Barrel of Monkeys and Photographs – Jim Bryson on Kathleen Edwards

Well, Kathleen Edwards most recent release,  Voyageur, is the darling of critics, rightfully so, with its cathartic songs leading to new beginnings from a dissolved past.  I just wanted to share a quote from an interview by David McPherson in the latest Canadian Musician magazine (January/February 2012 edition).  The quote comes from a fellow Canadian singer-songwriter, Jim Bryson, who contributed to Voyageur via emailing parts and pieces of songs back and forth with Edwards (and is part of Edwards’ touring band and a proud new papa to boot – congrats!):

If Edwards chose not to use one of Bryson’s ideas, he didn’t take it personally. “I know how records work,” says the seasoned songwriter. “It’s like taking photographs. You take 100 and you may only use three of them. If it’s a signature part and you really feel connected to it you can have a discussion, but otherwise, if you are playing on someone else’s record, it’s theirs …at the end of the day, it’s her deal. It’s not like I can throw a barrel of monkeys down the stairs and mic it and expect her to use it.”

Now that’s an image that’s hard to get rid of… hmm… probably a novelty record in that idea… Don’t go calling the SPCA on my… I was only joking… But the lesson is to collaborate with respect for the song’s originator… now that I can work with and may the Muse stay with Kathleen, Jim et al…

ScoreAHit Web App - The Hit Equation

Well, now we can take the guess-work out of wondering if the songs we write will be hits… The science behind the ScoreAHit web app can be found here.  It’s all mathematics and formulae and “I’ve got algorithms”… here’s a very brief overview from the site:

The underlying assumption is that popular songs are similar with respect to a set of features that make them appealing to a majority of people. These features could then be exploited by Machine Learning algorithms in order to predict whether a song will rise to a high peak position in the chart. Machine Learning is a branch of Artificial Intelligence concerned with learning to perform a task based on examples -- in this case learning to predict hit potential based on past hits and non-hits.

And here are the factors measured by the algorithm in a tag picture format:

Kudos to Dr. Tijl De Bie for his work on this… it looks like a lot of fun and I’m going to submit a song or two to the Songometer when I get the link by email invitation…

I’ll report back on whether I’ve got algorithm or not… May the Muse (and Math) be with me…

Tunited - Social Network for Songsmiths?

Caught this interview of Midge Ure on the Daily Record’s website that deals with his establishment of an online social network for songwriters, music creators…

The site is called… you guessed it… Tunited… (Tunes+United I presume)…  Here’s some of the interview:

A teenage Midge Ure sat - guitar in hand - in his bedroom at his family home in Cambuslang and decided the time had come to write his first pop song.

As he nervously strummed the chords of new composition The Bowie Trilogy, a tribute to his music idol David, he thought, 'This is what I want to do for the rest of my life'. His ambition far outweighed his early ability.

More than 40 years on Midge, 57, laughed: "The song was rubbish. Trouble was, I only had one part. I never got round to writing the other two sections of the track so it didn't turn out to be much of a trilogy.

"I was so passionate about music. I firmly believed I'd be walking home from school and The Beatles would be waiting at my door saying. 'We've sacked John, you're the guy we really want'. I lived in total fantasy land. That was my reality but it was exciting to me."

Midge has been looking back at the origins of his incredible 35-year pop career to coincide with the launch of Tunited, a new online social music network he's developed to help aspiring artists get their first step on the ladder to rock stardom and introduce fans to new music.

Midge spent four years building Tunited from scratch. Its aim is to encourage people to make music and get paid for it - an alien concept in an age of online piracy and free downloading.

Midge said: "Tunited is a DIY onestop shop for aspiring musicians. I've compresssed all the elements you need to make a living as an artist into this site.

"I've opened the door to everybody who wants to have a crack at making music or listen to new music.  The cost implications of going into a studio and making a record just aren't there any more. We give you software good enough to make an album in your bedroom and a business pack showing you how to sell it.

"You can press up 1000 singles or just 25 copies to give to your mates. We also arrange gig swaps where a band in Newcastle can invite a band in Glasgow to support them and vice versa.

"You also get 100 per cent profits from songs which are downloaded. The artists all get paid - it might not be an awful lot but on other sites you don't see a penny for your music. The quality of the work by new acts on Tunited has blown me away."

