Chris Pirillo » midi

I Love My Yamaha Tenori-on

Chris Pirillo — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 00:59:55 +0000

When I was younger, I loved playing with electronic keyboards – not because I knew how to “play piano,” but because I loved hearing the various sounds. I learned a few of my favorite tunes by ear (playing by trial and error). Ultimately, I fell in love with freestyling and crafting harmonies with my fingers.

I received the Tenori-on last year, and have loved it ever since. Seems that its capabilities either enthrall or repel viewers (or listeners) of my live stream, so I don’t play it as often as I’d like to. It’s not quite a musical instrument, although you’re able to create music with it. Is it music, or just a seemingly random sequence of notes? Are you creating, or merely pushing buttons, with a Tenori-on?

I would have killed for one of these things when I was a kid. They’re incredibly addictive, and if you’re someone who likes to create ANYTHING, you shouldn’t find much to dislike in the Tenori-on. Well, you might not like the price – but you get much more than bragging rights in return!

If you’d like a similar software experience, there’s always the free Weepr AIR app. Plus, there’s PaklSound1 for the iPhone. They’re the closest you can come to a Tenori-on (short of buying one for yourself).

On New Year’s, Stuzilla donated money to have me perform an impromptu Tenori-on recital. I’m glad UncleJohn recorded it, as I never save my own creations (even though that’s an option with the Tenori-on).

I Love My Yamaha Tenori-on

What Does Your Name Sound Like?

Chris Pirillo — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 08:55:57 +0000

What Does Your Name Sound Like?

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This is one of the coolest things I’ve seen in awhile. I typed in my name, and chose a sound effect. I could then hear what my name sounds like using sounds other than a human speaking voice. If you go over to P22, you can turn your text into music.

The P22 Music Composition Font was proposed in 1997 to the John Cage Trust as an accompaniment to the John Cage text font based on the handwriting of the composer. The idea was basic and simple-every letter of the alphabet was assigned to a note on a scale. This would allow for any text to be converted into musical notation.

The font used in the P22 MTCG is a basic version that closely follows the initial Cage inspired idea. Each letter, number and punctuation mark is assigned a note on the C major scale. When the user generates their composition the same substitutions are applied to their text that the eventually released Opentype font performs.

The P22 Music Text Composition Generator allows any text to be converted into a musical composition. This composition is displayed in musical notation and simultaneously generated as a midi file.

This is really interesting, and a lot of fun. Reading the history is very cool, and something I honestly enjoyed learning about. Of course, I can’t stop playing around and making music out of text! Try it out for yourself, and see how your name sounds.

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What Does Your Name Sound Like?

USB to Midi

Chris Pirillo — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 01:43:34 +0000

USB to Midi

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I love to play with my new TENORI-ON. However, I’ve been having trouble finding a way to sync the music from the TENORI-ON to my computer, so I can save it out as a Midi file. The TENORI-ON comes with Midi cables, so all I needed was the software to make it happen.

Finally I find it! With the free SimpleSynth, I can now easily sync the channels from the TENORI-ON perfectly to the channels on my Mac. SimpleSynth is a simple soft synth for Mac OS X that takes input from a connected MIDI device, and can play instruments from Soundfonts and DLS files including Apple’s default General MIDI sound set. It’s small but powerful!

In order to accomplish this, I connected the TENORI-ON to my Mac, using the provided MIDI cables. I then poured the music I had made into the Mac, and used SimpleSynth to synchronize the music from the TENORI-ON onto the Mac itself. If you listen, you can hear that they now play in perfect harmony, and with perfect precision. I can save this as a MIDI file on my Mac now, to open and play at a later time! How cool is that?

If you’re like me and love MIDI files, this free software is definitely for you!

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USB to Midi

Amazing MIDI Music Visualization

Chris Pirillo — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 00:05:42 +0000

Amazing MIDI Music Visualization

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http://live.pirillo.com/ – I have always loved MIDI files, absolutely LOVE them. There is a way cool new application that will allow you to play MIDI files, and instrumentize them. This free program just blows me away. It’s fun, and keeps me occupied for hours.

A MIDI file (or Musical Instrument Digital Interface file is an industry-standard protocol that enables electronic musical instruments, computers and other equipment to communicate, control and synchronize with each other. MIDI does not transmit an audio signal or media — it simply transmits digital data “event messages” such as the pitch and intensity of musical notes to play, control signals for parameters such as volume, vibrato and panning, cues and clock signals to set the tempo.

With the new free Midi Jam program, you can drag and drop your Midi files… and watch the fun begin. The program automatically detects what instruments are being played, and you can watch the instruments play themselves… in complete synchronization with the music! How cool is that?

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Amazing MIDI Music Visualization