For Orchestra

When The Conductor Tells A Joke

Walt Ribeiro — Fri, 25 May 2012 16:47:55 -0400

THE ORCHESTRA’S ALL LIKE

AND NORMAL PEOPLE ARE ALL LIKE “THAT WASN’T EVEN FUNNY”

This is hilarious, and I’d imagine it’s even funnier to non-musicians. Also, GIF’s are my new life-blood.

Why My Release Isn't Coming Out Until Tomorrow

Walt Ribeiro — Fri, 25 May 2012 10:41:00 -0400

I’m getting a lot of messages from some people who are upset that they have to wait another day. So I thought I’d explain what happened:

I haven’t been healthy these past few years while arranging, and yesterday I was almost finished the piece, but then I got a call to play basketball with friends and break out of my shell. So I said “Sure. But only 1 quick game then I’m done.”

After the first game I noticed I was so winded, and so out of breathe that I was actually ashamed at myself. How could I be in my 20’s and totally winded? Why am I limping? I was the worst one on that court, and I could barely breathe after 10 minutes.

So I stayed all night and realized right there that I had to get in shape, and I made the conscious decision to push my music back until Saturday in order to start doing it.

I realized that our body is the machine that makes all of our art possible in the first place. I couldn’t believe this whole time I’ve been neglecting my health.

Tony Stark having sex with The Incredible Hulk

Walt Ribeiro — Fri, 25 May 2012 09:17:42 -0400

That’s how I’d describe tomorrow’s arrangement. It’s Street Fighter. It’s mixed with Beethoven’s 5th Symphony. It’s herculean. And it’s intense.

Amazon vs iTunes vs Paypal Donations vs Everyone

Walt Ribeiro — Thu, 24 May 2012 18:01:25 -0400

Which store or stores should I be promoting when I release a piece of music?

As you know, I promote my Bandcamp and iTunes links because it would be too much to post every single store option in my posts (I’m considering my paypal donation link as another alternative).

So is there a winning combination?

My Finances Of This Idea

Walt Ribeiro — Thu, 24 May 2012 12:22:05 -0400

I get a ton of people asking me for advice - so I’m posting this for other musicians (or anyone else) on understanding the finances of an online idea, or at least one angle of it. In 2006 no one could give me advice, so I learned as I went. I did a lot of things wrong, but that’s part of the process, so let’s jump into the pictures above.

Here are 2 screencaps showing all my sales from every store (Amazon, iTunes, etc.) from July 2010 - March 2012 as reported by my distributor, Tunecore. I have 6 numbers next to some of them, which I explain below.

In May 2009 I started “For Orchestra” after being laid off at a music award company. I had tried this idea back in 2006, but it failed. Having learned a lot from it all, I was determined to give it another shot while on unemployment.

On music arrangement #5 going into my 2nd month in June 2009, Perez Hilton blogged about my Lady Gaga ‘Poker Face’ For Orchestra. But having just starting this idea (and having no idea what to do or how he heard about it) I wasn’t set up correctly and made virtually nothing in sales or subscribers. The following year goes by as I make a few dollars here and there and try different stores, setups, ideas, but nothing works. In June 2010, I made $1 on my first month after getting onto iTunes. This was a huge moment in my career - the first true $1, and the belief that this could be done. The nominal level (the average income per month) slowly raises to about $150, which is huge for me. My unemployment checks end, but I decide to keep at this idea while still looking for work.

So let’s go over the points I marked in the pictures above:

1 - After 6 months of no growth I almost gave up on everything. Although my income rises to my highest ever at $192.99, I’m not convinced I’m getting enough growth to sustain, or that the next month would be profitable.

2 - Then on music arrangement #50, my Rebecca Black ‘Friday’ arrangement goes viral after Bob Lefsetz mentions me. Out of nowhere, my blog suddenly hits, and I go from making $150 a month to over $2,000 in one month. This causes sales of my entire back catalogue to get bought (Slayer, MGMT, Weezer, etc.) as well as a huge boost in subscribers and supporters. Of course I freak out, and after the traffic goes away I realize the nominal level is now $400 a month.

