The results were not that surprising, but it’s still helpful.

Wordle link:
http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/1920760/Britney_Spears_Complete_Lyrics
Vector PDF download

Another version with over 1000 words:
http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/1920824/Britney_Spears_Complete_Lyrics_2
Vector PDF download

I know I’m not the only one with this problem: You have this giant MIDI keyboard that doesn’t produce sound on its own, and most of the time, playing it doesn’t do anything. You have to launch logic, or mainstage, or ableton, or digital performer, open a new project, setup a new patch, and then start playing. In music classes, this can be a distraction, and compositionally, it can get in the way between you and your creativity.

I’d keep MainStage open all the time, but there are times when I don’t want a secondary keyboard sound when I’m using Finale or Logic. Ideally, anytime I’m not using Finale or Logic, I’d like MainStage to be running.

I’ve written a simple OS X application in applescript that checks every 30 seconds to see if Logic or Finale are running, and if they’re not, launches MainStage in the background. It takes up very little CPU and can run continuously. Here is the code:

If you’re on mac you can open that code in the script editor by clicking
here. (Thanks to Mac Developer tips for that trick.)

Download
I have created two downloadable versions, a regular version and a silent version that does not appear in the dock.

Note that the silent version is VERY silent, i.e. you do not see it in the dock, nor in the force quit window. A quick way to kill it is to run “killall applet” in the terminal, though this will kill other applescripts you have running as well.

A more precise way to kill it is to run this command in the terminal:
ps -ax | grep -i “keep mainstage”

Get the first process number listed (usually 5 digits) and then run:
kill XXXXX (where XXXXX is the process number)

You can point to either of these apps in your System Preferences > Accounts > Login Items to have them run automatically when you start your computer.

You should set MainStage’s startup action in preferences to “Open Most Recent Concert”. I have a simple concert with just a piano that I keep open.

Included in the download above are instructions on how to make the silent app run in the background again if you modify it.

Known Bugs with 1.0:
For some reason you have to force-quit the non-silent version, quitting alone does not work.

MainStage has an annoying behavior of grabbing focus once a concert has loaded. The script hides MainStage after it does this, but you will still see it briefly pop up when it launches.

The script will not launch Mainstage if you have Logic or Finale running but with no documents open.

The script may launch Mainstage at annoying times (such as shutdowns or software updates). I’d recommend just shutting down with mainstage running, and clicking “don’t save” if it asks.

The mp3 download version of the album is on sale at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Teufelskicker-Original-Soundtrack/dp/B003DEN4TE/ref=sr_shvl_album_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1269214968&sr=301-1

The extremely talented Ian Maksin is featured on this track, which is available for download here.

Andrew reaches a very interesting theory towards the end of the video. Check out his work on evolutionary theory at Neoteny.org.

I will be uploading an edited version of the music in mp3 format soon.

The mp3 is available here.

Please visit the Yi Soon Shin Website for more information about the comic, it’s very good!

Camille, the programmer of OSCulator, got his program working with the Velocity-sensitive Guitar Hero drums. Download OSCulator here:
http://www.osculator.net/wp/

I’m still using JunXion to receive MIDI from the Rock Band Drums. Check out my other tutorial for setting JunXion up.

I created a Logic environment with a switch that is triggered by the MIDI note that the Rock Band pedal is sending via JunXion. It transforms the closed high hat to the open one when the pedal is released. I’m also using another transformer to amplify the velocity of the MIDI drums by 30, because the GH drums are pretty quiet otherwise.

Download the Osculator file, the JunXion file, and the Logic file here: gh_rb_setup.zip

Props to Camille for his help, Maeve for me stealing back a loop from her song, and Samantha and Fred Tesche for Dark Matter.

The session was an amazing experience, recorded by LA’s top musicians on the same scoring stage that they record Lost and Fringe, at L.A. Sound Gallery (formerly Evergreen Recording Studios) by Frank Wolf. My scores were conducted by Eimear Noone and myself.

Since graduating in August, I have moved back to Burbank, CA with three of my classmates and we are all pursuing careers in Film Music. Currently I am working for Johnny Klimek and Reinhold Heil, whose composition credits include the films Run Lola Run, Perfume, and The International.

Head Case will be screened at Columbia College Chicago’s Advanced Practicum screening, on the 8th floor of 1104 S. Michigan Ave. on October 2nd at 5:00 PM.

One track is available for download, A Man’s Image Opening.

The movie will be screened at the DuSable Museum of African American History on October 23, 2009 at 7:30 PM.

Thanks to this post by Camille, developer of OSCulator, I finally got the Wii World Tour drums to work with velocity sensitivity. Unfortunately, as the video demonstrates, they don’t work too well. Either they’re not sensitive enough, or bluetooth doesn’t have enough bandwidth to transfer notes fast enough.

I also talk a little bit about being out in LA for our summer semester program.

Osculator can be downloaded here. It is free to try and costs $39 to buy. It’s a great program, though I’m disappointed with what seems like hardware limits on the drums.