Two Great Tastes That Taste Great Together

[tcepsa]

I have begun combining my love of (and desire to become better at) music with my computer geekery and developed a Java application that turns any standard 101-key keyboard into a MIDI musical keyboard (actually, I should double-check that...especially since I use certain keys such as '\' that aren't always in the same place).

For those of you who are familiar with Tracking, this uses a slightly different layout (though similar concept) for the keyboard arrangement. Instead of starting with C4 at 'z', I put it at 'v'. This results in the overall range of the keyboard being from F#3 (assigned to 'a') up to A6 (assigned to '\') and also means that I can play certain songs where they were written to be played, instead of having to transpose up an octave to get at all the notes.

As an example, here's how to play a slightly simplified arrangement of Ashokan Farewell in the key of D (with spaces to approximate most of the sustained notes ~grin~):
.2w 2/.k nk, knbcb cxbk.w55t5e .2w 2/.k nk, knbcb cxbk.w5.2ew k,. kbw ./2w.k nk nbc zx . knbk.q w/ 2w.k bxbk.w knbgb

And, as a bonus, here's Simple Gifts:
bb, ,./, /qw wq/ .,. . . , ./.,b b ,k,./ ../qw q/. ../ /., ,., w / ./q/., ./ /qw q/. ./. b, , ././qw q/. . / / ., , ,

And further extra super bonus, here's Prologue from some of the early Final Fantasy games:
b,.bq /.,k,.,,k n./nw q/.l/.n/. b,.bq /.,k,.,,k n./nw q/.l/.n/. e ew /qq/.l./qw r re qw w3w w3wq/.

(Oh wow... these are so much easier to read than notes on a staff... too bad there's no good way to indicate length of note this way ~wry~ Then again, I've spent a lot more time doing things involving sight reading text--even with weird punctuation--into a computer keyboard than I have involving sight reading music into an instrument, so it's not terribly surprising that it is easier (though I am still a little surprised at the degree to which it is easier...))

... and I should probably actually figure out some way to post the program, so if someone who reads this wants to actually try it they can ^_^

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

WOOT! I'm pretty sure that you just passed some level of Geek Attainment which requires Jeneane Garafolo and Every Other GeekGirl Icon to Rip off their clothes and plead for your genetic material...

[joyfulorb.livejournal.com]

I second that motion!

[grum]

Why? *blink*
Or, in other words, what is gained from this?
(aside from an evening of fun stretching your skills and your brain, that is)
Oh, and I think you're terribly cute even if I don't understand the motivation to do things like this at all...

In feedback land:
First: I find notes significantly easier to read, but then I often don't actually bother to bring punctuation marks into sufficient focus to actually read them. I just get what ought to be there from context. And in this case there is only minimal context. (disclaimer: I do have some experience reading music)
Second: Would you be able to sight read a piece you didn't know from this notation, or is the "surprisingly easy to read" end of things a bias problem. You know the songs well enough to enter them, you entered them, is it any surprise that you can read the patterns inherent in the string you created?

Tangentially related question:
It is a string, right? Or do I have that technical term mis-defined?

[tcepsa.livejournal.com]

First, the "Why" (aside from an evening of fun, etc.) (and thank you--I am glad that you found it at least amusing ^_^)

One thing I can think of is that it enables me to play music on any computer that I want without needing any special equipment aside from a sound card and the program, which if I put it on a website, I could get to from just about anywhere (Java and the Internet both being ubiquitous enough, these days, that that's pretty much all I would need).

That's really more of a tertiary benefit, though. The why of this particular program is that it's actually a stepping-stone to a more complex program which will, among other things, hopefully help me to read music in a manner similar to how that hammered dulcimer page I made awhile back does. Ultimately I'm hoping to hook it up to a MIDI enabled keyboard and be able to use that to play ^_^ So it's both a fun programming exercise and hopefully a way for me to get better at reading and playing music. Might even make a full-fledged game out of it, if I can work out the details ~grin~

First: I find notes significantly easier to read, but then I often don't actually bother to bring punctuation marks into sufficient focus to actually read them. I just get what ought to be there from context. And in this case there is only minimal context.

That makes sense, and I suspect and hope that as time goes by I'll also find myself in a similar place ^_^

Second: Would you be able to sight read a piece you didn't know from this notation, or is the "surprisingly easy to read" end of things a bias problem. You know the songs well enough to enter them, you entered them, is it any surprise that you can read the patterns inherent in the string you created?

It would probably be a little more challenging, in the sense that yes, I did create them first. However, I still think that it would be much much more easy for me to read this notation than sheet music, assuming I have at least passing familiarity with the song. If I didn't know the rhythm ahead of time, though, I'd pretty much be screwed (see aforementioned comment regarding difficulty indicating timing). It's more like... I'm not having to process it through my brain the way that I do when I'm reading sheet music. I just see "." and my brain knows to move my right ring finger down half an inch and press the key there--I don't have to consciously think about it. That's where I want to get with notes on a staff.

It is a string, right? Or do I have that technical term mis-defined?

You have it right--it's definitely a string ^_^

[grum]

"and my brain knows to move my right ring finger down half an inch and press the key there--I don't have to consciously think about it. That's where I want to get with notes on a staff."

But that's going to be different for every instrument. In addition to the text not being as easy for me to see visually, the computer keyboard as an instrument that makes music is foreign to me. Part of how I sightread music is notes on page to sound in head to fingers on keys.. this may be part of why I'm not good at it, but, would you be able to take this notation and play it on an instrument that you already play, does it map that way for you? Because it completely does not for me.

