The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, initially named the Fender Electric Instrument Manufacturing Company, was founded by Clarence Leonidas Fender in 1946, and is one of the most widely recognised manufacturers of electric guitars, electric basses and guitar amplifiers, while it also manufactures acoustic guitars and other audio-related products.

Fender is particularly important because of its role in bringing solid body electric guitars to the masses. Fender offered the first mass-produced solid-body Spanish-style electric guitar, the Telecaster (originally named the 'Broadcaster', 'Esquire' is a single pickup version); the first mass-produced electric bass, the Precision Bass (P-Bass); and the enormously popular Stratocaster (Strat) guitar. While Fender was not the first to manufacture electric guitars, as other companies and luthiers had produced electric guitars since the late 1920s, none were as commercially successful as Fender's. Furthermore, while nearly all other electric guitars then were either hollow-body guitars or more specialized instruments such as Rickenbacker's solid-body Hawaiian lap steel guitars, Fender had created a versatile solid body electric guitar.

Other popular and/or notable Fender instruments include the Mustang, Jazzmaster, Jaguar, Starcaster, Duosonic, and Bronco guitars; basses such as the Jazz Bass, the 'Telecaster Bass' reissue of the original 1950s Precision Bass; a line of lap steels; three models of electric violin, and the Fender Rhodes electric piano.

Its headquarters are in Scottsdale, Arizona, with manufacturing facilities in Corona (United States of America), Ensenada (Mexico), Korea and Japan.

History

Origins

The company began as Fender's Radio Service in late 1938 in Fullerton, California, USA. As a qualified electronics technician, Leo was asked to repair not only radios, but phonograph players, home audio amplifiers, public address systems and musical instrument amplifiers. (Technical note: at the time, most of the above were simply variations on a few simple vacuum-tube circuits). The business also sidelined in carrying records for sale and the rental of self-designed-and-built PA systems. He became intrigued by design flaws in current musical instrument amplifiers, and he began custom-building a few amplifiers based on his own designs or modifications to designs. By the early 1940s, he had partnered with another local electronics enthusiast named Clayton Orr (Doc) Kauffman, and they formed a company named K & F Manufacturing Corp. to design, manufacture, and sell electric instruments and amplifiers. Production began in 1945 with Hawaiian lap steel guitars (incorporating a patented pickup) and amplifiers, which were sold as sets. By the end of the year, Fender had become convinced that manufacturing was more profitable than repair, and he decided to concentrate on that business. Kauffman remained unconvinced, however, and they had amicably parted ways by early 1946. At that point Leo renamed the company the Fender Electric Instrument Company. The service shop remained open until 1951, although Leo Fender did not personally supervise it after 1947.

Sale to CBS

In early 1965, Leo Fender sold his company to the Columbia Broadcasting System, or CBS. This had far-reaching implications. At first, the sale was taken as a positive development, considering CBS's ability to bring in money and personnel. However, on hindsight, the sale is now looked back upon unfavorably, due to the reduction of the quality of Fender's guitars while under the management of CBS. In the early 1970s, the usual four-bolt neck joint was changed in favor of using only three. This change was made in an effort to save money, but it also resulted in a greater propensity toward mechanical failure in the guitars. The culmination of this "cost-cutting" occurred in 1983, when the Fender Stratocaster received a short-lived redesign without a second tone control and a bare-bones output jack. In addition, previous models such as the Swinger (also known as Musiclander) and Custom (also known as Maverick) had been little more than attempts to squeeze profits out of factory stock. The so-called "Pre-CBS cult" refers to the popularity of Fenders made before the sale.

After selling the Fender company, Leo Fender designed products for Music Man and later founded the G&L company which manufactures electric guitars and basses designed by Leo Fender

Current

In 1985, in a campaign initiated by a company employee named William Schultz (1926-2006), the Fender Electric Instrument Manufacturing Company was bought from CBS by its own employees, and renamed Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.

Behind the Fender name, the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation has continued to grow, retaining Fender's older models along with newer designs and concepts.

While Fender mantains extensive production facilities across the world, its highest quality models are manufactured in the factory in Corona, California, United States of America. From around the world, it owns manufacturing facilities in Japan, Ensenada (Mexico), China, Indonesia (under Cort) and Korea (under Cort), such that most novice guitarists will be able to afford a new guitar with the Fender brand name. The older and American-built guitars are by far the most favoured, but pre-1990 Japan-made Fender guitars are now highly regarded as well. Fenders built in Ensenada, Mexico took over the role of the Japanese factory to produce the majority of Fender's guitars, while Japanese Fenders are now meant for the Japanese market and with only a small number marked for export.

Squier was previously a string manufacturer bought up by Fender, but has been used since 1982 to produce inexpensive variants of Fender guitars to compete with the rise of strat copies, as the Stratocaster was slowly made popular. Later, production facilities were moved to India (for a short time) and then Korea, for budget versions of Fender designs, of varying manufacture of good quality, especially the Squier II, with its 1962 neck profile and guitars with the VN serial numbers, some of which were alder body guitars, some VN Squier guitars were made of plywood. The name adorns many inexpensive guitars based on Fender designs but with generally cheaper materials and hardware. Many Squiers made from 1987 through the mid-1990s featured plywood bodies irrespective of where they were made.

Early Japanese and Korean Fender and Squier Stratocasters are well-regarded (and where the model is the same except for the decal), and are now traded on the used-guitar market as JV, which stands for 'Japanese Vintage', and equates to the prefix of the serial numbers of some of the 1982-84 Squier guitars. The earliest 1982 Squiers had the big Fender logo with 'Squier Series' written in script on the ball of the headstock, which was changed by the end of 1982 to the big Squier logo. However, the 'big Fender, little Squier Series' decal has featured on some 1990s Korean and Mexican (usually using up superceded parts, or seconds) guitars.

The core of its instrument line, the Telecaster, Stratocaster, Precision Bass, and Jazz Bass, remains largely unchanged from the 1950s and 1960s originals. On nearly every stage in the country, small or large, featuring blues, country and western or rock and roll, it is common to see a Fender guitar or bass in the hands of one or more of the musicians, plugged into a Fender amplifier. Fender guitars have been the instrument of choice for many noted artists including Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, Richie Sambora, John Frusciante, Eric Clapton, Buddy Holly, Yngwie J. Malmsteen, The Edge, David Gilmour, Mark Knopfler, John Mayer, Billy Corgan, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Ritchie Blackmore, Hank Marvin, Joe Walsh, Pete Townshend, George Harrison, and Keith Richards. In addition, at least two artistes, Freddy Fender and The Fendermen, have named themselves after the company.

In recent years, Fender Musical Instruments Corporation has branched out into making and selling acoustic guitars, and has purchased a number of other instrument firms, including the Guild Guitar Company, the Sunn Amplifier Company, and other brands such as SWR Sound Corporation. In early 2003, Fender Musical Instruments Corporation made a deal with Gretsch, and began manufacturing and distributing new Gretsch guitars.

Why is it so hard to improve on your instrument, even though you know you've practiced? Unfortunately, the adage "practice makes perfect" isn’t always true. Instead, improper practice often leads to poor results, not perfect playing. Why? Many of us simply don't know how to practice productively. The following overview of the fundamentals of practicing will provide you with useful ways you can create your own productive practice sessions.

Know what to work on

Know what needs to be achieved in each practice time

Work on small sections of a piece

Small sections practised slowly and thoroughly are always more successful than longer passages given less care

Don't over practice

Know when to stop. Focused work for a short period is better than playing through for longer

Take hard things slower

What you can't play slowly you can't play fast

Practice sightreading

The only way to learn to sight read is to sight read

Don't practise when you're tired

You will make more mistakes

Don't make practice a chore

The more like a chore the practice it, the less enjoyable it is

Practice daily

Daily practice is best. If you need to take off one day a week, that's OK, but don't skip the day just after your lesson. Right after your lesson is when your memory retention is at its peak - your best practice time!

Quality practice

The quality of your practice is at least as important as the quantity. You will get more benefit from really concentrating for 15 minutes than from mechanically going through songs for 30 minutes

Remember dynamics and phrasing

Once you know the notes and the rhythm, add the dynamics and phrasing

Have a Pencil

In your practice area... at rehearsal...at lessons... havea pencil at hand! Yes, I know we all have astounding memories, but a pencil never forgets. A mistake such as a wrong note or incorrect dynamic is forgivable ONCE! Mark it and it won't happen again. Besides these obvious mistakes, a pencil can remind you of alternate positions, accidentals, or certain inflections in a given phrase. In short, the pencil IS your memory! Many great players have developed their own "shorthand" of symbols and markings they use to help them in performance.

Musical Lines

No matter what lies in front of us on the stand, we should always treat it as MUSIC. This goes for warm-ups, scales, etudes, concertos,... absolutely everything that you play. Don't allow your brain to go on "auto-pilot" when warming up; try to make expressive and meaningful musical lines from the most mundane material. This can be very challenging indeed when working on scales! But remember, 99.9% of the music you'll play is based on scales.

Location

When you practice, find a quiet room where you won't be disturbed. Turn off the TV, put away your CD player, and turn on the answering machine.