He said: "Today, if The Beatles were a new band and knocked on the door of a major record company or radio station with the Sergeant Pepper album the response would be, 'Thanks but no thanks'. They wouldn't fit the bill of what the industry deems hip and trendy.

"It doesn't take a genius to work out that if 100,000 people turn up for an X Factor audition and only two are chosen that's an awful lot of other people who'd like to have a crack at making music.

"It all comes down to whether you fit the demographic. If you don't look right - if you're too old, too thin or too fat, whatever - you're going to be excluded, not given the opportunity to show what you can do.

"Tunited is saying, if you've got a skill - whether it's singing, songwriting or as a musician - barter that skill. There is talent out there and we'll give it a platform.

"Tunited is saying it's time we did the job ourselves. If you've got the desire to do it have a crack at it, the tools are there."

Wow!  Very interesting concept… Best of luck Midge and may the Muse be with all Tunited users…  Look for me there…

Related articles

• Behind the music: Will Tunited bring artists and fans together? (guardian.co.uk)

Juno Awards Adds Electronic Music Category

Canada’s Juno Awards has added an electronic music category for next years awards… and the site is open for submissions now…

If only I could compose an Electronic Album, then maybe I could have a shot at a Juno… NOT!  Of course, I’m dating myself but I start thinking of Kraftwerk and Vangelis… I’m sure I’ll be listening for the nominees in this category and learning a few things… why have all these toys with Reaper and VSTs and such if I don’t open my mind to other kinds of music and songwriting… hmm… a side project I guess…

Here’s the category as outlined by the Juno Awards:

The new category is defined as album-length original recordings composed with electronic equipment as the essential songwriting tools and defined by their electronic elements. Musical genres and respective subgenres such as (but not limited to) techno, house, electro, trance, drum’n’bass, dubstep, grime, electro-acoustic, turntablism, sample-based music, ambient and downtempo are eligible for this category.

Well, may the Muse be with you electronic mixers…

Related articles

• Juno Awards add electronic album category (ctv.ca)

Songwriting Strategies

Tom Slatter of Indiesongwriter.net is putting together a series of “songwriting strategy podcasts”.  Episode One was delivered by Tom himself and dealt with key changes, while Episode Two covered Nadia Cripps’ process to compose a new piano instrumental in one of her songs.

Check out the Songwriting Strategies podcasts and may the Muse be with you…

Drake’s Songwriting Tip: Use a BlackBerry

 

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Maybe it’s conducive to his rap style of music, but Toronto-born artist/musician/songwriter/actor, Drake, uses his BlackBerry to write his raps:

In this clip from the upcoming doc, Drake bops to the track Kanye West produced for "Show Me a Good Time" and then picks up a BlackBerry and starts punching out some rhymes.

"All Drake's raps for eternity have been written inside of a Blackberry," producer and engineer Noah "40" Shebib says in the clip. "I mean, to the point where if he doesn't have a BlackBerry, we gotta go get somebody who's got one. I've had dummy BlackBerrys around that I just pull out for him to write on, like if he needs one ... that don't actually even work!"

Drake cops to his need for a BlackBerry when working on his lyrics. "I can't write my raps on paper," Drake says. "The BlackBerry keys — my thumbs were made for touching them." The clip wraps up with Drizzy in the booth recording and referencing his lyrics on his trusty smartphone.

Hey, whatever works for you, I say… May the Muse be with him… I’m sure we’re going to see iPad and Android apps for songwriters at some point… (rhyming dictionaries and tab/chord software… hmmm, maybe I should get on that…)

The Musical Brain

I read an article in our local weekly about producer Vanessa Dylyn (pictured left with Sting at McGill University) and her latest project, "which mixes neuroscience and music [and] examines what music can tell us about the human brain and the what the brain can tell us about music."

Dylyn came across the book This is Your Brain on Music by Dr. Daniel Levitin (see my previous posts). She knew it would make the basis for a wonderful documentary straight away and I have to agree (and can't wait to watch it).

