Gemini* and Gopher

• Personal/Opinions

  • Melodic Musings

    Here one changes all the notes of the melody to a single pitch, ideally the same pitch (A4, or whatever) so that there is a better basis of comparison for different melodies so reduced. Higher notes (as with louder notes) may sound "better" to the listener on account of being higher or louder, so reduce to the same pitch. Also use the same instrument, as much as possible—Olivier Messiaen had limited access to instruments during World War II, for example—so that timbre changes do not color matters. Good melodies sound good on a variety of instruments, while a not so good melody may sound good only on a particular instrument, or maybe all the fancy effects piled onto a sample mask various melodic faults. A piano would be a good choice for a rhythmic reduction, ideally in a studio environment to cut down on echo, reverb, and other such distractions.

    Rhythms usually repeat, so a melody that does not repeat is perhaps weaker than one that does. Repetitions are often paired with sequences, or can be grouped into phrases with structure: drum parts often follow an ABACABAD form, where A would be the first rhythmic pattern, B a small variation of A, C even more different and with a small bridge, and D very more different and with a lot more of a bridge to the next section. A bridge here would vary from fill notes to nothing at all, and should lead up to the start of the next section. There are other forms; simple repetition of a sequence might result in an AAAA pattern as a sequence is stepped through at different starting pitches, or the "call and response" or "solo and tutti" ABAB form is also typical. Also the patterns can be applied at different levels, or are fractal, so there might be a small scale repetition of a few notes within larger units that span phrases or sections.

  • toes in the water

  • 🔤SpellBinding: AYILTVB Wordo: BUMPH

• Technology and Free Software

  • learning to type

    I remapped my keyboard, physically moving keys around, to Dvorak then Colemak, for the thrill of it.

    I learned to touch type a long time ago, thanks to the tutelage of one Mavis Beacon. Once the skill had been relatively mastered I never looked back, didn't have any particular desire to get better than proficient. I can type with my eyes closed and that's good enough.

  • Internet/Gemini

    • Small Web July - #01

      This past week I spent a little bit of time interacting with people in Gemini. I mostly spend time at the Station, or reading posts in the BBS - though I actually wrote a bit in there for the first time. All my interactions on Gemini have been extremely positive: people have been kind to me, helpful, and the comments, even on Station (which has a smaller character limit) are always very well thought out and genuine.

      In an effort to see if I can bridge my named Mastodon account and my BSKY account (both of these are sort of work related / attached to my real name), in a way that would let me post but prevent me from spending hours doom-scrolling, I installed Openvibe.