It is believed that the custom of dining in began in the monasteries, was adopted by the early universities, and later spread to military units when the officer’s mess was established. British officers of the 19th century were drawn from the aristocracy, and while they considered themselves gentlemen, they were not necessarily men of means; third and fourth sons had little chance of inheriting title and lands under primogeniture. While the pooling of resources may have been out of economic necessity, the regimental officer’s mess maintained the social stratification of English society and ensured that the traditions of gentlemanly conduct were maintained and inculcated to junior officers. The primary elements are a rigidly formal setting, espirit de corps and the camaraderie of peers, a fine dinner, traditional toasts to the head of state and military services, martial music and the attendance of honored guests or speakers. Today, although the purpose of a dinner may be to observe an appointment, promotion, retirement, or some auspicious occasion, a central theme of such events is a ceremonial focus upon the history of the host organization.

While the tradition of having a piper at high table may have it’s origins in the clan system in Scotland & Ireland, the formal dinners and dining in ceremonies as we know them today are directly attributable to the traditions of the officers mess in the British Army and Royal Navy. Originally fife & drums or trumpeters were employed to sound the calls; as Highland regiments were organized, pipers were employed not only for this purpose, but to celebrate great battles and victories in the history of the regiment and to memorialize their dead, quite in keeping with the Celtic bardic tradition. It should be borne in mind that originally Army pipers were outfitted and paid not by the Exchequer but exclusively by the officer’s mess; without their patronage, modern Highland regiments wouldn’t have ever had pipers, and without the Army to maintain and build upon this tradition the great Highland bagpipe would be about as familiar to most people today as the zampogna.

When a piper is requested to pipe the calls and the music at a formal dinner, you might be engaged to perform throughout dinner; to provide a limited performance such as pipe in the head table, pipe the lament and/or pipe in the port; or to simply pipe in the head table and depart. While there are many different traditions associated with formal dining, the following are some of the customs associated with piping a formal dinner. You may be requested to perform some, all, or some variant of any of them on occasion.

Dress

Such affairs are invariably formal, requiring black tie, occasionally white tie, or full parade regalia. Miniature decorations and medals are worn. If flying a pipe banner, ensure that the drone cords and/or ribbons are to the left of the banner; i.e., not over the regimental crest. If there is more than one piper, the banner is traditionally flown by the ranking piper present, who will lead the detachment, formed up in order of rank or seniority.

Seating

The seating arrangement at the head table is always based on rank, seniority and status. The host sits in the middle, the next senior person (or guest of honor) to his/her right, the next senior person to his/her left and so on, until all are seated. The senior-ranking member of the mess is the head (or ?President?) of the mess dinner and sits in the center. The President of the Mess may appoint a second (?Mr. Vice?), usually the junior officer of the mess, who will be in charge of planning, and who usually occupies the seat farthest from the host, sometimes on the far right, sometimes at another table. Officers take precedence over civilians. If a guest speaker has no rank or status, he/she is positioned as close to the center (right of the host) as possible without offending rank precedence. Chaplains are usually included at the head table, usually at the far left of the President.

Warning Calls

15 minute and 5 minute warning calls are usually sounded to alert the guests that dinner is about to be served, and may be provided by a piper. When piping warning calls a short up-tempo tune is required but no specific title may be prescribed. In some regiments it would be the Officers Call (e.g., ?All the Blue Bonnets Are O?er The Border?). A naval tradition is to ring ?six bells? (19:00) on a ship?s bell for the 15-minute warning (if dining at 7:15 PM, of course). Dinner may be signaled by a brief pipe tune (?Brose and Butter? is a traditional one), followed by the host or master of ceremonies announcing, Dinner is served!?

