#like slides or chords or varying length of notes

[bluesfortheredj]

Let me in your heart again.

Smut ahead.

The rain beating against the window was getting louder the further from sleep you were getting, and you soon open your eyes to see the curtains already slightly ajar from where Brian had taken a look outside when he had also woken to the sound. Your right arm reaches out, expecting to feel his familiar body next to you, but you’re disappointed by the vast space that greets your fingers. You slowly turn your head on your pillow to see his half of the duvet neatly folded at the corner and by the feel of the cold sheets he’d been up for quite a while already, even though his clock was only reading 8am. It wasn’t completely out of the ordinary for him to wake in the early hours with a tune in his head, and you often found him sitting on the sofa strumming out sweet sounding chords on his guitar, but today the house was completely silent and something wasn’t sitting right with you.

“Brian?” you call out as you push yourself up off of the pillow.

There’s no reply so you reluctantly swing your legs out from underneath the warm duvet and into the cool air of the room before standing up and stretching out the sleep from your body. Your bare feet pad along the carpet softly as you grab one of Brian’s shirts from the armchair in the corner of the room to cover your vest, then you step out onto the landing and strain your ears as you try to pick up the soothing sounds of his guitar.

“Bri?” you try again.

There’s still no reply as you begin to descend the stairs and after a quick peek in the kitchen you make your way into the lounge to find sheets of scribbled lyrics covering part of the floor and Brian’s guitar laying neatly on the sofa. You pull the shirt around you a little tighter as you kneel on the floor to take a look at his hastily written words, then whisper them aloud as you read them.

“Oh my love I want you to stay, don’t leave me now or I’ll just fade away, Oh my love don’t hurt me this way,” you read sadly.

Your fingers trace the indents of his handwriting on the paper all while you wonder why he would write such sad lyrics, and you end up so lost in your thoughts you don’t even register his return through the front door until he clears his throat almost directly above you which makes you jump quite suddenly and scatter some of the paper. Brian kneels down in front of you as you both reach for the fly away notes, but he frowns as he sees your glistening eyes after reading some of his surprisingly melancholy words. He looks down to see the one you’d read tucked underneath your knee and takes your hand in his; those comforting slender fingers running along your knuckles soothingly.

“I had a dream,” he mutters quietly, “it wasn’t a particularly nice one…”

“What happened?” you frown with concern.

He leans back on his heels with a soft sigh, “you were out of reach. Getting further and further away from me even though I was running towards you with my arm outstretched. I woke up and felt… empty. When I turned to see you there next to me I was so relieved, but I just had to write down how I felt in that dream.”

“Oh, Brian,” you exhale with a delicate breath, “I’m here. I always will be.”

“That’s a relief,” he smiles as he shuffles around so that his long legs are extended in front of him and he’s leaning back against the sofa.

You slip your hand from his and move closer to him, lifting one of your legs so that you’re kneeling astride his calves with your hands on his thighs, “I love you Bri.”

“I love you too,” he nods, “I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you woke this morning, I just needed some fresh air to remind me it was all just a dream.”

“You have no need to apologise, I just don’t want you to ever feel like that again.”

His hands slide down his thighs to meet yours so that your fingers can interlink, then you move up his legs until you’re sat just below his crotch, and you slide one hand away from his to pop open the button on his jeans and tease the zip down. Your eyes meet when you pull the waistband of his boxers to untuck his length, and he lets out the softest of moans as you take a firm hold of him and stroke your hand up and down a few times until he’s hardened enough for you then you move your shorts and underwear to one side with your thumb before lining him up with your entrance and sliding down slowly until he’s completely disappeared inside you. Brian lets out a breath he’d been holding since he knew what you were doing then wraps his arms around your torso so that you’re now leaning against his chest with your forearms crossed at the base of his neck underneath those thick curls of his. Your head is resting on his shoulder and your nose is pressed against his neck so that almost every part of you is touching him; putting him at ease over the bad dream, and making sure he knew you were completely and utterly his.

His willowy fingers entwine themselves in your hair, stroking it back away from your face gently to comfort both himself and you, and your breathing almost synchronises with how relaxed the two of you become with your bodies fitted together like perfect puzzle pieces. One of your hands emerges from underneath his curls so you can wind a various locks of his hair around your index finger in turn, then he shuffles on the floor a little to get a more comfortable position and you feel him twitch a little inside you. Brian lets out a tender sigh and tightens the arm he has around your body as he tucks your hair behind your ear and gives you a kiss on the forehead. You sit up to look at him properly, your hands slipping from his hair to his shoulders then up his neck until you’re cupping his defined cheeks with a soft smile; you couldn’t quite believe that this handsome man in front of you could be so torn up about a dream where he couldn’t reach you. If anything it should be the other way around, and you certainly didn’t underestimate how lucky you were to have such a kind, loving, sensitive man by your side.

“What?” Brian grins shyly, averting his eyes momentarily as a blush appears on his face beneath your fingers.

“I’m just looking at my beautiful man,” you reply, sweeping a thumb across the top of his cheek.

“Stop it,” he reddens timidly.

“You don’t know just how special you are, do you?”

He shakes his head with an embarrassed chuckle and you allow your hands to drop down to his shoulders before you lean in and kiss his lips softly until his hands weave through your hair again and hold you against him as his tongue slips along to meet yours. You instinctively move up to be closer to him, forgetting that he was warming inside you, and the sensation causes you both to gasp against one another’s lips. Finally, after around half an hour of hugging him in this way, the two of you begin to move as one with his hips bucking up from the floor to meet you each time you lowered yourself down his shaft. You take it slow, there was no rush to be had this morning, and you barely disconnect your lips as you make sweet, passionate love together right there on the floor in front of the sofa.

Brian’s affectionate touch moves from your head down your back, then up and underneath the shirt and vest so that he’s caressing your warm skin with his slightly calloused finger tips. They soon move around to your breasts, massaging them firmly and making sure to flick a finger across your hardened nipples every so often all while you glide so easily up and down his erect length. The silence in the room is soon filled with the sounds of your bodies moving as one along with the low pants and moans that slip through the gaps in your kiss, and you quickly get your first sign that Brian is close when his lips divert from yours and head down to your neck. It was a true giveaway; he could never concentrate enough for a kiss when he was filled with pleasure so he instead turned to your neck to nibble and suck at the sensitive skin until he was able to think properly again.

“Oh (Y/N),” he groans quietly as his lips ghost over your skin.

You can tell when he’s reached his climax as he stills and holds his breath for a moment before stuttering warm air on your neck and briefly resting his lips there until he’s ready to start again and help you to the same release. Your body is now beaded with sweat which makes his touch sticky and hot, then he leaves one hand on your chest as the other slides down to where your bodies become one and he adds varying pressures to your sensitive nub with his thumb. Moans become extended as you rest your forehead on his shoulder and your thighs start to feel heavy and tight from the exertion of having to move your body up and down for so long. Thankfully the tightness inside you overrides the uncomfortable feeling in your legs and within a few minutes your walls close in around his thick girth before pulsating and sending shock waves throughout your entire body. You’re left panting into his shirt as you finally come to a stop, and he carefully lifts your head to see your warm face so he can plant a deep and meaningful kiss upon your lips once more.

“Thank you,” he whispers as he rests his forehead against yours.

“For what?”

“For being my light in the darkness.”

A sweet, romantic smut or something between reader and either Brian or roger, but I really ant some cockwarming in there if you don’t mind writing that. @pxroxide-prinxcesss

@drivenbybri

[soaringsails]

4. Sidhale Attacks!

Wordcount: 2,996 Warnings: some violence Summary: After getting stranded by their new, glowing friend, the girls find the antechamber to the Shrine of Ariah, where they are confronted with a dangerous wizard, their old naga nemesis, and a chance to finally actually save those kidnapped people they came to save...

The glowing form of the Guardian leads the girls through the maze of hallways, deeper into the temple. The mosaics slowly become more and more intricate, and though some of the orbs are cracked, they never want for light as the steady glow continues. Neema keeps taking notes, occasionally opening her mouth as if to ask the Guardian a question, but she stops herself as the figure glides purposefully along the corridors just fast enough to preclude talking.

Lisseth continues marking the way with her chalk, pausing at each junction or turn to leave a small white arrow etched over the mosaics. She is surreptitious about it, despite the Guardian showing no sign of noticing her actions. She gives reassuring nods to Naiakiir each time as the diplomat watches the Guardian with apprehension.

“Hey!” Callie calls suddenly, causing Neema to look up from her notes and Lisseth to turn from her latest mark. The hallway ahead of them is collapsed--possibly on purpose by the naga and her cronies. The ceiling--or rather, the floor, if the building really is thought about as upside-down--is torn into rubble, and some of the story above has cascaded down into the hall, sealing it off almost completely. A very small, thin opening remains at the top of the pile, but it seems like only a determined snake might fit through.

The Guardian does not seem to have noticed. Its pale, blue-green form continues unhindered, sliding into the rock without even a shudder. Callie calls out to it again, but it ignores her. It’s hard to tell whether their request to be taken to the shrine is being overridden or followed too closely. But either way, they are stranded, the glowing form disappearing completely through the rubble as if it were made of air.

“Well, now what do we do?” Callie asks, exasperated.

