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nat-20s · 3 years ago

Note

#10?

prompt 10- recognizing the other's voice in a crowded room

so uhh u didn't specify this being a pairing, and it ended up jonmartin lol

this is like? an au where one of the domains of the lonely (and also maybe stranger) plays off the specific loneliness that comes with parties. u kno the one, where you have fun for about an hour and then realize that you're fundamentally isolated and you need a breather?

anyway

~*~

Upon opening his eyes, he is not where he last remembers being. He is not sure how long his disorientation will last, but considering he's standing up right, at the edge of a crowded ballroom, he suspects it may be the entire time that he's here.

He had fallen asleep on the couch, the TV blaring away on a program he didn't know any of the details of. It hadn't mattered what was playing, as long as it had some of the natural rise and fall of other people speaking. He had been severely mising that lately, those gentle rhythms of conversation, and trying to listen to an audiobook while staring at his bedroom's popcorn ceiling just wasn't cutting it. So, TV dreaming it was.

Oh, that could be what was going on. An elaborate dream, constructed from the sound of a scenario he hadn't paid any attention to. He didn't think he'd fallen asleep watching anything to spark this kind of dreamscape, but that didn't mean much. It'd be oddly lucid, for a dream. And oddly sharp. His dreams, much like his memories, were always somewhat clouded over, and never as colorful as reality. Even his grayest waking days, of which there were many, had colors more distinct than what appeared in his mind's eye.

Simple test: he could never read or write in dreams. The words always swirled and distorted, and he somehow lost all manual dexterity. He needed a book, or a pencil, or both. He began to wander the ballroom, and abruptly realized that this was a masquerade, everyone wearing elaborate costumes with animal shaped masks. Did he fit in? Did he belong? He hoped he wasn't in what he fell asleep in, the worn hoodie and sweatpants barely worth making a grocery run in. The outside world wasn't supposed to see him looking comfortable, but presentable. He liked to think that if he left the apartment appearing at least somewhat put together, maybe people would believe that extended to other areas of his life. That it would be easier to ignore the increasingly dark circles under his eyes, that his nice sweater had been getting gradually looser as the tool of everything literally wore him down.

Small mercy, he wasn't like that now. A glance down showed that he was, like the rest of the guests? Captors? dressed to the nines. He has a suspicion that his own elaborate outfit, dark blues with gold and pearl embroidery, was a part of it. It was not a mercy to blend in here, it was a design element. Standing out would result in being noticed, being noticed meant being seen as an individual, and they can't have that.

It is with that line of thinking that he suddenly becomes aware of the weight of the mask on his face, the restriction of his sight through eyeholes. Looking into a teapot that's been polished to a mirrored shine, he see that he bears the incredibly crafted face of a field mouse. It would almost be plain, if it didn't have matching embroidery to his coat.

Fitting, he thought. It made him look smaller than he was, and he had so often wished to go unnoticed. A fly would've also worked, but he imagines it would be rather hard to make that into a suitably beautiful mask. Either way, he was level with the rest of the crowd. Even believing it to be part of the trick, even knowing that the masquerade was meant to make you false, there was some level of comfort to it. He was not going to be seen here. Instead someone more handsome, more charming, more even with his peers was allowed to take his place, as false as they were. Best of all, that's what all of them would be doing here, the whole appeal of a masquerade in leaving behind the person you loathe most and can never be free from.

Seems lonesome, for a party. So structured around the theater of it all. You can connect with countless people, and you don't get to actually connect with any of them at all.

Oh.

Oh, now this made all made sense. Crave interaction, and get a warped version of it.

He could see the napkins, emblazoned with a name that he didn't recognize, presumably the host, and, in much smaller font, the company name. Every one of them was consistent.

Easy enough to receive the message. This wasn't a dream. This was a punishment.

Hmm. Well, no, punishment might be the wrong term. Punishment implied that it was a consequence, a direct cause and effect of doing something wrong, by someone's definitions of "wrong". No this was. Torture is too strong of a word, and again, has the problem of making this seem willful. Deliberate. And maybe it was, but more likely, whatever this was had just sort of happened. A cruelty that comes with being in the universe they all happen to occupy.

This wasn't a dream. This was a consequence.

He doesn't know how to get out of here. He can't see any doors, and exits. The only approximation of one is some giant frosted glass that seem like they might lead to a balcony. They're only on the other end of the ballroom, but that lengths feels impenetrable, like it spans for miles and miles of harsh terrain.

There's a few options available to him.

One: Try to fall asleep, and see if he can get back to where he started. Lowest effort option, but he's pretty sure he hasn't been this fully awake in months. Maybe years. Something about the environment makes it feel as though electricity sparks throughout his entire body. It's an interesting sensation, certainly, akin to anxiety taken to an extreme degree, yet it's not particularly conducive to sleeping.

Two: Make a break for it. He doesn't know if there's anywhere to make a break for, but he also isn't sure how high up this place is. Maybe the balcony is a viable option for escape. Or maybe he'll find a door that had previously been hidden from him. Hell, maybe he won't fully escape, but he'll find somewhere quieter at the very least. Somewhere that he doesn't leave him so thoroughly dazed. This is probably the best option, even account for the wall of people surrounding him. But.

Option Three: Join the Dance.

Inadvisable. Foolish, really. The best outcome is..what? Is there a best outcome? Worst outcome is he's dancing forever, until his feet wear down to stubs of bone, until he dies, until he cant remember anything but the dance. Never a connection with any dancer, all of them, eventually, a blur of activity and nothing more.

Yet, it's what he's going to do. He's not the most curious person he knows, that honor goes to a man that he's been in love with for years, but can't grasp any of the details of while he's here. That can't be good. What was his name?

Anyway. He's not the most curious, but he's hardly immune to a detrimental sense of interest. He wants to know what the dance is like. He wants to see the intricate costumes of the others stuck here, and see if there's anything behind the masks. He knows it will, inevitably, leave him lonelier. He knows, inevitably, that he does not care. At least this version of loneliness is more interesting than sitting in his flat, wondering whether having thin enough walls to hear the echo of his neighbors' voices would make things better or worse. So, when someone approaches, adorned in a shrew mask, hand outstretched to pull him into the fervor, he accepts.

The dancer is competent. Neither of them steps on the others foot, and he lets himself be led. Even better, the dancer is willing to talk. A man named Tom, his voice cheerful even as he confirms that he doesn't know how he came here either. Tom shrugs when he asks if this bothers him, saying if you're going to end up somewhere mysteriously, gliding across a ballroom with a handsome stranger is hardly the worst place to be.

It takes a second for him to register the fact that Tom's flirting. It makes him laugh, and it feels wrong in his throat. The sound is unfamiliar, almost belonging to someone else, but it's brief enough not to hurt. He'll grieve all the time he's lost later, for now, he says, "How would you know if I'm handsome with this mask? Or are you just making a flattering guess?"

Tom opens his mouth to answer, a grin on his features that suggest something playful and wry is about to come out, but then the song ends. They both know, somehow, that the brief rapport they've gotten to enjoy has come to an end. They swap partners, and as much has he would like a second dance, when Tom gets swept into the throng, he knows he won't be seeing him again.

The next dancer is at a higher skill level at him, which results in nerves encroaching on what limited ability he has. Perhaps the peacock mask should've been a tip off. He doesn't speak to them, more focused on trying to keep up. He doesn't regret that they'll only have one dance, but he is slightly remiss that his own costume doesn't have feathers after watching the way they move.

The dancer after that catches him for a slow dance. Her name is Shelia, and he's never seen such a dazzling smile. He tells her as such, and she tells him that she would tell him the same, but she hasn't actually seen his own, yet. He makes an attempt, and she tells him, "Oh honey, you're waiting for someone here, aren't you?"

When he states his confusion, that nobody comes to mind, or at least, that nobody is going to come, she shakes her head. Apparently, she can always tell when her dance partners have somewhere else to be, and she doesn't resent it, but it does mean she's not going to give him her number for after the night ends. He's amazed she believes this night will end, but it's a sentiment that seems far too rude to voice out loud.

He also knows that he doesn't have somewhere else to be. If he did, he would've never joined in.

The music continues, and so does he. He tries to get names, tries to get connections. He flirts with Mark, and Nadia, and Jamie. Those people are his favorite during the dances, but losing the also feels the most acute. Robert is his least favorite, even more so than the peacock, for how incredibly small the fox makes him feel. Nothing is even said, it's just the entirety of body language screams that Robert doesn't think he belongs here, that he's not worthy of the clothes he's wearing or the hall he's haunting. Ironically, he's right. He doesn't belong here. These clothes, these people, are not his. Only Robert is quite so skilled at making that seem like a bad thing.

About ten dances in, long past the point he should be winded, he realizes two things. One, there's no pain in his feet, no heaviness to his breathing, confirming once again that no aspect of this environment is natural. Two, is that he's actually had a path. Sometime in the spins and leads and follows, he had been making his way towards the center of the floor. He denies the next partner, likely the worst of a faux paus in this environment, but he needs a moment to stop. Taking in the scene, he has yet to find the source of the music, but he has found the host of this party.

There's nothing to physically show that he's the host. His costume isn't particularly ostentatious, at least not compared to the rest of them. He's not surrounded by a horde of people clamoring for his attention. He doesn't glow or sparkle or have a spotlight on him. The only reveal of his status is the fact that the second he looks at the man in the owl mask, fear floods through him.

Now he needs to run. He needs to leave, he needs to get out, he can't let the man in the owl mask see him, let alone approach him. Pushing his way through the crowd is a bad idea, will bring too much attention to himself. However, he's not in a state to think about that sort of thing, panic gripping his actions. As he shoves his way past one person, he swears ten more people tke their place, and he, oh so close to despair, is unable to tell if there's any actual distance being put between him and the owl masked man.

As he's about to start biting, clawing, screaming his way out any way he can, he hears something that makes him stop.

"Let him go, or I will make you let him go."

The statement is cold, filled with vitrol and determination. It should only make him more afraid. But as he turns around, he sees someone he never expected to be here, someone who has come here anyway. In an all black outfit, the man's face is covered with that of a cat's, but he has not a single ounce of doubt as to who it is. And he's facing off against the owl man, the absolute fool. He's facing off against the owl man, and Martin knows that it's on his own account. What the hell? He can't...he doesn't know what's going to happen to him, what exactly the owl man is going to do, but he can't let Jon get hurt. Begging his voice to pierce through the pandemonium of people and noise, he calls out, "JON!"

