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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS);faqs.391




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2: Composition Software

The programs examined here are "CSound",

----------------------------------------
2.1: CSound

CSound is a suite of music software from MIT's MediaLab.  It runs on
VAXes, DEC-RISCS, SUNS, NeXT and Macintoshes.  It is available by
anonymous ftp from media-lab.media.mit.edu

It has a substantial manual, and comes with a number of examples.

It produces sound files in a variety of formats, including 8-bit char,
8-bit a-law, 8-bit u-law, 16-bit short ints, 32-bit long ints, or
32-bit floats.  It can be played directly on SUN and NeXT.

There is a mailing list for CSound users, which can be joined by
sending mail to [e-mail]

The following is from the UNIX manual page.

"Csound is an environment in which a "scorefile" or external event
sequence can invoke arbitrarily complex signal-processing
"instruments" to produce sound. Audio may be displayed during its
creation, and the resulting sound sent to an on-line audio device or
to an intermediate soundfile for later playback.  Csound is invoked by
a single command, which induces three phases of action:

    Score sorting
    Orchestra translation and loading
    Sound generation (audio processing and synthesis).

"Csound audio processing is supported by various score manipulation
languages (SCOT, CSCORE, SCSORT, EXTRACT) and by soundfile
analysis-synthesis methods including additive synthesis (ADSYN),
linear predictive coding (LPC), and phase vocoding (PVOC).

"There is no complete on-line manual, but man entries exist for the
stand-alone analysis and scoring programs.  More complete information
can be found in the troff-able "Csound Reference Manual," which
provides an overview, tutorial, details of behavior, and step-by-step
examples."

----------------------------------------
2.2: CMIX

Cmix is a loosely connected group of utilities for maniplating
soundfiles.  The system is available by FTP.

The following description is taken from the UNIX manual page.

"Cmix is a package of routines for editting, processing, and creating
soundfiles.  It also includes a library of routines designed to make
it easier to write C programs which deal with soundfiles.

Typically, the user prepares a file of calls to various cmix
routines, and then invokes them by saying something like:

    mix < my.data

Consider the following example data file:

     input("snd_directory/elvis")
     output("snd_directory/elvis+industry")
     setline(0,0,1,1,10,1,11,0)
     mix(8.6,0,21,1,0)
     input("snd_directory/industry")
     setline(0,0,5,1,11,0)
     mix(0,0,11,1,0)

This first opens the file "snd_directory/elvis" for input, and the
file "snd_directory/elvis+industry" for the output of the new mix.
Setline creates the amplitude envelope to be used for a subsequent
call to mix.  The arguments to setline are pairs of time/amplitude
values.  It interpolates linearly between these points.  The next call
is to mix and asks to start copying the current input file to the
current outputfile, starting at time 8.6 in the input file, and time 0
in the output file.  It will mix until time 21 on the input file is
reached.  The fourth argument to mix is the relative amplitude of the
current input file, and the final argument is used to determine
channel location (see man page on mix).

Then, with a different envelope from the next call to setline there is
another call to mix "snd_directory_industry" into the same output
file.

To cause this to happen, once this data file has been prepared, the
user should type:

    mix <my.data >&my.data.output &

Note that the data file passes through the Minc preprocessor before
being passed to cmix.  Be sure to consult the manual page on Minc for
more information.

This is the general procedure for using any of the various cmix
utilities -- creating a data file and then invoking the routines with
a cal to cmix.  User writtne subroutines which either augment or
replace those in cmix can be compiled in the users own filespace.  See
the manual pages on usersub and Minc for more information.

----------------------------------------
3: Inspirational Sources

Obviously there isn't one true method of obtaining inspiration which
will enable everyone to become Bach, but here are some tricks that
have worked for people on rec.music.compose in the past:
 - walking.  The rhythm of walking seems to help people get a
   concrete foundation to hum to.
 - other music.  Listen to things that seem incomplete to you, and
   try and arrange it how it should have sounded.
 - theory exercises.  Play with some exercises in theory, and maybe
   something that is pleasant will jump out at you.


