Can you "Weed" music?

Music Teacher's office is here

2010-03-22T13:55:00.001-06:00

I have just finished and launched the all new web version of Music Teacher's Office.

It has most of the functionality of the LAN desktop version but eliminates all that as it works though a web browser now. No server to purchase or setup. No network to install. All that is needed is a computer hooked up to the web.

I have used Visual WebGui to create this application. It allows developers to create web applications that mirror the functionality and ease of use that desktop applications enjoy.

It has been over a year in the making so please give it a look at Music Teacher's Office

Announcing - Weed Music Ltd

2008-03-27T07:50:00.002-06:00

My MY! It's been awhile, but I have been busy trying to make a living selling on eBay which is finally getting some traction. But in January eBay changes the rules again. So not being sure what direction eBay will head down or up I thought it wise to cover my bases and create my own e commerce site Weed Music Ltd. This took up the end of January until now to get it live.

It has a nice little shopping cart and an accurate shipping calculator and hooks up to PayPal for payment. I am now working on the stuff that will hopefully get it some traffic and sales.

Drop in and give it a look

Private Music Teacher's Office

2007-10-25T13:40:00.000-06:00

Over the past few weeks I have rebuilt the original Music Teacher's Office for private music teachers and have renamed it Private Music Teacher's Office or Private MTO.

I did this for a number of reasons. One, it was dated and needed an update. Two, it is really the same application as MTOPro but with out features so it will really be like maintaining one set of code rather than two. Three, I have added an advertising scheme to the teaching pages to generate some revenue to keep things going.

All in all I am very happy with the new product as the features now will make it easy for users to go from one MTO to the next.

You can get all the information and download at Music Teacher's Office

Been bad this past week

2007-09-27T12:32:00.000-06:00

I have really neglected this blog over the past week but I have been really busy.
Busy at creating a new website called Giitarparts.com. This is a website that caters to guitar players looking for a guitar nut, saddler and other parts. I have included a part finder database that searches for parts by size. It would be almost impossible to create much less maintain a database of every make and model of guitar on the planet indexed to a particular part so searching by size is the only viable alternative I can see.

Maybe if I had manufactures submit their specs somehow it could be done but I would need some help from someone way smarter than me to figure that one out.

Any way - happy part shopping.

eBay amp pick of the day

2007-09-18T11:12:00.000-06:00

I found a really cool collectors item guitar amp to day.

It is a 1961 Gibson GA-30RV Invader Amp . This listing ends on Sept 23rd and has 10 bids on already. So for those collectors out there this is a really great find.
Have Fun!

Daily Ebay Picks for Mon. Sept. 17th 2007

2007-09-17T11:28:00.000-06:00

A time for Sax.
I have not yet taken a look for alto saxes so this is a good as any. Got on to eBay and discovered that there are a lot of good deals on Yamaha Student Saxes. As a band director the Yamaha sax is great and plays well. It is built well and there are tons of them out there so parts are readily available. Certain models of the Vito Alto sax are the same as the Yamaha YAS23 Alto sax so those are a really good value as they go for a bit less because you are not paying for the Yamaha name. Any way until next time.

eBay instrument picks for Thursday Sept. 13 2007

2007-09-13T13:09:00.000-06:00

Today I found a great clarinet. Being a band director for 13 years we always wanted our 2nd year students to play a wood clarinet. They just sound way better and the lay of the keys always fit the hand a lot better and are easier to play than the plastic jobs. I found this, Selmer Clarinet, Professionally Overhauled item that ends Sunday and will be a great deal for some young player. This is the same model that we purchased many times in the past an is an excellent value especially if it has been overhauled as the seller claims. Now I am not familiar with this seller but he has a good rating and sounds like he is a competent technician. If the pads and cork have been replaced it would be like a new clarinet. The only thing I would ask about if there are any cracks in the body. If not go for it, it's a good piece.

After saying how great this item is for a beginner without experience a plastic one would be just fine.

Here is something you don't see everyday a 1966 Fender Original Buck Owens Telecaster! This would be great for a collector. Check it out.

Here is one last item that I found for a beginning guitar player. NEW EPIPHONE PR-100 WITH GIG BAG. This would give any beginner a great start

eBay Picks Wed. Sept 12th 2007

2007-09-12T11:52:00.001-06:00

Well I have been scanning eBay for some good or interesting deals for you and here is what I have found.

Here is a couple of hot hot hot selling items that any Fender fan would kill for. A Fender Custom Shop 20th Anniversary ZIPPO Lighter and a Jackson Guitar Jenna Jameson Zippo Lighter.

The above two items are from a very trusted seller.