At this point, I knew $1,000/month was my goal. If I could make that, then I could sustain this idea and grow it.

3 - The following month the nominal level is incredibly high at $700 (probably from the overlap of the previous month) and then it settles back down to $400-$500 again for the following few months. It’s a very dark time for me here because it’s been a few years and I still couldn’t understand what to do better as bills continue to pile up.

After searching for months, I finally find a job as an afterschool Music teacher in Brooklyn, NY to pay the bills and teach music to children. The school was great, the kids rocked, and they loved my music lessons. While there, I continue to attend every single music meetup there was in NY and beyond. I fly out around the country to every orchestra and music expo, write guest articles for every magazine, left comments on every blog, and answered every. single. solitary. fan. letter. possible.

Classical radio stations tell me I’m rock.
Rock stations tell me I’m classical.
Orchestras and friends tell me I’m crazy.
I couldn’t get press or traction.
I couldn’t tour.
I couldn’t afford to make merchandise, physical CD’s, or print sheet music. All I can afford was single downloads on iTunes, so I kept on doing that.
I refused to arrange music for companies because that would take my attention away from this idea.
I skip birthday parties, weddings, etc. - basically everything that I can’t afford or time-manage.
I eat horribly, sleep little, and continue onward.

These are important because if you have an idea that you really believe in, then nothing should be unexpected. Almost every online musician, painter, comic, or start-up I talk to has gone through that.

Anyway, so I consider everything over the years: Which website CMS? Voting system similar to the Shorty Awards? Sheet Music? Licensing? How should I design a website like this? What pieces to cover? Is my arranging and production bad? Can the logo be sexier? Why aren’t things working out faster? Will this work out at all?

Then, I decide to throw in the towel after Spotify launches in 2011. I slowly begin to convince myself that since single song downloads were my only income, Spotify will crush me. I then release 1 song per month and finally decide to give up.

4 - This is where things get Interesting, in September 2011 (music arrangement #80) The Hype Machine picks up my Daft Punk arrangements, Pokepress interviews me (for my Pokemon piece), CBS (for my Amy Winehouse tribute), and many more.

5 - The nominal level falls back down, but things are different than the previous $400 level from months ago. I can FEEL something different. Something is stirring, and I’m getting a community. Fans are becoming friends with each other, people are contacting me, and my arranging abilities make a huge improvement (from reading tons of books). Then, my Kickstarter fails to get funded, so I’m unsure how to continue. Friends tell me to keep going, and my parents demand I don’t give up on my dream.

6 - On music arrangement #110, the nominal level finally raises well above $700, and I move from Wordpress to Tumblr. I make $100 on Bandcamp (which is a good sign since it’s my highest income there ever), and I begin to see something magical starting to happen. I put in my 2 weeks notice at my afterschool music job, end my lease in NYC (I had attended every event I needed to, and couldn’t afford NYC anymore anyway.) I move in with my parents so I can tackle this dream without any distractions.

And now, the past 4 weeks have by far been my best ever, although I have no hard proof yet. But I can FEEL it. I think this is going to work out.

A few notes: I was using E-Junkie before I switched to Bandcamp/Tunecore. So all that data isn’t here, although it was minimal sales and I was doing everything wrong, as you can see from my first month in sales above.

This chart is simply my gross, not net income. Other expenses musicians will have to consider: I pay 9.1% of all sales to the original artist (because I arrange cover songs), 30% to iTunes/Amazon/etc., website fees, copyright, taxes, mail, rent, medical bills, replacing things that break, travel, phone, internet, food, and more.

I may make $800 for 2 consecutive months for the first time, since starting this idea in 2006 (and “For Orchestra” in 2009). And that’s important to mention - because trends are more important than spikes. I never cared about traffic jumps. A lot of musicians, Etsy artists, eBay sellers, directors, etc. have to be patient, and I hope they see this and it helps them understand and motivate them.

I’ve learned that there’s no real way to understand how the internet works. All you can do is just keep at it. I suppose one thing that would help, is to be part of a group. It also helps to have a theme and schedule time of deployment. It also helps to keep doing something for 6 years until you get traction.