“Told you it was a bad idea,” Runa mutters under her breath, one hand clenching and unclenching on the hilt of her sword, as if she’s debating drawing it. Admittedly, at the last collapsed section of tunnel, they had been ambushed. It seems reasonable to the fighter that the situation might repeat itself.

“We have to get to that shrine,” Neema says, leaning forward to inspect the cave-in. “I doubt we could shift all this rock before the ‘Chosen’ are...dealt with.”

“Did any of the passages we passed seem to go down?” Naiakiir asks Lisseth.

“Don’t know it’s down,” Runa says, shrugging. “Could just be through.”

“No, I believe it’s down,” Neema says, pointing to several tattered mosaics around the cave-in. They are hard to interpret due to the destruction around them, but there’s enough to indicate the direction of the shrine. “But I agree we’ll have to go around.”

Lisseth nods. “There seems to be a...square quality? To the building, I mean,” she says, leading the way back down the hall until they come to one of her marked off-shoots. “The hallways are all jumbled, of course, but I’m pretty sure that they’ll all feed into each other eventually? Maybe?”

“It’s worth a shot,” Callie says, shrugging. She plunges into the dimly lit passage.

It takes them the better part of half an hour, going down a level and then back up only to go down again to a different section, but they do eventually find a set of ornate doors hanging off their hinges. They are carved with great detail and covered in gold even after all this time underground. If they hadn’t been propped up against the walls, they would have seemed unharmed. Stepping through them, the girls enter a long, broad, slightly curved hallway that is brighter than the others. More light orbs decorate the walls, and the shattered remains of several fancier decorations litter the edges of the corridor. At the far end, there is a matching, ornate door, just as broken, that opens into the room the Guardian showed them.

It’s trapezoidal in shape--their door opens onto a triangular dais built into one of the acute corners of the room. Across the room is an identical dais and door, but this--like the corridor above--seems intentionally collapsed so that there is only one entrance. On the floor before them are the three human prisoners, held on their knees in a line by two naga and a dragonet standing behind them. Facing them, at the front of the room, on the dais that spans the short, straight wall of the trapezoid, is the large naga archer and...a man.

He is pale, and rather sickly-looking: thin, weedy, as though he’s spent too much time underground. His eyes, even from across the room, have a hollow look to them, but they glitter as the girls enter the room.

“Ah, the meddlers,” he says, voice slick like oil on water. “I’m so delighted you found us. You’ve arrived just in time. The Chosen were just about to swear their devotion to the goddess--and I wouldn’t want you to miss the ceremony…”

He turns to the prisoners then, one hand outstretched, eyes closed in a familiar expression; he’s connecting to the Source. Before any of the girls can intervene, the young man on the ground begins to writhe in pain, screams echoing in the open room. The woman fights her captor, adding her own shouts and curses to the cacophony, straining to reach him, even as their other friend collapses in fear. The man screams again as the magic takes hold and scales begin to break out across his skin, varying blues staining his arms, his neck, his face…

Runa attacks before the transformation can continue. The wave of thunder from her sword slams into the man on the dais, breaking his concentration. He stumbles, staring at his now-broken arm in surprise. With a snarl, he turns on Runa, leveling his other hand at her.

The pain is all-encompassing. Runa is used to pain, and she never thinks much of it, but this is beyond her experience. Like a scream from every bit of her body, running her throat raw. She rakes a hand over her arm, searching for blood, but there is none. Her fingertips meet scales--two, three--and then it stops. Suddenly. The sound of gunfire is shocking even among the noise of the room.  

Neema’s shot rips into the wizard’s shoulder, spattering blood on the door behind him. He curses, but before he can turn on Neema, Callie’s sung note washes over him like a tidal wave. He falters, stumbling against the door as his head rings with music. Callie holds the chord, her amulet clutched tight in one hand, renewing the stun with the continuing echoes.

Lisseth leaps down off the dais, ice crystals already forming around one of the smaller, closer naga surrounding it in a thick band of freezing cold. The ice slowly constricts, trapping the creature’s arms against its sides as it struggles to turn toward her. Its captive--the woman--elbows it in the stomach, turning expertly and ripping its knife from its hand. She hesitates a moment as her eye catches her two prone friends, one half transformed, the other terrified, but her resolve hardens, and she turns to stab at the naga Lisseth has hindered, tearing the knife through its neck. Naiakiir takes a breath, stilling shaking hands, and throws a protective barrier at Runa as the fighter slowly, painfully, climbs to her feet.

“Sidhale!” The naga archer flies across the dais toward the wizard, half shaking him to lift his stupor, one hand pressing against his bullet wound to stem the bleeding. He shakes himself free of Callie’s stun with a growl, trying to shove the naga’s hand away to no avail.

“Deal with them,” he hisses.

Placing herself protectively between the group of attackers and Sidhale, a moment of quick thinking passes across the naga leader’s face. Apparently not liking their odds, she turns back, grabbing Sidhale firmly before slinging him into the open hall behind them. He skids a short ways before the corridor curves away out of sight, and then, looping the end of her tail through an ornate handle, she slams the door shut after him, placing herself in a defensive stance in front of it. She turns to the girls with fire in her eyes and an arrow on her string.

Runa half-stumbles, half-lunges at the other naga on the floor, plunging her sword clumsily through its tail. It hisses at her, slamming its fist into her side, but she weathers it, shaking her head to clear it of the last dregs of pain. Callie sends a burst of song her way, a fleeting melody that erases the lingering effects of Sidhale’s spell. Runa stands straighter, her sword more sure, and trades a few blows with the naga before slaying it.

Neema empties her rifle into the naga archer, two shots to the long snake tail that leave her gasping in pain. She fires an arrow in retaliation, but Neema dodges easily, following Lisseth down from the dais.

“Surrender,” she shouts. “We outnumber you.”

The released prisoner climbs up next to the archer, fist bloody around her stolen knife, and slashes toward the naga’s chest. The archer blocks it with with her arm, but it draws a line of blood, dripping across her skin. She hisses, but her breathing is labored.

“We’ll stop if you stop,” Lisseth says, a line of water hovering threateningly above her outstretched hand, waiting, holding the last dragonet at bay. The beast looks to the archer, even as it raises a talon, preparing to swipe toward Lisseth.

The archer takes in her situation, seeing how this has been turned against her. She keeps her back to the door that she threw the wizard, Sidhale, through, as though to stop them from chasing him deeper into the temple with her body alone. However, she can see she is outmatched, and the offer of a surrender is there.

“Stop, stop, I yield,” the naga hisses, her inhuman voice rasping over each sibilant, drawing out their length. With the words, she collapses slightly, several coils of her tail slithering under the part with bullet wounds, elevating it.

The prisoner lunges forward, pressing her knife to the naga’s neck with shaking hands. “Give me a reason,” she breathes.

Naiakiir climbs up onto the dais, approaching with open hands. “Woah, it- it’s okay, just wait a second, we’ll… If we just stop fighting, I’m sure we can work something out! We’re here for you.”

The prisoner’s eyes don’t leave the naga. “She dragged us from our homes,” she says acidly. “Bound and gagged, shoved us through the forest--Kress crying from fear, Bith already injured,” she jerks her head back toward the other two prisoners. “Why should I show her any mercy?”

“She might have useful information for getting to the leader,” Neema says smoothly, climbing up onto the dais and leveling her reloaded gun at the naga. “I have her covered. If you could move back, please?”

The prisoner hesitates, her knife wavering for a moment, before she drops it, turning to Naiakiir with a desperate expression. The diplomat leans forward, hugging her gently, and leading her back toward the other prisoners, asking quiet questions about injuries.

Runa sweeps the knife up, pulling it away from the naga and leveling it at the dragonet. “What about this?” she asks.

“He won’t do anything without my orders,” the naga says dejectedly. “Here--” she winces as she raises herself slightly, gesturing with one hand toward the small dragon. “Leave them be,” she says. It nods, retreating a few steps, watching them as warily as they watch it.

Callie joins Naiakiir and the prisoners, putting a gentle hand on the shivering form of the terrified third prisoner. “Hey,” she says quietly, “it’s okay.”

“Their name is Kress,” the woman says shakily, sitting down next to the half-transformed man. “That’s Bith. I’m Houna.”

“Nice to meet you, Houna,” Naiakiir says, sitting down on the other side of Bith’s prone form. Gingerly, she touches his scale-covered arms, testing for breaks. “I don’t think he’s injured,” she says, “just...snakey? But look!” She points to his cheek, where the scales are losing their blue color. “I think it’s going away?”

Houna lets out a sigh of relief. “Well, that’s something. I think they cut his leg, though--he was limping on the way here. I don’t know, I--”

“Don’t worry!” Naiakiir says, offering her a smile and digging out bandages. “We’ll fix it. It’ll be okay!”

“Yeah,” Callie echoes, rubbing soft circles on the terrified person’s back. “You hear that, Kress? It’ll be okay.”

While Naiakiir and Callie comfort the prisoners, Runa joins Lisseth and Neema on the dais, keeping one eye on the dragonet. She flexes her hand, watching her own, few scales retreat--excruciatingly slowly. She levels her sword at the naga, raising an eyebrow.

“Answer the questions or, you know,” she shakes the sword in the naga’s direction.

The archer swallows, closing her eyes against the pain, and nods.

Neema sighs, considering her questions. “Well,” she says, “I suppose we start with: what is your name?”

The naga closes her eyes a moment, as if searching her memory. It takes her a moment, and she winces several times, as if touching on certain memories hurts.

