Resources for Music Artist

My 14 year old daughter is passionate about music. She plays guitar, writes songs & sings. At $0.90/minute for her weekly music lessons with a Berkley graduate, there isn't any money left over for the super tech software she needs to compete with today's artist. So I set out to find all the music tools out there, and their free/inexpensive alternatives.

SOFTWARE

BASIC AUDIO RECORDING

• Audacity $ FREE

MULTI-AUDIO and/or MIDI PRODUCTION

• GarageBand
• FruityLoops
• Live
• Pro Tools
• Logic
• Reason
• SONAR
• Digital Performer

DIGITAL AUDIO WORKSTATION "DAW"

• Cockos, Inc.’s Reaper (full-featured software)
• EarSketch $ FREE
• Python programming environment for Reaper developed at Georgia Tech

TEXT EDITOR

• Komodo (free).

FREE WEB COURSES

• Music and Computers: A Theoretical and Historical Approach by Phil Burk, Larry Polansky, Douglas Repetto, Mary Roberts, and Dan Rockmore

FREE ONLINE BOOK/READING

• Theory and Techniques of Electronic Music by Miller Puckette
• Composing and Producing Electronic Music by Loudon Stearns

Subway's Birthday Cookies

I fell in love with Subway's Birthday Cookies and set out to make my own.  I modified a Trisha Yearwood recipe and it was a success!

Weeknight Dinners

I have listed dinner "concepts" here.  I call them "concepts" because I have listed specific instructions. If there is enough interest, I will add specifics.

Baked Potato Rounds

On a greased baking pan, cover sliced pre-baked potatoes with shredded cheese, real-bacon bits, and chopped green onions (conveniently pre-cut & freezer stored in a reused  16 oz. water bottle), and any other toppings you like.  Bake them on 350ᵒ F until the cheese is melted.  Add sour cream if your heart desires.
*I will update the time & add a picture the next time I make these.  

Mexican Pizza

Fry ground beef and tortillas. Add ground beef and mashed pinto beans/black beans to top of 1 tortilla.  Add another tortilla.  Top with salsa, Mexican blend cheese, diced tomatoes and green onions  (conveniently pre-cut & freezer stored in a reused water bottle).  Bake on 350ᵒ F until cheese is melted.
*I will update the time & add a picture the next time I make these.  

For my picky sons, add ranch, ground beef and cheese to the top only.

BBQ Turn-Overs

Roast a pork shoulder using McCormick BBQ Slow Roaster seasoning pack as directed.  When done remove excess fat from the shoulder.  Break it up using a large fork.  Add your favorite BBQ sauce.  Roll out crescent rolls into squares (two triangles) and drop the BBQ onto one side of the square.  Wrap the remaining dough over the BBQ and seal the edges gently with your fingers.  Be bake for 20 minutes at temperature directed on the crescent roll package.
*I will update the time & add a picture the next time I make these. 

Money $aving Apps

Mobile Apps for Shopping

 

Smoopa (Free)

Compare prices among retailers using Smoopa.  Search by product name or scanning the UPC barcode.  The app returns the sale price for multiple stores.  As a bonus, users can earn cash rewards using this app.

* Compatible with the Android & IOS (Apple) platform.

 

Red Laser (Free)

Compare prices with RedLaser, an official EBay app.  While providing online prices, RedLaser also focuses on prices at retailers near you.  Search by product name or scanning UPC barcode.

*Compatible Android, Windows and IOS (Apple) platforms. 

 

Amazon (Free)

With Amazon's app you can search by entering the product name or scan the barcode.  Note that many stores will only price match the listings offered by Amazon, i.e. BestBuy.

*Compatible with Android, Blackberry & IOS(Apple) platforms. 

 

CouponCabin (Free)

Get coupons for groceries, local retailers, codes for online retailers, freebies, and daily deals!  Use coupons in-store from you device.  Even add paper coupons to your device for use in-store! Shop gas prices by the map feature!  This app sends alerts when coupons are available from stores near your location, and notifies you when your coupons are about to expire.  This is one handy app! 

*Compatible with Android, Blackberry & IOS(Apple) platforms.