tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-130189362024-03-23T13:28:57.308-05:00A Monk's Musical MusingsA Semi-Hemi-Demi-Semi-Erudite Music Theory and Guitar BlogHucbaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111826753868595100noreply@blogger.comBlogger653125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13018936.post-26780193081422282832020-01-31T14:39:00.000-06:002020-02-03T14:39:33.665-06:00Closed on the Place in Colorado!<p>I needed to be in a more inspirational place to work, so this will be fantastic. I'll drive up to check it out in a couple weeks.</p>
Hucbaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111826753868595100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13018936.post-76497774664803294432019-12-27T07:51:00.000-06:002019-12-28T07:53:25.020-06:00Made an Offer on this Place...<p>... in Jefferson, Colorado. Half-and-half garage and residence on 65 acres. It's so me.</p>
<p><img src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Misc/i-CwVSDx6/0/7e805272/O/Screen%20Shot%202019-12-27%20at%208.28.59%20AM.jpg"/></p>
<p><img src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Misc/i-m8LtCvL/0/a24798b2/O/Screen%20Shot%202019-12-27%20at%208.38.10%20AM.jpg"/></p>Hucbaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111826753868595100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13018936.post-74037718993798700532019-11-30T07:58:00.000-06:002019-12-17T07:58:58.347-06:00Moving to Colorado...<p>... so I needed a 4x4 pickup.</p>
<p><img src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Misc/i-fcRp4vX/0/707eecfa/O/IMG_2298%20%281%29.jpg"/></p>Hucbaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111826753868595100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13018936.post-58602549810031989452019-10-31T08:21:00.000-05:002019-11-30T08:22:40.625-06:00Fourteen Days of Perfect Weather<p>Couldn't have asked for more. The 360 in California.</p>
<p><img src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Ferrari-Vacation-13/i-VrtMwsS/0/5cdcc441/O/IMG_2150%20%281%29.jpg"/></p>Hucbaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111826753868595100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13018936.post-66962020774277722922019-09-30T12:45:00.000-05:002019-10-24T12:46:21.439-05:00Vacation Starts the SeventhThis is going to be epic. Planned out perfectly.Hucbaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111826753868595100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13018936.post-27643202548164996012019-08-31T17:25:00.000-05:002019-09-10T17:26:21.032-05:00More Vacation Planning<p>Looking forward to this! Here's my route around the olympic peninsula on US-101, and then US-101 down the coast of Oregon.</p>
<p><img src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Ferrari-Vacation-13/i-SKhSdV3/0/bf029912/O/Screen%20Shot%202019-08-21%20at%2010.43.15%20AM.jpg"/></p>
<p><img src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Ferrari-Vacation-13/i-97T6Jt3/0/e9a7827b/O/Screen%20Shot%202019-08-26%20at%202.15.39%20PM.jpg"/></p>
<p>I'll be leaving in time to visit my cousin outside of Salt Lake City the second week of October.</p>Hucbaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111826753868595100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13018936.post-64343674547656615802019-07-31T04:02:00.000-05:002019-08-09T04:03:10.768-05:00Vacation Plans<p>It's over thirty hours drive from my house to the beginning of US 101 and my vacation drive.</p>
<p><img src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Ferrari-Vacation-13/i-WVfK9bF/0/8f3a082e/O/Screen%20Shot%202019-08-05%20at%204.49.22%20AM.jpg"/></p>Hucbaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111826753868595100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13018936.post-34805602521434805172019-06-30T12:14:00.000-05:002019-07-19T12:15:08.192-05:00Ordered the Final Eight Synclavier Voices...... But they won't get here until September due to refurbished cards being backordered. Arg.Hucbaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111826753868595100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13018936.post-66922586210211436672019-05-31T06:47:00.000-05:002019-06-06T06:48:31.113-05:00Just Awaiting the Final Synclavier Voice Cards<p>And planning a vacation for this fall. I'm going to do the 101 Pacific Coast Highway from the Olympic Peninsula south to Los Angeles in my Dream Buggy.</p>
<p><img src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Misc/i-f2Vhzwb/0/4b212cfa/O/IMG_1827.jpg"/></p>
