Category Archives: Articles from the Laptop Sessions

The Laptop Sessions: “We have a lot of songs on this site” – an impromptu article by Jeff

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By Jeff Copperthite:

Welcome to Thumpin’ Thursday!  I have a really cool song to bring you this evening, it is a favorite of mine and one i’ve wanted to cover for a long, long time.

The song is…

Well, that’s how I was planning on starting the post this evening.

But, for the first time in the history of this site, I finally fell for the fatal mistake of being part of a site w/ multiple cover artists posting on it.

I recorded a previously covered song.  A song that has been posted for some time now.

Funny thing is when I am going about my business figuring out the list of songs I want to do, I usually check the category of the artist to make sure that song hasn’t been done already.  Hell, i’ve even caught myself writing a song on the list that i’ve already covered, let alone one that Chris or Jim have already tackled.

But the more songs that get added, the more likely this mistake is going to be made.

By my guesstimate, we have just about 500 cover/original videos posted on this site.  When you get right down to it, assuming 12 songs a CD, that’s 42 CDs and change worth of songs on this single website!  Most of them are familiar songs – we don’t delve into the rare album cuts often for the sheer reason that most people don’t know them.

But yet, despite my best efforts, I did it.

I even did the song in one take – and it’s not a terribly easy song either.

I even edited it and slapped on the titles, filters, and effects.

I even started writing the article for it!

So because of this, you have been reading my thoughts.

To be honest, I blame the extremely busy week i’ve had.  The prom i’ve helped plan is happening in 3 weeks, and we start selling tickets for it tomorrow.  I have to revise and edit the planned format, and print them on cardstock in the morning.  I also have to correct a few more Physics quizzes (how fast do you have to throw a 2.4 g dime at a 3.0 kg piece of plywood, such that they have a perfectly inelastic collision and start moving at 2.0 m/s anyway?), finish correcting Earth Science projects, get ready to introduce the next (and probably last) Chapter in the course, since the Seniors only have 13 days left of class (excluding tomorrow).

Oh, and to boot I was at the Doctor’s for two hours today – but I’m not at liberty to say why.

Well, next week I guarantee I will cover, play, record, and post a song that has not already been covered.  Until then, I hope you have found some humour and light hearted-ness in this post.

Until then…

A/V corner: A review of the LG 32LH30 LCD TV

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By Jeff:

Welcome to a title I just made up.  The world is always a good place when you show your versatility!  It’s quite obvious that Jim, Chris, and myself have a world of interests.

I would like to point out that I didn’t have a very good day today.  However, it isn’t because something bad happened to me.  But rather, someone’s senselessness caused my friend to have a bad day.  Seriously, if you need money, get a frickin job – leave people’s property alone.  Also, can the email at my school work consistently?  I’m tired of telling my students “email me if you have questions” only to find that the night before they have a test I can’t access my email.

But I digress.

Tonight I am reviewing the TV I just bought.  This follows the death of my previous TV.  I had a Samsung tube HDTV that I bought in 2004.  I mean, it looked fine and had two component inputs and allowed me to play my gamecube/wii, ps2, and TV all in the best possible resolution.

Then one morning I was watching Sportscenter and right in the middle of Stuart Scott’s next highlight, I looked up and saw nothing.  I still heard his voice coming through the stereo speakers.  I then smelled an electrical appliance burning, which means “unplug that tv”.  The fried TV made it to the recycling center a few days later, and my living room was without a TV.

The funniest thing is about two weeks before the old TV blew up (as I say it), I had said to my wife “I think it’s time we bought a new TV”.

Granted, the other TV’s in this house are at least 10 years old, and they work just fine.  So it’s a bit sad that this one lasted a mere 5 years.

So of course, I ordered a new TV on amazon.com.  I love ordering things from that site due to the credit card rewards that give me gift cards for money spent.  So this TV was almost an entire $25 gift card.  Plus, I also received free shipping.

Well anyway, I got the TV on a Saturday morning via Fedex and had it set up in an hour.  I went shopping for a few cables (namely an HDMI cable) and fired it up.

