Don’t forget to participate in the Music Education Blog Carnival this month.  It will be published on August 1st!  We have had a number of submissions, but would still like more (a whole bunch)!   To participate in this blog carnival, you can follow the following link (it’s super easy!!!):

Here’s the link for your blog post submittal for the carnival:
http://blogcarnival.com/bc/submit_4443.html. 

Dust off one of your old blog posts (A brilliant one!) or create a new one, but don’t miss being in this edition!   I know it’s hard with the summer to blog and keep up with all this web 2.0 stuff, especially for teachers.  Lord knows I’m having a time keeping it all together this month as well!  I’m building a deck on my house (Yes myself!!!) and working on two web projects (top secret!) and trying to get ready for the college marching season (Go Wolverines!)…   With all of this, even I’m having trouble keeping up with the ME Blogger project and emails…I’ll get back to you all soon, I promise! AND will have the new ME Bloggers listed by the end of next week.

For this Music Education Blog Carnival edition, you may choose any music education related topic to be part of this project.  If you don’t have a blog, become a ME Blogger today!!! Check out this link: http://www.mustech.net/100-me-bloggers and then visit the carnival!!!

That’s all for now, don’t forget to participate with this carnival as soon as possible.  I will be turning all of the Music Education Carnival posts into a PDF -kind of a free downloadable magazine of sorts once things get back to a more normal schedule for me.

Best regards,

      

Other Great Related Articles From Mustech.net!:

• Music Education Blog Carnival Coming To Town, August Edition Up Soon!
• Music Education Blog Carnival Coming To You In July 2008
• New Music Education Bloggers, Early May 2008 Edition And Annoucments
• Budding Bloggers: Tips To Help You Become Known Among Your Colleagues And Peers
• New ME Bloggers added, Midway Through March 2008

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photo credit: Point-Shoot-Edit

The August Edition of the Music Education Blog Carnival is Coming to town AND if you are a Music Ed. blogger you will DEFINETLEY want to be a part of it.  Joel and I started the Music Education Blog Carnival last month and it was a HUGE success! Over 22 Music education bloggers participated!  Let’s continue the forward steam!

The August edition will be posted on August 1st right here on MUSTECH.NET.   If you missed the last edition you can check out it’s music education informational packed post of posts here:
http://www.soyouwanttoteach.com/the-first-ever-music-education-blog-carnival/

The initial two posts annoucing the Music Education Carnival are here:
* http://www.soyouwanttoteach.com/announcing-the-music-education-blog-carnival/
* http://mustech.net/2008/06/23/music-education-blog-carnival-coming

This months Blog Carnival will again be open to any music education and music education related topic.  If you are a ME Blogger, or a blogger that writes about music and education then you need to join in on the carnival fun!

We’re also looking for a Music Education “Carni” veteran to host the next Music Education Carnival, let me know if you are interested, ASAP. 

Already a Music Education Carnival Veteran?  Here’s the link for your blog post submittal: http://blogcarnival.com/bc/submit_4443.html.  Click the link to be sent to the Music Education Carnival submission page.

I’m going to re-post the SIMPLE, EASY, and EXTREMELY USEFUL FAQ, I made about Blog Carnivals below.  Check this out to see how simple it is to become a “rider” on the Music Education Carnival:

What is a blog Carnival?

A blog carnival is way to extend and/or create a community of bloggers that have great things to say about a particular topic… in our case, Music Education.   A blog carnival functions as a mini-magazine focused around a particular topic and a type of written edition is created that surrounds the topic.  A blog article is submitted for inclusion in an upcoming edition, approved, and then posted together with other’s submissions.

Who is allowed to participate in the Carnival?

Anyone that has an article, new or old, that has something positive to contribute to the topic.  All are encouraged to take part with this, particularly the ME Bloggers!  As Joel states in his announcemet about the carnival, “If you have a great article … that is somehow buried in [your] archives of your blog that might relate- dig it out, dust it off, and submit it!”  …or write a new one on your blog for inclusion with this carnival! 

How do I Submit my article/blog post?

