Music Industry Scrambles for money

Eventually, the music industry has decided to embrace and accept illegal downloads of music from around the world. According to executives at the Midem conference in Cannes they have decided that illegal downloads of music is un-avoidable. Until very recently, the music industry was in a blind panic about illegal peer-to-peer downloading, they couldn’t stop it! And the industry still can’t! Millions of absolute millions of people from around the world seem to download music free of charge and it seems that the people who made it don’t seem to make a single penny.
An incredible 95% of all digital music in the music industry is downloaded directly off the internet and comes from un-licensed sources like Limewire and Imesh. However the blind panic regarding illegal downloaded music seems to have calmed down a lot. Regardless of how many hard hours he musician has put into playing his classic guitar or grand pianos. The Recording Industry Association of America, which represents US labels, has traditionally been the most aggressive and direct about chasing people who share music files over the world wide web. However, the association has announced that it will no longer sue suspected offenders at it considers the crime as far too broad and generic to prosecute one person.
Digital rights management – the lock placed on a track to attempt to stop people from sharing it was once the central tool to stop piracy from happening. However Apple is now removing DRM from their leading music software, itunes and the leading download store. This move from Apple marks almost a complete defeat for DRM and the music industry as they have been trying to battle illegal music piracy for an extremely long period of time.
The music industry seems to of reached a dramtic conclusion regarding the sharing of music and it looks as though people have prevailed in the battle. Although, I do feel slightly sorry for the people of society who were caught out in this rather pointless war. After all, I’m sure we could all say that we have downloaded material off the net and not thought about the consequences.

How to Make a Great Music Gig

Your first musical gig is always an exciting event for all members. Many hours slogging it out in the garage or rehearsal room finally come to fruition with the offer of your first gig.

These days, bands usually get a school or party gig or a shared bill with a few other bands or even a band competition as their first gig. Either way, the experience of the first gig should be enjoyable and exciting. You don’t want it to turn into a nasty experience with everything going wrong, which it will if you are not prepared.

Like Murphy’s Law says “what can go wrong, will go wrong.” Every musician in the world can remember the first time they performed on staged, so make it a good experience not a frightful mess.

First, rehearse, rehearse, rehearse, rehearse! No matter how many times you have performed your songs in the garage, when you get on stage it will all sound different, and, if you don’t know your part 110%, you will get it wrong. In the garage, you are in one small room and quite close to your fellow band mates. On stage, you can be separated a lot and you may not be able to hear the other guys or what they are playing. If you know your songs very well, you will be able play no matter what sound problems you have.

Second, be confident. Rehearse your songs in the order you will perform them especially if you are doing a short set. Make sure you practice the whole set just like if you were playing at the gig. This will alert you to any problems such as guitar changes, pedal set up changes, singers needing a “breather” that may make you look disorganized on stage.

Make sure your guitars have new guitar strings (but put them on at least two hours before you play and stretch them in), your drums have at least a new snare skin, check the condition of the kick drum skin too.

Make sure you us new batteries for pedals, tuners, or wireless systems you use. And don’t forget a guitar stand or two!! Have a spare lead close by even if you are using wireless system as it is a good back up.

If you are doing a gig with a bunch of other bands, make sure your accessories such as leads,  tuners , and microphones are clearly marked with your name or at least some special markings, it is strange how much gear goes “walking” at these gigs.

Create a song list for band members and have a few spares for other people. Make notes for the sound guy if you want any special effects done during your set. Each member should write notes on his or her list if they need to remember certain things such as pedal adjustments or guitar changes. Singers can use a cheat sheet and write down parts of a song to jog their memory. Rehearse well and you won't have to do that!

Get to the gig early so you have plenty of time and bring lots of friends to fill out the crowd. Audiences generally have a ‘sheep’ mentality and if they see or hear a bunch of people making a lot of favourable noises they too will go along and get the vibe.

Enjoy your self and get the whole thing recorded on audio and visual mediums so you can show it to your family and friends and to your grand kids when your old! You will never forget your first gig!