The most important thing, though, is that I always cared more about community than numbers - even when I was barely swimming above water. When I was in Denver, I hung out with @rtondreau, a fan since day 1. When I was in Minnesota last year I met up with a bunch of fans and we all had a blast. It just felt good for us to be part of something - like a secret club.

It’s been a crazy 6 years. Thanks all for your support, and I hope this has helped someone wanting some insight or motivation on an idea of theirs.

Anyway, Tumblr won’t allow me to answer comments on my own post, but we can use the Disqus comments at the bottom for that. Or go ahead and message me any questions you want. I will do my best to answer every. single. solitary. one.

Avicii ‘Levels’ For Orchestra iTunes LinkBandcamp...

Walt Ribeiro — Wed, 23 May 2012 20:38:00 -0400

Avicii ‘Levels’ For Orchestra

iTunes Link
Bandcamp Link

SEO < Content

Walt Ribeiro — Wed, 23 May 2012 17:00:00 -0400

You know those WOW moments that stick out every once in a while?

Well before I joined Tumblr, I was concerned about effecting my Google SEO. At the time, I was the 26th search result for the term “orchestra” and every week I was rising a few positions as my blog was growing. In fact, I was even listed #1 for other incredibly valuable keywords.

But then my friend Kelly Sutton told me this:

And that’s when it hit me: SEO isn’t the goal. Community was the goal. And then I started thinking “are people REALLY searching Google for my product anyway?”. Probably not. Kelly was right, I was doing it all wrong.

Of course. It makes total sense. If you’re a video show, then you should join Youtube, Blip, or Vimeo, if you make arts and crafts then use Etsy instead of selling through your own website because it’s about the community. No one will find you if you host the show on your website with your own video player. And if you’re an app, you don’t even need a website or SEO - just trust the community to spread your message. Instagram proved that.

As is turns out, my search results on Google have tanked, but who cares. Tumblr is where I belong because I’m part of something now, and my content and community is so much more involved and connected than ever before. And it’s amazing.

Content > SEO

Why I Release A Song Per Week

Walt Ribeiro — Wed, 23 May 2012 09:55:18 -0400

Bands tour between albums. Authors go on book signing tours. Painters display their pop-up galleries in different cities. That’s their way of promotion and keeping in touch. But it’s also the power of intimacy.

Unfortunately, I can’t tour. So how can I most closely resemble that? Through a weekly schedule, and staying in contact with everyone, every single day. Otherwise, to do it any other way, the momentum dies.

Over the years, I’ve noticed other online acts doing this “on a schedule” idea: (Jenna Marbles, Jonathan Coulton, The Oatmeal, Ze Frank, and 10,000 Lakes) to name a few.

But the reality is that not much is different than it’s been for centuries - we’re a species that is incredibly attracted to schedules and routines. TV programming is a great example of that, so is the 9-5 work schedule. But some schedules aren’t interactive or remarkable. So I’ve learned that “schedules” are only one piece to the puzzle.

The way I see it is this:

It’s like a boxing match. What good is a dinky punch every few rounds? Nothing, it’s ineffective. You have to do it with power and frequency for it to make a knockout.

Outdoing Themselves

Walt Ribeiro — Tue, 22 May 2012 21:57:16 -0400

makeinteresting:

The Google Doodle today is a playable Moog synth. It’s badass. Play with it here…probably until tomorrow (ha).

Coolest thing I’ve seen all week. Go ahead, play it.

Your 3 Word Descriptions Are Amazing (?)

Walt Ribeiro — Tue, 22 May 2012 19:23:00 -0400

I just spent a good 10 minutes looking over them all and can’t stop laughing.