CTV will be airing the documentary, The Musical Brain, this weekend (January 31, 2009 at 7 p.m.). Here is CTV's description:

Using the research findings of leading medical experts, including Dr. Daniel Levitin (This is Your Brain on Music), the documentary examines the physical, psychological and emotional responses to music through a variety of tests on children and adults. 'The Musical Brain' also features candid interviews with Michael Bublé, Feist, Wyclef Jean and Sting who share what they have learned about the power of music in their lives.

In addition to discussing his passion for music, Sting puts his own musical mind to the test when he enters an fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) machine to have his brain scanned. Inspired by Dr. Daniel Levitin's book, Sting undergoes tests to find out how music affects him on a physical and emotional level. Using state-of-the-art technology, 'The Musical Brain' demonstrates how Sting responds to various types of music - complex and simple - and what his musical brain reveals about him.

"Music is a gateway to emotion and memory, pleasure and intellectual stimulation throughout our lives," says writer and director Christina Pochmursky. "'The Musical Brain'follows Sting on his journey of discovery into his own musical brain, and also explores how music can define each stage of our lives."

"This riveting documentary sheds light on the human musical experience and how science is teaching us more about it," says Bob Culbert, Vice-President of CTV Documentaries. "The stories shared by the participating artists will resonate with viewers who understand the power of music in their own lives."

May the Muse (and your brain) be with you...

Technorati : Music Science, Songwriting Science

Musicshake... and Musicshare!

The Musicshake website declares "Music for Everyone, Created by YOU". TechCrunch featured the site in an article published earlier today.

The free Musicshake mixing program (Windows platform only, see interface screenshot below) "lets users create personalized, professional sounding music using a variety of modules and pattern-combination methods, which is quite addictive once you get the hang of it (takes about 10 minutes and there are templates to help get you started). You can convert music you make to mp3 and download them to your computer, or convert them into a personalized ringtone. You can also show off music you create to your friends and place it in charts to promote your work to others."

Musicshake then lets you monetize that creation on its website and share the proceeds with you 50/50. So budding composers, why not check it out. Here's a video of the proggie in action:

May the Muse-icshake be with you... now go create...

Technorati : Songwriting Technology

HitLab Dynamic Hit Scoring

A Canadian company, out of Montreal, was featured in an article by Roberto Rocha of the National Post yesterday discussing the DHS (Dynamic Hit Scoring) software featured on its website: HitLab.com.

From the article:

"We see this as the future of music," said Eddie Wenrick, chief executive of Hitlab.com,a Montreal startup that aims to be the big new platform for farming musical talent. The company is a blend of MySpace-- the social networking site popular among bands --and Canadian Idol. Members create profiles and add their songs for all to hear and buy. But for $30, they can get Hitlab's software, called Dynamic Hit Scoring, to analyze their music's hit potential. If they score highly, they increase their chance of signing a record contract.

Every three months, the four Hitlab users with the highest DHS score are invited to a talent show before a panel of industry honchos. The winners get coupled with managers and hopefully ink album contracts.

Hitlab would get a cut of the deal and publishing rights, and fame-seeking virtuosos get the exposure, Wenrick said.

"It'll be a springboard to kick-start their careers," he said. "We like to say we're a baseball farm team before they go to the major leagues."

Wenrick, a veteran of the music industry -- he was an executive at Columbia Records and Epic Records and ran several talent management firms -- understands that letting a robot pick new talent is exceptionally inhuman in a human-driven enterprise. This is why he also invites another top four members, as voted by other users, to the showcase.

"This is for users who don't have a hit song, but have a large following and show potential," he said.

And from the website on how DHS works:

To analyze music, the system breaks down the sound frequencies of a song into 78 variables such as tone, pitch, tempo, etc. If a song has very similar patterns to a song that was at the top of the billboard for a long period of time, the DHS score will be high. On the other hand, if the song has a moderately similar pattern to a song that was low on the billboard charts for a short period of time, the DHS score will be lower. By comparing a song to the database that holds the recent trends in music, we can evaluate how appealing the mathematical patterns of the sound frequencies are to the human ear, thereby evaluating a song's hit potential.

Step by step:

• Each MP3 song is digitized and parceled into tens of hundreds of short audio files.
• A set of unique features (78 isolated variables) of the audio contents is extracted from each segment.
• A full set of identifying features is created for each piece of MP3 content.
• The complete set is then stored in the database.
• Each MP3 is ranked according to its peak position in the Billboard compilation using the algorithms and stored in the database for future analysis.

