Wow! It has been a year already. For our new readers/subscribers, I always do a yearly update newsletter/blog in November. There has been a lot on my plate this year. So, without further ado, let’s dive in…
What happened in 2023?
A couple of things happened early in the year. Some new students joined me in January and February. There were also 12 blogs and 12 videos released. I am still thinking of a better way to advertise the original pieces via video. Any thoughts, comment below.
Also, the first EP, “Sounds Like Rain” was released on January 21. It contains some of the first songs I had written for guitar. I was told by my first guitar instructor that the first album was the hardest one. You can read my thoughts on the process here. You can listen to it on Amazon, Apple Music, Deezer, Pandora, Spotify, and YouTube. The guitar parts for the second album are already written. The strings need to be written and recorded.
The Sounds Like Rain songbook was also released with the guitar and string parts. You can pick a digital version on the website or a printed version on Amazon. And… if you just want one or two of the pieces, you can find them in the shop.
As far as sheet music goes, there were several arrangements/transcriptions for the classical guitar released last year as well. You can download these and others for free or pay what you want.
Direction Updates
I think that the main direction for the website is going to be a bookstore. Which leads to composing. That is what I would like to do. There are currently 21 book ideas sitting in the queue. The first one is an update of the first book: Open Position Scales. It is a big update.
There are at least three book releases scheduled for next year. One of them is the Open Position Scale book. I may do four if there is enough time. We’ll see.
Composition Updates
Sheet Music
As I said earlier the first full-length album is written. Many of the pieces are already on the website. Solo and ensemble versions of March of the Ants and Sounds Like Rain have been posted. I have also posted a version of the Weekly, Monthly, Repertoire Worksheet to help you organize your practice.
I would like to do more Royalty-Free Stock Music in the future. I have a ton of ideas, but not the time it seems. I do have a Pond 5 account and will start posting there as time allows.
Website Updates
Pauly joins Payhip. Yep, I moved the whole site over to Payhip. So far, I have been happy with the move. There seems to be better visibility with the site. The builder is incredibly easy to use. Some features were a bit hidden. Not that they hid them on purpose. You can only put so much on the front page of the builder.
Why did I move the Journal? Mainly because I wanted to offer Lessons on the site. However, using WordPress was… um, not a pleasant experience. You had to have a billion plug-ins, selling you the advanced features at a subscription. All of them slowing your site down. None of them worked to full expectations.
Do not get me wrong. WordPress works, but PayHip made a better offer. I have all the functionality I wanted, without having to bother with a bunch of plugins. And the price is right. Whoever thought of this thought it through. What I could not figure out, their customer service was on top of it.
Now, Payhip still needs some tweaks. Like being able to schedule a blog post. However, I hear those are in the works. I am still waiting for the other shoe to drop. You know, when you find something too good to be true. It usually is not. There is usually a catch. Well, so far, I have not found one.
Future Projects
Like I said earlier, there are 21 book ideas in the cue. We are, hopefully, expanding the books to more platforms in the coming year. I would like to have the first full-length album recorder next year as well. That, however, depends on my learning the pieces. Yes, I must learn my pieces.
Of course, more original compositions are coming. A couple of them need cleaning up. I may release them sans fingerings. There are more hymns as well. While the hymns will always be a free download, I am working on some extended versions that will be paid.
Video lessons are on the docket. As soon as I can finish this update to the Open Position Scales book, video lessons are next.
Well, I think that is it for now. Any questions or concerns, you can always contact me on social media or via the contact form. That is all I can think of. Next month we get back to our regularly schedule blogs.
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