March-in

The guests (except the head table) will proceed into the dining room and remain standing behind their chairs; the closer to top table, the higher the rank or seniority. You may be requested to pipe in the guests. The head table forms up in order of seating, led by the host and the principal guest. When cued, lead the people of the head table into the dining room playing an appropriate tune; ?Roast Beef of Old England?, ?A Man?s A Man for all That?, ?Prince of Denmark?s March?, or the regimental march. If space permits, parade counter clockwise around the room. This is particularly important when flying a drone banner. The regimental crest on the obverse of the banner is always displayed first. When everyone is in place, continue to march, and finish playing at the halt near the dining-room entrance. At a signal from the host, stop playing and remain at attention until grace has been said. If you are not to provide the music during dinner, march from the room after grace is said.

Posting the Colors

An honor guard may post and retire the colors; as a piper you may be requested to pipe them in and out. As the American and Canadian national anthems cannot be properly played on the pipes, other appropriate patriotic tunes must be selected. If you march in with the color guard, make sure that you?re well rehearsed in their drill first; they march in close order with wheeling movements to change direction. Of course, if not playing stand at attention with pipes down for the National Anthem(s). If you’re flying a drone banner, watch the color guard and drop your bass drone from horizontal when they dip the colors.

The Lament

In some military and veterans organizations it is customary to remember comrades killed in action, sometimes with an empty place setting, sometimes with a small table before the head table. You may be requested to play a lament in their memory. ?Flowers of the Forest? is traditional, but other laments may work equally as well if the host has expressed no preference.

Piping in the Beef

In some traditions, the main course (traditionally beef) is ceremoniously piped in to the head table (or ?Mr. Vice?), which will sample it and formally announce it fit for consumption. ?Roast Beef of Old England? or ?A Man?s a Man For All That? may be used if not played previously to pipe in the head table. You may pipe the beef out as well.

Piping in the Haggis

If haggis is served (such as a Burn?s Dinner), pipe the haggis to the head table to ?A Man?s a Man For All That?. Stand at attention for the recital of Burn?s ?Address to a Haggis?, and participate in the toast to his ?immortal memory?. Pipe the haggis out to ?Neil Gow?s Farewell to Whisky?.

Main Course Music

Wait until all at the head table has been served before beginning to play suitable selections intermittently throughout the main course. A piobaireachd is often considered customary. If parading around the room, it is customary to start ?widdershins?; counterclockwise. If flying a pipe banner, it may be appropriate to countermarch as well, in order to display the unit crest on the obverse side. Prior to the port wine being served, the host/delegate will signal you to stop playing.

Piping in the Port

An old custom is the piping in of the port wine for the Loyal Toast. After dessert and coffee are served, tables are cleared except for the table decorations and wine glasses. No special music is required, but it should be short and appropriate. On cue, lead the wine stewards into the dining room, positioning yourself at a predetermined spot, and continue to play until the wine is about to be sampled and declared potable by the host. Sometimes the piper will play as the port is passed down the tables as the guests charge their glasses. Remain at attention until the Loyal Toast is drunk and then march from the room, unless required to stay for the Toast to the Corps.

Loyal Toast

If a Commonwealth dinner (or if UK guests are present), you may be requested to play ?God Save the Queen? before the Loyal Toast. The person proposing the toast will ask everyone to stand and join him in a toast to the Queen. The member will then raise his/her wineglass shoulder high and say: The Queen. The assembly will respond: The Queen.

If an American dinner, the host may propose a toast to the Commander-in-Chief. Mr. Vice seconds this by rising and addressing the company, saying, Gentlemen, the Commander-in-Chief of the United States. Each member and guest then stands, repeats in unison the toast (e.g., The Commander-in-Chief of the United States), sips the drink, and remains standing. The band then plays the National Anthem. If piping, play ?America the Beautiful? or ?God Bless America?. At the conclusion of the music, members and guests are again seated.

Toast to the Corps

You may be requested to play the regimental march prior to a Toast to the Corps. Unfortunately, the only American regimental marches that ?fit? well on the pipes are the ?Marine Corps Hymn? and ?Semper Paratus?.

