http://nosuch.com/keykit/index.html
register and download keykit for MIDID awesomeness
pp
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
King Crimson and the Mellotron
I did a little more reading on the Mellotron, as I was a little confused in class. It sounds like the idea is actually pretty straight-forward: a sampling machine that uses 8 second recordings of instruments and beats, divided into two keyboards (lead instruments such as flutes, horns, strings on right; prerecorded beats at left). The Mellotron has been used by influential and especially Progressive Rock bands, such as the Beatles (not Prog rock) in "Strawberry Fields", The Moody Blues, Yes, Genesis.
The use of the Mellotron, now that I know what it sounds like, is very evident in King Crimson's "Court of the Crimson King". The main "movement", which is repeated over and over is dominated by the Mellotron sound (after the words "in the court of the Crimson King"), along with the keys in the "lighter" part of the song. Though the aim of the Mellotron was to emulate other instruments, it's sound is actually quite distinct, often sounding roughly like an in-home organ with some other tones on top of it.
I thoroughly enjoyed listening to several of King Crimson's songs. I had never heard of them before our class when Professor Pagano introduced them, but I can see why Wikipedia credits them as being one of the "foundational" progressive rock groups. The group, though somewhat amorphous in it's makeup and styles, seems to be pretty cutting-edge since it's inception in 1971. With a comeback in 1981, and again in 1994, King Crimson keeps reinventing it's sound. Apparently, in the 21st century, the group has turned more to the use of drum n' bass style loops and incorporated the use of midi into it's compositions.
The use of the Mellotron, now that I know what it sounds like, is very evident in King Crimson's "Court of the Crimson King". The main "movement", which is repeated over and over is dominated by the Mellotron sound (after the words "in the court of the Crimson King"), along with the keys in the "lighter" part of the song. Though the aim of the Mellotron was to emulate other instruments, it's sound is actually quite distinct, often sounding roughly like an in-home organ with some other tones on top of it.
I thoroughly enjoyed listening to several of King Crimson's songs. I had never heard of them before our class when Professor Pagano introduced them, but I can see why Wikipedia credits them as being one of the "foundational" progressive rock groups. The group, though somewhat amorphous in it's makeup and styles, seems to be pretty cutting-edge since it's inception in 1971. With a comeback in 1981, and again in 1994, King Crimson keeps reinventing it's sound. Apparently, in the 21st century, the group has turned more to the use of drum n' bass style loops and incorporated the use of midi into it's compositions.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Software Analysis Project Assists
If you choose the Pure Data program as your Sound Design program analysis be sur ethat you download and evaluate the pd patches located here
they are offered free of charge for download and help with the realization of many of the topics we cover in class and enable you to create sounds in pd.
FYI- A "tarball" is the unix version of a zip file.
Meetings with Pat
Hello everyone.
Please make an appointment to see me with Wendy
send an email to me and wendy to set your appointment, preferably before next class so i may help you craft the specifics of your final, review your progress with ableton, MIDI and your review of the 70s groups that used the Mellotron [predecessor of samplers]
Also let me know if you need any extra help with pro-tools.
pp
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Final Paper
Software Analysis Selections: Between now and the final, Pat will let you and demand of you a software analysis. You will use / can choose to do a 2-week analysis (4 pages written, 6 pages if you use any screenshots), not of Ableton, but of pro tools, pure data, Max MSP, Supercollider, Audiomulch, or Csound or Chuck. You will present some sounds from it
Final Project Possibilities
So here are the basic notes I took on all of the final project:
The surround sound project: Record sounds (in whatever way you decide), make a software assessment, make sounds with a software of your choosing (you can use PD, Supercollider, Reason, Nuendo, Cecilia, or anything else… just so they’re mono sounds), need at least 10 different sounds. Save all of those sounds in their raw form on the USB you were given. You can also get 3-5 sounds from an online repository (freesound, ubuweb, the back door google trick), mix it in pro tools into 5.1, spit it out to right, left, center, right stereo, left stereo and LFE. Six different sound files. You will encode it to AC3, and then you will burn it to DVD. Then you will present that work at finals. If you would like, as a portion of this, you can take 3-5 minutes of a film or video you’ve made, or animation you’ve created or like, or some old silent film… pick from the public domain, a silent film, etc. (Look up the Dhali film with the eye squirting and the razor blade). Present it… Pro tools will accept .mov files. Need 10-15 different tracks in a surround sound environment, put it on a dvd, pop it in, see it in the Rev in surround sound etc.
