Here's something that I some how completely missed for the past few months. But who cares, I'm not Digg and I don't always have to be about new things. Right?
Right.
So, this is a really fun music video by a Japanese artist/band "Sour". From my understanding, at one time the frontman was also based in New York. It's a video made by collaborating with the fans of the band and their webcams. It starts off as a montage of a few webcam shots of people lipsyncing to the video, but you'll be pleasantly surprised by the cutting/editing work as it progresses.
I love how the proliferation of media equipement - like webcams - makes this sort of thing possible. ...and the way the fans are included! What a great way of reaching out to their fanbase.
Also, musically I am really quite surprised by the bridge part: Check out the arrangement and the solo starting at 2:18. Very different for this kind of music. He just distorted a classical guitar and shredded it! and it doesn't sound out of place. Very very cool.
日々の音色 (Hibi no neiro) - by Sour.
Also, Check out their website here.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Music Hack Day
Put together music nerds with computer nerds, give them 24 hours to hack together a music related application/program, and you have... Music Hack Day.
It's a marathon coding session that encourages programmers to come up with new, innovative ideas about the way music can interact with computers. So far it's been a great success in London, Berlin, Amsterdam, Boston and Stockholm. Upcoming events are going to be held in San Francisco and Amsterdam. At the end of the event they showcase their apps, which can then be downloaded on their official website.
According to their homepage: "The main goal of Music Hack Day is to explore and build the next generation of music applications. It's a full weekend of hacking in which participants will conceptualize, create and present their projects. Music + software + hardware + art + the web. Anything goes as long as it's music related."
Apps range from things that apply to social networking sites such as myspace and facebook, to music streaming services such as soundcloud and last.fm, as well as standalone apps and websites. As you can expect, the products are not incredibly refined - but the ideas that come out of these events are sometimes really impressive.
Take a look for yourself at musichackday.org. If you click on the past dates you can see the prize winners from past events etc.
It's a marathon coding session that encourages programmers to come up with new, innovative ideas about the way music can interact with computers. So far it's been a great success in London, Berlin, Amsterdam, Boston and Stockholm. Upcoming events are going to be held in San Francisco and Amsterdam. At the end of the event they showcase their apps, which can then be downloaded on their official website.
According to their homepage: "The main goal of Music Hack Day is to explore and build the next generation of music applications. It's a full weekend of hacking in which participants will conceptualize, create and present their projects. Music + software + hardware + art + the web. Anything goes as long as it's music related."
Apps range from things that apply to social networking sites such as myspace and facebook, to music streaming services such as soundcloud and last.fm, as well as standalone apps and websites. As you can expect, the products are not incredibly refined - but the ideas that come out of these events are sometimes really impressive.
Take a look for yourself at musichackday.org. If you click on the past dates you can see the prize winners from past events etc.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Convert Websites into Music
On this blog, we've seen programs that compose songs based on the landscape of the moon or based on the numbers in Pi, as well as one that was based on birds sitting on wires. Here's another one called "The Codeorgan" based on websites!
According to the website, The Codeorgan analyzes the "body" section of the website and translates that content into music. It seems that it is based purely on the HTML code though, so many websites based on php or java won't be as long and intricate - because there is less HTML code in the body section in those websites.
...so what does this page sound like?
What do you think of it? Go and try out other websites at their page, and let us know if any websites produce something really special!
Also, here's the description from their website:
"THE CODEORGAN ANALYSES THE *BODY* CONTENT OF ANY WEB PAGE AND TRANSLATES THAT CONTENT INTO MUSIC. THE CODEORGAN USES A COMPLEX ALGORITHM TO DEFINE THE KEY, SYNTH STYLE AND DRUM PATTERN MOST APPROPRIATE TO THE PAGE CONTENT.
FIRSTLY, THE CODEORGAN SCANS THE PAGE CONTENTS AND REMOVES ALL
CHARACTERS NOT FOUND IN THE MUSICAL SCALE (A TO G), AND THEN ANALYSES THE REMAINING CHARACTERS TO FIND THE MOST COMMONLY USED 'NOTE'. IF THIS IS AN EVEN NUMBER THE PAGE IS TRANSLATED IN TO THE MAJOR PENTATONIC SCALE OF THAT PARTICULAR NOTE, IT BECOMES MINOR IF THERE IS AN UNEVEN NUMBER.
SECONDLY, THE CODEORGAN DEFINES WHICH SYNTHESIZER TO USE. THIS IS
BASED UPON THE TOTAL NUMBER CHARACTERS USED ON THE WEBPAGE – THERE ARE CURRENTLY 10 SYNTHESIZER EFFECTS AND THE ONE CHOSEN IS PICKED BASED UPON THE PERCENTAGE OF CONTENT.
LASTLY, THE CODEORGAN SELECTS A DRUM LOOP BASED UPON THE RATIO OF CHARACTERS ON THE PAGE VERSUS THE NUMBER OF CHARACTERS THAT ARE ACTUALLY MUSICAL NOTES – THERE ARE CURRENTLY 10 DIFFERENT DRUM LOOPS TO PICK FROM.