Paying the Piper

At the conclusion of your performance, the host may offer you (or the lead piper) a quaich containing a dram (about 3.5 ml) of whisky. Stand to the left of the host. Taking the quaich in both hands, hold it shoulder high and face the head table. It is traditional for the piper to toast the head table (Sl?inte! ?to your health? in Gaelic; phonetically Slanjer or Slanja), turn to the company and offer a formal toast. Following the toast, you?re expected to drink the whisky in one draught, toast the company (Sl?inte!), and flip the cup over and kiss the bottom. Following the ceremony, take your leave of the head table and march from the room. Unless you?re Gaelic is very good, you?re probably best off offering your formal toast in English.

The traditional Pipe Major’s toast of the Liverpool Scottish might be adapted to a range of events;

Gaelic Slainte mhor, Slainte Banrighinn

Slainte agus buaidh gu brath

le Gillean Forbasach.

Phonetic Slanjervaw, slanjer banreen

Slanjer aggus booey goo bra

la gillian forbusach

English Good health, health to the Queen

Health and success for ever

to the Forbes lads

Conclusion

At the conclusion of the dinner, you may be requested to play the National Anthem. As neither ?The Star Spangled Banner? nor ?Oh Canada? can be played successfully on the limited tonal range of the pipes, play ?America the Beautiful? or ?Maple Leaf Forever? instead. Of course, if not playing stand at attention with pipes down for the National Anthem(s). If you’re flying a drone banner, watch the color guard and drop your bass drone from horizontal when they dip the colors.

Duty Tunes of the 48th Highlanders of Canada

Officers Mess Call (15 minutes)

?Bannock & Barley Meal?

Meal Call (5 minutes)

?Caller Herrin??

Pipe in Guests

?Lt. Col. Robertson?

Pipe in Head Table

?Highland Laddie?

Lament

?Flowers of the Forest?

First Set (Main Course)

Ends with ?Highland Laddie?

Second Set (Dessert)

Ends with ?Lt. Col. Robertson?

Pipe Major?s Toast:

Host:

A Mh?idseir na p?oba, ?lamaid deoch-sl?inte!

(Pipe Major, let us drink a toast)

Pipe Major’s reply:

A h-uile latha a ch? ‘s nach fhaic, an d? fhicheadamh ‘s a h-ochd gu br?th! Sl?inte don Bh?nrigh! Sl?inte Mh?r! Sl?inte!

(Every day that I see you, or that I don’t see you, the 48th forever! Health to the Queen! Great good health! Health!)

Piper for Hire; Tampa Bay, FL

Bagpiper available for weddings, receptions, formal dinners, ceremonies, corporate functions, funerals, memorials, and special events of all kinds throughout the greater Tampa Bay area.

Muscle memory is the terminology used by physiologists to describe the phenomenon of skeletal muscle activity that is learned and becomes essentially automatic with practice. Muscle memory plays a major part In the world of drumming as well as other things. Think of when you were first learning to ride a bicycle. You had to concentrate very hard to make all your body parts move in just the right way, as well as balance just right so that you could ride. It seemed very difficult but once you got the hang of it, then riding became a very natural feeling. this same thing happens in drumming. When playing a new beat at first may feel very okward and difficult but with some practice and repetition that beat begins to feel good and gradually becomes much easier. After some practice these motions requireless concentration.

Scientists have discovered internal brain stuctures that work together with input/output brain structures to form fleeting images in the mind. Using these images we interpret input signals, process them and formulate output responses in a deliberate and concious way. Scientists refer to this as kinesthetic memory or neuro-muscle facilitation. where seeing, thinking, and doing gets cut down to just seeing, and doing.

Muscle memory comes into play by eliminating the thinking process. Your muscles begin to know just what to do. And this is when one developes efficentcy to become a much better drummer.

Once you are capable of playing a beat with out thinking then your mind is free to think of how to make that beat more creative by adding fills, accents, etc.

The motions of the basic beat are now almost effortless. It takes a certain amount of time for your drum beat to feel effortless. First you must create the new motions or pattern, the next step is feeling at ease with those motions. This will not always happen over it can take sometime depending what time signature you are playing. I feel Sometimes its best to make a recording of the new material you are working on. That way when you want to play it again you will have that tape to help guide you.

