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Category: Articles

Why You Can’t Get A Pair for Less Than $100

Posted on October 4, 2009 By ericdano No Comments on Why You Can’t Get A Pair for Less Than $100

Gizmodo.com has a great article on why you cannot get a good pair of in-ear earbuds/in-ear monitors.

“The difference between $300 set of buds and a $400 pair is nowhere near the jump from $20 to $100. Even smaller is the difference in models between generations. The best value on the market might be a previous-gen version of Shure’s 500 series buds at a cut rate ($290), but if you can find $100 earbuds for 70 bucks, it’s even better.”

I have the first generation of the Shure earbuds, and they still work and sound way better than the ones that come with the iPod/iPhone. I’d love to upgrade at some point to a really nice set, like the Shure 500s.

Articles

Free Laptop or iPod with an Instrument Purchase? Say What?

Posted on September 29, 2009September 29, 2009 By ericdano No Comments on Free Laptop or iPod with an Instrument Purchase? Say What?

I’m not too sure who came up with this at the Woodwind and the Brasswind. But seriously, is this the only way to sell instruments now? You have to give them an iPod or a Dell laptop? Why not just lower the prices? I know the markup on a lot of these, and it is HUGE. Why not cut the prices and make maybe 10% profit rather than 90%?

wwbwad

Articles

Jazz Phrasing For Beginners by Greg Fishman

Posted on September 1, 2009September 10, 2009 By ericdano No Comments on Jazz Phrasing For Beginners by Greg Fishman

jpfbGreg 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 tunes such as “C Jam Blues” and the like. The tunes are great studies in good voice leading and use of jazz rhythms. Also great motivic (or sequential) development. You get 2 CDs with the book. One CD that has Alto Sax demos and backgrounds, and one that has Tenor Sax demos and backgrounds.

As a book for someone who is just starting to play, this would be a good first book before diving into something like Jim Snidero’s Jazz Conception Easy. The etudes are short, and emphasize excellent idea development. However……

Read More “Jazz Phrasing For Beginners by Greg Fishman” »

Articles, Reviews

Can Jazz Be Saved?

Posted on August 9, 2009 By ericdano No Comments on Can Jazz Be Saved?

The WSJ has an article up called “Can Jazz Be Saved?“. Basically, the article says that in 2002 10.8% of adults went to listen to jazz, and in 2008 that number fell to 7.8%. In the college market it fell from 19.4% in 1982 to 14.9% in 2008.

I somehow think that there are more factors than the author suggests. I think there is a big fissure between people who want “traditional jazz” and those who don’t really care what type of jazz it is. I know I have encountered the former attitude in several bands I play in, where arrangements by Gordon Goodwin are sort of mocked and some crappy B-side arrangement of some song no one knows (and after we play it we know why) is favored more.

I know my own listening habits have been to go back to the great music of the 70s and early 80s. LPs I’ve been getting in Berkeley that. The new last “album” I bought was Gordon Goodwin’s latest. Not like the Vandermark 5, or yet another reissue and remaster of Coltrane or Miles Davis.

Articles

Nova Science Now: Auto-tune

Posted on July 4, 2009 By ericdano No Comments on Nova Science Now: Auto-tune

Good short video of how Auto-Tune works.

Articles

So You Want To Be A Musician

Posted on July 4, 2009 By ericdano No Comments on So You Want To Be A Musician

From Noise Addicts:

The career path of a musician can be pretty difficult. I was reminded of this last weekend when visiting a favorite hangout which serves decent food, good drinks, and the occasional band. This night, the band was rather excellent, playing cover songs like “Free Bird” from southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. What made it a bit sad was the obvious talent of the band coupled with the low crowd attendance. One can imagine the possibilities of the band with the right opportunities and luck.

Most musicians probably do not have that planning session where they consider the benefits and downsides of their chosen career. Being that it can be a tought road, here are some things to consider before you decide to be a musician:

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Articles

Peterson Strobe Tuner For iPhone/iPod Touch

Posted on May 1, 2009May 4, 2009 By ericdano No Comments on Peterson Strobe Tuner For iPhone/iPod Touch

a7Have 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 entry. I have had a Peterson Virtual Strobe tuner since 2001. It is annoying accurate, but not really something you can take out on a gig. It is large. And stuffing it into your gig bag isn’t really an option. I have mine mounted on my stand in my studio.