The surround sound project: Record sounds (in whatever way you decide), make a software assessment, make sounds with a software of your choosing (you can use PD, Supercollider, Reason, Nuendo, Cecilia, or anything else… just so they’re mono sounds), need at least 10 different sounds. Save all of those sounds in their raw form on the USB you were given. You can also get 3-5 sounds from an online repository (freesound, ubuweb, the back door google trick), mix it in pro tools into 5.1, spit it out to right, left, center, right stereo, left stereo and LFE. Six different sound files. You will encode it to AC3, and then you will burn it to DVD. Then you will present that work at finals. If you would like, as a portion of this, you can take 3-5 minutes of a film or video you’ve made, or animation you’ve created or like, or some old silent film… pick from the public domain, a silent film, etc. (Look up the Dhali film with the eye squirting and the razor blade). Present it… Pro tools will accept .mov files. Need 10-15 different tracks in a surround sound environment, put it on a dvd, pop it in, see it in the Rev in surround sound etc.
Synthesizer project: A historical conceptuality. You can make three 5-minute pieces with sequential circuits pro 1, or spend time using the TX81Z modules. Make 3-5 minute patches. Export fade-ins, fade-outs, etc. with pro tools, save the patches in the proper format so Pat can dial them in and play them. Record them into Audition, transfer them to pro tools and mix them down. Present the patches. Maybe have some fun with it and put them in surround sound. Need to be at least five layers of sound (five mono tracks, drones, sequences, filters, etc.)
Theater Project: read script, meet with director, make a cue sheet and tech it so that… say they want crickets… you find cricket sounds if they want them. Find them, download them, record them if you have to. Sonify the play. Make all of the cues, design the sounds, use Ableton, Pro tools, SFX (cueing unit, cool software). Go through the script with a highlighter, get a budget and have them order stuff. Record sounds (like chamber music), get all the sound effects, know how to position them… SFX us a cueing unit that is like Ableton, but dumbed down for theater people
Audio Tech Show: you are required to be there for one of the shows. You need to stream audio, do live mixing, wireless mics, document the show, make a dvd of the show, learn how to mix live (pro tools 8), learn how to bus, mix and send out a stream (stream going to the HD, the house and the internet. There is a talkback afterward. The only way to learn how to do it is to do it. There are two more shows on Friday, one at 7:30 and one at 10:30, so if you want to do this as your project, you’ll be there for the whole thing. Thursday, Pat will be there to make sure there’s documentation to pro tools, to the internet, etc., make sure it works, then Friday is the test
If you want to do an acoustic ecology project, you need to make at least 25 sounds of your environment. They get trimmed, edited, geotagged, uploaded, and then there has to be something written about it, like a blog related to it or something, maybe a map so that if you highlight over it you can fuse it with google earth or google maps, but design audio for digital map, meaning geotag it. Where exactly are you? Go somewhere and geotag. Document it on a blog, bring in all of your files, your blog, the 4-page software analysis, all of the sounds developed with it, then the 2-page post-mortem, etc.
Missing Pen Drive
Hey did anyone find a SanDisk black, 2 GB pen drive? It has a password you're required to put in before you can use it on a PC, and won't work on a Mac. =( Let me know.
NIN Bush of Ghosts Remix
I was going to post this last week when I created it, but thought I would have more time to make others...Anyhow:
I created this remix by using files made available on NIN and bush-of-ghosts.com. I used the drums and piano recording from NIN's "10 Ghosts II" and the man chanting/singing from Eno and Byrne's "A Way of Life". The background, "droning" synth sounds also came from Bush of Ghosts. The samples sort of just worked together, without too much editing, except for speeding up the man singing, which I think gives it the "crackling", slightly distorted sound it has. The whole piece reminded me of a haunting, mystical experience on the Sahara desert, so I added in the wind sample using a Freesound file. I think the result is quite spooky and interesting!
