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Manhattan School Of Music Doesn’t Archive McCaslin

February 8, 2012 in Articles

So it seems Donny McCaslin had a broadcasted Masterclass yesterday. But the geniuses at the Manhattan School of music didn’t archive it. Yes, read that again. But the geniuses at the Manhattan School of music didn’t archive it.

Why? This makes absolutely NO SENSE. First, it has value. They invited him to speak, so, he music have some gravitas right? And they broadcasted him right? So…..why not make an archive copy? What if, say, it was such a great masterclass that they want next year’s students to watch it? Nope, can’t do it. It’s gone. What if Donny dies suddenly after watching the latest Twilight Movie at home (his insides literally tore themselves apart sitting through that drivel) and the world is robbed of his talent, and perhaps one of the most interesting discussions he gave was the week before….but they didn’t archive it.

And we wonder why education costs so much.

Now, a smart university would maybe have archived the discussion. Maybe put it on iTunes like say, oh I dunno, Stanford does? Or a TON of other Universities? Or maybe even put it on YouTube and get some revenue from the ads? No no, that would be a good decision. Let’s just broadcast it and throw it away. Maybe NASA should have done that when we went to the moon. Or maybe Stanford should have never archived and made available for free on iTunes. I mean, it’s not like it isn’t probably the most amazing speech given in a long long time, and insight into a genius. No no, no way that Donny could ever do that right? He doesn’t need to be archived.

Stupid Manhattan School of Music. Really stupid. Get into the 21st Century. Archive everything. It doesn’t cost you a dime to upload to YouTube and you could make some money off it.

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Sheet Of The Week (Super Bowl Bonus) – We Are The Champions (Queen)

February 5, 2012 in Sheet Music, Sheet Of The Week

Honestly, I could care less who won the super bowl, but I would be more upset if the Patriots won. Hate that team. They are real *@*X*@&$&!*@$*XA@*#&@! and @*!&#@*$!*X*!&#$!* and @*!*!$&#*!#*(!($*!#&. Oh, and &!&#*$&!#*@$#!*#&. And Tom Brady is $*!*@&$!#^#!&^$#*#!&$*!#&^!#$^*!#. Whew…..feel a little better now.

  We Are The Champions by Queen for Eb Instruments (78.2 KiB, 71 hits)
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  We Are The Champions by Queen for Bb Instruments (80.8 KiB, 33 hits)
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OK Go’s Superbowl Ad

February 5, 2012 in Videos

Brilliant….as always

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Sheet Of The Week – Disturbia (Rhianna)

February 4, 2012 in Sheet Music, Sheet Of The Week

I dunno……after the second time this song is annoying as hell.

  Disturbia by Rhianna for Eb Instruments (107.0 KiB, 49 hits)
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  Disturbia by Rhianna for Bb Instruments (111.5 KiB, 29 hits)
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Colin Stetson performs “Judges” on Q

February 2, 2012 in Videos

Not really my type of music per se, but dude has talent. Looks painful watching him though…..like he’s having a heart attack.

How it was done

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One Man Phantom Of The Opera

January 31, 2012 in Videos

Whoa, this guy is amazing…..

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Instrument Making At Selmer Paris

January 29, 2012 in Videos

Cool video.

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Sheet Of The Week – Float On (Modest Mouse)

January 28, 2012 in Sheet Music, Sheet Of The Week

Modest Mouse’s hit.

  Float On by Modest Mouse for Eb Instruments (73.8 KiB, 39 hits)
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  Float On by Modest Mouse for Bb Instruments (74.5 KiB, 24 hits)
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Logitech Wireless Boombox

January 28, 2012 in Reviews

Logitech1

I was in need of a portable speaker for teaching and what not. There are SOO many iPhone/iPod/iPad accessories out there, what one to get?

I decided to get the Logitech Wireless Boombox. It has proven that it performs really really well for me. You can pair it wirelessly (bluetooth) to 8 different devices. In theory that works, but it’s a little flakey in my usage of it. My iOS devices frequently forget or can’t connect to it. Luckily it’s really easy to pair it back up again. Or you can use the included adapter cable to run the audio out of your device into the Boombox. Supposedly the sound isn’t as degraded as it is over bluetooth. I didn’t really notice anything between a wired or wireless audio connection.

The Logitech Wireless Boombox has a built in rechargeable battery. It doesn’t add much weight to the device, and supposedly it lasts about 6 hours. Haven’t tested that. Though the sound quality is quite different when running on the battery. The bass goes away, and the overall sound level drops. When the Boombox is plugged into the AC adapter, it sounds AMAZING for it’s size. Great bass, loud, and generally kicking ass. On battery? Meh….it’s OK…..not great, but do-able.

Could you practice with this? Yes, if it is plugged in. Otherwise, it might not really cut it if you are playing some loud sax or something, but you really want it plugged in all the time because it just sounds a lot better. Almost night and day better.

If you are looking for a portable speaker thing, consider this. The wireless one and the one with the dock are essentially the same thing, except the one with the dock is $20 more (and I think last year’s model).

