at Populate.NET</description>
<language>en-us</language>
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<title>Can Smoking Cigarettes Help You To Maintain Your Weight?</title>
<link>http://www.populate.net/Health/can-smoking-cigarettes-help-you-to-maintain-your-weight.html</link>
<guid>http://www.populate.net/Health/can-smoking-cigarettes-help-you-to-maintain-your-weight.html</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 16 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ Ok, this may sound very ridiculous to you but many teenage girls and even adults for that matter actually believe that smoking cigarettes can help them stay slim and slender, so that they won't put on extra weight. 

Yes, you read that sentence correctly. It is because of this belief that is stopping many young women from quitting smoking.

Controlled studies showed that a third of young female smokers viewed weight gain as a reason not to quit smoking. 

For instance, Pauline, an attractive slim 23 year old said, "I have a tendency to eat more food when I don't smoke, especially "sinful" food like candy, chocolate and junk food. The last time I tried to quit smoking, I gained about 8 pounds in 8 weeks. I don't worry about the health risks for being a smoker as I am still young, however, I can see the link with my weight immediately. So I continue smoking to maintain my body weight." 

So is there a proven link between smoking and weight control? Well, the researchers found that smokers are just likely to put on weight as non-smokers. Like everyone else, smokers come in all shapes and sizes. As a matter of fact, it was found that those who are slightly overweight are the ones smoking the most. 
  
So is it a mistake for young women to take up smoking in the belief that smoking will help them manage their weight and to stay slender? 

It is now a known fact that whether you smoke or not does not really matter as far as putting on weight is concerned. It is that people have the tendency to put on weight when they quit smoking. 

This is what Dr Chris Steele, a British general practitioner and the resident doctor on the popular UK TV show, This Morning said, "About one third of people gain quite a lot of weight when they give up smoking. Another third gain a small amount of weight and another third don't put on any weight at all." Dr Steele runs smoker's clinic for more than 3 decades and has lectured all over the world. 

So the question is then why do people gain weight when they quit smoking? According to Dr Steele, Nicotine suppresses the appetite and increases the metabolic rate. Furthermore, an average female smoker puts a cigarette into her mouth about 200 times a day and so while she is doing that, she can't snack or eat. Thus smoking is a way of curtailing putting food into the mouth. 

He added that most smokers light up a cigarette after a meal. The nicotine then delays gastric-emptying of the stomach making the food stay in the stomach longer making the smoker feeling full longer and thus relieving the urge to snack in between meals. So when a person quit smoking, the stomach empties more quickly. Thus the temptation of snacking between meals becomes much more apparent. 

Although people may gain weight when they quit smoking, smoking itself does not cause weight loss. Therefore taking up smoking will not help you to stay slim. 

As for smokers who do not want to quit because they fear that they will put on weight, Dr Steel offers this advise. "People should realize that continuing to smoke is a very dangerous way of maintaining weight. Furthermore, it is only helpful in about 30% of cases. If you smoke 20 sticks a day, you are spending 60 to 100 minutes each day smoking. So why not devote that time to exercising for weight maintenance instead?" 

That certainly is a better idea than smoking your life away, don't you think so? ]]></description>
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<title>Are You Taking The Right Singing Lessons?</title>
<link>http://www.populate.net/Music/are-you-taking-the-right-singing-lessons.html</link>
<guid>http://www.populate.net/Music/are-you-taking-the-right-singing-lessons.html</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 15 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ So you have been taking singing lessons for some time now. However you noticed that you have made little or even no improvements in your singing and vocal quality. Your voice is still little shaky and cracks when you attempt to sing higher notes. So, are you taking the correct singing lessons from the right vocal coach?

Since you are paying good money for singing lessons and not getting good results, then ultimately the responsibility is with you. You have to take full responsibility for your own singing lessons and you must get good vocal teacher to facilitate your voice training.

So how do I know that you have the right singing teacher or not?  Well, if you have chosen the right singing teacher, you would have noticed the improvements in your singing within weeks. Yes, in just weeks, you should be singing much better than before.

The issues regarding your singing would be getting addressed and remedied by your own vocal teacher by now. This is what you should expect from your singing teacher since you are paying good money for.

The problem these days is that that anyone can just call themselves a singing teacher and start charging for singing lessons whether or not they are competent in what they do. Since the American Idol TV series started, there are many so called "singing teachers" popping up all over the world.
  