The process is actually very easy.  The Blog is being Hosted by http://blogcarnival.com and you can find the Music Education Submittal Page right here: http://blogcarnival.com/bc/submit_4443.html.  Click the link to be sent to the Music Education Carnival submission page.

What do I submit/write about?It looks as though the first edition is going to be  very music education “topic open”, any topic that relates to music education, in some way can be chosen.  I choose to submit my article about online jamming (Not for any particular reason…).  Next month, I will host the carnival, and I’ll try to narrow down the topic a little more.

Who should participate in this? 

Every blogger that has something positive or constructive to say about music education, music technology, or a music education related topic.   It’s free, it’s free exposure for you and your blog, and it’s community constructive!

There have been so many of you posting great, articles… pick one of them and submit them to this carnival.   It only takes a minute or two.   Take the time to make this a success and give us the impetus to do continue doing this in the future.

Again, you can submit your blog article for inclusion here.

      See you at the carnival!

                      

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Other Great Related Articles From Mustech.net!:

• Music Education Blog Carnival Coming To You In July 2008
• Tips For New ME Bloggers: Submit Your Site And Become Visable On Other Blog Sites
• Bloggers: A New Way To Get A Rush Of Blog Traffic Through Syndication Or Just Hype?
• New Music Education Bloggers, Early May 2008 Edition And Annoucments
• Call For Music Education Bloggers

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Well, it’s been a busy month for me, and no doubt for all of you all as well.  The end of the school year brings about an enormous amount of “loose ends to tie up” and a certain amount of “I’m too tired to do this”.  That being said it is WELL about time to annouce the June 2008 ME Bloggers.  We’re almost to 70!

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Joel over at www.soyouwantoteach.com and I (MusTech.Net!) have colloborated together to put on the First Ever Music Education Blog Carnival.  …so…. What is a blog carnival and how can I be part of this ground-breaking experience?  Read on worthy music educator!

What is a blog Carnival?

A blog carnival is way to extend and/or create a community of bloggers that have great things to say about a particular topic… in our case, Music Education.   A blog carnival functions as a mini-magazine focused around a particular topic and a type of written edition is created that surrounds the topic.  A blog article is submitted for inclusion in an upcoming edition, approved, and then posted together with other’s submissions.

Who is allowed to participate in the Carnival?

Anyone that has an article, new or old, that has something positive to contribute to the topic.  All are encouraged to take part with this, particularly the ME Bloggers!  As Joel states in his announcemet about the carnival, “If you have a great article … that is somehow buried in [your] archives of your blog that might relate- dig it out, dust it off, and submit it!”  …or write a new one on your blog for inclusion with this carnival! 

How do I Submit my article/blog post?

The process is actually very easy.  The Blog is being Hosted by http://blogcarnival.com and you can find the Music Education Submittal Page right here: http://blogcarnival.com/bc/submit_4443.html.  Click the link to be sent to the Music Education Carnival submission page.

What do I submit/write about?

It looks as though the first edition is going to be  very music education “topic open”, any topic that relates to music education, in some way can be chosen.  I choose to submit my article about online jamming (Not for any particular reason…).  Next month, I will host the carnival, and I’ll try to narrow down the topic a little more.

Who should participate in this? 

Every blogger that has something positive or constructive to say about music education, music technology, or a music education related topic.   It’s free, it’s free exposure for you and your blog, and it’s community constructive!

There have been so many of you posting great, articles… pick one of them and submit them to this carnival.   It only takes a minute or two.   Take the time to make this a success and give us the impetus to do continue doing this in the future.

Again, you can submit your blog article for inclusion here.

      See you at the carnival!

                      

Other Great Related Articles From Mustech.net!:

• Music Education Blogging: A Challenge!
• Tips For New ME Bloggers: Submit Your Site And Become Visable On Other Blog Sites
• New Music Education Bloggers, Early May 2008 Edition And Annoucments
• Trying to get blog traffic may result in a “road-kill” on the internet super highway!
• The Top 25 Music Education and Music Technology Blogs As Listed By Technorati -Maybe?