Back to the iTouch/iPhone version. Putting the two on a stand together, and trying to tune, both strobe tuners pretty much work the same. You try to get it to stop moving. The hardware version is a little more smooth in its motions, and iTouch/iPhone version is a tad jerky, but not really anything to complain about. In fact, the iTouch/iPhone version didn’t get confused as to what note I was playing. The hardware Strobe tuner sometimes things I’m tuning to an F when I’m really doing a concert D. I’ll see about making a little video showing them in action.

Bottom line. If you have an iTouch (second Generation) or an iPhone, the Strobe Tuner is well worth it.

10 out of 10. I’d say it is perfect.

UPDATE:My assistant Beaker (Matt) and I did a real simple little video of my original VS1 and the iPhone app. Enjoy

Articles, Reviews

Dealing With Theft

Posted on April 30, 2009 By ericdano No Comments on Dealing With Theft

I got an email last night from a friend who returned home to find that she had been robbed. Everything, TV, Laptop, kitty litter, and even the toilet paper. But the most prized thing, a bassoon, had been stolen as well.

Obviously, the police have been called. But what does a musician do when their money making tool gets snatched? Contacting all the neighboring music stores and pawn shops in the area is a priority. An instrument is something that is not really easy to get rid of for a thief. About 10 years ago a trumpet playing friend had his trumpets stolen out of his car which was at his house in his drive way (big truck in the back seat). They turned up about 2 weeks later at a music store. Another story…

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Articles

What Ever Happened to Eric Kloss?

Posted on April 23, 2009 By ericdano 1 Comment on What Ever Happened to Eric Kloss?

erickloss-consciousness2I picked up an LP of Eric Kloss “Consciousness”. Wow. However, he seems to have disappeared. This is what I could dig up about him via Google

“One of the true child prodigies of the ‘60s, saxophonist Eric Kloss holds the distinction of having a record contract with Prestige Records at the ripe young age of 15. Blind, smart as a whip, and technically proficient at even this early stage in his career, Kloss went on to make some remarkable albums up through the early ‘70s and then disappeared into academia.

Like a lot of other jazz cerca 1969-70, there’s a definite rock influence both in the rhythms and in Corea’s use of the electric piano (he also plays acoustic). Consciousness! (tracks 6-10) was recorded in January 1970, and sounds a lot more like the intense Fillmore recordings. Pat Martino, who joins the band on guitar, is an explosive presence.

This is highly recommended to any fan of Corea, Holland, or DeJohnette as well as to anyone who likes the sound of late 60s post-bop jazz. And besides, you will never hear a funkier version of “Sunshine Superman” in your life.”

And Allmusic has a little more. But…….what happened to him? Is this another case of a John Klemmer type who was totally amazing then disappears off the planet?

Articles

SmartMusic – FAIL!

Posted on April 23, 2009 By ericdano 2 Comments on SmartMusic – FAIL!

If you read the archives here, you know that I have a love/hate relationship with MakeMusic/SmartMusic (same company). Their products have a lot of potential, but I think the corporate environment there is messed up.

The current issue I have with MakeMusic is my SmartMusic renewal. About 2 years ago, you needed to have an Educators subscription to obtain a “code” to allow students to get a subscription for $25 a year. Fair enough. Then they came out with SmartMusic 11 and did away with the “code” thing, and offering educators access to their site to be able to track assignments, grades, send assignments, etc. Sounded good in theory, but it never worked right for me at all. And students never used it. So, why am I paying for it then? I simply want to be able to create some SmartMusic exercises for my students, and take advantage of the huge library they have for sightreading purposes.

So, this year, with money being a concern, I did initially renew my account, which was like $130. This was back in January. I’m pretty sure I gave them all the credit card info and what not. Then, the other week, I get an invoice from them saying that my account is overdue. What? Actually, this is to be expected. They pretty much do this every year I’ve had an account with them. I enter all the billing info and payment info online, and they proceed to lose it or misplace it or something. Upon reflection, I decided I wanted to just have a student subscription. Well, “Chris” from their SmartMusic support says that I do not qualify. What? I could set up a new account and order the software and stuff for $30, but since I had an educators account, they would not move me down to a student account even though I explicitly said I did not need all the “stuff” that the educators account had.