I have so many questions and comments based on them all:

krakenstein: Evil Power Ranger!
It was you all this time? You bastard!

upper-stories: Awaken. Survive. Sleep……… the wasn’t supposed to sound so profound
I literally LOL’d

incrediblyoriginalurl answered: Runs, Violin, Runs
OK, so is this like “track practice. play violin, then go back to track practice”. Or is it more like “violin runs, normal violin section, ok now back to violin runs”. Or is it “running from the cops, omg look there’s a violin. OK time to run from the cops again”?.

missmadnessland: Mad, Random, Mad
Directly above. Replace runs with Mad. And Violin with Random. So many questions and amazing possibilities.

talesfromhetaliauniversity answered: Slightly Mad Nerd-ja
Amazing TIL. Nerd + Ninja = Nerdja.

smashbrotherhood: Games, Music, Movies
this is 99% of us

nerdwire: Not that old.
Yet!

genevieveaileen: coffee, coffee, coffee
I’ve only drank coffee twice in my life

rainbowdash4ever: Feels, Feels, Feels.
All the feels!

askanoma: Draw Eat Sleep
Draw as in Draw Something? Or as in actual art?

francyoworandomness: Ocarina. Piano. Me. :B
have you ever seen a teacarina?

ladymusouka: Chocolate. Music. Tumblr
every guy here wants to marry you right now

kuaymou answered: Words Words Words
With friends friends friends?

gbirdfan answered: Short, Porkerican, obsessed
I checked Urban Dictionary and found no vocab for Porkerican. I am intrigued.

inalackofcolor: Shipper, Feels, Singer
OMG I want to hear your stuff. In fact I want to just take a day and listen to everyone’s music, art videos. That will be fun to do this week!

alexisdanaan: Tragic caffeine addict
you should meet up with genevieveaileen above

dino-kyu: I just wanted to say how amazing all your music is
THAT WASN’T THE GAME DINO!

Update:

bacon-booty-queen answered: i like butts
cigars? or the sir mix a lot kind?

yourhetaliaconfessions answered: threees simply not enough for me,
but apparently 6 is!

purplebloodedmajesty answered: I love life.
It’s the only way to be.

00dameblack00 answered: Just not normal.
Me too. That’s why we get along.

ladyeve2point0 answered: crazy, moving, colorful
like a wreckless unicorn flying over a rainbow!

Describe Yourself In 3 Words (?)

Walt Ribeiro — Tue, 22 May 2012 13:45:02 -0400

I’ll start:

Eats Pizza. Dies.

Thoughts On Guile's SF Theme This Friday

Walt Ribeiro — Tue, 22 May 2012 07:54:00 -0400

I arranged two stylistic versions of Street Fighter Guile’s Theme For Orchestra: speed metal and hard rock. Both are so intense, that I couldn’t decide between the 2, and my indecisiveness almost caused me to scrap the song all together.

This blog has definitely grown over the past few months, and the pressure to raise the bar each week is making me more productive, more excited, and more cautious with every future release for you all.

Since day 1 I’ve only want the best, and the result this week is an arrangement that nearly kisses the 5 minute mark.

Remember playing Street Fighter II all week long? Chun Li, Vega, Blanka, Zangief, Ken, Ryu - it felt like it was only yesterday. And then of course there was the movie, which was so bad it was good.

This song is a shot in the arm from many of our childhoods. It’s patriotic, it’s bone-crushing…

And if you’re not careful it’ll turn you into a family man - like a sir.

Photo

Walt Ribeiro — Mon, 21 May 2012 16:03:38 -0400

Shit Orchestra Arrangers say:

Walt Ribeiro — Mon, 21 May 2012 15:40:37 -0400

Why can't an oboe play a low Bb? Ughhh, that would've sounded PERFECT!

I can't give this line to the vibraphones, they'd just mess it all up.

There are 7 notes in this chord, so how the hell am I going to spread THAT out over the violins?

Celli.

Guitar players don't need breathmarks, but Woodwind players do. Way to ruin what would've sounded amazing, Mr. Guitar Riff.

"Thanks for the invite guys, but I have to finish this piece, so I can't go out tonight. Or ever."

This piece needs more "purple".

The piece needs more "blue".

"Let's give this to the trumpets. Actually, no, let's not."

Ohhhh, I forgot to transpose the score. No wonder why it didn't line up!

Timpani's, stop messing up my key signatures.

"If I put triangle here, then this shit is going to raise the roof."

Should this measure get a new rehearsal mark?

If I put the 3rd in the bass, then the voicing will work. Damn, but then the 3rd is in the bass!

