Sharing music on the net

[Jeff Klepper <klepper...>]

Dear Chevre -

To the best of my knowlege, there is no legal restriction on the sharing of
chords to any song on the internet.  A chord is just a chord.  Also
permitted:  words that are in the public domain (includes most prayers and
true "folk songs").

Similarly, there is also no problem in people sharing copyrighted words,
music or chords on a *one to one* basis, so long as you are not
photo-copying a book or dubbing a tape to do so. So no one's going to get
sued for sharing songs with a friend or two.  But let's be honest and
recognize that we all 'xerox' and dub, simply because the technology
enables us to do so, and thus it has become part of our culture, a way that
songs now travel from one place to another, very much like "folk songs"
used to do.   There is also a point of law called "fair use" (I'm not a
lawyer but I play one on TV) which says that once you buy a book or CD you
*can* make copies for your personal use.  According to copyright law, to
photo-copy music for a class you need the publisher's permission.

There *is* a moral problem, however, in sharing copyrighted words or music
on a public forum like this.  The solution is simply to post a message
asking anyone who can help you to email you privately, and do your sharing
"off line".

To echo what some of you have said, if you can afford to, buy the book or
CD.  If not, try to get your synagogue, camp or school to buy it.  In the
Jewish music field, rarely does the money for a book, tape or CD go into
the artist's pocket - it goes to defray the huge outlay of money needed to
produce it in the first place.

As we all know, learning music from a printed page is tricky, for sheet
music lacks the nuance and feeling of a sung performance.  The printed
music does tell you how the composer intended the music to be sung (at
least most of the time). It *is* important to know if you are singing a
piece of music accurately, allowing room for your own artistry and
interpretation.  But we all know that a song does not live on the printed
page - it must be sung, performed, to be brought to life.  And that is why
what you do is so important.

Shalom,
Jeff Klepper