The LG 32LH30 LCD TV is a 32 inch wide screen HDMI ready viewing machine.  Soon as I fired it up I loved it.  The screen is so so much brighter than a CRT TV.  The fact that I can now actually see the HD channels I get in their native widescreen is tremendous.

The setup on the TV is tailored to HDMI.  The back of the set includes 3 HDMI inputs (one on the side, two on the back), 1 component input, 2 composite inputs, optical in/out, and a standard cable input.  I would rather it have came with a 2nd component input simply because there’s a lot of devices that do not have HDMI out that people still use.  Yes many people still have only component outputs (and still others only composite/s-video), so the sole input makes hooking up all your devices simultaneously a bit trickier.  Most people will have to buy a video switcher.

Just to give you an idea of what I have in my setup – I have a Wii, HDMI cable box, PS2, DVD player, Sony receiver, and a 200 CD changer (that’s on its last legs).  Of course, the Wii and PS2 are component able, so I lucked out that I can hook them into my receiver, and use it as a video switcher, and hook a third set of cables into the TV.

The bad news is that, when I change video sources, I have to change them both on my TV and on my receiver.  So again, if you can deal like me, then that isn’t a big deal.

The picture set up mode is something i’m still tweaking with.  A beginner to picture setup can easily set up their TV to an acceptable picture by using the Tv’s “Picture Wizard”.  What it does is basically take the user through a series of images that look different depending on the TV’s settings, which includes an “optimal” image that you should try to obtain.  With each setting change, the TV’s settings change without the user needing to bother with “What the hell does the contrast do?”  I tried it the first try, but again since i’m aware of what these are, I didn’t find it necessary to use.  However, I did note that the interface is sort of idiot proof.

For those that don’t need a safety net, the LG 32LH30 offers a tremendous array of picture tweaks.  There are presets for “Cinema”, “Sports”, and “Game”.  For my video games, I find the “Sports” setting to be quite nice – especially for the Wii games.  But if presets still aren’t enough tweaking, there are 6 zoom functions, and a up to 20 level scalable “cinema zoom”, which takes letterboxed DVD’s and stretches them vertically as much or as little as you want.  There’s also a setup option that allows you to use the TV as an audio pass through instead of a monitor – that is, you can turn off the video, but keep the audio.  This is perfect if you want to put on the music channels most cable companies provide, but don’t need to see the facts on the screen about the music.  You can also disable the onboard TV speakers (recommended if you have a receiver like most techies).

The coolest thing i’ve found so far is the extra HDMI inputs allow me to hook my laptop up to the TV.  It’s perfect for me because my DVD player can play DVDs in a very high resolution on my laptop, and I can now send that to the TV!  The computer screen on the TV is a bit too “fine” for my needs, but it is perfect if you’re watching a bunch of Youtube videos or, as mentioned, a DVD.  I can also play SOME of my computer games on it, and they look really really good.

There aren’t too many drawbacks other than the ones already mentioned.  The thing I don’t like is that the provided TV stand is very basic.  It allows you to tilt the TV horizontally +/- 20 degrees, but there is no vertical tilt.  There also is no vertical height adjustment (sorry Dr. K) allowed, so I had to get a few very thick phone books that were of the same height (harder than it looks!) and drape a black towel over them just to raise the TV to a height I want.  In my setup, I was able to put the center speaker on top of the old CRT, but that’s not possible with an LCD.  The only options are to put it right below the TV or on a shelf above the TV for optimal sound quality.  The speaker I own would block the bottom portion if I didn’t raise the height of it.

Also, the buttons for the TV are located on the side of the TV which is fine, but the one I use the most is the power button.  At the very least, a power button should’ve been included on the front of the screen.  If you’re like most people, your TV is already in a tight fitting area, and it is a minor inconvenience to reach back behind the TV to turn it off if I don’t want to use the remote.

But for the money I spent for it, this TV is all that I could want and more.  If I get another video source, I have space to hook it up to the HDMI connection.  The digital out to my amplifier ensures that if there is a Dolby Digital soundtrack or better that my receiver will make it sound the best it can.  And while it is certainly geared to today’s HDMI devices, again make sure you buy a video switcher if you have multiple component video sources like I do (or be lucky with your receiver being a good switcher on its own).

