Crook's Music Service - blog

152 of the World's Most Beautiful Songs

2012-02-12T22:21:00.001-06:00

In the previous post, I referred to the Alfred Music Publishing company. Back in December they released a collection of songs called "152 of the World's Most Beautiful Songs". It's written in standard sheet music format for piano with lyrics and guitar chords. Priced at $26.99 with 152 songs, that works out to 18 cents per song. Click here to go to Alfred's site and view the description of this great collection. But here are just a few of the song titles in this book -

As Time Goes By , At Last , Because You Loved Me
Blue Moon , Body And Soul , Bridge Over Troubled Water
Desperado , Go Rest High On That Mountain , How Do I Live
I Only Have Eyes For You , I Swear , Theme From Ice Castles
I'll Walk With God , Let There Be Peace On Earth
Love Story (Where Do I Begin) , Misty , Moonlight Serenade
Open Arms , Over The Rainbow , The Prayer , The Rose
The Sound of Silence , Star Dust , That's What Friends Are For
Up Where We Belong , When I Fall In Love
Whiter Shade of Pale , You Light Up My Life , You Raise Me Up

That gives you an idea about the variety included in this collection. I currently have 10 copies of this book in stock.....

Sheet Music Direct

2012-02-12T21:42:00.000-06:00

Sheet Music Direct is a website where you can view, buy and print sheet music right from your very own computer. This link takes you to the page that explains how it works. Basically, you set up an account with your credit card info and then you can print sheet music from the thousands of songs available. You don't have to set up an account to search the site. If you are just curious about who wrote a song, you can find the song by title and then view the first page where you can see the composer's name. The site is a product of the Hal Leonard Corporation , the world's largest music publisher, and though the database is huge, there are some popular songs that "belong" to other publishers. ( Alfred Music Publishing is the other large print music publisher)

There is a direct link to Sheet Music Direct from my website (CrooksMusic.com) that benefits me financially if you follow that link and then download sheet music.

Finally, Crook's Music Service is an authorized Hal Leonard Digital Retailer where we offer "instant delivery" of all the available songs from the Sheet Music Direct website. Songs are available in many different formats, e.g. Guitar Tablature, Fake Book (Lead Sheet) Style, Lyrics Only, Easy Piano, Big-Note Piano, and Piano/Vocal/Guitar (which I refer to as standard sheet music).

P.S. Depending on format, price ranges from $ .99 to $3.99 each.

2012

2012-01-01T10:01:00.000-06:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 2012!

Merry Christmas to all!

2011-12-23T16:10:00.000-06:00

From Matthew, chapter 1...
¹⁸ Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. ²⁰ But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. ²¹ And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”
²² So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: ²³ “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated, “God with us.”

The reason we have Christmas, to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, saviour of the world!

Everyone have a Merry Christmas!

OPEN THIS FRIDAY (Nov. 25th)

2011-11-23T17:10:00.000-06:00

Of course we will be closed Thanksgiving Day, but Crook's Music Service will be open on Friday 10 A.M. til 5 P.M. We will have our own "Black Friday Sale" of sorts, with many items on sale 10% to 30% off.

Kala Ukadelics

2011-11-18T16:53:00.000-06:00

Here they are...

I have these priced at $85.00 They are soprano sized ukuleles and come with Aquila brand strings, which are probably the best ukulele strings available.

Ukuleles have made a comeback!

2011-11-18T16:32:00.001-06:00

I have been an Authorized Dealer for Kala Brand Ukuleles for a few years now. They make a quality ukulele that I sell for less than $40 and they also make some ukes that go for more than $600, so they really cover a lot of price points and have a great variety of instruments to choose from. Here is a video of their "Ukadelic" series. I currently have several of these in stock (priced at $85).

Hot Springs New Horizons Band - video

2011-11-18T16:19:00.001-06:00

I mentioned in a previous post that I direct a group called the Hot Springs New Horizons Band. One of our members uploaded video to YouTube. There are 2 videos of the group from a May 2011 performance. One is the familiar tune "Brazil" by S. K. Russell & Ary Barroso, arranged by Johnnie Vinson, and the other is a short segment of "Salute To Louis Armstrong" arranged by Eric Osterling.

I've been busy!

2011-10-01T13:29:00.000-05:00

Well, the "back-to-school rush" has slowed down, or rather has ended. So maybe I can post to this blog more often. I'm at the store today, listening to the Arkansas - Texas A&M game on the radio (not good for the Razorbacks) and it's been quiet... I guess people are watching the game instead of shopping. October is typically a slow month and then business will usually pick up as the Christmas season nears. (Of course this stagnant economy is not helping things)

One of the most common trumpet repairs...