When the motions of the basic beat become almost effortless. That is where the saying practice makes perfect comes from. How can you be at ease with a beat that now seems hard to you now? Practice and practice some more. And eventually you will be playing that beat with the same amount of effort it takes to walk.

When you can play a drum beat and keep a conversation or read a book that is a good indication that your muscle memory has developed just right.

Helping you march to your own beat ==>www.drumhelper.com

Written by Jason palat the author of http://www.drumhelper.com there are many more helpfull drumming articles on the site to enjoy.

The difference between success and failure is information, notes Ritch Esra, and he should know. Along with his partner, Stephen Trumbull, Esra is a leading part of the number one most-reliable source of information on who’s who and who does what in the music business. Best of all, they can tell you where everybody is located.

FIVE VOLUMES OF DATA.

The Music Business Registry (http://www.musicregistry.com) publishes five directories: the A&R Registry, the Music Publisher Registry, the Music Business Attorney Registry the Film and Television Music Guide, and the Record Producer and Recording Engineer Directory. For many in the business, these are indispensable reference works.

The directories give everyone vital, accurate and the most up-to-date information they need to contact the entire A&R, music publishing, legal and film/TV music communities, Esra states. From comparing notes with dozens of professionals in all of these areas of expertise, I can tell you that no one disputes his claim.

More than one music industry executive has told me that the Music Business Registry publications are worth their weight in platinum. Tess Taylor, president of NARIP (National Association of Record Industry Professionals), says I couldn’t get through one day without the directories from the Music Business Registry. These publications are the finest in the business.

Each directory tells you how to reach industry professionals by regular mail, e-mail, direct dial telephone and fax. The books provide each person’s exact title, street address, the name of their assistant and the styles of music in which each executive specializes. Web sites are also included.

UPDATES? YOU WANT UPDATES?

The world of the A&R executive is exciting but ever-changing. Which is to say, there’s a lot of turnover in this part of the industry. So much turnover, in fact, that the A&R Registry is completely updated and reprinted every eight weeks, whereas the publisher volume is biannual and the other books come out yearly.

NEED A PRODUCER? HERE ARE 1,700 OF THEM!

Created in partnership with RPM Direct, the Record Producer & Recording Engineer Directory presents 1,700 of today’s leading Record Producers, Recording Engineers & Remixers throughout the US, Canada and Europe in every genre of music. Included in the book are:

(1) Complete contact information for every Producer, Remixer & Recording Engineer along with a list of their credits.

(2) Producer/Engineer/Remixer Management Companies including a complete staff listing as well as full client rosters.

(3) A Complete Index to easily locate any producer.

(4) Several Interviews and articles with today’s leading Producers & Engineers.

No wonder you can find the Music Business Registry’s publications in the offices of top record company executives, music publishers, artist managers, agents, music attorneys, recording artists, studios and other music business professionals everywhere from Los Angeles to London, New York to Nashville, Chicago to Copenhagen, Toronto to Tokyo, Stockholm to Sydney and Minneapolis to Munich.

YOUR SEARCH BEGINS HERE.

The Music Business Registry is located at 7510 Sunset Blvd #1041, Los Angeles, CA 90046-3400. Phone: 800-377-7411 or 818-995-7458. Fax: 800-228-9411 or 818-995-7459. E-mail: ritch@musicregistry.com.

Scott G (The G-Man) writes and produces radio commercials from G-Man Music & Radical Radio. With albums on Delvian Records, iTunes, Amazon, and many other online stores, he also composes music that is played in clubs, on college radio stations, and on commercials. A member of NARAS (the Grammy organization) and NARIP (National Association of Record Industry Professionals), he writes about music, advertising, marketing, communications, advertainment, and digital distribution for the Immedia Wire Service and MusicDish.com. Samples of his songs and commercials are on his site at: http://www.gmanmusic.com

Downloading music off the internet can be a tedious and usually boring task. This article will show you how to find online music faster and more precisely then ever before.

