Have you ever wanted to learn to play the piano, but thought you were too old? Didn’t have enough talent? Not enough time? Lessons too expensive? Well, now you have a new and exciting option!

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We all know it's not legal to share your MP3 files for download online. None the less, P2P sharing and Bittorrent download sites, rife with viruses, abound. I never advocate downloading via P2P, due to the legalities as well as the nasty nasty items that can end up on your computer. I have no intention of opening up my ports to download such songs, or to be a seed for others to access my computer to get the songs. However, it is perfectly legal to stream your songs (Flash is a typical and popular file type used) for others to hear. It's also perfectly legal to listen to streaming audio. One site (which for some reason after all this time is still listed as beta) helps take this to a wonderful new level.

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I don't care for iTunes. I don't like the software and I don't want to pay $.99 for each song I download, only be able to listen to them solely on my iPod or my computer. No burning of CD's etc. But I was also hesitant of the various MP3 DRM-free download sites out there. Recently, Amazon has introduced downloads that "appear" DRM free (I've not really bothered to find out) as at the price tag of $.89 each is still too rich for my blood. But I've found a reputable, and much more cost effective solution...

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Did that get your attention? I suppose I'm guilty - of trying to get my 13-year old male offspring to listen to songs I like. I mean really! Kids these days have no appreciation for the classics, like....er.....Pink Floyd? Returning the favor, said male offspring sometimes harasses me mercilessly until I suffer through some video or other he's discovered on You Tube (in the hopes he'll stop bothering me about it.) Tonight he announced he had a song he thought I'd like, and I said to myself - "Self...we'd better make time for it or we'll never get a moment of peace tonight." Oh yes, and make sure you have five minutes to listen to it. Oh great! Sure, not only do I NOT want to listen to it - it's going to take five full minutes of torture before I can go about my evening.

OK, OK! So it isn't quite that bad listening to some of the songs. They usually beat the stand up comedy he finds. I'm afraid he and I do NOT find the same things amusing most of the time. So, after postponing the inevitable as long as I could, I finally caved and agreed to dutifully listen to the song so he would stop pestering me about it.

There are some songs, no matter how they're performed, catch your attention. Back in the stone age, I studied classical piano for five years, thus gaining an appreciation for some of the finer songs in life. One of my favorites has always been Canon in D by Johann Pachelbel. (It's more frequently called simply "Pachelbel Canon" and affectionately dubbed "Taco Bell Canon" by me). The song is one of the most relaxing ones I know. It has a marvelous meandering melody. (Uh oh! Alliteration Alert! Oops...I did it again! (Critical Alert! I've sunk to  level of quoting Britney Spears - I'm losing it...Mayday!...Mayday!...) I'm doing the repetitive initial sound thing again. Alliteration: the repetition of an initial consonant sound in two or more words - as opposed to my alert full of assonance (the repetition of an initial vowel sound in two or more words) and if I don't stop using parenthesis you're going to be hopelessly lost in the desert of rambling thoughts...

You may or may not be a fan of the electric guitar era, but you'll have to admit this guy does a darn good job of integrating classical meets instrumental rock.  Give it a listen and tell me what you think. This video has had over 43 million views!! Give it a watch...or at least a listen while you tidy up some emails or something...and tell me what you think!

I know, I know...some of this info is available on my "Music" page. But recently, I've been doing a lot of re-organization of my music files. I can't tell you how much I love MediaMonkey. It's the absolute best program I've ever tried for my music and media files. So...I'm going to include the "official blurb" from their website, as well as my own personal observations from using this program over the last six months or so...

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