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

[Walter Bender]

I think Devin and I are both confused by the + on the pitch block in your
examples (See attached).



On Sat, Mar 25, 2017 at 2:41 PM, Sachithra Dangalla <
sachithradangalla at gmail.com> wrote:

> What I had in mind was as follows and I think I might have missed
> something important:
>
> [image: Inline image 2]
>
> Please correct me if I'm totally out.
>
> 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 11:36 PM, Walter Bender <walter.bender at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> 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>
>>
>
>


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