Choose a beater that gives you the tone and percussive sound that you want for a specific piece.  You can choose thick wood and metal beaters, or progressively thinner cylinders of beaters, which will all give a dynamic range of tones. Depending on the music piece, you may want to use more than one kind of beater in the piece, or even alternate beaters.

Summary: Decide on a beater.


When you’re eating a nice dinner, go with a larger glass so you don’t need to refill it as often and you’re able to sip on it throughout your meal. The general rule of thumb is to have a glass that is able to hold ⅓ of a bottle of wine. Smaller glasses are fine to use for other meals such as brunch, where sparkling wines and white wines are often served. Cheap glass or even plastic wine glasses are great to use for large wine tasting events or parties where lots of people will be drinking wine. They’re easy to clean up and you won’t be too upset if 1 or 2 of them get broken, damaged, or go missing.  Having lots of inexpensive glasses available also allows people to try different types of wine without having to use the same glass. You can often buy inexpensive glasses in bulk, making them more cost-effective. Colored or decorative glasses reduce the rich appearance of the wine they’re holding. If you’re serving an expensive fine wine, go with simple, clear glasses so people are able to fully appreciate every aspect of the wine without any distractions.  A clear glass helps showcase the wine inside of it. Serving a fine wine in overly decorative or colored glasses may be seen as gaudy as well. Fine glass or crystal wine glasses are thin and delicate, so use them only for special events or small gatherings. They’ll add to the flavor and aromas of the wine, but they’re easily chipped or damaged, so keep them stored away for special occasions. Make sure you wash them immediately afterward so the wine doesn’t stain or leave a residue in the glass. Use warm water and a few drops of a mild liquid dish soap to gently scrub the glasses with a clean cloth. Fine glass and crystal wine glasses can break if you wash them in your dishwasher.

Summary: Use larger glasses that hold between 4–6 fluid ounces (120–180 mL) for dinner. Choose small, inexpensive glasses for parties. Go with clear glasses when you’re serving fine wine. Save your finest wine glasses for dinner parties and intimate gatherings.


With this basic marching step (it's one heck of a sensual march), start moving back and forth, left and right. Men, take your partner slowly in a 360-degree turn. Don't rush the music or try to do some impressive double turn -- just take the full 8 beats (or even 16 if you're feeling groovy) to get around in a circle. The beauty of the merengue is in the slow, fluid movements. It's turning time! While still doing the basic step, here are the basics:  Slight out into an open position. This basically means that the woman slides her hand that's around the man down his arm and grabs his hand -- both sets of hands are clasped now. Grab either the left or right hand and drop the other. The man should lift the hand he chooses into the air, indicating to the women how to turn. Then, the woman (or man, but the man usually follows in succession) turns to the inside or the outside underneath her arm -- the man will indicate this by turning the woman's hand to the right or left. Keep the basic step going the entire time! Turn at the same pace you're stepping -- a casual 1, 2, 3, 4. Slide out into the same open position you would for 1-handed turns, and, this time, lift both hands up into the air. From there:  The woman goes under both arms in a 360-degree turn. As a result, her arms are now crossed. To get out of this, you have two options: The man can turn her back the opposite direction, just repeating the same move back the way she came. The man can turn himself, uncrossing the arms as a result, returning to a normal, open stance. For this one, start the same as the 1-handed turn; that is, raise one hand up in the air but don't drop the other. Turn her to the outside -- as a result, she now has one of her arms wrapped around her back, one arm out, and is positioned at the man's side. The man's hand is resting on the woman's hip.  If you'd like, keep that momentum and turn in a slow, 360-degree circle. Then, unwind the woman by taking her free hand (the one not wrapped around her), and spin her back the other direction, resuming a normal stance. Men, to make sure the woman takes a full turn, place your thumb on her hip and make her face you. It's just a slight repositioning of angles. This is the same as the hammerlock turn, only the lady turns to the inside. Because of this, both her arms get wrapped around her and she stands directly in front of the man (as opposed to at his side, like in the hammerlock). But then the man should move her to his side, both her arms still wrapped in front of her. You should now be standing hip to hip, facing the same direction.  Then, take that momentum and move around in a circle, the woman moving in a larger circle backward. If you'd like, take the hand that's on her hip and push her to the other side of you. Then circle again!

Summary: Start traveling across the floor. Do 1-handed turns. Do 2-handed turns. Do the hammerlock turn. Do cuddle turns.


No matter if your book is fiction or non-fiction, the title is one of the most important elements of your book. It’s often the first thing people see. The title may be what makes them pick up the book and buy it. Having an intriguing title can make a huge difference—for you and your potential readers. A good title will:  Predict content Catch the potential reader’s interest Reflect the tone of the book Contain keywords that search engines can easily access. As you are working on the book, it’s likely that potential titles will pop into your mind. Write these down on a designated piece of paper or in a notebook for when you return to brainstorming your final title.  Avoid thinking that any potential title is stupid. You may find that once you’ve finished composing and editing your piece that exactly what you thought was ridiculous fits perfectly. Refer to this list as you formulate your final title. Remember that most titles are not fully formed and need work, so this list can be an incredibly important resource as you proceed. Friends and colleagues can often be great resources for devising titles. Discuss your different title options with them and see if they can offer any great suggestions or advice. Consider inviting friends and colleagues over for a “title writing” party. Though it may sound corny, it can be fun and may be much more productive than working alone or with one person. As you get closer to the final version of your book and title, decide on several potential titles. Be aware that if you’re working with an editor, she may change it or you may end up either finding similar titles or decide you don’t like a choice.
Summary: Recognize the importance of the right title. Keep a list of potential titles. Recruit help. Reserve several titles.