This is a list of musical terms that are likely to be encountered in printed scores. Most of the defined terms are Italian (see also Italian musical terms used in English), in accordance with the Italian origins of many European musical conventions. Sometimes, the special musical meanings of these phrases differ from the original or current Italian meanings. Most of the other defined terms are taken from French and German, indicated by "(Fr)" and "(Ger)", respectively. Others are from languages such as Latin and Spanish. Unless specified, the terms are Italian or English. The list can never be complete: some terms are common, and others are used only occasionally, and new ones are coined from time to time. Some composers prefer terms from their own language rather than the standard definition of terms here.

A

• a, à (Fr) – at, to, by, for, in, in the style of
• aber (Ger) – but
• a cappella – in the manner of singing in a chapel; i.e., without instrumental accompaniment
• accelerando – accelerating; gradually increasing the tempo
• accentato – accented; with emphasis
• acciaccatura – crushing; i.e., a very fast grace note that is "crushed" against the note that follows and takes up no value in the measure
• accompagnato – accompanied; i.e., with the accompaniment following the soloist, who may speed up or slow down at will
• adagietto – rather slow
• adagio – at ease; i.e., slow
• adagissimo – very slow
• ad libitum (commonly ad lib; Latin) – at liberty; i.e., the speed and manner of execution are left to the performer
• affettuoso – tenderly
• affrettando – hurrying, pressing onwards
• agile – swiftly
• agitato – agitated
• al, alla – to the, in the manner of (al before masculine nouns, alla before feminine)
• alla breve – two minim (half-note) beats to a bar, rather than four crotchet (quarter-note) beats
• alla marcia – in the style of a march
• allargando – broadening, becoming a little slower
• allegretto – a little lively, moderately fast
• allegro – cheerful or brisk; but commonly interpreted as lively, fast
• als (Ger) – than
• altissimo – very high
• alto – high; often refers to a particular range of voice, higher than a tenor but lower than a soprano
• am Steg (Ger) – at the bridge; i.e., playing a bowed string instrument near its bridge (see sul ponticello in this list)
• amabile – amiable, pleasant
• amoroso – loving
• andante – at a walking pace; i.e., at a moderate tempo, just this side of slow
• andantino – slightly faster than andante (but earlier it sometimes used to mean slightly slower than andante)
• animato – animated, lively
• antiphon – a liturgical or other composition consisting of choral responses, sometimes between two choirs; a passage of this nature forming part of another composition
• apaisé (Fr) – calmed
• a piacere – at pleasure; i.e., the performer need not follow the rhythm strictly
• appassionato – passionately
• appoggiatura – a grace note that "leans" on the following note, taking up some of its value in the measure
• a prima vista – at first sight; i.e., playing something at first sight of the sheet music
• arietta – a short aria
• arioso – airy, or like an air (a melody); i.e., in the manner of an aria; melodious
• arpeggio – like a harp; i.e., the notes of the chords are to be played quickly one after another (usually ascending) instead of simultaneously. In music for piano, this is sometimes a solution in playing a wide-ranging chord whose notes cannot be played otherwise. Music generated by the limited hardware of video game computers uses a similar technique to create a chord from one tone generator. Arpeggios (or arpeggi) are also accompaniment patterns. See also broken chord in this list.
• arco – the bow used for playing some string instrument; i.e., played with the bow, as opposed to pizzicato (plucked), in music for bowed instruments; normally used to cancel a pizzicato direction
• assai – very
• assez (Fr) – enough, sufficiently; sometimes used in the same sense as assai
• a tempo – in time; i.e., the performer should return to the main tempo of the piece (after an accelerando or ritardando, etc.); also may be found in combination with other terms such as a tempo giusto (in strict time) or a tempo di menuetto (at the speed of a minuet)
• attacca – attack, or go on; i.e., at the end of a movement, a direction to begin (attack) the next movement immediately, without a gap or pause
• Ausdruck (Ger) – expression
• ausdrucksvoll (Ger) – expressively
• avec (Fr) – with

B

• barbaro – barbarous
• basso continuo – continuous bass; i.e., a bass part played continuously throughout a piece to give harmonic structure, used especially in the Baroque period
• beat – (1) the pronounced rhythm of music; (2) one single stroke of a rhythmic accent
• bellicoso – warlike, aggressive
• ben or bene – well, as in, for example, ben marcato (meaning "well-marked")
• bewegt (Ger) – moved, speeded
• bis – twice; i.e., repeat the relevant action or passage
• bisbigliando – whispering; i.e., a special tremolo effect on the harp where a chord or note is rapidly repeated ata low volume
• bocca chiusa – with closed mouth
• bravura – boldness; as in con bravura, boldly
• breit – broad
• brillante – brilliantly, with sparkle
• brio – vigour; usually in con brio (see in this list)
• brioso – vigorously (same as con brio)
• broken chord – a chord in which the notes are not all played at once, but in some more or less consistent sequence. They may follow singly one after the other, or two notes may be immediately followed by another two, for example. See also arpeggio in this list, which as an accompaniment pattern may be seen as a kind of broken chord; see Alberti bass.
• bruscamente – brusquely

C

• cadenza – a cadence; i.e., a florid solo, often improvised or (more commonly in modern practice) in improvisatory style, usually near the end of a movement (but sometimes played between the development and recapitulation sections), embellishing and elaborating on a perfect cadence, sometimes at considerable length
• calando – lowering; i.e., getting slower and softer: ritardando along with diminuendo
• cambiare – to change; i.e., any change, such as to a new instrument
• cantabile – singingly
• capo – head; i.e., the beginning (of a movement, normally)
• capriccioso – capriciously
• cédez (Fr) – yield, give way
• cesura or caesura (Latin form) – break, stop; i.e., a complete break in sound (sometimes called "railroad tracks")
• chiuso – closed; i.e., muted by hand (for a horn, or similar instrument; but see also bocca chiusa, which uses the feminine form, in this list)
• coda – a tail; i.e., a closing section appended to a movement
• codetta – a small coda (see last), but usually applied to a passage appended to a section of a movement, not to a whole movement
• col, colla – with the (col before a masculine noun, colla before a feminine noun); (see next for example)
• colla parte – with the soloist
• colla voce – with the voice
• col legno – with the wood; i.e., the strings (for example, of a violin) are to be struck with the wood of the bow; also battuta col legno: beaten with the wood
• coloratura – coloration; i.e., elaborate ornamentation of a vocal line, or (especially) a soprano voice suited to such elaboration
• colossale – tremendously
• col pugno – with the fist; i.e., bang the piano with the fist
• come prima – like the first (time); i.e., as before, typically referring to an earlier tempo
• come sopra – as above; i.e., like the previous tempo (usually)
• common time – the time signature 4/4: four beats per measure, each beat a quarter note (a crotchet) in length. 4/4 is often written on the musical staff as 'C'. The symbol is not a C as an abbreviation for common time, but a broken circle. The full circle at one time stood for triple time, 3/4.
• comodo – comfortable; i.e., at moderate speed
• con – with; used in very many musical directions, for example con allegrezza (with liveliness), con amore (with tenderness); (see also col, colla, above)
• con amore, or (in Spanish and sometimes in Italian) con amor – with love, tenderly
• con affetto – with affect (that is, with emotion)
• con brio – with spirit, with vigour
• con effetto – with effect
• con fuoco – with fire, in a fiery manner
• con moto – with motion
• con slancio – with enthusiasm
• con sordino – with the mute
• coperti (plural of coperto, which may also be seen) – covered; i.e., on a drum, muted with a cloth
• crescendo – growing; i.e., progressively louder (contrast diminuendo)
• cut time – same as the meter 2/2: two half-note (minim) beats per measure. Notated and played like common time (4/4), except with the beat lengths doubled. Indicated by three quarters of a circle with a vertical line through it, which resembles the cent symbol '¢'. This comes from a literal cut of the 'C' symbol of common time. Thus, a quarter note in cut time is only half a beat long, and a measure has only two beats. See also alla breve.

D

• da capo – from the head; i.e., from the beginning (see capo in this list)
• deciso – decisively
• decrescendo – same as diminuendo or dim. (see below)
• delicatamente – delicately
• devoto – religiously
• diminuendo, dim. – dwindling; i.e., with gradually decreasing volume (same as decrescendo)
• dissonante – dissonant
• divisi or div. – divided; i.e., in a part in which several musicians normally play exactly the same notes they are instead to split the playing of the written simultaneous notes among themselves. It is most often used for string instruments, since with them another means of execution is often possible. (The return from divisi is marked unisono: see in this list.)
• dolce – sweetly
• dolcissimo – very sweetly
• dolente – sorrowfully, plaintively
• doloroso – sorrowfully, plaintively
• D.S. al coda or dal segno al coda (or, strictly but rarely seen, ...alla coda) – from the sign to the coda; i.e., return to a place in the music designated by the sign (a marking resembling a letter S with a diagonal through it and a dot to either side) and continue until directed to move to the coda, a separate ending section. (See Coda in this list.)
• D.S. al fine or dal segno al fine – from the sign to the end; i.e., return to a place in the music designated by the sign (see preceding entry) and continue to the end of the piece.
• Duple Meter - A meter, or time signature, where the basic unit of pulse of the music recurs in groups of 2 (cut time or 2/2, 2/4, 4/4). Duple meter is historically associated with Marches but can be found in nearly all forms of contemporary music.
• dur (Ger) – major; used in key signatures as, for example, A-dur (A major), B-dur (B� major), or H-dur (B major). (See also moll (minor) in this list.)
• dynamics – refers to the relative volumes in the execution of a piece of music. (See dynamics (music)).

