From the original SynthMaker forum (2004–2014), with its members’ names and dates.
oddson ·
From 'SynthMaker Dead?' thread:
attic wrote: ...I wonder what Oddson is doing with his newly found free time. 🙂
1) Learning Guitar
2) Learning analog electronics (via guitar effect building)
3) Making MIDI controllers with Teensy
In trying to learn scales on guitar I kept finding crappy Internet resources like scale charts that indicate G# is a note in C minor (instead of Ab).
So I made this: OSM removed (55 downloads when I did) -- see EXE below -- I'm post updated OSM at a later time
It's an early draft but I wondered if anyone has comments or suggestions for improvement.
Right now it uses 'bb', 'b', '#' and 'x' for accidentals... I already plan of fixing that.
BTW -- I was only going to post an EXE but it's over 2MB so I'm posting the OSM... the insides are not complete so properties and such are only partially implemented so far and there is no commenting.
(OSM removed... see later posts.)
trogluddite ·
Looking good so far - particularly like the ability to choose the note naming and the live MIDI input highlighting.
Couple of suggestions...
- Simultaneous piano KB display - useful for folks making the guitar->MIDI KB transition.
- Customising the number of strings and their tuning - mostly I say that as I play bass and ukelele, but I reckon would also be useful for guitarists learning their way around alternative tunings.
Reckon I could find a tool like this very useful. Even after 15yrs playing bass, I still find myself 'counting frets' to work out what note I'm on, and always playing in the same handful of keys that I'm comfortable with. Could be just the thing to get me out of those 'ruts' - and a huge help for trying to match a keyboard part to a bassline.
oddson ·
trogluddite wrote: Simultaneous piano KB display - useful for folks making the guitar->MIDI KB transition.
I hadn't thought of that! I suck on both frets and keys but more on frets.
trogluddite wrote: Customising the number of strings...
See the 'properties' module -- number of strings.
trogluddite wrote: ...and their tuning
Ditto - MIDI note values which are the MIDI note offsets for the open strings.
To switch to bass you'd have to simultaneously alter strings to 4 and and open string MIDI notes to 79,70,69,64.
Some kind of mechanism to load common string-count/tuning combos would be a good add and one I had considered. Also something to allow custom turnings.
I also thought FFT analysis of audio input to show the note you're actually playing (often different than the one you think you're playing). While getting something 'sort-of' working on that is not that tough and I have most of the pieces already, ironing out all the bugs seems a big job so I'm not planning that right away.
oddson ·
It just occurred to me that number of strings should be calculated from the number of open tuning note entries!
Seems a bit obvious now! 😊
One possible area for confusion is the (somewhat) conflicting conventions that bass strings are shown at the bottom but numbered first... (I've used offset-index counting from above internally so string 2 is the G.)
trogluddite ·
oddson wrote: See the 'properties' module
Ah, of course, on second look I found it.
oddson wrote: I also thought FFT analysis of audio input
That would be really cool, especially combined with a tuner to show the deviation. Could maybe also be used for programming custom scales by just playing in the notes.
billv ·
oddson wrote: So I made this:
Great stuff. I like the way it's been put together too. Thanks.
oddson wrote: Some kind of mechanism to load common string-count/tuning combos would be a good add and one I had considered
This post might help. it's a mIdi canal with pre-set tunings.
Midi canal filter +detune
attic ·
Teensy looks cool. I'm going to test drive the Scale Mapper and see if it helps me learn something on my 10 dollar guitar purchased at a local flea market. 😉
oddson ·
oddson wrote: One possible area for confusion is the (somewhat) conflicting conventions that bass strings are shown at the bottom but numbered first... (I've used offset-index counting from above internally so string 2 is the G.)
Wrong! - Low strings get higher numbers. So my index system just needs +1 to get the conventional numbering.
But tunings are normally given from bass to treble so notating E-A-D-G-B-E is 6,5,4,3,2,1. That's awkward.
And most listings don't give either 'scientific' or conventional octave indicators so the above tuning is seldom listed as E,A,d,g,b,e' or E2,A2,D3,G3,B3,E4.
I'd like to come up with a way to have tuning indicated as simple text strings with as little unnecessary detail as possible. Perhaps the system should interpret the first note as being in the range C3-B3 (MIDI 48-59) and then interpreting the octave of each string as being the next matching note name upwards from there.
