Why Downloading Piano Music Online is Such a Mess

Posted by Copyright Law on July 10th, 2009 at 12:41pm

Let’s say you’re a budding music star. Maybe you play the piano. Like most normal, everyday people, you probably go online. Sure, it’s wonderful for sending messages to friends, watching animals do stupid crap on YouTube, and downloading anything that’s out there. But what about using the internet in a better fashion? Doctors get medical updates. Researchers use the global span of hundreds of search engines. Scientists harness the power of cloud computing. So why should you, a budding musical star, not get access to the same online material that these other jerks get? The Rough State of Piano Music Because digital piano music is a little corner of the internet, and only useful to a specific number of people, its online presence has stuttered. It’s way behind the times. Just as we’re downloading music to our iPods, why should digital piano music be so far behind? Shouldn’t there at least be a dependable site online for proper sheet transcriptions we can trust? Talk About Arbitrary Standards… If you thought music copyrighting was out-of-date, you should see some of the pages pushing digital piano music. Some require you to have a 100% working printer, because you will only have one tiny moment to get a hard copy of what you’ve bought. If something messes up, tough luck. Other sites selling classical music have wildly altering standards when it comes to their files. Sometimes you’ll get a PDF, other occasions a set of PNGs that don’t print cleanly, and on other days you’ll be dumped with a proprietary format that’s generally useless. Users and Reviews Are Fundamental The only true way to guarantee the sheet music you’re buying is honest is through the claims of other users. If other pianists are using the site’s transcriptions, and claiming that they are quality, you can buy with confidence. One of the leading digital sheet music sellers, PianoStreet.com, has also established a burgeoning group of forums around its digital sheet music sales. In reality, the site was born out of a pre-existing forum, named pianoforum.net, so the sale of piano transcriptions was something that came naturally, instead of a straight-up business from the moment of conception. Audio Samples Are Crucial, Too Why download and pay for digital sheet music if you can’t figure out what they should be like when played? Yeah, we admit, your piano teacher might be able to play it for you, but if you’re in this alone, you’ll need to track down a legitimate recording to hear how it should sound. A proper sheet music site should provide loads of mp3 recordings of everything they sell, adding reams of value to the actual transcriptions. Online Forums/Businesses like PianoStreet.com have loads of their most typical easy/intermediate transcriptions online as mp3s, the exact ones that any fresh musician is happy to learn. Pay Once, Download Forever Although content producers won’t budge much, many have come to the realization that the way of the future will probably go the way of subscription models, where you will pay a flat rate and get everything you want. Sites like PianoStreet.com have used this for their content offerings, providing monthly memberships that permit you unlimited access to properly done sheet music. The Good Guys And thus it’s not all hopeless. A little group of sites, led by PianoStreet.com’s contributions, are altering the way digital piano music is being purchased. Ignore the rest and follow the best!

Tags: Classical Piano Sheet Music, Download Sheet Music, Piano, Piano Sheet Music, Sheet Music