E

• echo – an effect in which a group of notes is repeated, usually more softly, and perhaps at a different octave, to create an echo effect
• Empfindung (Ger) – feeling
• encore (Fr) – again; i.e., perform the relevant passage once more
• energico – energetic, strong
• enfatico – emphatically
• eroico – heroically
• espirando – expiring; i.e., dying away
• espressivo – expressively
• estinto – extinct, extinguished; i.e., as soft as possible, lifeless

F

• facile – easily
• fermata – finished, closed; i.e., a rest or note is to be held for a duration that is at the discretion of the performer or conductor (sometimes called bird's eye)
• feroce – ferociously
• fieramente – proudly
• fine – the end, often in phrases like al fine (to the end)
• flebile – mournfully
• focoso or fuocoso – fiery; i.e., passionately
• forte or f (usually) – strong; i.e., to be played or sung loudly
• fortepiano – strong-gentle; i.e., 1. loud, then immediately soft (see dynamics), or 2. an early pianoforte
• fortissimo – as loudly as possible (see note at pianissimo, in this list)
• forzando or fz – see sforzando in this list
• fresco – freshly
• fuoco – fire; con fuoco means with fire
• furioso – wildly

G

• gaudioso – with joy
• gentile – gently
• geschwind (Ger) – quickly
• getragen (Ger) – sustainedly
• giocoso – gaily
• giusto – strictly, exactly
• glissando (simulated Italian) – a continuous sliding from one pitch to another (a true glissando), or an incidental scale played while moving from one melodic note to another (an effective glissando). See glissando for further information; and compare portamento in this list.
• grandioso – grandly
• grave – slowly and seriously
• grazioso – gracefully
• gustoso – with gusto

H

• Hauptstimme (Ger) – "head" voice, chief part; i.e., the contrapuntal line of primary importance, in opposition to Nebenstimme

I

• immer (Ger) – always
• imperioso – imperiously
• impetuoso – impetuously
• improvisando – with improvisation
• in altissimo – in the highest; i.e., play or sing an octave higher
• incalzando – getting faster and louder (the exact opposite of calando)
• in modo di – in the art of, in the style of
• intimo – intimately
• irato – angrily

K

• kräftig (Ger) – strongly

L

• l'istesso – the same
• lacrimoso – tearfully; i.e., sadly
• lamentando – lamenting, mournfully
• lamentoso – lamenting, mournfully
• langsam (Ger) – slowly
• larghetto – somewhat slowly; not as slow as largo
• largo – broadly; i.e., slowly
• lebhaft (Ger) – briskly, lively
• legato – joined; i.e., smoothly, in a connected manner (see also articulation)
• leggiero – lightly, delicately
• lent (Fr) – slowly
• lento – slowly
• liberamente – freely
• libero – free, freely
• loco – [in] place; i.e., perform the notes at the pitch written (generally used to cancel an 8va direction)
• lugubre – lugubrious
• luminoso – luminously
• lusingando – coaxingly

M

• ma – but
• ma non troppo – but not too much
• maestoso – majestically, in a stately fashion
• magico – magically
• magnifico – magnificent
• main droite (Fr) – [played with the] right hand (abbreviation: MD or m.d.)
• main gauche (Fr) – [played with the] left hand (abbreviation: MG or m.g.)
• malinconico – melancholy
• mano destra – [played with the] right hand (abbreviation: MD or m.d.)
• mano sinistra – [played with the] left hand (abbreviation: MS or m.s.)
• marcatissimo – very accentuatedly
• marcato – marked; i.e., accentuatedly, play every note as if it were to be accented
• marcia – a march; alla marcia means in the manner of a march
• martellato – hammered out
• marziale – in the march style
• mässig (Ger) – moderately
• MD – see mano destra and main droite
• melancolico – melancholic
• melisma – the technique of changing the note (pitch) of a syllable of text while it is being sung
• measure – the period of a musical piece that encompasses a complete cycle of the time signature, e.g., in 4/4 time, a measure has four quarter-note beats
• meno – less; see meno mosso, for example, under mosso
• mesto – mournful, sad
• meter (or metre) – the pattern of a music piece's rhythm of strong and weak beats
• mezza voce – half voice; i.e., with subdued or moderated volume
• mezzo – half; used in combinations like mezzo forte (mf), meaning moderately loud
• mezzo forte – half loudly; i.e., moderately loudly. See dynamics.
• mezzo piano – half softly; i.e., moderately softly. See dynamics.
• mezzo-soprano – a female singer with a range usually extending from the A below middle C to the F an eleventh above middle C. Mezzo-sopranos generally have a darker vocal tone than sopranos, and their vocal range is between that of a soprano and that of an alto.
• MG – see main gauche
• misterioso – mysteriously
• mobile – flexible, changeable
• moderato – moderate; often combined with other terms, usually relating to tempo; for example, allegro moderato
• modesto – modest
• moll (Ger) – minor; used in key signatures as, for example, a-moll (A minor), b-moll (B� minor), or h-moll (B minor) (see also dur (major) in this list)
• molto – very
• morendo – dying; i.e., dying away in dynamics, and perhaps also in tempo
• mosso – moved, moving; used with a preceding più or meno (see in this list), for faster or slower respectively
• MS – see mano sinistra
• moto – motion; usually seen as con moto, meaning with motion or quickly
• Moto primo - First (the feminine form) motion
• munter (Ger) – lively

N

• narrante – narratingly
• naturale or nat. – natural; i.e., discontinue a special effect, such as col legno, sul tasto, sul ponticello, or playing in harmonics
• Nebenstimme (Ger) – under part; i.e., a secondary contrapuntal part, always occurring simultaneously with, and subsidiary to, the Hauptstimme
• nicht (zu) schnell (Ger) – not (too) fast
• nobile – in a noble fashion
• notes inégales (Fr) – unequal notes; i.e., a principally Baroque performance practice of applying long-short rhythms to pairs of notes written as equal

O

• omaggio – homage, celebration
• ossia – or instead; i.e., according to some specified alternative way of performing a passage, which is marked with a footnote, additional small notes, or an additional staff
• ostinato – obstinate, persistent; i.e., a short musical pattern that is repeated throughout an entire composition or portion of a composition

P

• passionato – passionately
• pesante – heavy, ponderous
• peu à peu (Fr) – little by little

Note: it should be noted that any dynamics in a piece should always be played relative to the other dynamics found in the music. Thus, pp should be played as softly as possible, but if ppp is found later in the piece, pp should be markedly louder than ppp. Likewise, ff should be played as loud as possible, but if fff is found later in the piece, ff should be noticeably quieter. More than three ps (ppp) or three fs (fff) are uncommon.

• pianissimo or pp (usually) – very gently; i.e., perform very softly, even softer than piano. This convention can be extended; the more p's that are written, the softer the composer wants the musician to play, thus ppp (pianississimo) would be softer than pp.
• piano or p (usually) – gently; i.e., played or sung softly (see dynamics)
• piano-vocal score – the same as a vocal score, a piano arrangement along with the vocal parts of an opera, cantata, or similar
• piacevole – pleasant
• piangevole – plaintive
• più – more; see mosso for an example
• pizzicato – pinched, plucked; i.e., in music for bowed strings, plucked with the fingers as opposed to played with the bow; compare arco (in this list), which is inserted to cancel a pizzicato instruction
• pochettino or poch. – very little
• poco – a little, as in poco più allegro (a little faster)
• poco a poco – little by little
• poco moto - a little motion
• poi – then, indicating a subsequent instruction in a sequence; diminuendo poi subito fortissimo, for example: getting softer then suddenly very loud
• portamento – carrying; i.e., 1. generally, sliding in pitch from one note to another (especially in singing; more often called glissando in instrumental music); or 2. in piano music, an articulation between legato and staccato, like portato, in this list
• portato – carried; i.e., non-legato, but not as detached as staccato (same as portamento [2], in this list)
• posato – settled
• potpourri or pot-pourri (Fr) – potpourri (as used in other senses in English); i.e., a kind of musical form structured as ABCDEF... etc.; the same as medley or, sometimes, fantasia
• precipitato – precipitately
• prestissimo – extremely quickly, as fast as possible
• presto – very quickly
• prima volta – the first time; for example prima volta senza accompanimento (the first time without accompaniment)
• primo or prima (the feminine form) – first

Q

• quasi (Latin and Italian) – as if, almost

R

• rallentando or rall. – progressively slower
• rapido – fast
• rasch (Ger) – fast
• religioso – religiously
• repente – suddenly
• restez (Fr) – stay; i.e., remain on a note or string
• rinforzando (rf) – reinforced; i.e., emphasized; sometimes like a sudden crescendo, but often applied to a single note
• risoluto – resolutely
• rit. – an abbreviation for ritardando[1][2][3][4]; also less frequently considered an abbreviation for ritenuto[5][6][7]
• ritardando, ritard. – slowing down; decelerating; opposite of accelerando (see in this list)
• ritenuto, riten. – held back; i.e., slower (usually more so but more temporarily than a ritardando, and it may, unlike ritardando, apply to a single note)
• roulade (Fr) – a rolling; i.e., a florid vocal phrase
• rubato – robbed; i.e., flexible in tempo, applied to notes within a musical phrase for expressive effect

