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Sunday, February 1, 2015

Scripting, Electronic, and Musical Experimentation

A script that I created to save space. It works by using dd to reduce all relevant files to zero size. It contains comments to make it customisable and creates log files just in case something goes wrong:
mkempty-1.01.zip

Came across one of these during the week. I looked at it, did a bit more research though and found out that the battery was dying, that the company was in trouble, and that no spare parts were being manufactured which meant that you would have to retrofit your own battery from another source if it came down to it (I found out that a HTC ChaCha battery actually fits the physical dimensions required and actually has the characteristics to get the job done. Since, I don't like risking the possiblity of overheating I decided to pass on the purchase. I obviously thought about the chance of fitting an iPod battery in there as well which explains the links... Not enough information available online though regarding physical dimensions.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pacemaker
http://pacemaker.net/
http://pacemakerdevice.org/
http://www.cnet.com/au/products/tonium-pacemaker/
https://forum.sparkfun.com/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=28139
http://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/37552/anyone-knows-how-many-mah-in-ipod-touch-4th-generation-battery
https://www.ifixit.com/Store/iPhone/iPhone-Gen-1-Replacement-Battery/IF105-017-1
http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/28/irl-pioneer-kuro-pdp-6010fd-tonium-pacemaker-and-the-samsung-g/
http://www.wired.com/2008/04/pacemaker_portable_dj/

If you've ever wanted a more memorable username to link to your Facebook profile here's some help.
https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=457770375843
https://www.facebook.com/help/329992603752372/

Was working an automatically deployed Amazon Web Services (AWS)/Unified Threat Management (UTM) device/node while I was working on the 'Cloud and Internet Security' report. Don't like leaving things unfinished. Relaunching the project until it's conclusion. It'll be interesting to see whether there is an actual market for these type of things whether for or not for profit. One curious thing is that a lot of information is actually more easily obtained via SNMP and other existing monitoring protocols...
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/1671024
https://play.google.com/store/books/author?id=Binh+Nguyen
http://www.amazon.com/mn/search/?_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&field-author=Binh%20Nguyen&linkCode=ur2&search-alias=digital-text&sort=relevancerank&tag=bnsb-20&linkId=3BWQJUK2RCDNUGFY

The following is just a good reference guide...
drum and bass averages a BPM of 160-180
dubstep is around 140 BPM
House varies between 118 and 135 BPM
hip-hop is around 115 BPM
Concert marches are typically ~120 BPM.
Screamers are usually 130-150 BPM
Largo is 40-60 BPM
Larghetto is 60-66 BPM
Adagio is 66-76 BPM
Andante is 76-108 BPM
Moderato is 108-120 BPM
Allegro is 120-168 BPM
Presto is 168-200 BPM
Prestissimo is 200+ BPM (These last according to my Sabine Zipbeat.)
http://music.stackexchange.com/questions/4525/list-of-average-genre-tempo-bpm-levels

Have been doing more research on understanding the concept of 'layering' in song composition. The consensus seems to be that in electronic music (anything that features heavily synthesised sounds), you basically start from percussion/a drumline and then you work your way upwards, adding synths, basses, and so on (you can start the other way around to but if you have sufficient knowledge of percussion but it doesn't quite have that some feeling/sensation to it). You may even start with a pattern of single notes to create a melody and then base your lyrics around that based on what I've read. For this particular reason, I've been looking more into percussion and patterns that are peculiar to each particular (keywords "percussion music pdf" in Google). Some really interesing stuff. I didn't realise that notation in percussion could be 'customised' because there were so many different instruments that were possibly available?

http://web.mit.edu/merolish/Public/drums.pdf (you'll need this to understand the notation)
http://www.virtualdrumming.com/drums/drum-sheet-music.html (none of this will make any sense without an understanding of notation)
http://www.hvogt.de/drums/patterns.html
http://drumbum.com/lessons/drum-lessons/free-drum-lessons/beginning-drums.html
https://www.ucmo.edu/music/bands/media/drumline_audio_parts/UCM%2520DL%2520Handbook%25202012.pdf
http://www.berkleeshares.com/drums__percussion

I took a big look at Dubstep because percussion is a core part of that stype of music.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubstep
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jul10/articles/dubstep.htm
http://www.musicradar.com/tuition/tech/14-dubstep-production-tips-178489/
http://www.makebeatsforever.com/top-10-tips-for-making-dubstep/
http://www.makebeatsforever.com/the-ultimate-guide-on-how-to-make-dubstep/
http://howtomakeelectronicmusic.com/how-to-make-a-dubstep-beat
http://www.wikihow.com/Write-Dubstep-Music
http://www.looperman.com/forum/thread/56378
http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Simmon_Power

------> Huge Guide to Producing Dubstep! <------ br="">https://www.dubstepforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=159713
Dubstep Music Mastering tutorials/tips
https://www.dubstepforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=104330

Obviously, once you have a percussion part that is suitable to he genre of music you can begin to layer up. For instance, think about common elements/instruments/sounds. Layer based on genre, thinking about what you have, what you can adjust, what you can find, what you can create or imagine whether it is via software or hardware... One thing you should know, writing songs isn't really an incremental process. It's like some other things I've experienced in life. Once you hit a plateau and begin to understand the next step, you gain a whole bunch of extra bits and pieces. While you were previously only able to write half a song, now you can write three-quarters of it, or you suddently discover a way to take your sound quality to a completely new level.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_music
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hip_hop_music
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhythm_and_blues
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B-boying
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligent_dance_music
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Break_(music)

You listen to enough music (out on the Internet, at concerts/bars/out on the streets, purchasing from retail, etc...) and you basically get the impression that a lot of what is released out there isn't actually all that great (the supposed idea behind the Apple Music Store) which is a good thing and a bad thing. Think in terms of marketing. You name a genre, there is likely a website that is dedicated to that particular style of music. Here's the problem though. Remember the premise of the Apple Music Store. Out of every album you purchase you're only going to like anywhere between one and a maximum of four songs on it (average based on my collection and personal experience). Factor in the fact that the barrier to entry for online music is much lower and you basically have very little chance of making it unless you can churn out consistently good music or else you create the 'song of your life' at some point along the line because that is basically what it will take to rise above the rabble.

The irony is this. By reading, taking courses, and so on... you end up with a baseline knowledge of how to compose but it also means that you may end up with some very formulaic songs. Watch for DJ's, producers, composers, engineers, etc... Just like a person's character there tend to be idiosyncracies in the sound that they produce (whether that may be down to preference, talent, equipment, etc...).

Some websites where you can preview some artists work (not including the usual places such as the Apple Store, etc...)
https://topdeejays.com/
http://www.traxsource.com/top/tracks
http://mixcloud.com/
http://soundcloud.com/
https://www.youtube.com/
https://bandcamp.com/
http://www.beatport.com/
http://www.last.fm/
http://promodj.com/

Note that what is House, Chilled, or Lounge over here doesn't necessarily mean the same thing in Asia, Europe, America, etc...
http://promodj.com/top100/djs 

Saving Money (without Sacrificing), Random Stuff, and More

- use price matching when you can to get an extra discount. Note, a lot of companies advertise low prices just to get you through the door. ...