So, I cancelled the account. Stupid guys. You should offer SmartMusic for $30 to everyone, and if an educator wants to take advantage of your “services” (if you want to call it that…..I wouldn’t), then they can add on the extra to be able to track students, send assignments, hear recordings, etc, etc.

I really wish someone would buy MakeMusic, gut the management, and actually force them to start updating their products with more features and better user interfaces. Actually, I’d be happy if they just got rid of the management.

Articles

The Difference Between Speakers

Posted on April 17, 2009 By ericdano No Comments on The Difference Between Speakers

I found this article today. Rather interesting.
“A speaker’s ultimate goal is “to sound like reality”—the elusive dragon that every audiophile chases—so on a broad, not-very-useful level, how close it comes to matching that reality is the difference between good and bad, expensive and cheap speakers. To be slightly more technical, the “spec” is clarity: The lower the distortion of the original sound it recreates, the better the speaker. In fact, basically every other spec, every confusing number you read on the side of a box is actually totally meaningless, according to both Steve and the Definitive guys. Steve singles out watts as “one of the more useless specifications ever created.” If you have to look for a number when buying speakers, Steve said one that’s “kind of useful” is sensitivity/efficiency, which would be something like 90dB @ 1 watt, which relates how loud a speaker will play at a given power level.”

There is more, but if you have ever had the pleasure of listening to your favorite music on a pair of high end speakers……..well, maybe you shouldn’t. It is like tasting fine wine and then having to go back to the cheap stuff.

Articles

Upgrade A Success

Posted on April 11, 2009 By ericdano No Comments on Upgrade A Success

Seems like everything went fairly well on the move. There might be some things that are not working yet, but 90% of stuff seems to work.

Articles

Possible Downtime?

Posted on April 8, 2009April 10, 2009 By ericdano No Comments on Possible Downtime?

This site, and my others (jazz-flute, jazz-clarinet, jazz-oboe, etc), will probably be down sometime over the weekend. Basically, this is due to be deciding to retire my huge old Dual Pentium III server with a smaller, more efficient Atom powered computer. I’m not anticipating any problems but……you never know. I think it will be rather painless and hopefully things will be faster and better on the Atom powered computer (MSI Wind PC to be specific).

For the geeks and nerds out there, I’m probably going to put Ubuntu Server 8.1 on it. The current server is running FreeBSD. That might maybe be a possibility as well. I just need PHP5, Apache 2.2, and MySQL on it. We’ll see what happens. The only real issue I think will be exporting the databases, though, since I moved everything to WordPress, that should be simple. It will be interesting to see exactly how much quieter (the current beast is really loud) and faster it will be. The only thing is that I’ll be losing the RAID backup that I have on the current system. Not that it really has ever failed, once in almost 10 years. That is pretty damn good. At some point, the new Atom server will get a SSD (Solid State Disk) so it will be totally efficient and pretty much silent. Well, hopefully.

UpdateComputer comes tomorrow sometime. I am going to put Ubuntu Server 8.1 on it. I don’t think it will be an issue at all moving stuff over. Just tar it, ftp it to the new computer, untar, etc, etc. Reading up on it, the Atom computer should make a ton faster than the dual pentium III 450s I have.

Articles, News

What To Use To Remove Neck Buildup

Posted on March 22, 2009March 22, 2009 By ericdano No Comments on What To Use To Remove Neck Buildup

Ok, this is nasty. My tenor and alto have like mineral deposits in them now. We aren’t talking GOLD or anything, but like…….yuck stuff. What really works in getting rid of this stuff? I’m thinking maybe white vinegar (they use this for removing buildup in irons).

This video however, by the Village “Expert” says just to use the brush thing. I dunno….

Articles

Sennheiser Headphones – How They Are Made

Posted on March 16, 2009March 16, 2009 By ericdano No Comments on Sennheiser Headphones – How They Are Made

Doing well in this economy? Need a pair of cans (headphones)? Got $1500 to spend. Then perhaps you need to check out the Sennheiser HD800 headphones.

Want to know why they are that expensive. Look here.

The review of it pretty much sums them up “If you want the most inspiring, mouth-wateringly gorgeous and stunning personal audio on the planet, these are the headphones you want to try out.”

Articles

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