Music Products
Taco Taco! Texas Music Educators recap
Apr 23rd
Ok Folks,
I am sorry.
I am the worst Blogger ever! But in my defense, this has been a busy spring. My next blog post will illuminate you as to what I have been up to… I originally typed this February 17 and forgot to post it… so here it is!!!
I just returned from the Texas Music Educators Association convention (TMEA)- or to the uninitiated… the “everybody who matters and has anything of value for the world or music education” convention.
All I can say is WOW! This was my first TMEA even though I am quite the legacy. My Frandfather was President of TMEA in the 1950s!
TMEA is by all accounts much larger than TBA (Texas Bandmasters Association)- or any other conference I attend on Music Education for that matter. Overall, despite a lousy economy the attendance was really quite good. Many of my friends from education land were there and the overall picture I got from the state of budgets (at least in TX) was that most were actually doing alright (take a note California). If Texans know how to do anything- it is play football and field a marching band- both of which they fund mightily.
TMEA was not only a time for me to catch up with my buddies, but also a great time to meet up with old and new clients to discuss current and future projects. I decided rather than delivering a list of my clients as a recap, I would make a photo montage of them and spent one afternoon taking photos of their booths, products, etc. These photos are on our Naxos Music Library facebook page here. Other clients in attendance were Alfred Music Publishing, Hal Leonard, Ivasi, SmartMusic, Professor Carol, and a few I cant seem to remember.
All In All this was a GREAT conference. The weather did not cooperate as it rained much of the time we were there and it was quite cold, however we made the best of it by imbibing in great Mexican food and our fair share of Margaritas. Hopefully next year the weather will be better as this is going on my Educational conference list permanently.
Til next time, Over and Out!
Microsoft is musically Inept
Jan 13th
I really hate Microsoft.
Just when I was beginning to embrace my PC, they go and screw everything up by trying to get into the music game. They are making their fore’ into the music “production” arena with “Microsoft Songsmith” . This flaming piece of crap actually writes your backup music for you after hearing the melody sung through a microphone. Consider it a “Speak & Spell” for music. What’s worse, the musical accompaniment is terrible…just terrible ( It almost reminds me of the crappy old Casio demo song Wesley Willis used to back up all of his music) .
I am really glad Bill Gates is doing what he can to de-evolve our musical enlightenment. When will they learn? Windows Media Player, the Zune and now this… I really wish they would have stopped at Excel and Microsoft Word.
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I Buy CDS!
Dec 7th
Yes I said it! I said it and I mean it. I buy CDs. I love CDs in fact. To my knowledge, I have nearly 1000 of the beautiful discs. I generally keep the cases for a while, but always end up placing the CDs in one of my 10 or so Case Logic books. Why do I do this in this digital age we live in? Why do I continue to adhere to my archaic tendencies you ask?
Bucking Trends!
I do this for one reason and one reason alone. I do not want CDs to go away. I still rip everything I buy and believe me, it ends up in Itunes and gracing my Ipod’s numerous playlists… but I get something extra for my 10 dollars. I have a pretty shiny piece of plastic to hold onto and I have helped keep my industry afloat (if only for one more minute). Naysayers may indicate that my purchase of that CD did not have any effect, and only further prolonged our slow slip into all things digital (these are the same people who say voting doesn’t count because even though you and your best friends all voted for Obama, you live in a red state and the electoral college will make your vote meaningless). But I don’t care! This is how I roll. I buy CDs and you should too!
PS: The new Killers CD is PHENOMENAL… go get it today!
Wii Music
Sep 19th
Nintendo has just announced the launch of Wii Music in October of this year. They are hoping that “blue Ocean” lightning strikes thrice after the successful Wii Sports and Wii Fit llaunches. According to the press release this game hopes to bring music to the “not good at guitar hero” set. The game will feature more than 60 instruments and more than 50 (bad) songs.
I do not see how this can be successful. I may stand to be corrected, but this simply cannot compete with the likes of Guitar Hero and Rock Band. I think that demographic is already maxed out on the music making games… Perhaps this will find a way into the old folks homes and even possibly into music therapy circles. That could be a very interesting proposition… digital Orff instruments. I have definitely heard of weirder things. Perhaps my friends over at Mustech.net will be able to comment on the actual use-ability of this product within the realm of music education… Now that would be an interesting thesis.
Musical Gaming’s Hall of Shame: Some other lesser-known games that attempted to bring music to the masses.
Guitar Hero is for Losers
Mar 3rd
Alright, it that title doesn’t pull you in, you probably have not yet put down your sega genesis controller and are still thrilled with 16 Bit video games.
For the uninitiated, Guitar Hero is the video game phenom that has swept the nation over the past year or so. With several incarnations it was a great way for the everyday little guy to overcome his lack of talent and ambition only to be a star in his own mind for the entirety of “Bulls on Parade.” I have to admit, I own Guitar Hero III and have played it a bit, but as I sat in my living room strumming along to my favorite rock songs it hit me all of a sudden… If I spent nearly the amount of time learning how to actually play the guitar that I have spent fiddling with this nifty controller gizmo, I would probably be an alright guitar player… and might actually be able to play those hits of yore.
This annoyance has been bouncing around my head for a few months now, but today several articles popped up on my Google reader that really made this whole subject boil over for me. According to an article I cannot seem to find, now that I am writing (should have tagged it for delicious), the Guitar hero franchise has brought in over 1 Billion Dollars for Activision. Being a capitalist pig, I am normally thrilled to hear of a company’s successes, but this financial report was then followed with the fact that Fender, one of the largest guitar manufacturers in the World turned in a measly few hundred Million Dollars last year. You mean the cheap fake guitars outsold the real ones…? What kind of effed up Wal-Mart society have we turned into?
So in protest, I have been scouring the internet for good links to Guitar Hero blog posts and news stories and have assembled them here for good measure. I think after all of this, I am going to go buy myself a guitar and actually practice… that way if I want to call myself a “Guitar Hero”, the title will be warranted.