As a member of a
Facebook group for piano teachers, I often read interesting stories
from fellow teachers around the world. There is one I can’t forget.
The teacher telling the story had a new family sign up for piano
lessons, who had previously studied with someone else. The new
teacher asked to see what books they had been using, and was shocked
at what was produced: entire lesson books that had been photocopied -
by the previous teacher. That teacher had also charged the families
full price for these “books.”
The family had no idea that this was not normal. They had been paying
full price for an illegal copy of a lesson book.
Think
of all the money that the previous teacher had made by illegally
copying a copyrighted work. Think of all the money that they stole
from the writers of that lesson book by not having their student buy
a real copy. Think of all the money that the family spent on
cheap-looking photocopies when they could have had a brand-new book
for the same price. Yuck.
Here’s
how music copyrights work. “If
a work was published in the United States before 1923, it’s mostly
likely in the public domain and can be copied freely. If it was
published in the United States between 1923 and 1978, the work enjoys
copyright protection for 95 years from the date of publication. For
works published after 1978, the copyright holds until 70 years after
the composer has died.”
(https://www.connollymusic.com/stringovation/ins-and-outs-of-copying-sheet-music
, retrieved October 25, 2019.)
In
some cases, when a piece of music is several pages long, it can be impossible to
turn the page by yourself without a noticeable pause. In
this case, “If
you are copying only a single page for a difficult page turn, you may
do so without permission.”
(https://www.mtna.org/MTNA/Learn/Copyright_FAQs.aspx
, retrieved October 25, 2019.)
Now
about music in public
domain. “The
term “public domain” refers to creative materials that are not
protected by intellectual property laws such as copyright, trademark,
or patent laws. The public owns these works, not an individual author
or artist. Anyone can use a public domain work without obtaining
permission, but no one can ever own it.”
(https://fairuse.stanford.edu/overview/public-domain/welcome/
, retrieved October 25, 2019.)
Here
are two different sources for music in public domain:
I
have used these sites to get legal copies of music in public domain
for students.
The
main point is, that the more we know, the less we are hurt. If you
have a teacher that frequently gives you copies of music NOT in
public domain (still protected by copyright,) offer to buy the book
instead, or ask to borrow an extra book from them. They may be
unaware of laws regarding copyrighted materials. It
is unfair to rob composers of hard-earned money by copying their
music, rather than having students buy from them.
Here
are suggestions for teachers of what they can do instead of copying
music illegally:
-
Have the family buy the book, and have them learn many or all of the
pieces in it.
-
If teacher only wants to use a single song or piece from an entire
book and the family does not want to buy the book, teacher buys the
book and lends it to the family while the student learns the piece.
-
If two students of different families are learning a duet, buy two
copies of the book and lend them to the students.
-
When purchasing music online, buy a “studio license” (if
available for the music you are buying) to allow you to legally
copy and distribute music to multiple students.
In
the words of a composer I know, “If I had a nickel for each piece
of my music that was illegally copied, I could have retired by now.”
Be cool, people. Don’t steal from composers by photocopying. Learn
about copyright laws and urge your private teachers to do the same.
Use real copies of music books, not illegal photocopies.
“Don’t
set sail using someone else’s star.” African
proverb
Image by TeroVesalainen from Pixabay
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