S

• sanft (Ger) – gently
• scherzando – playfully
• scherzo – a joke; i.e., a musical form, originally and usually in fast triple time, often replacing the minuet in the later Classical period and the Romantic period, in symphonies, sonatas, string quartets and the like; in the 19th century some scherzi were independent movements for piano, etc.
• schnell (Ger) – fast
• schneller (Ger) – faster
• scordatura – out of tune; i.e., an alternative tuning used for the strings of a string instrument
• secco – dry
• sehr (Ger) – very
• sempre – always
• senza – without
• senza sordino – without the mute
• serioso – seriously
• sforzando or sfz – made loud; i.e., a sudden strong accent
• silencio – silence
• simile – similarly; i.e., continue applying the preceding directive, whatever it was, to the following passage.
• smorzando or smorz. – dying away, extinguishing or dampening; usually interpreted as a drop in dynamics, and very often in tempo as well
• soave – smoothly, gently
• solo, plural soli – alone; i.e., played by a single instrument. The instruction soli requires more than one player; in a jazz big band this refers to an entire section playing in harmony.
• sostenuto – sustained
• sotto voce – under voice; i.e., softly and subdued, as if speaking under one's breath
• spiccato – distinct, separated; i.e., a way of playing the violin and other bowed instruments by bouncing the bow on the string, giving a characteristic staccato effect
• spiritoso – spiritedly
• staccato – an indication to play with a sharp attack, and briefly. In music notation a small dot under or over the note indicates that it is to be sounded staccato.
• stanza – a verse of a song
• strepitoso – noisy
• stretto – tight, narrow; i.e., faster or hastening ahead; also, a passage in a fugue in which the contrapuntal texture is denser, with close overlapping entries of the subject in different voices; by extension, similar closely imitative passages in other compositions
• stringendo – tightening, narrowing; i.e., with a pressing forward or acceleration of the tempo (that is, becoming stretto, see preceding entry)
• subito – suddenly
• sul ponticello – on the bridge; i.e., in string playing, an indication to bow (or sometimes to pluck) very near to the bridge, producing a characteristic glassy sound, which emphasizes the higher harmonics at the expense of the fundamental; the opposite of sul tasto
• sul tasto – on the fingerboard; i.e., in string playing, an indication to bow (or sometimes to pluck) over the fingerboard; the opposite of sul ponticello

T

• tacet – silent; do not play
• tempo – time; i.e., the overall speed of a piece of music
• teneramente – tenderly
• tenuto – held; i.e., touch on a note slightly longer than usual, but without generally altering the note's value
• tranquillo – calmly, peacefully
• tremendo – frightening
• tremolo – shaking; i.e., a rapid repetition of the same note, or an alternation between two or more notes. It can also be intended (inaccurately) to mean a rapid and repetitive variation in pitch for the duration of a note (see vibrato). It is notated by a strong diagonal bar across the note stem, or a detached bar for a set of notes (or stemless notes).
• tre corde or tc (or sometimes inaccurately tre corda) – three strings; i.e., release the soft pedal of the piano (see una corda)
• troppo – too much; usually seen as non troppo, meaning moderately or, when combined with other terms, not too much, such as allegro [ma] non troppo (fast but not too fast)
• tutti – all; i.e., all together, usually used in an orchestral or choral score when the orchestra or all of the voices come in at the same time, also seen in Baroque-era music where two instruments share the same copy of music, after one instrument has broken off to play a more advanced form: they both play together again at the point marked tutti. See also: ripieno.

U

• un, uno, or una – one, as for example in the following entries
• una corda – one string; i.e., in piano music, depress the soft pedal, altering, and reducing the volume of, the sound. In some pianos, this literally results in the hammer striking one string rather than two or three. (For most notes on modern instruments, in fact it results in striking two rather than three strings.) Its counterpart, tre corde (three strings; see in this list), is the opposite: the soft pedal is to be released.
• un poco – a little
• unisono or unis (Fr) – in unison; i.e., several players in a group are to play exactly the same notes within their written part, as opposed to splitting simultaneous notes among themselves. Often used to mark the return from divisi (see in this list).

V

• vibrato – vibrating; i.e., a more or less rapidly repeated slight alteration in the pitch of a note, used to give a richer sound and as a means of expression. Often confused with tremolo, which refers either to a similar variation in the volume of a note, or to rapid repetition of a single note.
• vittorioso – victoriously
• vivo – lively
• vivace – very lively, up-tempo
• vivacissimo – very lively
• vocal score or piano-vocal score – a music score of an opera, or a vocal or choral composition with orchestra (like oratorio or cantata) where the vocal parts are written out in full but the accompaniment is reduced to two staves and adapted for playing on piano.
• volante – flying
• VS (volti subito) – turn suddenly; i.e., turn the page quickly

W

• wolno (Polish) – loose, slowly; found as a directive in The Elephant from The Carnival of the Animals by Saint-Saëns

Z

• Zählzeit (Ger) – beat
• zart (Ger) – tender
• Zartheit (Ger) – tenderness
• zärtlich (Ger) – tenderly
• Zeichen (Ger) – sign
• Zeitmass, also spelled Zeitmaß (Ger) – time-measure, i.e., tempo
• zelo, zeloso, zelosamente (It.) – zeal, zealous, zealously
• ziehen (Ger) – to draw out
• zitternd (Ger) trembling; i.e., tremolando
• zögernd (Ger) – doubtful, delaying; i.e., rallentando

All the good forums allow their users to have a forums signature at the bottom of each of their post.

The way that forums signatures operate depends on the forum:

• Some forums have the no-follow attribute on links rendering them useless from a search engine ranking point of view
• Some forums only show forums signatures to logged in people meaning a smaller audience

Types of forum signatures

There are 4 types of forum signatures. Each one may work in certain forums and not in others.

Descriptive links

The descriptive links is your classic forum signature. It can have one or many links, and is it easy to identify what each link is about. If your links are on topic with the forum, this type will work well for you. The problem comes when your links are not related and as people can tell that they are not related. They have no reason to visit your links. An example of descriptive links is:

See syncrat for Music, News and sport

Personal links

The personal (or ego) links forum signature is different to the descriptive links forum signature as it focuses more you and not the links. Instead of your signature appearing as descriptive links like:

See syncrat for Music, News and sport

Your signature would instead appear like:

Webmaster of syncrat; Top website in some random awards

If you have a good website, a signature like this can give you more authority in a forum of the same topic. This can sometimes backfire if your website is not up to standard though.

The problem with this type of forum signature is that it has more focus on you, rather than your website. The result is that it is not too far from a mystery link.

Mystery link

When you are linking in your forum signature to a site that is not related to the current forum, mystery links can sometimes bring good results. A mystery link is where there is no indication of the type of site the link will end up on. It may take you to an online store, personal home page or porn page. One example of a mystery link is simply:

?????

A mystery link should only be used if you are getting low click through or interest.

Graphical banner

Perhaps the most disliked forum signature is the graphical banner due to its typical size. Some banners are just an image and a link and others display statistics such as:

• The number of times the signature has been viewed
• Your current computers statistics
• How much of your CPU time you have donated

If you do have a graphical banner, make sure that is is not to high as this means that people have to scroll further to read the conversation.

Rules to remember

When designing a forum signature the are 3 rules to remember:

Spelling and Grammar

A badly spelt signature just makes you look bad.

Don't have anything too big

Readers get annoyed when they have to keep scrolling due to large forum signatures.

Don't have too many links

Too many links not only makes you look like a spammer, but it also does not seem as professional as one simple link and a description.

The cost of a product or service is relative to what the buyer thinks that cost should be. Based on his or her previous experiences, the customer will have an idea of prices that are too high, too low or on target.

Through personal experiences, advertising and knowledge of typical prices for products or services, your customers will have a good idea of where your prices should fall in relation to the market and your competitors.

By using psychology, you can present a perception of value or discount that will help you sell your products. For example, the common use of $9.99 over $10.00 has long been a matter of pricing psychology that says: Although there is only a 1 cent difference, something in the $9 range is a bigger bargain than something in the $10 range. In fact, studies show that odd numbers are more commonly associated with lower prices than even numbers.

Getting something free by purchasing more is primarily a perception of savings. While a buy-one-get-one-free offer represents a small savings to the customer, it draws more business because of the idea that the consumer is getting something for free. Using that philosophy, you can ask the consumer to buy two and get a third for free, thereby doubling your initial sale. They get something for free, and you sell two instead of one.

As long as you have a firm grasp on your costs and know that you will not lose money, you can present products and services in a manner that indicates to the customer that they are “walking out with a savings.” In many cases, its primarily a matter of presentation.

Other factors that play into the perception of pricing would include availability. If, for example, you indicate a one-day sale, the idea that availability is limited will encourage the customer to act quickly rather than mull over the purchase. Likewise, if you know that supply and demand are in your favour, you can stand by a higher price and let it be known that only a few of this item are available. Limited items always appear as more valuable.

Of course, you need to remain honest in pricing, marketing and advertising. However, as long as you are neither price gauging nor making fraudulent claims, you can use the power of perception — or the psychology of pricing — to your advantage.

It has been widely quoted in incorrect lists of facts that a duck's quack does not echo. This statement is incorrect as a duck's quack does in-fact echo.

