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Piracy Czar? Are you kidding me? I thought we already had one of those…
According to the 2008 press release archive on the RIAA.org site, the following universities have been targeted for pre-litigation settlement letters.
January 10th: (18 universities)
Arizona State University (33 pre-litigation settlement letters), Bowdoin College (11), California State University, Monterey Bay (25), College of William and Mary (15), Duke University (16), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (19), Mount Holyoke College (15), Rhode Island College (22), Saint Mary’s College of Minnesota (13), Stanford University (15), Texas Christian University (14), University of California, Berkeley (26), University of California, Los Angeles (26), University of Connecticut (25), University of Iowa (24), University of Nebraska-Lincoln (22), University of Texas at Austin (50), and Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University (36).
February 21st: (12 universities)
Boston University (35 pre-litigation settlement letters), Columbia University (50), Drexel University (33), Indiana University (40), North Carolina State University (35), Ohio State University (30), Purdue University (28), Tufts University (20), University of Maine System (32), University of New Hampshire (32), University of Southern California (50), and the University of Virginia (16).
On May 6th, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the PRO-IP Act which strengthens laws against illegal downloading, allows for seizure of property involved in the commission of said crime and gives new enforcement measures to investigators. Billboard.biz quoted David Israelite of the Nat’l Music Publishers Assn:
“This bill will go a long way towards making sure law enforcement agencies have what they need to get the job done,”
According to Mark Hefflinger of DMW Daily, the bill also-
The bill, which passed unanimously in the House Judiciary Committee last week, would also establish a White House-level piracy czar — dubbed the Intellectual Property Enforcement Representative — to coordinate law enforcement activities. (emphasis mine)
David Utter at Webpronews succinctly summed up the situation last year when the act was first getting off the ground:
More bureaucracy, another well-connected insider getting a sweet gig to graze at the taxpayer trough (we’re betting whoever gets the new IP Enforcement Representative job will have a big media background), and absolutely no impact on foreign counterfeiting whatsoever appear to be the salient points of PRO IP.
But Heaven help the first college kid busted under PRO IP for MP3 trading. It’s going to be brutal.
Folks, this is a strong piece of legislation that kicks the Intellectual Property Rights game up a notch; –it’s not just national in scope, it defines an international effort to set up rights and enforcement measures. I predict that given the success the music industry has seen so far, within a year we’ll see an astronomical increase in pre-litigation settlement letter mail-outs. And those won’t just be going to college campuses.
Finals start tomorrow and the last possible turn-in date is Tuesday, May 6th at 4 PM.
Don’t risk it! Email is an unreliable choice to turn in final projects. Burn film projects to DVD and make a copy for me. Audio projects can remain on the audio drives in studio A and B. Make copies for yourself if you want it in your portfolio later. If circumstances beyond your control prevent you from making the deadline, go see the department chair and get an OK for an incomplete grade. Then leave me a voice mail or put a note in my mailbox.
In other news, the Branson newspaper is featuring Mr. Pribek in a series of articles. It’s a good read and you can listen to my Pribek CD in my office.
Jack’s blog is here:
For those of you who have Protools, there are two good articles on inexpensive plugins on the Protooler blog. Read “Mixing on a Budget - part I” and “Mixing on a Budget -part II”.
Friday is officially “No Pants Day”; I will not be participating at school and if you’re my student, I urge you not to participate either. (via Listenerd)
Jonathan Coulton has posted a 20 minute Flip video (condensed) of his trip to Seattle and Portland for gigs w/ Paul and Storm. It’s wacky and a fairly entertaining way to waste 20 minutes when you should be studying.
You can read about Marilyn Manson’s sex change on Industrial Addiction (or not).
Metal Martyr hopes you think twice before you get a tattoo (check out the link to badtattoos.com).
Sheplaysmusic lists the Top 10 Bad Girls of Music.
The coolest place in the whole world to intern is still looking for interns. Why doesn’t anyone want to learn a trade anymore?