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4: Getting published

[need info]

----------------------------------------
4.1: Copyright

The copyright laws will depend on the country you are in.  In general,
it is safe to select books whose authors/editors died more than 74
years ago.  Some things to beware of are:
 - missing copyright notices.  In any country that has signed the
   Berne Convention agreement about copyright, there doesn't need
   to be a copyright notice.  Simply publishing the work is enough.
 - facsimile editions.  In general the actual copied music isn't
   under a new copyright, but any commentary/annotation is.
 - collections.  If someone collects music and publishes it, they
   may be able to have a collection copyright for the whole
   collection.
 - editors.  Editors who rearrange, transpose or otherwise change
   the text have a new copyright on the new work.
 - audio editions.  Actual audio music has a different copyright
   lifetime than sheet music.

Discussion on copyright issues should not take place on
rec.music.compose, but should be directed to the copyright mailing
list (to join, send mail to [e-mail]).

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5: Networked Music

This section discusses programs and groups that are for musicians
that have access to UseNet or Internet.

----------------------------------------
5.1: NetJam

For information on NetJam, see the NetJam FAQ.  This is posted
fortnightly to comp.music, rec.music.makers and rec.music.synth.

----------------------------------------
6: Theory

Topics covered in this chapter are Parallel octaves and fifths,
general compositional hints, rhythm, stochastic music and "diablo
in musica".

----------------------------------------
6.1: Parallel octaves and fifths

Parallel octaves and fifths occur when in polyphonic (multiple voice)
music when two voices that are separated by a fifth or an octave move
up or down by the same interval.  The reason these are considered bad
in traditional counterpoint stems from many listener's perceptions of
the voices.  Most people feel that when the voices move in parallel
fifths or octaves, the sense of there being two voices is lost; that
the voices "merge" into one.

Similar effects are heard by relatively few people, on other
intervals, but because not as many lose the sense of polyphony those
intervals aren't "forbidden".

Having voices moving in parallel while separated by an octave or fifth
isn't necessarily bad.  It has been used by composers, with
well-defined means of avoiding the merging sound.

For more information on the parallel octaves and fifths subject, see
Matt Field's essay "Gems 2" which was posted to rec.music.compose.
[ftp-site?]

----------------------------------------
6.2: Compositional hints (a-la gems)

[need info]

----------------------------------------
6.3: diablo in musica

[need info]

----------------------------------------
6.4: Rhythm

[need info]

----------------------------------------
6.5: Stochastic Music

Stochastic music is the name given to a style of generation of musical
ideas developed by Iannis Xenakis, and well described in his book
"Formalized Music".  This is not the same as random music, but rather
describes a technique for developing a musical progress with a random
walk-like method.


----------------------------------------
7: Orchestration

[need info]


----------------------------------------
8: Books

The books in this section are categorised by the subjects they cover.
The entries are in bib format.  That is (taken from the man-page
for addbib(1)):
  %A   Author's name
  %B   Book containing article referenced
  %C   City (place of publication)
  %D   Date of publication
  %E   Editor of book containing article referenced
  %F   Footnote number or label (supplied by refer)
  %G   Government order number
  %H   Header commentary, printed before reference
  %I   Issuer (publisher)
  %J   Journal containing article
  %K   Keywords to use in locating reference
  %L   Label field used by -k option of refer
  %M   Bell Labs Memorandum (undefined)
  %N   Number within volume
  %O   Other commentary, printed at end of reference
  %P   Page number(s)
  %Q   Corporate or Foreign Author (unreversed)
  %R   Report, paper, or thesis (unpublished)
  %S   Series title
  %T   Title of article or book
  %V   Volume number
  %X   Abstract - used by roffbib, not by refer

----------------------------------------
8.1: Harmony

----------------------------------------
8.2: Counterpoint

%A C.H. Kitson
%T The Art of Counterpoint
%I Clarendon Press
%D 1907
%O This is a detailed book, but is rather confusing to the beginner.
   Covers classical style (Palestrina) counterpoint.

%A Johann Phillip Kirnberger
%T The Art of Strict Musical Composition
%I Yale University Press
%D 1982
%S Music Theory Translation Series
%O A very clear book with numerous examples.  This has a section on
   counterpoint which explains simple counterpoint in two or more
   parts.

