TED and Lego seemed destined to meet at some point.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Friday, June 25, 2010
My Euro Shopping List
Cwejman CTG-VC
I already have a nice variety of different envelopes in my system, including a Cwejman ADSR-VC2, but the Cwejman CTG-VC is tops on my 'to get' list. Adjustable decay slope, switchable linear/expo and attenu-verting output hold time, and a full complement of CV inputs all combine to make the CTG-VC impossible to resist.
Cwejman MMF-6
It is no secret the MMF-1 is my favorite filter. Build in an input saturation function along with an intriguing symmetry function and the tonal range is greatly expanded. This isn't a replacement for the MMF-1 as it still does things the MMF-6 can't.
4ms Rotating Clock Divider
Normal clock dividers like the Doepfer A-160 are simple circuits, but musically limited. The idea of clock rotation elevates the usefulness by an order of magnitude or so.
Kilpatrick Audio k4815 pattern generator
This is kind of a Muse Triadex for generating gate and CV patterns for your modular. I'm a sucker for this sort of thing.
addac 101 .wav player
Probabbly best to let this video describe this module. This is a good example of what can be done with an arduino stuffed behind a euro panel. I love the SD card idea, which neatly sidesteps both memory and transfer issues.
I realize some items I mentioned are not available yet, but others are and you may be reading this at some point in the future. If you have any of these and are interested in a trade involving a Cyndustries Sawtooth Animator, Cwejman VC-ADSR2, Lexicon PCM80 or Ensoniq DP/4+, please get in touch.
I already have a nice variety of different envelopes in my system, including a Cwejman ADSR-VC2, but the Cwejman CTG-VC is tops on my 'to get' list. Adjustable decay slope, switchable linear/expo and attenu-verting output hold time, and a full complement of CV inputs all combine to make the CTG-VC impossible to resist.
Cwejman MMF-6
It is no secret the MMF-1 is my favorite filter. Build in an input saturation function along with an intriguing symmetry function and the tonal range is greatly expanded. This isn't a replacement for the MMF-1 as it still does things the MMF-6 can't.
4ms Rotating Clock Divider
Normal clock dividers like the Doepfer A-160 are simple circuits, but musically limited. The idea of clock rotation elevates the usefulness by an order of magnitude or so.
Kilpatrick Audio k4815 pattern generator
This is kind of a Muse Triadex for generating gate and CV patterns for your modular. I'm a sucker for this sort of thing.
addac 101 .wav player
Probabbly best to let this video describe this module. This is a good example of what can be done with an arduino stuffed behind a euro panel. I love the SD card idea, which neatly sidesteps both memory and transfer issues.
I realize some items I mentioned are not available yet, but others are and you may be reading this at some point in the future. If you have any of these and are interested in a trade involving a Cyndustries Sawtooth Animator, Cwejman VC-ADSR2, Lexicon PCM80 or Ensoniq DP/4+, please get in touch.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Dedicated Hardware
Some people are amused I use a timer when brewing tea. I don't use a timer for precision, although that is a nice side benefit, I use a timer because I'm absent-minded. Most teas can be infused multiple times, and over-brewing an infusion ruins the current batch and all subsequent infusions. I have the greatest tea timer in the world. It's called an 'iPhone'.
In addition to functioning as a tea timer, it also browses the web, does email, plays music and makes phone calls. It really is an amazingly flexible device. As such, I can start timing my tea in seven simple steps:
step 1: press power button
step 2: swipe to unlock
step 3: press the home button
step 4: locate and launch clock application
step 5: select clock mode to timer
step 6: enter desired time with round wheel-thingies
step 7: hit start
Actually, by the time I hit start, my tea is pretty much done. That is why I don't use the greatest. most flexible tea timer in the world, I use a simple, dedicated hardware device - the same one I've been using for the past 15 years that I purchased form a scientific catalog. I use this device instead of a kitchen timer because it has a 10-key pad instead of H:M:S buttons. Pressing the 'S' button 30 times in a row on a Monday morning before you've had any caffeine can cause irritability and occasional stabbiness.