Finally, juried exams start tomorrow; –if you haven’t already spoken with me about accompanying your jury, then you are too late. It’s not that I can’t do it. It’s better that you learned a lesson about planning ahead.
Peace, folks. Good luck on exams!
-J
Yesterday she arrived 10 minutes before time to start playing. Her name was Joyce and she was a “hotshot” soprano from a cathedral in Virginia. Usually she sent music well in advance, but today she just showed up and wanted to sing. I bumped the communion hymn off the hymnboard to make room for her solo and she handed me the copied pages of music; –music I had not seen before. I had only 5 minutes to prepare to sightread this piece. What did I do?
1. With pen in hand, I examined the page to make sure the notes were there. Soloists are infamous for only paying attention to their part and trimming the lower clef off the other parts.
2. I made sure everything was legible and dark. I will write letter names for notes more than 3 ledger lines above or below the staff. Copies made too dark or light can spell trouble when sightreading.
3. I examined the solo for 1st & 2nd endings, Da Capo al Fine, and Coda marks and highlighted these with attention-getting symbols of my own design (I favor frowny faces).
4. I looked for courtesy accidentals. Upon finding none, I inserted my own. Many publishers use courtesy accidentals to help you realize that the preceding accidental has been cancelled. The more accidentals a piece has, the more brainpower it requires. Once there was an old TV game show called “Concentration” where contestants had to keep remembering where the pieces were. If you don’t appreciate key signatures, go pick up a copy of some Paul Creston. I’m sure Creston was smart enough to use key signatures; –the problem was that he modulated so much he figured he didn’t need them. Most of the time he probably didn’t know what key he was in!
OK, enough of the accidentals rant. It’s important to know when accidentals are there and when they are cancelled. Do what you have to do.
5. I decide tempo and sing (”audiate” i.e. hear in my head) through the most complicated part of the soprano line. She may be the soloist today, but I’m driving the parade; –I’ll set the tempo and we can argue about it later.
6. Finally, I study the most important notes in the bass (i.e. reduction or Schenkerian analysis, for you music theory buffs out there). If the right hand should get lost in a sea of accidentals, I’ll jettison its part and will momentarily become a one-handed bass player.
The important things I keep in mind are: keep the steady beat (unless it’s colla voce), drive the music defensively (i.e., –act like the soprano drops a beat out of every 3rd or 4th measure and you’ll win a million dollars if you jump in the music with her) and don’t lose your cool.
Salvation is only a half-step away.
There you have it: my 5 minutes of prep. The performance was fine, btw, and Joyce said ”it’s so nice to work with a real accompanist that’s always ready to go” as she ambled off in search of food. Thanks, Joyce.
Whether you’re preparing for a studio session or live show, there are some interesting rituals that take place.
If possible, I also remove my wallet, checkbook, keys and spare change (when I have any) and hide them away in a safe spot. Sometimes there are no safe spots. Oh well.
If you have a moment, why not share one?
Thanks,
J
To My College Students–
Want to spend a couple of weeks in Los Angeles networking with the stars and Recording Academy members? How about if you were paid to be there? I guess I should also mention that you have to help take care of a bunch of high school age American Idol wannabes, but that’s merely a slight inconvenience; –what a great opportunity! If you’re not doing anything worthwhile this summer, please take a moment and consider this opportunity (but hurry; –I’m sure that once the word gets out, lots of folks will apply).
More general info on the camp available here:
Counselor application is here:
Website is here:
Today and tomorrow I’m presenting a ProTools clinic at the Southeastern Music Industry Showcase at Troy University. If you’re a music industry major and haven’t met me yet, this is your chance to get low-effort extra credit prior to taking a Fall class with me. Simply walk up and introduce yourself and say “I’d like the extra credit”.
One of these days, (when they let me be in charge again) I’d like to ask Jack Pribek to play a show here and tell some industry stories. There’s nothing better than music industry stories…
Well, maybe good impressions would come close. One of the clinicians here can do a Stevie Nicks impression that will make you slap your momma. It’s that good. Seriously.