Music Industry looses out on battle for illegal downloads

Eventually, the music industry has decided to embrace and accept illegal downloads of music from around the world. According to executives at the Midem conference in Cannes they have decided that illegal downloads of music is un-avoidable. Until very recently, the music industry was in a blind panic about illegal peer-to-peer downloading, they couldn’t stop it! And they still cannot! Millions of absolute millions of people from around the world seem to download music free of charge and it seems that the people who made it don’t seem to make a single penny.
An incredible 95% of all digital music in the music industry is downloaded straight off the internet and comes from un-licensed sources like Limewire and Imesh. However the blind panic regarding illegal downloaded music seems to have calmed down a lot. Regardless of how many hard hours he musician has put into playing his classic guitar or grand pianos. The Recording Industry Association of America, which represents US labels, has traditionally been the most aggressive and direct about chasing people who share music files over the world wide web. However, the association has announced that it will no longer sue suspected offenders at it considers the crime as far too broad and generic to prosecute one person.
Digital rights management – the lock placed on a track to attempt to stop the public from sharing it was once the central tool to stop piracy from happening. However Apple is now removing DRM from their leading music software, itunes and the leading download store. This move from Apple marks almost a complete defeat for DRM and the music industry as they have been trying to battle music piracy for an extremely long period of time.
The music industry seems to of reached a dramtic conclusion regarding the sharing of music and it looks as though people have prevailed in the battle. Although, I do feel slightly sorry for the people of society who were caught out in this rather pointless war. After all, I’m sure we could all say that we have downloaded material off the net and not thought about the consequences.

Learning Piano Playing Skills With Rocket Piano

Rocket Piano is a piano tutorial with all the features specific to a course, showing one the basics of music playing at the professional level. The learning material available with Rocket Piano is pretty comprehensive covering piano exercises, music reading, theoretical studies as well as other elements that define the instrument specificity. The readers or learners targeted by the course are hobbyists who want to develop a music skill without the pretense of professionalism.

What to expect from Rocket Piano

The approach to piano learning you'll find in Rocket Piano is a user friendly one, meaning that it addresses basic learning levels with the possibility to develop new skills. The course is pretty fun without giving one the feeling that the theoretical part about the history of music is boring. Rocket Piano focuses on tasks as the most challenging and interesting method to make the student progress.

Like with any other skill you try to develop, piano playing requires quite a lot of time for practice. Rocket Piano mainly focuses on the very quality of the exercises, since lots of amateurish players don't know how to practice efficiently. Once you get to master the techniques described in the course, ten minutes of practice will equal hours of faulty or improper training. To many people, Rocket Piano will be the course to understanding music language.

Rocket Piano will teach you about chords and chord symbol readings, it will open the door to improvisation, it will facilitate the scales and the arpeggios, and finally, it will teach you perform. Although some of these sound like piece of cake, things are far from easy, but the challenges will reveal themselves gradually as you go through the Rocket Piano course.

Taking Rocket Piano with a grain of salt!

The big disappointment in using Rocket Piano is to discover that you cannot play as expected. Such cases are pretty often since Rocket Piano doesn't prepare only true musicians. Talent is something innate and it is this divine gift that allows one to develop the art further on and achieve astonishing things.

All in all, Rocket Piano is a nice approach to the study of this classic instrument. The satisfaction will be great if you actually manage to play the piano really well after using only Rocket Piano as a learning material. No matter the skill level you reach, enjoy the experience all the same!

Where Can I Find Good Audio Book Download?

audio book download

The internet has added a whole new level of success to many industries, including the audio book download industry. Because anybody with an internet connection and a computer can easily get a wide selection of MP3 books, the sales and popularity of this niche has only increased over the years. This industry has been especially useful for business people who travel frequently and families who go on long trips often with their children. The audio book industry has something to suit the needs of any book lover.

The audio book download industry caters to a variety of tastes and interests. Business books make up a large part of the market so business people are sure to find something that will be helpful to them. Several business-related categories are available as MP3 audio books for download, including lectures, motivational materials, and books that provide financial tips for the busy business person. Others will enjoy business audio books that focus on ethics or investments that they can listen to on the way to work or during a long business trip.

Audio book downloads are available through many companies and websites. One of the most popular places to get your MP3 books is through www.audible.com. Users can download digital recordings of their favorite books for a cost that is less than buying the actual book. With thousands of available titles, users are certain to find something that fits their preferences while expanding their reading perspectives. Internet users can also download their favorite audio book free from popular sites like www.free-books.org and www.freeclassicaudiobooks.com, as well as other sites that are non-profit.

Besides convenience, the audio book download industry provides other services to customers to encourage them to explore other possibilities. Many websites offer a subscription service where subscribers can buy or rent an audio book the same way others rent videos from their local video store. With a membership, you have unlimited access to thousands of audio books. At www.simplyaudiobooks.com, the cost of membership includes the shipping charges and late fees so you just pay a low monthly rate to enjoy your favorite books. You can listen to a wider selection of books to expose yourself to ones you might have otherwise missed by utilizing a low-cost subscription service.

