Batch Normalize and add Fades to Audio Files

A new project I have just started has had me editing a lot of relatively long audio files.  I have to cut them up separating the noise from the spoken word, normalize each file, and add fades to the beginning and end.  Then, I have to export them.  I was using Audacity, which is a great (though ugly) audio editor.  However, there are some problems with batch work in Audacity that ended cost me a lot of time and ultimately making it unsuitable for my purposes.  Finding no app for mac to quickly batch normalize, add fades, and save as a 48k/24-bit file, I decided I would bite the bullet and try to *assemble a bash script to do the tedious work for me.

Filed under: Code, Music, Tutorial / How-to, audio, batch, Code, DIY, electronic music, Music, SoX, synthesis

INI Workshop Prototype Instruments pt. 2

INI Prototype Instruments Pt. 2

These are the last of the prototype instruments I designed for the INI instrument workshop which took place last Thursday at Artspace New Haven.  If you go to ininewhaven.com you can see some pictures and video from the event.  Turnout was great and everyone had a swell time making things to make noise.  We plan to give a series of instrument making workshops at MakeHaven (makehaven.org) in the new year so stay tuned.  We envision a 2-part workshop where we would make contact mics in part 1 and then make instruments in part 2.

Filed under: El MuCo, Music, Tutorial / How-to, Artspace, DIY, El MuCo, instrument, Music, musique concrete

How to: Make Contact Mics

In preparation for our instrument making workshop at Artspace New Haven on December 13th, your intrepid guides Brian and Scott spent a foggy Sunday afternoon making contact mics from scratch.  The below is both a how-to and an advertisement for the workshop.  If you are around New Haven, please follow this link to the INI site and register now as seats are limited to 10 and they will go fast.  So without further ado, lets make some contact mics!

Filed under: El MuCo, Tutorial / How-to, Artspace, contact mic, DIY, El MuCo, how-to, INI

INI Workshop prototype instruments Pt. 1

LLW in Action 1

In preparation for our workshop at Artspace, Brian and I met to quickly put together a few prototype instruments out of wood, screws, springs, etc.  We basically wanted to see what we could do with next to no materials (and no preparation.)  The following prototypes are the results of this first meeting.

Filed under: El MuCo, Artspace, audio, avant-garde, DIY, El MuCo, Improvisation, INI, Music, workshop

El MuCo at ArtSpace: Instructions not Included

Brian and I have five of our hand-made musical instruments in the gallery at ArtSpace New Haven as part of an exhibition titled “Instructions not Included.” The exhibition will run from November 9 2012 – January 26 2013. The opening is tomorrow from 5-8pm at ArtSpace. Please feel free to join us and explore the exhibition which has some really great work.

Here are some pictures of our contribution to the show.

Filed under: El MuCo, avant-garde, circuit bending, DIY, El MuCo, electronic music, hardware hacking, Music

Make Testing Speakers for Free**

Required Parts:

• 1-2 8 ohm speakers
• an enclosure (cardboard box, tea tin, coffee can, etc.)
• insulation (cotton, an old shirt, the hair you get from your pet when using the Furminator.)
• wire
• glue ( any will do, but… I cannot recommend a hot glue gun enough. see below)
• alligator clips (deluxe version) or just some metal bit that will conduct the signal.

Required Tools:

• soldering iron (and solder)
• X-acto knife or other cutting tool (depends on the material of your enclosure.)

Recommended Tools:

• wire cutters/stripper
• helping hands
• hot glue gun (and glue)

As the asterisks in the title imply, and as you know from life, nothing is free. If you don’t have the parts, you will have to acquire them.

Filed under: Phase 1, audio, circuit, DIY, electronic, electronics, frequency

Raspberry Pi: first impressions

Getting the Pi Baked

I got my Raspberry Pi in the mail yesterday — a long anticipated event. My excitement was slightly deflated when I realized I didn’t have anything I actually needed to make the damn thing run: micro USB for power, an hdmi-dvi adapter so I could actually see and control it, and a fast SDHC card with lots of room*.

Filed under: El MuCo, Phase 1, arduino, Code, computer, DIY, El MuCo, electronic music, Improvisation, linux, Music, supercollider

Sparkfun Amplifier Kit (and Power Supply Solution)

Look at the size of that heat sink!

The Sparkfun STA540 amplifier kit is a cool, fun to put together amplifier kit that employs the STA540 amplifier chip at the core of the device.  The chip itself is a 4-channel AB amplifier chip that can be employed in a number of ways depending on the circuit configuration.  The kit is really easy to put together, not because of the included instructions, but because the components are actually labeled on the board.  This really is a foolproof kit and a great introduction for the new audio electronics enthusiast.  The sonic results of the kit are pretty impressive too.  It has a good bang for the buck at 38 watts per channel (2 ch) at 18 V and 4 Ω speakers, and has a low noise floor for an affordable ($30) DIY kit.  Additionally, and as evidenced by the picture above, it has a small form factor.  That is, despite the enormous heat sink.  Holy mackerel!  (Okay, the wide-angle lens distorts it juuuuuuust a little.)

Filed under: El MuCo, amplifier, circuit, DIY, electronic music, power supply, Sparkfun, sta540

IBeam Laser Show (2011)

It has been almost five months since MuCo performed for the 2nd time at Ibeam and for one reason or another the recording has sadly sat neglected on a hard drive since then.  I finally dug it out, mixed the tracks together (output of kane + scacinto) and here it is for your listening pleasure.

(Just in case you are wondering what the laser-gun sounds are that occur at the beginning and, even more noticeably, during the middle of the recording [11:18 ->], they came from a magical black box that Kane made and I played without knowing how it worked. Hilarity.)

El MuCo @ Ibeam May 28th, 2011

Filed under: El MuCo, avant-garde, circuit, circuit bending, Code, computer, DIY, El MuCo, electronic, electronic music, feedback, hardware hacking, Improvisation, interactive, Music, supercollider, synthesis

Electronic Music from “How Things Work” c.1970

On a recent outing to a local bookshop I encountered a 4 volume set of books titled “How Things Work.”  It is a wonderful compendium of knowledge in simple but not simplistic language with really great illustrations.  The four volumes cover everything from knitting to jet engines.  Naturally what caught my eye were all of the electronic devices and processes; everything from how tape recorders, phonographs, and records (LPs) are made and function to broadcast television and electronic music.  I here submit them to you for your enjoyment. The pages are available in two ways, a scanned pdf of the entire section and the individual pages as jpegs.  You can download the pdf from Scribd, and the jpegs you can download by clicking on them to bring up the image page.  Enjoy!

View this document on Scribd

Here is the electronic music section (pg.s 202-214 in volume IV) as jpegs.

I have not researched the origins of the book, but they are obscure.  From a review on Amazon:

It is a 4 volume set, originally published in Germany or Switerzland around 1970. It was translated into English soon thereafter and is now out of print, but you can buy it used on EBay, or Amazon, or ABE Books.com.

A puzzling thing about the English edition of the book is that it does not include the name of the editor or author(s), nor does it include the publication or copyright date. Odd. The only name mentioned is the illustrator, R.J. Segalat.

In this case the reviewer is mistaken.  The illustrations were only “researched by” monsieur Segalat according to the forward of the English edition.  Any comments with information about these volumes are appreciated!

Filed under: Miscellany, Music, Phase 1, circuit, DIY, electronic music, electronics, Music