http://www.openculture.com/freeonlinecourses

Scroll down to music:

Dave Conservatoire (Music Theory Lessons) – Web – David Rees, Royal College of Music, London
Free Music Courses (Multiple Offerings) – Web Site – Berklee College of Music
Listening to Music – Download Course – Professor Craig Wright, Yale
Politics in Music – iTunes – Web – Courtney Brown, Emory Craig Wright, Yale
The Unanswered Question: 6 Lectures on Music – YouTube – Leonard Bernstein, Harvard

In honor of this… a meme. Don’t @ Spam Me Bro!

The process was at times unbearable. I consistently questioned whether I was doing the right thing and even if I should bother continuing. It was too much work. Too daunting. Very discouraging. I didn’t see a lot of grace even though I apologized frequently for letting people down (because of delays etc). The whole process felt awkward.

Where did I start?

I made a list of everything I do. I wrote out all of my responsibilities. Then I put it away for a week and came back to it. I started crossing off things that were not important and in some cases things I enjoyed but weren’t important. Tough to do. One of the reasons I was in the position I was is that I said “yes” too often when I shouldn’t have. I also deviated from the plan that got me to where I am in the first place. The first month of the process was eye opening and helped me recognize how far the goal was away and yet that it was attainable.

Now what?

The list was prioritized. It was 8 full pages written out by hand. I figured that I had listed about 500 projects. Some that take a few minutes and others months… a few even years. As I worked through the list I constantly reassessed and reworked the list. I resisted the temptation to continue adding. That was a problem early on. Internally I continued to fight the process but knew that eventually it was going to be worth it.

The process is near the end.

For the first 18 months I doubted, struggled and wondered often “what the heck am I doing?” sometimes every day. The last 3-6 months have been the most rewarding. All that early groundwork is now showing dividends. It’s funny how that works. The work now is no less important than the work at the start. Yet I felt entirely differently.

The nugget of gold.

Details. I had a clear objective overall and in each individual part of the plan. Sticking with the details is what will make this all a success. It has worked. The funny thing is that I hadn’t even considered early on just how important the details were. I just went to work.

In a landscape of life and music, it’s busy. Things move very fast. Details are forgotten. Overlooked. Unresearched. We’re so busy looking towards this “goal” that we forget the important details. These details are often the foundation of success.

On a daily basis I see a lot of music that’s obviously rushed. I see records released by artists and record labels with no real plan. Well, their plan is to emulate and copy other peoples plans. Unfortunately, the people they are following haven’t paid attention to details either. People matter. If people matter, you should be intensely concerned about details. It’s stewardship. Sloppily rolling out your album release reflects on you. It reflects on your message. It affects your bottom line. Whether you’re worried about ministry, business or a healthy mix of both… be a good steward. Be detail oriented. If you don’t really know what you’re doing… get help from someone who does. KNOW what you’re doing and why you’re doing it rather than following some mythical model of “this is how so and so does it”.

Don’t be too busy for details. They matter. I learned that again after 2 years and 5000+ hours or work during that time. I’m thankful I did it right.

I read the following quote on Copyblogger and it makes fantastic sense. It’s also bearing true for Sphere of Hip-Hop in many ways.

Your Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instragram, and any other fans/followers should have frequent opportunities to come back to your site for content they can only find there, and to subscribe to your email list for even more premium content.

With recent changes at places like Facebook where sharing information via your Page now reaches even fewer of your fans, what are you going to do?

“If you don’t believe that ninjas have REAL Ultimate Power you better get a life right now or they will chop your head off!!! It’s an easy choice, if you ask me.”

Real Ultimate Power / Ninjas

PS: Read the hate mail section. It’s super funny. (pardon the language)

Our content is changing. We’ve got a sharper focus and are honing in on a specific type of material to feature on the site. If you’ve been rolling with us for a while, it’ll be the same but only better. If you’ve only know about us for a short time… give us a shot to win your repeat visits.

Back to work. See you soon.

(click for larger version)

Two videos… watch them both. Big fan of the track “Slowly”.

Amon Tobin ‘ISAM’ Live (Extended Trailer)

Amon Tobin – Slowly (ISAM Live at Sydney Opera House)