Wikipedia defines an echo as:

A reflection of sound, arriving at the listener some time after the direct sound. Typical examples are the echo produced by the bottom of a well, by a building, or in a room, by the walls. A true echo is a single reflection of the sound source. The time delay is the extra distance divided by the speed of sound.

In tests done in an echo chamber, it was proved that a ducks quack does echo. It only takes someone to be around a cliff populated with ducks to find this out. Which leads to the most interesting question, why did the myth arise? The are a few possible explanations that could explain it are:

• The quack does echo, but it is usually too quiet to hear. When you want to hear an echo, you usually make a very loud noise to make sure the reflection can be heard. But a duck quacks too quietly, so the reflection is too quiet to hear.
• Ducks don't quack near reflecting surfaces. You need a large reflecting surface, a mountain or building for the sound to reflect off. Maybe ducks don't hang around reflecting surfaces.
• It is hard to hear the echo of a sound which fades in and fades out.

Many people are surprised to learn that researchers have discovered a single treatment that improves memory, increases people's ability to concentrate, strengthens the immune system, and decreases people's risk of being killed in accidents. Sound to be good to be true? It gets even better. The treatment is completely free, even for people who have no health insurance. It also has no side effects. Finally, most people consider the treatment highly enjoyable. Would you try it?

You probably should. For most people, this treatment would consist of getting an extra 60-90 minutes of sleep each night. Both psychologists and psychiatrists have been arguing for years that one of the most significant and overlooked public health problems in the U.S. is that many American adults are chronically sleep deprived. That is, very few Americans regularly obtain the 8 or more hours of sleep that almost all adults need each night. The consequences of this chronic sleep deprivation can truly be disastrous. Laboratory experiments on the effects of sleep deprivation have shown that failing to get enough sleep dramatically impairs memory and concentration while increasing levels of stress hormones and disrupting the body's normal metabolism. Research outside the laboratory further suggests that long term sleep deprivation leads to greater susceptibility to motor vehicle accidents and may even lead to premature ageing.

This is important because research shows that many people are carrying a heavy "sleep debt" that they have built up from weeks, months, or even years of inadequate sleep. In experiments on sleep debt, researchers pay healthy volunteers to stay in bed for at least 14 hours a day for a week or more. Most people given this opportunity sleep about 12 hours a day for several days, sometimes longer - and then they settle into sleeping 7-9 hours per night. As William Dement (1999) put it, "this means … that millions of us are living a less than optimal life and performing at a less than optimal level, impaired by an amount of sleep debt that we're not even aware we carry."

But is carrying a sleep debt really so harmful? Careful experiments by psychologist David Dinges and others have shown that the answer is yes. Dinges and colleagues recruit healthy young volunteers who live continuously in Dinges's sleep laboratory for 10-20 days. By randomly assigning people to receive different amounts and patterns of sleep over time, by controlling people's access to stimulants such as caffeine, and by constantly monitoring people's physiological states (to document the amount of sleep that people are actually getting), Dinges has learned that people who get less than 8 hours sleep per night show pronounced cognitive and physiological deficits, including memory impairments, a reduced ability to make decisions, and dramatic lapses in attention. As sleep deprivation continues over time, these deficits only grow worse. Consistently failing to get enough sleep is the biological equivalent of consistently spending more money than you make. Napping can help reduce a sleep debt, for example, but there are also long term benefits to maintaining consistent, predictable sleep patterns. In addition, whereas naps do improve cognitive functioning after periods of sleep deprivation, they do not do much to repair the negative mood that results from sleep loss (see Dinges et al., 1988).

Many people argue that they get by just fine on very little sleep. However, research shows that only a tiny fraction of people can truly function well on less than 8 hours sleep per night. Dinges estimates that, over the long haul, perhaps 1 person in a thousand can function effectively on six or fewer hours of sleep per night. Many people who operate on chronic sleep debts end up napping during the day or fighting through long periods of sleepiness in the afternoon. Moreover, people who chronically fail to get enough sleep may actually be cutting their lives short. A lack of sleep taxes the immune system, and may even lead to disease and premature ageing. To make all of this worse, most people who are sleep deprived do not even realize it. If you get sleepy during long meetings or long drives, chances are you are chronically sleep deprived.

Significance

Estimates by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration indicate that drowsy or fatigued driving leads to more than 100,000 motor vehicle crashes per year. Even small disruptions in sleep can wreak havoc on human safety and performance. For example, in a nation-wide study of motor vehicle accidents occurring between 1986 and 1995, psychologist Stanley Coren (1998) studied the effects of the single hour of lost sleep that many Americans experience when they set their clocks forward every spring. The result? A 17% increase in traffic deaths on the Mondays following the time changes (compared with the Mondays before). Psychologists such as Gregory Hicks have observed similar findings. They focused specifically on alcohol-related traffic related fatalities and observed increases in the one-week window following changes to daylight savings time. It is harder to estimate the toll sleep deprivation takes on people's health, happiness, and productivity, but according to the National Sleep Foundation, the annual cost in lost worker productivity due to sleeplessness is about $18 billion dollars.

Practical Application

In light of the dramatic public health consequences of sleep deprivation and unhealthy sleep patterns, the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), in cooperation, with many partner organizations, established National Sleep Awareness Week, promoted each spring during the week when people set their clocks forward for daylight savings time. In 2003, the NSF reported that about 600 sleep centres in North America sponsored educational activities in their own local communities during National Sleep Awareness Week. Many U.S. states now educate drivers not only about the dangers of driving while intoxicated but also about the dangers of "driving while drowsy."

Through out the commercial world, we are surrounded by marketing that has a strong call for action or requires an immediate response.

Telemarketers

We are cold called by telemarketers, and advertisers.

Hyped up advertisements

All the infomercials on television hype up a product with an extroverted presenter and give discounts for people that hurry and call now

Trends

There is a strong correlation between marketing and being up with the latest trends. Marketing often uses popular celebrities to portray their product as popular

What seems to go unnoticed in the marketing world is that all this hype, trend and celebrity marketing goes unnoticed or even avoided by people with an introverted personality.

An introvert is a person who is energized by being alone and whose energy is drained by being around other people. While extroverts love to be the life of the party, introverts tend to be quiet, low-key, deliberate, and engaged in non-social activities.

Statistics indicate that introverts make up 10-30% of the general population but as IQ increases, the proportion of introverts rises dramatically. Since there is a correlation between intelligence and income, you target more introverts as buying power rises. The greater the price of the product or service you are marketing, the greater the chance you are selling to an introvert. It pays to understand your audience.

There are some critical differences in the way introverts initiate consumer dialogue, process information, make decisions and put their decisions into dollars and cents.

Introverts do not care about trends

Just because you have an image of celebrity X using your product means nothing. Introverts are more likely to do things their way rather than fall into peer pressure and trend marketing.

Introverts care more about facts and details

You will get no where with just a big smile and a charismatic personality. To impress an introvert you need to know what you are talking about. Details, quality and facts impress us.

Introverts are highly territorial

Introverts don't like interruptions, uninvited visits or phone calls. Unlike most people who will get annoyed, but still answer the phone, introverts get an unlisted number, a fancy answering machine and they turn the ringer off. Also they have no qualms whatsoever about hanging up on you or closing the door in your face.

Introverts love to read

Unlike extroverts, introverts are more likely to read the small print on the cereal box, read any material on hand, and prefer to read over interacting with other people. Whoever thought about putting advertisements in elevators and inside toilet doors had introverts in mind. Well ... it's better than having to talk to the other people in the elevator.

Introverts prefer fact-sheets

Although introverts may not say much, they still take things in. They do not like talking to you though, and would prefer for you to just give them a fact-sheet instead.

Introverts are not impressed by personality

Having none ourselves, except the one we drag out on State Occasions :-) we do not put any value on yours. Please don't be cute, peppy, positive, enthusiastic or motivating. Instead, be polite, know your stuff, get to the point, leave written material and invite a response at a later date.

Introverts have being rushed

Not only does it not work, it is exhausting to introverts because we give energy while extroverts take energy. As every introvert in the world is only too aware, people who use hype suck more energy that should be legally possible in 52 states.

Introverts hate small talk

If you would like to make an excellent first impression, be polite and come quickly to the point. Above all, don't ask personal questions and by that I mean things you think don't matter such as how many children I have or what work my partner does.

Introverts hate phones, especially cell phones

Phones provide an interruption and allow people to start talking to you any time. Small talk is bad.

Introverts say what they mean

No means no

We have all visited a site on the net that allows it's users to auction off their own items. Of the many auctions sites around, a few stand out:

eBay

eBay is the worl's largest online auction site. Like most auction companies, eBay does not actually sell goods that it owns itself. It merely facilitates the process of listing and displaying goods, bidding on items, and paying for them. It acts as a marketplace for individuals and businesses who use the site to auction off goods and services.

Trademe

Trademe is the New Zealand equivilent of eBay, and was the most popular website in the country for 2005. Trade Me shares many features with other online auction websites, such as the American auction giant eBay. Some of these features include "Buy Now", "Auto bidding" and the Safe Trader escrow service. Members in New Zealand can become "Address Verified" by confirming their street-address, and the site may block unverified members from bidding. Significantly, despite its global reach, eBay has failed to make a sizeable penetration in the geographically isolated New Zealand market.

Several types of online auctions are possible. In an English auction the initial price starts low and is bid up by successive bidders. In a Dutch auction, multiple identical items are offered in one auction, with all winning bidders paying the same price -- the highest price at which all items will be sold (treasury bills, for example, are auctioned this way). Almost all online auctions use the English auction method.