“Caenlat,” she says finally, quietly. “My name is Caenlat. Though it has been a long time since anyone used it.”

“Caenlat,” Neema repeats, nodding. “Very well. And who is that man?”

“He is Sidhale,” the naga says, voice shaking, though whether she is afraid of the man or of revealing information about the man, it is unclear. “He is… first of the Chosen.”

“Chosen for what? To serve?” Neema clarifies.

“Yes. And in his service, he must find others to serve. As must we all.”

“Like these?” Neema points over her shoulder at the former prisoners. The archer nods again.

“You interfered. You released them,” Caenlat says. “No one has done that before. Who are you to interfere?” A flicker of her former fire surfaces in her eyes, but Runa’s sword creeps closer to her skin, slicing a thin line into her side. She hisses, but her defiance subsides.

“I…” Neema hesitates, looking at the others. Lisseth shrugs, leaving it up to her. Neema debates what she knows of the goddess, debates whether or not she can bluff her way through this--and decides to try. “I understand,” she says. “I am here to serve.”

Caenlat scoffs. “There were none who were willing before--they must be convinced.” She points to the half-transformed man.

“Convinced by turning them into snakes?” Lisseth clarifies. “Seems...extreme.”

“They must be convinced to serve. The goddess needs them.”

“I didn’t need convincing,” says Neema passionately. “I knew the words to say to the Guardian. I came here to seek servitude in devotion. She needs willing devotees. Not these shadows. The goddess chose me. If you take me to her… I can show you.”

The naga looks up at her, hesitant. She seems suspicious of these strangers, especially one who shot Sidhale. But Neema keeps her voice light and earnest, and Caenlat seems willing to believe her. ��You are… as he was? A pilgrim who has come on your own to serve?”

Neema nods slowly. “Have you ever been inside the shrine?”

The naga hesitates. “Within… yes,” she says, though it has the sound of an admission to it.

“Have you ever spoken with the goddess?”

She shakes her head. “None but he are worthy. We are beneath them, and we must serve below. He speaks for her.”

“All that I’ve learned about Ariah - I’ve searched for her for so long,” Neema implores. “I must be allowed to meet her, so that I may be her servant. If you would willingly serve her, I need to go in there.”

Caenlat’s eyes narrow, but they reveal a curiosity--perhaps that anyone else could be like Sidhale. There is a very hesitant trust about her, at least in regards to Neema. “Not all of you,” she says finally. “If you are here to serve, I can allow you to enter, but I cannot allow those who would cause destruction to follow you.” Her eyes flick to Runa. “Not all of you are come here to be devoted.” Neema nods. “Some of us can stay back, but surely you understand that I do not wish to go forward alone. Perhaps Lisseth can join us?”

Lisseth begins to step forward, but stops as the naga snarls.

“No. You may take one person. Someone who has not proven to be a danger to the goddess’s Chosen.” She points at Naiakiir.

“Naiakiir?” Neema calls quietly. The diplomat looks up from her patients with a squeak, mind running through the conversation she’d only half been paying attention to, paling as she realizes what she’s being asked to do. “You might have the best chance of talking him down anyway,” Neema mutters as Naiakiir joins her.

Naiakiir swallows. “All right.”

“This is acceptable?” Neema asks the naga.

“Yes,” Caenlat says, drawing herself back up again. She gives Neema one more stern look. “If I find that you are lying about your intentions, I will not allow you to harm Sidhale or desecrate the temple any further.”

“Whatever happens under the eyes of Ariah is her will,” Neema says solemnly, unmoved by the threat.

Caenlat nods, looking at Neema with vague surprise at her words. She lifts herself up, wincing, and opens the door. She pauses at the threshold, looking back at the dragonet.

“Keep them here,” she says, “guard them, and stop them if they try to follow us.”

It hisses in acknowledgement, rising up and crawling closer to Runa, who eyes it while tapping her sword against her leg, ready.

“Try not to die,” Callie says. Naiakiir turns to offer her a double thumbs up and a quick, nervous smile, then follows Neema and Caenlat through the door, which closes behind them with a distressing finality…

.

[leon-k-musc3603]

Assessment #3 - Choose Your Own Adventure

Option 1: Create a 6 - 8 minute piece in which you manipulate a single sound source. A minimum 50% of the material should be derived from the original sample.

Artistic Vision

Single sound source chosen is an iPhone, utilising and manipulating system and application notification sounds.

I want to explore the ubiquity of notification sounds in their continual and functional presence in the day-to-day lives of majority of people, which in a way build and implant associations in our minds from consistent usage of smartphones. Ingrained in our sub-conscious, these sounds of alert trigger a sense of alert within ourselves, and by collecting and manipulating them in a composition I aim to depict the underlying anxiety that brews under the security and reliance we feel with these devices; the psychological grip that technology and overstimulation can hold on us.

 Musical Direction & Inspiration

Want to try and experiment with making a piece without a grid/tempo, having rhythmic irregularities and feel like a soundscape of sorts, with ambient music, musique concrete (i.e. tape music) and noise being points of inspiration.

-       Nuno Canavarro first came into mind, as I would like to initially implement a similar playful approach to manipulating the sounds. It is also the way that his music feels like sounds and voices being conjured from an empty white spacious void that resonates to me as being something to sonically aim towards in conveying the vast, sterile and deceptively clean sheen of internet and smartphone technology (i.e., the minimalistic and futuristic feel of Apple branding), soon to be contrasted with the resultant reality of anxieties.

o   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RHVq98KUJ4

-       James Ferraro, and his use of kitschy MIDI instrumentation and OS sounds to create unsettling compositions in his album Far Side Virtual.

o   https://youtu.be/tNpFFHd4y8Q

-       Autechre, and their boundary-pushing use of sample manipulation and digital software; consistently cerebral and sonically explorative in the realm of electronic digital music therefore always serve as inspiration.

o   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ev3vENli7wQ

-       Arca, particularly their album ‘Mutant’ which has so many good instances of noise and distortion being used in a controlled yet wild manner.

o   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW4I_y56DC0

 Sound Sourcing

It was a little bit difficult to source a high-quality collection of iPhone system sounds, but I managed to find compilations on YouTube from which I downloaded the HD video and extracted the audio.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-V_eyIgDiA

Other than those sounds, I needed vibrations that would be able to fulfil a low-end background role within the mix of the composition.

At first, I attempted to record my phone vibrating from a phone call on my wooden desk; but I soon found difficulty in trying to make a brooding drone synth out of it due to it lacking the low-end and also the subtle background hiss from my condenser microphone. So instead, I decided to use this sample as an introduction to the piece, rather than anything used thoroughly in the composition.

I ended up finding vibration sounds that more suited what I desired through foley websites such as freesound.org.

 Composition Log

My general approach to composition for this piece will be first creating sounds of interest and from there hopefully inspires a musical direction to take. Thinking about making it a tripartite piece, with each section revolving mainly around one specific sound.

After sorting out the various sounds, the first few sounds I gravitated towards were ‘bell’ alerts. Started making the first section, with the recording of my phone vibration as an introductory element. Filtering it in gradually, it’ll serve to establish the ‘sound source’, and as a way to allude to the elements of the soundscape (i.e. playing the sounds in their original form before manipulating them in various ways later on). Double the last few vibrations with the bell sounds, playing at same rhythm. Repeating the sequence and re-pitching them lower serves as a way to transition into the surreal ‘void’ soundscape. Found a ‘wooshing’ sound effect among the samples that also worked to transition, with a quick pan sweep from left to right.

To create an uneasy atmosphere, I played around with the ring modulator on Frequency Shifter, which along with the spread setting help create a sense of woosy spaciousness. To ground and provide a foundation for the section, I utilised a pitched down phone vibration sample, giving it more sub low-end content that through EQ’ing is emphasised to push its looming ‘buried’ character. These two are to serve as the central sounds, and here they are looping at separate rhythmic intervals for a disassociating effect.

 From here I continued to try find different ways to manipulate the bell samples. One exercise I did was putting a Filter Delay 100% wet on the bell track while it looped, recording onto an audio track. Since Filter Delay has three separate delays (L, R & L/R) with their own frequency filter, you can create a really varied stereo effect as you tweak with it. Once recorded, I placed it fairly low in the mix to make it a background layer, and aligned it with the bell hits but manipulating it by reversing, pitch-shifting, etc. Creates a unique call-and-response effect, where the delays unnaturally precede and ‘call’ the bells to respond.

  Returning back to the project I find myself in a little creative struggle in thinking of what more to add to the section, so I begin looking through more samples. It is interesting actively analysing these sounds that I’ve heard so many times in a passive manner, as you begin to notice some legitimately interesting tonal and textural qualities.

For example, I found that the iOS charging sound effect had a cool mellow tone with a fast but smooth pitch contour, so I put into a ‘Simpler’ instrument and played around with it using my MIDI keyboard. Immediately I heard potential with this sample, and I heard an interesting effect when playing chords where the length of the loop on each note would vary. This results in each sample going in and out of phase while played simultaneously, creating its own unique distinct rhythm. To make it sound wider, I used the “Ran > Pan” parameter which makes each sample be randomly panned as they play, experimenting with indeterminate elements. An issue with the sound I found was the abrupt volume dip from the initial pitch rise to the lower constant pitch (which serves as the loop), and to try fix it this I applied a decent amount of compression which served to reduce its dynamic range to a suitable degree.

