In another club in whih Jims a member, they said Et in terra pax goes reall nice
with Josh's Petals and ashes.  Any thoughts on that?<br><br>Max

Gods of Music have reviewed the first movement of my Piano Concerto No. 1.  The
review is at :<br><br><a href=http://www.godsofmusic.com?rID=492
target=new>http://www.godsofmusic.com?rID=492</a><br><br>Any
comments?<br><br>Jim

Did reviewer Andrew listen to the MP3s with
Carson Cooman playing, or the CMR
renderings?<br><br>Either way, the favorable review from the perspective of
one who actively listens to many different kinds of
music is a good thing.<br><br>Al.

Al,<br><br> Andrew listened to the CMR rendering
and thought it was live! I wrote him and let him know
it was rendered, but he was not any less impressed
due to that.<br><br> It's a testiment to the great
job Steve Mitchell did rendering the
concerto!<br><br>Jim

Agreeeeeed!<br><br>kudos to a receptive reveiwer!

"Fascinating."

So what's the deal with the back the band messages?  I don't even see any on
your mp3.com page.

I don't want any BTB message on my mp3.com page
and I put that comment there in case someone did put
one there and also to discourage anyone thinking
about it from doing it.<br><br>I ***DESPISE*** Back the
Band!

Its unfortunate some of the turns mp3.com has taken, treating artists like Wall
street stocks.  But at least, Jim, youve managed to be successful on mp3.com
without selling out.<br><br>Bob

Know what you mean, Bob. I'm embarrassed about my
MP3.com page announcing I've earned $50 in Payback for
Playback, but I think maybe I would be just as embarrased
if it announced I've earned as much as Jim (just a
bit shy of $3000).<br>But hopefully, people don't pay
attention to those dollar amounts (probably none of them go
around comparing which MP3.com artists have made more
money) and that it still comes thru that Jim is a
down-to-earth kind of fellow.<br><br>Al.

Nobody I know likes to have their Payback for Playback $$$ posted on their page
- I know I don't!  That should be no one else's business.

I've moved my stuff to
<a href=http://ampcast.com/heppleston
target=new>http://ampcast.com/heppleston</a> and <a
href=http://stage.vitaminic.com/heppleston
target=new>http://stage.vitaminic.com/heppleston</a> and
<a href=http://amazon.com target=new>http://amazon.com</a> and am working on <a
href=http://listensmart.com target=new>http://listensmart.com</a> too.
Mp3.com ain't the only game in town!

Thom,<br><br> You are the man! I'll be visiting
all those sites today and downloading like crazy! But
ONLY if your pages on those sites have "Back The Band"
links on them, so I can add my own... :-)<br><br>Jim

Then their's iuma too.

Al e-mailed me about new versions of your music
and said I should update my stations. But maybe I'll
keep the music I got downloaded already, maybe label
it 'old versions' before I download the
new.<br><br>Max

Thanks for reminding me to post this
Max!<br><br>I would like to publically take this chance to
thank Philip Goddard for spending a LOT of time and
energy producing incredibly good renderings of my Organ
Symphony and 'Et in Terra Pax (Hymn for Hovhaness)'. The
organ registrations were picked with perfection, and he
really made my symphony come alive! Philip also took it
upon himself to create an orchestral arrangement of
'Et in Terra Pax' and render that for me as well. I
can't thank Philip enough, and I hope that as many
people as possible will listen to these new and
wonderful renderings. The links to the new works
are:<br><br><br>Symphony No. 1 for Organ, Op. 52<br><br>Et in Terra Pax
(Organ version)<br><br>Et in Terra Pax (Orchestral
version)<br><br><br>and they can be found on my mp3.com page at
:<br><br><a href=http://www.mp3.com/signorile/
target=new>http://www.mp3.com/signorile/</a><br><br><br>Thank you again
Philip!!!<br><br>Jim Signorile

I promised I would update my stations last week, but I didn't.  But I've had a
chance to listen to the new versions, and the orchestral version of Et in Terra,
Pax, is nice.<br><br>Al.

I just read your impressive but unusual biodata
showing your degrees in Music and Computer Science. Query
- is a composer's work suddenly made easier by
computer technology? For example, can you now play your
tunes on an electronic piano (or a clarinet into a
microphone) hooked up to a computer and then (after clicking
the mouse) read the printed measures in the monitor?
Or do you still have to sit down in front of a blank
music sheet and write every note and sharp and flat and
rest? Is that kind of program for sale at computer
stores?