----------------------------------------
8.3: History

[need info]

----------------------------------------
8.4: Composition

%A Johann Phillip Kirnberger
%T The Art of Strict Musical Composition
%I Yale University Press
%D 1982
%S Music Theory Translation Series
%O A very clear book with numerous examples.  This has a section on
   counterpoint which explains simple counterpoint in two or more
   parts.

%A Robert Twain Adams
%T Electronic Music Composition for Beginners
%I Dubuque, Iowa: Wm. C. Brown
%D c1986
%O Electronic composition.  ISBN 0-697-00457-0 (pbk.)

%A Iannis Xenakis
%T Formalized Music
%I Indiana University Press
%D 1971
%O Revised and enlarged edition published Pendragon Press (1992).

----------------------------------------
8.5: Technology

%A F. Richard Moore
%T Elements of Computer Music
%I Prentice-Hall
%D 1990
%O Lots of stuff on software synthesis, and more, all centered around
   cmusic.  ISBN: 0-13252-552-6 $38.00 + $4.00 shipping UPS surface

%A Tom Darter, Greg Armbruster
%T The Art of Electronic Music
%I New York, Quill
%D c1984
%O "...Edited from material originally published in Keyboard
   magazine from 1975 to 1983"--T.p. verso.
   Electronic music--History and criticism.
   Musical instruments, Electronic.
   Synthesizer (Musical instrument)
   Musicians--Interviews.
   ISBN: 0-688-03106-4 (pbk.) : $15.95
   ISBN: 0-688-03105-6

%A Herbert Russcol
%T The liberation of sound: an introduction to electronic music
%I New York: Da Capo Press
%D 1994 (I'm presuming this is a joke)
%S Da Capo Press music reprint series
%C Notes: Reprint. Originally published: Englewood Cliffs, N.J. :
   Subjects: Electronic music--History and criticism.
   ISBN: 0-306-76263-3 : $35.00


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8.5: Orchestration

[need info]

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9: Ethno-musicology

[need info]

----------------------------------------
10: Hardware

You can buy many different types of hardware to help you wish
composition.  You should see the following newsgroups for help in
choosing and buying hardware (which newsgroups you ask for help will
depend on your existing setup and whether you have decided what to buy
yet):
  comp.sys.ibmpc.soundcards
  comp.sys.amiga.audio
  rec.music.synth
  rec.music.makers
  rec.music.marketplace
  comp.music

[any others?  Are these bad groups?]

----------------------------------------
Credits

[e-mail]
Nathan Torkington ([e-mail])
Xref: bloom-picayune.mit.edu rec.music.bluenote:20535 rec.music.info:668 news.answers:4258
Newsgroups: rec.music.bluenote,rec.music.info,news.answers
Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!enterpoop.mit.edu!spool.mu.edu!uunet!mcsun!sun4nl!dutrun!recmusic
From: [e-mail] (Mark Linimon)
Subject: FAQ: rec.music.bluenote: frequently asked questions
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Followup-To: poster
Summary: Answers to blues and jazz frequently asked questions (periodic posting)
Originator: [e-mail]
Supersedes: <[e-mail]>
Sender: [e-mail]
Nntp-Posting-Host: cygnus.cp.tn.tudelft.nl
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Organization: Lonesome Dove Computing Services
Date: Sat, 28 Nov 1992 11:07:28 GMT
Approved: [e-mail]
Expires: Fri, 8 Jan 1993 08:09:48 GMT
Lines: 374

Archive-name: music/bluenote/faq
Version: 1.0
Last-Modified: Thu Oct 29 11:36:49 EST 1992

This posting provides a (possibly biased) overview of newsgroup
rec.music.bluenote by summarizing the history, common past topics, and
frequently asked questions.

A companion posting to this one, "FAQ: rec.music.bluenote: welcome to
rec.music.bluenote" <[e-mail]>,
complements this one by providing a concise introduction to the group.
Another posting, "FAQ: rec.music.bluenote: sources of information",
<[e-mail]>, provides references
to books, magazines, media, and festivals.