I don't know if something like this actually works. I guess it would for "pop" songs that may have many similar characteristics. My concern is whether a Bob Dylan or Bruce Springsteen, who didn't sound like the prevailing pop at the time, would make it threw this type of screening...

May the Muse (and technology) be with you...

Technorati : Songwriting Technology

Microsoft's Songsmith

Microsoft Research has made a trial version of its program, Songsmith, available for download here. Here's some info from the website:

Ever sing in the car? Maybe in the shower? You know who you are. Admit it, you like to sing, and you like music. Ever thought of writing your own music? Most people never get a chance to try... but we want to give everyone a piece of the songwriting experience, so we've developed Songsmith, an application that lets you create a complete song just by singing! Are we going to turn you into an award-winning songwriter overnight? Of course not. But Songsmith will give you a way to create something authentically musical and authentically yours, even if you don't know the first thing about chords or music theory.

Just open up Songsmith, choose from one of thirty different musical styles, and press record. Sing whatever you like - a birthday song for Mom, a love song for that special someone (they'll be impressed that you wrote a song for them!), or maybe just try playing with your favorite pop songs. As soon as you press "stop", Songsmith will generate musical accompaniment to match your voice, and play back your song for you. It's that simple.

For songwriters, is Songsmith going to replace the craft of songwriting? Never. Could it be a super-useful "intelligent scratchpad" for exploring new melodies and ideas? Definitely. If you're a songwriter, you've probably had the experience of coming up with a melody and finding the nearest object with a "record" button on it just to get your idea down. Imagine that first quick experience also letting you explore chord progressions, styles, even basic arrangement ideas. Then of course you'd work with other tools, other people, your instruments, and your own musical intuition to really develop a song. But Songsmith can be a great tool that lets you quickly explore new ideas in places where you couldn't before (on the go, on the bus, in the airport, etc.). And Songsmith works great with instrumental input too!

Of course, Songsmith's ideas might not be exactly what you want for your song. It's music after all, and there's no single right answer. So Songsmith not only comes up with music for your song, but puts you in the driver's seat by letting you customize the chords and arrangement for your song, even if you've never heard of "chords" before. Move the "happy" and "jazzy" sliders around to get the chords you want. Lock the chords you like and let Songsmith change the ones you don't. Set up your own custom band. Make it your song!

I have to admit this sounds intriguing and fun... My daughter loves to make up songs, so I think I'll see how she does with something like this and if it helps make a song... Looks like the Muse is becoming a computer program... Watch the video of the program in action.

Technorati : Songwriting, Songwriting Technology

Review of Sonar 8 PE by CakewalkNet

Songwriter, Rick Paul, has drafted a rather detailed, "thumbs up" review for Cakewalk Sonar 8 Producer Edition that can be found here on the CakewalkNet website.

Here is Mr. Paul's bullet list of enhancements from the latest version:

• New features, optimizations, and workflow enhancements: Loop Explorer 2.0, dedicated instrument tracks, performance optimizations, user interface optimizations.
• Editing enhancements: clip selection groups, aim assist cursor, split and mute tools, free edit tool.
• Recording enhancements: live effects and softsynth rendering, anytime recording.
• Mixing enhancements: exclusive solo mode with solo override, bus inputs QuickGroup command, mono hardware inputs.
• Control enhancements: transport updates, control surface enhancements, Track View and Console View sync.
• Additional enhancements: enhanced sample rate conversion, Vista audio, QuickTime 7 import/export.
• Workflow enhancements: insert send assistant, updated ACT presets, drum maps, and plug-in presets, new drum patterns for the integrated step sequencer.
• New instruments: Beatscape loop performance instrument, Dimension Pro, TruePianos Amber VSTi module.
• New effects processors: TS 64 Transient Shaper, TL-64 Tube Leveler, Channel Tools, Native Instruments Guitar Rig LE.

So, if you're into Sonar (I have version 6) then check out this great review and you can even download a trial version from Cakewalk's website here.

(M)Use the technology for the Muse...