Jon finds him in an instant, eyes locking. They only have a second before the crowd pushes in, before the owl man reaches out, wing-like cape ready to wrap Jon up and snatch him away. Jon simply calls out, "Balcony!" before he's once again out of sight. Martin wants to go towards him, wants to follow the instinct to try and protect the one he loves, but going forward is impossible.

The tempo and volume of the music has swollen, and he's surrounded by hands reaching out, trying to pull him in. One of those hands, much to his surprise, belongs to Tom. He stares, uncomprehendingly, and Tom shoves his hand out even further in an act of urgency. He has to participate to make progress.

He holds on tight, all the basic skill of their first dance lost. It doesn't matter, as long as Martin participates, he is rewarded. When the next song begins to play, Tom strengthens his grip, and they manage to prevent the switch. In a manner of minutes, or perhaps hours, they make their way to the edge of the crowd. Martin can see those beautiful frosted doors only about 10 meters away, mostly unobstructed, and releases Tom from their dance. "Thank you. I seriously didn't think..just, thank you."

Tom gives him a nod, his expression much more solemn than it had been during their initial meeting. "After our first dance, I remembered my kids. A daughter and son. If they're out there, wherever out there is, I need to get back to them. If you can get yourself out, maybe there's hope for the rest of us, yeah? I think you might be a tipping point."

Martin had no idea if that was true. Sounded a bit too..center of the story for him. The hero, the chosen one, he was never going to fufill those roles. But. But he doesn't know what a denial would serve, and if he can go through those doors, who knows? "Yeah...yeah, maybe. I'll certainly try."

Tom clasps one of Martin's hands between both of his own, and with a quick shake, tells him, "That's all I ask."

In a blink, Tom has once again been swallowed by the fray, and Martin strides to his goal. He catches glimpses of the owl man out of the corner of his eye. Despite the sight making his heart race, the owl man never makes it to him, almost as if the dancers had forcibly blocked his path. Fascinating, isn't it, how a crowd can turn against someone in a matter of moments. Fascinating, isn't it, how a crowd can decide to help someone in the same span of time.

As Martin stands in front of the exit to the balcony, he has to take a breath. This could be a trick. A trap. A cruelty. If it is, he'll deal with it. If not, well.

Well.

The doors are heavy, but he's still able to push them aside. The sight outside is incredible. The stars are dazzling, brilliant, and numerous, resembling themilky way that Martin has only ever seen in pictures.

It's wrong. It's obviously wrong. Martin's never been anywhere remote enough to escape the effects of light pollution, and he's pretty sure a brightly lit manor isn't the exception to that rule. Yet, that's not what's bothering him about it. He can't quite articulate why, but the sky in general should be..different. Worse, maybe. Greener?

Jon is staring up into the night sky with a fascination that confirms Martin's suspicion. After he takes a step towards him, Jon turns towards him, and a smile appears that knocks the breath right out of Martin. When has Jon ever smiled at him like that? It doesn't make sense, feels like another trick of the party, but Martin decides he doesn't care, he'll enjoy it while it lasts. "I have to say, this is definitely one of the nicer looking domains we've wandered through. Always a plus when we end up somewhere without any bloodstains."

That's not... "Huh?"

With an aftertaste of a laugh and a shrug of his shoulders, Jon tells him, "Just that, for as much as I despise the loneliness, it does at least have cleanliness going for it."

He knows of the fears, at least, but the way that Jon is talking about them doesn't make sense. He's going to ask about it, try to get some clarification, but then Jon takes off his mask. There's more grey at the temples than he remembers, more eyes than the average person, and he's stunningly beautiful. Martin's always found Jon rather good looking, even when he didn't particularly like Jon himself (god, what a fool he was. Maybe what a fool they both were). Combined with the softness in the line of his mouth, the adoration in his eyes, it leaves Martin breathless, speechless, thoughtless. Feet moving of their own accord, he drifts closer to Jon. Once he's standing in front of him, Jon reaches up, then pauses, as if asking for permission. Half in a daze, Martin nods, then leans down. Ever so gently, Jon lifts Martin's mask off. The pinpoints of contact between his face and Jon's fingers almost burn, and he realizes that despite the electrified sensation under his skin, he's been cold this entire time. Mask fully off, Jon beams at him, and lets out a quiet, "There you are."

It's too much. It's the tipping point for him to go from enamoured back to properly baffled. "Jon, I don't..what are you doing here?"

Jon smile drops, and Martin almost wants to take it back. Almost, because he needs answers, because if this is a dream, if this is a nightmare, it's more wicked than he could've ever expected. Being stuck forever in a dance with only partners whose greatest talents were being alone in a crowd is one thing, but having a..a false Jon, one that regarded him with...that acted like...that felt anything close to the same as Martin was so..exacting. When it got taken away, when the illusion shattered, it would hurt. It's already hurting, anticipation of the wound causing a phantom pain. Jon's brows are furrowed, and at least that is familiar, expected. "I..thought you would want to leave. I came to get you out."

"I do," did he?, "but that still..that's not the why? Why would you come for me?"

"Because I love you? I know I'm not much for the swashbuckling hero role, bit I figured that would make me rather uniquely qualified."

Martin sucks in a breath through his nose and his eyes go wide. Ability to read be damned, this is a dream, and mean one at that. He's going to wake up, and he's going to remember, and he's going to be as alone as he's always been. "Since when? You're not..I think we've just started being friends, and it's not even, fuck, we're not even that close! And even if..if things were in development, which they aren't, you're supposed to be in America right now. Or, no, wait you're in a coma, or maybe..no, that's not-"

Martin's spiralling is abruptly cut off by Jon taking his hands. Looking at his face, he finds Jon staring back, his eyes, his two eyes, are searching him, and Martin realizes he might not be the only one that's lost right now. "Martin...what's the last thing you remember?"

A mostly empty flat, the delightful mix of insomnia and exhaustion, and the TV with the volume turned down low enough to not bother anyone but himself. The context around that scene is a bit fuzzier. "I..was at my place. It was..I dunno, it was boring."

"Anything else. Do you remember Jane Prentiss?"

"Of course I remember Jane Prentiss. Not likely to ever forget the worst two weeks of my life."

"What about Scotland?"

Scotland? "I'm mean, I've never been, but I, uh, am aware of the concept."

Except that wasn't quite true, was it? He had been to Scotland, and Jon had been there, but when? Why? What had they..

Jon's frown deepens. "Martin, do you trust me?"

He did. Despite everything, or maybe because of an everything he couldn't quite access, he really, really did. His response of "Yes" is more of a breath than a word, but Jon understands nonetheless. Jon reaches up, places his hands on the sides of Martin's face, and tells him, "Close your eyes."

Martin does as told, and Jon brings their foreheads together, an approximation of a kiss. There's a buzzing at the base of his skull, not painful, but not particularly pleasant, either. As Jon leans back and he opens his eyes, the sky is wrong, but it is the wrong that he has become increasingly accustomed to.

He remembers.

Jon hasn't fully released him yet, asking still ever so gently, "Back with me?"

Martin nods, and Jon drops his hands. Immediately, Martin grabs one of them with his own, because while it may be the apocalypse, at least he can do that as freely as he likes. "Yeah, yeah, I'm good, " he looks down, and sighs, "Eugh. Do miss the clean clothes though."

Jon gives a hint of a smile, and as he begins to move forward. "Now you understand my point about the lonely having a tidiness to it."

"If it's all the same to you, I think I'll take grime over memory loss any day."

"Next domain is a corruption one, so we'll see how much that holds true."

"Of course it is."

They walk in silence for a few moments until Martin gives Jon's hand a quick squeeze. "Hey Jon?"

"Hmm?"

"Thank you for getting me out."

Jon replies, "Of course," as an easy statement of fact, and Martin believes it. He has to add, "And I love you too."

The responding smile he gets from Jon makes him think he might be one of the few people in existence to feel lucky after the end of the world.

#replies #fluff prompts #tma #jonmartin #martin blackwood #jon sims #anon

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shirtysleeves · 6 years ago

Text

Constellation No. 35

There is a third consideration we have to deal with in connection with the general character of lyric poetry. It is the nature of the general stage of human development and culture from which the isolated poem originates.

In this respect, too, the Lyric occupies a position which is to be contrasted with Epic poetry. In other words, while we regarded as necessary for the full bloom of the true Epos a phase in the nation's growth which was, speaking generally, undeveloped, at least in the sense that it had not ripened in the prosaic acceptance of its actual life, the times which favour most of all lyrical composition are those which already are in possession of a more or less fixed organization of social condition. It is in such a period that the individual seeks a reflection of his intimate personal life in contrast to this outer world, creating from it and within its limits an independent whole of emotion and idea. For in the Lyric it is not, we repeat, the objective solidarity and individual action, but the individual person as self-conscious life which supplies both content and form. This, however, must not be understood in such a way as though the individual, in order to express himself in lyrical form, must perforce disjoin himself from every connection with national interests and the opinions, and with rigid and exclusive severity remain as he stands.

On the contrary, with such an abstract self-subsistency we should only have left us for content the wholly contingent and particular passion, the mere caprice of concupiscence and affection, false idiosyncrasies and distorted originality would have unlimited opportunities. Genuine lyrical poetry, like all other poetry, has no doubt to express the content of the human heart in its truth. Yet none the less, regarded as the content of the Lyric, what is most a matter of fact and substantial must appear absorbed in personal feeling, vision, imagination, and thought. And, in the second place, the question here is not so much simply expression of the personal inner life, is not so much concerned with a primary and direct statement in the epic fashion, what the facts are, as with an expression of the poetical nature in a manner both artistically fruitful and wholly different from chance and ordinary modes. It follows that the Lyric requires, precisely on account of the fact that the concentrated life of the heart unfolds itself in manifold feelings and comprehensive views, and the individual is conscious of the poetry of his most intimate life as nested in a world that is already more prosaically organized—an artistic culture already secured, which must assert itself as the flower and independent product of the individual's natural endowment thus trained to a perfect result. For these reasons the Lyric is not limited to particular epochs of the spiritual development of a people, but is the rich blossom of the most varied. To an exceptional degree is it favoured in more recent times, in which everybody is entitled to have and express his own views and emotions.

G.W.F. Hegel, Vorlesungen über die Ästhetik [The Philosophy of Fine Art] (1820-1829), translated by F.P.B. Osmaston (London: G. Bell and Sons, 1920), Vol. IV, pp. 206-207.

What rock does preach, and what its detractors refer to as narcissism, is more properly called solipsism. Rock asserts that everything the senses apprehend is properly part of self, and the object of selfhood is to reach full growth, when self becomes synonymous with the universe. This solipsism is the opposite of Freud's or [Christopher] Lasch's narcissism. Narcissus at poolside is locked forever in annihilating self-admiration-"bang bang." The rocker's cry, on the other hand, is the solipsistic motto, "You Gotta Move." Solipsism is the invariable mental disposition of the vulgar pantheist, because in solipsism there is no transcendent anything, only infinite me.