There are a few different ways of obtaining music over the net, however each one has its own set of pro?s and con?s.

1) The first way is to download music off a basic web server or website. Not only is this highly illegal, but it puts your computer at risk to any number of ActiveX exploits, porn pop-ups, and forced installs. This of course is necessary to insure that the webmaster of the illegal site gains a profit, off the expense of his surfers.

2) The second highly popular way to download music is through a peer-to-peer network such as Kazaa, IMesh, Limewire etc. Nothing is ever free! Theses programs are all ad-supported and include spy ware and frequent pop-ups that essentially infect your computer. They hijack your start page, search page etc, and are designed to be extremely difficult to remove.

3) Recently pay-per download sites have emerged such as Napster and the famous Apple Itunes. These sites unfortunately charge upwards of $1 a song which quickly adds up to a large price for an album. There are alternatives to the high profile sites listed above that offer music at a much reduced price. A web review site recently launched has ranked these programs on a scale of 1 to 5 and has review article for each site. A free music and mp3 review site providing unbiased comparison information of the Top-Rated Music/MP3 download sites. Free MP3 Reviews

Charles Oakland is a journalist by nature who manage the popular web review site: Free Web Reviews

In 1994 Daniel Johns and his group Silverchair were catapulted into the mainstream by winning a demo competition in Australia. Their single ?Tomorrow? is still widely regarded as one of the defining songs of the early 90s. Now, before you rush out to buy The Dissociatives you?re going to want to sit down before I break this next part to you; This cd is not silverchair, it sounds nothing like silverchair, and you are only seeing comparisons because Daniel Johns is in both of these bands. It is best to keep these 2 entities separate, or you will probably end up enjoying them both a lot less.

This album is a collaboration with Australian techno king Paul Mac, the eclectic mix of poppy songwriting, eerie soundscapes, 3/4 timing and multi-layered vocals brings out the best of both members of the band. The music and songwriting is filled nearly to a breaking point with more little noises and beeps than you?d think you could digest, but somehow everything falls into its right place.

Opening with a constant 4/4 bass drum beat, the opening track ?We?re much preferred customers? quickly builds constantly with multi-layered vocals, sparse piano, eventually turning into a veritable electronic orchestra. From this moment on, you can tell that this is a very experimental album, created by 2 very creative musicians. While the songwriting and melodies would fit perfectly on every pop radio station, avid listeners will notice much more subtle details and nuances than the average electronic pop album.

The standout track on the album in my mind is ?Horror with eyeballs? a bizarre tune based around a 3/4 verse of carnival music, mixed with a poppy chorus featuring many layers of Daniel Johns singing ?all of this time on my hands/so far has gone/ to feeding my animals?. Nonsense? I think so, but you?ll be singing it for days.While the rest of the album is very hard to categorize, each song features the same elements; Multi-layered vocals and instruments, noises, a full helping of ?na-na-na-na? and everything you?d expect from a pop album. I find myself rarely listening to single songs, as the album seems to flow much better as a whole.

Nearing the end of the album, the band pulls out ?Young man, Old man?, another interesting track. Based around a guitar part, only instead of playing it only on guitar, Johns elects to sing the part as well. This is the type of abstract thinking that makes this album stand out so much in my eyes. You will have a very tough time guessing what is going to come next, and I think everyone loves music that suprises them.

The band managed to find a fantastic artist by the name of James Hackett to produce 3 videos from this album; Horror with eyeballs, Somewhere down the barrel and Young man, Old man (You ain?t better than the rest) all 3 are available for your viewing pleasure from the bands website.

It seems that most of the mainstream press is tearing this album apart, but from where I stand (about 2 feet infront of my computer monitor) this is one of the best albums released thus-far this year. If you?re looking for a solid, happy album featuring one of the best voices in rock, check this out, you won?t be disappointed.

Overall: 8.2

Chris Elkjar is the founder of ‘trust.me’ an online music magazine for the enthusiast. He spends all of his spare time immersed in music, be it writing reviews, interviews with leading bands or writing his own music.

