Chorale 77 J. S. Bach

It seems like a long time since I posted any music visualizations.  I didn't realize that I missed making them until I produced this video.

My original concept for this was an image of a computer playing by itself in a cathedral.  Usually I take a digital instrument of some kind and sequence a performance as if I were playing an analogue instrument of some kind.  However with this video I achieved a computerized sound by not having any dynamics or tempo changes.  Its true that the volume changes a bit throughout.  However this is due to the constructive interference of the overtone series of the four voices rather than any velocity changes or volume automation.   I kept the fermatas in the score which may sound like tempo changes or rubato of some sort.

I used the excellent MAM player and Fubar2000 to provide the visualization for this video.  The license for Fubar seems to restrict giving credit (?) which is why I did not give credit in the video or on Youtube.

I used Hollow Sun's Vermona for this video: http://www.hollowsun.com/HS2/products/vermona/index.htm  I was absolutely shocked at the quality of this instrument.  I bought it on sale for a really good price and was expecting a mediocre instrument.  I got a top notch instrument.  It is my opinion that with proper marketing Hollow Sun could get at least twice what they are currently asking for their instruments (but don't tell them that, I only bought this one so far!)  The samples sound great, but what sets this one apart from most other Kontakt instruments is its implementation.  Notes sound even across the keyboard (which unfortunately can not be said for all Kontakt instruments, especially bundled ones).  It comes with presets that are a great starting point.  But most importantly it has knobs, sliders, and a GUI that mimics the original hardware in such a way that you no longer feel that you are playing with a sample set, but an actual synthesizer.  Top notch!  I can't wait until I can scrape up some budget for more H. S. instruments.  And by the way you don't have to wait for sale prices because the normal prices are far below what you would expect to pay for instruments of this quality (unless maybe H. S. reads this blog!)

I have implemented a big change starting with this video.  I spent a good deal of time researching the new(ish) loudness standards for broadcast that have been suggested and adopted for the USA, Europe, and other parts of the world.  I noticed upon review that my videos varied wildly in volume.  This could cause discomfort, or at the very least an inconvenient listening experience for the viewer.  Youtube does not have any loudness standards, nor is it likely to ever have them.  However it is my hope that viewers will enjoy a comfortable listening level between my videos.  I apologize for any inconvenience that may be caused by levels in previous videos, but I think that it is imperative to not revise too much.  I am a perfectionist by nature and if I allow myself to revise then I will never move forward.  Its true what they say: projects are never completed, only abandoned.  There is not a single video on my channel that in my opinion does not need revision.  This video was mastered at -18 LKFS (+/-1) using standard 1770-2, with a maximum peak of -3Db (actual peak about -4.5) before encoding.  This seems to be a level that offers an excellent trade off between dynamic contrast and loudness.  I can't promise to always use these particular levels, but unless I find problems or get complaints from viewers I plan to use this in all of my future videos.

Music Theory Basics Episode 2: The Bass Clef

Not too much to say about this one.  It is just another short video, this time explaining the notes of the bass clef.  I used screen in screen this time for clarity among some other more subtle video editing tricks that I picked up.

I have very little time for making videos unfortunately, but I will keep producing them when I can.

Beethoven: Für Elise 3d Removal

It is a sad day when the bully wins.  I made a (not very good) 3d version of this video, but unfortunately I had to remove it.  As is standard when posting any musical video on youtube, some miscellaneous entity claimed rights to my video.  This is absurd of course because I sequenced the music so I own the rights to this particular performance.  I initiated the dispute process (which I amd forced to do with 95% of my videos) but lost the dispute.  As a result, the company that disputed my ownership of the music rights was allowed to place advertising on my video.

I do not mind at all if the video does not generate revenue.  Not all of my videos are monetized, and even with the ones that are, as of this post I have not yet earned the $100 needed for adsense to mail me a check.  No big deal, if I wanted money I would spend my time flipping burgers.  It would pay a heck of a lot more.  However, I absolutely refuse to let someone else make money off of my work!

Strangely enough, the other (2d) video has been in dispute pretty much since I posted it.  This is the way the world under the DMCA works (and other landmark decisions and laws).  Rather than go into those, I will just say that although it is very frustrating to post these videos due to such violations of MY ownership of rights, I will continue to post them.  If we give in then the bullies win.  The change has already happened, but the record labels and other powers that be have not yet realized it.  The big corporations don't just want to protect their own rights, but also to shut down any competition.  Why would you buy a cd when there is so much great music being produced?  There are so many talented independent artists that one does not know where to begin.

I would re-up the 3d video and re-dispute it, but to be honest it wasn't very good (and thus not worth the trouble).  However I will continue to make music.  And every time someone watches one of my videos, I will feel happy inside that we still have the freedom to create and distribute our own art. 

They killed public domain and they will kill this new culture of independent art if we let them.

So lets make some more videos!

Beethoven: Für Elise re-up

I was not happy with the original version of this video.  The sound was not properly synced with the visuals.  At first I thought that this was a result of the software used to generate the visuals from the midi file, but upon extensive investigation I have found that for some reason there is a sync issue.  I generate the audio directly from the midi, so they should match.  However using miditrail, MAM player, and some others all yield the same result.  The visuals go a bit out of sync and then catch up whenever there is a tempo change.  This has never happened to me before while making a visualization.  I have no idea what the cause is.  In any case I decided to prevent the problem entirely by using the zgame editor visualizer which uses (in this case) only the audio to generate the visuals.  I may have gotten carried away but what the heck it was fun.

It just so happens that the ZGEV has a stereographic output, so if possible I will upload a 3d version of this video as well.  I have no idea if it will look any good.  However I am a fan of 3d so I feel compelled to take advantage of this feature (if I can figure out how to get it to work.)