Sunday, April 13, 2014

Mysterious Names - How Audio Companies Got Their Names



The Name of a Music Instrument Design Company... How Powerful and Meaningful is it?

A new music instrument company's name has been a pursuit of mine.

Popular music companies on Wikipedia were the starting point.


Major categories they fit into:

1. Blends

The most interesting category because they create distinctive names.  Benefits of distinctive names are stronger trademark protection and  more likely available domain names!

Blend examples:

Alesis - A Loose acronym for Algorithmic Electronic Systems adjusted to make spelling and pronunciation easier.

JoMoX -  Jürgen Michaelis X-Tended. Die Sternchen zwischen den Buchstaben sahen aus wie "o"s, und fortan hieß es JoMoX.  My translation: It started with the name Juergen Michaelis X-Tended.  "The little stars between the characters looked like letter 'o's, and that led to it getting named JoMoX."

2. Technical

Names like "Metasonix," "Quasimidi," "Sequential Circuits," etc.   This is the second largest category of names of music instrument companies

3. Places

Examples: PAiA, Waldorf, Teisco. This is actually a small category.

4. Bland

These are names that seem to be arbitrary, dry permutations of words like "music," "electronics," etc.  Some examples are: Electronic Music Laboratories, Electronic Music Studios, Generalmusic.  These names are so generic, they can hardly even get trademarked!

5. Designer Names 

This is the largest category of digital music instrument company names.  You know them: Moog, Kurzweil, Dave Smith, Buchla, etc.

* * Conclusion * *

The name of a music instrument company is important, especially in light of trademark law and all of the other requirements for brand names....  They should be easy to spell, have an available internet domain name, and not mean something embarrassing in a foreign language!  (Chevy Nova is a famous example!)

Bonus

While researching, I discovered this interesting link, which gives the stories of a large number of music company names:
http://www.rane.com/pronames.html

Sunday, April 6, 2014

Hurdy Gurdies - An Introduction to Constructing Them

Hurdy Gurdies - An Introduction to Constructing Them

Recently a neighbor mentioned his desire to possibly someday construct a hurdy gurdy.  I was very curious to know what goes into it and what solutions/possibilities and plans are available, so I did some research into it.


One of the coolest customized Hurdy Gurdy constructions I've seen.  
Notice how it includes 7 electronic control knobs!


  • This person built the above kit and made a 20-minute slideshow of the entire process - 133 images!!!
  • This is a person who is blogging the entire process of building their hurdy gurdy!
  • This guy has lots of great information if you're deciding whether to build a hurdy gurdy from scratch or from a kit
  • This website also has a kit and you can pay in alternative currency!

Sunday, March 30, 2014

Free Acoustic Analysis Software!

It's called LISA and I didn't know it existed until now!  And it's free (for up to 1300 nodes)!

This can help you design music instruments by telling you the resonant frequencies of instrument-shaped wooden housings like guitar bodies, cigar boxes, etc.!


Sounds great, right?  Somebody Download it and tell me how it is!!


-Noah

Friday, March 21, 2014

Berklee Music Therapy Hack Day

Berklee and hack/reduce will cohost this first-of-a-kind event March 28-29, 2014, creating a space for hackers to develop tools for music therapists to use in a variety of therapeutic and healthcare settings. Sponsors will help shape the Berklee Music Therapy Hack and provide tools and resources for developers. Practicing music therapists and music therapy students will present the developers with problems to be solved in real-life settings.

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Real-Time Signal Processing in Python

Did you know computers are fast enough to let you write Python code for guitar effects?





I am curious how far this can be pushed!  If we can write python guitar effects and synthesizers, what about these question...

Instrument builders: Shouldn't it be possible to help musicians craft the specific sound they want?

Instrument players: Is it possible to give you the power to perfect your sound through code?

Sunday, February 9, 2014

Guitar Maker at Dzaleka Refugee Camp, Malawi



Guitar-making from scratch - there are many informative videos out there!


What makes this one special?


1. The style of music they play.  It's different from how we play in the United States.  Listen for it!

2. Limited constraints force this guitar maker to effect the bare essentials.

3. Inside of a refugee camp - what is life like there?  Are people free to move about?  How do they stay happy?  An entry point into all of that is right here.  Somehow, it's much more comprehensible - we can relate when we think of people playing music there.

Bonus

Wondering where Malawi is?  Here's a hint: It is completely landlocked, but a major lake forms its border.  Take a guess, then click here to find it on map.

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Levitation, Acoustic: Three-Dimensional Mid-Air Manipulation


Wow...  Just one of the neat things you can do with great acoustic control!


 



Just think about how much you can do when you learn to use Digital Signal Processing well. 

You can create this amount of control over sound and music.

That can help you make very precise music that communicates and express exactly what you like from moment to moment. 

Christopher Walken once mentioned that he would rather have the ability to express himself through having a tail than to be able to fly!