So, how can you ascertain that a singing teacher is competent? Well, you have to try their lessons for yourself or get a reliable referral from someone who has tried it and gotten good results.

Since you have to pay for the lessons, it is your prerogative to choose and shop around until you find a singing coach who can deliver the results you desire. This method be expensive because each time you go to a new singing teacher, you will pay for the lessons, whether or not the lessons are effective.

What I am going to say next may be obvious, but people are still doing it. Don't ever pay for a second bad lesson! Keep on looking until you find a teacher who can give you solid results.

Very few if any singing teachers will give you free trials and if they do, then that probably means that they have plenty of time and this probably translates to that they have few, if any students. Your radar should be up if this is the case.

There is another method of getting good singing lessons. In the age of the internet, many competent singing teachers are marketing their services online. Many even recorded their lessons on CDs so that students can practice their singing anytime and anywhere in the world.

As these teachers market their singing lessons online, you will be able to check their competency, credibility, surf their reviews as well as contact some of their students to verify their testimonials.

Of course, it would be ideal if you could find a competent vocal coach for one on one coaching. However, if traveling, distance, time and expensive singing lessons are issues to you, then getting pre-recorded singing lessons from a proven vocal coach is a good option. ]]></description>
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<title>What Is Overtraining And Its Implications</title>
<link>http://www.populate.net/Fitness/what-is-overtraining-and-its-implications.html</link>
<guid>http://www.populate.net/Fitness/what-is-overtraining-and-its-implications.html</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 08 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ You have been exercising and training regularly at your local gym for a couple of months now. At the beginning, you may have lost some weight, gain some muscle tone, strength and feeling wonderful after every exercise session, but you do not experience those wonderful moments anymore. Your results are now dismal at best or worse, you are not getting the results that you wanted anymore.

You stayed on a healthy diet, supplemented with vitamins and minerals, but somehow you always feel tired and exhausted nowadays. Your enthusiasm for your workout sessions seemed to have waned. You even feel irritable and all stressed up. What is happening?

You know something? If you find yourself dreading your exercise sessions or dragging yourself through the day, you may be pushing yourself too hard. These are the symptoms of overtraining. Training plateau is your body's way of crying out for rest. It is time to now take a rest and recharge your body. 

 When it comes to getting a good physical shape, most people expect too much too soon. They would usually push themselves too hard at the beginning in order to get faster results. But what happens then? They feel tired, exhausted, easily irritated and so become depressed and lose the desire and enthusiasm for the activities they used to enjoy. Isn't that such a waste? 
  
Overtraining happens when the physical stress of training is not balanced by adequate rest and nutrition to allow the body recuperate and repair itself. Overtraining is defined as "untreated overreaching that result in chronic decreases in performance and impaired ability to train" by the The Unites States Olympic Committee (USOC) and the American College of Sports Medicine.

In medical term, the overtraining syndrome is classified as a neuro-endocrine disorder where the normal fine balance in the interaction between nervous and hormonal systems is disturbed and the body is so tired that it now has a decreased ability to repair itself during rest. 

So if you are consistently push your limits without giving your body a chance to recover, your entire engine may just suffer a major break down. This is because most of us think that if a little exercise can do wonders for your body, more exercise must be even better. That is why we tend to put all the energy into every workout and push ourselves expecting to reach the set goals sooner. Some of us will even hit the gym almost everyday for hours at a time. This is wrong! More is not better in this game. 

It is true that in order to make improvements, you will need to challenge yourself out of your comfort zone. That means that you may want to squat heavier or run more miles than you did the month before. Progression is the way you can make improvements towards your cherished goals. The only problem is that your body adapts to the same routine and stops responding. This is the dreaded plateau every athletic fear. Hence there should be a delicate balance between exercise and rest. 

Exercising is great for your body, mind and soul, however if you start feeling tired, fatigued and irritated, then you may be creating a very unfavorable physical internal environment. Physiologically, repetitive training alters your hormone levels, weakens immunity and triggers emotional instability wreaking havoc on your mind and body. 

Insomnia, elevated resting heart rate, lack of appetite, feeling unmotivated, low libido and a lack of progress are all symptoms of overtraining. 