For more of his writing, check out Trust-Me.ca – Music for robots

The ability to get your free full movie download has finally come around. Broadband internet has opened a Pandora’s Box for movie and music downloads. You can now get a free full movie download in a few hours. Thanks to video compression you can fit an entire movie on a couple of CDs or a single DVD.

Now that they have DVD burners people are looking for ways to get DVDs for free. There are tons of DVD rips all over the net. You just have to know where to look. These are high quality rips that give you the exact same performance as regular DVDs. You can download all this and more at little to no cost.

There are a lot of sites out there that you can use to get a free full movie download. You could be a couple clicks away from never paying for a movie again. Imagine never having to dish out 20 bucks for a DVD.

When you download free full movies always make sure you do it safely. You don’t want to end up getting in trouble by the law. I recommend trying out one of these sites that insures safety by blocking your IP or by another means of anonymity. These are your best bet and they don’t cost much at all.

Shared Movies
Movie Download World
Ultimate Movie Download
iMovieSearch
Full Movie Downloads

John Rivers has been involved with music for over 30 years as a student, performer and teacher. His site The-NetGuide-for-MusicDownloads.com helps individuals to find safe and legal Music and Movie download sites. Subscribe to NetMusic News and receive Free music downloads each month.

Americans are crazy about Shakira. No, I’m not talking about her latest album sales. We are talking about the craze for Shakira concert tickets. This Spanish diva has left the likes of Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera & Beyonce in the dust, so to speak.

The summer concert tour is starting to heat up and the demand for Shakira concert tickets is unsurpassed by any other performer. How do I know? By using a powerful little tool from Overture.com that displays the number of times a search phrase was typed in the previous month. According to overture, here are some search results for last month:

1) Shakira Concert Tickets: 331,484 searches(wow!)

2) Concert tickets: 219,592 searches (a not so close second)

3) Linkin Park Concert Tickets: 86,438 searches (a lot of searches…but shakira concert tickets got 4 times as many!)

4) Pink Concert Tickets: 80,696 searches (a very popular artist…but not even close to Shakira)

So there you have it. Proof positive that Shakira concert tickets blew other similar search phrases out of the water last month! So….why is Shakira such a superstar anyways? Many music industry experts cite her unique style (a breakaway from the Britney Spears mold) and spectactular, fluent movement on stage while performing. She did dye her hair blonde, however for her 2001 album release, Laundry Service. But we won’t hold that against her.

Shakira continues to capture the awe of millions of American music fans as she continues her summer concert tour. Interested in Shakira Concert Tickets? A great site to purchase Shakira tickets is listed below for fast, secure ordering with fast FedEx shipping.

http://www.ezwaytickets.com Trusted, Verified Online Ticket Broker.

Crunk music is a specific type of hip hop music, based out of the southern states. Crunk (sometimes spelled Krunk) is high-energy, club-oriented hip-hop.

In the hip hop society, crunk rappers have been criticized for having no lyrical content and all southern rappers uses the same beats and styles in there music. While other hip-hop styles contain a more conversational vocal approach. Dirty South is notably different from its northern and western counterparts.

Southern rappers can adapt towards either a soul-based or a more street sound. This done sometimes by sampling, while still being creative. Crunk usually involves hoarse chants and repetitive, simple refrains. Lyrics are based on a rhythmic bounce which is very effective in clubs.

Several crunk songs have been banned in venues due to wild crowds. Crunk has established itself as a major sub-division of hip-hop and will likely enjoy greater success due to the increased number of crunk albums being released.

Crunk is to music what Shakesphere is to literature. I mean you can’t get enough of this music. Instead of going to a club and standing on wall and looking pretty you act a fool to crunk music. Crunk music can help with releasing tension and its a good way to get a work out!

My name is Juanita Clark and I own a relationship blog on the internet. The name of the blog is What A Girl Wants Advice On Understanding Women. On this website there is an open discussions, polls, quizzes and the website is http://www.7daycyle.blogspot.com.