Solipsism has always annoyed philosophers because it is irrefutable. Each time you produce evidence of an objective reality exterior to me, I reply that the evidence only exists as my own sensation. The universe is only what I feel. The philosophers have objected that if solipsism were true, then language itself would be meaningless, because language assumes objective, durable relationships transcending the mere selfhood of any one speaker, whereas solipsism implies that all language is just another way of saying "me me me," or as Whitman has it, language is just another symbol in the "universal hieroglyphic" each of whose symbols translates as "I." If every statement is just another expression of one thing-that is, myself-then language for the solipsist is infinite but pointless because it has no objective validity. But, the philosopher points out, even as it makes this contention, solipsism assumes the objective validity of language, for otherwise solipsism's own argument would be meaningless, and therefore solipsism refutes itself.

Solipsism's reply to this is obvious, and the rocker makes it:

Sha dada da / Sha da da da da / Yip yip yip yip/Yip yip yip yip / Mum mum mum mum /Mum mum mum mum.

The Silhouettes' 1958 hit "Get a Job" is the classic example of rock's love of nonsense syllables. The vulgar rocker takes his solipsism to its limit and rejoices in the conclusion that language is meaningless. He doesn't care if his words make objective sense and in fact is pleased when they don't. Words, say the Police in the song where they explicate the Silhouettes' lyric, "De Do Do Do, De DaDa Da"-words are

only chits I've left unsigned / From the banks of chaos in my mind.

The primal chaos of the brain is infinite, but as soon as this chaos is reduced to verbal order, it loses its wholeness and becomes a tool for tyrants:

Poets, priests, and politicians / Have words to thank for their positions-- / Words that scream for your submission.

The tyrants of language use words to create refined, transcendent laws which they impose on the wholesome chaos of the mind:

When their eloquence escapes you, / Their logic ties you up and rapes you.

Rock in its vulgarity wants no part of eloquence or logic, both of which are devices used by transcendence to limit the pantheist's infinite universe. In "Eskimo Blue Day" the Jefferson Airplane make the same point:

Redwoods talk to me, / Say it plainly, the human name / Doesn't mean shit to a tree.

Names themselves are meaningless impositions on the wholeness of nature and to be rid of them, the Airplane says, is "animal gain for me.” Mark E. Smith of the Fall, whose lyrics dispense with the logic of ordinary speech, calls one of their albums Perverted by Language.

"Do de de de, do da da da," say the Police. Because they are incapable of making any transcendent sense, nonsense syllables are the most honest form of language. They cannot be pressed into the service of logical systems, religious hierarchies, or totalitarian platforms. All they can do is express the wholesome feeling that is the "chaos of my mind":

Their innocence may pull me through / They're meaningless, all that's true.

That is, because they're meaningless, nonsense syllables stand for all that can be said with truth. Rock's critics often condemn it for being inarticulate. Rock itself esteems inarticulation as a virtue. The rocker acts on Wittgenstein’s observation that what the solipsist means is quite correct; only it cannot be said, but makes itself manifest."

Critics like Lasch blame narcissism for what they perceive to be the cultural poverty of modern culture. According to Lasch, the narcissist, "lacking any real intellectual engagement with the world," has little capacity to appreciate the blessings of culture. What this charge amounts to is the objection that popular culture in its vulgar solipsism has no time for the transcendent logic by which refined culture used to sustain itself. Pop culture denies any transcendent values outside of self by which we can make sense of the universe, and this denial is the essence of vulgarity and the not-too-latent reason why critics of the old order are anxious to label solipsism as narcissistic neurosis and ship it off to Bedlam.

In rock, the solipsism of the Romantic German philosopher Fichte acquires vulgar life, and the world has as much or as little to fear from rock as it would from the adoption of the morality outlined in The Science of Knowledge. In that book, Fichte asserted a completely subjective pantheism in which the self alone constitutes the universe, and yet Fichte stresses the moral propriety of his self-centered universe. Whitman's critics accuse him of advocating a pantheism of moral disorder but Whitman in word and deed is a model of kindness, decency, and toleration. There is no reason to think that rock's vulgar solipsism lacks the moral rectitude of its Romantic predecessors, and every reason to suspect that the charges of immorality made against it arise from the threat rock poses to the systems of transcendent objectivity espoused by its accusers.

Robert Pattison, The Triumph of Vulgarity: Rock Music in the Mirror of Romanticism (New York: Oxford University Press, 1987), pp. 180-183.

#G.W.F. Hegel #Robert Pattison #The Triumph of Vulgarity #Solipsism #The Philosophy of Fine Art #History of Subjectivity #Rock Music #J.G. Fichte #Romanticism #Idealism #Walt Whitman #Mark E. Smith #Ludwig Wittgenstein

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gywair · 6 years ago

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This week I saw a video on GB Studio from MortMort. It’s a program for making GameBoy games that work inside an emulator. I like to try out new tools just in general but this engine really inspired me. I spent all my nights this week making a short game about fish called ZUG. Play it here on itch.io.

What makes the engine so interesting is how it restricts you. The emulator can only render three colors (#017821, #86c06c, and #e0f8cf) and a fourth is used as a transparency layer (#65ff00). This meant creating a limited palette in Aseprite (and MS Paint) to create the sprites. Within that confine, each sprite could only be 16×16 pixels per frame. You could have up to 25 frames but always within the 16×16 square. This means making the most of each tile that you have.

Additionally, there were limits on how complicated the background could be. A neat thing the compiler does is translate the backgrounds into smaller chunks to conserve memory. However, this means that unless you are making good use of repeating tiles, you have to make everything as simple as you can.

Even the number of ‘Actors’ or objects placed in a scene had to be limited to nine per scene. In Zug, there are animated bubbles around the area. To get this effect, I had to make a single animation then repeat it in a line a number of times (three at most). Then I offset the animations between the frames (that 25 frame limit from earlier). This eventually made a neat bubble effect and kept me under the memory requirement.

Even the music was difficult because of the memory limitation. GB Studio can only process .MOD files for sound. These are four channel files that play the music while being emulated. This is amazing cause that means the sounds don’t have to be recorded (and take up more space) on the cartridge. It’s terrible because, like in Zug, it means there can be some distortion. I think there must be an issue with too many sounds in an active channel at the same time. This is one of the problems areas that I didn’t get smoothed out. The song is completely unrecognizable in game. It plays great in the engine but it builds and runs wrong.

A very neat feature of GB Studio is that the programming is contained in automated script blocks. For someone like me that wants to lead a class on making games, this is perfect. No matter the skill level, I could sit down with someone and walk them through an exercise and expect standard(-ish*) results. There is an expansive library of existing scripts. If/Else statements, scene changes, and animations are prepackaged. It also has a quest handler, a counting system, and a save/load feature. I got a little ways towards understanding this. At a certain point, I needed to move on though. I think they are still working on documenting and expanding these. I’ll circle back after some more updates.

*when a human is involved it can get iffy.

Beyond technical limitations, I had a lot of fun just making sprites. I’ve been messing with Unity 3D meshes, so it was nice to get back to basics. The sprite handling for GB Studio is really nice. There isn’t any guesswork in how the sheet will generate. This means that from an art standpoint, you can rapidly prototype animations without a lot of down time. In GameMaker, you have to edit the sprite, create an object, and place it in the scene before you can really know how it will work out. Then again, in GM you can also ad-hoc change the size of your sprite and aren’t limited to 16×16 so it’s a give and takes.

I came up with the fish theme cause I wanted a game that started with a ‘Z’. Zug was the first word that came to mind. While searching it online (to make sure it wasn’t anything nasty) it turned out that it was a real world. It’s an area in Switzerland and a word from fishing vocabulary (or at least says Google). I really liked the idea of an underwater theme. I know the creatures shown aren’t exactly Swiss in origin but they aren’t exactly zoologically accurate either.

Zug as a word has some connotations of pulling or being lead in a direction. It had to do with the right to pull in fishing nets. This gave me the idea for the core game thesis. It made me think about life, the influences we have, and the constant time is toward an end. It’s not perfect by any means but for a one week game, I think it’s not the worst concept for a thesis.

If I could do it again, I would use net imagery. Having patterns that slowly move in on you as you travel the game. I would probably make it where there are constant fishing nets around and you have to avoid them. Additionally, I would research a lot more about Lake Zug and make a proper effort of having area specific fish in the game.

Another pain point, when you compiles, the engine will tell you if something is wrong. However, what is wrong is not well documented. Usually, it either runs with game-breaking errors or it doesn’t at all. This means saving often and remembering what changes you made for easy backing up.

A super cool thing–you can build to a ROM file. That means, in theory, you could put this on a GameBoy cartridge and play it on the original hardware. I preferred the web format for ease of use/sharing but this is really fun.

In conclusion, I really like the possibilities that GB Studio offers. I got frustrated with it at one point and tried to recreate the game in GameMaker. It took way more time to get the coding to work as intended. I think with a few more updates, GBS will be a great engine. It is already an amazing adventure game making. For now, I’ll head back to Unity. That system has a lot more upfront learning but there were some things that it handles much easier (different file types and such).

Thanks for reading–here is the stuff I used to make Zug:

The Good Stuff by m0d Public Domain License https://modarchive.org/module.php?33325

MortMort

youtube

GB Studio: https://www.gbstudio.dev/

Documentation page: https://www.gbstudio.dev/docs/

My GB studio project: https://mortmort.itch.io/acgb

GB Studio Discord: https://discord.gg/CuFVqXk

Puns https://www.fishkeepingworld.com/fish-puns/

ZUG This week I saw a video on GB Studio from MortMort. It's a program for making GameBoy games that work inside an emulator.

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jessicakmatt · 6 years ago

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12 Ridiculous Songwriting Tips That Actually Work

12 Ridiculous Songwriting Tips That Actually Work: via LANDR Blog

Googling ‘songwriting tips’ will give you about 2 million results in 0.42 seconds. That’s a lot of tips.

And y’know what? There’s a good chance a lot of them won’t work.

Of course there’s always those songwriting exercises that always work—like recording cover songs or collaborating with a new songwriting partner.

But These tips are the special ones. The ones that put you and your ideas first. The ones that open up some time to really focus, experiment and make your songs work.

Writing songs is a personal process. It’s all about getting back into yourself to find that song gold.

Here’s 10 ridiculous songwriting exercises to get your songs on track.

