In 2003 we visited Alfred Publishing in Van Nuys California, - an industry giant. This meeting was the result of mutual acquaintances, many phone calls, a hundred e-mails and a chance meeting with an Alfred Rep on our home turf in Dallas. We hoped we could provide Alfred with online music education 'support' and perhaps ease our way into the industry. After seeing their organization we realized several key facts:
1.) Purchasing forests for the paper needed to print method books is REALLY expensive.
2.) Purchasing state of the art digital printers is REALLY expensive.
3.) Hiring 3rd party writers and artists to produce music publications is REALLY expensive.
4.) Warehousing and shipping those products to retail stores is REALLY expensive.
1.) Purchasing forests for the paper needed to print method books is REALLY expensive.
2.) Purchasing state of the art digital printers is REALLY expensive.
3.) Hiring 3rd party writers and artists to produce music publications is REALLY expensive.
4.) Warehousing and shipping those products to retail stores is REALLY expensive.
5.) Well....you get the picture.
Even though the meeting was an initial success with a verbal commitment to 'work together', we realized we had better re-think our product and where our efforts would eventually be placed. We were willing to honor our casual commitment but literally on the return flight we decided to go about things a different way. These are the questions we asked ourselves:
1.) Isn't the internet an ideal tool for transferring information?
2.) Isn't a huge part of learning music deciphering a sequence of concepts?
3.) Wouldn't it be 'greener' to publish online?
4.) Isn't the internet here to stay?
5.) Do we have any cash?
Well, we set out to build our music learning software 'in-house' with a staff of passionate educators and a few, uh...nerds. We started by compiling a set of sequential musical concepts that all instrumentalists (and vocalists) should know. Next, we began to put in place some of the processes and hardware needed to complete our task.
Even though the meeting was an initial success with a verbal commitment to 'work together', we realized we had better re-think our product and where our efforts would eventually be placed. We were willing to honor our casual commitment but literally on the return flight we decided to go about things a different way. These are the questions we asked ourselves:
1.) Isn't the internet an ideal tool for transferring information?
2.) Isn't a huge part of learning music deciphering a sequence of concepts?
3.) Wouldn't it be 'greener' to publish online?
4.) Isn't the internet here to stay?
5.) Do we have any cash?
Well, we set out to build our music learning software 'in-house' with a staff of passionate educators and a few, uh...nerds. We started by compiling a set of sequential musical concepts that all instrumentalists (and vocalists) should know. Next, we began to put in place some of the processes and hardware needed to complete our task.
We laid out a Henry Ford-like assembly line to move our information from concept to completion drawing on the unique talents of each individual team member. The more gadget-conscious of us learned things like Fireworks, Dreamweaver, WebQuiz and PowerTracks. Others lent their data entry talents, editing and patience to the mix. All the while we kept our eye on the goal of producing as 'green' a learning tool as we possibly could. We simply kept honing and crafting, learning and failing until we had a usable interface and entirely functional software product.
It has been a long haul since our meeting with Alfred, but through everything we've kept our eye on the green goal. Our product is html based so there is no printing (we recommend GreenPrint for those of you who absolutely MUST have something on the music stand). There is no storage, no shipping and obtaining our brand of music education leaves a near zero carbon footprint. What's more, our users have the ability to directly contact the writers, editors and composers - try that with any other learning material!
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