Reznor BushofGhosts remix by alexahenderson
I created this remix by using files made available on NIN and bush-of-ghosts.com. I used the drums and piano recording from NIN's "10 Ghosts II" and the man chanting/singing from Eno and Byrne's "A Way of Life". The background, "droning" synth sounds also came from Bush of Ghosts. The samples sort of just worked together, without too much editing, except for speeding up the man singing, which I think gives it the "crackling", slightly distorted sound it has. The whole piece reminded me of a haunting, mystical experience on the Sahara desert, so I added in the wind sample using a Freesound file. I think the result is quite spooky and interesting!
Reznor BushofGhosts remix by alexahenderson
Monday, March 14, 2011
Game Sound Effects 1
I've recorded and processed some sound effects for my video game project. These sounds will all correspond to ambiance or specific effects in the lobby of a building.
Car Beep:
Car-beep-loop by mcindafizzy
Door Handle Pull:
Door-handle-pull by mcindafizzy
Elevator Bell:
Elevator-bell by mcindafizzy
Elevator Running (Loop):
Elevator-running-loop by mcindafizzy
Chainlink Fence Rattle:
Fence-rattle by mcindafizzy
Running Footsteps:
Running-loop by mcindafizzy
Fountain (Loop):
Fountain-loop by mcindafizzy
For all but the fountain I just did noise cancellation on the clips. For the fountain I slowed it down, de-amplified it, applied a slight echo (that isn't even noticeable), and boosted the bass.
Car Beep:
Car-beep-loop by mcindafizzy
Door Handle Pull:
Door-handle-pull by mcindafizzy
Elevator Bell:
Elevator-bell by mcindafizzy
Elevator Running (Loop):
Elevator-running-loop by mcindafizzy
Chainlink Fence Rattle:
Fence-rattle by mcindafizzy
Running Footsteps:
Running-loop by mcindafizzy
Fountain (Loop):
Fountain-loop by mcindafizzy
For all but the fountain I just did noise cancellation on the clips. For the fountain I slowed it down, de-amplified it, applied a slight echo (that isn't even noticeable), and boosted the bass.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Japan quake seismic wave data, "sonified"
I found an interesting article on Japan's earthquake tragedy that happened a few days ago. Apparently someone was able to "sonify" the waves and make a sound clip out of it. Here's the link to the website.
Earthquakes off the east coast of Honshu, Japan - Friday March 11, 2011 by Micah Frank
Earthquakes off the east coast of Honshu, Japan - Friday March 11, 2011 by Micah Frank
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Manifesto of Futurist Musicians and False Dilemma
For me this reading was highly reminiscent of my first encounter with Walter Benjamin in a film theory class, which I may have mentioned before. The teacher introduced the reading with a statement along the lines of "We are going to be reading Walter Benjamin, and he is completely wrong for the most part, but we are going to read him anyways."
Now of course I understood it as "he is wrong, but people used to think he was right, so we are reading it because we are trying to understand the way things came to be."
Aside from strong language that in my opinion is tinged with arrogance, Pratella employs the logical fallacy "False Dilemma" aka "False Dichotomy" liberally throughout the Manifesto. A definition of which maybe found here: http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/fallacies.html. In sum, it is when "an arguer sets up a situation so it appears as though there are only two choices and then eliminates one of the choices." Pratella's version simply put would be something like "School, traditionalism, publishers, imitation or learning from the past bad, they supress innovation, everything outside of that good."
What I find funny is that he himself went to a conservatory, and while he sought to distance himself from academia, it seems to me that academia is the realm that "preserves his legacy."
While I completely agree that he is correct in promoting the importance of innovation and I'm happy that he was innovative, I feel that his words cannot be taken at face value and I find it all rather foolish to be completely honest (which is of course my opinion). Another example of false dilemma would be something like "Tigert Hall is in bad shape. Either we tear it down and put up a new building, or we continue to risk students' safety. Obviously we shouldn't risk anyone's safety, so we must tear the building down." In my opinion the prior example can be used as a metaphor for Pratella's way of thinking in which publishers and the elements of traditional music, etc. are the building. But of course there is another alternative, which is the option of repairing the building. Now I don't think that one option is better than the other (creating traditional music and going to school or being innovative), i.e. tearing it down or repairing it, but I do think it is silly to vehemently suggest that one is, which is what Pratella does…which is narrow minded…which is not very innovative...
