Sheet Music

I have been wanting to learn some new songs in my singing lesson, but have been so depressed, exhausted and overwhelmed, that I haven`t been able to push myself to go to the music store to find some new sheet music.

So on Thursday, after yet another failed effort to get to the store, I thought I would check out some online resources. I came across a really great website called "musicnotes.com".

At first I was a bit skeptical about the site, because it asks you to download software. I was concerned about viruses etc. because I didn't know the site, but because I desperately wanted a new piece of music for my lesson that day I took a chance and downloaded the software.

Once you download it you can choose the music you want to print, pay for it, and it is available immediately. They have all kinds of music available for all kinds of instruments. Having sheet music as accessible as i-tunes has recorded music is wonderful, but that is not the best thing about Musicnotes.

When I cam home from my singing lesson I opened my computer and noticed two new icons on my desktop: "musicnotes player" and "guitar guru". I opened them to see what they were. I was thrilled.

The "guitar guru" opens up a window with a diagram/picture of a guitar neck with frets and strings, and it shows the area where a guitarist plucks/plays the strings. When you purchase a song on Musicnotes you also gain access to guitar lessons for that song. When you open the song in guitar guru the online guitar shows left hand finger placement for all the notes/chords, as well as what the strumming/picking hand is supposed to do. You can slow it down in the beginning until you learn the song and speed it up to the correct tempo as you become more proficient at playing the song.

The guitar guru is amazing, but for me the "musicnotes player" is even more exciting. When you open your purchased song in "musicnotes player" it opens the music and then plays the piano/guitar music for the song, lights up the vocalist's notes showing the singer how the notes are supposed to be read (timing/tempo etc.), and uses a flute type instrument to show the singer the sound of each note on the sheet music. It is like having a singing instructor available 24/7.

I just purchased a song called "Calling You", by Holly Cole. I am not a huge fan of Holly Cole's, but I heard this song in a movie, (Baghdad Cafe), and it is hauntingly beautiful. I sang it in my lesson and my voice is perfect for it.

If you play/sing music I encourage you to check out Musicnotes. It is so easily accessible and has some pretty cool features.