Strengths of the business model

The strategic advantages of this business model include:

1. No time constraints. Bids can be placed at any time (24/7). Items are listed for a number of days (usually between 1 and 10, at the discretion of the seller), giving purchasers time to search, decide, and bid. This convenience increases the number of bidders.
2. No geographical constraints. Sellers and bidders can participate from anywhere that has internet access. This makes them more accessible and reduces the cost of "attending" an auction. This increases the number of listed items (ie.: number of sellers) and the number of bids for each item (ie.: number of bidders). The items do not need to be shipped to a central location, reducing costs, and reducing the seller's minimum acceptable price.
3. Intensity of social interactions. The social interactions involved in the bidding process are very similar to gambling. The bidders wait in anticipation hoping they will "win" (eBay calls the successful bidder the "winner"). Much like gambling addiction, many bidders bid primarily to "play the game" rather than to obtain products or services. This creates a highly loyal customer segment for eBay.
4. Large number of bidders. Because of the potential for a relatively low price, the broad scope of products and services available, the ease of access, and the social benefits of the auction process, there are a large numbers of bidders.
5. Large number of sellers. Because of the large number of bidders, the potential for a relatively high price, reduced selling costs, and ease of access, there are a large number of sellers.
6. Network economies. The large number of bidders will encourage more sellers, which, in turn, will encourage more bidders, which will encourage more sellers, etc., in a virtual spiral. The more the spiral operates, the larger the system becomes, and the more valuable the business model becomes for all participants.
7. Captures consumers' surplus. Auctions are a form of first degree price discrimination. As such, they attempt to convert part of the consumers' surplus (defined as the area above the market price line but below the firm's demand curve) into producers' surplus. On-line auctions are efficient enough forms of price discrimination that they are able to do this.

When it comes to body language, it does not matter whether she is interested in you. You will attract her attention if you do not play it too needy. If you look out for these signs, you will be able to tell if you are making progress. It also makes for interesting watching whena guy is trying so hard, but the lady is showing no signs of interest. You can't help but have a chuckle about it.

Her lips:

• Big smiles with upper and lower teeth showing with a relaxed face.
• Biting of the lips or showing of the tongue, licking her lips or touching of her front teeth.
• She wets her lips, some women use only a single-lip lick, wetting the upper or lower lip, while others run the tongue around the entire lip area.
• She puts her fingernail between her teeth.
• She protrudes her lips and thrust her breasts forward.

Her eyes:

• She gazes in your eyes with deep interest and her pupils are dilated.
• She raises both eyebrows exaggeratedly for a couple of seconds, this is often combined with a smile and some eye contact.
• She winks at you while talking to you or winks at you from a distance.
• While talking to you, she blinks more than usual, fluttering her eyelashes.
• Eyebrows raised and then lowered, then a smile indicates interest in you.

Her hair:

• She pushes her fingers through her hair. This can be one hand movement or more of a stroking motion.
• She twirls her hair around her fingers while she is looking at you.
• She is throwing her hair back off her shoulders.

Her clothing:

• If she is wearing clothes that show her nipples underneath and you notice they are getting perky and erect.
• The hem goes up to expose a little more leg.
• She is fixing, patting or smoothing her outfit to make herself look better.

While she is seated:

• She moves in time to the music, with her eyes on you.
• She starts sitting straight up and her muscles appear to be firm.
• She is sitting with her legs open.
• She sits with her legs crossed in a manner to reveal her thigh.
• Her legs are rubbing against each other.
• Her legs are rubbing against the leg of the table.
• Her crossed leg is pointed towards you or if that same leg is rocking back and forth towards you.

Her hands:

• She exposes the palms of her hand facing you.
• While talking to you, she rests an elbow in the palm of one hand, while holding out her other hand, palm up.
• She rubs her wrists up and down.
• She sits with one hand touching one of her breasts.
• She rubs her chin or touches her cheek. This indicates that she's thinking about you and her relating in some way:)
• She is fondling keys, sliding hands up and down a glass, playing with toys or other things on the table.
• She plays with her jewellery, especially with stroking and pulling motions.
• She touches your arm, shoulder, thigh, or hand while talking to you.
• She is pretending to look at her watch as you pass her.

Her voice

• She raises or lowers the volume of her voice to match yours.
• She speeds up or slows down her speaking to match yours.
• She laughs in unison with you.
• In a crowd she speaks only to you and focuses all of her undivided attention on you.

Miscellaneous:

• She mirrors your body language and body positions.
• Her skin tone becomes red while being around you.
• She blows smoke straight out from between her lips and toward you.
• She leans over and speaks into her friend's ear, just like in junior high school.
• She is standing with her head cocked slightly at an angle, one foot behind the other, hips slightly thrust forward.
• At a party - every once in a while she seems to appear out of nowhere in your vicinity and if you move to another spot, soon she appears out of nowhere again, you catch her glancing in your general direction (actually, glancing at YOU dummy!:), she bumps into you… accidentally, touches you… accidentally etc:)

When talking to a girl, these are some of the more important signs to watch for:

• Can you keep conversation going with her?
• Does she react well to your touch?
• Does she touch you?
• Does she laugh?

Signs of the wrong topic

All these signs usually tell you that the girl is captivated by your charms. As the conversation progresses, you may find that her body language changes and see starts to show fewer signs. If this happens, just change the subject and see what happens. 

Signs of interest from across the room

Here are signs of interest sent from across the room. Most are applicable to both sexes. The sequence of the list approximates the courtship sequence.

Frequency of eye contact, the more the better. Amount of time she, or he, holds your gaze, the longer the better. How she breaks off eye contact, down before away is great! Shine of the eyes, the brighter the better. Direction of body, toward you, good, away, bad. Overall posture, erect and alert are good. Tilt of head, vertical is bad, increased tilt is great. Where the drink is held, high in front as a barrier, that's bad. Hand activity, clenched, squeezing or pinching is bad, open, caressing or stroking is great.

Most of us are slightly afraid as well as somewhat excited in settings where social interaction is expected and required. So, most people do not sit or stand in an open posture. But, during courtship, the more open the other person's posture is, the more open that person is to you and your advances. And, the more open you are, the more likely the other person is to open up to you. 

First Conversation Signals

Men, pay attention to all the ways she communicates during the first few minutes as you talk with her.

In social settings, most of us start out in a closed, defensive posture because we're a bit apprehensive. A closed posture feels safe. When the person you are talking with shifts to a more open posture, it signifies trust and comfort. That person is, literally, opening up to you and what you have to offer. It takes courage to open up to the other person. If you go first, she, or he, will usually follow your move from closed to slightly more open. Open up in, slow, gradual shifts of posture.

With the success of TradeMe in New Zealand, many new auction sites have been created to try and push in on this market. One in particular that seems to be doing well is Zillion.co.nz

Features

Zillion allows you to view your searched items based on the usual selections but also whether the item has a buy now price, has been bid on or how many bids its had. I also liked that its easy to make the distinction between new and second hand goods when browsing categories.

After you've made your purchase or sold your item, communication between you and the other party is easy, thanks to Zillion's on-site private messaging system. No more ‘lost in the junk mail abyss' problems with this site.

There's also no excuse for long delivery delays. When you purchase an item, you don't have to wait for the seller to get in touch because you're presented with the sellers shipping and payment options to select from a drop down menu. Once you've selected your payment choice, the seller is then presented with your delivery address, meaning they can get the item out to you as soon as they receive your payment.

Problems

Overall Zillion is a great site, and the only thing that it lacks in is size. TradeMe has an inferior site with less functionality, but wins on numbers. As TradeMe has been running for much longer that any of its competitors, many more people have heard of it. Even though TradeMe charges higher fees, it has a larger community than Zillion due to the popularity of the site.

Body language is the meaning behind the words or the "unspoken" language. Surprisingly, studies show that only up to an estimated 10 percent of our communication is verbal.

The majority of the rest of communication is unspoken. This unspoken language isn't rocket science. However, there are some generalizations or basic interpretations that can be applied to help with the understanding or translating of these unspoken meanings. Here are some basics below.

Smile

People like warm smiles. Think of a heartfelt warm-fussy, maybe your favourite pet, and smile.

Eyes

If you don't look someone in the eyes while speaking, this can be interpreted as dishonesty or hiding something. Likewise, shifting eye movement or rapid changing of focus/direction can translate similarly.

If more than one person is present in a group, look each person in the eye as you speak, slowly turning to face the next person and acknowledge him or her with eye contact as well. Continue on so that each person has felt your warm, trusting glance. Some suggest beginning with one person and moving clockwise around the group so that no one is missed, and so that you are not darting around, seemingly glaring at people.

Attention Span / Attitude

Other people can tell what type attitude you have by your attention span. If you quickly lose focus of the other person and what is being said, and if your attention span wanders, this shows through and makes you seem disinterested, bored, possibly even uncaring.

Attention Direction

If you sit or stand so that you are blocking another in the party, say someone is behind you, this can be interpreted as rude or thoughtless. So be sure to turn so that everyone is included in the conversation or angle of view, or turn gently, at ease and slowly, while talking, so that everyone is incorporated, recognized and involved in the conversation. Again some suggest the clockwise movement when working a group.

