Tuesday, September 21, 2004

Notes:
Hopefully you explored some of the links on our home page and, as assigned last class,you took a look at MIDI section of the Desktop Music Handbook. Remember, some of the terminology in the handbook may not be familiar to you now, but you'll get used to it as we work with MIDI through the semester.

Still haven't figured out why we were having problems playing those MIDI files in the lab last week. We'll figure it out...

Agenda for today:

1. We'll start working with Cakewalk, especially on how to record sequences
   1. Take a look at Recording in Cakewalk, and
   2. Study this screen shot of Cakewalk's Track View.

Assignments for next class:

1. Continue reading the Desktop Music Handbook. Once you finish the MIDI section, start reading the Digital Audio section. For now, don't worry if you don't understand some of the terminology.

Tuesday, September 14, 2004

Notes:
Welcome to the MUS 14A Web site. Visit these pages often during this course for more information and reference material on topics discussed in class. After the course is over, these pages will stay online for you to use for review and further reading.

Last class we took a quick look at the Triton synthesizer. Take a look at this picture to refresh your memory. We learned that the Tritons in the lab have five banks of "Progs" (short for Programs. Banks A, B, C, D and G) and 4 banks of Combis (short for Combinations. Banks A to D). (BTW, there are E and F Program banks on the Triton, but the Tritons in the lab don't have the hardware needed for those banks.)

We also saw how to navigate through the various banks of sounds, how to control the arpeggiator and how you can alter the sounds you're playing with the Realtime Controls.

Today we'll look at another Triton mode -- SEQ mode (S-E-Q, short for Sequencer mode.) The Triton has a built-in sequencer which we'll look at sometime during the semester, but we'll primarily use SEQ mode to put the synth into a multi-timbral mode so it can communicate with Cakewalk (and Finale later on in the semester.)

Agenda for today:

1. Playing a MIDI file on your computer.
   1. First, click this link to play a MIDI file. Which program on your computer played the file? If you turn your Triton off, do you still hear the music? If you were at home (and you don't own a synthesizer) would you be able to play a MIDI file and hear the music?
   2. Next, right-click this link and save the file on the Desktop of your computer. (We'll open the file in Cakewalk and take a look at it.)
   3. Visit the Classical Music Archives, find a MIDI file from a favorite composer, save the file on your computer, then open it and play it in Cakewalk. Note: the MEMBERS ONLY features will only work correctly from computers inside LIU.
2. Working with Cakewalk. More about the sequencing application we'll use in this course.

Assignments for next class:

1. Take a look at some of the links on our home page, especially those in the MIDI and Desktop Music section.
2. For more on the Triton, take a look at the links in the Triton section of our home page. These are online versions of the books that come with the Triton.
3. Read the MIDI section of the Desktop Music Handbook. Although you may not understand some of the terminology now the handbook should give you a good introduction to MIDI and how it works. (Remember: MIDI means "Musical Instrument Digital Interface.")

And, as a reminder of what you can do with MIDI, audio, music and computers... here's an mp3 version of an excerpt of the Tower of Power sequence we listened to (and watched on the big screen) last week. Great band, great sequence from a Standard MIDI file found on the Web. (FYI, the sequence was played in Sonar on a Triton Studio synthesizer and recorded in a digital audio recording/editing program called Sound Forge.)

Remember, no class Thursday.