GO AND MAKE BEAUTIFUL MUSIC TOGETHER.
THE CODEORGAN PEOPLE"
According to the website, The Codeorgan analyzes the "body" section of the website and translates that content into music. It seems that it is based purely on the HTML code though, so many websites based on php or java won't be as long and intricate - because there is less HTML code in the body section in those websites.
...so what does this page sound like?
What do you think of it? Go and try out other websites at their page, and let us know if any websites produce something really special!
Also, here's the description from their website:
"THE CODEORGAN ANALYSES THE *BODY* CONTENT OF ANY WEB PAGE AND TRANSLATES THAT CONTENT INTO MUSIC. THE CODEORGAN USES A COMPLEX ALGORITHM TO DEFINE THE KEY, SYNTH STYLE AND DRUM PATTERN MOST APPROPRIATE TO THE PAGE CONTENT.
FIRSTLY, THE CODEORGAN SCANS THE PAGE CONTENTS AND REMOVES ALL
CHARACTERS NOT FOUND IN THE MUSICAL SCALE (A TO G), AND THEN ANALYSES THE REMAINING CHARACTERS TO FIND THE MOST COMMONLY USED 'NOTE'. IF THIS IS AN EVEN NUMBER THE PAGE IS TRANSLATED IN TO THE MAJOR PENTATONIC SCALE OF THAT PARTICULAR NOTE, IT BECOMES MINOR IF THERE IS AN UNEVEN NUMBER.
SECONDLY, THE CODEORGAN DEFINES WHICH SYNTHESIZER TO USE. THIS IS
BASED UPON THE TOTAL NUMBER CHARACTERS USED ON THE WEBPAGE – THERE ARE CURRENTLY 10 SYNTHESIZER EFFECTS AND THE ONE CHOSEN IS PICKED BASED UPON THE PERCENTAGE OF CONTENT.
LASTLY, THE CODEORGAN SELECTS A DRUM LOOP BASED UPON THE RATIO OF CHARACTERS ON THE PAGE VERSUS THE NUMBER OF CHARACTERS THAT ARE ACTUALLY MUSICAL NOTES – THERE ARE CURRENTLY 10 DIFFERENT DRUM LOOPS TO PICK FROM.
GO AND MAKE BEAUTIFUL MUSIC TOGETHER.
THE CODEORGAN PEOPLE"
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Shoes as an Instrument
...Or more specifically, a MIDI trigger.
Although this video is part of a Nike Ad, it's pretty interesting. If you've seen my previous post on modifying the guitar hero controller into an instrument, it's a similar concept. Instead of changing guitar hero buttons into a MIDI trigger, the shoes have been modified with sensors that respond to how they are bent.
Gimmicky - yes - but fun nonetheless. I'm slightly disappointed that they didn't use dancers wearing the shoes, but check it out!
Although this video is part of a Nike Ad, it's pretty interesting. If you've seen my previous post on modifying the guitar hero controller into an instrument, it's a similar concept. Instead of changing guitar hero buttons into a MIDI trigger, the shoes have been modified with sensors that respond to how they are bent.
Gimmicky - yes - but fun nonetheless. I'm slightly disappointed that they didn't use dancers wearing the shoes, but check it out!
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Another Way to Use a Glass Bottle
I've introduced a few posts that involve bottles before. Today's video is also based on a bottle, but it is different from the other videos in a significant way. In all the other videos, the bottle was either blown, or hit with a stick to produce a sound. In this video, the bottle is still blown... but it's used as a supplement to the voice. It's a really unique way to use an instrument.
Why do I see it as so unique? Because the bottle is essentially a supplement to the voice. The note that the bottle plays is always constant - by that I mean it plays the same note over and over again - but the melody doesn't sound that way because the vocal lines that are before and after it create a seamless melody. Furthermore, because the bottle has a different tonal quality than the rest of the vocal melody, the notes that the bottle plays feels like a punctuation, a moment of emphasis in the entire melody.
What's also cool is that because the bottle can't change tone - indeed, it's fairly constant in tone and timbre - but it's preceded and followed by the fluctuating vocal lines, the combination creates an "electronic music" feel to the whole thing.... even though it's just a bottle, a tambourine, and vocals!
By the way, this is by the Armenian artist Arto Tunçboyacıyan, who also played on a hidden track on a System of a Down album a long time ago. He's also played with Chet Baker and Al Di Meola, for those of you who enjoy jazz.
I wonder if there are other instruments that utilize a similar methodology? It really creates a neat feel to the song, and I would love to see other instruments used this way.
Why do I see it as so unique? Because the bottle is essentially a supplement to the voice. The note that the bottle plays is always constant - by that I mean it plays the same note over and over again - but the melody doesn't sound that way because the vocal lines that are before and after it create a seamless melody. Furthermore, because the bottle has a different tonal quality than the rest of the vocal melody, the notes that the bottle plays feels like a punctuation, a moment of emphasis in the entire melody.
What's also cool is that because the bottle can't change tone - indeed, it's fairly constant in tone and timbre - but it's preceded and followed by the fluctuating vocal lines, the combination creates an "electronic music" feel to the whole thing.... even though it's just a bottle, a tambourine, and vocals!