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If you’ve ever wondered if there was a way to globally unsubscribe to spammers and spam list, you’re out of luck. There is no such thing.  I was researching this topic today and found a fairly authoritative answer at SpamHaus (SpamHaus is one of the “Big-Guns” working to reduce email spam) .  

SpamHaus points out a number of so-called “spam removal” services being run by seemingly would-be do-gooders are, in fact, SPAM or Email Collectors themselves.  They state that “Any system that wants money in exchange for removing your address from a spammer’s list is a scam”.   ~Seems logical to me.

The biggest con of them all seems to be the Direct Marketing Associations “spam opt-out service”.  SpamHaus states that the very mission of the group is to “advance the interest of junk-email senders.”  They go on to state that some sites literally “spray” hundreds of millions of emails out per day.

What about sending a “Remove Me” from your list” back to the spammers?  Unless you are SURE that you are receiving a legitimate email from someone YOU DID subscribe to (E.G. JC Penney, Buy.com, FTD, etc.).  NEVER unsubscribe to a would-be spammer.  It only confirms your email address a working, legitimate, valid address.  By sending the “Remove Me”, you are actually setting yourself up for even more unwanted emails.

To read the article I found from SmapHaus about remove lists, click here:
http://www.spamhaus.org/removelists.html

To read about more about sending a “Remove Request” back to a potential Spammer, click here:
http://www.spamhaus.org/removeisformugs.html

Best wishes for a SPAM free Summer!

            

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I just received an email from the Midwest Clinic announcing the presenters and clinics for this year.  If you are a band, orchestra, or music educator that has not made the “pilgrimage” to Chicago for the Midwest clinic, I STRONGLY encourage you to consider going this year.  Attending the Midwest clinic will positively change your outlook about our profession regardless of where you are currently “at” in your career and current situation.

One of the most interesting clinics I attend last year featured Francis McBeth, James Barnes, Eric Ewazen, and Mark Rodgers.  It was entitled, “So you want to be a composer”and I wrote about it here if you are interested in reading abou it.

The clinics look to be very interesting this year; here is the tentative list of presentations and presenters from the Midwest Clinic site (You can pre-register for Midwest here):

Developing the Basic Fundamentals and Musical Integrity of Young Oboists
Ann Adams 
 
Anyone Can Improvise
Jamey Aebersold 
 
Music Teaching and Learning from a Distance: Viable and Effective Through Technology
Paul Bauer, Greg Howe, Christianne Orto 
 
It’s Gotta Work–Now! Maintenance of Instruments for the Hectic Band Room
Greg Beckwith, John Huth, Lucas Pemberton 
 
There is Hope! Your Low Brass Does Not Need to Sound Like Electric Yard Trimmers
Roger Behrend 
 
The Care and Upkeep of the Music Director’s Body
Jeffrey Bishop 
 
Improving Your Clarinet Section, Top to Bottom
J. Lawrie Bloom 
 
Web 2.0: Let’s Communicate with Blogs, Wikis, Ning, Twitter, and More
Carol Broos 
 
Developing a Successful Middle School Percussion Ensemble
Scott Brown 
 
Strategies for the Beginning Music Teacher: Planning for Success
Colleen Conway 
 
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Choosing Music for Your Band
Lynn Cooper 
 
The Wind Quintet as a Teaching Medium
 Cumberland Quintet 
 
A New Approach to Developing Musicianship: Drawing the Common Thread Throughout Your Rehearsal Using the Right Materials and Teaching Strategies
James Curnow, Joseph Manfredo 
 
Digital Recording in Rehearsal: Cheap and Simple
Rick Dammers 
 
Beyond Their Years: Tone, Intonation and the Young Band
Chip De Stefano 
 
TEACHING STRINGS: Moving Toward Mastery: R, F, and P
Joanne Erwin, Brenda Mitchell 
 
Getting Started with Fiddling, A First Tune and Creating a String Band
Janet Farrar-Royce 
 
Preparing the Score
Col Arnald Gabriel 
 
Jammin’ Strings: Teaching Alternative Styles in the Orchestra
Robert Gardner 
 
Horn Pedagogy 101: The Nuts and Bolts of Teaching the Horn
Charles Gavin 
 
Retention Through a Success-Full Career: When Strengths Become Weaknesses
Alan Gumm 
 
