tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35769268008726723972024-03-12T20:57:04.839-07:00Random Access MusicA collection of examples and sources I use in my teaching.Odedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000672778433894798noreply@blogger.comBlogger109125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3576926800872672397.post-36520218763215818702019-05-20T09:44:00.000-07:002019-11-12T10:45:44.664-08:00Music Plagiarism<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Compare (from 3:50)<br />
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to (from 1:20)</div>
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Did it cross the line from inspiration to simple plagiarism? All the musical elements are borrowed/stolen with some rearrangement. </div>
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Odedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000672778433894798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3576926800872672397.post-50612530196848225002019-01-19T05:11:00.000-08:002019-01-19T05:11:20.964-08:00Leitmotifs<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
A useful <a href="http://www.pjb.com.au/mus/wagner/index.html" target="_blank">sorting</a> of the motifs in Wagner's Ring cycle with notation and synthesised audio. And a vidoe playlist of the same<br />
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Odedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000672778433894798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3576926800872672397.post-12456267260827017582018-04-22T05:52:00.000-07:002018-04-22T05:52:48.061-07:00from notation to music<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The internet is a wonderful thing:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Too often we talk about the score when we mean the music. </span></div>
Odedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000672778433894798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3576926800872672397.post-56349357536455881712017-10-08T11:00:00.000-07:002017-10-08T11:04:31.484-07:00Music 'similarity'<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I recently discovered that, as an artist, I am <a href="https://ourwalrus.com/music/similarartists/Oded+Ben-Tal" target="_blank">100% similar</a> to the following:<br />
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<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmSf697kemQ" target="_blank">Humair, Ducret, Chevillon + Eskelin</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUWzmLdAvYU" target="_blank">Muhal Richard Abrams & Roscoe Mitchell </a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gh97g6uDqWw" target="_blank">The Fonda / Stevens Group</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gjv5stoOYEo" target="_blank">Jean-François Bovard Et La Compagnie d'Eustache</a> </li>
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And that the genres I'm working in are Juma, Gammarec, and freepurp1e. Now I have to find out what those are...</div>
Odedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000672778433894798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3576926800872672397.post-28306411169380771552017-08-26T05:19:00.000-07:002017-08-26T05:19:46.057-07:00The conductor's work<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Odedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000672778433894798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3576926800872672397.post-21133028167535108052017-05-27T01:37:00.000-07:002017-05-27T01:40:46.561-07:00Machine Learning Systems in Concert<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
My partner in crime (<a href="http://www.eecs.qmul.ac.uk/people/view/21069/dr-bob-sturm" target="_blank">Dr. Bob Sturm</a>) and I recently hosted a concert of music co-created with computers. The concert ended with the first performance of my piece <i>Bastard Tunes</i>:<br />
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Read about the <a href="http://randomaccessmusic.blogspot.co.uk/2017/05/folk-tune-arrangements.html" target="_blank">composition process</a> of this piece and about <a href="http://theconversation.com/machine-folk-music-shows-the-creative-side-of-ai-74708" target="_blank">the research</a> that went into creating the system.<br />
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Odedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000672778433894798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3576926800872672397.post-16423495371911390302017-05-02T10:03:00.003-07:002018-06-21T05:56:35.747-07:00'Folk' Tune 'Arrangements'<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Standing on the shoulders of giants such as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wk7QAQEw4ZI" target="_blank">Bartok</a> or <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QV9KpBY07k0" target="_blank">Berio</a>, I recently finished writing an ensemble piece titled Bastard Tunes. The piece was composed with the help of a <a href="https://theconversation.com/machine-folk-music-composed-by-ai-shows-technologys-creative-side-74708" target="_blank">machine learning system</a> trained on transcriptions of Celtic music. The system produces short melodies that share many characteristics with the style it learned. But, with the possible exception of the fourth Bastard Tune, my piece applies more freedom in the way the system's output is used as compositional material. The piece will be <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">premiered in a <a href="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/partnerships-tickets-31992055098" target="_blank">concert</a> with other <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">examples of music composed by and with computers.