Because ultimately I feel that there's no need for those "opposing sides" to be enemies, or to even be labelled as divided. Often times and especially in the arts, you don't have to destroy the traditional to be innovative.
Seriously, his language is so strong that I feel like a publisher and some traditional composer must have killed his father and sold his mother and sister into slavery, and this is part of his great revenge story. Which by the way I picture him writing this in Samurai garb with a katana on his side. Thank you Sansho the Baliff.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Supercollider Execute Command
For my Windows people I just wanted to let you know that in Supercollider to execute a line of code in the scripting window, you can press CONTROL+ENTER - that is, control and the return key that you normally use to go to the next line.
The tutorials make a big deal about using the "enter" key on your numpad - but these tutorials are all talking about Mac commands and I found that the numpad "enter" key doesn't actually execute code on PC.
You might also feel a bit more comfortable with your Supercollider setup after watching this 60 second introduction (just to see how the windows are supposed to look). As an aside, I only had 1 mini-window for the localhost server, even though the video shows 2.
The tutorials make a big deal about using the "enter" key on your numpad - but these tutorials are all talking about Mac commands and I found that the numpad "enter" key doesn't actually execute code on PC.
You might also feel a bit more comfortable with your Supercollider setup after watching this 60 second introduction (just to see how the windows are supposed to look). As an aside, I only had 1 mini-window for the localhost server, even though the video shows 2.
Friday, March 4, 2011
SIGNS OF LIFE Dates
Hello Everybody :)
Signs of Life dates are slated for April 11 - 15 :
Mon, the 11th - Tues, the 12th, 6-9pm : Rehearsals
Weds, the 13th, 6-9pm : Dress Rehearsal
Thurs, the 14th - Fri, the 15th, 6-11:30pm : Performances (2 a night)
Signs of Life dates are slated for April 11 - 15 :
Mon, the 11th - Tues, the 12th, 6-9pm : Rehearsals
Weds, the 13th, 6-9pm : Dress Rehearsal
Thurs, the 14th - Fri, the 15th, 6-11:30pm : Performances (2 a night)
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Ableton question
I'm working on mixing one of the tracks of "Bush of Ghosts". When I load the tracks into Audacity, the tempo remains the same and all tracks start at the same time. This has no impact in the tracks being out of sync. However, when I load the tracks into Ableton for some reason I'm losing the sync and all tracks start randomly creating a bit of a mess. I don't know if this is clear enough, let me know if you need me to clarify the question or if you can help. Thanks!
Five Things to Do
Here are the very basics of what we NEED to get done:
remix is due when you return
vst plugins – installing the vst’s (mdsp site has some awesome plugins, one is called fire, one called greed, etc… they have instruments, a scan synth, a bunch of cool, different things)
check out supercollider
read and comment (futurism thing)
listen to king crimson, genesis or moody blues and comment
Here is the stuff in more detail:
2 questions pertaining to ableton
Do the remix from Bush of Ghosts… Use elements from it as your source material, and make it your own. Add to it. Put in your own guitar or something
Reconstitute a midi sequence
Find and post VST plugins. Find them, and link them up on the blog
Download noatikl and read the demonstration. Check it out, figure out how to route the output of noatikl into ableton (extra points). This introduces you to the concept of generative music
Figure out how to use your IAC bus for mac. Input, IAC driver, IAC bus, track, sinc and remote on ableton… all of these should be checked on
Start recording some generative sequences
Listen to in the court of the crimson king (king crimson), foxtrot (genesis), days of future past (moody blues, knights in white satin) and comment on each
Find .AU or .VST plugins, and figure out how to get them to show up inside of Ableton. Go to preferences on Ableton, go to file folder (live preferences for mac users, then file folder), and uncheck analysis file (unless you’re doing a live performance). Sample editor (browse) and pick something like audacity. Go down to plugin sources and check “Use VST Plug-in Custom Folder” on, and put the folder on your desktop, and browse for it
Mac users go live cut… mdsp.smartelectronix.com
Get and try supercollider
Extra credit if you do a wounded CD project… write on a CD with a felt tip pen or sharpie, scratch it intentionally, wash it, use a chemical on it, and see what happens to it. What does it sound like? Does it play? Have something happen to it. Maybe record some of your music with Ableton, put it on a cd, wound your cd, and put it back onto Ableton: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oval_(musical_project))
Read luigi resolo’s manifesto of futurist musicians and comment on it on the blog (http://www.unknown.nu/futurism/musicians.html)
Digital Discussion
I am hoping someone can friend me correctly either on ichat mac people or skype [everyone] so we can have a digital discussion with me in atlanta. I purchased the overpriced internet in the hotel for the express purpose.