Arms Folded / Legs Crossed

This can be seen as defensive or an end to the conversation. So have arms hang freely or hold a glass of water, a business card or note taking instruments while communicating with others. Be open with open arms. Note: If you need to cross legs, cross at your ankles and not your knees. Sitting tightly folded up says that you are closed to communications.

Head Shaking

If people are shaking their heads while you speak, they are in agreement. If they are shaking, "no", disagreement reigns in their minds.

Space / Distance

On the whole, people like their own personal body space. Give people room and keep out of their space. Entering to close can be intrusive and viewed as aggressive. Leaning - Sitting or standing, leaning is viewed as interest. In other words, an interested listener leans toward the speaker. Note others' body language - While you are with others, note how their bodies read. If a person suddenly folds his arms across his chest and begins shaking his head "no," you've probably lost him. Might try taking a step back and picking up where the conversation began this turn for the negative and regroup. It's all about strategic planning!

In simple economies, there is little distinction between savings and investments. One saves by reducing present consumption, while he invests in the hope of increasing future consumption.

Therefore, a fisherman who spares a fish for the next catch reduces his present consumption in the hope of increasing it in the future.

Most of the people probably have savings accounts with ATMs to access their hard-earned cash and be able to store away any extra cash in a place a little safer than a mattress. A few of you may even have some stocks or bonds.

Let me explain why while a savings account in the bank may seem like a safer place than the mattress to store your money, in the long-term it is a losing proposition!

If you open a savings account at the bank, they will pay you interest on your savings. So you think that your savings are guaranteed to grow and that makes you feel extremely good!

But wait until you see what inflation will do to your investment in the long-term!

The bank may pay you 5 percent interest a year on your money, if inflation is at 4 percent though, your investment is only growing at a mere 1 percent annually.

Saving and investing are often used interchangeably, but they are quite different!

Saving is storing money safely, such as in a bank or money market account, for short-term needs such as upcoming expenses or emergencies.

Typically, you earn a low, fixed rate of return and can withdraw your money easily.

Investing is taking a risk with a portion of your savings such as by buying stocks or bonds, in hopes of realizing higher long-term returns.

Unlike bank savings, stocks and bonds over the long term have returned enough to outpace inflation, but they also decline in value from time to time.

The rate of returns and risk for savings are often lower than for other forms of investment.

Return is the income from an investment.

Risk is the uncertainty that you will receive an expected return and preservation of capital.

Savings are also usually more liquid. That is, you may quickly and easily convert your investment to cash.

The decision about which investment to choose is influenced by factors such as yield, risk, and liquidity.

Investments may produce current income while you own the investment through the payment of interest, dividends or rent payments.

When you sell an investment for more than its purchase price, the profit is known as a capital gain, also called growth or capital appreciation.

ASB Bank is one of New Zealand's largest banks, with branches throughout the country. It also has insurance and securities arms. It is a subsidiary of Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

ASB Bank also operates BankDirect, a branchless banking service that provides service via phone, Internet, eftpos and ATMs only.

History

ASB Bank began in 1847 as the Auckland Savings Bank. During the 1980s the association of savings banks amalgamated the local savings banks throughout New Zealand with ASB at their head, and adopted the name ASB Trust Bank - a name which suffers from RAS syndrome. In 1986, ASB withdrew from the Trust Bank and in 1987 became a fully-fledged commercial bank simply to be known as ASB Bank. In 1988, the Government passed the Trustee Banks Restructuring Act, which enabled ASB to become a public company. In 1989, the ASB Bank Community Trust, the owner of the bank, sold 75 per cent of the shares to Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the Australian government-owned bank. In 1994, ASB Bank amalgamated Westland Bank, its wholly owned subsidiary, which enabled it to operate on a truly national basis. In 1999, ASB acquired Sovereign Limited, a life insurance company, and the retail stockbroking and fixed income operations of Warburg Dillon Read. In 2000, Commonwealth Bank bought the remaining 25 per cent of ASB's shares from the Trust.

KiwiBank Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of the state-owned enterprise New Zealand Post Limited. Through KiwiBank, New Zealand Post provides banking services through its PostShops (post offices) and joint venture Books & More outlets around New Zealand. Hence KiwiBank has the most extensive network of branches out of all banks operating in New Zealand.

KiwiBank started claiming to offer low-cost banking to those apparently not served well by the existing, mostly Australian-owned, banks. KiwiBank advertised itself as New Zealand-owned, with a larger branch network than any other bank. Initially offering low-cost banking only to individuals, KiwiBank has introduced business banking progressively through 2005.

Banking only to individuals was a significant field of controversy in the bank's early days, as it excluded small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). These small businesses form the backbone of the economies of most developed countries.

The bank was initiated as part of Alliance Party policy in the 1999-2002 Labour-Alliance coalition government. Many politicians were critical of the decision to set up KiwiBank and it was widely predicted KiwiBank could never be profitable.

In September 2005, the fledgling bank surprised some critics by posting a maiden full year profit of $7.2 million. Though most of the banks profitable revenue came from over the counter financial services (such as bill paying) that were pre-exisiting services offered by NZ Post before the establishment of KiwiBank.

KiwiBank has topped customer satisfaction surveys, matching TSB Bank, another New Zealand (though not state) owned bank.

Some people do not like the idea of KiwiBank, saying that their rates are not as low as the could be and take money away from common New Zealanders. The difference about KiwiBank is that this money now goes to the Government instead of off-shore.

When it first when online, RaboPlus bank had $500 million under its care within a few months and it has not stopped there. It has forced a shake up in the New Zealand banking industry and is a significant threat to the other banks. It has pushed with:

• First New Zealand banking service to offer direct online access to managed funds
• Accounts with no fees
• Most competitive interest rates in New Zealand

As RaboPlus has the best rating possible and offers brilliant interest rates, people would be stupid and ignorant to have any spare cash sitting in bank accounts instead.

RaboPlus is a division of Rabobank New Zealand Ltd., part of the international Rabobank Group, the world's leading specialist in food and agribusiness banking. Rabobank has more than 100 years’ experience providing customised banking and finance solutions to businesses involved in all aspects of food and agribusiness. 

Rabobank is the only privately-owned bank in the world with the highest possible credit ratings from both Standard & Poor's (AAA) and Moody's Investor Service (Aaa), and is ranked the world's third safest bank by Global Finance magazine. Rabobank operates in 38 countries, servicing the needs of more than nine million clients worldwide through a network of more than 1500 offices and branches. Rabobank is the 15th largest bank in the world based on tier one capital. 

In New Zealand Rabobank employs 208 staff across 28 branches to service its rural clients. Thirteen staff, including a Wellington based call centre, support RaboPlus customers.

Music can be beautiful, and for those who play an instrument, the musical experience is even richer, especially if you want to be a professional musician. No matter what your chosen instrument is, there is a professional path. Some desire fame. Others simply want to get paid doing what they love. No matter what your goals are, there are things to consider that will help put you on the path to success.

Here is some advice on what you need to know to become a musician.

Choose Your Instrument

This may seem obvious, but some musicians have a difficult time focusing on just one instrument. If you want to be a professional musician, your chances of making a lucrative living will be greater if you spend all your energy focusing one thing. Of course, there are people who make a good living at a few different instruments, but they are the exceptions.

Get to Know Your Instrument

Once you choose your instrument, the next step is to practice, practice, practice. Not only practice, but get to know your instrument as much as possible. If you play the guitar, get to know the fretboard to the point where you can visualize it. Learn all the chords and scales you can, etc. The more you know your instrument, the easier it will be to become a success.

Take lessons

Another essential step to becoming a musician is to take lessons. You may think you can learn all there is to know by yourself by reading books, etc. But, working with a teacher has a lot of benefits. They can help point out weaknesses, thus shortening your learning curve. They can also help expand your knowledge by encouraging you to play things you wouldn't normally play.

Find Reasons to Perform

A big part of being a musician is your ability to perform. That is why you need to find reasons to play your instrument in front of people. Join the school band. Start a rock group. Visit coffee houses and play your instrument. Do what you need to do to get experience playing in front of people. The more you do this, the easier it will get.

Consider Music School

Another option is to consider going to a performing arts high school or university. Speciality schools can help shape you into a great musician, and also open doors that you may not have considered. Of course, there is a down side to going to a school devoted to the performing arts. Many musicians find these environments stifling.

Your Goals

There are so many roads you can travel down to be a musician, the only way to really keep it straight is to set goals and define your own path. Decide what type of music you would like to play and exactly what you want to do with your career. If you want to start a rock band, make that your goal. The end result may be to get discovered by a top producer, or make a living performing with your violin, etc.

1. Movement or variation characterized by the regular recurrence or alternation of different quantities or conditions: the rhythm of the tides.
2. The patterned, recurring alternations of contrasting elements of sound or speech.
3. Music.
   1. The pattern of musical movement through time.
   2. A specific kind of such a pattern, formed by a series of notes differing in duration and stress: a waltz rhythm.
   3. A group of instruments supplying the rhythm in a band.
4. 1. The pattern or flow of sound created by the arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables in accentual verse or of long and short syllables in quantitative verse.
   2. The similar but less formal sequence of sounds in prose.
   3. A specific kind of metrical pattern or flow: iambic rhythm.
5. 1. The sense of temporal development created in a work of literature or a film by the arrangement of formal elements such as the length of scenes, the nature and amount of dialogue, or the repetition of motifs.
   2. A regular or harmonious pattern created by lines, forms, and colors in painting, sculpture, and other visual arts.
6. The pattern of development produced in a literary or dramatic work by repetition of elements such as words, phrases, incidents, themes, images, and symbols.
7. Procedure or routine characterized by regularly recurring elements, activities, or factors: the rhythm of civilization; the rhythm of the lengthy negotiations.