To compliment your new lighter why not drop more than $18,000.00 on a Fender Eddie Van Halen EVH FRANKENSTEIN Replica Guitar. The seller claims they only made 180. I wonder why? Anyway this would be for a collector.

Since school is starting up I know that there are lots of parents looking for good deals on instruments for band so here are a few deals I found on eBay.

a YAMAHA 225NII Silver Nickel Plate Flute Band Instrument. From what I can see this instrument is in excellent condition. The pads, from what I can see of them are almost new. There are no bent rods and the finish looks good, Plus the seller has lots of feedbacks and a 100% rating.

Buying a trombone can be a tricky thing especially a used one. The thin brass of the trombone slide makes it the most delicate instrument in the band room. It is almost impossible to see damage when you have the instrument in your hands much less from a picture. Even the smallest dent in the slide will be noticed only when you go to play it and hamper learning. A way to find those unseen dents is to use a thin soft cloth and then run it up and down the inner and outer slides slowly to find those unseen dents. So since we only have pictures to go by on eBay I will recommend new. So....

I was going to find a good deal on a new trombone but it became apparent that it was really more difficult than expected. I tried eBay, Amazon and finally Musicians Friend before finding an acceptable product that your band director would approve of. Sellers on eBay are spamming the Yamaha name by adding a Yamaha maintenance kit in the title of the listing so there are really no new Yamaha trombones listed. The product on Amazon is just junk so I finally ended up a Musicians Friend and found a Bach TB200 Intermediate Trombone that can be found at Hot Buys - Band and Orchestra. You will have to drill down to Brass then trombones but this is a very solid instrument and will give any student a great start.

I hope that someone makes use of this.

eBay Picks Tuesday Sept. 11 2007

2007-09-11T14:17:00.001-06:00

I spend a lot of time on eBay and other sites and thought I would start adding items that would be of interest to my readers. So here they are:

1. I found a cool Fender Stratocaster collectable guitar. Seller says there were only 100 of these made in 2005. It's worth a look.

2. Being a trumpet player I found the same horn I play a Bach Stradivarius Trumpet but in much better condition that would be a great step up horn for any student or even a pro.

3. As a retailer in the past we sold Vito Yamaha Alto Sax and they are identical to the Yamaha sax. They are even made in the same plant. Here is a good value.

4. And last for todays eBay pick is a Fender Guitar Shirt from a buyer that can be trusted completely!

From time to time I will find some good offers on eBay and let you know about them.

I pick by finding quality items first. I then check the sellers feedback and if it looks good I will recommend. If I know the buyer personally I will add a note saying this seller does it right.

In closing I should add that if you are looking for an instrument and need advice or help finding a good deal let drop me a line.

Renting your instrument, well kinda...

2007-09-06T11:33:00.000-06:00

When we first were starting our rental program we encountered a customer with a really different concept of what renting an instrument was all about.

We rented a guitar to a lady for her son to take lessons with. She paid for the first month's rent and happily went home with the guitar. All was fine for two months as she consistently came in to pay the monthly rental fee. Well, the end of the third month arrives and no payment. I waited a day and then gave her a call to reminder her that her rent was due. She responded, "Well my son has not used it for this past month!" And by her tone I could tell she was serious. Well I almost fell over. I actually had to explain the concept of rentals to her. Even if you don't use the instrument and it is in your possession you are still responsible for the rental fee. She insisted that she should not have to pay the fee. After explaining that because it was in her possession and not mine, and I could not use it either, she would need to return the instrument including the rent. She finally came in paid the rent and returned the instrument so all turned out well.

The experience makes for a great story, so I guess it was worth it.

When to start music lessons.

2007-09-05T11:06:00.000-06:00

When should Sally start music lessons? I have been asked that thousands of times and the answer depends on a number of issues listed below, but not in order of priority.

1. The age of the student in question.

The age of the student depends of what type of lessons are being considered. If you have a 3- 6 year old there are many early childhood music programs available for students that do a great job in preparation for formal private lessons.

For private lessons we recommend the student to have completed grade one. Before that time most kids do not have a sense of abstract concepts. That is having an understanding that the letter"B" is not an insect and that letter and symbols are a representation of something else. As well because kids learn to write in grade one they have developed the small motor skills or finger dexterity needed to get started with musical instruments. Because students can read you can also print assignments and have some hopes that the student can understand them.

Another concern about the starting age. Sometimes parents make the mistake of finding a teacher that is willing to start the student at an age that is too early. This can be a disaster. A student that is not ready to learn music can end up failing. This failure leads him to believe that he is not smart enough and becomes gun shy to music lessons in the future when he is ready. So if in doubt wait till after the student has finished grade one.

