Understanding Guitar

One Beginners’ Efforts

I’ve spent time working on a MS Windows program that I will eventually release as open source. The program isn’t spectacular — it is a hierarchical ToDo list. This means that you can have sub-tasks. I like this type of tool while I work (as a programmer).

Anyway, it got me thinking about something… Millions and millions of programmers work on open source software software each day. Some of the most notable open-source products include (but are not limited to) FireFox (the web browser) and OpenOffice (A Microsoft Office Compatible Office suite). These two programs, I imagine, have hundreds of people working on them; thousands of programmers are willing to work on free products. Given this, then why isn’t there free music? There should be thousands of free songs!

Perhaps there is? Perhaps I’m not looking in the right place? Either way, it probably isn’t wildly known else I’d have stumbled upon it by now…

I wrote my aforementioned program as a practice piece. Something to hone certain skills and to see what I could produce. I guess what I’m trying to ask is: do musician or bands create and record songs and release them for free for the same purpose? Or perhaps with the idea of getting feedback from the public in order to improve or perhaps just to hear how one sounds on a recorded and mixed song?

I know that Jonathan Coulton did something like this. He spent, I believe, a year releasing a song a week on his blog for free. You can still download those songs.

Do you do things like this?

I suppose some people do this on YouTube, doing covers and stuff. But I’m looking specificity at original material?

Yesterday morning, on Q101’s “The Morning Fix” I heard of Acoustic-Chicago – which seems to be a project put together by a record producer which has auditioned unsigned local Chicago bands and then picked out a dozen or so to put on to a commercial compilation CD.

The CD releases this coming Tuesday (November 20^th, 2007). Furthermore, I understand that there is a release party on Wednesday (November 21^st, 2007) at a Joe’s on Weed street in Chicago. (For those of you not familiar “Weed Street – In Chicago” is a big party area – lots of clubs)

Anyway, back to the point of this post – I love local music. Being that I live near Chicago I will go see local bands performing at various bars and such. This is a huge opportunity for both the local bands and listening public of Chicago. I encourage you to check out the CD!

There are also several others cities in the “acoustic” series. Check out the website to see if there is one for your major city.

http://www.acoustic-usa.com/