In simple terms, rhythm is a word that refers to the length of each note in a piece of music. This means that if you take a song that you know and say the words in time with clapping, you will be clapping the rhythm.

“Rhythm” must not be confused with “beat” or “pulse”. The beat of the music is a regular pulse (like the regular pulse of someone’s heartbeat). Music may feel as if it is going 1-2-1-2 or 1-2-3-1-2-3 or 1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4. When we write the music down we put each group in bars (or “measures”). The first beat of the bar feels stronger than the others.

All musicians have to have a good sense of rhythm. To play or sing rhythmically they must keep a steady beat in their head (if playing alone), listen to the others players (if playing in groups) or watch the conductor (if there is one).

People who are playing on their own can practise with a metronome to help them to play to a steady beat. However, musicians also use rubato (rhythmic freedom), especially when playing music of a romantic nature. One has to learn to let the music “breathe” in the right way. This is not the same as playing unrhythmically (badly). It is something one learns with experience.

Sometimes the word rhythm is used in a more general sense to mean the general flow of the music, or of life in general ("the rhythm of life").

Everyone knows that going for a run is good for you, but most of us do not run for various reasons. The most common reason for people not running is that they find it boring. After the first 15 minutes of an hour long run, boredom really starts to set in and you wonder why you are making yourself do this.

Overcoming boredom

If you get bored running, you really should try running with music. One runner I met raved about how great it was to be able to listen to music and that he would not be out running if he had no music. On his website he stated:

Benefits of running with music

It is becoming very common to see runners using iPods and other music players to play music while they run. 90% of runners find that running with music not only helps prevent boredom, but also help them keep up the pace. 

There are many benefits for running with music:

• Help overcome boredom
• The beat of the music can help set the pace of your run
• Music can be inspirational to you
• Takes your mind off running
• Help people get away from reality and calm themselves as they run
• Calm down after a stressful day.

In saying that there are a few disadvantages to running with music:

• Some people like to run and listen to the sounds around them more than music.
• Loud music can make you oblivious to another runner coming up behind you.
• It has also been determined that criminals look for people who aren't paying attention to their surroundings, for example people talking on cellphones or people listening to music.

MP3 player revolution

Until recently, personal music players like the CD player have been to big and heavy to carry on a run. When the small, light weight MP3 player were released, they could be strapped out of the way on your arm and do not move around when you run.

Beats per minute

When it comes to recommending music for running or the best number of beats per minute (BPM), it varies from person to person. As some of us run faster than others and some have a shorter stride, different music tempos suit us.

One person recommended music that was around 170 BPM to 180 BPM, or music that was 85 BPM to 95 BPM. The difference is that you can take one step on each beat of the faster music, where as you can take 2 steps for each beat of the slower music.

Recommended music

One of the most common songs to run to is Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger", which was a theme from the Rocky series. In saying this, everyone has different music tastes. Below are recommendations from different users that might give you some ideas:

Rob

• Temptations - 2Pac
• Easy Tonight - Five For Fighting
• Joyride - Rooster
• Break of Day - Tina Dico
• Lose Yourself - Eminem
• True Nature - Janes Addiction
• Ordinary - Train
• Something About You - Five For Fighting
• Boulevard Of Broken Dreams - Green Day
• Whole Lotta Love - Led Zeppelin
• Woke Up This Morning - Nickelback

Fred

• Almost - Bowling for Soup
• Move Along - All American Rejects
• Steady as she goes - The Raconteurs
• I write sins not tragedies - Panic! at the Disco
• Dirty Little Secret - All American Rejects
• Mardy Bum - Artic Monkeys
• No Matter What - Def Leppard
• Whiskey In the Jar - Metallica

Hux

• Brimful of Asha (Fatboy Slim Remix) - Cornershop
• Smooth Criminal - Alien Antfarm
• No One Knows - Queens of the Stone Age
• Disintegrator - DJ Swamp
• Walkie Talkie - DJ Shadow
• Doesn't Remind Me - AudioSlave
• Superman - Stereophonics

Sam

• Best of you - Foo Fighters
• Stone Cold Crazy - Metalica
• The One - Foo Fighters
• A Secret Place - Megadeth
• Pump It - Black Eyed Peas
• Modern Love - David Bowie
• You Might Think - The Cars
• Power Song: Idiot - Lisa Marie Presley

Unknown

• BecK - Loser
• Berlin - the Metro
• Tom Petty - Last Dance with Mary Jane
• Everlast - What it's Like
• The Cure - Pictures of You
• Chili Peppers - Scar Tissue
• Nelly - Shake your Tailfeather
• Shawn Colvin - Sonny Came Home
• Everlast - Ends
• Nickelback - How you remind me

While the iPod craze has been going on, it seems that everyone has forgotten about Sony, who practically owned the personal music player market a few years ago. When the Sony Walkman came out, it seems like a big deal and Sony was the brand to have. Now they are back.

The latest release from Sony is the NWS200 Series MP3 Walkman. What sets this player apart from other players is not just the fact that it is compact and lightweight, but that it is packed with unique features. This includes a durable, water-resistant body; various playback options including “Music Pacer” and “Shuffle Shake” functions, FM tuner and integral sports counters.

Music Pacer

If there was one feature that was lacking from every MP3 player, this it it. When I listen to music while running, I find it quite had to keep up a steady pace when the music is significantly fast or slower than my running speed. I often have to stop running so that I can press the buttons on my iPod and select a better song. The Music Pacer automatically detects the speed at which the user is stepping and can change the music accordingly from pre made lists.

Sports counters

The Sony NWS200 Walkman has the ability to measure many items about your exercise:

• Real-time calorie counter
• Distance travelled
• Steps taken
• Running time

One of the really cool features is the ability to set personal targets for each exercise session so that the music stops after a specific time period has lapsed, calories expended or distance has been travelled. All functions are operated via a simple jog dial shuttle for ease of use whilst the user is on the move.

Fast charge

Once my iPod goes flat, it seems to take a long time charging before I am able to use it again. The brilliant thing about the Sony NWS200 Walkman is that it can provide 3 hours of playback after only 3 minutes of charging. Even if it was dead flat, it would be able to last my full run if I start charging it just before I get ready to go.

iPod + Nike shoes

For similar features from an iPod, it seems that you would need to buy a specific pair of shoes (if they fit). This seems totally crazy.

The other crazy thing about the iPod system is that if you wanted to use it to track how well you run, and listen to the radio... Sorry you can't. It seems that the iPod can only take one attachment at a time.

Water-resistant

If you want another reason to buy the Sony NWS200 Walkman, just try running with your iPod in the rain.

The quality of your practice is much more important than the quantity. The old saying "practice makes perfect" is only true if the practice itself is perfect. Here are 7 tips to help make your practice more effective and efficient.

Practice motions slowly

The muscular memory of our bodies allows us to physically carry out patterns of motion with little or no conscious involvement. Examples of muscular memory include walking, riding a bicycle, typing, and of course playing a musical instrument.

In order to develop this memory, the muscles require training in the form of repeated conscious guidance from the mind. First the mind must learn the pattern. Then the mind must "teach" the pattern to the muscles.

The mind initially must control all the motions of the muscles. The more controlled and precise the motions, the more quickly the muscles will develop muscle memory.

Slow practice also allows the mind to teach "antagonistic muscles" to relax. Antagonistic muscles are those that move in opposite directions. By relaxing antagonistic muscles you can reduce tension and facilitate faster and easier performance and avoid potential injury.

Practice in small cells

A "practice cell" is simply a finite series of motions. Musical cells can correspond to anything from a few notes to an entire work. When practising, it is important to practice small cells of just a few notes. Practising small cells limits the amount of information the muscles have to learn at one time. It also facilitates the mind's focus and concentration.

Link the end of one cell to the beginning of the next

To help the muscles develop a sense of continuum throughout the piece of music, the last motion in a cell should be the first motion of the following cell.

Practice each cell in bursts

Once the muscles have learned a pattern, they will be capable of executing it without conscious control. Initiate the pattern through a conscious command and allow the muscles to execute it in a burst.

Don't practice mistakes

For every repetition required to learn a pattern of motion, it takes 7 times the number of repetitions to change the pattern. If in the course of your practice you make an error, stop. Review in your mind the pattern. And further reduce the speed of your motions.

Pause between repetitions

When dealing with repetitive activities, the mind is better able to focus when the repetitions are broken up by short pauses. After two or three repetitions, pause for about 30 seconds to regain focus.

Take frequent breaks and don't "over-practice"

B.F. Skinner and other experts have found that the mind's ability to learn drops significantly after prolonged intense concentration. Research shows that studying too long (i.e. more than four hours) can deplete chemicals in the brain necessary for learning. Therefore, it is best to take frequent breaks (a 5 minute break about every 20-25 minutes) and practice no more than 4 hours consecutively.

By applying these techniques, you can dramatically improve the quality of your practice. You'll be able to use your time more efficiently and increase the effectiveness of your practice.