Women and Minorities in the Band Conducting Profession: Past, Present, and Future
Linda Hartley, Deborah Sheldon 
 
Beginning Band 101 “You Have No Free Will”
George Hayden, RoAnn Romines 
 
What’s the Difference Between a Saxophone and a Lawnmower? The Role of Vibrato, Breath Support, Embouchure, Reeds and Mouthpieces in the Development of a Great Sounding Saxophone Section
Jonathan Helton 
 
Fixing the Front Row: Troubleshooting Your Flute Section
Julie Hobbs 
 
Students, Compose! Teachers, Keep Your Rehearsal Time While Meeting the National Standards
Andrea Hollenbeck 
 
Engaging your Percussionists in the Concert Setting
Eric Hollenbeck 
 
Middle School Band - Maddening or Magical?
Linda Huck 
 
Got Rhythm?
Jeff Jarvis, Doug Beach 
 
More for Less: Cost-effective Ways to Significantly Improve the Sound of Your Concert Percussion Instruments (and Percussionists)
Kristopher Keeton 
 
Communicating With Your Administrators…or…How To Talk So Your Principal Will Listen
Jeff Laird, Rick Ghinelli 
 
What You Should Know Before You Go…Tips Guranteed to Make the Student Teaching Experience a Success
Mary Land, David Gregory 
 
Building Winning Orchestras
Mark Laycock 
 
Conducting Insights: Moving from Technique to Artistry
Anthony Maiello 
 
Developing a Dark Orchestral Trumpet Sound
Freddy Martin, Chris Martin, Michael Martin 
 
Wasting Away in “Obsolete-a-ville” - Changing Attitudes about Technology in the Instrumental Rehearsal Room
Joel Mason 
 
The Art of Expressive Conducting: Conducting from the Inside Out
Allan McMurray 
 
Putting a Music Education Philosophy into Action: Be a Role Model, Convince Your Students to Practice and Lead Them to an Aesthetic Experience
Brian Merrill 
 
Successful Strategies for Exceptional Learners in Instrumental Music Programs
Kevin Mixon 
 
Tuning the Ensemble by Ear
Rob Myers 
 
Rhythm: How Can Something So Simple Be So Difficult to Teach?
David Newell 
 
A Look at the Sinister Side of the Cello - Exploring Left Hand Technique
Allen Nisbet 
 
All Music Must Dance - A Unique Challenge for Instrumentalists
Weston Noble 
 
Practice Makes Permanent: Teaching Students to Practice Effectively
Steve Oare 
 
Recipes for Success: In the Classroom, on the Concert Stage and at Contest
Deborah Perkins, Ruth Kurtis 
 
Cymbal Playing Made Easy: How to Produce a Great Sound in Five Minutes or Less!
Nick Petrella 
 
Teaching Guitar for the Non-Guitarist
Ed Prasse 
 
Fill Their iPods With Band Music! A Primer on Recordings Available Online
Anthony Reimer 
 
Teaching Musicianship Through Compositions for the Beginning Band (NOT Performing at Midwest in the Near Future!)
Drew Shanefield 
 
Preparing Your Ensemble for Expressive Performance
Robert Sheldon 
 
Crafting Curriculum through Content and Creativity
Elizabeth Sokolowski 
 
Bring on the Winds! What you Need to Know to Successfully Incorporate Woodwinds and Brass With Your Strings for a Full Orchestra
Daniel Sommerville 
 
Teaching Band in the Small School
Jason Steele 
 
Pump Up Your Program: Developing Student Leaders Through Chamber Music
 U.S. Army Brass Quintet 
 
“I Know It’s Wrong, But I’m Not Sure How to Fix It”—Strategies for Improving Aural Skills on the Podium
Michael Votta, Jr. 
 
Sound Reinforcement and Recording of Jazz and Large Ensembles - Practical and Easy to Use Basic and Advanced Ideas
Jim Warrick, Scott Bauer, Mark Morette, Scott Steiner 
 
Musicality - Tips for Expressive Music Making
Frank Wickes 
 
Four Centuries of Masterworks for Brass Ensemble
Gail Williams 
 
The Basie Style
Dennis Wilson 
 
It’s Not About Me: The Conductor as Servant-Leader
Ramona Wis 

I will certainly be going (D.V.) and as always would be happy to meet up with any of you out there.  Anybody know that they are going already? …comment here.