1. Play five radios at once

You might wanna do this one when no one else is home. Or at least keep the volume low. It’ll definitely cause your friends to ask if everything is ok.

But it really works! Tom Waits famously uses this technique during his songwriting process. He turns a couple radios on and then listens for the interesting overlaps.

You’ll find interesting progressions and melodies. Think of it like ear sampling.

This type of absurd composition is a form of aleatory music—It’s music where certain parts of the composition are left to chance. It’s the perfect storm for song inspiration.

If it worked for Tom Waits it’s definitely worth trying. So turn on all those radios, roll the dice and listen for the interesting overlaps.

2. Look out the window for a really long time

The small room that I make music in has a skylight in it. The view is quite limited—just a small blue square with the occasional cloud, bird or airplane.

But I think I’ve learned more about my own process from that small blue square than any guide, walkthrough, or manual could ever teach me. It lets me think clearly.

It doesn’t even need to be a window either. Just something silent to stare at. Like a tropical aquarium, or a nice piece of art.

These days you have to actually rip yourself out of the hyper-fast distractions that are constantly there (computer, cellphone, etc.) to find some quite silent time.

Once you do you’ll get into a way better space to write some songs.

Do you think Brian Wilson composed ‘Good Vibrations’ while he was replying to an email, ordering an Uber, checking his plays on SoundCloud and tweeting about the weather at the same time?

I don’t think so.

3. Don’t talk For the entire day. Just listen.

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Take a temporary oath of silence. Your songwriting will thank you.

A whole day might be a bit much. Besides, you HAVE to talk to lay down that earth-shattering vocal of pure genius.

But It’s no secret that silence is good for you. Even an hour of silence is more than enough time to reset your brain.

Whether you know it or not, talking is a huge and complex task for your brain to carry out. Putting it aside for a little while will put you in the right place to write.

And during all that silent time all those deep memories and feelings will have a clear path to the top of your mind. Y’know, all those thoughts that make great songs.

So take a break from the chatting and try silence for awhile. Let your brain do the talking and find all the inspiration you need.

4. Set an absurd time limit

Guess what? Diamonds by Rihanna was written by Sia in 14 minutes. She put the beat on and the lyrics just flowed. It has gone platinum 5 times in the US alone.

Time is a hard scale to balance. Too much and you end up second guessing everything. Too little and you get nothing done.

The solution? Set a time limit. Even better, set a time limit that’s way shorter than what you normally write in.

Setting slim boundaries will help you focus on what matters, write more songs, and streamline your entire process. And the more you do it, the better you’ll get.

Try it out and make your songs shine bright like a… gold brick?

5. Open your piano roll. Grab the pen tool and MIDI scribble

My favourite feeling in kindergarten was grabbing a handful of crayons and scribbling all at once. To be honest, I’m not sure why I stopped.

Well, I guess I didn’t really stop necessarily. I Just do it in my DAW now.

If I’m stuck building a beat I often open my piano roll, load up an instrument, grab the pen tool and just start scribbling down notes.

After I’m done I play it back and listen for the happy accidents.

Most of the time it’s 90% crapolla. But that interesting 10% is super valuable for ideas. So grab your DAW and channel your inner 5 year old every now and then.

6. Write as few lyrics as possible

Here’s a really good tip if you’re stuck: GET TO THE POINT.

When it comes to songwriting simple is always effective. But it’s hard to pull off. You have to be ruthless with your approach.

Just ask the Beatles. Their song ‘Love Me Do’ has exactly 19 unique words in it. But it’s still one of the most iconic songs of all time.

Simple is a skill that every songwriter should master. It keeps your songs relatable, engaging and catchy. Who doesn’t like a good sing along?

7. Put a lid on it

Infinity exists. The only proof you need is a blank DAW. There’s infinite VST plugins, infinite effects, infinite processing.

But infinity isn’t always a good thing. Sometimes the best way to better your songwriting is to set a gear limit.

Start with a strict list of what you’re gonna use. Limit your ideas to your gear list. Ideas will take shape much faster than having to constantly decide between a million options.

It might sound weird but limitations can actually make you more creative. Because you have to work with what you’ve got and bend it to your sound.

Plus keeping yourself limited will give you a deeper understanding of the tools you work with because you’ll have to push them all to the limit.

8. Cut your lyrics into a million pieces

Author William S. Burroughs created the cut-up technique to help with his own writing. Except he wasn’t writing songs. He was writing books.

But his concept is super effective for songwriting as well. It’s pretty simple. Just write out a bunch of words that are on your mind, cut them out and rearrange them into ideas.

It doesn’t even have to be words either. It can be chords, notes, melodies, pictures or anything else that works for you.

David Bowie famously used this technique to write some of his biggest hits. He explained his own cut-up technique in this BBC Documentary:

9. Set up a reward system

When Brian Wilson was struggling with his own songwriting—among other things—he was reportedly rewarded with cheeseburgers for every song he wrote.

Brian’s system was pretty extreme. But the concept is really smart. Writing songs is tough.

Reward yourself when you’re finished.

If there’s a piece of gear that you’re eyeing, or a new studio toy you want, tell yourself that you have to write 5 songs before you even think about buying it.

This will give you something to work towards beyond the satisfaction of being finished with a song—which is a pretty great reward in itself.

10. The Mozart effect

No, I’m not about to tell you to listen to Mozart and then do what he did. That would be cheating right?

But there is another reason to listen to Mozart. Listening to Mozart has been studied and proven to have a positive effect on your focus.

It affects your ‘spatial-temporal reasoning.’ Which is basically a fancy word for concentration. Starting your session with a bit of Mozart will put your brain into high-gear.

Perfect for pumping out some quality songs. Copying a few of his phrases and melodies can’t hurt either… Just make sure you make ’em your own!

11. Copy a song entirely from memory

What would it sound like if you tried to re-record Bohemian Rhapsody right now without listening to it to refresh your memory?

Probably nothing like the original! That’s why making an imperfect copy can be such a great creative strategy.

It certainly worked for Dirty Projector’s Dave Longstreth. The band’s excellent 2007 LP Rise Above is a full-length cover of Black Flag’s legendary 1981 album Damaged.

Longstreth apparently hadn’t listened to the original tracks in several years and the results are a strikingly creative take on the classic album

12. Use extended techniques

Extended techniques are all about playing your instrument the “wrong” way.

The concept was developed in the 20th century to help composers push the boundaries of what was possible with traditional instrumentation.

The most famous example is probably John Cage’s notorious “prepared piano” that included forks stuck between the strings and objects placed throughout the mechanics.

But extended techniques aren’t just for stuffy academic music. You might even consider Dave Davies decision to slash the speaker cone of his amplifier on “You Really Got Me” an extended technique.

The rugged, distorted guitar sound set the tone for a whole new generation of music—that’s raw creativity!

Get it into your songwriting with extended techniques.

Getting stuck happens

Songs don’t always flow.

Sometimes you have to take drastic measures to make them work.

So think outside the box and and get in touch with your best possible resource for writing songs:

Yourself.

The post 12 Ridiculous Songwriting Tips That Actually Work appeared first on LANDR Blog.

from LANDR Blog https://blog.landr.com/10-songwriting-techniques/ via https://www.youtube.com/user/corporatethief/playlists from Steve Hart https://stevehartcom.tumblr.com/post/183942893089

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kathryngadberry-blog · 7 years ago

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Bitcoin and the Effects of Monetary Policy

Monetary policy occurs when Central Banks adjusts the interest rate, buy or sell government bonds, and change the amount of required bank reserves (1). The combination of actions taken in these three areas is often referred to as either “expansionary”, to grow the economy, or “contractionary”, to slow down the economy. Good monetary policy, however, promotes what economist refer to as the dual-mandate: price stability and high employment. Central Banks try to enact the dual mandate by targeting inflation rates, stabilizing prices and minimizing unemployment (2). But if you’re not an economist, academic, or banker, why should the average person care about monetary policy? The answer is that these indirect decisions influence whether or not individuals get laid off from their job, receive a loan to buy a car, or obtain strong returns in their private investments. I’m going to argue that if you’re a crypto-enthusiast, you should care even more than the average person about the potential positive and negative influences of bad monetary policy. Crytpocurrencies like Bitcoin are unique, but still susceptible to the same economic laws of supply and demand.

The Bitcoin (BTC) market price is determined by supply and demand, but the creation of bitcoins are programmed by algorithms that release and limit the ultimate supply in a predictable way. Thus, the price fluctuation is mostly affected by demand (3). Volatile prices are currently a consistent challenge for the crytpo-enthusiasts because this technology is still relatively new and has not reached a mass critical point of consumers yet. As you will read below, failed monetary policy resulting in price instability, inflation, deflation, unemployment, as well as the inability to legislate or regulate currency could have positive or negative outcomes on the demand of bitcoin.

POSITIVE OUTCOMES FOR BTC

If monetary policy were to fail and economic systems given the chance to be reconfigured based on Blockchain technology (instead of government agendas), there could be several positive outcomes that stabilize and increase Bitcoin’s price. A new international standard setting organization that put in place better defined cyber property laws and established an anti-inflationary currency would all allow the real demand of bitcoins to rise.

Governments currently struggle with the ability to regulate internet marketplaces and technologies like Bitcoin. If companies were able to legally own the computer code that makes up their product or service as private property, it would present an incentive for major players to follow government regulation (4). News reporters could get paid per article views and musicians could earn royalties on direct downloading of songs. Strengthening and defining intellectual property law is the natural first step for technology that deals in digital assets. At first, regulation needs to be general in nature, and lawmakers should essentially do nothing. By doing “nothing”, it would allow developers to create best-practices and self-regulation (5). Letting Blockchain evolve on it’s own with clear, general rules, allows companies to have an advantage if they provide stronger security and transparent processes because that creates more trust with the users. Add digital identity in the mix and it will enhance the government’s power to regulate. Utilizing Civic is one way to connect identity to a site or digital asset ownership (6). Consumer confidence and BTC prices would rise if they knew the government felt comfortable and in reasonable control of Bitcoin and Blockchain tech.

In a failed monetary policy system, creating a new third-party organization to oversee and create policies around ethical crypto markets could also increase Bitcoin prices. Similar to a Blockchain driven version of the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund (IMF). These two organizations lend funds based on economic reforms and stable policy in place (7). One of the many uses for blockchain is transparency of supply chains and humanitarian aid funding in emerging countries. Aid-tech is one such company that could be used by this treaty organization in providing enterprise level solutions to international NGOs, governments and corporations to help them deliver digital entitlements and digital identity in global development (8). This new Bitcoin World Bank could automate these pre-requisite policies and provide proof of change to loans given for each development milestone through the use of smart contract technology. Regulatory organizations could even compete with their own transparency standards, allowing the institutions who add the most value to the customer to come out on top.