Raising children can be trying. At times so much so that it even tempts devoted parents to wonder, ?How does the world manage to re-populate itself?? So keeping a sense of humor is really important. Here?s some crazy things kids say when taking piano lessons and practicing that parents need to be prepared to laugh at. Let?s start with the whining. Amazingly these are things I?ve heard young, beginning piano students say right after they have played a simple piece of music beautifully?

Student: ?But it?s too hard.?

Parent: ?It?s only too hard if you think it is.?

Student: ?My fingers nails hurt.?

Parent: ?We can trim your nails.?

Student: ?Why do I have to look at the music??

Parent: ?Do you think I should look at the road when I?m driving??

Student: ?I?m thirsty.?

Parent: ?I?m Dad.?

Student: ?When can I play Fur Elise??

Parent: ?When you know how.?

Student: ?When will I know how to play every song on the piano that I hear??

Parent: ?When you?re 18.?

Student: ?Why do I need to play at home when I played piano at my lesson??

Parent: ?Because we can?t afford to play on your teacher?s piano every day.?

Here?s what parents of young children need to get. Kids whine. Everything your child complains about doesn?t mean anything. It?s kind of like my cat. He always stands at the door and whines, even when I just let him out. He will then whine by his food dish even though I just filled it up with his favorite kitty pellets. Why? Because it makes him feel secure to see me open the door for him one more time, and put a few more pellets in his bowl. Will he ever get tired of me opening the door and giving him more kitty pellets that he isn?t going to eat? No.

So don?t take your little kitten in piano lessons too seriously and in a few years they?ll be saying, ?I can play the piano better than my parents, because I?ve been taking lessons and they didn?t get to do that.?

For great home piano activities parents can use to help children ages 5 to 11 develop their musical talent, visit Piano Adventure Bears Music Education Resources You?ll find a treasure box filled with piano resources to create an exciting musical adventure for your child – right in your own home! Visit their website and subscribe to their f?ree internet newsletter so you can download f?ree piano sheet music and mp3s of original piano compositions.

These exciting stories, games, piano lessons, and inspirational gifts feature the Piano Adventure Bears, Mrs. Treble Beary and her new piano student, Albeart Littlebud. Young students follow along with Albeart to learn what piano lessons are all about in a fun way that kids readily understand appreciate. Click here to visit PianoAdventureBears.com For a wealth of information about piano lessons, visit tallypiano.com

On July 28, 2004, French Internet access providers and music copyright owners signed a joint national charter aimed at cracking down on illegal downloads and expanding the amount of legal music tracks available online (AFP). This is the latest in a series of moves taken across the world to combat music piracy as production labels see more and more of their profits being lost to illegal downloads of music files.

The music industry has been saying the same thing for several years now: peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing networks are exponentially distributing pirated music across the world through the Internet, and this constitutes a copyright infringement. In English, this means that the fact that I downloaded a Tori Amos track through Kazaa yesterday and am listening to it right now makes me a criminal. So far, so good. Quite true as well.

But the real problem is not that people do not want to pay for music. Often I sample new music off the Internet before buying the CDs. Chances are that if I like most of the album, I?m going to buy it. On the surface this is what radio stations do when they play music. The difference, however, is that it has become insanely easy for me to acquire almost-as-good-as-original quality mp3s of any track that I want to listen to, and even if I don?t pay a dime, no one is there to catch me.

The principle of accountability has vanished. When one sees that there are two ways to acquire the same product, but by sacrificing a ?little? bit of quality you can get it for free without being penalized for it, what would most rational people do? P2P networks have made finding music off the Internet ridiculously easy, and most of us tend to ?forget? our social responsibility when it comes to such ?trivial? matters. To contribute to this, copy-protection techniques used on CDs by major production houses are always a step behind the latest cracking algorithms, and steps taken to prevent ?ripping? of CDs and DVDs have proven fruitless so far.