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">At this moment, <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">working with the system is through a python script:</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">> python sample_rnn.py metadata/config5-wrepeats-20160112-222521.pkl --temperature 1.8 --seed "M:4/4 K:Cmin E"</span> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Whi<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">ch<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">, translated into <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">English means<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> (more or less)<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">: take a trained model<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> and use it to generate a tune in 4/<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">4 in the key of C minor with the first note E. The result <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">could<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> start with:</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">M:4/4<br />K:Cmin<br />EC=B,>G,F2C=B,|EB,B,_B,EGF_E|E2(3DCB,C2c=B|GcBGFG_EC|(3E=B,C(3DG^F,D2_C=B,|<br />[CC]3/2=B,G,=B,E[E=B]=BC|CEdGc<B|1efd_GB>FF=E:|</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I can then <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">either decide that I like it and keep it or change some of the numbers in the command and regenerate a different outcome. For example I can change the <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">opening </span>no<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">te<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(s)<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">: </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">> python sample_rnn.py metadata/config5-wrepeats-20160112-222521.pkl --temperature 1.8 --seed "M:4/4 K:Cmin D E /2 C"</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Or I can decide to try again with different temperature. Lower temperature would mean a more cautious sampling from the system (the next note in each step is more likely to be the most probable one). Higher temperature will result in more adventurous results.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Both the way I extracted the material from the system through such an interactive process and how this material was transformed in the composition process is different in each of the four movements of Bastard Tunes. For example, this is part of a melody I got through the system:</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKJjrMsqDVzARaJbzTLAfWdnSRePrKKa86QMb2W0UrCPUH7dfE_iZlE06kVIdxbCBNbNce1oUkRs6ozIlI3OYFqaEi9eGJZ5s5GM_iLau8hcjuyK0HvJdOKO_4XUoFN4Relge6LjbMRs0/s1600/source2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="47" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKJjrMsqDVzARaJbzTLAfWdnSRePrKKa86QMb2W0UrCPUH7dfE_iZlE06kVIdxbCBNbNce1oUkRs6ozIlI3OYFqaEi9eGJZ5s5GM_iLau8hcjuyK0HvJdOKO_4XUoFN4Relge6LjbMRs0/s320/source2.png" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Which was the basis f<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">or</span> this page from the second movement:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Throughout that movement <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">the <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">melody <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">generated with the system is <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">at the centre <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">surrounded by heterophonic <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">textures t<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">hat at times accompany and at times contrast with it. <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I also used the melody itself with considerable freedom - <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">removing bars or <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">phrases that didn't work, changing rhythms to make it <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">less rigid, <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">octave transp<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">ositions<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">, etc. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> took a <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">slightly di<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">fferent route in the first movement. I<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">wanted <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">four melodic strands that start together and gradually diverged. It took several experiments with the system <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">till I <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">got what I wanted. I started <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">by settin<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">g the temperature parameter very low<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> which meant the next note in the melody would <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">often be <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">the most li<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">kely note. I got 4 <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">very similar melodies:</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Using the last measure of each tune as the seed <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">and slowly r<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">aising the temperature parameter in each iteration, I got <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">melodies that gradually diverged from <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">each other</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> And <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">also <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">got further and further away from the tr<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">aining style:</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">There was still a fair bit of further editing on my part (<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">removing very large portion at the end - I generated too much material; </span>changing octaves to <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">fit the instruments and <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">bring out interesting bits<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">;</span> deleting some notes so the players can breath; etc.)<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> to make it <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">really work. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">My colleague and collaborator Bob posted the score of a piece he wrote with the same system on <a href="https://highnoongmt.wordpress.com/2017/04/08/chicken-bits-and-bits-and-bobs/" target="_blank">his blog</a>.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
Odedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000672778433894798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3576926800872672397.post-39135589331645637392017-01-18T10:24:00.002-08:002017-01-18T10:24:26.976-08:00Rhythmic Placing<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Listening to the snare drum in the quieter bits in this recording (e.g. around 20 sec. in):<br />
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This is not sloppy playing, but a deliberate, and fascinating, offset. We all too often forget these kind of nuances - things that happen in-between the beats and that are difficult to capture and analyse. <br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>For comparison here is more regularised performance:<br />
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Odedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000672778433894798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3576926800872672397.post-78855529468552107762016-07-05T00:59:00.000-07:002016-07-05T00:59:09.177-07:00Electronic Music - not so very new<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://120years.net/">120years.net</a> provides a wealth of information on developments in electronic music. <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"The focus of this project is in exploring the main themes of electronic
instrument design and development previous to 1970 (and therefore isn’t
intended as an exhaustive list of recent commercial synthesisers or
software packages.) As well as creating a free, encyclopaedic,
pedagogical resource on the History of Electronic Music"</blockquote>
</div>
Odedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000672778433894798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3576926800872672397.post-88237761061946076052016-04-16T10:06:00.002-07:002016-04-16T10:06:50.811-07:00Purcell What power art thou<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The chromatic motion is in the vocal line combined with the pulse to a unique result:<br />
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Odedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000672778433894798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3576926800872672397.post-8357412335844019022016-03-20T13:16:00.000-07:002016-03-20T13:16:29.236-07:00Johannes, Robert and Clara<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Tamás Vásáry manages to capture the intimate nature of this music:<br />
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Odedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000672778433894798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3576926800872672397.post-84087165054516922972016-03-16T11:11:00.000-07:002016-03-16T11:38:51.731-07:00Minimal music<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
But a totally different kind of minimal:<br />
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<br />
(Thanks to <a href="http://www.ensemblexy.com/" target="_blank">EnsembleXY</a> for introducing me to this piece)</div>
Odedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000672778433894798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3576926800872672397.post-13688195828676584572015-09-21T09:07:00.000-07:002015-09-21T09:07:03.614-07:00Percussion instruments<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://herdingcatsgeorge.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/unpitched-percussion.html" target="_blank">Here</a> are some examples of (mostly) unpitched percussion instruments. And <a href="http://www.openoctave.org/the_composers_toolbox/orchestral_instruments/percussion/unpitched_percussion" target="_blank">here</a> is a list of some of the more common used unpitched percussions.<br />
<br /></div>
Odedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000672778433894798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3576926800872672397.post-14944738382862403712015-06-04T14:12:00.001-07:002015-06-14T10:07:29.512-07:00Is there no musical repetition here <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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While there are no note-pattern repetitions in here, when listening to this - <i>as music</i> - I hear repeated ideas. An appoggiatura (short-long) motif is heard multiple times, as is the upward motion through the keyboard.<br />
This is a neat illustration of the problem of identifying music with its notation. Equating music with a sequence of note onsets, because this is how it looks on the page. </div>
Odedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000672778433894798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3576926800872672397.post-88576594834151851292014-05-24T09:36:00.000-07:002014-05-24T09:36:08.623-07:00Music-Sound-Design<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Blurring the lines between sound design and music, between diegetic and non:</span><br />
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Odedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000672778433894798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3576926800872672397.post-88241073175026190972014-05-23T12:50:00.001-07:002014-05-24T09:25:18.186-07:00Old and older<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Recorded at the cathedral where it was first performed, this performance highlights the spatial dimension of the music (a topical subject but we sometimes forget the long history of sound disposition in spaces):</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The string writing is, of course, very effective (<a href="http://imslp.org/wiki/Fantasia_on_a_Theme_by_Thomas_Tallis_%28Vaughan_Williams,_Ralph%29" target="_blank">score from imslp</a>). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The theme from Tallis, is his third mode melody:</span><br />
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Odedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000672778433894798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3576926800872672397.post-86115738386199781432014-05-20T12:24:00.003-07:002014-05-23T12:42:55.267-07:00Bartok - Bagatelles Op. 6<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
These short piano pieces are wonderful sources for examining innovative harmony (and rhythm, and composition technique, and ...)<br />
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Odedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000672778433894798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3576926800872672397.post-45616272994456609792014-05-15T14:23:00.000-07:002014-05-15T14:23:13.390-07:00Granados - Goyescas<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A recording of Granados performing his own music (in 1916 remastered from piano rolls):</span><br />
