Research Hurts Bert!

I am learning new things today!

By defining and researching the following production and engineering terms, I will be exponetially increasing my knowledge of all things well and good in the world we live in! HOORAY! In all seriousness, I will be using this post specifically to reference any future questions I have pertaining to my adventures in the sonic world. If all goes according to plan, this will be the most helpful tool I have created all year. Cross ya finguhs.

AKG 414: A really famous microphone from the equally well-known audio technology company AKG that led its competitors during the era of the switch from tube to solid state technology...or something like that

Frankly, this is all confusing me already...maybe by the end of this post I will understand more (hopefully)

polar patterns: a graph showing how the sensitivity of a microphone varies with the angle of the sound source, at a particular frequency. Here's a picture of one you dumbass:

tranducer/capsule: a device that converts one form of energy to another. A microphone transducer converts acoustical energy (sound) into electrical energy (audio signal).

frequency response: a graph showing how a microphone responds to various sound frequencies; it is a plot of electrical output vs. frequency. More graphs? Yes.



Focusrite Scarlett 2i2: an absolutely beautiful audio interface (if it were a girl, I'd date it) that is used mostly by musicians "on-the-go" or simply by those who wish to record a quick demo or an idea for a song. It has two preamp inputs and is compatible with Mac OSX Moutain Lion. It is also only $150.

XY/coincident pair: a stereo micing technique in where you put the diagphragms of two microphones on top of eachother, each facing the opposite direction at a 90 degree angle. Here's a helpful diagram that will easily explain this concept:

                                                      

spaced pair: another stereo micing technique. This time, all you would do is place two identical mics equidistant from each other and point them at the same angle in the same direction at the same general target. Picturez:

                                                      

ORFT: a weird micing technique where you kind of space two identical (or at least similar) mics about 17-20cm apart from each other each angled at opposite sides of a recording room. This is supposed to create a potentially more appealing sound as the audio should theoretically arrive at each microphone at seperate times. I'm not quite sure I understand this one yet but I found a diagram that makes things slightly less confusing.

                                                      

blumlein pair: a recording technique that can potentially recreate the spacial experience that the sound would be recorded in. This is achieved by placing the transducers of two similar or identical bidirectional microphones as close as possible to each other while pointing each mic 90 degrees from the other (similar to the XY technique). If done correctly, this technique could produce near-lifelike stereo and spacial audio quality. Here is a sketch of what it should look like:

                                                      

-Peter

Fourth Qatar

Middle East jokes eh?

Last quarter in STAC was a pretty good experience for me; I had learned many new things that I surely would not have had I chosen a different route. Alas, same as the arms of a carousel must continually swap and rotate as it moves about, the fourth and final quarter of the school year approaches me quickly, leaving the third behind in its glass case of remembrance.

This quarter my wishes and creative pursuits remain, for the most part, the same--with music, that is; I will continue to educate myself (with adequate amounts of support) on various topics in music theory, songwriting, audio production, etceteras.

However, I have always had an acute interest in films, moving picture shows, if you will. I have had some brief experience directing and producing a handful of short movies and commercials at the beginning of the scholar year. Not only would I enjoy minoring in film production, but I would also love to explore my acting abilities, albeit if any exist! In today's class improv, I felt myself rekindling the catalytic spark of interest that I had with acting. It would be a pleasure to be featured in any of the STACies' films this quarter, especially after viewing a couple of their more recent works they developed over the course of third quarter.

As far as my indulgences in music and production go, I figure that this biography about Dave Grohl would be an interesting read --> http://www.amazon.com/This-Is-Call-Times-Grohl/dp/0306821427/ref=tmm_pap_title_0

First off, anything that ever come's out of the man's mouth is automatically riveting; about a month ago I found myself glued to listening to his 45-minute keynote speech at the South By Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Texas. Secondly, he is just meagerly obscure enough to be able to read an interesting, yet unbiased biography on (he's still not quite as famous as David Bowie). If this gets approved, I will be extremely happy with reading this long, paperback, 388-page novel (I sound sarcastic but I'm really not!)

-Peter

EP Updæte

It will be finished...eventually.

For a while I have been away from my studio, the aforementioned term used very lightly, and I have not been recording music as much as I have been during the past year or so. I have been writing, don't get me wrong, and, as always, I am always using my guitar or piano to play and try and stumble upon that sweet groove that I have been so long awaiting. Despite this, however, I have not mustered up enough confidence to take the time to record. That factor, when coupled with a long drought of legitimate inspiration, makes for a bad case of disengagement.

