Archive for February, 2010

Free sheet music for current popular music is NOT legal

It is sick for one musician to steal from another

Here are ten easy tips to help ensure your ezine or business newsletter builds trust and confidence. Give them a try and see just how big a difference they can make!

Ezine Tip #1: Content, Content, Content

Learn to leave the hard sell at home. No one likes to subscribe to a newsletter only to be constantly pitched on a product or service. The focus of your newsletter MUST be helpful and relevant content.

Here are some ideas to get you going.

1. Explain to your reader how to do something. “How to” articles are a great way to demonstrate your expert knowledge and to build credibility among your readers.

2. Publish an interview with someone in your field that is considered an expert.

3. Write an article on an important business topic in your field.

4. Provide the results of polls or surveys that are relevant to your readers.

5. Publish question and answer topics. If one customer has a particular question, chances are others will have the same question.

6. Provide reviews on specific products and resources in your field.

I’m not saying you should never promote your own products and services. However, if you do, make sure these suggestions are woven around specific editorial content that is providing helpful information to your readers. Don’t overdo it. Remember, your reader signed up for your newsletter for content that will help them solve an issue. Make sure you overdeliver on that expectation.

Ezine Tip #2: Create a Newsletter Landing Page on Your Website

In addition to placing subscription boxes on your website, I recommend you create a special landing page that focuses on the benefits of your newsletter. Make sure you create a navigational link from your homepage to your newsletter landing page.

Here are some helpful content ideas for your newsletter landing page.

1. List the type of content visitors can expect with each issue.

2. List the benefits of subscribing.

3. Offer a few testimonials from actual subscribers.

4. Optional: Create an audio or video message about the benefits of signing up.

Ezine Tip #3: Offer an incentive for signing up

Offering an incentive to visitors is a great way to increase your newsletter signup rate. Here are some ideas inspire newsletter signups.

- Free demo
- Free service
- Free tip sheet
- Free informational CD, DVD, MP3
- Free sample
- Free shipping on next order

It’s always nice to provide something with instant gratification. That way, as soon as the visitor signs up, they are able to access whatever it is you’ve offered as the incentive. Experiment changing the offer from time to time to see how your newsletter signups are affected. Whatever it is you decide to provide as an incentive, make sure it has a high perceived value and state that value upfront (e.g., a $97 value!)

Ezine Tip #4: Design a Cover for Your Newsletter

Displaying a graphical ezine cover on your landing page will help evoke a sense of professionalism and trust. Keep your ezine cover simple and state the name of the ezine as well as a short tag line on the front.

Unless you have good design skills, I recommend you hire a professional designer for your ezine cover. If you need a recommendation on a ecover designer, take a look at Killer Covers. I’ve personally worked with them and have found them a great resource.

Ezine Tip #5: Include a Unique Recommendation

I like to include a small section at the end of my newsletter that gives a fun non-business recommendation. Obviously, I try to make it somewhat relevant but the point here is to point people to interesting stories, events, music, or blogs that might help enrich their lives. This can be a great way to make your newsletters a bit unique from your competition. However, don’t overdo it!

Ezine Tip #6: Test Your Newsletter Subject Lines

One of the first things your readers see when they get a new email is the subject line. Some people may not open an email if the subject line is boring or doesn’t appear relevant.

One great way to zero in on subject lines that get good open rates is to simply start testing. To do this, you split your recipient list into two equal but random sub lists. Send the same exact newsletter to both sub lists but split the subject lines. One will group get one subject line and the other group gets the second subject line. In a few days, you can compare statistics to see which subject line resulted in a higher open rate.

By testing subject lines on a regular basis, you will get a good feel for crafting interesting subject lines that get your readers to click. You can also test your newsletter content this way. This is helpful for when you want to test the appeal of one special offer against another.

Ezine Tip #7: Link Back to Your Website

One of the great uses of a newsletter is to generate enough interest to get people back to your website. Within the content of your ezine, think of ways to link back to more relevant content on your website. Link back to additional articles that provide more information or to specific resources on your site that you mentioned in the article.

Ezine Tip #8: Use It or Lose It

There’s no reason why all the good content you write for your newsletters has to be lost with each passing month. Instead, review your past newsletters and see if there is any content you can flesh out as additional content for your website.

In addition, you can also rework your main articles and submit them to article sites. This will help build your link popularity and help promote your business.