A last concern is not so much age but maturity of the student. I have seen sixteen year olds that are not mature enough while some five year olds are ready.

2. The amount of time the parent has or is willing to commit to the child's music lessons.

For parents that have the time and are willing to take the lessons and practice daily with the student the Suzuki programs are an excellent choice for ages 2 and up. But the down side is that the parent must make a commitment to take the lessons and practice with the student. Mainly since the student cannot read at these early ages parents need to be there to monitor and guide the practice sessions. If you have the time great, if you don't its better to wait.

3. The instrument of choice

The instrument the student wishes to learn can also be a factor when deciding when to start lessons. It's best to wait until your local school music program offers band or orchestra classes before starting lessons on wind and string instruments. Since these instruments are solo instruments they really sound better when in a group. Students in these programs also develop a strong bond between themselves and generally progress at a faster rate in these groups. Other instrument groups such as voice, piano, organ and guitar can be started at any time after grade one.

4. Reality Check, or does the parent want the lessons or does the child?

One issue that is critical when starting your child in music lessons is to ask yourself; does my child want the lessons or do I. Parents always want the best for their child and kids most always want to please their parents. This sometimes leads the parent to set the child up with lessons when the child has no interest what so ever, but because the parent wants to have the best for his child the child is forced to take music lessons when its the parent who should really sign up.
Having said that, many great artists as adults say they never regret that their parents forced them to take lessons. So this issue has two sides to it but it is one each parent will have to sort out for themselves.

In closing parents should note that not everyones circumstance is the same and each parent will, ultimately have to decide when to start their child in lessons for themselves. Please use this post as a starting point to help you ask the right questions when you are confronted with putting your child into lessons or not.

General advice to first time instrument buyers.

2007-08-27T13:02:00.000-06:00

I often get asked by first time instrument shoppers, “What should I look for when buying instrument X”. Since I do not have time to discuss all the instruments in this posting I will only address general issues that are relevant no matter what instrument you are looking for.

Early in my band directing career I was told by Dominic Speara that one of the most important things you can know is what you want. I guess that goes for life as well as music. So therein is the problem. First time buyers don’t know what they want. Not only that they do not even know what questions to ask to find out. So I hope these four tips are of some help.

Buy new from a reputable local dealer
How to find a reputable dealer?
Don’t buy the least or most expensive
Think of it as an investment

1. Buy New!

As a first time instrument shopper I strongly recommend going to a reputable local dealer to make your first purchase. I have had many first time buyers ask, “What do I look for so I can buy used”. I do not recommend going this route. Even with years of experience in purchasing used instruments,I have been burned, so it would be almost impossible to teach a first time buyer how to make an informed purchase of a used instrument. So again I recommend go to a local reputable dealer. After you or your child has played the instrument for a number of years then you will know what you want and can make a more informed purchase when looking at used instruments.

Now, having said that there are exceptions to this rule. Back when I was an active band director and we had our beginners going on to the second year we required that they have their own instrument. So I would go to our local dealer and pick out the best from his stock of rental returns. Rental returns are instruments that the music store has rented out for a year or maybe less and some are excellent value but you have to know what your are doing. I would check them out, do a play test and find the ones with the least wear and have him set them aside and even sometimes buy them the sell them back to the students. This saves the students some cash and I was comforted to know my 2^nd year players had adequate instruments to play that would not need to be repaired straight away, baring accidents. So I think you can be safe with this if your band director or teacher make this recommendation. But if you are not in this situation buy new!

2. How to find a reputable dealer

Choosing a music dealer can be difficult and intimidating if you are a first time buyer. Going in to a store where the jargon is as cryptic as a computer store’s can be daunting. Especially if you are new to an area and cannot rely on word of mouth via friends and relatives. So what to do? I would look for a small or mid-size dealer that has an in house repair facility and or a music school. Many smaller local stores got their start as teacher or techs so you know that there is a passion, knowledge and experience present for what the do.

They may not have the lowest prices but the service and knowledge they provide far out way the extra cost especially for a first time purchaser.

As a side note, it is getting much harder for small local dealers these days because of the big chains and the internet shopping available. It’s too bad in a way as we are loosing local expertise if favor of cheap prices. I was visiting with a dealer in the state of Washington a few years ago and he was saying he no longer carries higher end wind instruments as customers would come into the store spend an afternoon play testing a number of instruments and then leave to buy it on the internet.

3. Don’t buy the least or most expensive

When it comes time to decide how much to spend I like to make the analogy of shopping for a car for someone to learn to drive. You don’t want to buy the cheapest used car on the lot that has bald tires and bad brakes that could be a danger to the beginning driver not to mention to society.