friend shreeswifty on skype
shreeswifty@aol.com [i think for ichat]
friend shreeswifty on skype
shreeswifty@aol.com [i think for ichat]
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Exporting WAV of MIDI
How did everyone else export their MIDI songs as WAV files? I tried going through the File menu but all I get out is a .wav file playing a single instrument sound...
Midi remixes
I chose Beastie Boys and Bach's Simple Fugue from Art of the Fugue. See if you can tell them apart!
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Midi Sequence Remixes
This week I have been busy trying to get comfortable with Ableton. I do not like this program for my limited knowledge base! First, I attempted to remix a song by Radiohead and I found the cadence to be slightly off with every beat I tried to match to parts of the original sequence. I thought I might try "extracting a groove" using the software, but the file got corrupted, so I moved on.
After that, I moved onto using the Slayer midi sequence Pat downloaded in class. I liked parts of it, very "crucial" sounding. The sound made me think of an explicit rap song by Mobb Deep, "Shook Ones II", which I loved when I was 19 (I must admit I still love the original, which I am posting for comparison). I was able to find an acapella version of the rappers on Youtube and rip it to Audacity. The result is a cohesive product, but be forewarned that lyrically it is uncomfortable to listen to.
MobbDeep ShookOnes Slayer remix by alexahenderson
I then took the idea of remixing parts of a midi sequence with original verse. I like the drive of the Eurythmics "Sweet Dreams" song and so I used this for the base of the second midi remix I am posting. The instruments and melody sound very soulful and mournful, so I decided to experiment with using lyrics taken from a news article about something tragic. I have a little more posted on my SoundCloud account about it, but that's the gist. The lyrics remind me of the "cut up method" that William S. Burroughs and the beatnicks used to create strange and (hopefully) interesting combinations of lyrics quickly. I am also adding the disclaimer that I am fairly embarrassed to have my voice on the track without everything being perfectly planned and executed, but whatever...
InternationalBlues_remix by alexahenderson
4 Questions:
1. In Ableton, how do I use the Send/Receive // A Return/B Return?
2. What are the MIDI channels and how do they relate to Stereo Channels in the Ableton interface?
3. Does Surround sound always have to be through a proprietary entity such as Dolby/AC3 encryption, or is this just a high standard? I was unclear how the two correspond..
4. Is Ableton as good for producing beats as Reason?
After that, I moved onto using the Slayer midi sequence Pat downloaded in class. I liked parts of it, very "crucial" sounding. The sound made me think of an explicit rap song by Mobb Deep, "Shook Ones II", which I loved when I was 19 (I must admit I still love the original, which I am posting for comparison). I was able to find an acapella version of the rappers on Youtube and rip it to Audacity. The result is a cohesive product, but be forewarned that lyrically it is uncomfortable to listen to.
MobbDeep ShookOnes Slayer remix by alexahenderson
I then took the idea of remixing parts of a midi sequence with original verse. I like the drive of the Eurythmics "Sweet Dreams" song and so I used this for the base of the second midi remix I am posting. The instruments and melody sound very soulful and mournful, so I decided to experiment with using lyrics taken from a news article about something tragic. I have a little more posted on my SoundCloud account about it, but that's the gist. The lyrics remind me of the "cut up method" that William S. Burroughs and the beatnicks used to create strange and (hopefully) interesting combinations of lyrics quickly. I am also adding the disclaimer that I am fairly embarrassed to have my voice on the track without everything being perfectly planned and executed, but whatever...
InternationalBlues_remix by alexahenderson
4 Questions:
1. In Ableton, how do I use the Send/Receive // A Return/B Return?
2. What are the MIDI channels and how do they relate to Stereo Channels in the Ableton interface?
3. Does Surround sound always have to be through a proprietary entity such as Dolby/AC3 encryption, or is this just a high standard? I was unclear how the two correspond..
4. Is Ableton as good for producing beats as Reason?
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