Ezine Tip #9: Multiple Subscription Boxes

Even with a dedicated landing page, you still should provide multiple subscription boxes on other pages of your site. My recommendation is to place a subscription box at the upper right or upper left of every single page. You never know where someone will enter your site or when someone will be ready to subscribe. Multiple subscription boxes make it easy for your visitors to register no matter what page they happen to be viewing.

Ezine Tip #10: Survey Your Readers

I recommend periodically surveying your readers. In your newsletter, place a link back to a survey on your website. If you don’t have the tools to create a survey on your website, use an external service like Survey Monkey. You don’t need to do this more than once or twice a year.

I recommend you also provide some type of incentive for completing the survey. Surveying your newsletter readers is a great way to help determine the type of content THEY want to see. It’s easy to assume you know what your customers want to read about, but the only accurate way to really know is to simply ask.

Here are some good survey topics.

1. Ask about the relevancy of the newsletter.

2. Ask about the frequency. Should it be more/less frequent?

3. Ask about the quality of the writing and the general layout.

4. Ask about the usefulness of the information provided.

5. Ask them for specific article topics they would like to see in future issues.

6. Ask if there is any regular content that they would like to see removed.

7. Ask them to rate their overall satisfaction level of the newsletter.

8. Ask them if they have any ideas for improvement.

Following these ten ezine startup tips will help ensure your small business ezine launch is a successful one!

For additional Ezine tips, read Starting an Ezine.

Corte Swearingen
http://www.articlesbase.com/small-business-articles/ten-tips-for-a-successful-ezine-707435.html

All people love music. Good music soothes the soul, calms the heart, and fills the ears. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine a world without music.

If you are a musician, a recording artist, a member of a band, a businessman engaged in the music industry, or merely a music lover, it would be a cool to have a music room in your house. This could be a spare room, a cozy corner, or even a specifically constructed room where you could practice your musical skills, hang out and practice with the band, or just relax and unwind while listening to the soft strums of a guitar.

If you are planning to have a music room, here are some ideas to make it more conducive to its purpose.

1. A music room is usually a place for relaxation. Therefore, you should put chairs, tables, or couches for people to relax while listening. Even a single very comfortable chair, a recliner, or a love seat would suffice.

2. Preferably, your music room should have an outside view, and that outside view should be a pleasant one. For example, through your music room’s window, you may see the city skyline, a garden, or the beachfront.

3. Add some wall decors. For instance, musical metal wall art of your choice may be metal notes that are cut or photo-etched from sheet metal or brass. You may also want to put posters of your favorite singers or musical groups. Do not just stick the posters on the wall; it is usually better to frame it.

4. You can also add other decorations such as lava lamps, flowers, and plants. Lamp shades and blooms usually brighten up any room, and it would be very good to have one in your music room. Choose blooms and light accessories with bright colors. Just make sure that vases and lampshades and such do not stand in the way; a swing of a guitar or the thrusting of a violin bow can knock them off from their perch.

5. The way you arrange the furniture in your music room plays a big part of its composition. For example, if you are using your music room as a place where you can sit and relax while you are playing your guitar, then avoid clutter and put your recliner or seat near a window. If you are using the room as a practice venue, place all large instruments, amplifiers, speakers, and other equipment against the room’s walls, leaving the center clear for you and other members to practice. In case your members are carrying portable instruments such as guitars, make sure to have enough space to swing the instruments around.

6. Aside from music metal wall art, sculptures, and posters, you can also use your own instruments or paraphernalia as decorations-guitars, jackets, album covers, the list is endless.

7. Lighting also plays a big part in setting the mood in your music room. For example, if you are in a rock band, a red light would give your room a “dangerous” feeling, very conducive for a rock theme. However, if you are the one who likes classical or instrumental music, install pin lights and soft lighting.

Alyssa Davis
http://www.articlesbase.com/home-improvement-articles/music-room-ideas-710543.html

I am looking for songs that me and my brother can play together.
He is already playing guitar for a while but I have just started on the keyboard. The books we have at the moment only has a few bars of each song and we can play those.

It must be full songs, although it can be a simplified version.

Thnx a lot

Check out ultimate guitar. Google that.

Its got billions of songs although in tabs.

TAB AVAILABLE, READ ON…This is a nice kinda classical kinda fingerstyle arrangement of a movie theme by the Italian composer Ennio Morricone (Good Bad Ugly/Fistfull of dollars/etc). A clever chap called Rene Puchinger tabbed it up in 2002, I started hacking it further in 2005 to make it a bit more playable for me. There are several people on youtube playing it all with a slightly different touch.