THINGS WILL CHANGE

The past week has been a nice reboot for my music and I. Just recently I have been exposed to the wonderful wide world that is the iPad GarageBand app. I do not think I will be using this particular software to record any of my songs for the upcoming album, but it is, simply put, an absolute gem for the creative mind. After one week of working and toying with it, I have been able to produce a couple of "songs" (incorrectly placed quotation marks)that I am very happy with.

Expect A OK things somewhat soon!


-Peter

Songs For The Deaf?

It's a Queens of the Stone Age reference.

The past two days, Luke has given me a few tasks to help better my skills in songwriting which, by the way, is what I want to focus on in STAC for at least the remainder of this year.

Yesterday, I was handed a sheet of paper. This paper had a guitar chord progression on it, complete with sections specific to each part of a song including the verses, choruses, and pre-choruses. My task was to write an entirely original song, minus the part about the already existing chord progression, complete with my own written lyrics for each part of the song. I had less than three periods to make it, perform it, and record it live in one take.

Today, Luke gave me a similar mission to yesterday's, except this time, the lyrics for the song were already written. Using the lyrics given to me, I was required to write my own chord progression to accompany them as well as a melody for the vocal part. I also had about three periods to write, perform, and record this song as well. Oh, and did I mention that, unlike yesterday's agenda, there was no specific verse, chorus, or any other musical section specified in these lyrics. For all I cared I could have written a spoken word poem with a simple G to C and back to G chord progression to complement it and the song would have been acceptable.

I am not complaining. I actually really enjoyed this project. I think that, even though I have never done something like this before, it has been a real learning experience and one of the more unorthodox, yet innovative and effective ways of getting my songwriting mana juices a flowin'.

As far as my final products are concerned, I am pretty content with the quality of each. However, I think my lyrics for the fist song could have been a little more progressive, for lack of a better word, and less forced-to-fit-the-melody kind of lyrics. I know that I could have done better and I know that if I had more than an hour and fifty minutes to write better lyrics, I would. I also need to work on my singing. I know that I am pretty capable of singing fairly mediocre tunes and nothing spectacular, but I would really like to have a better understanding of my vocal range and more comfort with my technique which, come due time, will hopefully eventually occur to an extent.

-Peter

P.S. Those are my initials
P.S.S. That's what I would name my boat...if I had one
P.S.S.S. I am deeply sorry for aligning my signature on the right instead of the left on my last post. I am very angry at myself for this.

Let's Get (meta)Physical

Is our universe infinite?

People say that our universe is ever-expanding, but it had to start from a singular point, right? If this is true, then there must be an edge to its plane somewhere... And if there is, indeed, an edge, what lies beyond?

Is there another universe?

Perhaps it is parallel, or at the least extremely similar to our own. If that is the case then is it possible that there are more than one? Think of all the universes as one infinite mirror. Could it be that there are an infinite amount of ever-expanding universes beyond our own infinitely expanding universe? A multiverse?

Or is it just void?

What if, past the edge of all that is currently known and perceived as plausible, there is nothing; something so empty that we humans cannot even begin to comprehend its importance.

But what if there is no edge?

What if our universe is circular, resembling a giant sphere, and is on one, giant, infinite loop? If this is true, then would it be possible to travel so far, so deep into the universe that one would eventually return to the same spot that he or she began their travels? But even then,

would it ever be exact?


And no, I do not use marijuana.

-Peter 

Art Sucks

Art really sucks.

Okay that was a lie.
Not all art sucks. Music is art. Film is art. The list continues indefinitely and infinitely. But art, from my perspective, does suck.

I am talking about the kinds of art you see in museums. The kind of art that is hung up on white walls by silver nails. To me, it's all just pretentious. You don't even have to be a good "artist" to make art; you just have to string a giant load of cohesive jargon together and hope for the best. And then you get by. Most of the time, with success.

But maybe it's just me.

I understand why the people who do like that kind of art, well, like that kind of art. They appreciate it. I appreciate what I do for my own separate reasons. Everyone has theirs. I wish, though, that art did communicate with me in a way that I could comprehend. It must be something special.

-Peter

Skin & Wires

The past couple days have been a productive few for my music and I.

When I attended the songwriting workshop with Brien from Australia I've been thinking about what he said: "To write good songs, you have to make time for it and do it everyday." (of course I am paraphrasing a bit...but I digress). I have taken that to heart and I'm writing more now than I ever have in the past.

I've also been recording more demos recently (I have had a 1:1 ration of recordings to days for the last 3 days). Overall, I'm feeling much more comfortably musically than I have been in a long while.

I'm thinking of making a short 4-song "EP", if you will, and self-releasing it as a made-up band comprised of anonymous musicians.

Skin And Wires

-Peter