Now is the right time to become an American Federation of Musicians member. From ragtime to rap, from the early phonograph to today's digital recordings, the AFM has been there for its members. And now there are more benefits available to AFM members than ever before, including a multi-million dollar pension fund, excellent contract protection, instrument and travelers insurance, work referral programs and access to licensed booking agents to keep you working.
As an AFM member, you are part of a membership of more than 80,000 musicians. Experience has proven that collective activity on behalf of individuals with similar interests is the most effective way to achieve a goal. The AFM can negotiate agreements and administer contracts, procure valuable benefits and achieve legislative goals. A single musician has no such power.
The AFM has a proud history of managing change rather than being victimized by it. We find strength in adversity, and when the going gets tough, we get creative - all on your behalf.
Like the industry, the AFM is also changing and evolving, and its policies and programs will move in new directions dictated by its members. As a member, you will determine these directions through your interest and involvement. Your membership card will be your key to participation in governing your union, keeping it responsive to your needs and enabling it to serve you better. To become a member now, visit www.afm.org/join.
Mainly developed for pizzicato, the new Perpetual double bass strings are also for arco players looking for a precise and clear tone with a wide variety of dynamics. The strings were designed to provide the player with a comfortable left hand feel, fast articulate response, and strong energetic tone. All strings are chrome steel wound on […]
The LSG1465 “Bold Spotted Gum” snare drum features Spotted Gum wood, a hard and high-density wood growing in the Oceania area of Australia. The LSG1465 offers a dry and solid sound without sacrificing the deeper low end. A Super Sensitive Hi-Carbon snare wire provides a crisp and articulate snare sound, while the triple flanged 2.3 […]
The KM-1000 Kentucky Master Model Mandolin was introduced in the late 1970s in response to players’ and collectors’ requests for a mandolin that duplicated the best vintage instruments in every point of tone, appearance, and finish. Kentucky Master Models are again being constructed to the same standard of quality. American spruce and maple is hand-carved […]
Powerhouse microphone Engineered and manufactured in Austria, the OC818 is Austrian Audio’s premier, professional, large diaphragm microphone. It is high sensitivity, low self-noise, and has the ability to handle everything from a whisper to extreme SPLs, making it ideal for studio, broadcast, and live applications. Features include: handmade CKR12 ceramic capsule, multiple polar patterns, two […]
Teaming up with innovator Billy Miller, Grover Pro has created the ultimate triangle triggering device. Their machine accommodates triangles up to 10 inches in size and comes with a Grover Pro Brass Tubular beater. The fully adjustable machine allows multi-percussionists to play a triangle with their hands or mallets. The angle of the beater can […]
February 3, 2020
The Variations on Jean-Pierre Duport’s Minuet, K. 573 (originally for solo piano) are a product of Mozart’s final years. Exuding the childlike wonder and capacity for joy that Mozart sustained throughout his life, these sunny and playful variations could almost pass for music from his youth. Only one variation reveals that they were written in […]
February 3, 2020
This book comprises Keith Jarrett’s solo piano renderings of jazz ballads and folk songs, in which he strips them to their melodic essence and, gently, lays bare their emotional core. This transcription, which has Jarrett’s personal approval, was worked out at the keyboard and aims, above all, for maximum playability within the greatest tonal range. […]
February 3, 2020
Virtuoso flutist Robert Stallman won accolades throughout his 50-year career of performing and transcribing. A lifelong lover of opera, when his wife suggested he create his own opera fantasy, he quickly took up Gioachino Rossini’s Semiramide as the score to explore, noting that it included so much flute and piccolo material. The Semiramide premiered in […]
February 3, 2020
The “Flute Concerto,” by Peter Senchuk, of Local 47 (Los Angeles, CA), is in a standard three-movement form, with the first and third movements acting as fast, virtuosic bookends to the much gentler and more lyrical second movement. The work was commissioned as a gift for musician Pam Youngblood, of Texas Women’s University, and, according […]
February 3, 2020
Radiating all the heat of passionate Spanish dance music, Lauren Bernofsky’s “Fandango” uses the solo cello both for the strumming and rhythmic effects of Flamenco, and also for the sensual lyricism of this ripe folk idiom. “Fandango” features a rich hybrid language, blending dark chord progressions in G Minor, Phrygian color, and an expansive and […]