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

[Sachithra Dangalla]

I'm sorry if it's confusing. I kind of modified the pitch block, I should
have mentioned that or used a different name. I used something like the
following and I misunderstood the arg-block mentioned in the GitHub issue
in which the suggestion was to use a 3-arg block. I thought the "calculate"
in the following is an arg block.

Is there a documentation I can refer on the types of blocks in MB and what
they can do and cannot do?

Since it is too confusing, will it be okay to use Devin's original idea?

[image: Inline image 1]

*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 Sun, Mar 26, 2017 at 12:17 AM, Walter Bender <walter.bender at gmail.com>
wrote:

> 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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