These articles are repeated periodically for the benefit of new readers.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: table of contents

    Subject: What is the charter of rec.music.bluenote?
    Subject: What is considered good net.etiquette on rec.music.bluenote?
    Subject: What have some common past topics been?
    Subject: What are the best 100 jazz albums?
    Subject: What are the best 100 blues albums?
    Subject: Is [jazz | blues] currently [dying | undergoing a rebirth]?
    Subject: Is [fusion | avant-garde | etc.] really jazz?
    Subject: I think X is a much better player than Y.
    Subject: What are "Fake Books?"  What about "Real Books?"
    Subject: What do people think of Wynton Marsalis?
    Subject: Who did that music on the Charlie Brown specials?
    Subject: What is a "mojo"?
    Subject: Why isn't there a rec.music.jazz?  Rec.music.blues?
    Subject: A brief history of rec.music.bluenote.
    Subject: Support live music! [FAQ Editor's personal soapbox]
    Subject: Contributions to rec.music.bluenote FAQs.

------------------------------

Subject: What is the charter of rec.music.bluenote?

The charter of rec.music.bluenote is to provide a forum for discussion
of both jazz and blues music, both past and future.  The group is
unmoderated; participation is open to all.

[There was no mechanism at the time of the newsgroup creation to include a
formal charter in the vote, like there is today.  However, the above is
pretty close to what the original consensus was.  See "A brief history of
rec.music.bluenote", below, for details. -- Mark]

Note that the listing in the canonical "newsgroups" file is:

rec.music.bluenote    Discussion of jazz, blues, and related types of music.

------------------------------

Subject: What is considered good net.etiquette on rec.music.bluenote?

Here are some etiquette reminders that will help us all to make the group
an ever-friendlier place:

-- Please, before posting, ensure that you've read the basic Usenet
   etiquette guide in news.announce.newusers.

-- Please consider the bluenote readership before you cross-post.  Consider
   rec.music.misc for articles of general interest to all music fans.

-- Please set the Followup-To: line in your post.  This is especially
   true if you are cross-posting.  If you are requesting information,
   consider setting Followup-To: poster, and then summarizing the replies
   to the net.

-- Particulary if you're posting upcoming concert information, consider
   setting the Distribution: line in your post (for example: usa, na,
   can, ba) to restrict posting to an appropriate local region.  [However,
   some folks like to know what's going on elsewhere in the world.]

-- When following up, please change the Subject: line if the subject has
   really changed.

-- Musical tastes differ.  Rec.music.bluenote, when at its best, is a
   force that can aid education and tolerance.  Let's each of us try to
   learn from one another.

------------------------------

Subject: What have some common past topics been?

An incomplete list would include:

      Discussions of specific artists, often with discographies or record
            reviews.
      Pointers to upcoming festivals (Chicago Bluesfest, New Orleans Jazz
            and Heritage festival, others).
      Concert schedules and reviews.
      Club listings.
      Musical jam listings.
      Discussion of music theory, performance practice, and instrument
            techniques.
      Pointers to books and magazines about jazz and blues.

------------------------------

Subject: What are the best 100 jazz albums?

Even seasoned listeners won't agree on this topic.  Common recommendations
include recordings by (roughly in historical order) Louis Armstrong, Duke
Ellington, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane,
Charles Mingus, and Ornette Coleman.  Most would agree that a discussion
of jazz would be incomplete without including the recordings of these
artists.

------------------------------

Subject: What are the best 100 blues albums?

Again, tastes vary.  At the very least, no discussion would be complete
without Robert Johnson, Leadbelly, and Muddy Waters.  A little further
study brings you to Bessie Smith, Lightnin' Hopkins, John Lee Hooker,
and hundreds of others.

------------------------------

Subject: Is [jazz | blues] currently [dying | undergoing a rebirth]?

The press periodically rediscovers jazz and blues.  The news coverage
accorded to rock is generally steady, but that accorded to jazz and blues
seems to only become prominent when the press can seize on someone as
"the leader of the new movement".  This may or may not be doing a favor
for the leader so chosen [see Wynton, above :-) ]

In any case both musics seem to undergo periodic revivals; it's likely
that neither is in any danger of dying out.  But opinions vary.

------------------------------

Subject: Is [fusion | avant-garde | etc.] really jazz?

