Get more out of those midis!

I found a midi that had different instruments/channels when I played it in my media player; however, when I brought it into live, I only had one track to play with.

Turns out that these midis are "format 0" and they need to be "format 1".

"A Format 0 file contains a single track and represents a single song performance. Format 1 may contain any number of tracks, enabling preservation of the sequencer track structure, and also represents a single song performance." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_Instrument_Digital_Interface

It is quite easy to to convert from one format to another. I used the 5 day demo of "gnmidfmten" - http://www.gnmidi.com/gnmidfmten.htm

It converted the file from 0 to 1 (thus converting the channels to tracks) and now I have multiple tracks in live.

you shoot an arrow then you paint a bullseye round it

Another Green World - Brian Eno

One of the first things Eno discusses is singing in church. That's awesome in it's egalitarian power. I am not a singer. Actually, I think I am tone deaf. Still, I really enjoy singing - I think most people do. Catholicism as an influence was also interesting because though I am non-practicing, I also come from a Catholic family. Another idea I like is his thought on creating places where nobody has been before through music. I think the idea of "transcendence" is often hard to articulate and Eno does a great job of explaining it.

In his current incarnation, Brian Eno reminds me a lot of architect Frank Gehry. They refer to him as a "guru", and I think that is a term that is often overused. But I can see that this is an appropriate term for Eno. I also liked how much he loves pop music. He isn't above working with people who do more mainstream things.

This documentary had a wonderful collection of writers and journalists interviewing Eno. I was surprised to see the journalist Malcolm Gladwell. I am a big fan. He wrote one of my favorite books, Outliers: Stories of Success. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it. I also I really liked hearing him talk about Music for Airports with Richard Dawkins.

I have a problem with a lot of music that accompanies most visual art shows. I feel like often having a live band overshadows say, a collection of paintings. And I think that just setting a playlist of pop songs is not always desirable, especially if you have say sensitive or controversial content. Plus, I like their to be discussion about the artwork. People have to feel like they aren't interrupting another kind of performance. I think this idea of ambient music is the solution to my problem. I would like to compose some music for a body of my artwork.

Questions:
Where does Eno live now?
His studio is amazing!
What program is Eno using to compose his music?
When he was in art school, what did he study?
Has Eno ever taught courses before?

Brian Eno Documentary

I just finished watching the Brian Eno Video. A lot of what he said about going outside of the box, for example having a drum solo played by someone who never learned drums, really resonated with me. My problem is, in addition to the fact that I've never learned to play an instrument, that I'm a perfectionist in my creative outlets. I rarely take creative license. I want things to be symmetrical and or at least have symmetry to the asymmetry. A great example is the project I'm working on for both the Seminar and this class about the comfort women. I'm using Isadora to create a visual / sound scape highlighting the atrocities in WWII. I set out to make this a creative exploration and yet I find myself spending hours on the most minute of details rather than letting it evolve in to its own piece. Micro-managing really stunts the creative process.

Another thing I enjoyed about Eno was the brief discussion about his light installations on the Opera House in Sydney. I really enjoy the environment created with light and sound installations. It reminds of two such installations I have seen. The first was on the show the L-Word, a Showtime series about the lives of lesbians. In the video, Marlee Matlin (Tony and Academy Award winning Actress) is revealing her light/sound installation after having been betrayed by her girlfriend, Jennifer Beals (from Flashdance). I love how the audio, at first, is indistinct and slowly changes into recognizable speech.

Another installation I enjoyed was the light show that happened every night on the hour in Seoul. The Namsan Tower, which is similar to the space needle, had different images and videos projected onto its torso. There was also a laser show at the base of the tower. One thing that would have made the show more dynamic is if it was motion sensor activated, although that created a logistical problem considering the mass quantities of people that are there at any given time.

No Class Thursday

Please work on projects for the March 3/4 event.

I wil post more details Friday

Also watch the ENo Doc i posted and comment for credit

ENO Documentary

PLease view and blog on

thanks

http://vimeo.com/9091096

Six Marimbas, In C, and Sound Unbound

Six Marimbas by Steve Reich

Six Marimbas is quite relaxing and simple in structure. However its drawn out nature and the lack of progression leaves the listener wanting more at the end. It seems that a big part of Steve Reich’s piece is looped. The sound evolution throughout the piece is subtle enough to make you think that you are always hearing the same melody. However, there are few progressions which build up the song and upon reaching a climax the song returns to the original melody.

In C by Terry Riley

In C starts off as a more dynamic piece and it evolves much quicker than Six Marimbas. I am not sure why the metronome effect was used throughout the whole song but it definitely creates a distraction for the listener. The builds up are much quicker and they create an edgier feeling. Towards the middle of the piece a few sounds are introduced which create a cacophonous environment that greatly impact the listening pleasure. Overall I would say that In C is more innovative than Six Marimbas and ultimately made my listening experience much better.

Sound Unbound

Cika-Laka/Cool Noises/Bbb by Shukar, RadioMentale, Raoul Hausmann

Cika-Laka combines vocal elements that for me create a flashback into my childhood memories. The piece resides in a paradoxical environment since it begins with a very formal speech and then burst into silly sounds, eliminating any pre-conceptions of seriousness. Some of the sampled voices have meaning in my home country and this adds extra depth to the relevance of Cika-Laka. The main melody closely resembles a Disney cartoon but the way it is sampled suggests that is done just so that it can be mocked throughout the whole track.

Possible Show titles

Hey I searched and hadn't seen this thread started yet. We need to brainstorm a title for our show on march 3rd and 4th. Pat suggested plunder-phonics. That could work, I also think just "plunder" could be cool. Here's a brainstorm list i just made up with some other suggestions:

Yeti
UF A/V club
Spaceman takeaway
Audio outlet
Audio Design Group Show (boring)
Circuit city
present collections: an audio and visual menagerie
Sight/Sound

I like the second title and the last two the most.

Please everybody add your own suggestions and comment on which names you do and don't like. For the sake of organization everybody please use the comment function and do not start new posts.