[tcepsa.livejournal.com]

You've got a good point that it'll be different for all instruments--I wasn't quite clear on that. I meant that I want to be able to do that with at least one instrument (and I don't know--maybe that's one of those things that nobody can do; just pick up a piece of sheet music and start playing, I mean. I'm doing my best to keep that in mind, but if it looks to you that I'm starting to be really hard on myself about not being able to do it, kindly give me a good solid poke ^_^)

Part of how I sightread music is notes on page to sound in head to fingers on keys

Currently I don't have the "sound in head" part. Not sure whether that's helping me or getting in my way or neither or both (somehow, though I really don't know how that would work ~grin~). Instead, I have note on page to note in head ("Oh, that there's a C-sharp quarter note") to fingers on keys ("let's see, C-sharp is... this one!") What I'm trying to get to is "Oh, when I see that black spot on that line, that means I hit this key" without actually having to think too much about which note it actually is. Which would be good for a specific instrument but not generalize to all instruments very well... which brings us to the next part of your comment!

would you be able to take this notation and play it on an instrument that you already play, does it map that way for you?

This notation? No. I can look at a staff and go "Oh, let's see, that's a C-sharp" and look at a keyboard and go "Okay, so C-sharp is that one!" but it's even slower for me to look at those strings I wrote above and go "Oh, k is F-sharp" because I (currently) have to look at where that key is on my computer keyboard, start from one of the keys that I do know, like v, which is C and then trace the path between them: b is D, n is E, m is F, k is just above and to the right of m, so k must be F-sharp!

(As a side note, that's roughly similar to how I got these to this notation in the first place; they're all songs that I know on my hammered dulcimer, and I mostly remember the layout of it--enough to pick out the melodies. "That string is B, which corresponds to ummm... c on my computer keyboard... yup, sounds right, okay next...")

I am hoping ultimately that I'll get the staff rote memorized so that the "oh, let's see, that note on that line is what?" takes much less time, which will make playing on any instrument easier. It would also be good if I ended up with better pitch matching (hearing something and being able to say "Oh, that's F4!", but again, not sure that's even something that I am capable of ^_^) so if I didn't know the instrument's notes ahead of time I could still work things out.

[belushi81x.livejournal.com]

Wow... that IS geekery to the max...

If you stick with this for a while You might consider spending the mucho buck to get a real keyboard rather than a qwerty. One of the things I recall from my time as a music geek is that keyboards are pressure sensitive so that you can POUND and get a loud noise and tap to get a smaller noise.

[tcepsa.livejournal.com]

~grins~ Yeah, that possibility has crossed my mind--and I've been wanting to get better at playing musical keyboards for quite some time now.

Hehe, the possibility of doing the same thing that I'm doing now, only in reverse, has also crossed my mind: Setting it up so you can type with a musical keyboard. It could even take advantage of that pressure sensitivity you mentioned... Need caps? Hit the key harder!

[belushi81x.livejournal.com]

OMFGROFLBBQ!!!!!!

[nminusone.livejournal.com]

I love that the "notation" looks like line noise. Well, it would if it had more tildes anyway. ;)

A cheap MIDI controller is, well, cheap, and most are at least velocity sensitive. A pressure sensitive one is a good bit pricer, but that's not as important. You can also find cheap, used older synths with half-keyboards that make fine controllers too. I had a Juno 1 I often used as a controller but there are many others you could use.

[tcepsa.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the line noise look is one of the reasons I really like it. ^_^

Thanks for the heads-up on the MIDI controller--any idea where I'd look for one of these (preliminary research on eBay has found one or two in the $60 range--think I can do better than that?)

[nminusone.livejournal.com]

I figured "cheap" was $100 so $60 is great. I don't have a line on anything cheaper but I do have some suggestions.

If you're just looking to enter notes into a sequencer, as opposed to real-time playing, a smaller (fewer octaves/keys) and simpler keyboard is fine. You really want velocity sensitivity, which lets the keyboard transmit how hard you initially strike the key. It adds some cost but not a ton. It's also nice to have at least 1 pitch bender/mod wheel, and most will.

Something that feels and acts like a real piano is much pricier. Pressure sensitivity (aftertouch) measures how hard you hold the key down. Many synths can respond to that, but it costs a bunch. Even more expensive is a weighted key movement that "feels" like a piano rather than a pushbutton. It's great but few people really need it.

I'd get something around 2-3 octaves, velocity sensitivity and at least one mod wheel. I'd like to think you can get that for $100 or less.

And now it occurs to me scherzoid is the person to talk to about this!

MusicGeekery!!

[joyfulorb.livejournal.com]

I have a six or seven year old midi keyboard, with a pitch bending wheel, in my father's house in TN, I'm not sure if it's what you're looking for, but certainly it might help... Also, on the Musicianship side of things, while you've got the pitch notation thing, you don't have a way to decide on KEY yet, so, depending on what note someone started on, what Pitch, and then what scale mode they're in (major key, minor key, sharp, flat) the songs could come out as complete discord, or at least very ElfmanEsque. Also, just as important as pitch, Rhythm. So far, for the length of a "held" note, you have spaces after the pitch key (aaa, is three short a notes, a is held, right?)I think that another system might be good, if only because the length of a space isn't standardized, nor the length of a note in this system. For that matter, you could hit the keys at any speed you wanted, and play the song as fast or syncopated as you wished... so maybe it's good?? Argh, randomized thoughts now.

Re: MusicGeekery!!

[joyfulorb.livejournal.com]

Also, for musicianship mixed with programming, try talking to The Cowch, from my friends list. And, look up a program called MacGamut, it's a theory students Dream!