             

Other Great Related Articles From Mustech.net!:

• I Am Heading To The Midwest International Band And Orchestra Clinic Tomorrow
• Music Performance and Music Education - Can I perform and teach?
• Scott Ditullio: Why I Teach? Reprise
• Scott DiTullio: Why Do I Teach?
• Brad Volek On Being The GCC Band President

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Just a quick update to the ME Blogger list.  Please visit and say hello to the latest ME Bloggers!  If you are a current ME Blogger and have not received your FREE NAXOS ONLINE MUSIC LIBRARY SUBSCRIPTION PLEASE LET ME KNOW VIA THE CONTACT TAB ABOVE!

It look as if we are over 60 before the halfway point!  Congratulations to all!  If you haven’t posted for awhile, please consider posting before the end of the school year before you all go on hiatus! :) 

Also, please check the 100 Music Education Bloggers Status Page for more information about the ME Blogger Campaign and how to get your own ME Blogger Graphic for your site! 

Drum Roll Please:

55.  http://tanbur.wordpress.com
David French -The Music Education Blogspot

56.  http://musicteachers911.blogspot.com
Larry Marra -Music Teachers 911

57.  http://www.pianoteacherblog.com
Rebecca Brown -Piano Teacher’s Retreat

58.  http://wordtogo.wordpress.com
Steve Mugglin -Creativity and Songwriting in Music Education

59.  http://totalmusiceducation.blogspot.com
Gary Albing -Total Music Education

60. http://teachingmusicbs.com
Ben Baker -Teaching Music

61. http://www.susanadavis.com
Susan Davis -Music Technology Musings

I’m still waiting to ”hear” back from a couple of you, if you’re one of them, let me know ASAP! 

           

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• New ME Bloggers (Music Education) Added For April 2008!
• New Music Education Bloggers, Early May 2008 Edition And Annoucments
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• The Official List Of The ME Bloggers (Music Education)- February 2008

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The Blue Snowball Microphone is definitely on the “cool” end of USB Microphones.   Blue Microphones have been making their “ball” type microphones for a number of years now and the “Snowball” is their latest USB offering.  

At first glance the Blue “Ball Microphones” look quite different, the mics themselves are about as big as a softball and varied in color; the Snowball is, as you would expect, white.  In order to help with some of the thumps and bumps you might pickup while using them to record they offer the Blue “Ringer”, which is a suspension unit for the microphone that gives a “vintage” look and helps with picking up unwanted “knocks” with the microphone.

The big “hook” with the Snowball is that it is a USB, plug and play, condenser microphone.   That is, you plug it into your comptuer and it works (no drivers needed).   Another great option with the Snowball is the three-pattern switch which allows for changing the recording pattern from cardioid to omni, or cardioid with a -10dB pad applied (in order to accomplish this it has two capsules inside it) .   True to it specs., it does pick up a pretty impressive degree of frequencies, 40 Hz to 18kHz. 

Why was I interested in getting my hands on this particular microphone?  I already had a Blue Kickball microphone (which is KickBUTT!), but I had not worked with a USB microphone up until this point and had read a lot about the shortcomings of the “first generation” USB microphones, especially with regard to latency issues.   I was talking with Barbara Freedman, who has a great music technology site, over at http://musicedtech.wordpress.com/, about these issues and she said that she had a Snowball microphone and would gladly send it to me to look at and review.   So thanks to Barbara and her generosity, I was able to acquire her Snowball microphone to “give it a whirl”.

I tested the Snowball in a variety of audio computer environments (with a PC, using XP and Vista) including, Audacity, Adobe Audition 1.5 and 3.0, Goldwave, Skype, Krystal and the XP Sound environment.  For whatever reason, I could not get the Snowball to work with Adobe Audition 1.5 (that being said, it did work with Adobe Audition 3.0 on Vista and XP with the ASIO4ALL drivers installed).  At first brush, the sound quality of the microphone is very good, certainly on par with my Blue Kickball microphone (as you would expect…although it’s a powered dynamic) and for speaking, it sounds every bit as good as my Shure SM58 dynamic does when it’s connected to my computer. 