My college students dared me to post this video to share our pain with the world. I hope you won’t watch it because it will eat 24 precious seconds of your life and you will have seen nothing. The video details what it’s like to sit in a theater for 3 1/2 hours waiting on the technical requirements (lighting, sound, etc…) to get ironed out. It’s absolutely mind-numbing. Last night we managed to stumble through 2 scenes w/ music and lights. And I get to do it again tonight.
These past few days I’ve been interviewing the top candidates for a music teaching position in my department. All of these folks had great musical training, fantastic ability, a penchant for research, a strong desire to teach and advance the profession.
All are highly qualified. They all want to work here. How do I decide who gets the job?
Here are my selection criteria:
Who do I want to work with?
Who seemed to be having the best time while they were here?
Who seems best able to “put on a happy face” even if we’re out of coffee in the office or the students don’t show up for their lessons?
These qualities weren’t learned in a graduate school classroom and they don’t appear on the job description, but they are closing doors for some and opening one for another.
So don’t forget to smile and share a kind word or two. Be at ease and encourage others to feel the same. It makes a difference in the classroom and beyond.
That’s the news for today.
Well, it’s almost time to pack; –Monday a few dozen of my students and I will embark on a 2 day trip to Nashville to tour some studios and the Hall of Fame, attend a music showcase, and visit with the BMI and NARAS people. And stare at the statue of naked people on Music Row.
When Nashville went looking for a statue that symbolized their rich musical heritage, apparently the majority agreed that a bunch of naked dancing people summed it all up. Am I the only one scratching my head about this choice? And to think that they placed it in the center of a traffic roundabout (whose bright idea was this?)…I guess it’s there to slow down the traffic.
Here’s a few more places on the itinerary:
RCA Studio B - “Home of a Thousand Hits”
Oceanway Studio, another famous space created from an old church:
and Kristen Cothron’s industry showcase concert at the Rutledge.
She’s hoping the right people come and hear her show and “make her a big star.” Of course, not all musicians think that Nashville is on their side. In 1998, a very angry singer placed this ad in Billboard magazine to let the Nashville industry people know just how much he appreciated their support. Geez, Johnny, I didn’t know ya had it in ya!
So that’s the week to come; hope I can squeeze in a post or two before the bus leaves.
Peace, Ya’ll…
J
Ever take on too many projects? I have!
Tonight marks the completion of one of too many commitments I’ve made this semester: –eighteen waltzes played while another pianist is elbowing me in the left side and trying to play the same C4 octave notes I’m playing. Not only do we have to coordinate our moves, we’re supposed to be watching the choral conductor for tempi and releases.
I am one of 2 pianists playing the Brahms Liebeslieder Waltzes for the big choir on the Spring Choral Concert at my university. Can I continue to rant about this piece?
Now a pianist is used to sitting in the middle of the keyboard so that all that muscle memory can be called into play. With 1 piano-4 hands, I am seated about 2 feet to the right of center. It’s like trying to drive a car from the passenger seat. I guess this was one of those “fads” like the hula hoop and poodle skirts…
Anyway, that’s my excuse; I’ve been tied up in rehearsals. Sorry!
Now it’s your turn.
What fads have you encountered that happened on your respective instrument?
Leave a comment and share it with me…
First Tracks is having a songwriting competition and I think you should enter something.
You have to hurry; the contest closes on Feb. 27th, 2008. Here are the basic rules:
1. Must be U.S. Resident.
2. May be individual or band (up to 4 members).
3. All songs must be entirely original and the recording less than 1 year old.
What do I win? Well…you get a choice of $20,000 cash or an EP commercially recorded, produced and distributed by Decca Records.
Who are the judges? You are! Just like American Idol…sort of. There are 3 rounds of online public voting, then a 4th round where the Decca brass and A&R folks get a vote (they’re actually voting in round #3; the public has the final vote!).
Interested? Go here.
10 Bloopers that made it on the final album. Priceless.
Check it out here:
See, guys; –the good of the whole outweighs the problems. We don’t have to be perfect (but it helps).
If you thought this was entertaining, then try:
All Linkin Park songs look alike. Classic!