2011-08-16T20:48:00.001-05:00

One of the most common repairs to trumpets is pulling a stuck mouthpiece, usually a simple procedure when you use the correct tool. Also very common is when someone has tried to pull the mouthpiece without the proper tool and the braces get pulled apart. See picture below...

(click on photo for larger version)

So what would have been a very inexpensive repair will now cost much more. Sometimes I even pull a stuck mouthpiece for free, it usually takes less than 5 minutes.

A word about music stands...

2011-08-03T17:37:00.002-05:00

A good portable music stand is something almost every musician needs.

Here's a photo of my 3 best sellers. From left to right:

the Peak SMS-22 ($39.95), Peak SMS-10 ($25.00), SLM #SSH001 ($15.00)

Each of these stands fold up & fit in their own carrying bag.
(click on the photo for larger version)

Summer NAMM Show, Nashville, TN

2011-07-23T21:11:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I attended the Summer NAMM Show in Nashville, Tennessee where I got to see some of the folks I talk to on the phone at my business.

I placed orders to restock merchandise for the Fall selling season. Coming soon will be more Kala brand ukuleles , some new school band accessory items, Peak Music Stands and some new print music publications.

The NAMM Show from inside the Nashville Convention Center -

More Bands

2011-07-12T16:49:00.002-05:00

Within the Hot Springs Community Band, there are several affiliate groups.

I am the director of one of those groups - The Hot Springs New Horizons Band.

The band performs mainly in area retirement homes, playing 5 or 6 programs a year.

There are actually several "New Horizons" bands around the country. The idea for this

type of music program started 20 years ago in Rochester, New York by Mr. Roy Ernst.

Another photo...

And here's a video clip...

Most members of a New Horizons band, played an instrument back in their school days

and after raising a family and completing a career have resumed playing for the fun of it.

Some folks have taken up playing a wind instrument for the first time as an adult. That's

a unique feature of the New Horizons concept, offering instruction for adult beginners.

Speaking of community bands.....

2011-07-04T21:51:00.000-05:00

Speaking of community bands (see previous post), we have a good one here in Hot Springs - www.HotSpringsBand.org . We have 2 important things going for us: a great conductor, Dr. Craig Hamilton (from Ouachita Baptist University) and great support from our local community. For me, it's a privilege to be a part of this fine organization. Sometimes I get to play a solo - here's a recent performance of the band playing At a Dixieland Funeral by Jared Spears. (the link is a mp3 file; I'm playing trumpet on the "dixieland combo" sections)
Here's a picture of the performance...

85 year old band director still going strong...

2011-07-04T20:46:00.002-05:00

One of my Facebook friends found this great story about Johnny Long, a band director who is still directing at age 85, a community band in Troy, Alabama. The story is here on CBSNews.com (video or print story).
What I like most about the interview is when Mr. Long says "All I know about band is... that you spell it F-U-N, and if you change that, it's over." I totally agree.

Webpage that has a video of me comparing two vintage trumpets...

2011-07-01T17:32:00.000-05:00

Recently (6/09/2011), I acquired a nice vintage trumpet to add to my collection.
It is a Bach Stradivarius probably built in early 1957. It really is a fine playing horn.
I created a webpage that has pictures and a short video clip of me playing the Bach trumpet and a 1948 Martin Committee. (click here to go to that page)

What Crook's Music Service offers:

2011-06-30T10:38:00.000-05:00

Crook's Music Service does woodwind instrument repair and brass instrument repair . Plus, we sell all of the neccessary accessory items for the school band student, such as reeds, mouthpieces, lubricants, cleaning supplies, drum sticks, etc. We stock piano method books, band method books, popular sheet music and songbooks. If you are looking for a nice used trumpet, clarinet or other wind instrument, we usually have some good buys available. I always include a one year warranty on the used horns we sell.

What you would call a "niche" item and is doing pretty well, is Kala Brand Ukuleles. They are inexpensive, easy to play and a lot of fun!

That's all for this post. Remember, music makes you smarter!

Here's something new!

2011-06-25T19:36:00.000-05:00

I have thought about having a blog for awhile, so here goes.
Mainly, this blog will be about music related topics. I starting playing the trumpet when I was 10 years old and have been in the retail music business for 30+ years, so that's what I know about... music stuff! I own a music store in Hot Springs, Arkansas and I'll use this blog to tell about the goings on at Crook's Music Service .

OK, more later....