And if you are in the market to buy a flat screen, LCD TV’s prices are much much better and more affordable now.  I can safely recommend this one to you.  If you can splurge a little bit (i.e. more than $300), then this TV is worth it.

Where has the summer gone?

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By Jeff:

A couple of months ago, I was going into school to clean out the classroom. I had had the busiest of my 3 years at my school, being a coach, a moderator, and of course a teacher. Thankfully I didn’t have to move too many things, or take much down. I even arranged the desks in a configuration i’d like to try for the new school year.

But after that last day, I had a field trip to Boston with the Saturday Program students the next Monday. That was fun and busy, but exhausting.

Then a week later, it was off to UNH for 2 weeks of training. Training for a course it doesn’t look like i’ll be teaching this year. It really is a shame, though. This past year I taught a Saturday program at Fairfield University for high school freshmen. It was like a TAG program (Talented and Gifted). The students were very smart, with-it, and fast. The course was a lot of fun to teach, and the kids loved it. Attendance was exemplary for a saturday program that draws from the inner city.

But it looks like we are unable to continue the program this year because G.E., who was the source of our funds, decided to cut our grant – despite basically giving a 4 year commitment.

So these poor kids who had such a good time with the first year, cannot continue.

Despite this, if the program DOES continue at some point in the future, i’ll be ready to teach it.

So after that, I had a couple of weeks off which included a trip to the ever famous and heavily reported Jim Fusco’s wedding. And it lived up to expectations.

Then a nice week-long vacation at an all-inclusive resort (see my post last week for a couple of thoughts about that).

But I am realizing that, holy crap where has the summer gone? I go back to school in 2 weeks. It really goes by way to quickly.

It almost (emphasis on almost) makes me want to work all year so I don’t have an extended break to look forward too. I think I’d appreciate vacations a little more.

I didn’t get a chance to record a whole bunch of videos and I have not gotten any writing done. All my time spent playing guitar has been for the purpose of learning and recording songs for this site.

Unfortunately for me, while I feel relaxed and energized, I still feel like I’ve got nothing done. It’s a terrible feeling.

And my immediate future is going to be busy as well. This semester I’ve been asked to teach 4 classes instead of the usual 3 (for a nice pay boost), and at some point during this semester my life is going to change forever.

Yeah it’ll be a very exciting next few months.

But in conclusion, I really dislike the fact that time feels relative. The upcoming year, while it will be exciting, will move at a much slower pace, as opposed to the breakneck speed of summer I have experienced.

But at least you’ve got us for entertainment all 52 weeks of the year!

“A look at Jeff’s Music History – Part 1” – A Laptop Sessions Reflection Article

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By Jeff Copperthite:

Welcome to your Thumpin’ Thursday post here on guitarbucketlist.com.  I have decided to bring forth another article for your perusal and enjoyment.  And this one has even more of a “personal” touch to it.

Now, let me preface this with the following news.  I eclipsed 80,000 views last Friday, and as of today I already have 8.2K views.  My channel has increased it’s per-day view total to ~350 views per day across 130+ videos.  I’m pleased to report that my video cover for America’s Song “Horse With No Name” has literally just crossed 10K views, which means that this video has about 12.5% of my total viewcount.  It is also the first video for the entire site to have a single viewcount over 10K views.  It continues a great month for myself and for us in this new year.

Some of the things I get asked by everybody I know – family, friends, students, and acquantinces – are “How long have you played music?”, “What instruments do you play?”, “What was your first instrument?”, and “Have you ever had or taught lessons before?”.

While each is relatively easy to answer, the one that not many have ventured to ask is “How did you go from a lanky middle school student to the classy gent you are now?”

Ok, i’m kidding about that last one, although the answer to that one is “Lots of Porterhouse steaks.”