The first thing most people do which leads to overtraining is performing too many sets of different exercises in their workouts. From what I have observed in the gym, most people do between 20 -30 sets per workout. 

Have you asked yourself is it necessary to do so many sets? Did you find out how many sets you must do to get the optimum results? What are you trying to accomplish by doing so many sets? Do the extra sets make your muscle stronger and bigger? Are they getting you leaner and more muscular? Are they helping you to recruit more motor units? Are you stretching the fascia and inducing hyperplasia? 

If you are really training hard, it is very difficult for most people to perform so many sets and still be able to recover. So reduce you sets. 

The next mistake is that people train too long and too often in the gym. Intensive workouts should never exceed an hour. When you begin training, your anabolic hormones are immediately elevated. After a while they will reach a peak and then start to decline. 

They eventually return to normal baseline and if you keep training beyond that point, they will dip down to below normal levels. This is when cortisol, which is a stress hormone that eats muscle and stores body fat is produced more abundantly. This is bad news if you want to gain bigger muscles and lose body fat. 

You also get over trained by training too often. You must know that training does not stress just the muscles but the entire body including your nervous system. If your nervous system has not recovered, you cannot train again. You can try, but you will not make any progress at all and will just dig yourself deeper into the overtraining phenomenon. If you are training five or six days per week, you are probably overtraining. 

So if you are not seeing results and is suffering from overtraining symptoms, give yourself a 2 to 4 week break from exercising and let your body recover fully before you hit the gym again. Don't be surprised that when you are back, your muscles will be shocked into new growth and the fat starts melting away again. ]]></description>
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<title>Tourist Attractions In Dubai</title>
<link>http://www.populate.net/Recreation_and_Leisure/tourist-attractions-in-dubai.html</link>
<guid>http://www.populate.net/Recreation_and_Leisure/tourist-attractions-in-dubai.html</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 01 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ Before we take a look at some of the tourist attractions in Dubai, here are some facts and information about this Middle Eastern city. 

Dubai is one of the seven emirates that made up the oil rich United Arab Emirates commonly referred to as UAE. This city sits snug in the eastern Arabian Peninsula and is also UAE's main city. 

The emirate of Dubai was created with the formation of the UAE in1971 although there are some documents to suggest that the city was already in existence a century or two before the formation of UAE. Dubai has a population of about 1.5 million people at the time of writing. It has the largest population in comparison to the other emirates and is the second largest emirate by land area, after Abu Dhabi. 

However, according to the census done by the Statistics Center of Dubai, only about 17 percent its population is made up of UAE nationals and the rest are made up of expatriates, foreign workers and tourists. 

Arabic is the official language of Dubai, but Persian, Malayalam, Urdu, Bengali, Tamil, English, Hindi, and Tagalog are widely spoken because of the many foreigners living in Dubai. 

Dubai City is not a tour destination that it is easily explored on foot because many of its tourist attractions such as Deira and Jumeirah Beach are located far apart from each other. Here are some tourist attractions you must visit if you are heading to Dubai for your vacation.

Bastakiya - Bastakiya district is located at East of Dubai Souk on Al-Fahidi Street. 

Way back in the days before there was electricity for fans and air-conditioning, Dubai Creek used to have numerous wind towers that kept the homes cool from the blistering dessert heat. Touring the Bastakiya district is like taking a step back in time travel because of the many traditional courtyard houses still have the wind towers. 

The Bastakiya district is now undergoing massive reconstruction for its transformation into a "tourist village". 

Palm Islands - The famous Palm Islands (so called because of its palm like shape), is actually a grouping of three islands and is said to be visible from the moon. The Palm Island is an incredible largest manmade island in the world. A large part of Palm Islands is still undergoing tremendous construction at the time of writing this article. 

There are about 7,000 apartments and 1,800 villas and townhouses on The Palm, Jumeirah. Jumeirah will also offer an outstanding array of retail and lifestyle options for residents and tourists when construction is fully completed. 

The Golden Mile when completed will offer the world's most exclusive brands with an international array of boutiques, shops, restaurants and cafes. 

As an exclusive tie up between The Trump Organization and Nakheel Group, The Palm Jumeirah will feature a number of Trump properties, including The Palm Trump International Hotel and Tower. 
    
The Crescent Island will feature luxurious international hotels in Dubai and situated near The Crescent are a number of fascinating dive sites to thrill scuba divers. 