Sometimes a single, dedicated-use device is better. I use the tea timer every day, multiple times. In other words, I use it frequently enough to warrant having a dedicated hardware device. I don't have to fish around in my bag looking for my phone, or locate, launch, and set up a software application.
My tea timer may not be able to play games or send text messages, but, for its purpose, it totally kicks the iPhone's ass.
In addition to functioning as a tea timer, it also browses the web, does email, plays music and makes phone calls. It really is an amazingly flexible device. As such, I can start timing my tea in seven simple steps:
step 1: press power button
step 2: swipe to unlock
step 3: press the home button
step 4: locate and launch clock application
step 5: select clock mode to timer
step 6: enter desired time with round wheel-thingies
step 7: hit start
Actually, by the time I hit start, my tea is pretty much done. That is why I don't use the greatest. most flexible tea timer in the world, I use a simple, dedicated hardware device - the same one I've been using for the past 15 years that I purchased form a scientific catalog. I use this device instead of a kitchen timer because it has a 10-key pad instead of H:M:S buttons. Pressing the 'S' button 30 times in a row on a Monday morning before you've had any caffeine can cause irritability and occasional stabbiness.
Sometimes a single, dedicated-use device is better. I use the tea timer every day, multiple times. In other words, I use it frequently enough to warrant having a dedicated hardware device. I don't have to fish around in my bag looking for my phone, or locate, launch, and set up a software application.
My tea timer may not be able to play games or send text messages, but, for its purpose, it totally kicks the iPhone's ass.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Solstice
The school year has officially ended, for my daughter, at least, and with it, my available window to record piano in the mornings. I wasted my final four available mornings recording a work for hire project. I haven't looked at 'could have the skies' in a week but most of the projects are in a half-finished state that would require an additional overdub. As my brain is a squished grape, I'll need a day or two to recover before I can assess where I'm at with both 'could have the skies' and 'a funneled stone'
On the bright side, I have a new, old MIDI controller. I found a Kurzweil Midiboard at a reasonable price and now I have release velocity and polyphonic aftertouch. What I wasn't expecting was how much I'd love the feel of it. I'm not a big piano-action guy, but the Midiboard is not heavy and dead like a lot of piano actions I've tried. The Midiboard feels unlike any controller I've ever used and there is a little bounce to it. Trills practically fly off of it. That was a pleasant surprise. I like the extra range compared to a 76-note keyboard. That was also unexpected. Also, there are these dedicated front panel sliders that allow you to adjust the response of the keyboard on the fly. This is incredibly handy and useful as different sounds respond to the keyboard in different ways.
Basically, what you see here plus my modular is the extent of my current studio setup.
On the bright side, I have a new, old MIDI controller. I found a Kurzweil Midiboard at a reasonable price and now I have release velocity and polyphonic aftertouch. What I wasn't expecting was how much I'd love the feel of it. I'm not a big piano-action guy, but the Midiboard is not heavy and dead like a lot of piano actions I've tried. The Midiboard feels unlike any controller I've ever used and there is a little bounce to it. Trills practically fly off of it. That was a pleasant surprise. I like the extra range compared to a 76-note keyboard. That was also unexpected. Also, there are these dedicated front panel sliders that allow you to adjust the response of the keyboard on the fly. This is incredibly handy and useful as different sounds respond to the keyboard in different ways.
Basically, what you see here plus my modular is the extent of my current studio setup.
Chronopolis
I came across Chronopolis (1982) on Vimeo and I thought "Yes! Some trippy animated movie I can write a new score to!" Then I listened to it and realized there is no way I top Luc Ferrari's existing score.
I'm not sure where I came across the complete film, but I found a segment on youtube.
I'm not sure where I came across the complete film, but I found a segment on youtube.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Empathy
Recently, I've had the opportunity to experience complete and total failure. This isn't a new or novel occurrence. As a coping mechanism, it can be tempting to deflect the cause of failure to an external force. Sometimes this may even be true, but, in most cases, if I'm honest with myself, I know who is responsible.