Inflation is a tool used in good monetary policy, but can quickly become an economic nightmare if unrestrained. Inflation occurs when prices steadily increase and purchasing power falls due to money creation (9). There is some benefit to this because it encourages people to spend and stimulate the economy while they have money in their possession, but is more often than not appears abused by governments. In the US, government officials have used inflation as a substitute for taxes (10). This distorts prices, erodes savings, discourages investment, inhibits growth, and can even lead to political unrest (11). Bitcoin demand and prices would increase in such an economic environment because consumers would see Bitcoin’s benefits as an anti-inflationary store of value.

Sources

“Monetary Policy”. Investopedia. http://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/monetarypolicy.asp#ixzz4uqbSMUzx

Dr. Evans, Charles W. “Monetary Policy: Week 5 Session 1”. University of Nicosia: Money and Banking. Slides 4-9.

Bitcoin.org. “What determines bitcoin’s price?” https://bitcoin.org/en/faq

Lessig, Lawrence. “Commentaries - The Law of the Horse: What Cyberlaw Might Teach.” Harvard Law Review. Pg. 501-546. December, 03, 1999.

Easterbrook, Frank H., “Cyberspace and the Law of the Horse”. Chicago Unbound Faculty Scholarship Journal Articles. University of Chicago Law School. Pgs. 207-216. 1996.

Civic: https://www.civic.com/

Lodewijks, John; Monadjemi, Mehdi. “Chapter 9: Developing Countries and International Institutions”. Money and Monetary Policy in an Open Economy. Pg. 112-119. July 2015.

Aidtech: https://aid.technology/

Lodewijks, John; Monadjemi, Mehdi. “Chapter 4: Macroeconomic Policy in an Open Economy”. Money and Monetary Policy in an Open Economy. Pg.62-63. July 2015.

Dr. Evans, Charles W. “The Blind Economists and the Elephant: Bitcoin and Monetary Separation”. Southwestern Journal of Economics. Vol. XI, No.1. October 2015. Pgs. 1-13.

https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/issues/issues15/

NEGATIVE OUTCOMES FOR BTC

Recently, I learned how monetary policy is driven by political desires, not economic necessity (1). If the Government’s conflicting desires end up permitting deflation, premature regulation or massive unemployment, Bitcoin’s price could drastically drop.

On the opposing side of the inflation argument lies the deflation risks associated with Bitcoin because of the 21 million limit. There could be a negative price effect if the bitcoin created by miners is not released quickly enough to meet the demand. Lacking enough money in circulation to satisfy the public demand can lead to deflation. This is what happened in the early 1930s that turned a recession into the Great Depression (2). During the Great Depression, people were hoarding money because they saw the value of their savings at an all time low. A funny expression in Bitcoin community culture that illustrates this is H.O.D.L pronounced “hode-uhl”, and means “hold on for dear life” (3). In “The Blind Economists and the Elephant: Bitcoin and Monetary Separation”, Dr. Evans tells us that deflation favors individuals who save (4). As a result, bitcoin users aren’t stimulating any transaction volume or Bitcoin demand.

Setting strict legal regulations on Bitcoin while it is still a developing technology is one of the greatest threats to damaging best-practice controls and competitive advantage. In his legal essay, Cyberspace and the Law of the Horse, Frank Easterbrook says “the blind are not good trailblazers” (5). He encourages lawmakers to be hesitant in leading the way on regulating innovative technologies in lieu of subject matter experts. If more general statutes are not considered before specific laws, essential principles will be overlooked and the consequences would lead to ineffective or worse, damaging, legislation. One real world example includes China’s government outlawing local exchanges (6). Bitcoin’s price dropped from $5,000 to $4,108 in less than a week. Many experts agree that uncertain regulation outcomes will affect the demand of crypto-assets.

Finally, an increase in unemployment due to failed monetary policy would deteriorate consumer confidence. You wouldn’t spend money on buying cryptocurrency, like Bitcoin, if you were fearful that you would not be able to supply the immediate needs of your family in the near future. If demand falls, Bitcoin prices would also fall. For instance, during hyperinflation (failed monetary policy), people who own valuable commodities like gold are the individuals who benefit most (7). But hyperinflation usually exists within real widespread financial crisis, followed by unemployment and lower average incomes. Psychologically speaking, buying intangibles like crypto-assets would be perceived as unnecessary spending during an economic depression.

Central Banks all over the globe work to provide monetary policy by putting regulation in place to stabilize prices, target inflation rates and minimize unemployment. But if macroeconomy regulations were to fail the general public, there would be no hope for government intervention in crypto markets or bailing out bitcoin as a medium of exchange (8). The Bitcoin price would be determined by the equilibrium quantity of demand and supply forces that operate in all other markets.

Sources

Dr. Evans, Charles W. “Monetary Policy: Week 5 Session 2”. University of Nicosia: Money and Banking. Slide 20.

https://www.mercatus.org/publication/introduction-us-monetary-policy. April 2, 2013.

“What is HODL”. Bitcoin Forum. https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1927116.0.

Dr. Evans, Charles W. “The Blind Economists and the Elephant: Bitcoin and Monetary Separation”. Southwestern Journal of Economics. Vol. XI, No.1. October 2015. Pgs. 1-13.

Easterbrook, Frank H., “Cyberspace and the Law of the Horse”. Chicago Unbound Faculty Scholarship Journal Articles. University of Chicago Law School. Pgs. 207-216. 1996.

Browne, Ryan. “Bitcoin price falls again on reports that China is shutting down local exchanges”.CNBC.https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/11/bitcoin-price-falls-on-reports-that-china-is-closing-local-exchanges.html. September 11, 2017.

Hays, Adam. Class Notes from Week 5, Live Session 2. University of Nicosia.

Cronin, David. “New Monetary Economics Revisited”. Cato Journal.

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andrewrees-blog · 8 years ago

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Self-Publishing Report.

In this report, I will assess the book I created for the ‘Text and Image:

Illustration and Publishing’ project, and discuss the action and process taken

to make it. I will cover challenges and achievements found in its production,

and investigate other self-publishing artists and how their methods vary.

I began very loosely storyboarding the narrative; playing around with layout

and drawing a variety of possible scenes. I condensed the story I wanted to

tell, and then divided it among the 8 double-page spread pages. As these

scenes developed into more finite sketches, I had to consider the use of

strong body language; as the drawing method I wanted to use wouldn’t show

and facial features or much detail. I ended up drawing a second refined

storyboard after, which would be to scale of the actual publication I made;

showing more accurate body language.

To begin constructing my book, I went out and collected various rubbings of

harsh and deteriorated surfaces around Norwich. I used a mix of chalk,

charcoal and oil pastels to achieve different marks and colours. I used quite

thin sheets of paper throughout, to make sure the detail was being picked up

by my mediums. The process was very messy; as the chalk and pastel I used

would go all over myself and affect the other sheets I placed them with. I

made myself move frequently from spot to spot; taking rubbings from one

place then moving on; without being precious about each print.

To turn the rubbings into characters, I would trace the outlines of them from

my final (to-scale) storyboard, turn the rubbings over onto the clean side; and

draw the reverse of the trace onto it. Using a scalpel and scissors, I then cut

each character and object out by hand. The backgrounds were made by

loosely and quickly dabbing watercolour onto fine grain, heavyweight paper

with a thin brush; and I then created staining by drying them quickly with a hair

dryer. Before gluing rubbings to the background, I used hairspray on them to

lessen the risk of smudging. I then glued the backs of each page together and

added the book cover.

I found it very challenging to cut out detailed shapes and features by hand;

and I know that a lot of detail and expression was lost due to the form of some

characters. I also, despite my efforts of using hairspray on the rubbings,

experienced a lot of smudging onto the backgrounds. I think the process

would’ve been much more efficient if I had used photoshop to shape and edit

the characters, and then compose the book on in design to print. This

would’ve made it easier to edit the form of characters, and removed the risk of

accidental mess. It would’ve also given me more binding options; as I was

limited by sticking my rubbings down onto flat double page spreads to reduce

creases and bubbles under the paper.

After questioning my methods of production, I decided to study some artists

who self-publish. Jeffrey Alan Love, an award-winning writer and illustrator,

who published his own book “Notes from the Shadow City”. He’s often

commissioned to create cover art for books too; and shared a detailed

walkthrough of his process when creating the art for Yoon Ha Lee’s book,

Combustion Hour.

After reading the source material a few times, he sketches his drawing on

computer. He avoids using pencil at this point, to avoid concern of line work

and drawing. “I focus on value, shape, and edge, and smearing digital pixels

around is like playing in mud for me. I’m not attached to it, so I feel

comfortable distorting, overpainting, destroying, and experimenting

(Love.2014).” Once he’s happy with the form, he prints it off and traces it onto

a piece of Masonite hardboard, which has been gessoed. After painting a

black base layer of his forms, he then applies colour and texture using a

variety of tools; such as pallet knives and paint rollers. He also uses tracing

paper to cut out detailed shapes, then paints over them. His discovery of new

textures is very trial and error; but he just goes with it, saying “I try not to

control what happens at this stage, but just let as many happy accidents (and

unhappy ones) happen. Chaos first, and then I can edit it later…(Love.2014)”.

He then photographs the piece, and edits it in Photoshop; where he makes

custom brushes, and perfects the image.

This account of how he created this piece has given me a great insight into

how he created his publication. I value how he started working; thinking about

form, shape and edge. I can relate with the trial by error mind set; as I was

very much ‘letting the chaos happen then editing it later’. I think computer

editing and composition would have made a much neater product, and

allowed me to create more dynamic characters.

Considering how I could have created my book on a computer instead of by

hand made me think about how it would have been printed. The main qualities

of my book are its bold textures and interesting surfaces, which could easily

be lost in printing. I found a London based printing studio called Hato Press,

who specialise in Risograph Printing. Formed by students, the company

provide affordable printing services to students and independent artists. Hato

Press receive artwork in PDF form, where it is proof checked and made into a

template. The process of printing is similar to screen printing; and each image

must be made as a separate greyscale layer. The original image file is sent

into the machine and it’s burnt onto a master; which is then wrapped around a

print drum. This drum then rotates and pushes ink through the screen and

onto paper as it’s sent through the machine. The outcomes are varied from

each print, and there is a lot of experimentation involved. After printed, they

also offer various forms of binding like saddle stitch, perfect bind, seam bind

and spiral bind.