If the word 'Bass' is in the tuning name then start from C2. {edited - wrong octaves when first posted - and it still not quite right because a 7 string is already not in the same octave number!}
I'd like to include the ability to lower or raise tunings (so Standard D would be D-G-C-F-A-D) with a single mechanism (like I have in the modal scales) rather than explicitly listing every possibility. But that would leave a user interface problem of how to communicate that; "Drop by x semitones" being a bit obtuse.
Comments?
(@ attic - Teensy is very cool. It's a 'near clone' for Arduino but it allows direct MIDI communication from the USB port which most (all?) other Arduino boards make you do with nasty software kludges.)
trogluddite ·
oddson wrote: Comments?
How about a root-note + intervals notation, only specifying a note name for the 'bass' string, and then simply the semi-tone difference in tuning for successive strings. That may avoid the "every possibility explicitly" complexity.
So a standard guitar tuning would become: E2, 5, 5, 5, 4, 5 - for D tuning just replace E2 with D2, but the 'interval' numbers remain the same.
This may also simplify instruments with re-entrant tuning like the ukelele (the "lowest" G-string is tuned an octave up because of the very short scale length) - you could just use negative intervals in the list.
oddson wrote: If the word 'Bass' is in the tuning name then start from C1.
Don't forget us 5 and 6 string player who venture into the 'zero' octave!
oddson ·
trogluddite wrote: Don't forget us 5 and 6 string player who venture into the 'zero' octave!
Why... only giant sloths can hear what you're playing down there anyway. 😈
attic ·
Giant Sloths had very large, dangerous-looking claws. Despite their size they were probably only used to play Bass. It would be cool to have a giant extinct Hamster in my band.
http://www.unmuseum.org/sloth.htm
trogluddite ·
attic wrote: Giant Sloths
Ha ha 🙂 - and Megatherium sounds like a very fitting name for a grindy metal band - maybe the kind that drop tunes all their instruments until the strings are nearly dragging on the floor.
oddson wrote: Why... only giant sloths can hear what you're playing down there anyway.
Indeed - a megafauna communication device; how did you know? 😉
With the current havoc that mankind is having on the environment, we could use some advice from our fellow large-brained Earthlings, and it is well known that cetaceans and pachyderms communicate using infra-sound.
Using Dr. Doolittle's patented "opposable digit axe thwacking" technique, there are indications of success - I'm pretty sure that I have nailed a translation of the message "Danger, keep away", as there have been no sightings of wild elephants in Yorkshire since my experiments began.
I am also working on a 'Flatul-o-matic' machine that uses a low B played through multiple 18 inch sub-woofers to set up harmonic vibrations of the digestive tract as a potential cure for trapped wind.
😉
attic ·
Ha Ha .. Flatul-o-matic ... Don't let the Whoopee Cushion guys sue for infringement.
oddson ·
Ok... I'm not highly motivated to follow some of the suggestions above right now and this works for my needs for the moment. But I do think it could be useful for those with 5-string basses or that use alt-tunings.
Problem is there's too many alt-tunings to list them all so I've settled on a letting the user build their own tunings files (for now).
Click the 'Load Tunings File' button and it tells you about the format.
Still work-in-progress but I thought I'd share an update to solicit comments.
EXE
(I'll post the OSM when it's closer to finished -- given how little I'm working on it that may be a while.)
ChrisHooker ·
Dis is purdy sweet, oddson!
trogluddite ·
Thanks - the file format seems simple enough, we can always zip up some examples and post them up. 🙂
oddson ·
Some minor progress...
Biggest change stems from finding I was having trouble high up on the neck figuring out where I was on my 22 fret guitar so I changed it to allow you to select how many frets to display (from 19-24). Because all the layout is automated it was dead simple.
A few other very minor improvements... the OSM is still not notated nor as polished as I'd like but I'm posting it anyway
infuzion ·
Yea it seems great!
How could we use capo with this?
I'm going to learn gTar also! http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/inc ... y?ref=live
oddson ·
infuzion wrote: ...How could we use capo with this?...
I thought about it but really it's just a visual bar at whatever fret you put in on... it doesn't change the mapping so I didn't think it's needed. But it would be an easy add.
oddson ·
oddson wrote: ... it would be an easy add.
Very Easy
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