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.

Real-Time Signal Processing in Python

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

http://bastibe.de/2012-11-02-real-time-signal-processing-in-python.html

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?

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.

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!

Olli Niemilato's Introduction to DSP

Olli Niemilato's Introduction to DSP 

Back in the day, the music-dsp list was a hotspot of people designing and implementing their own DSP algorithms for musical purposes. 

Olli Niemilato was one of its leaders.  He shared knowledge with a sense of humor. 

I was delighted to discover his introduction to DSP algorithms in snappy, fun-to-read form.

Bonus

Additional guides to help you learn DSP from DIYDSP.com:

• Mini DSP FAQ           - Equalizers and Crossovers
• Music-DSP FAQ       - Directed toward audio plug-ins
• ARRL DSP FAQ    - Somewhat about radio

Olli Niemilato's Introduction to DSP

Exhibition of Gijs Gieskes' Music Instruments

A friend introduced Gijs to me many years ago.  We've stayed in touch as much as possible, considering he lives all the way over on the other side of the ocean in Holland!

 

He recently had an exhibition of some of his vast instrument library.


His elegant, yet slightly jagged approach always impresses me.

His adoration of the connection between the sounds of physical and electrical media tickles my fancy!

What physical objects would you go out of your way to incorporate into electronic instruments?

Subwoofer Build From Scratch by Svinec

Svinec builds a large subwoofer from scratch, including coils, spider,  foam, everything!  It's nicely documented and has a great sound track of "Bass Music"!  Pump it up!

 

This is a really nice video.  It is well worth the 10 minutes.

Get comfortable with a friend, watch the construction and enjoy the details!  

Do you think you could pull this off yourself?