"Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life. ~ Red Auerbach

We think music is simply wonderful whether it be the grand ecstacy of Beethoven's 9th Symphony, the plaintive strains of the blues or the hypnotic rhythms of rave pulsing to strobes and kaleidoscopic lights.

We support music of all types and musicians of all ages and skill levels. Music can be a serious endeavor or it can be just plain fun. Music is food for the hungry soul - an essential element of our culture and sense of community. The famous philosopher, Nietzsche, really summed it up when he said: "Without music life would be a mistake."

Even just learning about music or participating in music can be beneficial. This unknown author clearly states the case for music programs:

"Why do we teach music? Not because we expect you to major in music. Not because we expect you to play and sing all your life. Not so you can relax. But so you will be human. So you will recognize beauty. So you will be sensitive. So you will have something to cling to. So you will have more love, more compassion, more gentleness, more good, in short, more life. Of what value will it be to make a prosperous living unless you know how to live? That is why we teach music. –Unknown."

The following is a list of music programs that we plan to offer, as time and funding permit:

• Creative Way Member Showcase Gallery: Every paid or contributing member of Creative Way USA gets their own showcase web page on our website. These are ready to go website templates that members can add their pictures and Internet music files to. At the side, you will see a list of featured members that already have pages up. Many of these pages have custom graphics work on them, but musicians can just insert a simple photograph if they do not have the money or skills to create the fancy graphics.

  Browse the Showcase Gallery

• Emerging Artists Concerts: These concerts feature artists who have put together a solid musical performance, who need to get out there and let people hear their music. We plan to stage a series of quarterly "People's Choice" awards, with finalists participating in an annual awards program to select the "People's Choice Awards" for the year in various music categories.

  Read About Our Current Events

• Open Mike: The keynote of the Open Mike program is that anyone can come and sing along with the karaoke machine or house band. Its just plain fun to get up and sing, even if you really don't have a clue! Open Mike events can be booked into existing community events, held at community halls, recreation centers, parks or at local businesses that are willing to host them.

• New Musician Presentations: These presentations feature musicians who are just starting out. The purpose of these presentations is to provide a safe and non-critical environment for new musicians to gain experience in front of an audience. The audience is instructed to applaud wildly for every performer. This process builds up the performer's confidence and gives them a chance to get over the inevitable stage jitters that can make it near impossible for them perform well.

• JamFest: This is an annual festival for musicians to get together, swap ideas, collaborate and have a really great time.

• Angel Funding: We hope to create a fund to help new artists get their start by sponsoring their intial recording and promotional efforts.

• Mentoring: We hope to hook up experienced musicians and sound technical people with musicians who are new to the trade through a mentoring type of program.

• Practical Workshops & Audio/Visual Publications: These would be hands-on workshops to help musicians get up to speed using the latest computer applications, devices and hardware for music production, such as Cakewalk Professional, the Triton Workstation series, mixing boards, sound reinforcement, effects units and so on.

• Music Instruction Directory: We plan to maintain a directory of classes, workshops and one-on-one instruction available in each community.

• Music Consignment Stores: The idea here is to open stores that feature used instruments and music equipment sold on consignment. The stores would also accept donations of new and used instruments, equipment, publicatons, scores, and so on. These stores would also carry member CDs and publications and be a ticket outlet for the various events and activities sponsored or supported by Creative Way USA.

• Internet Workshops and Seminars: These workshops would teach the basics of using the Internet, how to build a basic website and how to promote using the Internet.