*splat*

[ewt]

All the tired.

PSP planning class was a bit ARGH. We have to do a bit project in our fourht year, and this year we have to plan it and do the proposal. And I want to do a website where music will be available in various formats - mp3 files and pdfs of sheet music for free, but also people can buy CDs or printed sheet music (on nice paper etc.) for Real Munny (ie paypal) and the composers/performers/myself will get a cut.

Nobody seems to understand that I don't want to have anything on the site that can't be listened to or looked at online for free. Really, I don't. Music should be free. And I think for many starting-out composers, the difficulty is in getting their stuff performed. I'm thinking of Creative Commons licensing as a good framework; stuff is available for re-use or whatever but only if cited and perhaps not for commercial purposes. I also want people to be able to make up their own CD for purchase with different tracks from different artists and so on; yes, this will be a slight PITA, but those CDs will cost a little more and I think the idea of being able to make mix-CDs online is kindof neat.

So far the grown-ups all say, "Oh, you mean do like iTunes and have some tracks available free but make them pay to download the whole album?" NO that is not what I mean, I mean everything on the site is available free in at least one format. And of course, they don't think it will work.

They're telling that to someone who made her living for over a year busking in Tube stations. Nobody is obligated to give me money when I busk, and I prefer it that way. Okay, I get annoyed when people decide to take photos without asking, or decide they want to talk for ages without giving me any money, but on the whole it works - I play, people give me money. The number of people who are willing to show their support is enough that it works. And I've had external gigs and stuff from busking, as well, and the same would apply to the website - composers might get additional commissions, bands might get gigs, and so on as a result of their exposure. Exposure is the thing.

We don't currently have a framework and platform, that I know of, for this sort of thing online. I'd like to make one.

Anyway I got put with another horn player who wants to commission lots of new horn music, have a CD made and put on a launch concert. The idea is that we could have that stuff on the website right away, and advertise the website at the concert, and stuff. Due date is spring 2008, due date for proposal is May 2007 but I'd really like to get moving on this soon because composition takes time, rehearsal takes time, recording takes time... the website will require some programming. I may end up trying to use Lilypond after all, because publishing things with Sibelius may offend my dignity a bit too much, but I'll see. If I do that I'll do the bulk of the work next summer I think.

I think it could work, but I know from the outset I'm going to have trouble with the 'music should be free' part of things. If you have an idea of how I should approach this, let me know. In future I'll probalby stick this on the [academic] filter but today I want opinions from the lot of yas. (And if you want on the academic filter please say!)

Then improvisation class, which was not everything I'd hoped but should be decent at least.

Then horn class, which was good but I'm wearing earplugs next time, ten of us in a room that size and I'm not doing so well now eep and my ears are sore. Also it was very, VERY orchestral-based.

Comments

[fjm.livejournal.com]

Talk to Cory Doctorow over at Boing Boing dot net and also take a look at Baen Books. autopope has lots of ideas.

[ewtikins.livejournal.com]

Many thanks.

[hairyears.livejournal.com]

Also, Miriam Rainsford (Miriam Clinton, now).

I'll see if I've still got a working email address for Irixx.

[weatherpixie.livejournal.com]

One problem you can run into is bandwidth issues if the site you build becomes popular, and you get people downloading huge amounts of mp3s. You might be able to be self financing (or even make a little money) with something like Google Ads tho.

[ewtikins.livejournal.com]

*nog*

Might have to look at daily download limits or something (don't really want to do this though). Considering Google Ads and other forms of relatively unobtrusive advertising; also considering corporate sponsorship (we'll probably need this for the launch concert anyway to get some really fantastic horn players in to do solos) to get started.

I don't know enough geekery-pokery to know how much can be solved with lots of mirror sites.

[ewtikins.livejournal.com]

But then it isn't free, is it?

Forums are certainly something to think about, though.

[bob]

setting them up as torrents might be an idea. escpially for the larger ones.

also amazon S3 might make sense for hosting them.

