Monthly Archives: January 2018

Spotify’s “Fake” Ambient Tracks

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This article says that ambient tracks on Spotify function like a modern-day version of Muzak, but are better than the stuff I grew up with.

https://thump.vice.com/en_uk/article/8xabb3/spotifys-fake-ambient-artists-essay-free-radicals

With most of this stuff, I guarantee you if I gave you a blind taste test, you’d at least think it was pleasant, if not actively engaging, which is more than several decades of Muzak could say.

There’s something kind of beautiful when you think about the fact that millions of people are listening to this music to soundtrack mundane experiences. If it sounds right for whatever purposes you apply it to—soundtracking a decision between brands of detergent at your local pharmacy, twisting your body into advanced yoga poses, concentrating on spreadsheets, or emptying your mind entirely—it doesn’t really matter where it comes from.

Software to write MIDI files in Python

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https://code.google.com/archive/p/midiutil/

MIDIUtil is a pure Python library that allows one to write muti-track Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) files from within Python programs. It is object-oriented and allows one to create and write these files with a minimum of fuss.

MIDIUtil isn’t a full implementation of the MIDI specification. The actual specification is a large, sprawling document which has organically grown over the course of decades. I have selectively implemented some of the more useful and common aspects of the specification. The choices have been somewhat idiosyncratic; I largely implemented what I needed. When I decided that it could be of use to other people I fleshed it out a bit, but there are still things missing. Regardless, the code is fairly easy to understand and well structured. Additions can be made to the library by anyone with a good working knowledge of the MIDI file format and a good, working knowledge of Python. Documentation for extending the library is provided. If you don’t have a good understanding of MIDI (and don’t want to acquire one), feel free to request an addition.

Programming?

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One of the free courses I signed up for at Coursera was a beginner’s course on the programming language Python. The reason I did this is because the two other courses I was specifically interested in had sections where they used Python to manipulate audio data.

Once I had signed up, I realized that I really WOULD like to learn some Python. I would like to write a program that generates random chords and notes that I could then use as “noodles” to base music compositions on. I already do this with my Korg Karma, which has different kinds of arpeggiators and randomizers. It would be fun to “get under the hood” and write some noodling software from scratch. It would be an opportunity to put my music theory to use. What kinds of parameters would generate music that sounded normal (ex. 3-chord rock and roll)? What parameters would expand the sound palette? What would generate musical gibberish?

I know that many other people have worked with randomly generated music and procedurally generated music, but it would be cool to try it myself.

 

 

Comparing and Contrasting

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I posted this on Facebook — comparing and contrasting Masterclass, Coursera and Udemy

I signed up for a season of Masterclass. I feel conflicted about this because I think it’s too expensive for the value I’m getting. If I compare the amount of information per $ to what I would get buying a season of a TV show on DVD, it is a bad deal. The videos are gorgeous though, and a beneficial side effect is that I’ve gotten inspired to review my previous online courses on Coursera and Udemy. 
I will now “compare and contrast”  😉
The Coursera courses that I have watched were videotaped lectures of college classes. They were well organized and very informative, but plain vanilla. 
Udemy classes are not college-based; they can be created by anyone. My favorite music instructor is a hipster PhD who alternates between talking-head scenes (with a backdrop of what appears to be his rather cluttered apartment) and a view of his music software (which he uses like a blackboard). He hems and haws and repeats himself. But in spite of these drawbacks, his style of explanation is just right for my level of expertise. The good parts of his videos are very good. 
The difference between Masterclass and Udemy is like night and day. The Masterclass lectures are tightly edited and BEAUTIFULLY filmed. It’s expensive “eye candy”. But I’m really enjoying it.

https://www.udemy.com/

Cheap when on sale; anybody can put together a course; lecture quality varies widely.

https://www.coursera.org/

Many classes are videotaped college lectures. Most of them can be taken for free, but if you want to have the homework assignments graded and/or to get a certificate of participation, there is a fee. There is an online discussion forum associated with each class. In order to get the full benefit of the forums, most of the classes have a set starting and ending point (unlike Udemy, whose classes are available to watch any time).

Welcome back

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I haven’t posted here in a long time! I started music lessons in September 2016 but the results of the election affected me deeply. My creativity and ability to focus were overwhelmed by the feelings of anger and worry. I cancelled lessons, withdrew into a cave, and developed a (temporary) alcohol dependency. I found that wine at bedtime does soften the feelings of worry and anger, but even the next day when it had cleared out of my system it still affected my mental skills. My responsibilities as a church musician are not large — I’m an alto in our traditional choir, and secondary percussion in our global group — but drinking wine before bed was having a negative impact on my musicianship.

One year after the election there is still a lot to worry about and many injustices to fight against, but I’m regaining my equilibrium.

I recently started a Masterclass by Deadmau5 and it sparked a surge of creativity, enthusiasm, and desire to learn. Because of this I’ve gone back to Coursera and Udemy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtj6dDARgfQ

 

Here’s a link to a Udemy course by Jason Allen. He is a young PhD with a casual, relaxed yet geeky teaching style. I have purchased several of his courses on music theory. The videos are there on the site where I can watch them at any time.

https://www.udemy.com/music-theory-comprehensive-combined-part-7-8-9/#instructor-1

And here’s a few at Coursera. These are free (though you can pay to take them in a more formal way, and receive a certificate). They are offered for a specific period of time.

https://www.coursera.org/learn/audio-engineering/home/welcome

https://www.coursera.org/learn/music-technology/home/welcome