Technorati : Songwriting Technology

Music Computer Stolen - Important Works Lost

In Illinois, Lake Forest College's Department of Music suffered a serious blow when it's one and only laptop was stolen - read the full article here and a small selection follows:

Associate Professor of Music Donald Meyer, who chairs the department and specializes in use of the studio, called the incident "a devastating loss." Besides taking away important work by his students and himself, the theft has disrupted his ability to teach Songwriting this semester. Productivity in the class came to a halt, since the stolen computer was the only one students could use to record and compose in the department.

I don't know... I suffered the same fate once when my laptop was stolen, but I had most of my songs backed up (though not all). It seems to me that some precautions should have been taken - stolen or not, even a hard drive failure could have led to this outcome... but who am I to judge...

May the laptop be returned and may the Muse be with this songwriting program, professor and students...

Technorati : Songwriting Technology

Tailor Your Backup Band - More Technology Coming

Another Listening Post Wired Blog post from Eliot Van Buskirk had me going today:

Amateur musicians should eventually be able to use similar technology to create entire songs using only a vocal melody and an idea of which band -- or mix of bands -- would sound right playing the accompaniment. Want a backing track for your "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" cover that sounds like a mix of Radiohead and Green Day? Soon, you could be able to click a button and make it so.

Pretty cool stuff... the program will take songs you "feed" it from a particular artist and become that band in style - they call it "Automatic Style Specific Accompaniment" or ASSA. You can see this in action in this video which shows the ASSA success rate of 82% in coming up with the melod of Creep by Radiohead after being given 3 of the band's songs (High and Dry, Fake Plastic Trees and Airbag).

Who knows, eventually an artist/songwriter may license their "style" under ASSA? Will you be able to copyright a style? I guess if it can be analyzed and stripped to such a point that it can be copied and utilized to another songwriter's benefit, the answer may be "Why not?".

Right now the system is bits and bytes and MIDI-based, but theoretically, it should work on audio files as well in the future. As the author states in the article: "If all you need is a melody, lyrics and a concept of which band or bands you want your accompaniment to resemble, the bar to songwriting will be lowered."

Something to think about...

Technorati : Songwriting Technology

Music's 'DNA' Decoded: Melodyne

Peter Neubacker, the music software engineer behind Melodyne, is interviewed online on the Celemony website here and I hope you take the time to take a look.

It's really quite incredible what his invention within Melodyne, Direct Note Access (DNA), has done for polyphonic sounds (i.e. guitar/piano chords). It allows the user to take individual notes within that polyphonic sound and "play" with them (pitch/decay/timing, etc...) - see image at end of post.

As Eliot Van Buskirk states in the Wired Listening Post blog piece on this:

While Melodyne enabled anyone to sing in tune, Direct Note Access' effect will likely be far more widespread. Any one of us will technically be able to create a guitar-based song by strumming all of the open strings on a guitar then editing the resulting chord to play whatever we want. Talk about your democratizing technology.

Celemony's Direct Note Access will likely lead to a revolution in how music is made, although purists are likely to scoff at yet another technology that downgrades the importance of virtuosic talent. Others will surely see this as a natural progression in the ongoing musical fusion of human and machine.

Remember to check out that demonstration (very cool)! And may the technological Muse be with you too...

Technorati : Songwriting Technology

MuseScore v. Finale NotePad

Last week I wrote about the demise of the free version of Finale NotePad and advising readers to pick up the free 2008 version before it's too late. I received a comment on that post from David Bolton regarding the free and opensource project known as MuseScore.

Indeed, David provided a link to very helpful comparison of the features between MuseScore and Finale NotePad which I'd encourage you to read. It definitely is a great alternative, is well-supported and available for Windows and Linux.

May the Muse(Score) be with you...

Technorati : Songwriting, Songwriting Technology

The World In Six Songs by Daniel Levitin

Okay, now this book is hot off the press and I haven't had a chance to review it other than the sample that's availabel on Dr. Levitin's website. This book - The World In Six Songs: How the Musical Brain Created Human Nature - "shows how six specific forms of music played a pivotal role in creating human culture and society as we know it. Levitin masterfully weaves together the story of human evolution, music, anthropology, psychology and biology from the dawn of homo sapiens to the present."