There are several drawbacks to this process, as they can only offer around

20 colours and cannot print on glossy or silk papers. They also warn that large

areas of block colour will not print evenly and heavy inking with more than 2

colours can leave track marks. Despite this, I like the look of the prints they

make. They create bold colours with interesting textures, and using uncoated

paper could provide the same interesting surface I wanted my rubbing-filled

book to have. Not only would this service make my publication easier to

produce in bulk, but the unique prints, interesting textures and variety of

uncoated papers available could have done my work justice.

Referencing.

Tor, (2014) Creating the Artwork for Yoon Ha Lee’s “Combustion Hour” [Internet] Available from: <http://www.tor.com/2014/04/10/creating-the-artwork-for-yoon-ha-lees-combustion-hour/#more-122294> [Accessed 11th May 2017]

Love, J.A, (2014) Artwork for Yoon Ha Lee’s “Combustion Hour” [Online image] Available from: <http://www.tor.com/2014/04/10/creating-the-artwork-for-yoon-ha-lees-combustion-hour/#more-122294> [Accessed 11th May 2017]

Hato Press, (2009) Printing [Internet] Available from: <http://hatopress.net/printing/> [Accessed 11th May 2017]

Hato Press, (2009) Printing – Basics [Online Image] Available from: <http://hatopress.net/printing/> [Accessed 11th May 2017]

Bibliography.

Flesk Publications, (2017) Notes from the Shadowed City by Jeffrey Alan Love [Internet] Available from: <http://fleskpublications.com/flesksite/index.php?route=product/product&path=18_98&product_id=177> Accessed 11th May 2017.

Hato Press, (2009) Hato Press – London based Risograph printer and publishing house [Internet] Available from: <http://hatopress.net/> Accessed 11th May 2017.

Hato Press, (2009) Printing [Internet] Available from: <http://hatopress.net/printing/> Accessed 11th May 2017.

Hato Press, (2009) Printing – Basics [Online Image] Available from: <http://hatopress.net/printing/> Accessed 11th May 2017.

Love, J.A, (2017) Jeffrey Alan Love [internet] Available from: <https://www.jeffreyalanlove.com/> Accessed on 11th May 2017.

Spectrum, (2017) Notes from the Shadowed City Promo Video [Internet video] Available from: <http://spectrumfantasticart.com/video.php> Accessed 11th May 2017.

Tor, (2014) Revealing the Covers for Andy Remic’s Song for No Man’s Land Trilogy [Internet] Available from: <http://www.tor.com/author/jeffrey-alan-love/> Accessed 11th May 2017.

0 notes

amaradjohnson · 8 years ago

Text

Buyer’s Guide: Best Beginner Piano Review in 2017

The piano is a wonderfully fulfilling instrument upon which many of the most beautiful pieces of music are composed. However, few of us are born with the natural talent of Mozart and must start somewhere. Unfortunately, the market is flush with pianos and figuring out which one is right for a beginner can be a challenge. That is why we have put together a list and buyer’s guide to help you navigate through the rest to find the best beginner piano available.

Value Section:

As someone who has played the piano for over two decades, I can assure you that the factors which determine the best beginner piano are few. However, that does not necessarily mean you should look for the rock bottom bargain either. Many beginner pianos that are $100 or less will have long-term functionality issues that will simply force you to purchase a new piano sooner should the player develop a legitimate interest in the art. That is why we have put together this helpful guide to assist you in determining which product and what suite of features are relevant for you purchase.

Quick Navigation

Value Section:

Key Count:

Key Quality:

Extra Features:

Price:

Five Best Beginner Piano

Conclusion:

Key Count:

There are two lines of thought on this, both equally valid if a bit contradictory. The first states that beginner pieces are simplified and will rarely use more than 3-4 octaves, if that. Being 12 keys an octave, digital pianos for a beginner can eschew the full 88 key count and still provide an adequate tool to learn the fundamental skills. When the time is appropriate, a full-sized key count can be purchased with a more advanced digital piano to reflect the player’s advancing skill.

On the other hand, the other argument states that if the player will eventually need to work with a full 88 keys at some point in their development, it serves the player best to become familiar with that arrangement early rather than have to readjust at a later date. In reality, both arguments have their merit, but neither really disproves the other. So long as your beginner piano has at least 5 octaves of keys, you should be fine.

Key Quality:

This may be the most important feature on a beginner piano. In fairness, it is often one of the most important features on any piano, regardless the player’s skill level. The reason is quite simple: if you practice well, then you will play well. However, the quality of your practice will definitely be improved or hindered by the quality of the tools you use to practice on. With a beginner, the primary concern is that practice teaches the fundamentals: learning scales, chord progressions, time signatures.

Still, the ultimate goal is to eventually be able to transfer all of those skills onto an acoustic piano and play in front of a live audience--whether big or small. This is where touch comes into play. Pianos are a precise and tactile instrument, and slight differences in the feel can have big effects on the performance. If you want to one day play an acoustic piano, you would do well by practicing on a digital piano that most accurately replicates the feel of the real thing.

Extra Features:

Like many features on this list, you should not overthink it. Beginners are unlikely to know for what or how to use these features let alone run into a scenario where they are actually necessary. However, there are a few features that can be incredibly useful for beginners to learn the basics. A metronome will provide assistance with beginners learning how to keep time. Despite how it may seem, pianos are percussion instruments and rely more on rhythm than anything. One of the more difficult skills to pick up is timing.

Other features can help, but they may hinder learning the fundamentals more than assist. The Alfred brand of instructional manuals can be helpful, but be careful about instructionals. Lighted keys or other follow along features may teach a song that the player can then show off, but they do not actually teach the skills required to play music in general.

Price:

This should not be seen as primary concern and determined more by the player’s level of commitment at this point. However, the floor for a solid beginner piano should not drop below $300. On the other end of the spectrum, there is almost no need to go above $600 unless you are purchasing a second piano for a beginner who is about to graduate to the intermediate level.

Keep in mind, if the player is a child who is just as likely to drop interest in the piano two weeks later, you should not feel bad about buying a cheap $50 model. Still, for any player that has just started but already become hooked, cheaping out will only force you to purchase another one sooner rather than later.

Rating

Product

Our Rating

Price

Casio Privia PX-160

Check Prices

String House CUC01 Trigger Style Capo

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UGY Electric Guitar Ukulele Capo

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Mugig Ukulele Capo

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Sound Harbor MA-12 Capo

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Five Best Beginner Piano

Casio Privia PX-160

One of the best qualities of low-end pianos that Casio provides are the same basic features from their mid-tier markets. The voice quality of the PX-160 is the same as the PX-760 for hundreds of dollars less. Using their patented Acoustic and Intelligent Resonator technology, Casio can bring concert quality acoustic voice replication to the beginner at a fraction of the price.

Another factor that you can find across Casio’s digital piano sales line is their Tri-Sensor Scaled Hammer Action. For this price point, you will be hard-pressed to find another digital piano that provides as much sensitivity and precision with each keystroke. This key weighting system not only reproduces the feel of an acoustic piano with surprising accuracy, its three sensors also allow you to play various degrees of volume based on the pressure and speed of the stroke.

However, the Casio is a bit of a mixed bag beyond the beginner stage. This is not really a beginner piano you can grow into. While the interface is clean and easy to navigate, the Casio provides a fairly low number of features for the player as they advance in skill.

Pros

Well-weighted keys provide an excellent feel for beginners and advanced players alike

The Casio plays with an authentic piano voice, making use of their Acoustic and Intelligent Resonator

The interface layout and general piano design allow extra features to be easily accessed

Cons

While the piano voice is laudably replicated, the short pedal effect may constrain practice as the player develops

There is no easy way to put it: the Casio is short on features and will not grow with the player past the beginner stage

The non-piano voices are inauthentic, often sounding electronic or otherwise distorted, which further limits the Casio to a beginner designation

Check Current Prices

Korg B1SP

To provide that all-important authentic voice, the Korg utilizes servo-assisted MFB technology so the tones are rich and pure without losing quality from the audio compression. This features also allows the Korg to enable a 120 note polyphony without suffering from muddled or distorted voices. This is nearly at the level one would require an intermediate or advanced piano to provide and almost double what some of the other entries on this list offer.

For the second, all-important quality, key action, Korg once again checks all the boxes in both types of feel. First, the weighting is a thing of beauty. The standard Natural Weighted Hammer ensures that you can play precisely without having to worry about how your skills will transfer to the real thing. Even better, the weighting is adjustable, so you can progress in that skill at your pace, rather than an all-or-nothing flow.

This may seem like a minor advantage, but the Korg also comes with a sturdy furniture stand. Moreover, this model comes with a quality single pedal peripheral to help you replicate the various dampening and layering effects that upper level beginners need to develop to move onto the next stage of their instruction.

Pros

Korg’s Natural Weighted Hammer provides great key weighting as well as customization options, so your precision skills become refined and transfer well to an acoustic piano.

The Motional Feedback technology ensures that you hear the authentic voice of an acoustic piano without distortion or muddling.

A good polyphony lets you practice or play with another person simultaneously without any voices or keystrokes getting lost in the mix.

Cons

This is a relatively barebones model noted for its lack of features; though, beginners generally do not require a plethora of features to develop fundamental skills.

The non-piano voices are not nearly as good and their replication is of limited quality in the highest and lowest registers.

In a world quickly synchronizing, the Korg’s inability to connect with other devices or instruments seems like an odd feature to leave out.

Check Current Prices

Yamaha YPG-535

The lower budget market for digital pianos is where Yamaha provides some of the best value for pianists at every level of skill. Still, there is a gap between the features you need in your digital piano--especially at the fundamental level. For instance, Yamaha uses a Graded Soft Touch key weighting for this model. While different Yamaha models provide different key mechanisms, they all one thing in common: they are simply not true to form compared to acoustic pianos. Granted, Yamaha’s flagship keyboards may not suffer this drawback, but they are also over $1000 and not really suitable for beginners.

As a form of compensation, Yamaha seems to take pride in the cosmetic and somewhat superfluous features that may not necessarily help beginners learn their art but will certainly keep them interested long enough to develop a true love. The user interface is both easy to read and simply to control. This makes changing from one feature to another a breeze--something that higher quality digital pianos often omit in favor of a minimal design. Moreover, this Yamaha comes equipped with excellent instructionals, so you player can practice through all levels of skill set.

Pros

Large list of features will provide plenty of entertainment and experimentation for players who may not yet have become hooked.

Great and easy-to-use UI makes switching different voices, arrangements, and layouts simple.

Amazing instructional features may perhaps make up for substandard fundamental qualities by providing the player lessons for every skill.