For recording purposes, the Snowball is limited to a digital input of 16-bit/44.1 kHz for, as the Snowball Manual puts it, “ease of use”.   So for recording purposes, this amounts to a standard “Cd Quality” bit-rate/sampling rate input.  A number of reviews I read when, reading about the Snowball microphone, stated that the controlling the volume with the Snowball was a problem because it lacked any control for setting the input levels, but the Snowball I tested had the latest “firmware” update and this was easily controlled via the PC sound mixer’s properties control panel and the use of the 10 dB pad on the microphone itself. 

When recording to Adobe Audtion 3.0, Audacity, Goldwave and Krystal, I had no problems getting the audio to the track.   It was as simple as it states and sounded very clear and full.   The microphone also works great for Skype.  In all these instances it was literally, “plug, play and work”.  The sound quality, as I stated earlier, was very good. For recording podcasts, this microphone would/does make setup and usage a breeze.   The problem with using this particular microphone  (or any USB microphone without a direct out) comes when you need to monitor the input for studio/vocal type work, etc.

Because of the inherent disconnect between a USB source such as the Snowball and the audio interface in a computer, there is no good way to monitor the output of the microphone “live” without software that supports ASIO.  This means that unless you are using software that supports ASIO drivers for your hardware there will be no acceptable way to get the Snowball to monitor (through the computer) within any acceptable framework (let’s say, generously, a latency of less than 30-40ms).

If you are looking for an ”on the cheap -Freeware” solution that supports the latest ASIO4ALL drivers, I would suggest the Krystal Audio Engine.  I was able to get this freeware solution to work within an acceptable latency “monitoring” configuration with the Snowball ~25-38 ms.  Using Adobe Audition 3.0, I was able to get the direct monitoring latency to less than 20 ms.   Please note that trying to monitor the input of the Snowball Microphone through your computer by using Audacity’s “monitor input” function (or any non ASIO audio software) will result in a dismal delay due to the lack of ASIO driver support with Audacity ~>100 ms.

All the latency issues aside, one of the biggest issues with using the Snowball, and mics like it, is the inability to connect it to a standard mixer (pre-computer input).  But if tis is what you are doing then you wouldn’t have needed a USB mic would you? …Some of the newer USB microphones that are becoming available have direct audio outs built-in to the microphones themselves, solving a number of monitoring issues simply by being included and part of the microphone.  The MAudio producer USB microphone is one of them: 

One final thought about the utility of buying a “single” USB microphone for all of your USB mic needs, is that we don’t have the flexibility to use all of the standard microphones that we’ve come to know and rely upon.  That is, the selection of USB microphones is currently very limited at this time.  A solution that I am going to HIGHLY recommend for any of you looking to buy a USB microphone is to not purchase a USB microphone, but rather purchase a high quality USB mic preamp such as the Centrance MicPortPro. 

The Centrance MicPortPro costs around $150.00 U.S. and offers full 24bit/96kHZ broadcast quality audio output, features 0 latency monitoring (due to the direct output, not unlike the MAudio solution), allows for 48v phantom power usage, and provides volume controls for both the mic input and direct out monitoring - all built into the device!   MOST importantly, it works with any of the microphones that we already own, are comfortable with…and love. 

In the end the choice is yours, the Snowball (or any other USB mic) is a great microphone for what Blue states that it is.   If you are looking for an easy to use, easy setup solution, for podcasts, Skype, or other simple audio solutions, they may very well be a good purchase for you.   BUT…make sure you consider what you are trying to do with the microphones before you go out spending a hundred plus dollars on something that may not be used EXACTLY the way you are thinking about utilizing them! 