Once getting the sound sorted with a nice amplitude envelope, I recorded some chords onto MIDI, playing long sustained drones with no strict timing alongside little flourishes in the higher register. Found good elements from the resultant recording (mainly inversions of Cmaj7 & Dmaj7 chords), so I decided to make this a new section from which to build upon.

 I similarly use another phone vibration sample, but this time as a consistent droning low-end element that follows the root of the chords through looping in a Simpler. It first retains its original pitch and ‘buzzy’ quality but becomes distinguished once pitched down and applied with a low-pass filter and some distortion (through Overdrive and Drum Buss). Also utilise a portamento slide feature to still keep its ‘vibration’ connotation. This is later doubled with a sub-bass sample that I derived from a “Siri bell sound” pitched down significantly, both fulfilling the bottom low-end of the layer-cake.

  To introduce a melodic layer, I duplicated the Charging Sound FX synth, but got rid of the pitch contour so it only had the last lingering tone. By changing the amplitude envelope and increasing the gain, it lend itself to being played like a synth lead, with the slightly hissy quality giving it a unique edge that corresponds with phone call audio quality, and to give it a more melancholy and distant feel, I added some delay with LFO’s altering the delay time slightly and a reverb with a long decay and diffused character. A layer to try symbolising the struggle to clearly communicate amongst an inevitable bombardment of stimuli.

 Continuing on this general idea, I played along to the recorded chords, starting off melodically sparse and gradually introducing more. Eventually climaxes to moments where the notes are held on towards the end of phrases, creating loud dissonant chords. For the last ‘climax’ section, I decided to re-introduce the bell sounds from the start to double the last note played.

 These loud dissonant sections needed more edge to it, as these are the points where I want to convey a sense of nervousness and anxiety. Here I decided to look up online appropriate Ableton plug-ins to tastefully approach making sounds noisier and decided to use ‘Saturator’, which provided highly flexible in shaping the tone of the noise compared to the simple ‘Overdrive’ plug-in I used previously. Placing one on a return track with an ‘Auto-Pan’ and Limiter, I gradually fed the droning vibration synth into it which created a dominating and overwhelming movement to it. Placing one Saturator on the lead synth also achieved a desired effect, by gradually increasing the Dry/Wet, but only by a small amount.

  This section also like the last has other assorted sounds dispersed throughout (e.g. phone typing, message incoming/sent) but gradually getting more and more prominent as it leads to the noisy sections. One sound effect in particular made an interesting ‘heart-beat’ like sound once slowed-down and looped, therefore a very apt association to evoke in a ‘panic’-driven section, where I decided to make the interval between iterations quicker as it climaxed (like an increasing heart rate). Intentionally did not want to add much processing (such as reverb) to these more middleground/background layers as to not clutter the mix and create a textual contrast between the already established foreground layers which are initially spacey and far-out. Serves to ground the piece into a false sense of ‘reality’.

  To add to the rhythmic disorientation, I decided to use the classic ‘Radar’ alarm tone which already has stressful connotations to many (including myself) and implement a similar method of rhythmic crossing and in-out phasing by having three layers of it on-top of one another, one with the original pitch and others at faster speeds. The original has an Echo slowly applied, with input gain increased to make the echo more prominent and distorted, adding to the sonic chaos.

Yet again, I start again looking for what other sounds I could play with and potentially build upon. Taking the ‘Siri’ bell prompt sound that I already used as a sub layer, I found it having a nice metallic chime quality when played up higher, almost like a music-box. With this association in mind, I began playing little short melodic motifs that I thought would be interesting to use as a loop for an ending section, to represent the ‘calm after the storm’, but almost in a deceptive way by contrasting the child-like quality with other eerie elements. I ended up settling on a motif and while looping it I added a few more effects to thicken the layer such as a flanger to space it out and a bit of a mid-high-end boost.

 I found that by extending the loop of the sample (instead of just one of the chime tones) to incorporate all three bells in the sub-bass synth, made a great rhythmic layer too, as it starts with two higher bass tones and falls down to the last deep note. A longer loop contrasting with the really short melodic loop on top of it.

Duplicating the ‘music-box’ synth, I wanted to use the occurrence of the really harrowing deep note as a call for something to respond to. Here I reversed the MIDI sequence of the motif and transposed into a lower register, still harmonising with the melodic loop but out-of-time. Adding reverb and a different ‘circuit type’ filter in the Simpler, I discovered an interesting effect when applying the gain parameter with increased resonance on the ‘MS2’ low-pass filter, creating a harmonic distortion that was nice to introduce with an upwards ‘swirl’ on automation.

Decided to differentiate the two even further in terms of space, by panning the main loop to the right and this new one to the left.

This is also a section I want to be ‘floaty’ and ‘spacey’ like the first, but not in a disorientating manner. So, I played with the Charging synth sound in order to generate some fluttery high-end tones at the highest MIDI range of my keyboard, as when you push a sample to its tonal limits the pitch becomes less defined but can become an interesting textural element.

Yet again used this synth, but to re-introduce the noisy-section but as more of a middle-ground element. Here I decide to increase the distortion and also implement Beat Repeat to get a glitch-y effect, and through these added effects I improvised over the loops established.

With the recording, I converted it to audio in order to additional glitch it out through Ableton’s ‘Warp’ tool, and by stretching the transients with the ‘Beat’ warp mode and re-pitching, I was able to get some suitable eerie and jarring tones to add on top of the created layer.

 It is at this point that I’ve satisfied my initial idea of having a 3-part piece, as now I have laid down three distinct sections with similar thematic elements but utilising different samples as centrepieces. However, in doing this I felt like they might perhaps be too distinct from one another, so in revising these sections I made some additions and changes in order to sonically expand upon each layer and try to make the piece as a whole feel more cohesive.

Part 1 (A/Intro):

-       Extended the whole section, initially felt too short and abrupt, but now it leaves a little more room for things to unfold.

-       Duplicated the vibration sample, hard panned both to opposite ends and slightly de-tuned one. Creates a doubling unison effect that places it more in the foreground and makes it feel more ‘shaky’.

-       Added more automation to the ring modulator, generate more interest by shifting the modulation rather than remaining stagnant as it was previous.

-       Created more texture with the reversed Filter Delay samples, by using Redux to create a sharp crackly tone to contrast with the smooth bell sounds.

-       Implement the similar reverse delay effect on a ‘iOS recording - ding’ sound, creates sonic consistency.

-       Added more bell samples towards the end with different pitch-shifting, thickening it up and creating more interest.

-       Introduce the ‘Charging’ sound effect in its raw clean form, alluding to its use in the next section.

-       Similarly, I allude to the bass layer from the last section, using its sample reversed and slightly pitched up here.

 Part 2 (B):

-       Begin to feel like the main ‘charging’ chord synth may lack a bit of higher-end frequency content and could generally using some form of textural doubling to increase interest. Here I decided to grab a bell-sound and placed it into similar settings on a separate Simpler and combined the two synths together. Tweaking the settings, such as the filters and EQ, I found it worked well to introduce this timbre gradually as it subtly thickened the layer. It also generated more rhythmic complexity as it loops at a different speed (with the differing length of the sample), creating an even more enveloping ‘phase in-out’ effect, but to not accentuate it too much to the point of being too overwhelming too quick, I reduced the attack on the amplitude envelope.

-       It’s here that I decide to use the ‘lock screen’ clicking sound effect to act as an indicator of a new section. The movement from A to B is to stay abrupt but this gives that little bit of needed cohesion/clarity, as to showcase a rapid fluctuation of mood (from starting the day feeling uneasy to feeling ‘connected’ and fine [at first]).

-       Addition of a subtle delay effect on the main charging synth – yet again attempting to thicken the texture a bit more and create a wider space.

-       Panning effects on the interspersed aux. sound effects (i.e. the typing sounds doing swooping movements from left to right).

-       Introduce the ‘music-box’ melodic motif from the 3rd section by fading it in in this section, adding to the noise. Also is alongside the second motif but it is repeated similarly on a constant loop (rather than spaced out).

 Decided to develop a new short transition section (abrupt moment of clarity), with the idea being to introduce the ‘Siri’ bell sound effect in its clean unaltered form and then cutting it up just before entering the 3rd section. Because of its association, I wanted to use a short snippet of Siri dialogue but struggled to find any phrases or samples that were suitable or thematically relevant. I discovered online that I could actually use MacOS to do text-to-speech with a similar Siri voice through the terminal, which was perfect. Here I settled on a recording of the voice saying:

 “I’m sorry, I can’t help you with that.”

 Being a common type of response, it is recontextualised and serves a different purpose given the emotions of helplessness and anxiety that I wanted to convey with the noisy cluttered section prior. To further delve into this, I used a ‘reverse reverb + delay’ effect, which serves as a good way here to make a spacey and uneasy texture whilst maintaining clarity of the voice, and by ending with no trail it leaves this uncanny silence afterwards. I double the last words, “with that” by pitching down the voice to further drive the creepiness home.

  Part 3 (C/Outro)

-       Doubling technique with bells applied here, where it plays along with the music-box synth, hitting same notes here and there, more frequent as it progresses with differing panning positions.

-       Have both music-box synths end their playing by leaving a long trail through increasing the release time on their respective amplitude envelopes. Creates a lingering effect for the bass motif to continue for a little longer before fading out naturally.

