I am truly blessed to be able to make a living with guitar in hand. For this I am thankful beyond words. Life as I know it would not be possible without my students and their families. I appreciate you so much and want to take this opportunity to say thank you! Whatever holidays your family celebrates, I hope they are filled with warmth and happiness in great measure.

Thanks again for making my dream possible.

Since my rant last time about illegal downloads I am pleased that many students have been curious about where they might find music to download legally. I am convinced that this is how most music will be distributed in the future. We may as well get used to it.

Since the technology is relatively new, the marketplace is very fluid at this point. There are a couple of different approaches being taken. The most straightforward, in my view, is where you select the songs you want, pay with a credit card (usually .99/tune) and download them. Three of this type that I have found are:

• www.liquid.com
  • Windows only (WMA - Digital Rights Management)
  • No proprietary software
  • Gift Certificates
  
  
• www.iTunes.com(Apple Computer)
  • Mac & Windows
  • Download software
  • Gift Certificates
  • Allowance Accounts
  
  
• www.napster.com
  • This is the NEW Napster.
  • Windows only (XP or 2000 required)
  • Download software.
  
  

This is by no means a comprehensive list. As I said, the situation is changing rapidly. New sites will appear and old ones will change or disappear. Such is life in the digital age.

New information as of (1/1/05).

• liquid.com is no longer providing music downloads. 8(

New information as of (12/26/03).

• www.BuyMusic.com
  • Windows only (WMA - Digital Rights Management)
  • IE 5.0 or higher required to even browse.
  • Download their "Download Manager".
  
  
• http://MusicDownloads.WalMart.com
  • Windows only (WMA - Digital Rights Management)
  • Cheap - 88¢ per track!
  
  

A fairly extensive list of legal download sites can be found at www.mp3.about.com/cs/buymp3music/

The holiday season presents a great opportunity to enhance your child's (or your own) musical experience with inexpensive but useful accessories.

First make sure they have the necessities like a tuner, metronome and music stand.

A guitar stand or a new cord is always useful. Stocking up on expendables like picks and strings is good too. Depending on their wants and needs a slide or capo might be appreciated.

Since we are what we eat, tickets to a concert could be a lot of fun although it's a bit more spendy than most of these things. Don't forget the earplugs.

Finally comes the old standby, CD's. Why not give them something a little different than their usual fare. Let them taste some blues or jazz. Classical, country, world beat or Balinese gamelan music. It's all good. Of course, as a last resort, a record store or a legal download site gift certificate is quick and easy.

Call or e-mail me at jwh@BeadGame.net if you have questions.

Happy Holidays!