         

Other Great Related Articles From Mustech.net!:

• Sound Reinforcement, Live Music and Jazz, Part II: Podcast, E7
• Free Audio Guide PDFs For Music Educators And Theater Performances
• Live Band Monitor Mixes And Sound Reinforcement, Podcast E8
• Podcasting For Newbies: Easy To Use Freeware From WildVoice
• Sound Reinforcement and Jazz: Mustech.net Podcast, E6

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If you’ve been following my articles about the International Music Score Libary Project (IMSLP.org), you’ll be happy to know that I’ve been recently been made aware of another similiar site that looks to be very promising.   MusOpen.com offers a music library of copyright free, public domain music.  MusOpen also offers a service called MusOpen:  Bid  that allows you to bid for them to create an engraving (computer entered) of any public domain, copyright free music.

MusOpen does a great job of allowing people to search through their music by offering search categories that include: Composer, Instrument, Period, and Form.  One of the great unique options with their Free library is the ability to preview and listen to each piece.  Using a great free publishing service called Scribd, users are able to preview, email, download and play any of the music they offer. 

All in all, MusOpen is a great resource that does what it states:

Musopen is an online music library of copyright free music (public domain music). We want to give the world access to music, without the legal hassles so common today. There is a great deal of music that has expired copyrights, but almost no recordings of this music is in the public domain. We aim to record or obtain recordings that have no copyrights so that our visitors may listen, re-use, or in any way enjoy music. Put simply, our mission is to set music free.

Aaronn Dunn, Anthony Holland and Jerry Schirtzinger have done a great job with this site and I am certain that as it grows it will become (continue be) an extremely popular site among musicians and educators alike.  

Visit this site today: http://musopen.com  … also take the time to visit their blog where they give notice of their recent releases.   They recently released The Complete Beethoven Sonatas.

              

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Well it’s official, Justin Muchoney won the Walt Disney World Dream CMO Job Contest!  Congratulations to him and a BIG thanks to all MusTech.Net! readers for helping to vote him into “office”.   Back in early April, I put out the word about him and his “dream job”  in a post titled :Let’s Help Make A Musician And Music Educator The Chief Magic Official Of Disney World, to help him in his campaign.  Now Justin and all of us who voted were/are part of Disney History!

Justin won in a land-slide election.  He had 200,000 votes and the combined total of the next two were 80,000 votes.   To find out more about Justin and The Disney Dream job check this link:
http://www.dreamcmo.com/

Justin and I were classmates at Grove City College and both in the same housing group -Alpha Sigma (A music/arts honorary/ housing group) for our undergraduate work in music education (I was as senior when he was a freshman).   It’s great to see this happen for him.

Here’s hoping for you to have a “magical day”!

                

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I’ve been noticing a number of Auto Blogs, Content Thieves, and SPLOGS stealing my content, word for word, even going as far as stealing my Post Slugs Verbatim!   I am going to begin actively changing a number of ways in which I syndicate this site over the next month to attempt to deal with these outcasts.

I’ve recently installed the “Anti Leech” plugin from Owen Winkler and will be considering a number of other changes to my content, including a specific policy with regard to content usage from MusTech.Net.  It is very hard to stop these sites from “snagging” your content especially if you use a full RSS feed like I do (Yes, I’m even considering turning that back to a partial).  One of the big issues with this kind of vile operation is that legitimate people looking for your content will find it on another’s site and end up getting the benefits from your hard work.

Although it’s relativivley easy for me to find out who is virtually copying my blog information verbatim (I have linkbacks, headers and footers in the RSS feed), it is hard to stop them as many of the sites do not respond to any form of contact whatsoever.   It’s very hard to find the actualy IP addresses of those stealing the content because they are using RSS Scraping bot agents that utilize different IP addresses than those of their sites (Even using Feedburner’s tools and my server’s Access Logs presents a challenge with regard to finding them out!).

I would recommend reading Lorelle’s GREAT article on “What Do You Do WHEN Someone Steals Your Content”as a starter for anyone experiencing this type of illicit activity.  I will also keep you posted as to what steps I’m implementing over the next month or so to thwart these undesirables.

   

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NAME has announced a new initiative that will help support Jazz Education. With the dissolution of the organisation: International Association of Jazz Education, there has bee a huge hole created in the Jazz Education Arena.