Trashy Pearls | My Music Blog

Archive for August, 2009

Many of today’s young music lovers may not even know what sheet music is, and that’s a shame because band music is still one of the most beautiful forms of art available to us. And many of the ones that do know what concert band music or band music is, think that it is some magical pieces of writing that can only be read by accomplished musicians. Nothing further from the truth, sheet music is just a form of transcribing music using musical notes.

First, it was transcribed on parchments, later on paper, and recently by employing the use of computers and computer programs, it is finding its way to those interested in the form of .pdf files. The meaning of the term sheet in sheet music, is so that we can differentiate between this type of writings and standard writings which are considered to be presentations.

Sheet music is also referred to as score. Band music scores or sheet music scores have a wide variety of uses. The most basic definition of sheet music pieces are simply a form of helping musicians to reproduce a specific tune with the greatest accuracy possible, or just a way of recording in writing a tune using musical notes. It is not, as many may think, a way of replacing the performance of a tune.

Some consider these sheet music scores to be a genuine hand from God, as music lovers are able to study various sketches of great works of art, thus having the possibility to follow the creative process that some of the greatest music composers have gone through. And by making such sketches public, musicians can also get feedback from their audience, before putting their final touch on a tune.

Reading these sheet music pieces, requires people to become acquainted with a technique called musical notation. Some of us just can’t do it, while others are gifted with an innate ability to virtually read and record music as they hear it, thus creating sheet music pieces in their mind. This is the initial definition for the expression “to play by ear”. Like any special abilities, they are rare, only few people being able to do this.

Concert band music normally employs the use of music sheets for playing vast tunes. Because a difficult tune has a lot of information, normal people can’t possibly remember all the notes to a tee. They are not only used by classical concert bands, but also by piano players, and even jazz orchestras. However, jazz orchestras only use sheet music pieces that are general, thus leaving space for improvisation.

Right now Panic At The Disco is one of the most influential and original bands on the world music stage. The Panic At The Disco sound is unique and virtually unmistakable with everything from the winding rhythm to the fast and full lyrics blending together to create a sound you can’t help but get sucked into.

Their touring and recently released debut album has given this band a pretty decent fan base. The Panic At The Disco album is consistently full of fast paced and hard hitting music that sounds like no one else’s and is always true to their original selves. As any fan will tell you, these guys just won’t disappoint.

Besides the amazing instrumentations that forms their music there is something more that makes this alternative rock group standout. This something is their words. Panic At The Disco lyrics are easily distinguished from anyone else’s because of their rich descriptiveness and their hard hitting style. Panic At The Disco lyrics are written into a catchy and captivating meter that makes you want to absorb every word. And their lyrics are almost always sung out with a not so subtle hint of malice.

Completing their often imitated style are there collection of short films. Panic At The Disco videos are so highly stylized that they are almost impossible to put into words. Their music videos capture the essence of their songs better than most and the blatant and in-your-face imagery compliments their lyrical style quite well. Make no mistake, Panic At The Disco videos aren’t flashy commercials full of over-choreographed dancing and eye-candy. Their music videos are pieces of modern moving art, full of intriguing characters and situations.

Panic At The Disco was formed a few years back by a group of high school friends who shared an interest in all the same kinds of music. What began as imitation became evolution and creation until they had their own unmistakable sound. Panic At The Disco has based itself in Las Vegas and are finally on the road touring the country on their own.

Only a few weeks before last Christmas, I decided to make Christmas Sheet Music available as downloads on my website. What happened next was a huge surprise event to me! I earned over $3,000 in just 6 weeks by posting a measly 11 public domain songs on my website! So, how is this possible?

My Christmas Sheet Music webpage was ranked number #11 on the Google.com search engine during November and December of last year, the busiest season for Christmas Sheet Music downloads.

Regardless of being way down the list at number #11, this generated enough targeted visitors to my website, which in turn, made me some serious extra cash during the Christmas season.

Now, I must confess, that while I am a professional recording artist, I’m also a search engine optimization guru, which means that it was no accident that my Christmas Sheet Music Web Page ranked highly on major search engines.

So, if you plan to sell anything online, I highly recommend that you take an internet marketing seminar to get you started. In my case, marrying both of my piano expertise and my internet skills allows me the pleasure of offering both Christmas sheet music instant downloads and online piano lessons.

Most websites in the sheet music industry offer a very large quantity of sheet music, and a wide selection of Christmas Sheet Music. To be different and competitive, I had to figure out what pianists were really looking for.

It’s clear that there is a market for special occasion music, popular music and yes, even seasonal music. My research indicated that it is rather difficult to find great original arrangements online. Also, it was very difficult to find quality arrangements for intermediate and pro players.

As a composer, arranger and touring performer, I thought I could fill this void by offering quality original arrangements for solo piano and jazz ensemble. When I did begin to offer original arrangements of some classics, it wasn’t long before my sales went up significantly.

Then fans began to request my solo piano transcriptions. As a result of offering solo piano transcriptions my sales went up again. The most popular Christmas season download was the “Carol of the Bells” sheet music.

Other popular downloads included “Silent Night” and “O Christmas Tree”. When I put up an original downloadable arrangement of “Amazing Grace” with a Piano solo transcription it became a year-round best seller.

The great thing about providing original music and arrangements, piano solo transcriptions and downloadable sheet music, is that I only have to do the work once.

Once it’s done, it can be downloaded millions of times, and the money generated from those sales are passive income. It’s money that I don’t have to work for again. The only thing I have to do now is find the time to write more music, transcribe my piano solos, and offer up even more arrangements that pianists will enjoy playing.