Assignment 2

I really enjoyed working with RadiaL but I was unable to properly set up the MIDI keyboard. Instead I had to revert to assigning functions to the mac keyboard. Having the switches on the MIDI keyboard would have made fading channels in and out significantly easier. Without it I had to quickly move my mouse around and frequently had to re-record songs.

Personally, I found the biggest challenge was finding a starting point to the songs. Once I established a beginning rythym or beat it was relatively easy to add in effects and noises that meshed well. You have a listen of the finished products in mp3 format by clicking the links below:

Loop 1:

Loop 2:

Loop 3:

Blog 2 - Ratatat

As I mentioned in Blog 1, I have a couple friends to thank for continually exposing me to electronic music I would not have listened to on my own. Recently, they've got me hooked on the group Ratatat. The group only has two members with Mike Stroud on guitar and Evan Mast on the synthesizer. They have a very original sound that I would categorize as house music. They've released three albums but admittedly I haven't listened to much of their most recent album that hit the shelves this past summer. At the moment I find the song "Lex" to be their best single.

I'd love to see these guys perform in person. Unfortunately it looks as though their world tour has finished all of their stops in the U.S. Maybe someone on the student council can coerce them into coming back to the States for Spring Fling...

I can say with certainty that after listening to these guys I'll be looking to find some more house music that appeals to me. If any of you readers have any suggestions be sure to send them my way.

Assignment 1

I just completed our first assignment of creating two ringtones. I recorded sounds of me walking through the snow, walking up stairs, using my ID card and punching numbers into my cell phone. I was very impressed with the sound quality that I got using the mic I rented from the music lab.

Ringtone 1 was just a 15 second sample that was not edited. Ringtone 2 was created using the following editing techniques: fade in, fade out, gain control, invert, reverse and tempo adjustment. To be honest, the assignment took a lot longer to complete than I expected. However, I do feel much more comfortable with the Logic Pro software.

Ringtone 1:

Ringtone 2:

Favourite Techno Music

Only recently have I begun to enjoy a broad range of techno music. Previously, I really only listened to the odd cover song. If it didn't make the billboards, chances are I never heard of it. I've got a couple friends that are big techno gurus (including Chris Scavone who is taking this class) that have exposed me to a lot of music I would not have come across on my own. Scavone always has techno music pumping in the locker room before practice

I guess I consider myself to be an 'impatient' music listener. I have a hard time listening to songs that take a long time to develop their tempo. I also like some predictability to my songs. If a song does not have a discernable beat or is too 'busy' I probably won't enjoy it. Don't ask me why, but I tend to shy away from music that doesn't have lyrics. Maybe these tastes will change, as I grow more appreciation for the composition of electronic music...

Currently, my favourite techno artist is MGMT, specifically their songs Electric Feel and Kids. I have also rediscovered the song Heartbeats by The Knife. I came across a cover of the song in iTunes store and forgot just how good the original song is. I've added these three songs in the video tab of my blog.

Thanks for reading my first blog entry!

- Lanky Canuck

Welcome to my Blog

Welcome to my blog for Music 295. This is my first music class at Yale and I look forward to the challenge. More posts to come soon...