251 - SQ Groove Riff

Day 251. One of the new Apple ads on TV features a band that makes music using an iPad app called  iMaschine. I thought it looked interesting so I got the app and had a play with it last night on the flight home from Singapore. It's pretty cool and is a good example of what a musical instrument can look like if you allow the platform to be a tablet. Anyway, I wrote this little riff as I was just playing around trying to figure it out... it doesn't really go anywhere musically, it's just an experiment. The app has a pretty unique UI so it isn't that intuitive to learn, but once you get the idea of it it has tons of possibilities. There is plenty more that can be done with it, I just need some more time to play.

177 - Drums and Guitars

Day 177. Being an ex-bass player, I really dig a good grove. In fact, just building up a good rhythm and percussion track, laying down a nice clean bass track, and adding a few simple riffs can sound pretty sweet. In this little audio piece I made in Garageband I started with a basic drum track, then added some bass, then added some guitars, then added some more guitars, then some more guitars, then some more drums and then some more drums, and, well, you get the idea. It builds up, has a few breaks, then subsides again. I kinda like it.

Feel free to use it or remix it.

145 - An Audio Tool

Day 145. I've always enjoyed building audio tracks in GarageBand using loops. It would be nice to have a non-Mac alternative to GarageBand but there really isn't much around that competes with it. Maybe Sony Acid Pro, but that's quite expensive).

So when I set an audio looping task for my students recently I had to start looking around for alternatives for those who don't use BYOD Macs. And I found it in AudioTool, a powerful, sophisticated, free audio editor that runs entirely in Chrome. Yes, that's right. In Chrome.

Here's a little rhythm track I knocked together on my first attempt. I think this has LOTS of potential in the classroom.

And here is a screen grab of the editor...

Best of all, the tracks you create are all built on Creative Commons licences by default, so it supports remixing and open sharing really well. Build on the work of others and let others build on the work of yours. Love it!