-       Don’t want to clutter this section up much but adding much more; currently like the minimalism in how it contrasts and lets the piece fade away.

Here is the piece!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/11RjbLUFkewYpcrj35k5gz5T4f0JXCfgj/view?usp=sharing

[tourtoindiapackages-blog]

5 Tips About Guitar You Can Use Today

Most electric guitar bodies are created of wood and incorporate a plastic decide on guard. Boards extensive ample to employ being a solid physique are quite costly a result of the around the world depletion of hardwood stock Because the nineteen seventies, Therefore the wood isn't one particular stable piece. Most bodies are created from two parts of Wooden with a number of them such as a seam functioning down the middle line of your body. The commonest woods useful for electric powered guitar human body design include maple, basswood, ash, poplar, alder, and mahogany. Many bodies encompass fantastic-sounding, but inexpensive woods, like ash, which has a "leading", or thin layer of Yet another, a lot more appealing Wooden (for instance maple that has a normal "flame" pattern) glued to the top of The essential Wooden. One example is, if a guitarist played an open A Major chord (a very common open chord), it will sound just like a B Big chord. Each of the other open chords could well be likewise modified in pitch. Because of the simplicity with which they permit guitar gamers to vary keys, they are sometimes referred to with pejorative names, for example "cheaters" or the "hillbilly crutch". Despite this detrimental viewpoint, A further benefit of the capo is usually that it enables guitarists to acquire the ringing, resonant sound of the widespread keys (C, G, A, etc.) in "tougher" and less-generally used keys. Classical performers are regarded to rely on them to allow present day devices to match the pitch of historic devices like the Renaissance songs lute. Slides This products is totally useful and exhibits some signs of use. It can have surface scratches and/or dings and dents. Left-handed players at times pick an reverse-handed (mirror) instrument, Despite the fact that some Enjoy in a typical-handed manner, Some others Perform a regular-handed guitar reversed, and still Other individuals (for example Jimi Hendrix) performed an ordinary-handed guitar strung in reverse. This very last configuration differs from the genuine reverse handed guitar in the saddle is Usually angled in such a way which the bass strings are a little bit for a longer period as opposed to treble strings to further improve intonation. learn how to play blackbird on guitar Guitars created such as this tend to be known as "flame tops". The body is generally carved or routed to accept one other things, like the bridge, pickup, neck, together with other electronic parts. Most electrics Use a polyurethane or nitrocellulose lacquer finish. Other option supplies to Wooden are Employed in guitar overall body construction. Some of these involve carbon composites, plastic substance, like polycarbonate, and aluminum alloys. Almost all guitars have frets, that are metal strips (usually nickel alloy or chrome steel) embedded alongside the fretboard and Positioned at specific factors that divide the size length in accordance with a selected mathematical components. The exceptions include fretless bass guitars and very unusual fretless guitars. Urgent a string versus a fret determines the strings' vibrating length and thus its resultant pitch. Your body of an acoustic guitar contains a audio hole by which audio tasks. The audio hole will likely be a round gap in the highest on the guitar underneath the strings. Air inside the physique vibrates as being the guitar top and system is vibrated with the strings, and the response from the air cavity at unique frequencies is characterised, like the remainder of the guitar overall body, by a number of resonance modes at which it responds more strongly. The neck, previously set right into a wood block, was fashioned into a brace, or shoe, that projected a short distance In the entire body and was glued to the back again; this gave excess steadiness towards the pull from the strings. Разработчикам As a consequence of COVID-19 we have been focused on preserving the protection of our employees. We have been accepting on the net orders but shipments may take for a longer period than typical. You now have up to a hundred and eighty days to return your equipment if required. You should keep Safe and sound. #keepthemusicgoing Bolt-on necks, nevertheless They can be historically linked to less costly devices, do provide larger versatility in the guitar's established-up, and allow simpler accessibility for neck joint routine maintenance and repairs. Yet another type of neck, only obtainable for reliable entire body electric guitars, will be the neck-through-human body construction. These are typically designed so that every little thing within the equipment heads right down to the bridge are located on the identical bit of wood. The sides (also known as wings) of your guitar are then glued to this central piece. Some luthiers want this process of design as they claim it makes it possible for better sustain of each and every note. Some instruments may well not Possess a neck joint in the least, owning the neck and sides constructed as one particular piece and the body developed all over it. Thumb picks and finger picks that attach towards the finger tips are sometimes used in finger-buying designs on steel strings. These allow the fingers and thumb to operate independently, While a flat choose involves the thumb and a couple of fingers to govern. Steuerstrafrecht Straps 24. ^ "We all know from literary resources the five course guitar was immensely popular in Spain in the early seventeenth century and was also widely performed in France and Italy...Still Just about every one of the surviving guitars have been built in Italy...This obvious disparity concerning the documentary and instrumental evidence is often spelled out by The reality that, usually, just the much more expensively made guitars are held as collectors' pieces. Over the early seventeenth century the guitar was an instrument on the individuals of Spain, but was greatly played by the Italian aristocracy." Tom and Mary Anne Evans. Guitars: With the Renaissance to Rock. Paddington Press Ltd, 1977, p. 24.

[trendingfact]

Harmonica Market: An Insight On the Important Factors and Trends Influencing the Market

Harmonica, popularly known as mouth organ is a wind instrument consisting of a small rectangular case containing a set of metal reeds connected to a row of holes, over which the player inhales and exhales air to play the desired tunes. It is used in wide variety of music genres such as classical music, jazz, country, American folk music, blues and more.  The length and thickness of the reed determines the note that is heard by a player. Harmonica has multiple names such as pocket piano, Mississippi saxophone, and French harp.

The first patent for harmonica was issued to Christian Friedrich Ludwig Buschmann, a German musical instrument maker. It was a 10 cm instrument that featured 21 blow notes.Extensive cleaning is needed to avoid any fungal or bacterial impacts on the harmonica. There are different types of harmonicas as per the different structures and complexity. The voice modulations involved in each type is different as compared to the rest. Harmonica could also vary in shape and size depending on the type.

The global harmonica market could see significant growth over the forecast period owing to its wide variety of use in multiple music genres and growing popularity of such genres. For instance, the event – Martin Luther King Jr. Day near Loveland in 2018, is expected to feature the acoustic blues duo John Cephas and Phil Wiggins who are well-known blues harmonica players. Patients who are suffering from respiratory problems could be benefitted significantly with the use of harmonica, as the use of harmonica strengthens the diaphragm and helps the patients to breathe deep.

Furthermore, harmonica induces other health benefits such as reduced anxiety, increased lung power, and optimized blood pressure. It also assists patients suffering from asthma, bronchitis, and facial paralysis. Owing to these multiple health benefits, the global harmonica market is likely to see considerable growth during the forecast period. In some harmonicas, there is a specific amount of nickel used.

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This could be a problem for people suffering from nickel allergy. Moreover, apart from specific genres there have been various other musical instruments which have gained more popularity than the harmonica. Additionally, due to the sensitive structure of harmonica, its maintenance could be problematic, which could be one of the restraints for the growth of the market.

The global harmonic market is segmented based on structure type, end-use, and geographic locations. As per structure type, the global harmonica market is sub segmented into five types namely-diatonic, tremolo-tuned, chromatic, orchestral accompaniment, and others. The diatonic harmonica comes in 12 keys of music and allows a user to play complete seven major scales of the key of the harmonica. In a tremolo harmonica, the two reeds are tuned slightly off a reference pitch, one of which is slightly sharp and other is slightly flat.

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The chromatic harmonica uses a button activated sliding bar to redirect air from the hole in the mouthpiece to the selected reed-plate.The orchestral model can feature all blow notes or a combination of blow and draw notes, some of which are designed to play chords. In terms of end user, the global harmonica market can be sub segmented into professional and amateur use. Based on geographic location, market is sub segmented into North America, South America, Middle East & Africa, Asia Pacific, and Europe.

There are several players in the global harmonica market. Some of the key players are Hohner, Jambone, Lee Oskar, Scarlatti, Waltons, Clarke, Shure, K&M, Musician’s Gear, On-Stage Stands, Proline, SEYDEL, and Silver Creek.

[its-legendarycollectionfest-blog]

How to tune a guitar a half step down

how to tune a guitar a half step down

When referring to digital tuners, drop tuning is a perform by which the tuner shifts the pitch reference in half-step increments whereas preserving the name of the word the same. As you dive deeper into alternate guitar tunings, you are going to come throughout terms like 2 steps down” or a half step down”. Every half step represents a semitone or single observe. So, a half step down from E is E flat, and a complete or full step down is D. By tuning a half step down, your open strings might be one notice lower, nearly as if you moved your fretting hand from the seventh fret to the sixth fret on the A string, from the E word to the E flat. It almost sounds counterintuitive to refer to one word as a half step, however it's a basic concept of music theory that's pretty simple to understand in the long term. Repair the G String. Tune your G string down till the tuner says Gb or F#. Down tuning was truly based by jazz and blues musicians. The looser strings are the trick to their play type. Transcend commonplace (EADGBE) tuning. Discover open, half step, and drop tunings for brand new sounds. My guitar is perfectly tuned trigger i'm using the digital tuner on gears box (pc software program) utilizing guitarport. Half Step Down Songs If his guitar is tuned a half step down, which would be be Eb Ab Db Gb Bb Eb, all of the intervals keep the same since every string was dropped a half step equally. You'd usually drop your guitar like that to impact the over all tone of the instrument. It provides the guitar a deeper tone which some guys like, together with myself. All of your Chord fingerings and scales stay the same since every interval or degree was dropped equally. I hope that makes since.

