2 MusickEd News Flash(es)

News Flash!



The Dallas School of Music, Inc. is expecting one of its biggest Fall Semesters in the 16 year history of the school. This is a testament to the entire DSM team and a great community of music enthusiasts in the North Dallas area. The school is welcoming several new faculty members to handle the increased demand. We'll do a blog feature on some of our awesome staff members in the upcoming months... so stay tuned.

Our other 'passion', MusickEd.com is also experiencing rapid growth and exciting times lie ahead as we are in negotiations on a deal with a major retailer. We'll keep you posted! This will be a 'first of its kind', groundbreaking partnership between music retail and music education enterprises.

The MusickEd software itself is undergoing a massive overhaul in both layout and design. Because our product is internet (html) based, we are able to work 'behind the scenes' and make any and all updates instantly available to our users as they are completed. Current work includes re-formatting the content and layout of the worksheets, editing all quizzes and changing the interface so that each section of the software can be accessed from a single 'page'. Our users spoke and we listened!

Yesterday I had the pleasure of playing through one of the original tunes from our forthcoming Jazz Series. Mike Finkel has put together a terrific Ellington-esque medium tempo ballad stressing the concepts of major and minor 7th chords. Be sure to keep checking back for an exact release date of the Jazz Series due sometime in early '09.

Stay cool!

If You Build It...

There is an old marketing adage that says 'If your idea is great, people will find you'. Thanks go out to Seth Godin for that one. We have always believed the internet could be a terrific vehicle to deliver music education. Hopefully the fruits of this labor are paying off as more and more people learn about the product and services we can provide at MusickEd.com....but I digress.
















Our resident composer/arranger Mike Finkel has an encyclopedic-like knowledge of musical artists, band members and genres. He pulls from all areas of his own personal I-pod of a brain and creates amazing orchestrations. I know because he works right across the hall in office 210... (that's Mike on the left and yours truly on the right).

I asked Mike to give our readers a sneak peek at some of his latest work for the Jazz Series. He says this little beauty is 'drum 'n bass' influenced in a British dance style. Discerning ears may notice a little Weather Report flavored funk as well. We hope you enjoy the track and we welcome your comments. And by the way, feel free to test Mike's music trivia knowledge anytime!

CLICK HERE FOR THE JAZZ SERIES SAMPLE

Response to an AAJ Post

This post is in response to an article on the AAJ (All About Jazz) website. It seems that MENC (Music Educators National Conference) is coming to the rescue of Jazz Educators since the demise of the IAJE (International Association for Jazz Education). OK, enough with the initials already; on with the post.

It strikes me as a somewhat sad state of affairs that jazz educators need to be 'served' and the profession needs to be 'promoted'.

I might even argue that the profession of jazz educating doesn't exist in a traditional sense of the word. After all, what are the options for a jazz educator upon graduation from college? Either work in a traditional school system where one has few if any colleagues or opt to abandon education and/or music altogether.

The goal 'to advance music education by encouraging the study and making of music by all' is a lofty one. Perhaps MENC should contribute to a fund that goes toward teaching jazz educators business and entrepreneurial skills so they can band together and open schools in communities around the country.

Turning our attention to the health of the profession is a great idea. We should be as passionate about music educating as we are about music education. If the benefits of teaching music were as apparent as other professions, we wouldn't need to be promoted or served.