By the way, this is by the Armenian artist Arto Tunçboyacıyan, who also played on a hidden track on a System of a Down album a long time ago. He's also played with Chet Baker and Al Di Meola, for those of you who enjoy jazz.
I wonder if there are other instruments that utilize a similar methodology? It really creates a neat feel to the song, and I would love to see other instruments used this way.
Monday, April 12, 2010
The Beatles 1000 Years From Now?
Musical Anthropology, or Musicology, is an academic discipline that traces the history of musical acts, periods, and styles. If you ever get to read the history of a musical piece, or the music of other cultures (both in location and in time), it's an absolute fascinating read.
As you might have noticed, I generally avoid putting up comedic videos/music on this site. This is because I want to use this site to promote the understanding and appreciation of music, and often comedic songs are making fun of styles, or are not meant to be taken seriously as a musical piece to begin with. But I've obviously made exceptions, when they illustrate some really neat feature of music in their comedic routine.
Why am I talking about this? Because this next video is a comedic video - a mocumentary set 1000 years from now, with musical anthropologists explaining the significance of the Beatles. It's pretty hilarious, because most of it is completely wrong.
But it makes you wonder: how much of what we assume about music and its origins are actually true? It's hard to say - Not that I'm claiming that the current musicologists are completely mistaken. Instead, I think this video really highlights the long history of music in the genealogy of human kind.
It may be true that we have digital and paper records these days.... but that doesn't mean the will always be around either. When you think about the fact that no political order has lasted 1000 years, it really makes you realize how much could change in the next 1000 years too. It's scary to think how impermanent everything is! This video could potentially become true in 1000 years!
....that being said, it also makes you realize the continued relevance of certain kinds of music, and how amazing that is. Gregorian chants can be around 1000 years old, and people still listen to them, as do many other musics from different parts of the globe.
Do you think the Beatles' music will be around in a 1000 years? It's quite a feat!
As you might have noticed, I generally avoid putting up comedic videos/music on this site. This is because I want to use this site to promote the understanding and appreciation of music, and often comedic songs are making fun of styles, or are not meant to be taken seriously as a musical piece to begin with. But I've obviously made exceptions, when they illustrate some really neat feature of music in their comedic routine.
Why am I talking about this? Because this next video is a comedic video - a mocumentary set 1000 years from now, with musical anthropologists explaining the significance of the Beatles. It's pretty hilarious, because most of it is completely wrong.
But it makes you wonder: how much of what we assume about music and its origins are actually true? It's hard to say - Not that I'm claiming that the current musicologists are completely mistaken. Instead, I think this video really highlights the long history of music in the genealogy of human kind.
It may be true that we have digital and paper records these days.... but that doesn't mean the will always be around either. When you think about the fact that no political order has lasted 1000 years, it really makes you realize how much could change in the next 1000 years too. It's scary to think how impermanent everything is! This video could potentially become true in 1000 years!
....that being said, it also makes you realize the continued relevance of certain kinds of music, and how amazing that is. Gregorian chants can be around 1000 years old, and people still listen to them, as do many other musics from different parts of the globe.
Do you think the Beatles' music will be around in a 1000 years? It's quite a feat!
Friday, April 9, 2010
MelodyCatcher & Musipedia: A Different Kind of Music Search Engine
I recently came across this website, which is really interesting.
MelodyCatcher.com is a music search engine, but it's unlike anything else I've seen. I've seen lyric search engines, or those search engines on phones that will recognize what song is being played. This is entirely different though: you input notes in standard notation.
The technological idea is pretty cool: input a bunch of notes, search for midi files that have those note intervals (so it can be in any key), and if there's a match it lists them.
However, the usage is not as intuitive as the site seems to think: In my personal opinion, you have to be pretty good at playing by ear to be able to transpose things note by note. However, it's really useful if you already know how to play a specific piece on an instrument....but you can't remember what the name of the piece is.
Alternatively, this is a neat way to see if something you've written is a song that already exists!
------
Edit:
Also, check this site out: Musipedia.org
It's a similar, but more expanded music search engine. It not only does a search based on a similar criteria as the one mentioned above, but also for rhythm patterns, the contour of a melody etc. It's pretty cool.
MelodyCatcher.com is a music search engine, but it's unlike anything else I've seen. I've seen lyric search engines, or those search engines on phones that will recognize what song is being played. This is entirely different though: you input notes in standard notation.
The technological idea is pretty cool: input a bunch of notes, search for midi files that have those note intervals (so it can be in any key), and if there's a match it lists them.
However, the usage is not as intuitive as the site seems to think: In my personal opinion, you have to be pretty good at playing by ear to be able to transpose things note by note. However, it's really useful if you already know how to play a specific piece on an instrument....but you can't remember what the name of the piece is.
Alternatively, this is a neat way to see if something you've written is a song that already exists!
------
Edit:
Also, check this site out: Musipedia.org
It's a similar, but more expanded music search engine. It not only does a search based on a similar criteria as the one mentioned above, but also for rhythm patterns, the contour of a melody etc. It's pretty cool.
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