The End – Always Save Something Brilliant

June 22nd, 2014

A guest post by Evamarie.

I’m continually drawn to the electronic version of “O Sacred Head Now Wounded” arranged by Caleb Hugo. I don’t tend to listen to electronic music in general, but I can’t seem to get over this song. What is it that draws me in? Well, for one, this setting of the hymn is a totally new composition. Don’t get me wrong, I like the original hymn tune, but this new setting seems to have been carefully crafted to highlight the text of the hymn. In addition, it employs beautiful, rich harmonies and a counter melody that increase the interest level beyond just the cool melody. These elements all make me like the song. In fact, I think all of these factors would lead me to say it’s a good song that I like a lot. But that’s not what keeps me coming back to it.

Do you know how sometimes you hear a song and you can tell where it’s going to end? I always think that will happen with this song, but it never ends where I expect it to. Instead, it keeps going a little bit longer, just until I’m not ready for it to end anymore. Then, when I think “oh, it’s not ending yet,” it does, and leaves “Lord let me never, never, never outlive my love for thee” reverberating symbolically in my ears.

Listen to the End

“Always save something for the end”

Posted in listening suggestions, New music | No Comments »

Pick-A-Mode – Bonus Features in Upbeat Bird

June 14th, 2014

I wanted to avoid redundancy in the music produced by Upbeat Bird. On the other hand, I also wanted the music to repeat itself to an extent. When first being introduced to new sounds, the listener needs some time to adjust the idea. But it has to do something eventually. The solution was to change the mode in which the music was being played. But not until the player starts to get the idea of how to play the game well. Since there are seven primary modes to work with, that also leaves plenty of opportunity to give the player goals to aim for as their timing becomes more accurate. Rewards and checkpoints are important parts of good games! Here’s the breakdown of the rewards in Upbeat Bird:

pick-a-mode

Yeah, I rock at this.

  • A high score from 0 to 199 = Ionian (major)
  • 200 to 599 = Mixolydian
  • 600 to 1199 = Lydian
  • 1200 to 1999 = Dorian
  • 2000 to 2999 = Aeolian
  • 3000 to 4199 = Phrygian
  • 4200 to 5599 = Locrian

So what happens when the player exceeds 5599? This opened up another opportunity. After the player has earned every mode, why not let them pick the mode their next game is in? So, at 5,600 points the player gets to have a say in what they’re hearing! Or if the player doesn’t care, the can just pick random.

Programming mode selection

Many people understand modes as scales and stop there. But it’s both simpler and much more complicated at the same time. In short, all I had to do was transpose the base line without changing the bird sounds. Change the lowest note in a song, and you change the mode. And just like that, we magically have seven times the music which develops slowly over time! In reality, it’s much more complicated than that, but you get the idea.

Just like a good piece of music, Upbeat Bird always has something new to offer the listener.

Posted in Education, Project Demonstations | No Comments »

Improvisation in Upbeat Bird – Musical Gaming

June 13th, 2014

Click here to learn a little about how pitches in Upbeat Bird are selected. In short, the game uses an improvisation algorithm through limited random selections. The limits for the bass are determined using the notes that came before and after. The limitations for the bird sounds are generated using the direction of the bass line.

improvisation-in-upbeat-bird

This perfect upbeat probably yielded a leap (pun intended).

What is most compelling about the music is that the bird sounds are completely based on user input. A sound occurs whenever the player taps to jump. Then the pitch is based on a combination of what the bass is about to do, and on when the player jumps. If the player succeeds in performing a perfect upbeat, the bird’s melodic line leaps. The line will also leap if it has to change direction due to range limitation. Otherwise the melodic motion goes only by step.

So then, rapid tapping will usually result in stepwise motion. Since rapid stepwise motion is more desirable to listen to than rapid leaps, the result is good melodic content during dense clusters of notes. Accurate upbeats, on the other hand, yield leaps. Since this requires slower rhythm, it makes sense that these notes would be where leaps occur. This keeps the line interesting during sparse passages of improvisation.

Small Steps Toward Good Improvisation

These rules have exciting possibilities both inside and outside of Upbeat Bird. It yields a form of guided improvisation. While eliminating pitch selection, it gives total control of rhythm to the player. This will lead to other games and tools to guide people efficiently towards logical improvisation.

Posted in Education, fun, Thought | No Comments »

Ear Training Game – It's Really That Easy

June 11th, 2014

Why the Ear Train-A-Tizer Is My Favorite Ear Training Game.

The problem with ear training games is that they’re just not gamey enough. Throughout my first two years or so at Cornerstone, I enjoyed using an ear training game for my basic musical development. But it just seemed too academic. More like homework and less like the game it seemed like it was trying to be. It also wasn’t free…

ear-training-game

My favorite ear training game to date.

Music Interactive’s first attempt at making an ear training game was the Ear Train-A-Tizer. I like it because it gets straight to the point of what an ear training game should be. It has a score, levels, time limits, and teaches the user how select the correct answers. It gets progressively harder and even has bonus levels! But It lacks graphics and hand to eye coordination. It’s fun, but it could be more fun. It needs lasers and jumping. Something sweet.

But for now, it’s what we’ve got and it’s great! Here at Music Interactive our goal is to make your musical abilities develop as quickly and effortlessly as possible. The Ear Train-A-Tizer is a great way to help you learn how to identify sounds. To the best of my knowledge, it’s the best ear training game out there to date. It’s currently only browser based and works best in Google Chrome…But it’s also free!

Posted in Announcements, Education, fun | No Comments »

Ear Training Game – It’s Really That Easy

June 11th, 2014

Why the Ear Train-A-Tizer Is My Favorite Ear Training Game.

The problem with ear training games is that they’re just not gamey enough. Throughout my first two years or so at Cornerstone, I enjoyed using an ear training game for my basic musical development. But it just seemed too academic. More like homework and less like the game it seemed like it was trying to be. It also wasn’t free…

ear-training-game

My favorite ear training game to date.

Music Interactive’s first attempt at making an ear training game was the Ear Train-A-Tizer. I like it because it gets straight to the point of what an ear training game should be. It has a score, levels, time limits, and teaches the user how select the correct answers. It gets progressively harder and even has bonus levels! But It lacks graphics and hand to eye coordination. It’s fun, but it could be more fun. It needs lasers and jumping. Something sweet.

But for now, it’s what we’ve got and it’s great! Here at Music Interactive our goal is to make your musical abilities develop as quickly and effortlessly as possible. The Ear Train-A-Tizer is a great way to help you learn how to identify sounds. To the best of my knowledge, it’s the best ear training game out there to date. It’s currently only browser based and works best in Google Chrome…But it’s also free!

Posted in Announcements, Education, fun | No Comments »

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