It is rather hard to play cleanly on the acoustic steel string – too much barring – so I piked out and played it on the electric instead. Well, it is the first time I’ve used the electric on youtube, a change is as good as a holiday…

I added a bit of after effect reverb and graphic to make it sound a more roomy. Yeah, there is a video cut’n'shut about halfway through; I didn’t play it cleanly enough in one take so I spliced a bit out. Sorry – there are plenty of mistakes everywhere else so it’s not too bad

Give it a try; it will probably be the only 12/8th tune you will ever play!

Sheet music available at:

http://jaw.ii.net/stuff/tab.html

Enjoy,
JAW

Duration : 0:2:48

Read the rest of this entry »

Technorati Tags: acoustic, chi, ennio, fingerstyle, Guitar, mai, morricone

Jim Papoulis conducting his own “Stand Together”. This LIVE recording by the Amabile Choirs of London Canada at their annual “Amabile Festival”

Order the sheet music

http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/Stand-Together/7435657

Duration : 0:4:26

Read the rest of this entry »

Technorati Tags: a light in side, amabile, can you hear, childrens choir music, jim papoulis, london, music, nunez, oye, sa, small voices, stand together, varjele

THIS IS THE OLD BEGINNERS COURSE!!!

The new one is lots lots better, over 100 lessons and it’s all still 100% FREE Follow the link below:

http://www.justinguitar.com/en/BC-000-BeginnersCourse.php

Lesson 5 covers five new chords – G, C, Amin, Emin and Dmin – part of a complete video beginners guitar course that has all notes available for free from www.justinguitar.com. Just click on the Beginners tab on the left and learn guitar in progressive easy steps. Taught by Justin Sandercoe.

Duration : 0:6:29

Read the rest of this entry »

Technorati Tags: Beginners, chords, Guitar, lesson

Finally, here’s the Fugue part as a follow-up to my previous Toccata version played on Axon AX100 guitar synth. (I’ve also added a new Toccata version without the Axon, but with the Roland GR-100 instead).
In my first version of Toccata I used only the church organ sound from my Axon, but on the Fugue I’ve mixed the Axon sound with my good old Roland GR-100, one of Roland’s analog “guitar synth” units from the early 80′s. It doesn’t sound much like a synth, though, it’s basically a “hexaphonic fuzz”.. Both sounds were recorded simultaneously and mixed in Cubase, to make it sound like a “duet” for organ and guitar, and you can see me playing both tracks on the split screen.
I also added a third track on a few small sections where I found my piano sheet music version lacked something compared to the original organ version. (the piano version uses of course only two staffs/voices, the original organ version has three; left and right hand plus feet).
Of all my You tube videos, this has been my biggest challenge so far. It’s not the easiest piece of music to play on a guitar, so it took quite a few hours to learn, reading both treble and bass clefs from the sheet music..
Hope you enjoy it!

Additional pedals used: Electro-Harmonix Micro Pog, Boss DD-6 dig.delay, Boss RV-5 dig. reverb, Palmer PDI-09 The Junction guitar DI box.

mp3 version: www.geocities.com/ketilstrand/lydklipp

www.ketilstrand.com

Duration : 0:6:54

Read the rest of this entry »

Technorati Tags: AX100, Axon, Bach, electric, Fugue, G-505, GR-100, Guitar, Ketil, Micro, Minor, Pog, rednebb, Roland, Strand, synth, Toccata

Sheet music download: http://homepage.usask.ca/~vay216/sheets.html

My interpretation of Yann Tiersen’s simple piano solo “Watching Lara” off the Goodbye Lenin! OST!

Sheet music, mp3 and more videos at my site:
http://homepage.usask.ca/~vay216

Duration : 0:1:40

Read the rest of this entry »

Technorati Tags: at2020, canada, canon, cascades, des, france, french, goodbye, hv20, instrumental, keyboard, lara, lenin, music, piano, poulain, rue, saskatchewan, saskatoon, solo, tiersen, ukraine, ukrainian, vladimir, watching, Yamaha, yann, yatsina

I dont want the websites that only give you sample music! I want a full music sheet but I dont know where to find it free online! Can you please help me!

Try Here

http://freestufflinks.totalh.com/freemusicsheets.html