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Mighty Bright Orchestra Light

January 28, 2012 in Reviews

MightyBright1

 

Inspired by David Valdez’s glowing review of it, I’ll put in my two cents on this light.

If you are looking for a portable, BRIGHT light for your music stand, get this. It is amazing. I’ve been using this for a few months, and I have nothing be good things to say about it. It comes with a case, AC Adapter, and 3 AA batteries. All for about $42 on Amazon.

100,000 hours of life in the LEDs. Comes with batteries, which last something like 20 hours, and a AC adapter with a really long cord. And it’s cheap?

Get it. Now. Click. Buy. Ship. Enjoy.

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A What?

January 23, 2012 in Videos

*sigh* I feel old. I still think that going to old record stores is a great thing. You can still walk out with hours of music for $10 or less. And perhaps find an artist who’s works never made it to the digital era. Plus, I refuse to buy new or used CDs. They are STILL the same price they were in the 80s if not more. Pure greed on the RIAA’s part.

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Make Your Own Repair Kit

January 23, 2012 in Articles

There are a couple of places online that will sell you a more complete repair kit, but what about if you just want stuff to repair stuff on the fly? Like an emergency kit?

Mr. Pimentel put together a good toolkit for fixing stuff on the go. As in NOT replacing pads or springs.

I think it’s really valuable to be able to do a few small repairs on woodwind instruments. As a doubler, I’ve found it to be a financial necessity—I can’t afford to run to the repair shop every time some little thing needs tweaking on one of my instruments—and it’s a great way to get to know your instruments better. (I do still make sure my instruments visit a real professional on a regular basis.)

Good tool list generally, though I’d put some strips of cardboard (to make wedges and what not) in there for propping open keys or mechs to allow easier fixing.

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Sheet Of The Week – Every Breath You Take (The Police)

January 23, 2012 in Sheet Music, Sheet Of The Week

Has to be one of my favorite songs.

  Every Breath You Take by The Police for Eb Instruments (103.0 KiB, 106 hits)
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  Every Breath You Take by The Police for Bb Instruments (103.6 KiB, 48 hits)
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NAMM 2012

January 21, 2012 in Articles, News

There are a lot of interesting things announced at the NAMM show. Here are some of the ones I thought were interesting.

Behringer Pad-housing USB mixers

BehringerMixeriPad

iPad plus mixer? YES!

Premium 32-Input 4/2-Bus Mixer with iPAD Docking Station, XENYX Mic Preamps & Compressors, KLARK TEKNIK Multi-FX Processor, Wireless Option and USB/Audio Interface

Technological Innovation, Seamless Integration The Apple iPad has opened a Pandora’s Box of opportunity for musicians. The iX docking station will send signal both two and from your iPad with a wide range of routing options. Tap into the hundreds of music apps including our own FX Processor that lets you dig deeper into your mic with top-notch EQs, studio-quality compressors and reverbs, plus a spectrum analyzer. With a wide variety to choose from in the app store, you can record to Garage Band, tune and monitor your rig through the room analyzer mic input, and more. The opportunities are endless.

 

Sounds cool to me.

 

Wait, another iPad mixer thing……but from Mackie?

MackieMixeriPad

 

With 16 boutique-quality Onyx mic preamps and the performance of 24bit Cirrus Logic® AD/DA converters, you have unparalleled sound quality. Seamless wired to wireless iPad control means you can mix from anywhere in the venue. This gives you the mobile freedom to control not only the mix, but powerful plug-ins like EQ, dynamics, effects and more. The sleek DL1608 even supports up to 10 iPad devices. Forget bulky consoles and racks of gear. The power is at your fingertips.

 

Wait, wasn’t the iPad just a fad? Hmm…..

 

 

 

 

 

Thunderbolt accessories??

UAD

Apollo offers compatibility with Intel’s new Thunderbolt technology, as found on the newest iMacs, MacBook Pros, MacBook Airs, and next-generation PCs. 
Available via a user-installable dual-port Thunderbolt I/O Option Card (sold separately), Thunderbolt provides lower latency, reduced audio buffer size, improved performance, and greater UAD plug-in instances versus FireWire. And because Thunderbolt offers many times the bandwith of FireWire, it allows music producers to connect numerous devices in series with the Apollo interface — including hard drives, processors, and additional computer monitors — all with fast, flawless performance.

 

 

Apogee1

Symphony 64 | Thunderbolt

64 Channel Thunderbolt connection for Apogee Symphony I/O

 

Connect Symphony I/O to any Thunderbolt™ equipped Mac for true Thunderbolt compatibility and performance. Symphony | 64 Thunderbolt will also connect X-Symphony equipped AD-16X, DA-16X, Rosetta 800 and Rosetta 200 converters to Thunderbolt Macs.

 

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James Morrison

January 19, 2012 in Videos

All I have to say is WOW. Great playing. Never heard of that instrument brand or James Morrison….but kudos on an excellent video and great playing.


Behind the scenes

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