[A quote from Marcel-Franck Simon ([e-mail]) -- Mark]
We can talk about something is "not jazz" without this meaning that it is
not worth listening to.  I like, e.g. African pop, among others.  That
doesn't mean .bluenote is the place to talk about them; moreover, saying
so implies no disrespect for those musics.

------------------------------

Subject: I think X is a much better player than Y.

These postings always create a great deal of controversy.  As subjective
listeners we have preferences.  Certainly the approach of saying "I prefer
X over Y because of A, B, and C" seems to shed more light than saying "I
prefer X over Y because Y has A, B, and C wrong with him."

Nou Dadoun provides the following true story of a Sheila Jordan comment:

      In the fall of '88, Sheila Jordan and Bobby McFerrin were both in
      Vancouver on the same night at different venues.  A fan went up to
      Sheila at the end of the evening and said that she'd gone to hear
      her instead of Bobby McFerrin because she's better.  Sheila responded
      without a moment's hesitation, "I'm not better, I'm different".

------------------------------

Subject: What are "Fake Books?"  What about "Real Books?"

"Fake books" are compilations of transcriptions of music, intended as
aids to help one to learn to play the compositions.  Many vary in accuracy.
Most are legitimate in regards to copyright payment.

The Real Book, on the other hand, was a compilation of transcriptions
done by some Berklee students (that's Berklee College of Music in Boston,
not U. Cal. Berkeley) which was photocopied and sold without any attention
to copyright.  Supposedly the 'New Real Book' has the same focus (mostly
jazz standards) but with fewer errors, and with the proper copyright fees
paid (and better readability).  The original Real Book proliferated because
of the usefulness of the tune selection compared to that of other fake
books (you could get 'Dexterity' instead of 'California Here I Come').

------------------------------

Subject: What do people think of Wynton Marsalis?

Wynton is a controversial figure in this group, and elsewhere, because
of his strong views on the state of jazz today.  It seems true that
developments in jazz from the late 60's to the present have failed to
win the music a wide audience.  Wynton in some of his public comments
seems to share the view that many people have that this is "bad."  This
is certainly a matter of opinion; there is certainly no consensus among
the readers here.

What the group consensus does seem to be is that Wynton, taken aside
from his personal views and press buildup, produces music which may well
be to many folks' liking, and that he has helped bring new listeners
to jazz.

------------------------------

Subject: Who did that music on the Charlie Brown specials?

The composer of the music on the first two or three specials was named
Vince Guaraldi.  He has since passed away, and some of the later specials
have been done by Judy Munson.  Several albums remain in print under
Guaraldi's name.

Readers have also recommended an album of music to the film Black Orpheus
"Cast Your Fate To The Wind (Jazz Impressions of `Black Orpheus')".  The
music on that album (at least the title/theme song; probably all of it),
is by Louis Bonfa.

------------------------------

Subject: What is a "mojo"?

[answer provided by Derek Morgan ("Sleepy" of _Mojo Syndrome_), or
([e-mail]) -- Mark]

MOJO (v) - 1) Casting a spell to cause a person to fall in love with the
              person issuing the spell.
     (n) - 2) The magical act of 1).

Well, it's not standard Webster's 8-), but as for a complete explanation:

The term is from the bayou country, and a "mojo" is generally the spell
cast by a woman to catch a man.  It is NOT a love spell.  Romantic notions
have nothing to do with a "mojo".  Generally, when one has been "mojoed",
EVERYTHING in that person's life goes wrong.  Bad luck becomes worse luck,
and physical problems occur.

There are generally two ways to get rid of a "mojo": 1) The woman becomes
disinterested, and removes it; 2) You give her what she wants, and marry her.

Depending on the site of the folklore, there may be two additional ways to
remove a "mojo": 1) Find her "mojo bag", which contains the secrets of her
magic, and take it away from her; 2) Find a witch woman to break the mojo.

The theory is that people needed to explain why eligible and desirable men
would marry less desirable (physically, I guess) women.  In some places, a
"mojo" is not a thing to be taken lightly, and caution with the term would
be advised.