Sheikh Saeed Al-Maktoum's House - Sheikh Saeed Al-Maktoum's House, near Al-Shindagha Tunnel, Al-Shindagha Road is one of the oldest homes in the city, as well as one of the best examples of traditional Arabic architecture. The house was built exclusivly with sandstone in 1896 and offers panoramic views of the sea. Sadly though, the fantastic view is now slightly obscured by the more modern developments. 

The Sheikh who was a former ruler of Dubai used the house to monitor trading in and out of the country. This tourist attraction was reopened as a museum in 1986 contains an exhibition showcasing the development of Dubai from 1940s to1960s. 

Children's City - Tourists with children will be delighted to take the kids the Children's City, located at Creekside Park. The Children's City was opened in 2002 and is a smashing hit with children and their delighted parents. 

This 7,700 sq-m (83,000 sq ft) wonderland takes young minds on a journey through the human body, science and space, with the help of different 'zones'. There are also plenty of hands-on activities to keep even the most playful children occupied. All exhibits in this city are in English and Arabic. 

Jumeirah Mosque - The Jumeirah Mosque on Al-Jumeirah Road is perhaps the most photographed building by tourists in Dubai because of its impressive example of modern Islamic architecture. Built along medieval Fatimid lines and entirely of stone, the Jumeirah Mosque with its two minarets is particularly beautiful in the night when subtle lighting increases the mosque's dramatic effect. 

Grand Mosque - The Grand Mosque in Ali ibin Ali Talib Street was only rebuilt in 1998 with the city's tallest minaret standing at an impressive 70m (231ft) tall.The Grand Mosque is made up of nine large domes and 45 smaller ones. This mosque can accommodate up to 1,200 worshippers. 

Souks - The souks, or traditional markets, are one of Dubai's most popular tourist attractions. The souks are located on both sides of the creek, with the most impressive ones on the Deira side. 

The highlight of this tourist attraction is the colorful and bustling Spice Market where tourist can find local delights like exotic perfumes and watch noisy locals bargaining with vendors. 

Dubai Museum - Not to be missed is the Dubai Museum in Al-Fahidi Fort. The museum itself is actually a historic fort, dating back to 1799. It was only converted into a museum in 1970. The exhibits in the museum ranges from ancient weapons, pearl-diving outfits to an impressive range of military artifacts. 

Some of the most intriguing exhibits are those discovered from the 3000 to 4000-year-old graves at Al-Ghusais. 

Heritage Village - The Heritage Village is located at Shindagha Tunnel, Al-Shindagha Road and as the name suggests, it is an attempt to weave in some local traditional heritage in contrast to Dubai's rapidly developing modern skyline. 

The objective of the project is to recreate the Bedouin way of life, with locals dressed up in traditional Arabic garbs, exhibit traditional handicrafts, music and dance. 

Jumeirah Beach - Although much of the famous pristine crystal clear water of Jumeirah Beach located at Al-Jumeirah Road is dominated by luxury hotels and 5 star accommodations, some of the hotels do allow non hotel guests to use their pools and stretches of beach if they dine at the hotels or pay a nominal usage fee. ]]></description>
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<title>How To Protect Your Singing Voice</title>
<link>http://www.populate.net/Music/how-to-protect-your-singing-voice.html</link>
<guid>http://www.populate.net/Music/how-to-protect-your-singing-voice.html</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ Most people think that singers with good voices are born with them. Yes, although some people have better singing voices than others, most, if not all good singers undergo vocal training to improve their voices. 

Most of the singer's training is done through specific vocal exercises to achieve certain effects such as singing powerfully, getting vibrato into the singing voice or even  expanding your vocal range so that singing higher notes is a breeze. 

Unfortunately, this article cannot do that as the exercises must be physically demonstrated and manually practised. So instead of learning how to get a good voice, this article will show you how to protect and preserve your singing voice because your voice quality can be destroyed by bad habits that you may not even know you have. 

Your voice is produced by a delicate mechanism and when used correctly, it rarely gives you any problem. So take good care of your precious voice and will serve you well for your lifetime.  

The first golden rule to having a good voice quality is not to take up smoking and if you are already a smoker, do quit smoking before this nasty habit destroys your singing voice further. 
 
