Author: ericdano

Polymath, musician, awesome.

Special Grammy Award Honoring Steve Jobs/Yo-Yo Ma and Steve Jobs

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The Grammy awards are tonight, but some of them have already happened. And Steve Jobs received an award.

 

Eddy Cue Accepts Special Grammy Award Honoring Steve Jobs:

The Grammy ceremony for the Special Merit Awards was held yesterday, and Apple senior vice president of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue was on hand to accept the award.

The Recording Academy has also published a brief tribute to Jobs by cellist Yo-Yo Ma, a 16-time Grammy winner and personal friend of Jobs.

Jobs’ Grammy marks the second time he and Apple have been honored by The Recording Academy. Apple itself won a Technical Grammy Award in 2002.

 

And Cellist Yo-Yo Ma had some things to share about meeting Steve and their relationship. Good stuff.

 

News

Sheet Of The Week (Bonus) – I Got Mine (The Black Keys)

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Breaking into some other groups…..like The Black Keys……

  I Got Mine by The Black Keys for Eb Instruments (91.0 KiB, 103 hits)
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  I Got Mine by The Black Keys for Bb Instruments (90.6 KiB, 65 hits)
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New FAA Bill Finally has guidelines for Instruments

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The AFM applauds passage of FAA Bill :: Official Website of the American Federation of Musicians:

After five years and 23 short-term extensions, Congress has passed legislation reauthorizing the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for the next four years. Included in the bill are provisions that create a uniform national policy regarding musical instruments on airplanes. Any instrument that can be safely stored in the overhead compartment or underneath the seat may be brought on board as carry-on luggage. Additionally, the bill sets standard weight and size requirements for checked instruments, and permits musicians to purchase a seat for oversized instruments, such as cellos, that are too delicate to be checked. Existing law allowed each airline to set their own policy regarding musical instruments, and size requirements varied widely for both carry-on and checked baggage. The American Federation of Musicians (AFM) has been lobbying Congress to enact such a policy for nearly a decade.

(Via www.afm.org)

Finally, something our Congress passes that makes sense. Too bad they didn’t put it out for the public to see before voting on it. Remember that broken promise Mr. Obama?

News

Finale Notepad 2012…..FREE……AGAIN

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File this under news no one really cares about….

One of the biggest bone head decisions was MakeMusic charging for NotePad, which had been free up until version 2009 (I think). Well, duh…..no one bought it. And the exposure they got for providing a fairly adequate notation program for free evaporated.

Now, at NAMM, they announced that 2012 version of Finale Notepad is going to be free. Now….if they would only maybe follow through? Hello Minnesota….you there?

I dunno exactly what the point is in announcing something then waiting like a month to deliver it. How hard is it to strip out the DRM in it? Seriously, how MakeMusic stays in business is anyone’s guess.

UPDATE 2/15/2012 Seems they, over a month after they announced it, have released Notepad.

Articles, News

John Williams is 80 Today

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One of the best, if not THE BEST, movie composers, John Williams, turns 80 today. Though the article suggests 5 scores of his to listen to, there are TONS more. Like Indiana Jones music, ET, Superman (original), Catch Me If You Can (which has a great saxophone part done by Dan Higgins), Saving Private Ryan….just to name a FEW.

Wiki him. He has pretty much shaped music in movies since the 70s.

Articles, News

Manhattan School Of Music Doesn’t Archive McCaslin

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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.

Articles

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

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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, 372 hits)
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  We Are The Champions by Queen for Bb Instruments (80.8 KiB, 156 hits)
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Sheet Of The Week – Disturbia (Rhianna)

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

  Disturbia by Rhianna for Eb Instruments (107.0 KiB, 154 hits)
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  Disturbia by Rhianna for Bb Instruments (111.5 KiB, 80 hits)
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Sheet Of The Week – Float On (Modest Mouse)

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Modest Mouse’s hit.

  Float On by Modest Mouse for Eb Instruments (73.8 KiB, 126 hits)
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  Float On by Modest Mouse for Bb Instruments (74.5 KiB, 76 hits)
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Logitech Wireless Boombox

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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).

Reviews

Mighty Bright Orchestra Light

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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.

Reviews