Sandra Holland NMD 201: August 2012

Friday, August 31, 2012

Week 7 - Raw HTML

It is time to move on from compositions and begin learning about building websites. The fundamental part of building a website is having an understanding of raw HTML. HTML stands for Hypertext Markup Language. Markup refers to how the text is presented - is it bold or a heading for example.

HTML is all about codes and tags. It is a language for creating web pages and determines how information will look in a web browser. There are some basic rules that you should follow when working with HTML.

1. All file names should be in lowercase
2. No special characters should be used except for underscore
3. Remember to use the 'html' extension

HTML is about lots of 'tags' and they usually work in pairs - a beginning tag and an ending tag. To begin HTML you need to start it with the tag <html> and at the end the tag is </html> (the slash is used for the ending tag). You also need to remember that any spaces will be ignored and that spaces need to be written in. The <p> tag will give you a new paragraph.

There is a general basic structure when starting a new page:

<html>

<head>

</head>

</html>

The majority of information goes between the <body> </body> tags.

This is a really good site for Getting Started with HTML

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Week 6 - Reason

Now it is time to use another piece of software called Reason from Propeller Heads. Reason makes the instrument sounds come alive. After listening to the sounds of MIDI while working in Sibelius it was fantastic to hear the difference when it is played in Reason.

To use Reason I exported a MIDI file and imported it into the program. It automatically puts in the instruments but then a range of combinator patches can be selected to produce the sound that works best.

Using Reason is like being in a virtual recording studio. There are so many things to get my head around in this program!

Here is an image of what choosing a combinator patch looks like:

The amazing thing about the Reason program is how life like the elements are. You can even take a look at the back of the equipment and see all the wires plugged in!

I found this video tutorial which has really helped me to understand how to use Reason.

Week 6

Well it turns out that I forgot to check if the videos had a creative commons licence and unfortunately all of the videos that I have watched and thought I might like to compose to, I can't use.

So it's back to the drawing board and more video searching for an appropriate clip that I like....

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Animation Selections

After extensive searching, viewing and now feeling like I have square eyes, I have found three animations that I like. They all have creative commons licences and so I am able to use them!

The first one below is Stop-Motion Biscuit Cake by Alan Travers.

Stop-Motion Biscuit Cake from Alan Travers on Vimeo.

Next, Grumpy Grandma

Grumpy Grandma from magnum703 on Vimeo.

And finally, The Scrollwheel by Guy Collins

The Scrollwheel from Guy Collins on Vimeo.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Week 5 - Chord Progressions

A chord progression is sometimes also called a harmonic progression. It is a series of chords that are based on key signature of the music. Chords and chord progressions are the basis of harmony.

A chord is a group of usually 3 or more notes that are played together and so a chord progression is then a group of chords that are played in a certain order. Chords are numbered with Roman numerals and they also have technical names such as dominant, subdominant and tonic. The tonic is the root note of a scale e.g. the C Major scale root note is C and a chord built on C - C, E, G is so called the tonic chord. The fifth note of the C Major scale is the dominant note which is G, so the dominant chord of C Major is G, B, D.

My weekly task involved composing a melody over a chord progression and this meant thinking about what notes sound like when played together and also about what sort of feeling I want to convey with my composition. If I choose notes that sound nice together then the music will sound resolved and if I want to create tension I can perhaps choose notes that don't blend together so well.

Here is a chart of common chord progressions that I found at Easy Lead Guitar

In most popular songs there are the same basic chord progressions. It appears to be very easy to compose songs around these chords and make them sound good and ultimately sell songs.

Check out this video that is a fantastic example of how so many songs that we hear on the radio can be built around the same chord progressions. (Please note that there is some swearing in the video) This video features many songs built around the I, V, VI, IV chord progression.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Creative Commons

Creative Commons or CC is a non-profit organisation that provides free licences for authors, musicians and other creators. Work created by someone is automatically protected by copyright, but a creator can apply a Creative Commons licence and allow the general public to access and use their content for their own purposes, so long as it follows the conditions set by the creator.

There is a great PDF designed for teachers and students to understand Creative Commons. You can view the PDF here.

The different licences available are:

Attribution

Attribution Share Alike

Attribution No Derivative Works

Attribution Non-Commercial

Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike

Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives

This is the information regarding the Licence terms:


Attribution BY	Noncommercial NC	No Derivative Works ND	Share Alike SA
This applies to every Creative Commons work. Whenever a work is copied or redistributed under a Creative Commons licence, the original creator (and any other nominated parties) must be credited and the source linked to.	Lets others copy, distribute, display and perform the work for noncommercial purposes only.	Lets others distribute, display and perform only verbatim copies of the work. They may not adapt or change the work in any way.	Allows others to remix, adapt and build on the work, but only if they distribute the derivative works under the same the licence terms that govern the original work.

Smart Copying has a comprehensive list of "Creative Commons and other Open Access Resources on the Web".

There are also a couple of animations on the Creative Commons website that are fun and simple to help understand how Creative Commons works. Here is the link to the 1st animation "Mayer and Bettle" http://creativecommons.org.au/content/mayer-and-bettle.mov

Monday, August 13, 2012

Animation

After searching further I found "Gulp" directed by Sumo Science and shot entirely on a Nokia N8:

Gulp. The world's largest stop-motion animation shot on a Nokia N8. from Nokia HD on Vimeo.

I think that this might just be the animation for me! Now to think about the composition...

Week 4 - Animation Research

Now it's time to research some animations for my assessment task. The first clip I watched was "Lag" by Guy Collins.

I think that I could have a lot of fun composing to this clip with all the problems that the character runs into.

A SHORT LOVE STORY IN STOP MOTION from Carlos Lascano on Vimeo.

This is another animation that I like.

SCINTILLATION from Xavier Chassaing on Vimeo.

And another.

They are all quite different and would require very different compositions to match the animation. There is lots to think about in terms of where my composition will lead.

Monday, August 6, 2012

Sharps and Flats

We've been talking about music theory in class and I feel very fortunate to be studying my second semester of music theory and feel like I have a head start on this. Our last activity was to create some scales in Sibelius and that leads me to sharps and flats.

A sharp or flat on a keyboard is generally the black keys. They are a semi-tone higher or lower than the white key beside it. There is a symbol that represents a sharp and another symbol that represents a flat, and these symbols must be written in front of the note you wish to raise or lower on a score.

Here is how the notes would be written:

And this is where the notes are on a keyboard:

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