There are lots of very interesting Apps coming out for the iPad. One that has come out for musicians is MusicReader for the iPad. While the iPad App is free, the software to get files into the program costs anywhere from $59 to $99. Outrageous? Damn right. Seriously, this is highway robbery. A more reasonable [Continue]

Hal Leonard is selling a CD set of backgrounds to ALL the songs in the Real Book Vol. 1. For about $100, you get 12 CDs of piano, bass and drums background that range in time from about 2 1/2 minutes to 6. Depends on the song. A couple of songs, like Wave, have guitar [Continue]

Yes, the iPad is out. Yes, it is amazing. No, it is not simply a bigger iTouch or an iPhone without the phone part. If you haven’t been able to try one, then go to a store and try it. You will be hooked. There are a few music apps out, like Magic Piano which [Continue]

It has been really hard keeping the cat in the bag (I was a beta tester for the last 2 weeks or so), but tonight PG Music finally released Band in a Box 2010 for the Macintosh. As was the case in the previous version, this version is Intel only. So, you people with G5s [Continue]

A few months ago, RicoReeds.com had a survey or something (honestly don’t remember) on their website that, if you took the time to fill it out, they’d send you a neck strap. Well, lo and behold months later, I received said strap. (it looks sorta like the one on the right, sorta. The patterns different.) [Continue]

The world of programs to slow down songs to figure them out has another member, Capo ($49). Right off the bat, this program has a great interface. Smooth, and Mac. It also has a great vocal remover. And you can export sections of the songs to a file, or if you removed the vocals, you [Continue]

The Apple iPhone/iTouch software market is amazing. Games, tuners (like the great Strobe tuner). Even AutoTune things like I Am T-Pain. Now, there is the Pitch Primer for the platform. It is amazing. Transcription tool? Sure it could be. Amazing practice tool? YES! Amazing idea? YES! It is easiest to see a demo of it. [Continue]

Greg Fishman has a number of excellent books out. I’ve reviewed and highly recommend his Jazz Etudes Book Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 and his Saxophone Duets book. His latest book is Jazz Phrasing For Beginners, which is aimed at the beginning student. It contains 10 melodic tunes that great examples of idiomatic “classic” jazz [Continue]

After YEARS of waiting, and PG Music saying it was coming…it is here. Band in a Box 2009 for Macintosh. I could hardly believe it myself. Yes, the languishing program that was 7 versions behind the Windows version (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2007.5, 2008, 2009) has been brought back to life. I wondered what happened [Continue]

There are a lot of cheap student model altos out on the market now. Heck, even Costco sells instruments now. I have a couple of students who have the Costco instruments. They are crap. With a new store in my area that is peddling these Selmer student models for nearly $1600 (a price where you [Continue]

This is just insane. I was a SmartMusic user. It has value. I wanted to change my account type to the $30 a year. I wasn’t using all the “features” of the Educator account, and all the educators I know use the $30 account. So I tried to change it. They wouldn’t let me. I [Continue]

Have an iPhone or an iPod touch? Need a tuner? You NEED the Peterson Strobe Tuner for the iPhone/iPod Touch. I’ve tried many of the tuners available that are available for the iPhone/iTouch, free and paid. This one is worth the $10. If you don’t know what a strobe tuner is, check out this wikipedia [Continue]

I finally got around to watching some of the things that had been piling up from Netflixs. One of them was Tom Dowd and the Language Of Music. The description is a little misleading: “Rarely do we get a chance to see a feature-length documentary about a true unsung hero. Tom Dowd was an innovative [Continue]

I’ll admit I am an unabashed Apple fan. I do use a PC for menial tasks like generating Band in a Box backgrounds, or to download some Bittorrent stuff. Anyhow, when the iPhone came out, I got one within the first week. It has been amazing. Then they opened up the OS on the iPhone [Continue]

Here are the ingredients of a great album and recording: 1. Great songs….Pink Floyd’s Dark Side Of The Moon…..check 2. Good arrangements of said songs…..check 3. Great players…..check 4. Record everything live, with a single microphone and no digital “wizardary” (not Pro Tools *gasp*)…..check The [Continue]