It's in 12/8? Worst day ever.

Where is that dissonant note in this chord? I've looked everywhere!

They're probably expecting a HUGE crescendo here, so let's drop everything out and give them just a Xylophone solo.

Unpitched Vocals? Ughhh, this is going to be a long day.

I need inspiration.

The need for breathe marks are ruining this phrase. Just killing it.

Maybe if I take a walk I'll figure it out.

Should I put a Fugue here?

This is staring to sound amazing! But is it fun to play?!

Omg this is going to sound AWESOME.

Omg this is going to sound HORRIBLE.

I should've became a mechanical engineer.

Hi Artistic Director, this is the 5th time I've asked for payment from my arrangement last month.

Should this part go "ba-da-DUM-da" or should it go "ba-DA-dum-DA"?

Photo

Walt Ribeiro — Sun, 20 May 2012 15:03:46 -0400

iTunes Is Reviewing My Avicii Piece

Walt Ribeiro — Sat, 19 May 2012 16:45:00 -0400

Remember when this also happened last month with my MMPR piece?

Well, it’s happening again, and it gets me upset because I have a dedicated schedule of one song per week for you all. They said it could take up to 10 days.

But “Stay Calm and Orchestrate”. So, next week you’ll get 2 songs, and I will continue on this journey every Friday - onward to arrangement #110.

I appreciate your support. Orchestras won’t play my music, so together we’re going to change the world.

Update On Avicii

Walt Ribeiro — Fri, 18 May 2012 20:14:26 -0400

It’s been a long week. This is definitely the hardest I’ve ever worked on a piece, and the most excited.

I have 5 edits of this song. 5 different endings, and I’ve been going insane trying to decide which arrangement I enjoy the most.

My apologies for the delay. I’ll explain more in the following week, but I’ll definitely keep you all updating. It should be out in the coming day or two.

I just want it to be perfect for you all. And I think it’ll be worth it.

Jason, a blind and autistic 8 year old, feels the music. If...

Walt Ribeiro — Fri, 18 May 2012 08:37:41 -0400

Jason, a blind and autistic 8 year old, feels the music.

If this doesn’t move you, then you’re not wired right.

Thoughts On Tomorrow's Avicii 'Levels' For Orchestra

Walt Ribeiro — Thu, 17 May 2012 16:00:00 -0400

Community. That’s what I loved about this piece. I loved watching the Avicii flashmobs videos on Youtube. Heck, I even wanted us to make one ourselves - I thought it’d be cool to do a “flashmob orchestra” of sorts. But where would we meet up? What day? Would anyone show up?

So tomorrow’s piece will be just the song, but I would love, LOVE, to make a group choreographed video somehow. Maybe we all shoot videos individually, then someone can edit them all together?

Anyway, I love Progressive House - and have wanted to arrange Avicii and Swedish House Mafia for a while. Avicii ‘Levels’ was definitely difficult to arrange. I listened to every possible cover of this song, tore up every idea I had, and started over many times.

There were times when the brass were out of their comfort range, or the vibraphones sounded out of place, or the bells were overbearing.

And after many hours, I decided to go back to my heavy metal roots. The drums are crushing, the violins are aggressive, and the ending brings it all back together. Without a doubt, this is my heaviest song to date.

This song has only 2 melodies, so how could I make that interesting? For me, the answer was the oboes and bassoons, because they make the low end both powerful and beautiful. That’s the perfect blend for progressive house, orchestra, and metal.

This reminds me of when I was younger, realizing that no matter what genre or style, music can bring us all together. The predictable “comfort zones” within music are wrong because that’s what ceases creativity and progression - and not just in music, but in all things - even in ourselves.

So that’s what this piece means to me: it’s about a community, and collectively coming together to break the comfort zone.

cousin mike: what song you arranging ths week?

Walt Ribeiro — Thu, 17 May 2012 08:12:06 -0400

cousin mike: what song you arranging ths week?
me: avicii 'levels' for orchestra
cousin mike: sick. just make sure you drop the bass. love that.
me: it'll be heavy. and yea, I drop it... twice.
cousin mike: o_O