[horngirl.livejournal.com]

What sort of stuff did you do in horn class? And ten people?! Seems like luxury - we have two (three if you count the lecturer).

[ewtikins.livejournal.com]

We did some scales, slowly; Mike Murray (who was taking the class this week) had a lot to say about the key to practising scales being to do them very very slowly until it is impossible to get them wrong - if there are mistakes you're going too fast - and only then make them as fast as they need to be for whatever exam thing.

Then we did some orchestral stuff. Excerpts from Smetana, then Der Freischutz overture, then Mahler 3 (which we didn't get all the way through, of course). The first two we did in two groups of five because it just would have been too many people otherwise, on four parts.

Lots of stuff about listening and following and leading and tuning and so on, which I've been doing for years but it's always good to hear again, and which I wish some of my colleagues at Trinity (not naming names here) would do more consistently.

I think the horn classes will be a good thing, on the whole, but I hope they aren't all so orchestrally-oriented. I don't actually want to be an orchestral player for a living, if I can help it.

[horngirl.livejournal.com]

It's interesting how different people teach - we get the advice that we should play things faster than we can manage, rather than really slowly (although there is still a place for doing things slow. Not when it comes to scales though).

[ewtikins.livejournal.com]

Interesting. What's the justification for this?

[horngirl.livejournal.com]

Um, to be honest, I'm not sure. I think my teacher has an ethic something along the lines of "just play." Of course, he's talented enough and smart enough to be able to sightread hard stuff pretty flawlessly. I'm still working on it.

The "just play" thing can be good though. It's more or less why I don't start the day with a warm up anymore, and I don't feel like I'm missing out.

[ewtikins.livejournal.com]

I can see the logic of that after a point, because it's so easy to get caught up in the mindfuck of worrying about technique...

but for me and for many I know, part of not getting caught up in the mindfuck is adequate technical preparation. It stops being a mindfuck when I know I can do it consistently. While playing something faster than I think I can helps me sometimes, if I'm having serious trouble I always benefit from slowing right down. YMMV, of course.

I've always been pretty hit-and-miss with warmups. I find them most important if I'm not doing a lot of playing, just because if I do a good warmup I know I'm not going to get worse, whereas too many days in a row without playing will definitely cause trouble.

[horngirl.livejournal.com]

I can see your point as well. I find that if I'm working at something technically tricky, then I'll slow it right down to nut out the problem, and then speed it up to quite a bit faster than required so when I do play it at the correct speed, it seems easy.

My teacher's rationale for no warm-ups is that you should be prepared to PLAY from the moment you pick up the instrument. If you always spend X amount of time at the start of the day preparing to play, then you might find yourself in danger of forever preparing. I don't know, but it sort of makes sense to me.

[mirrorshard.livejournal.com]

What might be worth a try is getting them to think in terms of charging for convenience or for improved quality, rather than charging for the music.

Less "I produce and sell a product" than "I have this thing, people like it and a lot of them find it a good excuse to give me money, and I can hang other services on it which they will cheerfully pay for".

[midnightmelody.livejournal.com]

I'd like to talk to you about the 'free' thing when I get a chance, 'cause it's something that I've had lots of debates about in education, and it would be good (from my selfish point of view) to mind-meld on it.

Um, this requires not being in Slough. Or possibly I will e-mail you.

[ewtikins.livejournal.com]

E-mail good!

Are you coming to hairyears' birthday party (http://hairyears.livejournal.com/87543.html)?

[qadira.livejournal.com]

It might be easier to explain to rocks, heh.

You could put it on paper and hand it to the people you're trying to explain the concept to:

Music site-
*all tracks available for FREE download in mp3 format
*physical CD available for purchase for "x" price
*customized CD available for purchase for "y" price
*donations accepted "click button"

Maybe that would help? good luck.

I think the idea sounds great :)

[ewtikins.livejournal.com]

http://www.teaparty.net/