Alberti Publishing

Attention  musicians and private teachers: financial experts call your tax situation “complicated!”  Want to take some of the sting out of April 15th? Check out your options.

1. Prepare the return yourself.

This is only for the stout of heart. And the government doesn’t care how stout your heart is.  If they find a mistake, they’ll get their money—even years after the return was filed.  That can hurt since Uncle Sam charges approximately 10% interest on unpaid tax debt.  Do-it-yourselfers can download paper forms, file electronically, or use Turbo-Tax.

Pros:  cheap
Cons: mistakes; lack of sleep from worry; time-consuming
Price: free (fill out paper or electronic forms yourself); $100 (use Turbo-Tax)

2. Hire a company to do your tax return

H&R Block is the most popular of these companies.  Their freelance seasonal staff completes a company training course, allowing them to officially prepare your tax return.

Pros: time-efficient
Cons: mistakes; employees can’t handle tricky situations, but often think they can; lack of expert advice can cost you money in the long run.
Price: $100 to $400

3. Use a CPA

CPAs have extensive training in tax prep and must complete a rigorous exam.  Most states require aspiring CPA’s to have a Bachelor’s degree with accounting and business education and sometimes even a Master’s degree or equivalent in accounting–just to take the exam.  Many accountants are experts in a particular area.  If you choose to use a CPA, get referrals from colleagues in the same field.

Pros: time-efficient; no mistakes; established relationship means you can ask business questions any time (CPAs are not seasonal); most CPA’s know tricks-of-the-trade that lower your payable tax.
Cons: costs more than Turbo-Tax
Price: $150 to $450

EUROPEAN MUSIC FESTIVAL

The AMEROPA music festival is meeting in Prague this year.  AMEROPA offers solo and chamber performances for piano, woodwind, and string players.  The internationally renowned faculty and beautiful historic setting give students a top-rate musical experience. Students high-school level and above are encouraged to audition.

Solo Repertoire: July 19-24

Chamber Repertoire: July 25-August 8

A school in Derby, Britain, has found what it sees as a viable punishment for misbehaving students: classical music.  Students who are in detention for breaking school rules and policies are forced to listen to classical music, something most of them find rather unappealing.  Thus, the music becomes a deterrent to future infractions against the school.   The head of the school claims that behavior issues are down by 60% since the program started.   See Entire Story…

A little humor never hurts once in a while.  This, courtesy of Musical Assumptions Blog…

Yamaha has recalled 20,000 pianos due to a problem with the pedal sticking, causing pianists to play faster than they normally would, resulting in a dangerous number of accidentals. The sticky pedal also makes it harder for jazz pianists to come to a full stop at the end of a piece making it extremely risky for audiences.

The Heintzman crystal piano was used in the 2008 Beijing Olympics

Many classical musicians are grateful to the 2008 Beijing summer Olympics for giving classical piano music a lift; for presenting a great pianist playing a greatly unique piano.   The “Heintzman Crystal Piano,” played for millions of worldwide viewers by classical pianist and super-star Lang-Lang, was prominently showcased during the opening ceremonies.  The piano was created and built by Beijing’s Heintzman Piano Company. It was recently purchased for $3.22 million (USD) by a private bidder, making it the most expensive piano in history.

Those pained by long-term Tinnitus my now have a cure.  Tinnitus is the constant ringing in the ears, the most severe cases being the result of too much exposure to loud music or noise.  For centuries, many believed that this problem (which plagued Romantic Era composer Robert Schumann) had no true cure.  But findings which were recently published in Proceedings of the the National Academy of Sciences point to a hopeful future. In a controlled study, tinnitus sufferers who obtained a tailored diet of careful listening were able to retrain their auditory cortexs to receive and interpret sound correctly.  [Read More]

Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci’s plans for a harpsichord-viola machine have finally bee realized, 490 years after the genius’s death.  According to a New York Times article, “The instrument, called a clavi-viola in Italian or harpsichord-viola in English, has emerged from myth into Times Square. A realized version went on display Thursday at the exhibition “Leonardo da Vinci’s Workshop,” which is running at the Discovery Times Square Exposition. The exhibition opened last month but the clavi-viola arrived late.”

The National Endowment for the Arts has released its findings from a study that examined the income of American professional  musicians.  The study, which concluded in 2005, found that the median income for musicians was $22,600.  The following findings are directly quoted from the NEA:

Professional musicians are among the older artist groups, with a median age of 45 in the 2003-2005 time period. Twenty-nine percent are under age 35, and 27 percent are minority. Only 36 percent are women, the lowest female proportion besides architects, announcers, and producers.

Forty-six percent of musicians have bachelor’s degrees or higher and
10 percent are enrolled in school.

Slightly more than 40 percent of musicians work for private
not-for-profit organizations, the largest proportion of any artist
occupation. Another 44 percent are self-employed, with only 13
percent in for-profit companies. Thirty percent of musicians work full
time all year. The median income for all musicians is $22,600.
Like other groups, musicians are more numerous in the more
populous states of California and New York. However, the highest
proportions of musicians are in Tennessee and Hawaii.

The powerhouse pianist Lang Lang has teamed up with violinist Vadim Repin and cellist Mischa Maisky in a newly-released album featuring the trios of Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff.  Check out their video with great narrative at the album’s web site.

Studying music can improve language and reading skills

According to a study published in Psychology of Music, children involved in learning music over a several year period tested higher in language and literacy compared to their peers who had no such training.  The musical education involved keyboard training, specifically teaching pitch, rhythm, and playing skills.  Read more…