It's been some time and has taken a huge amount of work in the process (and we're not at all finished yet) but we have just passed a major milestone in our plan to provide music theory lessons to those in need of tuition as a series of online videos.

The video above is the free introduction to the series. The shop where they can be purchased is here. It has been a huge learning curve for both Sheila and I - she had to learn all about presenting and teaching on television and I had to learn all about the web technology required to sell downloadable products online.

Late last week, the first Level or Grade of Music Theory lessons hit an unsuspecting world. Our first customer was a Mr G---- who lives in Australia, so in our first sale we proved the truth of the Internet being a worldwide marketplace. Since his first purchase of Level 1 Module 1, he has returned for modules 2 and 3. This is the most positive sign we culd wish for, that the content is right and the perceived value at least sufficient for customers to come back for more!

It will be a long time before we enter the profit scenario so far we've spent about four times more on Google Adwords than we've taken, but it's a great start. So it's one level (5 modules) down and 4 more levels (22 modules) to go! We also plan to produce 2 "Specials" - "Key Signatures" and "Intervals - the Complete Story".

My apologies for not having posted for a while. I blame this on two things; firstly, I have been far too busy getting http://shop.sheilajoynes.com up and working and secondly not that many things have caught my attention or imagination recently.

However that changed when I saw this new TV commercial. This is, in fact, the USA version of the commercial and it's subtly different from the UK one - I think the UK one is better - if I manage to capture it on video I will post it here.

The three differences are minor and there are only two that affect one's impression. Firstly the car in the UK ad' is red but primarily, two minor script alterations at the end increase the impact no end. In the UK version, the final shot showing the two 'hidden' executives have them saying only a single word - "Perfect". This understatement fits the concept better. Mainly though, Binky's contribution in the American version is "it scares the cr*p out of me" with the word "cr*p" being bleeped out. In the UK verion there are no bleeps and Binky says "It just made me wet my pants!" Delivered in Binky's terrified squeaky tones (without bleeps) followed by the quicker final comment from the executives makes for a much faster ending with greater impact.

Overall, it's a novel concept for a car ad' and a pretty brave one, and it pays off. Nice work guys!

The UK Ad' Online: I've just found the UK version online at: Visit4Info.com.