A half-step is moving from a be aware played on one string from one fret to a different on a guitar or fretted instrument constructed on the 12 observe system. For quite a couple of rock songs, and country and folk, in song that in the important thing of D Major, some drop the E bass string tuned right down to the be aware D. That may be a non-standard tuning. How to tune a guitar a half step down Tip: If the strings are so slack they hang at your ankles (or cause a number of fret buzz) after tuning down a whole step, you might wish to think about shopping for some heavier gauge strings.

Plenty of reasons; essentially the most prevalent motive might be so that they can keep the tune within the vary of their voice. Jimi Hendrix was well-known for this; tuned a half step down. Tune the 2nd string to the 4th fret of the 3rd string. online guitar tuner Then tune the opposite 4 strings normally. Others don't need to tune down with you. You only have to move your playing up a half-step to be in the same Key as they are. The fretboard drawback is that the G is no longer on the 3rd fret, it's on the 4th fret. (i.e., open string = Eb, 1st fret = E, 2nd fret = F, third fret = G#, 4th fret = G, and so forth.) Playability per the unique fretboard layout is sacrificed for the 'sound' which the decrease Eb tuning produces. Does not pick up my low E string. I simply fret up 5 and it detects it as an A. I've paid greater than $30 for a stand alone tuner that I've had to handle the same way. James Taylor did not study to play guitar chords the standard way. He is an ear participant. He listened to the sound of other instruments and found HIS PERSONAL fretboard fingerings for these chords (YES, there are numerous more ways to play a single chord type on the guitar). What that has to do with is known as 'chord voicings'. Online guitar tuner online guitar tuner I believe some are misunderstanding what I'm saying. Enjoying the key of Eb on the guitar isn't the same factor as tuning the guitar down a half-step.

online guitar tuner

TunerTool supports the next tuning methods: Commonplace, Drop-D, Drop C, Drop B, Half Step Down, Full Step Down, Open G, Open C, Open D, New Normal, Open E, DAD-GAD, DAD-DAD and Chromatic. As talked about, you have got it backwards. Tuning down a half step and capoing on the first is sort of the identical as standard. But you modify the size length if you do this. The notes will all be the same, but a few of the overtones, harmonics, and the feel of the guitar will be subtly completely different.

online guitar tuner

Also! The band Motograter (the band Ivan Moody was in before Five Finger Demise Punch) has a horizontal bass guitar that they constructed that solely has two strings both tuned in A. So I do know when I play that band, I solely need to make use of the 2 strings and it sounds an identical! And the melodies are so superior you'd by no means know they only use 2 strings. Tune the remainder of the guitar usually. Undergo each string either using a tuner, piano, or your ear. Play a normal E chord and test to see if every little thing sounds tuned.

half step down songs

How To Tune A Guitar A Half Step Down

3) Does tuning a guitar a half or full step down change how a guitar matures over time? I do not know. It would be attention-grabbing to ask the worlds greatest luthiers whether or not the physics of any particular guitar design pre-supposes that the guitar shall be played in standard over most its life. Keep in mind, it doesn't matter what tuning you are in, you can always go higher, not lower. Which means, in dropped A, I can play songs that are in ANY tuning, apart from like dropped F which is sooo rare. Other manner round. Placing a capo on half a step down (first fret) is identical as standard tuning.

Online Guitar Tuner

Yes, as a result of the strings are in a unique tuning and therefore the open chords will sound different. I am not much on tuning down, and I've never understood all of the symbols on my digital tuner, but when I needed to tune down a half step (semitone) I would probably just put a capo on the first fret and tune the guitar as regular. When the capo was eliminated it'd be a half step flat (down) on every string. Beware, a good capo makes it difficult to tune the strings as a result of it grabs them too laborious and so they do not move.

youll then have all of your strings tuned down a half step if you happen to comply with the scope. Ever heard of Blues slide guitar? Bonnie Raitt uses an Open A or Open G tuning for many of her slide taking part in, which is ninety nine% of the time. Open A way her guitar's open strings are tuned to an A Main chord. Duane Allman of the Allman Brothers Band used Open E and Open D largely for his slide taking part in, which was ninety nine% of the time. Hmmm. Why would you need to tune the whole guitar down? Possibly you're enjoying to a backing of some sort? Or perhaps it is only some strings you wish to drop? Just curious.

Half Step Down Songs

[ismael37olson]

Chaucer, Rabelais, BALZAC: A Music Man Glossary

Meredith Willson’s The Music Man contains dozens of words and phrases that most of us have never used or even heard, many of them things that Willson himself must have heard growing up in turn of the century Iowa. I so often get emails asking about one or more of these, so I figured, let's get them all together in one list. The movie version changed some of these references, fearing the audience wouldn't know them. But as the show proves, it's not important for the audience to know every reference -- it's just important for this world we create onstage feels honest and authentic to the audience. As long as the actors know and understand all the references, it will contribute to the "reality" of this fictional version of 1912 Iowa. Below is a list of those oddities and what they mean, along with some other references you may not know... Enjoy! Kibitzing -- talking, joking, chitchatting Notion salesman -- a guy who sells small personal items Button-hook -- a small metal hook for pulling buttons through buttonholes. Hard goods & soft goods -- Hard goods are durable merchandise, like cars, machinery, furniture, appliances, etc. Soft goods are merchandise that isn’t as durable, like clothing, rugs, and other textiles. Noggin -- a small cup or mug of wine, usually a quarter-pint. Piggin -- a small bowl with a ladle for serving cream. Firkin -- a small wooden tub for butter or lard. Hogshead -- a large container holding sixty-three gallons of wine. Cask -- a bottle of any size, but usually one holding liquor. Demijohn -- a large wine bottle with a narrow neck and usually a wicker enclosure around the bottom. Model T Ford -- a very popular car. In 1912, U.S. auto makers were manufacturing 115,000 new cars a month, about a quarter of them Ford Model Ts. Ten years later, 50% of the cars in America were Model Ts.

Uneeda Biscuit -- soda crackers introduced in 1889 by National Biscuit Company (now better known as Nabisco), the first crackers to be sold packaged with a brand name instead of just out of a cracker barrel. This marketing experiment paid off and by 1900, Uneeda Biscuits were selling more than ten million packages a month, while all other brands of packaged crackers combined totaled only 40,000 packages a month. Mail Pouch – a brand of chewing tobacco Teirce -- a wine cask holding forty-two gallons. Mandolin -- a stringed instrument (like a very small guitar) shaped like a pear Jews-harp – a small metal musical instrument you hold between your teeth and pluck Tarred and feathered -- covered with tar and feathers (which is often deadly) as punishment Rode out on a rail -- banished from a community, as punishment (often after being tarred and feathered), often literally carried out on a fence rail Two-bit -- cheap (literally twenty-five cents) Thimble-rigger -- con man or thief Hawkeyes -- residents of Iowa Livery Stable -- stable where horses are kept and hired out Billiards -- a table game like pool, without pockets Horse sense -- practical common sense Three-rail billiard shot -- a shot that banks off three sides of the billiards table Balkline game -- billiards Pinch-back suit -- a suit with a coat that is gathered in the back, the sign of a city slicker Jasper -- slang word for a (usually) a white guy who is simple or naive

Dan Patch -- a champion harness racing horse at the turn of the century, at a time when the jockey rode behind the horses in a cart, not on them Frittern -- frittering – wasting time Beefsteak -- a slice of beef for frying Cistern -- a tank for storing water that had to be kept full (by pouring water into it manually) for the family to use, before people had indoor plumbing Knickerbockers -- knee pants that gather at the knee, worn by young boys at the turn of the century. Bevo -- a brand of non-alcoholic near-beer, from Anheuser-Busch, but it wasn't introduced till four years after our story is set... Cubebs and Tailor-mades -- various kinds of hand-rolled cigarettes. Cigarettes were illegal (and considered highly immoral) in Iowa at that time. Sen Sen -- a popular breath freshener, very small but very strong. Arm'ry -- armory -- headquarters for a National Guard unit Libertine -- morally or sexually unrestrained Scarlet -- adulterous. It refers to Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter. Ragtime -- syncopated jazz music, popular at the turn of the century, so called because of "ragged" (off-the-beat) style Dime Novel -- cheap, paperback adventure novels, in vogue from the 1850s through the 1920s.

