My first keyboard has been published!!!

[musicman100]

Hi,

I hope you don't mind me posting this but my first book has just been published. I have arranged and selected the songs for Electronic keyboard. It is very excited to see the book been published -although I have not received my own copy yet!!

http://www.musicroom.com/se/ID_No/0438185/details.html

Thanks

Nigel

[kempedkemp]

Excellent! Congratulations! and published in several versions for other instruments, no less! Nice work! Good luck with sales.

[musicman100]

Excellent! Congratulations! and published in several versions for other instruments, no less! Nice work! Good luck with sales.


Thanks for the kind words Ed.

Yes the series is very popular I used the piano one when I taught, so hopefully it should help with sales of the keyboard one.

Nigel

[dbjorck]

Hi!

That is great!

Would you mind sharing with us exactly how you did it? The work involved? Finding and convincing a publisher? The money you need to invest?

Just interested in the blood, sweat and tears that could go into such an endevour.

Brgds

Danny

[musicman100]

Thanks for that Danny,

I downloaded your mp3 of Paganini Variation XVIII. It was excellent!! I will try the midi file on the cvp 407. How long did it take you to sequence/play it in??

Right this could be a long post!!

Last year in March 2006 I e-mailed the editor at music sales ( the publisher that publishes the making the grade series) about the possibility of a keyboard making the grade book. I had used the piano ones for quite a few years and I knew there was not a good keyboard book that was carefully graded. I had taught keyboard for 15 years and had arranged hundreds of tunes for my pupils using Sibelius software so I thought I had enough experience to do the book. I had thought of publishing a book myself but after sorting the music rights, getting it into shops ( the hard bit), paying for the printing it didn’t seem worth it.

He e-mailed back saying they were looking at maybe a keyboard book for the series and if they decide to do one they would get in touch.!! – I didn’t hold much hope that they would be back in touch!!.

In September 2006 I e-mailed him again to see if anything was happening!!. I got an automated e-mail back saying he had left and there were 2 new editors which had replaced him. So I e-mailed them both. Within one day I got an e-mail back from one of the new editors, and she said she had looked at the series and thought a keyboard book would do well. I then had to send some sibelius files of keyboard arrangements which I did. She submitted a proposal to the MD for a book and cd. Luckily she liked my work and the MD approved the project. So in the middle of October I was commissioned to do the book.

With regard to money I didn’t have too pay anything!! They pay me a fee for choosing and arranging the music, and a fee for engraving the music with sibelius.( The fee has gone towards paying for my new CVP 407!!) So I send them virtually a finished book. I was commissioned for 15 to 20 pieces of music.

I then spent between then and Christmas looking ,trying and arranging music checking to see if the rights were available or not!! By the new year I had a list of about 30 to 35 pieces. Which then I got down to 20 pieces by discarding ones that were too hard ( kept for future books)and ones that the rights were not available.

By April I had finished arranging all the 18 tunes in the final publish format. It does take a while to get everything right. The book went to the printers in June and then last week it appeared on-line and is now in the music shops!!.

So quite a long time.

So I was just luck finding an editor at music sales who thought the project would sell.

Nigel

[dbjorck]

Hi!

Great story! And the process didn't take that long as far as I see it - just half a year of your time. And no outlays! I'm assuming you are getting royalties on the sales?

I downloaded your mp3 of Paganini Variation XVIII. It was excellent!! I will try the midi file on the cvp 407. How long did it take you to sequence/play it in??

I always take a couple of days to record. I don't sequence but play every part myself. Sometimes remixing lasts into a third day. And sometimes I come back to the piece and remix it some days later. But I always post it already after the first couple of days. In this case I think I did it all in one day actually. If you're going to try a MIDI of mine on the 407, also try my latest post, the Roman October Festival. It uses much more different instruments, sounds, and effects. I'm particularly interested in knowing how the bell tree sounds at the beginning of the love song, it seems to be cutting off prematurely on my 309, like there is a polyphony issue.

Brgds

Danny

[musicman100]

Hi!

Great story! And the process didn't take that long as far as I see it - just half a year of your time. And no outlays! I'm assuming you are getting royalties on the sales?



No unfortunately I don't get any royalties. the original composers of the music I arranged get that. I just get the arrangers fee. But that is not so bad.

I will try your other midi file.

Nigel