Cons

Substandard key weighting leaves a lot to be desired and will absolutely not transfer comfortably to an acoustic piano.

The keys themselves are also made out of a somewhat flimsy plastic and clack when the score demands quick, firm keystrokes.

None of the voices are truly authentic, and while this may not technically prevent the development of beginner skills, it limits it to home practice exclusively.

Check Current Prices

Alesis Coda Pro

The Coda Pro is a solid reentry that signals a potential rise in Alesis as a manufacturer of digital pianos, regardless the skill level. In order to produce an authentic voice, Alesis has incorporated AIR Music Technology and SONiVOX into their audio reproduction so the sounds are clear, albeit still inauthentic.

In a previous model, the keys offered little to no resistance and made beginning level practice almost impossible. This is where Alesis put the most improvement into the Code Pro, opting for a Hammer Action that feels fairly close to an acoustic.

Alesis still has a ways to go before it can truly compete with the big players of the low end piano market, but has come a long way. It offers a large list of features that allow beginners at various stages of their skill level to experiment and aid in their instruction. With basic connectivity, you can even install instructional material onto the Coda Pro--though, it will cost extra.

Pros

A large number of extra features will keep novices interested long enough to develop basic skills and provide beginners ample room for experimentation.

Well-weighted keys allow the skills you learn practicing on this instrument to transfer to an acoustic piano.

With USB and MIDI ports, the Alesis provides solid, standard connectivity that is missing on better beginner pianos.

Cons

The unimpressive polyphony is not terrible, but it will prevent maximum utilization of the decent connectivity at higher levels.

Inauthentic voices definitely limit the ability of this piano to transfer to intermediate play where subtle recognition of tone is important.

The plastic keys provide a poor tactile sensation and are somewhat slick, leading to fingers slipping off during quick play.

Check Current Prices

Williams Rhapsody 2

The trouble with the Williams really sits in the piano voice. However, the Williams’ voice suffers from a subtle quality that will not immediately be obvious to the casual listener.The problem arises from a lack of tonal control, which might seem to be an issue with the keys’ weighting, but is actually a function of the voice reproduction. The keys themselves are actually fairly well-weighted, though they are not true “hammer action,” instead using the “graded action” which mimics, but does not reproduce, the genuine feel of an acoustic key stroke.

Likewise, the voice’s actual sound is a fairly good quality, comparable to many of the Williams’ competitors at this product tier. The issue comes with the key’s sensor having little precision based on the strength of the stroke. Whether you hit the key hard or softly, the tonal quality will vary little. Ultimately, this means that practicing some of the finer points and skills of the piano are impossible, and you absolutely cannot advance to an intermediate stage with this product. Still, if you want a digital piano that looks great and can serve functional purposes, this is an attractive option.

Pros

The well-weighted keys and authentic voice provide the basic necessity of any decent digital piano.

One of the nicer looking models that comes with a furniture stand that incorporates three pedals

The Williams provides solid connectivity with both USB and MIDI ports as well as a ¼” output port.

Cons

Easily the biggest flaw with the Williams, a lack of tonal control seriously impedes its ability to provide use beyond the beginner level

While you do not necessarily look for a wide range of features in a beginner piano, the Williams’ lack of features is still surprising

Substandard speakers means you will either need to hook up headphones or use the ¼” output to hook up external speakers

Check Current Prices

Conclusion:

In a surprising discovery, neither Yamaha nor Korg took the top spot. As manufacturers of professional grade equipment, you would expect one of those two to nab the title. However, it is the unsung, though no lesser known, Casio that provides the best value and experience for the beginner learning the ropes on a new piano.

With features that comes standard on even its higher-end models, the Casio wows with its replication of an authentic piano voice and provides one of, if not, the best key actions out of any beginner piano. If fact, the key action is so good, it can even stand up to competition at the intermediate level. Granted, the Casio is not perfect.

Once the beginner skillset has been mastered, a lack of features prevents this model from growing with the budding pianist. Moreover, the pedal effect does not sustain nearly as much as one would prefer--though, in fairness, that may be a bit nitpicky. Still, for the modest investment, you can learn the fundamentals on a great instrument whose dedication to excellence will allow those skills to transfer fairly effortlessly to an acousti once you have reached the intermediate stage of skill progression.

The post Buyer’s Guide: Best Beginner Piano Review in 2017 appeared first on Music Advisor.

source https://musicadvisor.com/2017/03/21/best-beginner-piano/ from Music Advisor http://musicadvisorcom.blogspot.com/2017/03/buyers-guide-best-beginner-piano-review.html

0 notes

robertbjonesus80 · 8 years ago

Text

Buyer’s Guide: Best Beginner Piano Review in 2017

Value Section:

Quick Navigation

Value Section:

Key Count:

Key Quality:

Extra Features:

Price:

Five Best Beginner Piano

Conclusion:

Key Count:

Key Quality:

Still, the ultimate goal is to eventually be able to transfer all of those skills onto an acoustic piano and play in front of a live audience–whether big or small. This is where touch comes into play. Pianos are a precise and tactile instrument, and slight differences in the feel can have big effects on the performance. If you want to one day play an acoustic piano, you would do well by practicing on a digital piano that most accurately replicates the feel of the real thing.

Extra Features:

Price:

Five Best Beginner Piano

Casio Privia PX-160

https://www.amazon.com/Casio-Furniture-Style-Headphones-Instructional-Polishing/dp/B0106BXQFI/ref=sr_1_20?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1489931343&sr=1-20&keywords=Casio+Privia+PX-160&refinements=p_n_condition-type%3A404228011

Pros

Well-weighted keys provide an excellent feel for beginners and advanced players alike

The Casio plays with an authentic piano voice, making use of their Acoustic and Intelligent Resonator

The interface layout and general piano design allow extra features to be easily accessed

Cons

While the piano voice is laudably replicated, the short pedal effect may constrain practice as the player develops

There is no easy way to put it: the Casio is short on features and will not grow with the player past the beginner stage

The non-piano voices are inauthentic, often sounding electronic or otherwise distorted, which further limits the Casio to a beginner designation

Check Current Prices

Korg B1SP

https://www.amazon.com/Weighted-Digital-Piano-Stand-Three/dp/B01I0G78QE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1489930260&sr=8-1&keywords=Korg+B1SP

Pros

Korg’s Natural Weighted Hammer provides great key weighting as well as customization options, so your precision skills become refined and transfer well to an acoustic piano.

The Motional Feedback technology ensures that you hear the authentic voice of an acoustic piano without distortion or muddling.

A good polyphony lets you practice or play with another person simultaneously without any voices or keystrokes getting lost in the mix.

Cons

This is a relatively barebones model noted for its lack of features; though, beginners generally do not require a plethora of features to develop fundamental skills.

The non-piano voices are not nearly as good and their replication is of limited quality in the highest and lowest registers.

In a world quickly synchronizing, the Korg’s inability to connect with other devices or instruments seems like an odd feature to leave out.

Check Current Prices

Yamaha YPG-535

https://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-YPG-535-88-Key-Portable-Adapter/dp/B003F2X13I/ref=sr_1_10?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1489931446&sr=1-10&keywords=Yamaha+YPG-535&refinements=p_n_condition-type%3A404228011

The lower budget market for digital pianos is where Yamaha provides some of the best value for pianists at every level of skill. Still, there is a gap between the features you need in your digital piano–especially at the fundamental level. For instance, Yamaha uses a Graded Soft Touch key weighting for this model. While different Yamaha models provide different key mechanisms, they all one thing in common: they are simply not true to form compared to acoustic pianos. Granted, Yamaha’s flagship keyboards may not suffer this drawback, but they are also over $1000 and not really suitable for beginners.

As a form of compensation, Yamaha seems to take pride in the cosmetic and somewhat superfluous features that may not necessarily help beginners learn their art but will certainly keep them interested long enough to develop a true love. The user interface is both easy to read and simply to control. This makes changing from one feature to another a breeze–something that higher quality digital pianos often omit in favor of a minimal design. Moreover, this Yamaha comes equipped with excellent instructionals, so you player can practice through all levels of skill set.

Pros

Large list of features will provide plenty of entertainment and experimentation for players who may not yet have become hooked.

Great and easy-to-use UI makes switching different voices, arrangements, and layouts simple.

Amazing instructional features may perhaps make up for substandard fundamental qualities by providing the player lessons for every skill.

Cons

Substandard key weighting leaves a lot to be desired and will absolutely not transfer comfortably to an acoustic piano.

The keys themselves are also made out of a somewhat flimsy plastic and clack when the score demands quick, firm keystrokes.

None of the voices are truly authentic, and while this may not technically prevent the development of beginner skills, it limits it to home practice exclusively.

Check Current Prices

Alesis Coda Pro

https://www.amazon.com/Alesis-Hammer-Action-Keyboard-Layering-Included/dp/B00SHCDMRQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1489931644&sr=1-1&keywords=Alesis+Coda+Pro

Pros

A large number of extra features will keep novices interested long enough to develop basic skills and provide beginners ample room for experimentation.

Well-weighted keys allow the skills you learn practicing on this instrument to transfer to an acoustic piano.

With USB and MIDI ports, the Alesis provides solid, standard connectivity that is missing on better beginner pianos.

Cons

The unimpressive polyphony is not terrible, but it will prevent maximum utilization of the decent connectivity at higher levels.

Inauthentic voices definitely limit the ability of this piano to transfer to intermediate play where subtle recognition of tone is important.

The plastic keys provide a poor tactile sensation and are somewhat slick, leading to fingers slipping off during quick play.

Check Current Prices

Williams Rhapsody 2

https://www.amazon.com/Williams-Rhapsody-88-Key-Console-Digital/dp/B013YPL3CQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1489931913&sr=1-1&keywords=Williams+Rhapsody+2

Pros

The well-weighted keys and authentic voice provide the basic necessity of any decent digital piano.

One of the nicer looking models that comes with a furniture stand that incorporates three pedals

The Williams provides solid connectivity with both USB and MIDI ports as well as a ¼” output port.

Cons

Easily the biggest flaw with the Williams, a lack of tonal control seriously impedes its ability to provide use beyond the beginner level

While you do not necessarily look for a wide range of features in a beginner piano, the Williams’ lack of features is still surprising

Substandard speakers means you will either need to hook up headphones or use the ¼” output to hook up external speakers

Check Current Prices

Conclusion:

Once the beginner skillset has been mastered, a lack of features prevents this model from growing with the budding pianist. Moreover, the pedal effect does not sustain nearly as much as one would prefer–though, in fairness, that may be a bit nitpicky. Still, for the modest investment, you can learn the fundamentals on a great instrument whose dedication to excellence will allow those skills to transfer fairly effortlessly to an acousti once you have reached the intermediate stage of skill progression.

