DIGITAL MUSIC DESIGN Year Founded: 2000 Core Business: Instructional CD-ROMs for musicians Employees: 1 Goals: Provide a state-of-the-art accompaniment program for classical musicians. Driving Force: Lack of an efficient accompaniment program for musicians. A classically trained violinist draws on his computer expertise to help other musicians learn to play A classically trained violinist-turned-computer consultant, Gary Starr still takes time to practice his beloved violin. But as his equally well-trained musician friends can attest, the violin isn’t the easiest instrument to master, especially without help and it is particularly difficult for a classical violinist to perfect his or her craft without the help of an accompanist. Today, many violinists use recorded music on compact disks or audiotape for accompaniment, but Starr had a better idea. “I had been working with Pioneer Electronics on this karaoke project and I had this idea to apply it to classical music,” Starr said. So last year, Starr founded Digital Music Design in his Chatsworth living room and began marketing his music accompaniment CD-ROM on the Web site he created. The program, unlike existing music accompaniment CDs, is interactive, allowing the user to mute the part for their instrument and play along, similar to a karaoke machine that mutes the vocals of a song. The musical notes appear on the computer screen and the speed at which the pages turn can be adjusted. Moreover, the program allows the user to learn about the history of the pieces and their author, as well as get an in-depth analysis of the work. “This is a brand new thing that I haven’t seen before,” said Barbara Metzler, co-owner of Metzler Violins, a music store in Glendale that specializes in string instruments. “We have a lot people who come in that would really benefit from this program,” said Metzler. The program, dubbed Music Masters Series, features performances by Starr and his wife Linda, an accomplished pianist herself. The recording took a few weeks, but the program took months to perfect, Starr admitted. “Reacting to other musicians is a crucial and often neglected component of practice. That’s why we created the Music Masters Series,” Starr said. “Classical musicians are at a disadvantage from other musicians,” he said. “Unless you’re in an orchestra or have musicians over, or a tape, you’re not going to practice effectively.” Since getting started last year, Starr has already sold about 1,000 units at $49.95 apiece; his hopes are to triple that sales figure in the next year. He spent $63,000 of his own money to start the business and expects to become profitable by next year. “We run this out of my house since it’s an online business, but we hope to outgrow it,” he said. Starr has built a music studio, purchased computer equipment, hired a public relations firm and set up his company Web site to tout the new business and its Music Masters Series. So far, the company has produced CD-ROMs for Bach’s “Sonata for Violin and Piano;” Beethoven’s “Op. 24, Spring” a sonata for violin and piano; and Mozart’s “Sonata for Violin and Piano.” He expects to expand the series and add Franz Schubert’s “Trout Quintet;” Beethoven’s “Archduke Piano Trio;” and his “Piano Quartet Op. 16” for violin, viola, cello and piano. So far, his Web site is the only place you can find the CD-ROM for sale, but Starr hopes to move into retail music stores. He also plans to target local schools and universities whose music students would be prime users of their program. The program isn’t for complete novices, Starr warned. “You don’t need to be accomplished, but you need to be able to get around your instrument,” he said. Some veteran musicians may have trouble with the program at first, especially if they’re not used to working with an intricate computer program, Starr says. “I try to keep it as user-friendly as possible, but I can see some people having a tough time at first,” he said. Originally from Washington D.C., Starr earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music from George Washington University in D.C. After graduating, Starr moved to Los Angeles and began playing with a rock band before joining MCA Records and later moving to Pioneer North American Inc. where he took up Web designing and product acquisition. After leaving Pioneer and running his own Web designing and consulting firm, Starr put his music and Web expertise to work through Digital Music Design. “I’m always optimistic about this business,” Gary Starr said. “I really think this program is the way of the future.”