Captain Billy’s Whiz Bang -- a racy monthly humor magazine first published in 1919, which reached a circulation of 425,000 in 1923. (Technically, this reference is a mistake, since the show is set in 1912.) Balzac -- Honoré de Balzac, a French novelist (1799-1850) Paul Bunyon -- a giant from American folklore Saint Pat -- St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, a missionary who brought Christianity to Ireland Noah Webster -- American essayist and lexicographer, who created one of the earliest American dictionaries Cross-hand -- a piano piece that requires one hand crossing over the other to play a note or chord This Ruby Hat of Omar Kay-ay-ay- -- The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, erotic Persian poetry Stereopticon -- a slide projector with two light sources, so the pictures appear to fade from one to the next. Also, a hand-held device that lets the user look at two identical pictures at the same time, giving it a three-dimensional effect. Tablow -- tableau -- a grouping of people in costumes to create a still "picture" Springfield Rifle -- a brand of rifle Ruffian -- a bully or lawless person Crick -- dialect for “creek” Pest House -- a hospital or house for people infected with pestilential diseases (bubonic plague, for example) Pompy-eye -- Pompeii, an ancient city buried in the ash of an erupting volcano Gilmore -- Patrick S. Gilmore (1829-1892), a famous Irish-American bandleader who wrote “When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again” (under a pseudonym). Liberati -- Alessandro Liberati (1847-1927), an Italian born cornet player, bandleader, and composer, who came to the U.S. in 1872 and played with many bands, including Gilmore's. He had his own touring band from 1889 to 1909, and was active in music (opera, other bands, teaching) until his death Pat Conway -- (1867-1929) a conductor, bandleader, and teacher, who directed several bands from the 1890s until his death and was the founder of the Air Force Band in World War I. Conway and Sousa were friends, and their bands often performed together.

The Great Creatore -- Giuseppe Creatore (1871-1952), an Italian conductor and composer who brought a band to the U.S. in 1902 to tour. He was active as a conductor through the 1930s. W.C. Handy -- (1873-1958) a famous American blues composer and bandleader, who wrote “St. Louis Blues.” John Philip Sousa -- (1854-1932) a world-famous bandleader and composer, who was known as “the March King” for writing many of the famous marches that marching bands play today. (Harold's comment in the intro to “76 Trombones” about all these famous musicians coming to town on the same day, appears to be a joke, although an obscure one. The joke is that it would have been essentially impossible for all these extremely famous men of widely varying ages to actually come to one small town, especially all on one day. Hill is just throwing out names that sound impressive, names that the River City townspeople might know from their piano sheet music.) Cornet -- a different version of a trumpet, shorter in length (the same amount of tubing, just wrapped around more), with a longer bell and a somewhat darker sound. Tympani -- big bass drums Horse platoons -- military units of horses (in this case, used for a parade) Euphonium -- like a baritone, which is itself like a small version of the tuba, but the euphonium has a larger opening in the bell and produces a mellower sound and better low notes than the baritone. Harch -- variant of “march”

Frank Gotch and Strangular Lewis -- two early 20th-century American wrestlers Jeely Kly -- exclamation, variant of “Jesus Christ” Taggin’ -- tagging – following Perpetual Motion -- the theoretical ability of a mechanism to continue to move forever by itself without any loss of energy or speed. The joke here is that Tommy thinks he “nearly had” perpetual motion a couple times, which is impossible. class of aught-five -- class of 1905 canoodlin' -- slang for romantic activity Diana -- the Roman goddess of the hunt and the moon faun -- mythological creature that is a man with ears, horns, tail and hind legs of a goat Hester -- Hester Prynne, the heroine of Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel The Scarlet Letter, who had to wear a red “A” in punishment for her adultery. agog -- highly excited on the que veev -- on alert, watchful, a corruption of “qui vive,” French for “who goes there?” pianola -- a brand of player pianos

Delsarte -- François Delsarte (1811-1871), a French musician and dance teacher who taught a dance and acting method based on the mastery of certain bodily attitudes and gestures. Gilt-edge -- of the highest quality, literally edged with gold Chaucer -- Geoffery Chaucer (1340-1400), English author and poet who wrote the very racy Canterbury Tales Raballaise -- François Rabelais (1490-1553), a French satirist and humorist, who wrote the very racy Gargantua and Pantagruel, which many thought was obscene and blasphemous Balzac -- Honore de Balzac (1799-1850), the notorious French novelist who wrote Droll Stories, a racy collection of thirty short stories malfeasance -- wrongdoing. The joke here is that implication that Harold could get a permit for malfeasance. flugel horn -- like a cornet, but with a larger opening in the bell. Minute Waltz -- famous waltz by Chopin that, if played very fast, takes less than a minute Quaker -- a member of The Society of Friends, a religion that rejects luxuries, modern technology, and anything that isn’t mentioned in the Bible. St. Bridget -- an Irish saint, who founded the first nunnery in Ireland O'Clark, O'Mendez, O'Klein -- comic reference to three famous musicians who were not Irish, the famous cornet player Herbert L. Clarke, the famous Mexican trumpet player Rafael Mendez (another anachronism, since he was born only six years before our story), and apparently the famous Jewish trumpet player Manny Klein (but again, he was born only four years before our story). St. Michael -- an Irish saint, who first brought formal education to Ireland in the fifth century hod -- a portable trough Mavorneen --mavourneen -- Irish word for “sweetheart” Tara’s Hall -- a music hall in Dublin Hodado -- dialect for “how do you do” Epworth League -- a Methodist youth organization, founded in 1889 Black Hole of Calcutta -- a small prison in India in which the more than a hundred Europeans were killed in 1756.

Wells Fargo Wagon -- a stagecoach delivery service started in 1851, which allowed mail order sales to flourish mackinaw -- a thick, blanket-like coat, usually plaid, named for a kind of blanket that northern and western native Americans made. double-boiler -- a small pot that fits into a bigger pot. Water is boiled in the bigger pot to cook things in the smaller pot. D.A.R. -- The Daughters of the American Revolution, a patriotic women’s organization Minuet in G -- very famous classical piece by Ludwig von Beethoven Tempus fugits -- hurry up. It’s a Latin phrase meaning “time flies” Frazolagy -- phraseology, or choice of words Rustle of Spring -- turn-of-the-century piano piece written by the Norwegian composer Christian Sinding, that was very popular in the US Grecian Urn -- the ladies are doing interpretive dance, based on the poem “Ode on a Grecian Urn” by John Keats. Shipoopi -- this is just a nonsense word Capulets -- one of the warring families in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Mississippi sturgeon -- a fish Galileo -- Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), Italian physicist and astronomer, who figured out that the earth revolves around the sun and not the other way around. Columbus -- Christopher Columbus (1446-1506), Italian navigator who is credited with discovering America. Bach -- Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), famous classical composer whose work is the basis for modern music theory. Well-Tempered Clavichord -- refers to a famous piece of music by Bach. A clavichord is an early version of a piano. Redpath Circuit -- one of several vaudeville circuits in the U.S., a group of theatres to which performers would travel Criminee -- a slang expression of dismay, a corruption of  "Christ" Tintype -- an old-fashioned photograph Hector Berlioz -- (1803-1869), French classical composer. (Harold couldn’t be getting a cable from him, since he had been dead for almost forty years.) Cat-boat -- a small boat with one mast and one large sail.

Buster Brown -- a comic strip character Privy -- outhouse Shropshyre sheep -- English sheep known for very white wool and good meat From time to time, I'm contacted by a dramaturg who wants to work with us, but I love doing this kind of research. As I write this, we recently closed the amazing Sweet Smell of Success, which was just loaded with 1950s New York references. It was so much fun discovering what they all meant and sharing that with the actors. Like I said above, understanding all that stuff is so key for the actors. Right now, I'm reading everything I can about the culture and pop culture of the 1930s, as I start thinking about our upcoming production of Anything Goes later this season. One of the great joys of this blog is being to share cool stuff like this with so many people. Hope this list is entertaining and/or helpful... Long Live the Musical! Scott from The Bad Boy of Musical Theatre http://newlinetheatre.blogspot.com/2017/09/chaucer-rabelais-balzac-music-man.html

[gratzouniara]

Alvin Lucier

Alvin Lucier Music on a long thin wire (1977)

“A 50-foot length of taut wire passes through the poles of a large magnet and is driven by an oscillator; the vibrations of the wire are miked at either end, amplified and broadcast in stereo. The thin wire is set vibrating four times at four different frequencies; what results is not the low drone one might expect from a long, vibrating wire, but a complexity of evocative, ethereal chords. First released on Lovely Music in 1980, Music on a Long Thin Wire is a classic example of Alvin Lucier’s investigations into the physics of sound and the sonic properties of natural processes.

Album Notes: [source: 

https://encyclotronic.com/music/electroacoustic/music-on-a-long-thin-wire-r288/

]

“I first got the idea for “Music on a Long Thin Wire” in 1977. Physicist John Trefny and I were teaching a course on musical acoustics at Wesleyan and had set up a modern version of the Pythagorean monochord. We extended a short metal wire across a laboratory table and placed an electromagnet over one end of it. An audio oscillator drove the wire. The interaction between the flux field of the magnet and the frequency and loudness of the oscillator caused the wire to vibrate in ways observable to the naked eye.

I was fascinated by this demonstration and started imagining what a very long monochord-one which could be installed on a concert stage or occupy a gallery space-would sound like. I knew it would sound amazing. I decided to build one. I bought some metal piano wire and sent away to the Edmund Scientific Company for a set of clamps and a horseshoe magnet. After a few weeks of experimentation, I designed a portable instrument whose length could be varied to fit different size spaces.

“Music on a Long Thin Wire” is constructed as follows: the wire is extended across a large room, clamped to tables at both ends. The ends of the wire are connected to the loudspeaker terminals of a power amplifier placed under one of the tables. A sine wave oscillator is connected to the amplifier. A magnet straddles the wire at one end. Wooden bridges are inserted under the wire at both ends to which contact microphones are imbedded, routed to a stereo sound system. The microphones pick up the vibrations that the wire imparts to the bridges and are sent through the playback system. By varying the frequency and loudness of the oscillator, a rich variety of slides, frequency shifts, audible beats and other sonic phenomena may be produced.