<p>I've spent the past eighteen months restoring it and it's been perfectly reliable, so I think we're ready.</p>Hucbaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111826753868595100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13018936.post-11971261054012009512019-04-30T06:48:00.000-05:002019-05-10T06:48:30.744-05:00Eight More Voices for the Synclavier<p>That makes 24 voices, so only eight more before I've finished the satellite system. No more to report this month.</p>Hucbaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111826753868595100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13018936.post-74543311189922100022019-03-31T08:18:00.000-05:002019-04-18T08:19:18.949-05:00One Last Time through The Schillinger System<p><img src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Misc/i-gFVPvWD/0/96112029/O/IMG_1996.jpg"/></p>
<p>While I'm awaiting the additional voice cards I need for my Synclavier, I have been keeping occupied by going through my music theory library. I've been through The System three or four times since 1987, and so I decided to do it one last time. The System is ultimately a failure, of course, because no system is revealed, and many of the speculative notions Schillinger proposes are ridiculous. One reason this is so is because he dismisses the idea that the harmonic series has any influence on how we perceive music. He does this by pointing out that in natural sounds, all the harmonics present add up to a unison. I find this brief rejection of the harmonic series' potential to influence our musical perception to be humorous, because in every other thing he presents exhaustive lists of reasons. But he had to do it, otherwise most of his futurism falls apart. All you need to do is strike the nodes on a guitar's low E string up to the seventh, and you can hear how the series desires to resolve up to the A string (Or a major or minor chord on A). So this is the most fatal flaw in The System.</p>
<p>Another factor was Schillinger's untimely death, which makes his System a hodgepodge put together by some of his students and his widow.</p>
<p>But some of Schillinger's ideas are fantastic, such as the axes of melody and the circular and crosswise voice leading transformations in harmony. Both of those things have helped me greatly and have also lead to many compositions. I composed eighteen Axial Studied for solo guitar alone, and the second set of six comprised my final project for my MM degree. So it was far from a waste of time, but I've debunked all of the nonsense, while keeping the mechanics to explain how the harmonic series creates the very essence of musical context. I have written about it <a href="http://hucbald.blogspot.com/2010/09/why-music-works-chapter-one.html">here,</a> and about all of the secondary dominants <a href="http://hucbald.blogspot.com/2010/09/why-music-works-chapter-five.html">here.</a>
Hucbaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111826753868595100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13018936.post-26325703661596260342019-02-28T11:14:00.000-06:002019-03-08T11:15:30.647-06:00Side Project: Replacing Voices in Second Synclavier<p>Now that I have the 64 voice Synclavier up and running, I am replacing the voice cards in my second system. I had to cannibalize it for the 64 voice system, and it ended up with just 8 voices out of a possible 32. Now I have another 8 voices, so it is at 16 currently. The idea is to have the 32 voice system slaved to the 64 voice system, so the big system will be the orchestra, and the small system will be dedicated to sound effects. This will make mixing much easier as well, because the orchestra and sound effects will each have their own stereo pair of outputs.</p>Hucbaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111826753868595100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13018936.post-50448711949636919352019-01-31T13:37:00.000-06:002019-02-07T13:38:01.701-06:00Downloaded and Installed New Synclavier^3 Version<p>I finally got around to downloading and installing the new Sync^3 version with the MIDI synchronization fixed. I'll try it out when my schedule permits.</p>
<p>Very glad to get to this point.</p>Hucbaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111826753868595100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13018936.post-42364542337183313212018-12-31T13:42:00.000-06:002019-01-03T13:43:16.345-06:00MIDI Sync Had a Software Bug!So I wasn't going crazy, there was a bug in the MIDI driver of Synclavier^3! I did a telephone conference with Cameron Jones, who has always been the programmer of the Synclavier, and he discovered it while we were talking. So now I have a new build with that fixed, which is just the end of a lot of frustration - over five months worth! Looking forward to 2019 now.Hucbaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111826753868595100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13018936.post-71024610676158878532018-11-30T11:09:00.000-06:002018-12-07T11:09:23.079-06:00I've Given Up on MIDI Sync<p>Try as I might, I can't get it to work. I've wasted months on this, so it's time to give up and just record the sequences into the Synclavier without the sync feature. Since the tracks will be in sync with each other once in the Synclavier, it really doesn't matter, it just makes the process a bit busier because I have to get the Synclavier recording, <i>then</i> press start in Encore. It would just be tidier if when I pressed play in Encore, the Synclavier would follow along. I've tried this with both MIDI Time Code and MIDI Clock, and still no joy.