Honesty. If you can't be honest with yourself, how can you be honest with other people? It may actually be more difficult to be honest with yourself. The key is detachment. How adept are you at observing yourself from an impartial third person perspective? Stress and emotions can prevent detachment and overcome the ability to look at an issue rationally.
Sometimes it can be very difficult to listen objectively to your own work. There is familiarity to overcome - indeed, this is a sadness all composers must deal with - but there are other aspects like the perspective a particular person may bring. In essence, I'm modeling the personality of someone I know, to more fairly judge my own work. But, isn't this the core of empathy? To understand an issue from someone else's perspective? Is empathy a skill that can be practiced?
One of the ways the brain learns is through repetition. The human mind is a very elaborate pattern recognition and matching machine. Correctly predicting the future is pleasurable. We shoot the arrow not at the running prey, but where the prey WILL be. Repetition in music eases familiarity, but predicting the same thing over and over ceases to be pleasurable. Overly repetitive music is quick to enjoy and quick to deplete. Music devoid of repetition may not get a second chance with a listener.
Memories fade, but repetition reinforces. Feedback is a kind of synthetic repetition. Instead of repeated external exposure, feedback feeds itself. In this way, feedback is very powerful. Dark thoughts, obsessive-compulsive behavior, anxiety all become more potent through the application of feedback. This is one reason why bad habits are difficult to exonerate. Feedback isn't inherently good or bad any more than an amplifier is good or bad. Through an application of will, feedback can be applied to desirable habits.
The older I get, the longer the periods become of cycles I recognize. I detach myself, and look at my failure. Before me is a decision: how do I deal with this? Roughly two paths emerge, one of anger and one of humility. Both can be unpleasant. In one, I get to be 'right' and defiant. The other, wrong and repentant.
In one of the choirs I was a member of, if you flubbed something up in rehearsal, you raised your hand to indicate to the director that you knew you messed up. There were several nice things about this. Raising your hand didn't interrupt the piece. You were transmitting information to the director that, yes, you made a mistake, and you were aware of it. The alternative is the time consuming practice of subdividing the group into smaller and smaller sections to find the offending voice. In this way, admitting the mistake was less humiliating than hiding it, because you will eventually be exposed… in front of everyone. Admitting my mistakes became a habit.
The stigma of being wrong is something we learn in childhood and bring with us to adulthood. If you're wrong, we associate that with a penance. Admitting you're wrong and apologizing may be unpleasant, but afterwards, you're not carrying it anymore. Being right, even to just yourself may avoid the stigma, but carry a long term psychological weight.
Honesty. If you can't be honest with yourself, how can you be honest with other people? It may actually be more difficult to be honest with yourself. The key is detachment. How adept are you at observing yourself from an impartial third person perspective? Stress and emotions can prevent detachment and overcome the ability to look at an issue rationally.
Sometimes it can be very difficult to listen objectively to your own work. There is familiarity to overcome - indeed, this is a sadness all composers must deal with - but there are other aspects like the perspective a particular person may bring. In essence, I'm modeling the personality of someone I know, to more fairly judge my own work. But, isn't this the core of empathy? To understand an issue from someone else's perspective? Is empathy a skill that can be practiced?
One of the ways the brain learns is through repetition. The human mind is a very elaborate pattern recognition and matching machine. Correctly predicting the future is pleasurable. We shoot the arrow not at the running prey, but where the prey WILL be. Repetition in music eases familiarity, but predicting the same thing over and over ceases to be pleasurable. Overly repetitive music is quick to enjoy and quick to deplete. Music devoid of repetition may not get a second chance with a listener.
Memories fade, but repetition reinforces. Feedback is a kind of synthetic repetition. Instead of repeated external exposure, feedback feeds itself. In this way, feedback is very powerful. Dark thoughts, obsessive-compulsive behavior, anxiety all become more potent through the application of feedback. This is one reason why bad habits are difficult to exonerate. Feedback isn't inherently good or bad any more than an amplifier is good or bad. Through an application of will, feedback can be applied to desirable habits.
