The Importance of Using a Tuner: Finding Your Perfect Pitch
Music is a beautiful language, but like any language, it relies on clear communication. Just like people speaking the same language can do so with different accents to their voice so too can musicians play the same note but with slight changes in the way it sounds. The pitch may be a bit high or a bit low, and over the centuries musicians have come up with ways to analyze these differences so that multiple musicians can better "play in tune." Just as proper grammar and pronunciation are essential for understanding spoken words, playing in tune is paramount for creating harmonious music. This is where the tuner comes in. For the beginner (or even the more advanced musician) it can be a vital tool for developing accuracy of pitch.
Scroll down to view the comparison chart of over a dozen different portable digital audio recorders.
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! 
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.
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. 
I love seeing instrumental pieces like this go viral on YouTube. Take a look at the video below to see 
A few weeks ago I did a post on some Brits at Noise Solutions that are doing some interesting work using the Microsoft Kinect bar together with PC software to allow people to create music using nothing more than body movements. The computer is running software made by a guy by the name of Chris Vik from Melbourne, Australia and he has some of his stuff up for view at 
On Friday, February 17th during a live webcast the annual 
I want to thank the guys over at the 
Thanks to a Twitter post from @SmartMusic I have found a neat little online rhythm generator that can easily be used to provide background accompaniments when having students practice scales and other exercises. Having the background beat going really does help younger students keep focused and steady, plus it makes even simple sounding exercises a lot more impressive to the ear. Best of all it's free and fairly easy to use. 
It's been well over a year since I last did a real round up of the current crop of 
Looks like the 