</p>Hucbaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111826753868595100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13018936.post-82771848182402506462018-10-31T04:04:00.000-05:002018-11-05T04:05:00.700-06:00Success!<p>I can now record sequences from Encore into the Synclavier with Synclavier^3 in one pass. I discovered all of the manuals at Synclavier.com and have been going through them to find the changes between Release M - which I was using thirty years ago - to the new Release 5.3. Many things have changed, of course, and it turns out that, in order to prepare multiple tracks for recording, you press and hold the MIDI button, and then press the tracks you want to record.</p>
<p>I still have not gotten synchronization between Encore and the Synclavier to work, but that is not strictly necessary, so I'm going to give up on that for the time being. Once the sequences are in the Synclavier, everything will be synchronized to itself anyway.</p>Hucbaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111826753868595100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13018936.post-75167336682305501722018-09-30T03:24:00.000-05:002018-10-03T03:24:46.716-05:00First Synclavier Sequence Recorded<p>Finally, I have recorded a sequence from Encore to the Synclavier using Synclavier^3 and my workaround. I did some preliminary timbre programming, and that is coming back fast. I'm hopeful that I'll have improved methodology when I figure a few more things out, but it's finally a start.</p>Hucbaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111826753868595100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13018936.post-78208743442844945282018-08-31T10:22:00.000-05:002018-09-01T10:24:09.897-05:00Finally! After Six Years of Experiments, My 64 Voice Dream Machine Arrives<p>The largest frustration factor in my life has been resolved! I finally have 64 voices of glorious Synclavier Additive/FM synthesis in a single system. I've also figured out how to record sequences from Encore into the Synclavier's Digital Memory Recorder, albeit using a workaround. Next month I'll have the first piece to share, which will be the opening Toccata from my first Sonata for Classic Guitar, which is a ripping tap technique piece. Now I can do ALL my albums.</p>
<p><img src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Misc/i-TvgbQpC/0/8968b1d1/O/IMG_1874%20%281%29.jpg"/></p>
<p><center>With 64 voices I can do a synthesized symphony orchestra.</center></p>
<p><img src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Misc/i-SHQMJWT/0/6ef7bd28/O/IMG_1873.jpg"/></p>
<p><center>The original system I bought had a big enough case, we just had to move MIDI and Sample-to-Disk to the enclosure behind.</center></p>Hucbaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111826753868595100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13018936.post-75292877853910867432018-07-31T07:05:00.000-05:002018-08-03T07:06:33.264-05:00Setting Up Synclavier^3 for Recording from an External Sequencer<p>Another month, more progress. I had to ask the programmer how to do this, as the documentation is still in an early state of evolution.</p>
<p>The first step is to set Synclavier^3 up to sync to MIDI time code. In Preferences, go to the Real Time Settings tab and check the box called Use MIDI Time Code for SMPTE Input. This will make the Synclavier wait for MIDI Time Code before it starts, making it effectively a slave to the external sequencer (The Encore notation program, in my case).</p>
<p><img src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Misc/i-GrhmBP2/0/24b3e48c/O/001_Screen%20Shot%202018-07-19%20at%209.43.06%20AM.jpg"/></p>
<p><center>Here is the RTS tab with the box checked.</center></p>
<p>Second, you set the Synclavier up to Record. In the MIDI ROUTING DISPLAY page in the Terminal window, set Sync In to OMS (OMS stands for Opcode MIDI System, which is an old format that the Synclavier is stuck with). Sync Out and Echo should be OFF. Inputs should be set to ALL, Clock Type to MTC (MIDI Time Code), and OMS Input to ON.</p>
<p>To hear what is being recorded, you will have to put timbres on each track. Since I'm doing six track virtual guitar scores right now, I put a sine wave on each track and named them TR1 through TR6.</p>
<p><img src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Misc/i-KJb5bbJ/0/26f1efab/O/003_Screen%20Shot%202018-07-19%20at%209.42.03%20AM.jpg"/></p>
<p><center>The Synclavier terminal page set up to record.</center></p>
<p>Finally, on either the physical button panel or the virtual one, light the SMPTE MODE button and select OMS MIDI Sync. Your sequencer should now be ready to be the master, and the Synclavier the slave.</p>