"Music seems to have an almost willful, evasive quality, defying simple explanation, so that the more we find out, the more there is to know, leaving its power and mystery intact, however much we may dig and delve. Daniel's book is an eloquent and poetic exploration of this paradox.."
- Sting

The "Six" are Friendship, Joy, Comfort, Knowledge, Religion and Love. You can listen to Dr. Levitin on CBC's The Current from this morning's show discuss the Six Songs. Here is the podcast which can be eloquently summed up as follows: Music makes us human...

Listen to Podcast:

Happy listening and may the Muse (and Science and the Six Songs) be with you...

Technorati : Music, Science, Songwriting

This Is Your Brain On Music by Daniel Levitin

Well, I was going to wait till I actually finished the book to right about it, but since the author, Prof. Daniel Levitin, appeared on CBC Radio's The Current this morning (to discuss a new book of his), I thought I'd make my first thoughts on this "old" book known.

The book is - This Is Your Brain On Music - and it's a wonderful, thought-provoking achievement regarding the "science" of music. Don't get scared by that thought (re "science") as the book is lucidly entertaining, drawn from the real-life experience of the author as a musician/producer/scientist (don't see that combination every day).

Yes, the "raw" science of sound is analyzed - that path of sound vibrating air molecules and triggering nerve impulses in the listener. But "music", as opposed to just "sound", can bring simple yet complex analysis within the brain that delves into the timbre, pitch, tempo and other musical elements. And it's fascinating, without destroying the soulfulness or mystery of music.

As Levitin himself simplifies the book in his introduction to be: "what music can teach us about the brain, what the brain can teach us about music - and what both can teach us about ourselves". I'm finding that I out as I complete the book...

Listen to Podcast:

So have a listen above or download the podcast (from CBC's Quirks & Quarks, Dec/06) as well and know that his new book The World In Six Songs: How the Musical Brain Created Human Nature has just come out... see next post.

May the Muse (and science) be with you...

Technorati : Music, Science, Songwriting

My Self-Hosted Wordpress Blog

Just a note to steer all readers to my "copy" of this blog on my self-hosted site at:

http://blog.lorenzopolicelli.com

I think I'll be running both pages in tandem, so whatever style suits your fancy... but I have a bit more control on my self-hosted site (using Wordpress as an installed script).

May the Muse be wtih you...

Finale Notepad - No Longer Free

So I found out that Finale Music will no longer be providing its basic NotePad product for free beginning with its 2009 version.  Here is what the company says on its website:

September 4, 2008
Dear Finale NotePad user,
We’re writing today to share some exciting news surrounding the upcoming release of Finale NotePad®.
When it was first released in 2000, the initial idea behind NotePad was that it would work like an “Adobe Reader” for music notation, letting anyone open, play, and print any Finale file. Since then more than four million educators, students, and other musicians have downloaded and made excellent use of Finale NotePad.
In the intervening years NotePad’s feature set has been greatly expanded. Recent additions include guitar and bass tablature, MIDI file import/export, step‐time entry, and MIDI playback. Even so, we continue to receive requests for additional functionality, and this year NotePad has reached a crossroads.
In the next few weeks we plan to release Finale NotePad 2009 with even more features, including an all new Expression Tool and the ability to import/export MusicXML files. It will continue to include free online support. At the same time we will begin charging $9.95 for the NotePad 2009 download.
Then, within the month, we will also release our Finale Reader™. The Finale Reader will be able to open, play, and print (but not edit) any Finale family file – as well as MusicXML files – and it will be a free download.
Please note that with the release of the Finale Reader, we will no longer offer previous versions of NotePad from our site. Keep in mind that among the many advantages in NotePad 2009 is its ability to import/export MusicXML files: this means that it can save files that can be opened in earlier versions of Finale.
We hope you agree that these changes represent an excellent balance between free reader software and low‐cost notation creation software.
Best wishes in your music making,
John Paulson and Ron Raup
co‐CEOs
MakeMusic, Inc.

So get it while you can...

Home Recording Forums

I recently joined this site (click here) for home recording enthusiasts. I will add the site to my sidebar on the blog and hope you get a chance to check it out and get some pro feedback on your home recordings without fear of "backlash" sentiments and pretentious condescensions that come from some other home recording sites...

May the Tech Muse be with you as well as the Song Muse...