Wednesday, April 17, 2013
My NYU masters thesis is a drum programming tutorial system for beginner musicians. It uses a novel circular interface for displaying the drum patterns. This presentation explains the project’s goals, motivations and scholarly background. If you prefer, see it on Slideshare.
Filed in Autobio, Interfaces, Music, Music Teaching, Software
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Also tagged ableton, dance, drum machines, electronica, hip-hop, looping, midi, music notation, nyu, propellerhead, thesis, visualization
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This is part of a research project I’m doing for my Psychology of Music class at NYU, thus the formal tone. The backbeat is a ubiquitous, almost defining feature of American popular and vernacular music. Clapping or snapping on the backbeats is generally considered by musicians to be more correct than doing so on the [...]
Filed in Dance, Music, Race and Identity, Science
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Also tagged africa, america, backbeat, dance, funk, hip-hop, james brown, jazz, neuroscience, nyu, race, rhythm, rock, swing, syncopation
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Wednesday, March 27, 2013
For those of you curious about what I’m up to in grad school, this is the big thing. Pardon the stilted language, but, you know, academia. See the slideshow! Title The Drum Loop: a Self-Guided Tutorial System for Programming Dance Rhythms Introduction Dance music production software has never been more accessible. However, even “beginner-oriented” programs [...]
Filed in Autobio, Interfaces, Music, Music Teaching, Software, Video Games
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Also tagged dance, design, hip-hop, interface, looping, nyu, programming, thesis, visualization
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Saturday, January 26, 2013
I’m a longtime closeted beatboxer. I do it while walking around, doing household tasks, in the shower, pretty much anywhere except in front of other people. My wife is remarkably tolerant of it, bless her, and my infant son has no choice but to listen to me do it. I don’t expect to ever beatbox [...]
Friday, September 28, 2012
A while ago I wrote a post explaining how jazz works. In response, someone asked me to name my favorite hundred jazz tracks. So here’s my list. It’s totally subjective and necessarily incomplete, but I can guarantee that any of these tunes will make your life better. Hear them on Spotify.
Filed in Key Musicians, Music
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Also tagged america, art blakey, art tatum, bebop, billie holiday, blues, bud powell, cannonball adderley, carmen mcrae, cecil taylor, charles mingus, charlie parker, clifford brown, Composition, count basie, digging the crates, dixieland, dizzy gillespie, django reinhardt, duke ellington, ella fitzgerald, eric dolphy, free jazz, gil evans, hank mobley, herbie hancock, horace silver, jazz, jimmy smith, joe pass, john coltrane, louis armstrong, max roach, mccoy tyner, miles davis, nat adderley, oliver nelson, sidney bechet, singing, sonny rollins, soul, standards, swing, thelonious monk, wayne shorter
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Update: see a more formal draft of my thesis proposal. For my NYU masters thesis in Music Technology, I’m designing a beginner-oriented music learning app for the iPad and similar devices. It will approach music the way I wish I had been taught it, and the way I’ve been teaching it to my private students. [...]
Filed in Composition, Interfaces, Music, Music Teaching, Software
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Also tagged dance, electronica, fun, linkedin, music teaching, nyu, rhythm, sequencing, thesis
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Apple has long made a practice of giving away cool software with their computers. One of the coolest such freebies is Garageband. It’s a stripped down version of Logic aimed at beginners, and it’s a surprisingly robust tool. The software instruments and loops sound terrific, the interface is approachable, and it’s generally a great scratchpad. [...]
Filed in Hardware, Interfaces, Music, Recording, Sampling
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Also tagged apple, beginners, garageband, guitar, interfaces, ios, ipad, keybs, linkedin, midi, Music, music teaching, Sampling, sequencing, songwriting
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As I contemplate my masters thesis, I’m looking for good examples of beginner-centric musical user interface design. Propellerhead’s new Figure app has been a source of inspiration for me. It’s mostly wonderful, and even its design flaws are instructive. I have a long history with Propellerhead’s software, beginning with Rebirth in 1998. I’ve made a [...]
Filed in Composition, Interfaces, Music Teaching, Software
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Also tagged beginners, design, electronica, figure, graphics, hipsters, interfaces, ios, linkedin, music teaching, propellerhead, reason, rebirth, retro, skeuomorphism, synths, touch, visualization
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For my grad school thesis, I’m designing an intro-level music education app. I’m operating within the techno/hip-hop paradigm, with an Afrocentric rhythm-oriented approach. Electronic dance music production software had brought me much joy over the years, joy that I’m eager to spread to more people. I firmly believe that everyone is a potential musician, and [...]
Filed in Hardware, Interfaces, Software, Video Games
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Also tagged accordion, brian eno, haptic feedback, interfaces, keybs, linkedin, midi, moog, morton subotnick, music notation, nyu, Video Games, visualization, xenakis
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Friday, November 18, 2011
Ella Fitzgerald lost some of her range as she got older, but her soul and phrasing got deeper and deeper. The series of duet albums she did with Joe Pass late in her life are exquisite.
Filed in Key Musicians, Music
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Also tagged age, ella fitzgerald, funk, Improvisation, jazz, joe pass, max roach, miles davis, quora, soul
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