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Odedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000672778433894798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3576926800872672397.post-5724056746935291652014-05-15T09:07:00.000-07:002014-05-15T09:07:22.125-07:00Simple Metric Modulation <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A drum tutorial explaining metric modulation (with notated illustrations as a bonus):</span><br />
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Odedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000672778433894798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3576926800872672397.post-8581612024125163642014-05-14T12:21:00.000-07:002014-05-15T14:27:16.181-07:00Correlation =/= causation<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A useful illustration that if you search wide enough you can easily find 2 highly <a href="http://www.tylervigen.com/view_correlation?id=359" target="_blank">correlated variables:</a></span><br />
<br />
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<a href="http://www.tylervigen.com/correlation_project/correlation_images/number-people-who-drowned-by-falling-into-a-swimming-pool_number-of-films-niclas-cage-appeared-in.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.tylervigen.com/correlation_project/correlation_images/number-people-who-drowned-by-falling-into-a-swimming-pool_number-of-films-niclas-cage-appeared-in.png" height="223" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.tylervigen.com/correlation_project/correlation_images/divorce-rate-in-alabama_per-capita-consumption-of-whole-milk-us.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">But that does not mean there is causal relations between them</span></div>
Odedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000672778433894798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3576926800872672397.post-12107648518660789432014-03-05T05:17:00.000-08:002014-03-05T05:17:30.898-08:00Graphic Score<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.music.mcgill.ca/~stewart/t/g/espace.html" target="_blank">This set</a> displays a variety of approaches to graphic representation of sound. This group effort results in a full 'score' for a fairly extensive composition:</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><div>
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Odedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000672778433894798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3576926800872672397.post-33827172744794082972014-02-15T13:50:00.000-08:002014-05-19T11:38:09.036-07:00Leoš Janáček<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
An innovative composer of music that often sounds deceptively simple:<br />
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He found inspiration in the intonations of this native Czech language by notating <a href="http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=3421" target="_blank">speech fragments</a> he heard as melodies. </div>
Odedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000672778433894798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3576926800872672397.post-47161407931202056222014-02-06T03:06:00.005-08:002014-02-06T03:06:51.882-08:00Scriabin<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Russian composer Scriabin in a jazzy(!?) mood - the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zsU-Dl4nxs" target="_blank">2nd of his op. 57 pieces</a> (composed in 1908).<br />
The Preludes op. 74 are more typical of his style and sound world:<br />
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And a <a href="http://www.pjb.com.au/mus/arr/us/scriabin_op74.pdf" target="_blank">score + annotation</a> (scroll down) of the harmony underlying these piece.</div>
Odedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000672778433894798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3576926800872672397.post-23354858914340270892014-01-13T14:01:00.001-08:002014-01-13T14:01:56.181-08:00Noise in the workplace<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It seems noisy environments have quite a few negative implications:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"But the most problematic aspect of the open office may be physical
rather than psychological: simple noise. In laboratory settings, noise <a href="http://eab.sagepub.com/content/40/2/151.abstract" target="_blank">has been</a> repeatedly <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272494408000728" target="_blank">tied</a> to reduced cognitive performance. The psychologist Nick Perham, who studies the <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/acp.2826/abstract" target="_blank">effect of sound</a> on how we think, has found that office commotion <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23412582" target="_blank"> impairs</a>
workers’ ability to recall information, and even to do basic
arithmetic. Listening to music to block out the office intrusion doesn’t
help: even that, Perham found, impairs our mental acuity. Exposure to
noise in an office may also take a toll on the health of employees. <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11055149" target="_blank">In a study</a>
by the Cornell University psychologists Gary Evans and Dana Johnson,
clerical workers who were exposed to open-office noise for three hours
had increased levels of epinephrine—a hormone that we often call
adrenaline, associated with the so-called fight-or-flight response.
What’s more, Evans and Johnson discovered that people in noisy
environments made fewer ergonomic adjustments than they would in
private, causing increased physical strain. The subjects subsequently
attempted to solve fewer puzzles than they had after working in a quiet
environment; in other words, they became less motivated and less
creative." (<a href="http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/currency/2014/01/the-open-office-trap.html" target="_blank">Maria Konnikova</a> The New Yorker 2014)</span></span></div>
Odedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000672778433894798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3576926800872672397.post-69791157793624422572013-11-24T03:19:00.000-08:002013-11-24T03:19:26.104-08:00Harmony<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">An <a href="http://alanbelkinmusic.com/bk.H/index.html" target="_blank">approach</a> to learning harmony and developing harmonic language that extends beyond traditional tertiary-chords. </span></div>
Odedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11000672778433894798noreply@blogger.com0