But the answer to the other questions respectively are “17 years”, “Trombone, Bass Guitar, Guitar, Drums, Percussion, Trumpet, Tuba, Euphonium (it’s easier to say than “Baritone Horn”), French Horn, Cello, Double Bass, Piano, and a little bit of Flute”, “Trombone”, and “Had lessons for Trombone, and have taught lessons for Trombone, Piano, and Guitar”.

But seriously, the one I don’t get asked often is “How have you learned how to play so many instruments, and what have you done in your ‘musical history’ since you learned to play?”

Well, as a treat for you loyal visitors to our site, you get to read the long answer to that very question.

I went to Moran Middle School and entered as a very skinny kid who had just gone through a tough summer of realizing that my parents were getting divorced.  Not the best of times for sure.  It wasn’t long into the year that I realized I needed glasses and was going to further my current nerd image.  I had to walk home from school as well, past the same people, and not spending too much time talking to other people walking home (all my friends took the bus).  In April, the music teacher Mr. Rossamando, whom I had said hi to frequently, pulled me aside and pointed out that I had rather long arms.  He asked me if I’d be willing to give the Trombone a try.  I agreed to give it a shot, and he said to start meeting with him during the final period of the day.  I forget how often I got to have lessons, but I think it was twice a week.

He taught me how to read music, and how to produce sound out of the trombone.  I got to take one home with me over the summer and we resumed practicing the following year.  I also tried out for the choir and played in the entry level band, aptly called “Cadet Band”.  I was a fast learner and was bored with the material, so I looked forward to 8th grade when I could hopefully play in the other two bands – the “Concert Band” and “Stage Band”.

I got my wish and played in those two bands, plus sang in the Chorus.  I was broadening my musical horizons through the year, and also had drama exposure the previous year with a lead role in a weird but cool play called “Night of the Living Beauty Pageant”.  I was also in the play in 8th grade, but I forget the title and what it was about.  All I remember about it was a fight I had with my friend Marc one day.

Then I went to High School.  All I remember about Freshmen year was that I didn’t like the music teacher Mr. Houlihan all that much, and ended up not signing up for music in the 2nd half of the year.  I even left my Trombone in the music room, completely forgetting about it.

Then I heard Mr. Rossamando was coming to teach there in Sophomore year.  Since I really enjoyed working with him at Moran, I decided to sign back up for band in Sophomore year.

He was so surprised to report to work that August and see my Trombone there, he called my house over the summer!  I told him that I was looking forward to returning, and that I had forgotten the instrument over the summer.

It was also that summer I started to teach myself how to play the bass guitar.  I listened to various CD’s and tried to play along to them on the bass.  I also went through 3 levels of lesson books over the summer.  During that phone call with Mr. Rossamando, I asked him if he could consider letting me play bass guitar for a Jazz Band if he were to create one (our high school hadn’t had one in a while).

So, slowly I got back into music that Sophomore Year, and played in the Concert Band.  Mr. Rossamando announced he was going to create a Jazz Band for the following year, and I asked to play Bass and/or Trombone in it.

I ended up playing both, because another student Andrew wanted to play bass as well.  We alternated roles – when he played bass, I was on trombone, and when I played bass, he was on trumpet.  The band amassed quite a few songs, got to play live in some coffeehouses and for the town, and had a great time in all our performances.  Meanwhile, I got to sing in the “Show Choir” that year with the unforgettable Mrs. Zola, and play in the Concert, Jazz, Pep Band, and the aforementioned Show Choir.

Meanwhile, I got to learn how to play the Piano and received a Yamaha PSR-320 Keyboard, which my mother bought for me after hearing that I wanted one.  Using this, I got into MIDI tracking, and experimented in writing MIDI files from some game music (which you can still find at http://fftjrc_2.tripod.com/), and also began to compose my own.

This was in 1997.  It was this point where my music history becomes a lot fresher in my mind.  However, I will share this information in Part 2!

I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into my musical childhood, and I hope you look forward to the 2nd part, which will be posted in 3 weeks.  Next week, I will have another acoustic cover for you, and after that I hope to have a cover of a song that apparently nobody is sure how to play yet.  However, I think I have figured out part of it.  And I hope I get to play it for you – it’s a rocking song!

Until then…