<p><img src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Misc/i-cD7pKmQ/0/0e402c06/O/002_Screen%20Shot%202018-07-19%20at%209.43.23%20AM.jpg"/></p>
<p><center>The Synclavier set to receive external sync from the external sequencer.</center></p>
<p>Next month I should have it working. ;^)</p>Hucbaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111826753868595100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13018936.post-9296584840579719532018-06-30T17:15:00.000-05:002018-07-02T17:17:14.447-05:00Synclavier 3 Allows MIDI Routing to Virtual Ports From the Mac<p>With just the physical Synclavier, there are eight MIDI outputs with sixteen channels each. That was astonishing in 1985, but this is 2018. Those physical outputs are still available, but now there are virtual outputs as well. In the screenshot below, I have highlighted six tracks to record, one for each string of the guitar. In the box above the virtual control knob - so much better than the physical one! - you see <b>MIDI: V[1 ] C[6 ].</b> That means the track most recently selected, track 6, routes to VIRTUAL output 1, and CHANEL number 6. Tracks 1 through 5 are <b>V[1] C[1-5 ].</b> This is just as I have them set up in Encore. What I haven't been able to figure out yet - sure is nice to know the guy who wrote the program! - is how to get the External Sync set to MIDI, so I'll have to ask him about that. Slow but sure progress.</p>
<p><img src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Misc/i-BL5p7vj/0/756cb889/O/Screen%20Shot%202018-07-02%20at%204.48.17%20PM.jpg"/></p>Hucbaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111826753868595100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13018936.post-20605807028451816132018-05-31T12:12:00.000-05:002018-06-03T12:13:58.016-05:00Synclavier 3 and Core MIDI Allow Encore to Be the Sequencer<p>Core MIDI now allows me to record MIDI sequences directly from the Encore music processor into the Synclavier's Digital Memory Recorder in real time. This allows me to capture all of the tempos, tempo changes, dynamics and dynamic changes I program into the sequences within Encore. Those elements are lost if I just export a Type 1 MIDI file from Encore and drop that into the Synclavier. This is a great advance!</p>
<p>I do however wish I had been able to get Encore's VST player to work with Arturia's Synclavier V virtual instrument, but sadly, I have not been able to get that to function. Huge disappointment, as Synclavier V would allow me to eliminate the Synclavier hardware entirely and never be outside of the Encore environment. IOW, the ultimate dream come true for me. Oh well.</p>
<p>I would note that I really only <i>need</i> thirty-two tracks, though. Two-hundred-eight is overkill. ;^)</p>
<p><img src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Misc/i-krFQ8tr/0/ab874446/O/Screen%20Shot%202018-05-10%20at%203.46.33%20PM.jpg"/></p>Hucbaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111826753868595100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13018936.post-44019978184826804942018-04-30T14:15:00.000-05:002018-05-02T14:16:18.121-05:00Synclavier Studio 1 Complete<p>Took a little sorting out - doesn't it always? - but I now have my first Synclavier 3 Studio set up.</p>
<p>I decided on an older 24" monitor for the larger size at any given resolution, and the fact that it gives me more space on the keyboard for a music/document stand. I will be transcribing a lot of music into the Synclavier!</p>
<p><img src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Misc/i-rttZ6dm/0/0d04444c/O/IMG_1793%20%281%29.jpg"/></p>
<p><center>I use both a Magic Trackpad 2 and an old optical trackball because the trackball is better for entering music notation.</center></p>
<p>I have a 63" Panasonic plasma TV for monitor two. Having the button panel very large is a huge help.</p>
<p><img src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Misc/i-J6RcxNX/0/2223672c/O/IMG_1798.jpg"/></p>
<p><center>The virtual control knob is far superior to the physical one with the +/- 1, 10, 100 buttons</center></p>
<p>It also doubles as my home theater now. The Turbosound live sound monitors and Bryston amp sound killer.</p>
<p><img src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Misc/i-mRXZn2W/0/52d62562/O/IMG_1803%20%281%29.jpg"/></p>
