Digital Music for Square Dance Callers. Canadian National 2010

Transcription

1 Digital Music for Square Dance Callers Canadian National 2010

2 Presentation Objectives Define digital music and how it differs from analog Describe the steps in working with and using digital music Provide an overview of available options Provide references to more detail and other references

3 What Is Digital Music? Analog music is recorded by creating a physical analog of the original sound, such as a wiggling track in vinyl or fluctuating magnetic fields on tape Digital music is recorded by taking very short samples of the sound and describing attributes such as frequency and amplitude as numbers. Advantages: Space, weight, selection, durability, editable

4 Steps in Using Digital Music Acquire the music Prepare the music for use Store and catalog the music Back up music Play the music at a dance Decision Factors

5 Acquiring Digital Music Digitize your vinyl From your Hilton From digital turntable (USB attached) Rip audio CDs Purchase from square dance music producer Purchase from alternative source

6 Prepare Music for Use Edit music file to: Remove noise (pops, hiss, hum) Pre-loop patter Remove unwanted sections of music Change pitch and/or tempo Software: Audacity (free) CoolEdit96 (free) Wavosaur (free) Goldwave Dexter

7 Store and Catalog Music Physical storage of physical media (vinyl, CDs, MDs, DVDs) tacitly defines a cataloging system (e.g. by title, by label, by genre, etc.) Digital music requires a catalog so you can find what you want Most digital media hold many music files Laptop harddrive, thumbdrive, data CD/DVD, music CD, MD

8 Back Up Music Digital music can be damaged or made inaccessible by failure of the player or the physical media In some cases, loss or failure of a player could destroy your entire music collection Moving to a new player often means loading from a backup If player and media are not separate, duplicate players may be necessary

9 Play Music at a Dance Several types of players/media Audio CD Pros/Cons similar to vinyl. Looping patter usually not available. Variable speed usually not available. Low cost. Can run on battery Data CD/DVD Data files in a recognized digital music format (e.g. WAV, MP3, OGG) Much more music on each CD/DVD, requires computer or special CD player. MiniDisk (MD) Almost obsolete. Special media similar to a miniature floppy disk. Special player required, features vary. Long play on battery.

10 Play Music cont'd MP3 Player (on board or removable storage) Many types available. Some have removable media. Wide range of storage capacities. Small size: easy to carry, but displays and buttons can be hard to work with Can usually run on battery (usually rechargeable) for several dances Looping patter and variable speed not usually available Computer required to load music.

11 Play Music cont'd Laptop computer Pros: Can hold thousands of hours of music, both on internal harddrive and external media (thumbdrives, CDs, DVDs) Wide selection of software to provide desired functionality Onboard catalog (usually provided by sq dance player software) Can also display lyrics and cue sheets One tool does everything Cons: Heavy (4-10lbs) Requires external power (most batteries won't last a dance) Cost

12 Play Music cont'd Laptop computer cont'd Player Software Ceder Square Dance System (CSDS) SqMP3 SqView (free) Digital Music Musician page=dmm&shop=dosado

13 Decision Factors At the dance: Portability Weight, size, other accoutrements Ease of Setup Cables and connections (sound & power), space, adjustments Ease of Use Finding/selecting music Required button or control sequences Variable speed Looping Singing call lyrics/cuesheets Reading sequences Working with others Backup Capacity

14 Decision Factors cont'd Before the dance: Acquiring music Recording, purchase, copy from other medium Transformations required Time required Equipment/software required Variable speed/looping Cataloging What are the storage units? (CDs, DVDs, MDs, Compact Flash, thumbdrives, etc.) How do you find a piece of music? How do you add a new piece of music? What song attributes should be recorded? What about cuesheets and lyrics? Singing call figures? Backup (of physical media, plus catalog/index files)

15 Decision Factors cont'd General: Cost Time investment Complexity Learning curve Future flexibility

16 References Articles Barry Clasper's Articles Page (see Digital Music Material from Barry Johnson for how-to documents on Audacity and SQView) Vic Ceder's Digital Music Page Square Dance Music Sources Hanhurst's Music Service New Beat Alternative Music Sources Karaoke Version SBI Online