The thousands of irritants and chemicals in cigarettes damage your voice and will certainly shorten your singing career and even your life unless you are a rock singer and need to have a raspy and coarse voice. 

Always stay hydrated and as such, you need to stay away from caffeine, alcohol and other substance that dehydrates you.  The vocal folds must be hydrated at all times to stay healthy and lubricated. So drink plenty of drink as much water everyday to keep them hydrated.
   
If you are on medication, check with your doctor or pharmacist whether the medicine you are taking is dehydrating.  As a general guide, your body should be well hydrated when your urine is clear and not cloudy. 

Everyone's voice has its own limitations. So get to know yours. Shouting, talking loudly or even singing forcefully is damaging to your vocal cords, this is sheer common sense, but many singers still abuse their voices this way. So don't shout. 

Unfortunately, some people think that to sing powerfully, they have to shout. No, they don't have to. You can develop a powerful voice with the correct vocal exercises without having to shout. 

Your vocal cords collide with each other more than a million times everyday when you produce a sound and so, any extra harsh activities like shouting puts further strain on the already overused vocal cords.
  
When recovering from a coarse voice like say, from a sore throat, avoid any unnecessary conversations or phone calls to let your voice fully recover. Otherwise your recovery will be slower and even then, small permanent damages may occur. 

You need to know that your vocal cords are muscles and therefore like any muscles, they need a thorough warm up before it can perform at its peak when you are singing. By the same token, they need to be cooled down with vocal exercises after your performances. 

Just because you get away without warming up or cooling down now does not guarantee that you will not damage your voice in the future. 
 
Next on the list is to avoid late night eating because this may end up with your stomach acid spilling into your larynx when you lie down to sleep and causing a hoarse voice and over the long term, permanent voice damage. 

These are just some of the many things that you should not do to preserve, protect and maintain your voice producing mechanism so that you can have a good singing voice permanently. ]]></description>
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<title>Why You Must Get Rid Of Your Belly Fat Now</title>
<link>http://www.populate.net/Fitness/why-you-must-get-rid-of-your-belly-fat-now.html</link>
<guid>http://www.populate.net/Fitness/why-you-must-get-rid-of-your-belly-fat-now.html</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ Do you have a beer belly? Do you know that the fat in your bloated tummy could be dangerous fat and not as affable as they seem to be? Do want to get rid of your belly fat so that you can look better and be healthier?

You see, most of your tummy fat is made up of visceral fat, sometimes known as organ fat or internal fat. Visceral fat is stored in the peritoneal cavity in between internal body organs, as opposed to subcutaneous fat which is found just beneath your skin and intramuscular fat which is found in skeletal muscles. Visceral fat is the most dangerous fat found in your body and is more difficult to get rid off as compared to other types of body fat. 

Many men mistakenly think that their extra belly fat is just ugly and are self conscious about taking off their shirt in public. What most of them don't know is that their pot belly is not only unsightly aesthetically, but may even kill them. Scientific evidence has undisputedly shown that excess body fat is harmful and this is particularly so with visceral fat. 

The two types of fat that you have in your abdominal area are subcutaneous fat which lies just under your skin and visceral fat which gives you the pot belly Santa Claus look. Your visceral fat greatly increases the risk of you developing various heart diseases, diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, sleep apnea, some types of cancer and several other degenerative diseases such as arthritis and spondylosis. 

One of the many reasons why visceral fat is dangerous is that it releases more inflammatory molecules into your body on a consistent basis. Therefore if you have a desire to care about the quality of your own life and to save yourself, then reducing your tummy fat should be one of your leading priorities! 

Furthermore, in getting rid of excessive ugly abdominal fat, you will get a more aesthetic flat stomach look and even get to see those six pack abs that every man desires to own. 

So how can you get rid of your belly fat? Well, there is no quick fix solution at the moment unless you opt for various potentially dangerous and painful invasive medical procedures such as lap-band surgery. There are no weight loss pills or magical supplements that will help you to get rid of your tummy fat faster. 

Never believe those late night infomercials about gimmicky gadgets that can trim off inches from your waist either. When anything is too good to be true, they probably are. 