<p><center>The GEO is George Clinton of Parliament/Funkadelic. It's a Synclavier monitor case.</center></p>Hucbaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111826753868595100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13018936.post-2268606244537431012018-03-31T04:58:00.000-05:002018-04-01T04:58:50.633-05:00Synclavier 3: A Thirty Year Dream Comes True!<p>You may have noticed I haven't been posting much about music the past year or so. Problem was, I was stuck trying to interface 80's technology into my twenty-first century workflow, and it just was't happening. Too many things go wrong with the old hardware, and I can't get into a groove with recording if I'm constantly interrupted by gear failures. Well, all of that has been addressed by the Synclavier 3 interface and hardware. It completely eliminates <i>all</i> the original Synclavier computer, memory, drive, and monitor hardware, and allows for the original voices - very reliable and I have spares - to be directly controlled by a Thunderbolt Mac! This means no more floppy drives, no more Winchester hard drives, and no more VT-640 or Pericom dumb monitors! Even the Synclavier keyboard and Digital Guitar Interface are optional now!</p>
<p>Not only that, but all of my Encore scores can be transferred into the Synclavier sequencer directly within Mac OS! At long last my workflow will be completely integrated within my Macs! This changes everything, and I'm seriously psyched.</p>
<p><img src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Misc/i-GDH2jH7/0/dbe5736b/O/IMG_1773.jpg"/></p>
<p><center>My old friend Mitch set me up. We hadn't seen each other for thirty years!</center></p>
<p>So, I have one album in the can which I'll release within a few weeks, and that's nine tracks from the 80's I did, and then I have an album of synth guitar music all scored up in Encore that I'll begin working on. That's classical guitar music I'm going to realize with the Virtual Synclavier Guitar I developed with Encore. The Synclavier version of Fuga Electronica and the second album of guitar music will have to wait, as the first Synclavier 3 system is 32 stereo voices, and I'll need the 64 voice system to do those - Sonata Two is for two guitars - but I'm off and running finally. Very wound up!</p>Hucbaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111826753868595100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13018936.post-45753677906876708942018-02-21T14:04:00.001-06:002018-02-22T04:39:13.296-06:00Remodern Review Interview<p>Remodernism is a back-to-basics movement among libertarian and conservative artists in the fine arts realm. I've been following it for quite a while, and have voiced my support to Richard Bledsoe, even though I'm not in fine arts and even though I'm not a conservative (Small-l libertarian, maybe). So, he did an email interview with me.</p>
<p><a href="https://remodernreview.wordpress.com/2018/02/06/music-remodernism-resonates-with-composer-george-pepper/">MUSIC: Remodernism Resonates with Composer George Pepper</a></p>
<p>EDIT: Linked at <a href="https://pjmedia.com/instapundit/289357/">Instapundit!</a> I'm infamous! lol</p>Hucbaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111826753868595100noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13018936.post-80298341688263226672018-01-30T06:58:00.000-06:002018-01-30T06:58:30.623-06:00The Haight: Love, Rock and Revolution<center><p>The Photography of Jim Marshall</p></center>
<p><center><img src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Misc/i-RrV5qhm/0/89b6fe51/O/081Flis-putL%20%281%29.jpg"/></center></p>
<center><p><img src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Misc/i-txMhgQZ/0/c958b93e/O/jim_marshall_0.jpg"/></p></center>
<center><p>Jim Marshall, who died in 2010.</p></center>
<p>With last summer being the fiftieth anniversary of the 1967 Summer of Love in San Fransisco, I decided to get a retrospective from this astonishing coffee table book about the topic. I have read other takes in Rolling Stone magazine and the like, but this photo essay with minimalist storytelling is very engrossing. You can go through the book in a dedicated evening of reading. The historic photos are amazing: Jerry Garcia, David Crosby, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Bob Dylan, and The Who, to name but a few.<p>
<p>I was much too young to participate in the Summer of Love - only nine years old that summer - but the twenty-somethings of the time were very swept up in it, and of course, the music revolution of the mid sixties continues to reverberate today. Jimi Hendrix was and always will be my all time favorite rock guitarist, and The Who my favorite "British Invasion" band - I listened to Quadrophenia just about every day when I was in high school - so these early and very candid photos astonished me. I had seen a few of them before, but most were entirely new to me.</p>
<p>So, if you are interested in the music of the sixties, this is a great place to learn the background of how it all came to be.</p>
<p>An interesting bit of trivia is that Marshall was the inspiration for Dennis Hopper's photographer character in Apocalypse Now.</p>
<p><center><img src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Misc/i-D3Nb2h5/0/10af449f/O/american-war_00261397%20%281%29.jpg"/></center></p>
<p><center>Now I have to watch that again!</center></p>Hucbaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17111826753868595100noreply@blogger.com0