As well you don’t want the most expensive Ferrari for a beginning driver. It’s a bad investment to put a beginning driver in an expensive high powered car as they would really not have the skill to handle a machine of this quality and it would also be a danger to a beginning driver and the rest of us.

Well, it’s the same with instruments. You want to make it as easy as possible for the student to learn. If you have an instrument that the action is poor, or cannot be tuned and is difficult to play even for a professional, what often happens is the student believes it’s his fault that he is having a hard time catching on when really it’s just the instrument’s condition making it more difficult than it has to be. So don’t always buy the cheapest one, buy the model that is the next step up the ladder in quality.

I should qualify this a bit as nowadays the quality of instruments no matter what instrument you are looking for have gotten better every year. The CEO of Roland was once quoted as saying, “If the auto industry had kept up with the music industry we would be driving cars that got 150 miles to the gallon and cost $7,500.00”. I think you should be ok with going to a reputable dealer and asking for a good quality student line instrument and getting straight advice. You may pay a bit more initially but it is usually a much better investment.

Buying the most expensive instrument is also not necessary but luckily not as dangerous as buying a Ferrari. In general more expensive instruments play better but in ways that beginners would unlikely be able to notice or appreciate anyway so the extra expense is a waste. Besides most name brand student line instruments are specifically designed for beginners and are of high quality.

One of the most important things to understand is that a quality instrument can usually be repaired from most accidents barring being dropped off a high rise, lesser quality instruments often cannot. Often time replacement parts are not available or the materials of the instrument are of poor quality taking more time and expense to repair. In my band director days I can remember hating the kids that bought their flute from Sears or an uncle. It never failed that I would spend a lot of time trying to make the instrument work properly over and over as it would never really stay adjusted properly. It was a huge waste of my time, the student’s time and the rest of the band’s time. Experience tells me that in a lot of cases the less expensive instrument ends up actually costing more after you add in the repair bill.

Salesmen need to be questioned as well. A salesman that smells a “newbie” with money will often offer poor advice to make a sale, even reputable ones. At a trade fair I once observed a father and a mother approach a local piano dealer and ask, “What was the best piano for their 6 yr old to start learning on”. He took them directly to the biggest grand piano he had at the trade fair, sat their 6 year old at the piano and proceeded to sell them on its features. This is a powerful sales technique that is used lots. If you can get the customer to see it they own it. Now a grand piano is not necessary for a 6 year old to receive a quality music education. First the child could not even touch the pedals and was very intimidated by its large size. Second, the superior qualities would go unnoticed by the child and his family. In fact, it can be argued that for educational purposes and getting kids involved with music, the newer digital instruments come with a lot more teaching aids than a traditional grand piano for a beginning player. So beware of salesmen.

4. Think of it as an investment

A good way to look at the cost of an instrument is as an investment. When adding the cost of music lessons in to the equation it turns out that the cost of the instrument is cheapest part of the whole deal. If you go cheap on an instrument that holds the student from getting the most out of the lessons you are really wasting the lesson money as well. It’s far better to spend a bit more on the instrument so your investment in the lessons has a better chance of paying off.

I will be adding more detailed post on what to look for in specific instrument in future posts.

Ok what this blog all about?

2007-08-26T09:50:00.000-06:00

The first post of any blog is always the most difficult until you get to the next post. But I will attempt to explain the purpose of and for this blog.

As a band director in the school system for thirteen years before operating a music school and music retail operation for the past 15 years I hold a fairly unique perspective in my field having had a vested interest in both education and music retail business. Over the years I have acquired considerable knowledge and experience that could be of help to consumers making choices of instruments, music, and teachers. Also, I have a large amount of how to stored away in the "old gray matter" that I will be spewing forth in this blog.

The questions I will be addressing will be those I have been asked hundreds of times by students, parents and consumers.

I can't count the times I have been asked, "what do you look for in a good guitar?" Well there are many correct answers to this question depending on which hat I am wearing at the time. If you are in my store the answer is, "any guitar displayed in my store". If you are my student the answer could be the same if I have a retail store, but if not, the answer would include a detailed explanation of what I felt would be the features of a guitar that would be best suited to that particular student. So what does that matter? Because of my past experience I can give you an honest answer from both perspectives.

I will also be making recommendations on where and how to shop. Point out some great deals I have come across from time to time as well as trying to answer questions from readers. So don't be shy to ask me a question, as long as it relative to this blog. To answer questions I will be setting up a forum hosted by one of my sites for these questions and I will link to the good questions and answers from this blog and visa versa.

'Till Next Time...