The only way to lose your abdominal visceral fat and keep them off forever is to combine a healthy nutritious diet full of unprocessed natural foods with a professionally designed exercise program that stimulates the necessary hormonal and metabolic responses in your body naturally and healthily. 
There are some medical studies that divided participants into a diet-only group and an exercise combined with diet group. While both groups in the studies responded well and loss weight, the diet-only group lost significantly less abdominal fat than the diet and exercise combined group. 

Therefore if you want to lose your abdominal visceral fat successfully and keep it off forever, then you have to eat and exercise right. The problem is that most people you see in the gym are doing the wrong exercises to lose fat, but that is for another article next time. 

Don't waste another day allowing that nasty tummy fat to deflate your confidence as well as subjecting you to the risk for potentially fatal medical conditions. Get rid of your dangerous visceral belly fat now! ]]></description>
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<title>How To Write Original Songs That People Like</title>
<link>http://www.populate.net/Music/how-to-write-original-songs-that-people-like.html</link>
<guid>http://www.populate.net/Music/how-to-write-original-songs-that-people-like.html</guid>
<pubDate>Sat, 20 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ So you would like to write your own original songs. However the few attempts that you have made did not turn out as you would have liked because the tune or the melody were not flowing so well or were not catchy enough for people to like.

So how do you write songs that people will like or will sing and hum along as you are performing them? Well, brace yourself because one of the methods to write catchy and be rather controversial, but it not only works and works darn well!

Sometimes, when somebody's original melody sounds good, they also sounded like another song. But you just can't figure out which other song it sounded like. There is this vaguely familiar feeling that you have heard a sort of similar song before. Have you had that feeling? 

I am sure all of us had this feeling before and I can even dare to say that it will happen again and again with other new songs. Actually, this subconscious feeling is rather common as after all because every song is a somewhat recycled tune given the limited number of musical notation, chords and rhythms. So all new songs will somehow or other overlap other songs that are already in existence. Therefore all songs will have parts of their tune similar with another song or even songs.  Therefore it is perfectly alright if parts of your song sounds like another song although you did not intend it that way. 

As a matter of fact, if your new song sounds familiar, that may be a good thing. Before you jump up and shout copyright infringement, please be aware that I am not talking about infringing other composer's copyright, I am talking about a part of your tune that sounds somewhat like another song. 

So why is this similarity a good thing? Well, it is simply because people can relate to your tune even more and so, they will like the song and remember it. They will want to listen to your song because of the familiarity. Song familiarity invoke a pleasant feeling of emotion and most of the time, they don't even know why they felt good hearing your melody. This is why your song can easily be remembered and will keep humming in people's head.

Even if your listeners realized parts of your song is somewhat similar to another song, so what, no big deal because as a whole, the song is in your own original song with your own original lyrics, your own melody and expressions and thus it is your own original song!  

I must stress the point that you must not intentionally infringe upon other people's copyright. This is not about ripping off other composer's works. This is about creating your own melodies and tunes that sound like a familiar tune. 

So how do I go about writing familiar sounding songs? Well, let's start by choosing a song that you like and is familiar with and hum the tune. Just hum it but don't sing the lyrics out. This will get you thinking 'melodically' and soon, you should be able to hum certain variations of that tune. Just let your imagination take over and toss the melody around as you imagined it and let your creative juices flow.   

Once you can jumble out the tune nicely, then sing it aloud and this will become your own tune. It is really that simple. 

Another way to do this is to choose a song that you don't even know or heard of before. Listen to this song once, and then listen to it again. The second time when you are listening to it, sing along with the song. Yes, you probably will not remember the tune very well, but nevertheless, just sing along and this is when you make up a melody line of your own with the melodic structure of this obscure song.  

Whichever method you have chosen to write a song with a somewhat familiar tune, you must feel good about it. It is your gut feeling of feeling pleasant that you know you have written a good catchy original tune that people will like and remember. ]]></description>
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<title>Why Choose To Learn How To Play Piano Over Other Instruments?</title>
<link>http://www.populate.net/Music/why-choose-to-learn-how-to-play-piano-over-other-instruments.html</link>
<guid>http://www.populate.net/Music/why-choose-to-learn-how-to-play-piano-over-other-instruments.html</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 01 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ To be able to play a musical instrument well is a very satisfying emotional experience. The experience is even more edifying if you are good enough to play in a good band or playing backing for a singer whether professionally or just for the fun of it. So, if you want to learn how to play a musical instrument, which instrument should you pick up?