The older I get, the longer the periods become of cycles I recognize. I detach myself, and look at my failure. Before me is a decision: how do I deal with this? Roughly two paths emerge, one of anger and one of humility. Both can be unpleasant. In one, I get to be 'right' and defiant. The other, wrong and repentant.
In one of the choirs I was a member of, if you flubbed something up in rehearsal, you raised your hand to indicate to the director that you knew you messed up. There were several nice things about this. Raising your hand didn't interrupt the piece. You were transmitting information to the director that, yes, you made a mistake, and you were aware of it. The alternative is the time consuming practice of subdividing the group into smaller and smaller sections to find the offending voice. In this way, admitting the mistake was less humiliating than hiding it, because you will eventually be exposed… in front of everyone. Admitting my mistakes became a habit.
The stigma of being wrong is something we learn in childhood and bring with us to adulthood. If you're wrong, we associate that with a penance. Admitting you're wrong and apologizing may be unpleasant, but afterwards, you're not carrying it anymore. Being right, even to just yourself may avoid the stigma, but carry a long term psychological weight.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
saints with vanished slate
Here is the first track preview from 'could have the skies', my solo piano ambient diversion in the style of the 'Brood XIV' and 'ATAOIB' releases.
In case you're not familiar, the project is defined largely by the limitations of available open mic recording time in my house. There is a small window in the morning after the kids are off to school around 8:20am. I quickly throw some mics up and record until 8:50am and then madly scramble to work. I don't have any preconceived idea what I'm going to play each day. I randomly select a tempo, key/mode and time signature and start improvising.
I have recorded a track per weekday since I started. Currently, there are 14 tracks, I'm not sure how many are keepers. Last week I was out of town, so nothing happened. I doubt I'll preview many tracks before the official release, but I've been silent long enough to warrant an update. After I wrap this up, I'll return to 'A Funneled Stone'.
If you liked my previous piano releases, you should probably enjoy this, but, regardless, it is always a pleasure to read your comments.
In case you're not familiar, the project is defined largely by the limitations of available open mic recording time in my house. There is a small window in the morning after the kids are off to school around 8:20am. I quickly throw some mics up and record until 8:50am and then madly scramble to work. I don't have any preconceived idea what I'm going to play each day. I randomly select a tempo, key/mode and time signature and start improvising.
I have recorded a track per weekday since I started. Currently, there are 14 tracks, I'm not sure how many are keepers. Last week I was out of town, so nothing happened. I doubt I'll preview many tracks before the official release, but I've been silent long enough to warrant an update. After I wrap this up, I'll return to 'A Funneled Stone'.
If you liked my previous piano releases, you should probably enjoy this, but, regardless, it is always a pleasure to read your comments.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Open letter to those that make videos
Dear videographers,
It is a golden age for those who wish to communicate with moving images. The tools for manipulating video are very powerful, and distributing your creations online is simple. Too often, though, it seems like the soundtrack your use is an afterthought. Why use the same, tired, usage-encumbered music everyone else is using when there is a surplus of free-to-use creative commons music that could use the exposure? Why soil your creative effort with a soundtrack cliche? Or, maybe there is an independent musician whose music you enjoy - have you considered contacting them to commission a score? All it takes is a few minutes of searching.
Using creative commons licensed music helps underexposed artists, keeps your work unique, and is legal.
It is a golden age for those who wish to communicate with moving images. The tools for manipulating video are very powerful, and distributing your creations online is simple. Too often, though, it seems like the soundtrack your use is an afterthought. Why use the same, tired, usage-encumbered music everyone else is using when there is a surplus of free-to-use creative commons music that could use the exposure? Why soil your creative effort with a soundtrack cliche? Or, maybe there is an independent musician whose music you enjoy - have you considered contacting them to commission a score? All it takes is a few minutes of searching.
Using creative commons licensed music helps underexposed artists, keeps your work unique, and is legal.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)