I played the wire several times as a solo piece and once as a duet with David Rosenboom in Toronto. When Don Funes asked me to make a work for his Live Electronic Music Ensemble in Potsdam, New York, I invited his players to feed their synthesizer signals into the wire. I was not happy with any of these performances, however; the music never went beyond a kind of poetic improvisation. I finally decided to remove my hand from the musical process. I discovered that by carefully tuning the oscillator, the wire could be left to sound by itself. Fatigue, air currents, heating and cooling, even human proximity could cause the wire to undergo enormous changes. In a dance studio in Kyoto, for example, visitors’ footsteps on the Marley floor caused extremely slight shifts in the positions of the tables to which the wire was clamped, causing spectacular changes in the sound of the wire. Shin Nakagawa, who arranged my visit there, slept overnight under the wire and reported that even with no movement in the room it would mysteriously erupt into triadic harmonies.

Since its conception, “Music on a Long Thin Wire” has been exhibited in numerous spaces. In 1979, it was mounted in the Winrock Shopping Center, Albuquerque, and broadcast on KUNM-FM for five straight days and nights without interruption; in 1980 the wire shimmered three stories above the heads of visitors to the Landmark Center, Saint Paul; and in 1988, it occupied the 90-foot long Gallery of the Center for the Arts at Wesleyan, a graceful space which seemed almost specifically designed for this work.

These recordings were made by the composer on May 10, 1979, in the Rotunda of the U.S. Custom House, Bowling Green, New York City. “Music on a Long Thin Wire” had been installed there as part of the “Custom and Culture” show organized by Creative Time in association with the Custom House Institute, New York Landmarks Conservancy. The wire was extended 80 feet through the oval of the Rotunda.

Four separate recordings were made. For each, a single oscillator tuning was chosen. No alteration of the tuning or manipulation of the wire was made in any way. The wire played itself. All changes in volume, timbre, harmonic structure, rhythmic and cyclic patterning, and other sonic phenomena were brought about solely by the actions of the wire itself.

Alvin Lucier (June 25, 1992)”

_______

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAaXSsoKVQg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMAbW5kqj1M

http://socks-studio.com/img/blog/lucier-long-thin-wire-05.jpg

submitted by Michalis Paraskakis

[love-of-liquor-blog]

A Chance Meeting.

unknown (tale of tails)

Jingle of mounted bells sounded the opening of a transparent glass door lined with various advertisement decals of certain prices, varying from Jack Daniels Tennessee Honey to ABSOLUT vodka specials. As good as those two choices could be, sometimes one after the other if the mood was right, his mind had already been made up on a chosen poison. Dark-brown steel-toed boots thudded across white tile floor, the leather material across metal plates wearing from excessive use and brushing against the rough enviroments they were built to withstand; if anything, he could probably use a near pair of boots sometime in the next few weeks if he didn’t want a hole to be worn out in the footwear..soggy feet were annoying as fuck, and athlete’s foot was unacceptable. Dark-blue form-fitting jeans clung to the lower-half quite well, conforming to shape of the appendages and exposing the bulges of rectangular objects in the back two pockets which could be presumably a cellphone and a wallet. Button-down shirt across upper-half consisted of a red, black, grey and white flannel blend of colors with sleeves rolled up to expose an azure lightning bolt icon across the interior of a defined right forearm. Dark-brown strands were left untouched today, simply remaining in place on the top of head in a way neither messy nor professional.

With the long work day over, his second day on the job, he’d managed to come home and shower only to realize that his recreational poisons of choice had managed to come open during the road trip from Tennessee to Philadelphia, causing his car trunk to produce an almost divinely-sweet scent. Dark-greens shifted across the shelves as steps carried the male further into Jay’s Spirits, the door coming to a shut behind him.

Tequila gold, tequila silver, tequila rose.. Not much in the mood for tequila.. Bacardi Oakheart, Bacardi 151.. Nope. Jack Daniel’s sour mash. Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey. Gentleman Jack. Maybe, getting warmer.. Skol vodka, platinum vodka, smirnoff vodka, organic vodka.. Shaking his head, attention shifted over to the good stuff. Securing a long rectangular bottle of Johnny Walker Red Irish whiskey by the middle of the container, attention shifted over to the fridge at the end of the shop where the imported beers were kept. Did he have his stock of Sierra Nevada stouts? Fuck, I forgot to check.. It would be a guessing game, then, and he would take his chances!

Turning, attention shifted to the counter where the middle-Eastern man in his forties stood patiently, and beyond him to the many cartons of cigarettes behind him. Lips ached, heart raced. Nope. Fifteen minutes. You promised yourself. You’ll smoke in fifteen minutes..

Quitting sucked. It fucking sucked.

It was a day like any other; dusk had blanketed the land, the sun was slowly stolen away, the rougher side of town came to life, and the misfits were finally crawling out of bed. How Annabelle Barrons fit into that picture was some sort of cross-breed thing. She rarely awoke before the sun rose but she didn’t quite come to life until she had the first drink in her system. It was the only thing that was particularly off about the day in question – her stash was empty. Oh, she’d dug through her cabinets for a good twenty minutes before pulling out the garbage can and lifting up the various empty bottles to see if there was the slightest trace of anything particularly delicious awaiting her, but Annabelle was a determined alcoholic. When she emptied a bottle, well, it was bone dry.

These events, and perhaps more, had lead her to that very moment in time of walking through those glass doors to enter into a building she had never found herself in before. Relocation was stressful, which was why she pissed away her alcohol the night before in an attempt to loosen up. The stress was only finding it’s way back into her slender body when she dropped the thick framed sunglasses from where they had been perched atop strands of inky black hair so they could find a new home along the bridge of her nose. It didn’t matter, to her, that it was dark outside.

There was more than enough artificial light inside to warrant the smoke black lenses from hiding away a pair of vibrant blue eyes that had been decorated with shards of emerald green. No doubt to the exterior world she probably looked as if she were sporting a hangover but the reality of it came in the presence of a hum vibrating rhythmically behind a set of dark red painted lips. She’d always had a thing for Corey Hart or, at the very least, his most popular song. The funky beat of the music might have been playing in her mind but her hum had kept to other all to familiar chords of the lyrics while her sharp red stiletto heels carried her across the cheap, worn out vinyl flooring that had spread through the interior.

She could have easily cruised the store, looking at all the very fancy bottles and the different flavors that would eventually come to grace her tongue – but until she got that first drink in her system the inquisitive nature was put on the back burner. Instead of browsing, she was more than happy to make her way up to the counter where one man stood behind the counter and another stood on the same side as she. Annabelle’s steps took a turn for the light as she seemed to find her place in line.

Oh so carefully letting her gaze wander while her patience attempted to wane.

It was the only thing that had those hands lingering out so that she could slide them over the stranger’s shoulders. “Excuse me,” Her voice was thick, deep in some ways and sweet in others, but it was touched with a twang of that Texan charm that made it more adorable than haughty. “You mind if I slip on ahead of you while you make your choice?"

There was no wait for him to turn and acknowledge her, just a usage of that body that could only be noted as flirtatious and light-hearted. With her fingers curled over his shoulders and the length of her forearms finding his back, she made no hesitance in bringing the rest of her body forward to hug against him. Hips to backside, breasts to the portion of his back just below his shoulder blades, the black swatch of cloth that had been wrapped around her body was almost impossible to see; the joys of a strapless attire that road low on her body but puffed out slightly from the hips to the middle of the thigh.

unknown (tale of tails)

Menthol. Marlboro Slate. Marlboro Menthol.. Brows furrowed as a moment of weakness loomed above his shoulders and weighed down on him like a thousand pound ton of addiction. Were his condition any more physical than the physical symptoms of withdraw were, his legs might have shaken. It was just yesterday that he smoked the last of his pack, and while he wasn’t exactly ready to quit he was certainly trying to..and his truck still smelled like a smoker’s!

Clearing his throat with the intention of clearing his head along with it, her voice greeted his ears in a way made his throat tighten. Damn, he loved an accent on a woman. The way that words twisted with how they were spoken and the slang used along with it–it took precious, precious seconds for him to properly register just what was being requested of him.

Too many seconds.

Hands on his shoulders, her weight against his him and soft mounds pressed into a rigid, stiffening back. If only for a split second, for just one single fraction of a single second, his focus wavered. So close to him and in such contact, the faintest tug against her life’s energy came like a straw dipped into the rushing rapids of the river that would have been her’s, but it also would have tugged on the very nerves of her body in a way that might have translated as a pleasant shudder..if only for the second required to reign it in.

Gritting teeth for the moment, breath sucked in between them, a small polite nod was given. "Yeah. Go ahead, sweetheart."  

Mentally kicking himself for allowing himself to be so careless in such a public setting, effort was taken in slowing the the sudden pounding in his chest of one-part dread for losing his focus and one-part exhilaration for the sudden taste of her essence, and a final part of mild guilt for taking it from her without permission.

Of course she wouldn’t offer and he wouldn’t ask, and she wouldn’t know.

Suddenly, the Johnny Walker Red was far more appealing than it had been. Gaze shifted down to the bottle, but then shifted to the floor, then back to the counter, then a swivel at the neck allowed attention to drift over to take in the fucking gorgeous sight that had herself melding into him.Oh, man..

Lips pursed, then curved, small incline given. "Go on. You’re good..”