Well, if you are asking me, then I would say, learn how to play the piano. The next question would then be, why should you learn how to play the piano as the first choice over so many other musical instruments? 

Well, here are some reasons why you should pick the piano over the other instruments. See if you agree.

For starters, just like I said earlier, being proficient in playing a musical instrument is a very satisfying experience and that is why everyone should learn how to play at least one instrument and make beautiful music. 

Playing the piano proficiently makes you feel and look sophisticated and elegant. For some unknown reason, a pianist just exudes some kind of elegant charm more than other musicians, don't you think so?

Furthermore, playing the piano keeps our brain active and our brain is actually doing mental exercises on all ten fingers when we consistently throw it the musical language to interpret. There are studies which show that pianists are more mathematically gifted too. 

Also, learning how to play the piano can kill boredom. If you do not have anything to do, go and tickle the ebonies and ivories. Better yet, serenading to yourself while you are at it. Yes, I know you can do that with the guitar, but which instrument will produce a fuller and complete sound? 

Perhaps you can organize family gatherings or entertain- your friends at a party with all of you having fun with you direct sing along sessions. That would be fun wouldn't it? 

Also, in a strange way, some people will actually respect you more and even think that you are a genius. Many people actually admire someone who can play the piano well. Perhaps you too and that is why you want to learn how to play the piano.

A good pianist never quit learning. You see, there is absolutely no way to memorize every song and if you can play by ear, you are learning new tunes every time whenever you hear a tune without you even aware of it until someone ask you whether you can play a certain song and although you have never learnt that song before, the tune just pops into your head with your fingers running elegantly over the piano keys. 

I supposed deep down in most people, they wished that they are able to play the piano.  If not, why are you reading this article? Do you know that learning how to play the piano is one of the most common New Year resolution?

Learning to play the piano proficiently is also a fantastic ego booster. There's no better feeling like playing a difficult song effortlessly and flawlessly. If you are thinking of picking up a musical instrument, why not choose to learn how to play the piano? ]]></description>
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<title>Koh Samui Tourist Resort In Thailand</title>
<link>http://www.populate.net/Recreation_and_Leisure/koh-samui-tourist-resort-in-thailand.html</link>
<guid>http://www.populate.net/Recreation_and_Leisure/koh-samui-tourist-resort-in-thailand.html</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 25 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ The Thai resort island Koh Samui is the second largest island in Thailand after the famous James Bond island of Phuket. The island is roughly circular in shape and is located just off the east coast of the Kra Isthmus which is near the mainland town of Surat Thani and it is also one of the most popular tourist attraction in the Kingdom of Thailand.

Koh Samui has a land mass of almost 230 sq km ( about 90 sq mile) with a population of about 50,000 people (2007). The main island is surrounded by about 60 other smaller islands. The central part of Koh Samui is almost uninhabited and is dominated by a mountain jungle with Mount Khao Pom as its highest peak at 635m (about 2100ft). The island's lowland areas are inter-connected together with just one single road that weaves the circumference of the island. 

Historians estimated that the island started to see its first inhabitants in about 1500 years ago. The early settlers were probably fishermen from Malaysia and Southern China. The island even appears on the Chinese Ming Dynasty maps way back in 1687. No one knows for sure how Koh Samui got its name. Some speculated that it was derived from a native Mui tree while others think that it is a hybrid of the Chinese word "saboey", which means "safe haven". 

Situated on the southwestern coast of the island is Nathon, the ancient capital of Koh Samui. This area is a still major fishing port and also an inter-island transportation hub today. Koh Samui was an isolated self-sufficient community until as late as the 20th century as it had little contact with mainland Thailand back then. The island did not even have a road until one was built in the early 1970s. 

Today, the island of Koh Samui is one of the most popular tourist attraction in Thailand and it even have its own international airport, called Samui Airport. Bangkok Airways have flights to and from Samui every day. Samui Airport also receives flights from Bangkok and other major cities in South East Asia. 

Samui island's economy used to be based on subsistence agriculture and fishing, however, from the 1980s, the tourism industry grew by leaps and bounds and is now Koh Samui's main source of income. 

