White-Out on Music? Why Not?

This is a nifty tip I learned from my colleague, RCM examiner Colleen Athparia: If you keep coming to a dead halt at the barline, get rid of the barlines!

I've tried this with a few students recently with songs in triple meter, or in the above case, in 6/8 time. It works like a charm!

Of course, you want to make sure that you know your rhythms and time signature well. This is best used when you are trying to get the music flowing.

Getting the Hang of Affiliate Programs

My post-blog migration clean-up is still ongoing. It's amazing how many dead links I've been discovering or missing video links. Updating every single blog post I've made since 2005 is a HUGE undertaking. However, in addition to it being a fun trip down memory lane, it has been a great opportunity to explore affiliate marketing.

As I mentioned in an earlier in Sheet Music Plus and Passive Income Streams, I've waded into the pool of affiliate marketing. Simply put, whenever I review or recommend a product, as an affiliate or associate, I get my own personal URL to that product. I don't believe in endorsing products I'm not keen on, so I will share with you materials that either my students, fellow teachers and I have found useful. Or in the case of album reviews, my aim is to introduce you to music you may not be familiar with and to promote local musicians.

Hopefully, you find them useful, or at least intriguing. If you do, then click on the link and then order away. Yes, affiliate marketers get a small commission for each completed sale. However, that all adds up in the long run.

One thing I have noticed as I clean up and update my blog posts is that there's an open field of opportunity. Each time I share a great performance with my students and readers or each time I reflect upon interesting pieces, I can share with you a link to make it easier for you to hunt down the music. It's a win-win situation.

How has it been working? Well, as with any passive income stream, it takes time to build and I've only been at it for a couple of weeks. However, I'm pleased to report that at least two people have purchased music I recommended just this week via sheetmusicplus.com .

I leave you with a funny blog post that I updated this morning, called "Angry Piano Music". I had a good chuckle remembering my female students who came in a string, asking specifically for "angry music" to play. It was a huge stress reliever for them!

Music Practicing 101 - Alternating Hand/Bar Drill

My students and I started playing around with this practice drill last week. It's an accuracy drill to clean up notes, fingering and wonky timing. Try playing the left hand alone in bar 1 and then right hand alone in bar 2, etc. Check out this video for a demonstration.

An Introduction to Fake Books

You may be intimidated the first time you crack open a fake book. However, if you're familiar with (or at least willing to learn) your chords, then that's half the battle. A fake book contains pieces written out in lead sheet form. That is, you see the melody and chord symbols written above.

The idea is that you "fake" - or create - your own accompaniment. Throw down a pop groove on "Happy Birthday" one day. The next day, you could play it in ragtime style.The possibilities are endless.

Plus, with the music condensed in this format, you can have hundreds of songs in one book. It's so much easier to bring one fake book to a gig than 10 music books.

These are some of the fake books that I've collected over the years. They are also the ones I shared with my fellow music teachers when I did a presentation to the Piano Pedagogy Group last month:

Fake Books for Beginner to Intermediate Students:

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The Easy Christmas Carols Fake Book Melody, Lyrics & Simplified Chords in the Key of C. Composed by Various. Easy Fake Book. Christmas. Softcover. 114 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.238187).

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Your First Fake Book - 2nd Edition Featuring Large Music Notation, Lyrics, & Simplified Harmonies C Edition. Composed by Various. Easy Fake Book. Broadway, Pop, Standards. Softcover. 176 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.299529).

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The Easy Disney Fake Book - 2nd Edition 100 Songs in the Key of C. Composed by Various. Easy Fake Book. Children, Disney, Fake Books, Movies. Softcover. 232 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.275405).

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The Easy Broadway Fake Book - 2nd Edition Over 100 Songs in the Key of C. Composed by Various. Easy Fake Book. Broadway. Softcover. 218 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.276670).

Everything is in C Major. For an added challenge, you can ask your students to transpose them into other keys once they've learned the pieces.

Fake Books for Intermediate to Advanced Students, and Music Teachers:

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Classical Fake Book - 2nd Edition Over 850 Classical Themes and Melodies in their Original Keys. Composed by Various. Hal Leonard Fake Books. Classical Period. Fakebook (spiral bound). With standard notation, chord names and vocal melody (on some songs). 648 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.240044).

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The Ultimate Pop/Rock Fake Book - In C 4th Edition. By Various. By Various. Hal Leonard Fake Books. Pop Rock, Rock and Pop. Fake book. With vocal melody, lyrics and chord names. 584 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.240099).

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The Best Fake Book Ever - C Edition - 4th Edition C Edition. Composed by Various. Hal Leonard Fake Books. Country, Fake Books, Jazz, Pop, Standards. Fake book. With vocal melody, lyrics and chord names. 856 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.290239).

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Just Jazz Real Book - C Edition C Edition. Composed by Various. Fake Book. Jazz. Fakebook (softcover). With vocal melody, lyrics, chord names, black & white photos, discography and introductory text. 400 pages. Hal Leonard #FBM0003. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.321416).

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The Praise & Worship Fake Book B Flat Edition. Composed by Various. Fake Book. Christian, Worship. Softcover. 432 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.240324).

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The Ultimate Christmas Fake Book - 6th Edition For Piano, Vocal, Guitar, Electronic Keyboard & All C Instruments. Composed by Various. Fake Book. Christmas, Fake Books. Softcover. 232 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.147215).

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The Disney Fake Book - 4th Edition Composed by Various. Fake Book. Children, Disney, TV & Movies. Softcover. 288 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.175311).

Pianists - make sure you buy the "C" edition fake books!

If you need some guide books on how to read lead sheets, check out my earlier post, Jazz Music and Improvisation Guide Books.

Looking for the Perfect Messenger Bag - Otaku Style

Last weekend, I had to retire my Fullmetal Alchemist messenger bag. The plastic shoulder strap adjuster thingie broke enough to poke me. いったい！ This is my messenger bag:

So I've started to look for the perfect anime messenger bag. So many choices. My criteria is as follows:

• ample pockets

• design: cool enough that otaku would say "Sugoi", safe enough for my students to see and grown up enough that other adults wouldn't say, "Aren't you a little old for this?"

• sturdy design

• from a show I like

• decent price

• decent shipping

I could simply replace my FMA bag with the FullMetal Alchemist Brotherhood: Flamel Cross Messenger Bag:

It's not as nice as my retired one though. This Soul Eater: Meisters Anime Messenger Bag is a serious contender. It has the entire gang: Maka & Soul, Death the Kid with Liz & Patty and let's not forget Black Star & Tsubaki:

Oh yay - there's also the The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya: SOS Anime Messenger Bag:

However, the Code Geass: Lelouch Geass Symbol Anime Messenger Bag is pretty cool - and it doesn't look childish:

Choices. Choices. I've only just begun. I'd like to see if there are messenger bag designs for some of the more current anime, such as Hyouka, Accel World, and Sword Art Online. One that's for the ladies. Lyfa and Asuna are cool characters, but I'd much prefer to have a bag with Kirito on it - or the main cast.

I'll have to check out my other main places for otaku gear: Right Stuf, CD Japan andJList. I've been meaning to check out AmiAmi too. See what I mean about so many choices?