The audio book download industry caters to people who are typically too busy to sit back and enjoy reading a favorite book. With CD players in cars and portable media capabilities, you can listen to your choice of books on your way to work or on long car trips. With the internet, you can even get free educational audio books or rent books through one of many subscriptions services.

Learning How To Play The Violin Yourself

Trying to figure out how to play violin for beginners and on your own can be extremely difficult and frustrating. It can be an uphill struggle for anyone but your musical education on the instrument need not end before it has begun. You can turn things around and make them fun with disciplined commitment and dedicated learning. Hundreds of thousands of musicians worldwide have sworn on the same commitment. Success has not eluded them as they claim a place for themselves as professional musicians. This can apply just as easily to anyone interested in learning the violin but wishing to do it on his own. It is not always necessary to have a personal violin teacher when trying to master the instrument, as long as one has the patience, understanding and determination to succeed by being self taught.

For anyone determined to teach himself how to play the violin, there is one thing that needs to be asked before taking the plunge. How serious are you about doing it? Is your passion for the instrument strong or just something that is on the spur of the moment? A natural love for music is also necessary. It helps to increase tenfold the enjoyment of pursuing your musical education. Trying to overcome any rut along the way might be easier if you truly have a passion for what you do.

While it is admirable to be self taught, do not exempt the fact that some form of sharing and learning from others would be necessary during your journey. Look for other violin players and learn from each other. You could learn faster by understand what others have gone through. Inculcate their experiences in your own lessons and progression might result quicker. Do not neglect other resources such as picking up a learn violin dvd to gather more insight from other professionals.

Students who have professional guidance can expect encouragement from their teachers. If you decide to teach yourself how to play the violin, then self discipline is something you must cultivate and master in order to fulfill your dreams. You must not shirk your responsibilities with regards to violin practice and more effort might be required compared to one who has a personal coach. Always check and look back on your progress so that mistakes and details can be ironed out to ensure future growth.

Many self taught musicians neglect classical musical theory. Teaching yourself musical theory is not only very hard, but it can be a long arduous path to undertake. But it helps to make you a better violinist. It is also really necessary to know musical theory in order to become a better violin player as there is no alternative theory system for the instrument. There are many violin lessons online that can provide help in this area and you should turn to them for extra knowledge.

At the end of the day, whether you are enrolled in a music school or choose the self taught path, becoming proficient in the violin requires all your attention to detail, dedication, passion and commitment. Understand that if you remain committed and stick to what you are best at, you can become a great violinist beyond your wildest imaginations. The journey will be long but fruitful till the end.

The Devil Went Down To Georgia

In 1979 Charlie Daniels released The Devil Went Down to Georgia.  It's remained popular for nearly 30 years, and there's no sign that people will ever grow tired of singing it.

The Devil Went Down To Georgia

The song's roots are in a melody called “Lonesome Fiddle Blues.”  Charlie raised the song an octave and put words to the melody.  The song reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, making The Devil Went Down to Georgia the band's most popular hit.  The RIAA says that amongst songs with a state name in the title, this is the top seller of all time. 

Here's the plot.  The devil goes to Georgia to look for some souls.  He'll make a deal.  He offers a deal to a young fiddler named Johnny.  It takes the form of a fiddle contest.  If Johnny wins he receives the golden fiddle upon which the devil plays.  It has great value.  Johnny bets his soul.

The Devil Went Down To Georgia

The Devil begins the contest with a tremendous performance.  He performs with a host of demons in a big production that sounds like something out of a rock opera.  It seems Johnny, a simple boy with a fiddle, is doomed.  But Johnny's simple and pure fiddle work is even better.  When he's finished playing, there's no argument.  The devil gives him the golden fiddle.  Johnny teases is the devil, telling him he's open for a rematch at any time.  In early versions of the song Johnny curses the devil.

There have been countless remakes and parodies of the song.  The Spanish version is“El Diablo bajo a Georgia”.  In the cartoon “Futurama” the heroes challenge the robot devil to a similar fiddle contest to save their robot friend.  But after the robot devil plays they beat him in the head with the golden fiddle so they can escape.  Primus  posted a very good video of The Devil Went Down to Georgia on YouTube.  The story is well animated.  Even Charlie Daniels got back in on the fun by recording a sequel with Johnny Cash.  Daniels named it “The Devil Comes Back to Georgia”.

The Devil Went Down To Georgia

The Devil Went Down to Georgia  is a song that people sing.  Give it a try, you'll know why the title has a ring.