“The majority of feedback is from people that are appreciative of the information that they are able to obtain from viewing the lessons.”

Interview by Mike Sullivan of Sully’s Blog

Brendan Miranda, founder of MusicTrainer.com.  Brendan comes from a technical background.  At the age of 18, he graduated a computer networking program with honors at a vocational school.  He obtained A+, CNA (Novel Certified Network Administrator) and MCSE (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer) certifications.  From there, he he began working in small computer repair retail shops working  his way up to larger businesses and startups as a Systems Administrator.  In 2004, Brendan moved to LA to attend Musicians Institute, the worlds leading music school, but had to withdraw due to the beginning stages of carpal tunnel syndrome.  He later got a job and worked his way up to System Administrator for Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, CA.  Then, in 2009, started MusicTrainer.com.

MusicTrainer.com is a site that teaches viewers how to play a variety of instruments through video instruction on the site.  The site features guitar, bass, keyboards, percussion, vocals, music theory, and ear training.  Each instrument category is backed with video of a highly skilled instructor leading the lesson.  This year, Brandon won Best Startup Idea on This Week In Startups with Jason Calacanis.

MO:
Brendan, you have a background in music and computer, so the two fit together well here.  But talk a little bit about where this exact idea came from.

Brendan:
The idea for MusicTrainer originally came about when I attended a vocational music school. I felt that I could closely replicate the environment. If you think about a typical education scenario the major components involved are lectures and curricullum ( handouts, books etc..). I thought to simulate the lectures with video instruction. Doing this also added benefits compared to a conventional lecture. Mainly providing the ability to rewind and re-watch previous lectures. Also visual aids can be added to help re-enforce key concepts. That that took care of replicating lectures. For the curricullum supplementation it’s was very easy to just provide a downloadable PDF.

MO:
I realize the site is very young, but you have some really high quality, multiple angle, well produced videos.  How many videos are on the site in total?  Are you adding additional videos any time soon?

Brendan :
In our first phase of content production we created about 120 video lessons (about 20 viewing hours worth of material). Each ranging from about 5 to 20 minutes in duration. The videos are specific to Guitar, Drums. and Bass instruction. I am currently working with sponsors to be able to create additional content. In the meantime I have be able to secure partnerships with video lesson content producers around the world. I have secured about 1200 additional lessons through this partnership method. This is planned as a great way to expand the content library that we are able to provide to our users.

MO:
What is the feedback you have received from your viewers?  Are people actually learning to play instruments from the site?

Brendan:
The feedback has been very supportive and encouraging. The majority of feedback is from people that are appreciative of the information that they are able to obtain from viewing the lessons.  It’s very gratifying knowing that we have been able to help people around the world to further their progress with their instrument. Other types of feedback are from people who would like to see a specific lesson in the future. Such as lessons on “Chords for Bass” or “Shred Guitar Techniques”.

MO:
You’re a musician as well, but I noticed you are not one of the instructors on the site.  Is running the site demanding enough or are there other reasons you chose not to be an instructor?

Brendan:
There are a few reasons I choose not to be an instructor. The first being I wanted to be able to focus on business and production elements of MusicTrainer. Since the beginning I have been heavily involved in every aspect of this site. Video editing, audio editing, web site design, curricullum planning etc.. I get bored with things easily, so to be able to work in this dynamic environment has been amazing for me. Adding that instructor hat might have just been to much. And also, even though I have been playing bass at a professional level for quite some time now I couldn’t come close to my primary bass instructor Rufus Philpot he’s truly one of the greatest bass players ever. I am very lucky to have been able to work with him. He is also a very concise articulate speaker and personality. Trust me It works out much better for our viewers to have Rufus teaching then myself.

MO:
At the moment, the site appears to be entirely free to viewers.  I notice a banner advertisement on the top of the page and a Google Adsense banner down the side of the page.  Is this your only source of monetization?  Is it enough to keep the site going?  Have you considered making it a pay service at some point in the future or supplementing with additional sponsors?

Brendan:
Currently the ads are the primary source of monetization and we have enough capital to keep the site running. The ultimate goal here is to create a pay service called the MusicTrainer Academy.

MO:
What are some of the future enhancements on the idea board for MusicTrainer.com?  Could we see things such as additional instruments at some point?

Brendan:
The MusicTrainer Academy with be a much more methodical learning environment as opposed to singular clips. Also, with the MusicTrainer Academy, we have many other bonuses we hope to provide such as weekly live streams, guest instructors, cbt software. We are working toward that goal. I plan on focusing instruction for the most popular instruments first but eventually being able to provide lessons on as many instruments as possible.

I am also working on creating a site called ChefTrainer.com much in the same spirit as MusicTrainer with will replicate a culinary school and cooking community. It will be much easier around this time cause I already have my web platform built and have learned much from the implementation of MusicTrainer.com.

MO:
Have you been able to quite your day job and focus entirely on MusicTrainer.com?  If not, is that one of your goals?  How far do you feel you are from obtaining that goal?

Brendan:
Yes fortunately I have been able to focus full time on MusicTrainer.