Yes, the mechanical part of a composer's work is
made easier by computers. You can indeed play on a
MIDI keyboard (or other MIDI instrument) and have what
you played come out in a notation program (such as
Finale or Sibelius that you can buy at computer or music
stores), where you can save it, print it, etc. And when
it's all entered, you can have the computer program
transpose it, extract parts, etc., etc. It's a wonderful
tool that does away with the need to write every note
and accidental on a piece of blank music paper. Some
people still chose to write on paper, however, and you
use whatever works best for you.<br><br>The hard
part, the actual creative process behind composition,
hasn't changed for me due to computers. That is still
hard work that no computer can help with (and I want
it that way for myself). The computer is just a tool
to help you put your ideas down easier, but you must
still come up with those ideas yourself, the old
fashioned way.<br><br>Jim Signorile

What about the performance aspect?  Musicians worry that one day midi playback
equipment could be good enouhg to replace them entirely.<br><br>Bob Soupe

Bob,<br><br> I think people will always want the
experience of hearing music performed by live musicians, so
although MIDI will cut into the need for live
performances, I think the future is not that bleak.<br><br>Jim

Jim writes "I think people will always want the
experience of hearing music performed by live
musicians."<br><br>That's absolutely right. At a concert of music by Wayne
State composers, Stewart MacLean came out on stage,
bowed, pressed a button on a synthesizer and left, and
the machine started playing his composition, a fast
piece for piano. The next day Stewart asked me what I
thought of his piece. I was honest, I told him that I was
so distracted by his leaving the stage empty of
humans, that I was unable to appreciate the merits of his
piece.<br><br>I listen to machines play back recordings and MIDIs
all day, but when I go to a concert, I expect to see
live musicians onstage, and all the better if they
improvise too.<br><br>Al.

Hi all!<br><br>I've been offline for a few months
trying to get education and so forth, thoroughly sorted
out.<br><br>Great to see that this club is thriving - a testament
to the brilliant work of a certain composer of whom
we are all immensely envious! :-)<br><br>I don't
know if it's been discussed, but I'm working on a
brand new, 21st century rendering of Jim's Gloria. It's
been in work for ages (almost a year) since I am
constantly improving and upgrading. Every time it gets close
to being "done", something crops up - and suddenly
my "state of the art" is gaslight! I think, however,
we're getting somewhere now.<br><br>As all the members
as my witness:<br><br>I WILL DELIVER (ONE OF) THE
MOST REALISTIC MIDI RENDERINGS EVER HEARD. Jim will
receive it through the post and upload it.<br><br>If I
don't come up with the goods, feel free to spam me with
offensive mail! :-0<br><br>Cheers all, hope your back's
getting better Jim - email you in a day or
so!<br><br>Danny

It's great to hear from you again Danny, and I'm
really excited about the Gloria rendering!<br><br>I'll
be going into the hospital tomorrow (6/14) for 3
level fusion surgery on my back, and I'll be in the
hospital for about 4 days. Then I will start a recovery
period that will last about 3 months. So, if you email
me and don't get a reply for a little while, you'll
know why! :-)<br><br>I do have a laptop computer now,
so I should be able to stay in touch once I'm home
and over the initial rough pain period.<br><br>Wish
me luck everyone!<br><br>Jim

Good luck on the surgery and get well soon!<br><br>John

Thank you John! I just got home yesterday after 5
1/2 days in the hospital, and now I'm in recovery
phrase, which will be long (at least 3 months), but the
surgery was also long - around 9 hours!<br><br>Talk to
you all later!<br><br>Jim

Say, are you still at composition quarters?<br><br>John

John,<br><br> Yes, I'm still a member of CQ, but
my health problems of late has greatly limited my
time online, and my visits to CQ have suffered as a
result. I hope to get back on there as I recover
more.<br><br>Jim

Hi Jim<br><br>Thought you had the surgery ages ago! Waiting lists obviously as
bad for you as it is for us. ;-)<br><br>Hope you feel better
sooooooon!<br><br>Danny

Hi Danny,<br><br> Nope, I had surgery on June
14th, which was just about 1 month from the date it was
agreed that surgery was necessary and would proceed. The
hospital could actually have taken me a week earlier, but
the surgeon chose the date of 6/14. So, it was
basically a one month waiting period for me, which from
what I've heard, is still a lot shorter than in many
other countries.<br><br> It seems with socialized
medicine, the wait is forever but the services are free,
while with the US system, the wait is much smaller
(usually) but you can spend your entire life savings on one
big surgery. I don't know which I prefer - it's
really being between a rock and a hard place. Both have
good aspects and both also suck big time in other
ways. I guess the solution is for me to win the lottery
and not have to worry about the cost!<br><br>Thank
you for the well wishes!!!!<br><br>Jim