[Sugar-devel] Outreachy - Going Beyond Equal Temperament in Music Blocks

[Walter Bender]

On Sat, Mar 25, 2017 at 11:18 AM, Sachithra Dangalla <
sachithradangalla at gmail.com> wrote:

> *I like the general direction you are going. *
>
>
>
> Thank you and I'm happy to hear that.
>
>
>
>> *I wonder if it cannot be a bit more simple in that you could define the
>> number of steps in a key/mode by simply the number of define frequency
>> blocks in the clamp? and maybe you don't need to modify the pitch block to
>> return an argument? It could just be a hertz block contained in the define
>> frequency clamp. (Maybe the block should be define step?) I am assuming
>> that the widget would output a stack of code like this? And to activate it,
>> it would simply be run before everything else? *
>
>
>
> I'm sorry I'm having a bit of a trouble understanding the above. Can you
> please explain a bit simply? Are you suggesting to reuse the existing
> pitch-block inside the define-frequency clamp?  As discussed in the GitHub
> issue, if the define-frequency is a clamp, users might add multiple blocks
> in it which is why I represented it as an arg-block as you suggested.
>
>
If you look at the pitch block in Devin's example vs in your example,
you'll see no "math" connector on the left side of the block. I am not sure
why you need to assign do re mi to the frequencies... we can auto assign
based on however many frequencies are defined. (Question for Devin: What
naming convention do we use if there are more than 12 half-steps? I guess
we just use pitch number?)

We need to think about how intervals work.

>
> *There is a mechanism for saving stacks to be used between projects, so I
>> could imaging making a temperament you like and reusing it again and again.*
>
>
> That's a very good idea so the users can keep reusing their temperament
> definitions, thanks for the suggestion. Can you name just one instance that
> mechanism is used in MB?
>
>
A long-press on any action stack will reveal a button for saving that
action.  A new palette, My Blocks, will appear. You can use it for as many
actions as you want.


> Regards,
>
> *Sachithra Dangalla,*
> Undergraduate B.Sc.Eng.(Hons.)
> Department of Computer Science & Engineering,
> University of Moratuwa,
> Sri Lanka.
>
> <https://plus.google.com/u/0/+SachithraDangalla93>
> <https://lk.linkedin.com/in/sachithradangalla>
> <https://comexile.blogspot.com>
>
> On Sat, Mar 25, 2017 at 5:24 PM, Walter Bender <walter.bender at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> On Sat, Mar 25, 2017 at 4:58 AM, Sachithra Dangalla <
>> sachithradangalla at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Thank you.
>>>
>>> I came up with the following simple activity diagram(attachment 1) to
>>> capture what happens when the user defines a temperament. By incorporating
>>> the comments and Devin's mockups in the GitHub issue[1] I came up with a
>>> mockup design for the widget (attachment 2). The widget will be initialized
>>> with the default values as follows:
>>>
>>>    - starting pitch: 256
>>>    - octave: 4
>>>    - 12 frequency blocks for each note with default ratio 1/1
>>>
>>>
>>> I would like to hear your comments about them.
>>>
>>> After defining the frequencies, the user has to trigger a "save the
>>> configuration" is that so? How will the user save it?
>>>
>>
>> I like the general direction you are going. I wonder if it cannot be a
>> bit more simple in that you could define the number of steps in a key/mode
>> by simply the number of define frequency blocks in the clamp? and maybe you
>> don't need to modify the pitch block to return an argument? It could just
>> be a hertz block contained in the define frequency clamp. (Maybe the block
>> should be define step?) I am assuming that the widget would output a stack
>> of code like this? And to activate it, it would simply be run before
>> everything else? There is a mechanism for saving stacks to be used between
>> projects, so I could imaging making a temperament you like and reusing it
>> again and again.
>>
>>>
>>> An additional question: I used an image editing tool(PS) to get the
>>> mockups, is there a better way to design mockups?
>>>
>>
>> I need to add an export button for the block artwork. I typically just
>> use inkscape.
>>
>>>
>>> [1] - https://github.com/walterbender/musicblocks/issues/485
>>>
>>> Regards,
>>>
>>> *Sachithra Dangalla,*
>>> Undergraduate B.Sc.Eng.(Hons.)
>>> Department of Computer Science & Engineering,
>>> University of Moratuwa,
>>> Sri Lanka.
>>>
>>> <https://plus.google.com/u/0/+SachithraDangalla93>
>>> <https://lk.linkedin.com/in/sachithradangalla>
>>> <https://comexile.blogspot.com>
>>>
>>> On Wed, Mar 22, 2017 at 7:47 PM, Devin Ulibarri <devin at ulibarri.website>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On Wed, 2017-03-22 at 13:25 +0530, Sachithra Dangalla wrote:
>>>> > Mode is a new term to me and I'm still reading about it ([1] and [2]).
>>>> > I'm finding it hard to understand the relationship between temperament
>>>> > and mode or their implementations, any advice on it would be great. Is
>>>> > mode already presented in music blocks?
>>>> >
>>>> There is a "mode" widget.
>>>>
>>>> As for temperament and mode, these are the important principles...
>>>>
>>>> * You have collection of pitches that most often repeats at the octave.
>>>>
>>>> e.g.
>>>>
>>>> CDEFGAB(CDEFG...)
>>>>
>>>> [N.B. this number of pitches can be any number, but some collections are
>>>> more common than others.]
>>>>
>>>> * A mode is the name/quality that collection of pitches has/imbues when
>>>> starting (or "centering around") from a particular pitch in that
>>>> collection.
>>>>
>>>> Start from C or D or E or F etc. changes the sound of the music.
>>>>
>>>> * Temperament is the precise tuning of those notes, and thus the
>>>> relationship of the tuning of those notes with each other.
>>>>
>>>> For example, if the tuning in Hz of E is changed, the relationship
>>>> between C and E changes too... thus affecting the sound.
>>>>
>>>> So, with different temperaments, the same modes can sound very
>>>> different.
>>>>
>>>> Devin
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Walter Bender
>> Sugar Labs
>> http://www.sugarlabs.org
>> <http://www.sugarlabs.org>
>>
>
>


-- 
Walter Bender
Sugar Labs
http://www.sugarlabs.org
<http://www.sugarlabs.org>
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