As far as a man being able to "mojo" a woman, the general rule is that it
doesn't happen very often; more likely the "mojo" effect will boomerang and
afflict the male with the bad luck, instead of affecting the desired female.
Probably has something to do with the fact that desirable women do not often
marry less-desirable men.

"Mojo" has been occasionally used to mean a love spell, but it really isn't;
it's just that the use of the term to symbolize obtaining a desired person
has been generalized to include love potions, which is a different bayou
subject altogether.

No, I am not making this up.  I needed to do the research for my band, Mojo
Syndrome.

------------------------------

Subject: Why isn't there a rec.music.jazz?  Rec.music.blues?

This has to do with the history of the group, and the feelings of the
early creators and participants.  See below.

------------------------------

Subject: A brief history of rec.music.bluenote.

The following history is from Marcel-Franck Simon ([e-mail]),
included with permission.

    I was running mail.jazz and Rich Kulawiec was running mail.blues.
    We were both on each other's lists, but there was no other relation-
    ship.  Several people on mail.jazz had asked how come it was not a
    newsgroup.  Finally Joe Hellerstein decided to do something about it...
    There was a lot of talk about this, both private and on the respective
    mailing lists, but a consensus eventually emerged that the musics were
    pretty much sides of the same coin, and also that there was no other
    place for either to go, and that some good synergies would develop
    from these related, but distinct, points of view.  Note that this has
    basically happened.

    On the name.  Sorry, it had nothing to do with the Blue Note label.
    The name came out of a bunch of mail exchanges between Joe, Rich and
    myself.  It was quite clear that including the blues meant the
    [exclusion of the name] rec.music.jazz.  None of us liked any permu-
    tations of rec.music.jazz_and_blues (thank goodness) ... I don't
    remember the various proposals, but we came to agree on rec.music.
    bluenotes, since blue notes permeate both jazz and of course the
    blues (see, e.g. Monk's "Riding on a Blue Note").  The net discussion
    and vote counting period all carried the bluenotes name, but when the
    group got created, that final s somehow was lost.

    Chronology: all this occurred over the last four-five months of 1987.

Rich Kulawiec ([e-mail]) recalled it this way:

    There wasn't nearly enough support on Usenet to create a "blues"
    newsgroup and a "jazz" newsgroup at the time that rec.music.bluenote
    was created.  There was *barely* enough to create r.m.bluenote, in
    fact.  While it's probably true that the number of people reading
    this group is increasing all the time, I would not be surprised to
    find that there still isn't enough support for separate newsgroups.

    Oh, about the name: yes, I picked it, out of the ones suggested by
    everybody who had an idea to contribute.  There was quite a bit of
    discussion at the time (which I won't repeat here) and "bluenote"
    seemed to be the name which satisfied the technical criteria and
    expressed the purpose of the newgroup.  I don't think it's confusing
    at all -- especially since any new user should read news.announce.
    newusers ... before asking questions like "what is the purpose of
    newsgroup X?"

------------------------------

Subject: Support live music!  [FAQ Editor's personal soapbox]

[When Mark Boolootian ([e-mail]) commented on Sarah Vaughan's
passing:

    She was supposed to play at Yoshi's (in Oakland) last month and I
    was going to take my mom to see her.  I had assumed we'd catch her
    next time...

My own, personal, response followed:

    Here's a melancholy realization I came to sometime last year.

    We have to _assume_ that there isn't a next time.  For me, there
    wasn't for Bill Chase, and Lightning Hopkins, and Roy Buchanan, and
    others.

    Folks, the time to pay tribute to these artists is while they're
    living, by showing up when they're in town, checking them out,
    applauding, and putting some bucks into their back pockets.

    So take that "job-critical" evening off and see Mal Waldron, or
    drive 250 miles to see Steve Lacy, or drive through a tornado warning
    to see Richard Dobson (outside the scope of this group, yes).  I've
    done all these.  Now, over two years later, I can't remember what I
    would have been doing if I hadn't gone.  Whatever it was just wasn't
    that important, in the long run.

    Do it.  Some of the old lions in jazz and blues get their starts in
    the 1930s and 1940s.  Check 'em out now, and celebrate while you can.

    I love records, mind you, but live music is where it happens, and
    this music is meant to be loved -- live.