Thanks and credits to www.hometracked.com for assembling these!
It’s been a crazy week; can anyone tell? But I found some great things to share!
Indy Mogul - the perfect site for anyone interested in starting out in filmmaking or animation using no-nonsense (and low budget) tricks and tips. These guys are serious; they just got back from Sundance Film Festival and video blogged a bunch of it! They also have video tips for how to do special effects(like ripping the beating heart out of a victim “a la Indiana Jones & Temple of Doom”). I’m sure you can use that soon… (Thanks Audiogeek Zine)
Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) may soon have to police your downloading habits. This is due to increased pressure from content owners to control illegal downloading. If only the RIAA had thought of this sooner… (Thanks, Future of Music Blog). In the meantime, the European Courts say that ISPs don’t have to disclose file sharers (via Hypebot); so if you can’t catch the birds, chop down the tree?
Marc Cohen’s Ad-supported Music Central reacts to the Qtrax fiasco. Good one, Marc!
Andrew Dubber discusses the boundaries of the new music industry (or lack thereof). (New Music Strategies).
Guitar Flame shares a video from what has to be the world’s youngest fingerstyle guitar player. Nice one.
ProMedia reminds us how to use the Xpand! plug-in as a metronome in Pro Tools.
Protooler reviews a free online sound source (did someone say “Free?”) for film, radio and tv sfx.
Wire-to-the-Ear makes me feel 100 years old as he shows y’all how we used to do things.
Didn’t find anything interesting, yet? Then check out my wife’s latest zombie video review…
Earfarm posted this vocal outtake here of David Lee Roth singing “Running with the Devil” . It’s pretty amusing without the music!
If you liked that, you might also enjoy this outtake here of Smashmouth’s” Days like These”.
Undiscovered footage of Phil Collins recording the drum track for “In the Air Tonight” (flash required)? No it’s a commercial, silly.
I’m not a sports fan, and I really rolled my eyes when I discovered that Chunklet had this country ditty labled as “Worst Song” here; Being an Auburn grad. myself, I’d quickly add that this doesn’t seem to be an officially produced song about Auburn University(at least I sure hope it’s not!!).
Creative loafing has an article about the songwriter who’s started the UGA music business program.
Simon Napier-Bell reflects on the great injustices of the major record labels. (Thanks Media Futurist)
The Listenerd share a cool interactive music video, “Black Mirror” that allows you to mute the multitrack audio (1 = vocals, 2 - drums, 3 - pad, etc…).
Protooler noticed this Strum-Acoustics release: a virtual acoustic guitar plugin with performance-enhancing voicing/strum algorithms to make any hack keyboard player sound just like a real acoustic guitar player.
How much of the mediocre stuff in your life have you let yourself believe is great?
Seth Godin talks about breaking bad habits: (video link).
Wire to the Ear reminds us that it’s better to start tracking softly to avoid the big “D“.(article is tagged Ableton Live, but applies to Pro Tools, too!)
Make it a good day!
-J
This month’s tech tip from Musician’s Friend is really appropriate, even if you’re not ready to head to rehab: –Craig Anderton gives us a great sequence that really boils everything down into the steps we should be doing. A great read.
These light+loudspeaker combos are really aesthetically appealing, but they’re probably not suited for the average nightclub environment. Imagine the fireworks when you add a few of these to a room full of drunks and a few pitchers of beer spilled on the floor…. (credits to emusician Xtra).
I know how annoying it is to surf over to a potentially wonderful site and find that you have to surrender your email address to register to use it. Such is the case for Rode University; the education/marketing effort touted at NAMM by Australia’s #1 microphone maker (thanks Protooler & Harmony Central). Inside you’ll find 25 well-made videos covering every application for 11 Rode microphone models. If you’re just getting into recording, it’s a great place to start.
Van Canto = Hero-metal a cappella (not counting the drummer)!
Power chords are interval distances taken from a triad (the backbone of tonal music); –i.e. the root and the fifth. I always think of bagpipes when I think of power chords, although the highland bagpipe’s drones are tuned to octave A’s, not a perfect fifth (octaves and perfect fifths are a specific musical distance apart).