The post Buyer’s Guide: Best Beginner Piano Review in 2017 appeared first on Music Advisor.

from Music Advisor https://musicadvisor.com/2017/03/21/best-beginner-piano/ from Music Advisor https://musicadvisor.tumblr.com/post/158657348867

0 notes

musicadvisor · 8 years ago

Text

Buyer’s Guide: Best Beginner Piano Review in 2017

Value Section:

Quick Navigation

Value Section:

Key Count:

Key Quality:

Extra Features:

Price:

Five Best Beginner Piano

Conclusion:

Key Count:

Key Quality:

Extra Features:

Price:

Five Best Beginner Piano

Casio Privia PX-160

Pros

Well-weighted keys provide an excellent feel for beginners and advanced players alike

The Casio plays with an authentic piano voice, making use of their Acoustic and Intelligent Resonator

The interface layout and general piano design allow extra features to be easily accessed

Cons

While the piano voice is laudably replicated, the short pedal effect may constrain practice as the player develops

There is no easy way to put it: the Casio is short on features and will not grow with the player past the beginner stage

The non-piano voices are inauthentic, often sounding electronic or otherwise distorted, which further limits the Casio to a beginner designation

Check Current Prices

Korg B1SP

https://www.amazon.com/Weighted-Digital-Piano-Stand-Three/dp/B01I0G78QE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1489930260&sr=8-1&keywords=Korg+B1SP

Pros

Korg’s Natural Weighted Hammer provides great key weighting as well as customization options, so your precision skills become refined and transfer well to an acoustic piano.

The Motional Feedback technology ensures that you hear the authentic voice of an acoustic piano without distortion or muddling.

A good polyphony lets you practice or play with another person simultaneously without any voices or keystrokes getting lost in the mix.

Cons

This is a relatively barebones model noted for its lack of features; though, beginners generally do not require a plethora of features to develop fundamental skills.

The non-piano voices are not nearly as good and their replication is of limited quality in the highest and lowest registers.

In a world quickly synchronizing, the Korg’s inability to connect with other devices or instruments seems like an odd feature to leave out.

Check Current Prices

Yamaha YPG-535

Pros

Large list of features will provide plenty of entertainment and experimentation for players who may not yet have become hooked.

Great and easy-to-use UI makes switching different voices, arrangements, and layouts simple.

Amazing instructional features may perhaps make up for substandard fundamental qualities by providing the player lessons for every skill.

Cons

Substandard key weighting leaves a lot to be desired and will absolutely not transfer comfortably to an acoustic piano.

The keys themselves are also made out of a somewhat flimsy plastic and clack when the score demands quick, firm keystrokes.

None of the voices are truly authentic, and while this may not technically prevent the development of beginner skills, it limits it to home practice exclusively.

Check Current Prices

Alesis Coda Pro

https://www.amazon.com/Alesis-Hammer-Action-Keyboard-Layering-Included/dp/B00SHCDMRQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1489931644&sr=1-1&keywords=Alesis+Coda+Pro

Pros

A large number of extra features will keep novices interested long enough to develop basic skills and provide beginners ample room for experimentation.

Well-weighted keys allow the skills you learn practicing on this instrument to transfer to an acoustic piano.

With USB and MIDI ports, the Alesis provides solid, standard connectivity that is missing on better beginner pianos.

Cons

The unimpressive polyphony is not terrible, but it will prevent maximum utilization of the decent connectivity at higher levels.

Inauthentic voices definitely limit the ability of this piano to transfer to intermediate play where subtle recognition of tone is important.

The plastic keys provide a poor tactile sensation and are somewhat slick, leading to fingers slipping off during quick play.

Check Current Prices

Williams Rhapsody 2

https://www.amazon.com/Williams-Rhapsody-88-Key-Console-Digital/dp/B013YPL3CQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1489931913&sr=1-1&keywords=Williams+Rhapsody+2

Pros

The well-weighted keys and authentic voice provide the basic necessity of any decent digital piano.

One of the nicer looking models that comes with a furniture stand that incorporates three pedals

The Williams provides solid connectivity with both USB and MIDI ports as well as a ¼” output port.

Cons

Easily the biggest flaw with the Williams, a lack of tonal control seriously impedes its ability to provide use beyond the beginner level

While you do not necessarily look for a wide range of features in a beginner piano, the Williams’ lack of features is still surprising

Substandard speakers means you will either need to hook up headphones or use the ¼” output to hook up external speakers

Check Current Prices

Conclusion:

The post Buyer’s Guide: Best Beginner Piano Review in 2017 appeared first on Music Advisor.

from Music Advisor https://musicadvisor.com/2017/03/21/best-beginner-piano/

0 notes

jessicakmatt · 7 years ago

Text

How 7 of Our Favourite Musicians Use LANDR

How 7 of Our Favourite Musicians Use LANDR: via LANDR Blog

Our mission at LANDR has always been to help musicians create and get heard. The best part of doing that? Seeing how creators all over the world are using LANDR in their workflow to make incredible music.

Here’s how some of our favourite producers, songwriters, rappers, DJs and film composers have put LANDR into their creative processes. Not only for mastering and music distribution, but to improve their workflow, save time, reference their mixes and get inspired!

Machinedrum

—

Producer and Songwriter

“LANDR makes something instantly playable when I get to the club that night.”

I’ve tried using mastering VSTs on my tracks before and got varied results. LANDR makes it pretty painless and brainless to have something ready to play in the club the same day you make it. Especially when I’m on the road and don’t have a chance to check a track I’m working on on proper monitors.

As long as I have a good amount of headroom, LANDR makes something instantly playable when I get to the club that night. I don’t have to be worried about it being too quiet, distorted or squashed sounding. It also gives you a good idea of what it might sound like once you send it off to be mastered by a human.

A lot of times if you have something that’s standing out too much in your mix, it will stick out like a sore thumb when you get the master back. When you have crazy short deadlines like I sometimes do, you don’t have the luxury of waiting to hear the master to make those changes.

Adrian Belew

—

Songwriter and Guitarist for David Bowie, Frank Zappa, Talking Heads

“Mastering is a very important stage and I think many people were starting to skip out on that stage.”

LANDR is exciting to me because it used to be a whole process to get mastering done—an interesting process, I really enjoyed being there—but it was also very expensive! I got to a point in my life where I thought: ‘I don’t know if I can do mastering on every little thing that I do, because it’s too expensive.’ I’m glad it’s available for everyone at a reasonable price.

Mastering is a very important stage and I think many people were starting to skip out on that stage. Especially when you’re producing your own music, and you’re paying everything. If someone’s releasing a CD, they can’t afford 3000$ for mastering. So it’s great that this technology is here. It’s just another example of something that’s right there, you can do online—that’s pretty amazing!

Joel Shearer

—

Songwriter, Film composer, Guitarist

“A platform that allows musicians to drop in their music and have it amplified in a way that’s presentable and competitive in the market—that’s amazing.”

I’m very moved by the technology that LANDR has created for people. There are so many young musicians that are making music who don’t have money to get their songs mastered. And everything has to be competitive now—it needs to be hot and loud.

A platform that allows musicians to drop in their music and have it amplified in a way that’s presentable and competitive in the market—that’s amazing.

And then I started thinking, what about the professional musicians? I don’t always want to pay for mastering. Every time I make something I’ll throw a plugin on it. But I don’t know what I’m doing, I’m not an engineer! So LANDR is an amazing platform for the ambient music that I’m doing, or if I write a song with an artist. Instead of just putting an L2 limiter on it and calling it a day, I’ll send it into LANDR and it’ll sound better.

Now you have the digital distribution, and it’s a one-stop shop. I find it inspiring, and I’m super grateful to be a part of the community. I don’t know if I’ll use LANDR mastering for everything I do, but I’ll definitely throw my tracks in there to see how they will sound. I can make creative decisions based on the master I get back.

Rsonist

—

Beatmaker and Producer

“It takes literally 5 minutes. And it’s worth it. That extra boost might help sell your track.”

When I make a track, after I arrange it and put a light mix on it, I run it though LANDR to see what mistakes I might have made in the mix. If I had the bass too loud, the kicks too low, etc. It helps for that.

It’s worth it. That extra boost might help sell your track. And its quick. It takes maybe no longer than 6-7 minutes. A lot of my tracks are snippets. If I’m sending tracks to people, I’m not sending a full track. I might send them 1.5 minutes, 2 minutes, so if I master that, it takes literally 5 minutes. And it’s worth it. That extra boost might help sell your track.

Most people won’t know that you mastered it. They’ll just think that your shit sounds that good. That’s the cool thing about it!

Daniel Rowland

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Film composer and Producer

“It was much easier to let LANDR do the mastering—things were consistent every time I sent a file off.”

I used LANDR nearly every day we worked on the animated short-film Piper. Basically every mix I exported out of Pro Tools would end up in LANDR.

Adrian Belew (the composer) and I would come back at the end of the day to listen to the masters with fresh ears. I’m often sending these tracks to the director to listen to and make comments on. It was much easier to let LANDR do the mastering—things were consistent every time I sent a file off. These are essentially demos you’re sending out for approval, so they have to sound great or you risk tainting someone’s opinion because the track isn’t sonically right.

Suzi Analogue

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Producer and Songwriter

“LANDR has helped me get more control in my composition process that I wished for so long. Finally.”

LANDR has been super helpful for the way that I work. I create tracks at a quick pace and often have the need to get the song ready to go right then and there—so that I don’t get caught up with it.

I definitely have used LANDR in many ways, like checking song mixes in order to see what instrument is too loud or too quiet, or what could be bumped up or taken down a bit. I have also used it to master raw sounds I’ve sampled so when I go to mix, I don’t have to compress them—they are balanced and come alive. LANDR has helped me get more control in my composition process that I wished for so long. Finally.

TT the Artist

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Rapper and Producer

“Using LANDR has actually encouraged me to produce more music.”

As an independent artist I’m always looking for ways to make my music sound better but cut costs from my budget. I tested out some of my pre-masters and it was easy and fast!

Using LANDR has actually encouraged me to produce more music and have faster turnaround time because you can get your masters back same day.

Try LANDR for yourself and comment below to let us know how you use it in your own creative process!

The post How 7 of Our Favourite Musicians Use LANDR appeared first on LANDR Blog.

from LANDR Blog https://blog.landr.com/7-musicians-use-landr/ via https://www.youtube.com/user/corporatethief/playlists from Steve Hart https://stevehartcom.tumblr.com/post/165766083909

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