The most shocking musical deaths of 2012 include the passing of both iconic figures and a pretty little flower that never fully bloomed. With celebrity deaths come extravagant burials and funeral caskets. Some stars were buried in the most expensive coffins and caskets that include jewels and other high class accessories.

Davy Jones of the Monkees trumped the calendar odds by dying on the least probable date of February 29th. He was found on that once-in-a-four-year morning in his car complaining of serve chest pains. Jones was taken to the hospital for treatment. He ultimately succumbed to a heart attack.

Don Cornelius, the man behind the hit 1960s show Soul Train, also accepted his invitation to the hereafter. Cornelius died of a self inflicted gunshot to the head in the early morning hours of February 1st this year.

Leslie Carter is the pretty little flower the Reaper plucked before it had a chance to bloom. Leslie was the little sister of the Backstreet Boys’ Nick Cater. Leslie constantly attempted to peek out from her brother’s pop shadow through feverishly attempting to write and perform music. Unfortunately, she died of a prescription overdose in her home in upstate New York on January 31st. It’s both shocking and sad so much effort was cut short before a breakthrough was made.

Of course the real trophy Death hauled into the Great Beyond was the one and only Whitney Houston. 2012 will surely go down as the musical year we lost Houston just as 2009 is fossilized as the year we lost Michael Jackson. On February 9th, Whitney Houston was found dead in a Beverly Hills hotel. While the official record states Houston died of an accidental drowning, it’s clear that such accidents are much easier for Death to take advantage of when one has a kaleidoscope of drugs in their system. The Reaper will have to work hard to evict someone from the music scene with more emotional drama than Houston to finish off the latter half of 2012. Let us hope Houston’s demise was the climax of musical deaths this year. The rest of the year will hopefully only bring the passing of obscure indie rockers still believing there are enough folks left on MySpace to check out their band.

On a softer note, perhaps the most shocking is the one we would be prone to forget about. Robert B. Sherman, the musician behind the childhood ditty “It’s a Small World After All”, also left our world. Truly this is the year the music died.

Mobile computing has gone a long way. Today’s mobile phones are computers, and through the use of software popularly referred to as “apps”, they can be pretty much be whatever the user wants them to be. While Android and Iphone are both operating systems that allow the user to play back MP3 files, some mobile users want a little more when they are enjoying their music on the go. There is a wide variety of apps to help these users accomplish this. Some of these applications are free while others have to be purchased (the price is typically only a few dollars). Some of these apps store music on the phone while others store it in the cloud.

Audio Galaxy is one popular (and free) smartphone app for people that enjoy music. This is one of those applications that stores the user’s music in the cloud rather than on the phone’s memory. Some users prefer this simply because the little memory cards that most phones use can be quite an expense when somebody continues to buy MP3s on a regular basis. The way Audio Galaxy works is that the user basically rips the CDs that they already own and then uploads them to the web. The only real downside is that Itune users will not be able to upload the music that they bought online because of the DRM licensing. To be fair, this software was designed for transferring a person’s CD collection to the cloud so that they can enjoy it on their mobile device.

Pandora is another one of those free apps that many music lovers enjoy. This app basically serves as a radio service. People pick up channels, or streams, and they listen to these radio streams on their mobile device. This avoids the cloud and the phone’s memory altogether. This particular app is commonly seen on home computers and Blu-ray players as well.

For only a few dollars, mobile users can enjoy an app called My Artists. This free iPhone apps specialize in the way that music is played. Biographies, photographs and other information regarding the artist that is currently being played can be enjoyed by the user. This app also recommends other artists that are similar in nature to the ones that the user enjoys.

People that want to enjoy music in a way that Android and Iphone operating systems won’t allow them to out of the box might enjoy some of the app recommendations that have been discussed here. There are plenty of other unique music apps out there. This article has only been discussing a few of the most popular ones.

Every musician wants awesome gifts that make their enjoyment or performance better. However, finding the perfect gift for a musician poses a few challenges. Whether a musician loves rock and roll or classical, there are a few things that music performers need to enhance their playing or singing. The gift giver need not spend big bucks to surprise their music loving friend or family member. Gifts suitable for any musician are easy to find.

Keeping Time

Remember the annoying ticktock of the metronome during piano lessons years ago? Turns out piano teachers knew what they were talking about. Using a metronome helps a lot when practicing any instrument. Notes get better timed no matter what the tempo and that helps performance. Today’s metronomes have a lower annoyance factor and are much cheaper than their older counterparts of yesteryear. The old swinging style is nice to sit on the piano, but to move into the 21st century pick one that is digital. There is one in any price range with any variety of settings and options.

Pages and Pages

Musicians always have sheet music on their list of things to buy. Today’s sheet music is easy to find with the birth of internet websites that sell music. Searches for specific songs are simple to buy. After purchasing songs are immediately available for printing at home. Everything from Reggie and Rap to Bach and Beethoven is available. Some of it can even be printed for free depending on the website.

Tickets Please

Concert tickets bring awesomeness to musical gift giving. Nothing primes the creative wheels for a musician better than attending a concert they can enjoy. Tickets can be bought on online, but a gift card from an online ticket sales company would be appreciated, too. The musician can purchase tickets for their favorite style of music or performance for any date available.

It can sometimes be difficult to purchase a gift for creative minds as they can be picky in their preferences. However, finding a gift for a musician doesn’t need to be difficult for the non-musician gift giver. Keep in mind music styles, personality types, and instruments played for a fool-proof way to please the musicians in your life.