I think of the Shepard tone illusion as the musical equivalent of the infinite staircase. Play this video, and then replay it. Do you hear the tone continue to creep up?
Shepard Tone Illusion and the Super Mario 64 Endless Staircase
The Tritone Paradox: How Your Hometown Affects Your Music Listening
Does where you grew up have an impact on how you hear music? It appears so, according to experiments by Dr. Diana Deutsch on how people hear her Tritone Paradox.
Experiments in the Revival of Organisms: A Trailer
A short film of mine premiered last night at St. Paul's Northern Spark festival, with the short film group I contribute to called MNKino. The theme was "arrivals and departures," and I had no idea what I was going to make until midnight the night before it was due. I was browsing archive.org and found a disturbing, but fascinating 1940 film documenting experiments on reviving dogs from the dead.
Highlights from the First Composer Quest Concert
We recently had our first ever Composer Quest concert at Yoga Sol. The Twin Cities Trio performed some awesome listener-submitted arrangements of pop tunes and film/video game scores for bassoon, clarinet, and oboe. We also got to hear the indie pop duo Matt & Donna Schubbe, indie rocker Peter Frey of Kazyak, and indie folker Paul Spring. Here's a special Composer Quest podcast episode with highlights from the concert.
Sound Installation Under the Times Square Sidewalk
Walking through Times Square on my first trip to New York City, I noticed some strangely musical sounds coming from under the grate in the sidewalk. What might seem like subway noise or a mechanical hum to the average passerby is actually a sound installation that's been playing almost constantly since 1977. It's kind of like an oasis of peaceful ambient tone in a desert of commercial noise.
A Brief History of Pop Music: “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” Piano Variations
Pianist Scott Bradlee has done some music history homework. In this video, he transforms "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" through 11 decades of pop genres.
Buddha on the Road
I wrote this original piano piece for the first New Age Salon performance hosted by The Schubert Club. This group of musicians, painters, poets, dancers, and composers was organized by Fidelis Odozi and inspired by the salons of centuries past. We tried to capture that same feeling of artists collaborating and sharing their ideas in a relaxed setting.
Season One Finale: Dmitri Tymoczko on Music Composition
Composer and Princeton professor Dmitri Tymoczko shares some excellent composing advice in this season finale episode of Composer Quest. Dmitri says that working on music theory as a composer is like lifting weights as a football player - it helps improve your intuitive composing. We also ponder the morality of exposing babies to only atonal music for experimental reasons.
Quest #2: Conversation
Your composing quest, should you choose to accept it: co-write and co-record an original piece of music with a random Composer Quest listener, based on the theme "Conversation." Your finished track will be part of the first ever Composer Quest album, a free-to-download online release. The Boffo Yux Dudes, a music comedy duo who work together exclusively over the internet, share some collaboration advice in this special Quest #2 announcement episode.
Torley on Creativity, Asperger’s, and Music Production
A truly unique figure in the electronic music world, Torley describes himself as a "time-traveling, universe-crossing, autistic, cyberpunk monk." I was drawn in by the (over 800!) videos on Torley's YouTube page, many of which are thoughtful talks by Torley on music composition, creativity, and his life experiences. In Composer Quest episode 38, Torley talks with me about Asperger's syndrome, his job in the online world Second Life, and of course, his advice on making otherworldly sounds.