Enter music downloads of the legal kind. Disregarding the small number of ?free? legal music available for promotional purposes, more and more artists and labels have begun to provide a pay-per-download music service. In essence, you can purchase individual tracks or complete albums through a secure online transaction and then download your ?purchase? and, with variable limits to personal use, pretty much do whatever you want to do with it (Several providers digitally encode the files to prevent them from being played on other computers, or to be burned onto CD-Rs) This is both a move to encourage free-riders such as me to start acquiring ?legal? music and an economic adjustment to the digital music revolution. Developing technologies are changing the way people perceive and use music. The advent of iPod and other mp3 players has meant that more and more people are becoming accustomed to carrying around their complete music collections with the latest players offering space for around 10,000 songs. This holds frightening possibilities for record companies. There is a very real concern within the industry that the CD format is fast going out of style, and as technology evolves, consumer demands for the best ?medium? will change as well. Till a few years ago audio CDs offered unparalleled music quality, a factor record companies used to encourage people to ?buy instead of steal (download)?. However, today?s high-quality digital formats mean that audio quality is comparable, and in some cases equal to, CDs. Some experts are even starting to predict that within a decade CDs will become history as digital music will evolve to a point where we will be have access to our entire music collection (hopefully paid for) wherever we want it: in our car, at work, anywhere in the house, even on the beach. Matched with promises (and the reality) of audio quality, this is a serious threat to traditional business.

Thus, providing legal music online is a means of the industry trying to position itself to take advantage of the rising trend of portable music collections. A quick glance across major online music stores tells us exactly so. While offering free-riders affordable music (allowing them to purchase only the tracks they like instead of forcing them to buy the complete album) to ensure that they do not turn to music piracy, sites like eMusic and Apple?s iTunes are backing the new trend. iTunes, Apple?s online music store, has the added distinction of being supported by perhaps the best mp3 player in the business, the iPod. In this combination, Apple has found a very secure marketing brand and ensured that it takes full advantage of this cross between technology and music.

Legal music downloads appear to be the perfect answer to stopping music piracy, at least the downloading kind. Therefore there is no surprise when one sees major record labels pushing to expand such services. However, recent developments tend to make us question what the overall agenda really is. After a period of consolidation of the digital music market in the last two years, albums available for download online are being priced higher than they would normally be in retail stores. It used to be that you could download a song for $0.99 and a complete album for $9.99, but now stores are setting higher prices, with tracks going for $1.50 or even $2.49 and $11.50 albums being sold for $12.50 and $13.00 online. What is going on? In positioning themselves to take advantage of changing market forces, the music industry has also hit upon another major factor in determining sales: consumer behavior. Legal music downloads offer people like me the comfort of never having to waste time in retail stores looking for my favorite track from high-school days or wondering when the latest album of Nickelback would hit the shelves. Instead, all the hassles are removed with everything easily searchable, previewable and downloadable from the comfort of my computer chair (and this baby is very, very, comfortable). Consumers may not be usually rational, but they are always looking to save the effort when it comes to making any sort of purchases. Online stores (or is it the major recording labels? Who knows?) are now cashing into this very aspect of human psychology and are beginning to charge extra for a service they are portraying now as a privilege. Having already consolidated their core target market, the time has now come to increase revenues.

Would this drive people back towards music piracy? Highly unlikely. People are not evil, or criminal, by nature. Appeals to their better nature usually work, and that is the strategy adopted by agencies like the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) who are actively involved in putting a stop to illegal music sharing. Media campaigns encouraging music lovers to pay a dollar or two for tracks instead of ?committing a crime? by downloading them for free are actually working as slowly but surely, more and more people flock to online music stores. And with existing customers sticking to this more ?comfortable? way of buying music, the industry is finally starting to win back ground it lost due to music piracy.

For more information about this topic please visit www.Every.ca admin@every.ca

Mike Ber is the owner of the Canadian Domain Name Portal called http://www.Every.ca. He is also a contributing author to Canadian Computer Magazine and http://www.Developer.ca website.