There’s true energy in the interval; energy enough to hear and judge the temper of the intervals (temper = how equal the step sizes are). The piano tuner I apprenticed with during my college years taught me to tune a tempered octave by equalizing the beating you can hear between a P4 and P5(perfect 4th and perfect 5th). It’s quite easy to hear if the P4 beats are much slower or faster than the p5 (but you should mute 2 of the 3 string of a piano’s notes before trying this, else you could get too much interference to tell if motion is present).
So what’s this got to do with choirs? Hang on–…I’m getting to that.
Plainsong was originally sung in unison, but by the middle of the 9th century, music historians tell us that it was common for people to sing songs in parallel P4ths, P5ths, and P8ths. Power Chord harmony!
It wasn’t until the 1300s that folks got tired of power chords and started to phase it out.
Imagine that! Folks in the Dark Ages got tired of power chords…funny stuff!
Actually, power chords in vocal music never really died. And this style of voicing is re-emerging and becoming fashionable.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1704683,00.html
(thanks ypulse via Listenerd)
And there’s a new movie,too (which I just ordered for my classes.).
You can check it out here:
Power chords for choirs.
Rock on!
As we move closer to the end of the year and take a breather from all the holiday bustle, I’d just like to take a moment and say thank you for coming here and reading my teaching blog. This has been an open diary and forum to reflect on what’s happening; –mainly in the music industry side of things. I’ve pondered opening a music theory “House of Pancakes” blog to deal with the first year theory curriculum (the most important of all things!)….but I barely have time during the day to reflect upon the music industry side. I would encourage my colleagues to try this education blogging; –it opens lines of communication and expands my classroom and my thinking. That can be a really good thing when you’re a stuffy old college professor who’s over twice the age of his students. Some old geezer who wears a tie most days and needs to clean up his office; –that’s me.
In other news, I recorded with the Digidesign tape saturation plugin. I stuck it on a master fader track and would have to say that my first impression is that I like it, but I need more time to really figure out what it can do. It’s an expensive plug-in but Santa was pretty good this year.
Posting has been and will continue to be light this week as I’ve been doing a lot of traveling and holiday chores w/ family.
And thanks again for reading. I really appreciate it!
If you’d like to read a post about gratitude with grace, I’d recommend Louis Schmier’s holiday post.
Peace.
J
So here comes the busiest week of the year; my apologies for the light posting! Digidesign still hasn’t fixed the 101 Exam administration problem, so I’ve had to scramble to provide another grading opportunity for Audio principles I folks. Now comes 50+ students who need to rehearse with me before juries! And I have to play the Troy Arts Council concert tonight after spending last night fixing their sound system woes in the Crosby Theatre… it’s good to be needed.
**Update** - the ProTools 101 test server issue has been resolved!
Frank Zappa plays “Blues In A”
Look carefully at the signal path in this picture: do you know what is getting ‘verb? What tracks end up with the T-Racks EQ? An important part of learning to work within the box is the ability to visualize signal flow. To my students; –10 Extra Credit points added to a bad test grade if you will take the time to illustrate the signal path via a flowchart and put it in my mailbox before Nov. 9th.
Click on the picture to zoom in.
An interesting article that goes with the picture can be found at the ProMedia blog. Thanks guys!
If you haven’t seen “A Vision of Students Today”, it’s a thought-provoking slap in the face that needs to be watched by many of my colleagues in higher ed. I’ve seen a lot of “teaching” (i.e. full-frontal “read my notes” assault) that is more mind-numbing than provocative and know the complaint. I wish universities cared more about the classroom environment than grants and publications. Here’s the vid if you haven’t seen it:
“It’s not unusual to be loved by anyone…”
Tom Jones wins the local Guitar Centar Drum-off!
Way to go, Tom!
Good Luck in Nashville
at the District Competition!
Today we did Ex. 1P from the old Pro Tools curriculum. I’ve included a sample, in case anyone wants a chuckle or two.
Download New dialog by AB
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