Being an island, Koh Samui's main tourist attractions are naturally its white beautiful beaches and beach resorts. Tourists can find stretches of beaches and accommodations along the beaches of Chaweng, Lamai, Maenam, Bophut, Bangrak, Choeng MoN, Ao Tong Takian and Nathon with Chaweng and Lamai beaches being the most popular but crowded. For tourists who prefer a quiet beach for relaxation, then check out Maenam beach. 

Another popular attraction in Koh Samui is a 12 metre (35 ft) tall statue of the Buddha, affectionately called "Big Buddha". This statue is located at the top of a ceremonial dragon-steps at the temple of Wat Phra Yai. Koh Samui and is also home to quite a few other impressive temples such as the Wat Khunaram. Wat Khunaram is where the mummified body of Loung Pordaeng, a monk who died in a meditating lotus position is on display. 

A sightseeing trip to see Papa and Mama rock at the south of Lamai beach can be very hilarious due to the rocks' hilarious resemblances to the male and female sexual genitals. 

To the more adventurous tourists, the jungle mountain in the interior of the island is a good camping ground for jungle trekking. This area is also home to a number of beautiful gardens, waterfalls at Na Muang and rubber plantations. 

Animal lovers can also visit Koh Samui's numerous animal attractions such as the crocodile farm, the monkey theatre, take elephant rides, a snake farm, a marine aquarium and a butterfly garden. 

Most tourists to Koh Samui will make a day trip to the awe inspiring Ang Thong National Marine Park. The best time to visit Koh Samui is in summer (Feb-Apr). With such interesting landscape and attractions, no wonder this island is drawing tourist from around the world all year long. ]]></description>
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<item>
<title>How To Master Singing Breath Control Techniques</title>
<link>http://www.populate.net/Music/how-to-master-singing-breath-control-techniques.html</link>
<guid>http://www.populate.net/Music/how-to-master-singing-breath-control-techniques.html</guid>
<pubDate>Sat, 23 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[ One of the most important but often overlooked aspects of good singing is to develop a good breath control technique. Many new or untrained singers don't even have an inkling that by breathing correctly, they are not only able to hold a note longer, have a more steady tone and will not become breathless easily. That is why having good singing lessons before a singer launch his/her singing career is so vitally important.

Many people must have thought that why should they care about breathing techniques when they already know how to breathe. If they don't how to breathe then they would have already croaked, wouldn't they?

Come on, singing breath control is more than simply knowing how to breathe. It is a breathing technique and can make a world of a difference if you want to sing well. 

To most people, breathing simply means that you are just filling 2 bags (your lungs) with air and then squeezing them out over your vocal cords, right? WRONG! It is much more than that. 

So what is the correct singing technique? Well, have you heard of singers talking about singing from the diaphragm? Well, what they are talking about is the singing breathing technique or breath control by your diaphragm.

When you take a breath, are you letting your belly move out of the way of at bottom of the bags (lungs)?  If not, you won't start with enough air to get you through a number of notes without having to breathe in again. Thus you will get breathless pretty quickly.

The correct way to take in air is to breathe in a nice, deep breath and imagine breathing that breath into your tummy. If you do that, your stomach will expand outwards, out of the way of your fast filling up lungs. 

The means that your lungs will have more capacity to take in more air and when you breathe out or release the air when singing, the natural motion of your tummy coming back in acts like an accordion, regulating the outflow of air. It this way, your singing tone will be more steady and pleasurable to listen to. 

Because you are now getting more air with each breath, you are now able to hold notes longer, able to hit higher notes and will not get breathless as easily too.

Now the next thing to learn is to let your vocal cords be the controller of the air supply, allowing what it needs to pass through and at the same time breathing normally. 

There are many of philosophies on breathing techniques for letting the air passed through your vocal cords,  like do you "let" the air out, do you "hold" the air back, do you "push" the air out.  

You see, the most common problem with running out of breath when singing has little to do with breathing although it does play a part! That problem has to do with allowing too much air to escape when you are emptying your lungs during a song. If your vocal cords are coming together with a nice firm seal, it takes very little air to sing a strong and firm tone! 

However, if you are singing into falsetto or if you have not found your chest voice at all (some women actually have this problem), you will be letting excess air escape while you are singing and you will be running out of breath much sooner than you wish to. So by using the correct method of breath control when you sing and you will never get breathless again.

Want to sing better, then master your singing breath control technique. ]]></description>
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