Okay, I know the physics says that you can make a brass instrument out of pretty much any resonating tube, but the idea of playing on a piece of PVC pipe just bugs me....  Today I stopped into my local music retailer to pay off a bill and sitting behind the counter was a brilliantly colored yellow trombone.  Walking around the side to get a better look I realized it wasn't just a fancy paint job, it really was made of PLASTIC!  Images of little plastic toy trumpets still wrapped up in a Christmas box breaking in my chubby little hands immediately filled my mind with fear and foreboding.

At the very least the purist in me screamed that there was just no way that an instrument like that could possibly sound good.  At the worst I began to harbor a fear of the coming zombie apocolypse for I had been told that this was one of the possible signs to look for before it started...  

Tales From The Podium

For those of you in the market for putting together a new digital audio workstation (DAW) setup in your home or in a school music lab Avid has changed its lineup of the popular Mbox audio interfaces to include two models that now ship with a free copy of ProTools Express.  The Mbox interface provides four channel recording, two XLR inputs with phantom power, two 1/4" inputs, and two balanced 1/4 inch outputs.  It connects to your computer using a standard USB interface cable.

Tales From The Podium

The growth and popularity of SmartMusic as a music education tool shows that the program definitely has it's benefits.  Until now though most people would assume that it was primarily being used in school settings or in concert with private lessons.  Now it appears that MakeMusic is pushing hard to broaden the appeal of SmartMusic to other musicians as well with the announcement of a newly expanded partnership with Hal Leonard publishing.  SmartMusic has always carried the more popular lesson books and solo material but now they are set to expand to a whole new range of current pop music from big names like Kelly Clarkson, Aerosmith, the Beatles, and dozens more including titles from the Rogers and Hammerstein music library and Disney.  

Tales From The Podium

I love seeing instrumental pieces like this go viral on YouTube.  Take a look at the video below to see violinist Lindsey Sterling playing a dubstep piece called Crystallize she wrote in a frozen wonderland out in Colorado.  When I showed it to my daughter she immediately started begging for me to teach her violin which is of course is in the only instrument family that I totally stink at. Oh well, my wife was a violist so I have already told her that she gets the honor of passing on that tradition. :)

By the way, here is a link to Lindsey's web site if you want more information about her music, but go figure, at the time of this writing her site was down probably from all the traffic as a result of the popularity of this video. You can also see more of her videos and information over on her YouTube channel as well.

Tales From The Podium