November 18, 2001

6:46 PM

Think anybody can make electronic music? You're right. This snappy flash ap from Crash!Media makes Mobies out of the musically challenged. Today I learned that a pleasant, new agey sound scape can be turned to pure evil with just a little loud bass! [via Evhead]
posted by jennyb (25 comments total)

I've spent just over five minutes so far and I haven't been able to get it to make a single sound. If anyone figures it out, post it here ..
posted by sylloge at 7:20 PM on November 18, 2001

Cool! I managed to gray-screen it within 30 seconds! No sound here either.
posted by kindall at 7:29 PM on November 18, 2001

if you hit the play button in the lower right (above the word "suggestions") after playing with the settings a bit you should at least hear something.
posted by jheiz at 7:29 PM on November 18, 2001

Different sounds are in the blue files under all the faders. Click the folders to open them, then sample the sounds by clicking the "descriptions" (although I admit 909Dist01 doesn't seem particularly descriptive to me). If you like it, drag the icon to the left of the description to one of the blue buttons at the bottom of each fader.

Once you've got all the sounds you like assigned to various faders, slide the levers up and down and pretend you're Boards of Canada.

(I don't think the "mixer preset" buttons to the right of the blue files do anything. Or at least nothing I've figured out yet.)
posted by jennyb at 7:31 PM on November 18, 2001

That's a killer mixer. For those who are having troubles, try turning the power on (top left corner) and then adjust the volume of the individual loops.

SS7X7 was the original set of shockwave mixers that really got me into electronic music. It's more basic, but has some good loops to play around with.
posted by starduck at 7:35 PM on November 18, 2001

Completely disregard what i said before, it's just plain wrong.
Hit the record button NEXT to the play button, go crazy with the loops and sliders, then hit the play button to hear it again
posted by jheiz at 7:40 PM on November 18, 2001

Clicking the little '?' button on the lower left hand side will get you to help explanations as well as turn on tool tips. It should probably be on by default, or at least have some text pointing it out. They should understand that not everyone knows how to operate a mixer. Otherwise it's very interesting.
posted by mikhail at 8:02 PM on November 18, 2001

anyone can play the guitar.

anyone can sing.

anyone can write a song.

anyone can paint.

anyone can design a building.

doesnt mean any of its gonna be worth shit.

although some can make it work like magic.

so i really depise mentalities toward electronic music like this.

blah.
posted by Satapher at 8:19 PM on November 18, 2001

not to say that was the intent of the link.... it just got my head going.
posted by Satapher at 8:21 PM on November 18, 2001

anybody know any programs that are great for stuff like this?
posted by crog at 8:31 PM on November 18, 2001

crog, sonic foundry's acid 3.0 is pretty standard if you're just into looping and sound collage type of stuff. if you are more into actually constructing and deconstructing beats, processing sounds, and the like, you should look into cakewalk pro audio (now called sonar), cubase vst (if you've got a mac), or emagic's logic audio.

For a more simpler and easier to use toy, check out Fruity Loops Pro. I didn't bother setting up links because the websites can usually be found by simply typing in the brand name or doing a 1 second google search, if that doesn't work. Or you could try the old peer to peer filesharing method, for those "evaluation" purposes.
posted by pinto at 8:37 PM on November 18, 2001

more simpler, i am much more stupider than i thought tonite. apologies.
posted by pinto at 8:37 PM on November 18, 2001

I love “Mobies”—the plural form of Moby! That’s great.
posted by barkingmoose at 8:39 PM on November 18, 2001

You'll find heaps of tools to make music at Shareware Music Machine.
posted by skinsuit at 8:48 PM on November 18, 2001

True, anyone can paint or play the guitar.

But when I play the guitar, it's noticeably crappy. Electronic music, on the other hand, is far easier to make sound acceptable, or even good.
posted by jragon at 8:49 PM on November 18, 2001

as a bit of an electronic musician myself, I can tell you: yeah, it is pretty easy. not this easy, but pretty easy. it's not so much a matter of talent but a lack of knowledge on the behalf of the listener.
posted by mcsweetie at 9:27 PM on November 18, 2001

Satapher: "...doesnt mean any of its gonna be worth shit. although some can make it work like magic. so i really depise mentalities toward electronic music like this."

What kind of attitude is that? Does that mean that only professional musicians should be aloud to play with, or touch instruments or software that make music?

Anyone should be able to do or try anything that pleases them regardless of it's worth to anyone but themselves. You're 'attitude' about this 'mentality' is the very reason people don't try more things in the first place. And I personally find atitudes like that abhorrent.
posted by mikhail at 9:57 PM on November 18, 2001

Jeskola Buzz is a great open source drum machine/sequencer/mixer - although it's a bit tricky to get the hang of, it's still pretty fun to play around with. A tutorial for it can be found here.
posted by skwm at 10:31 PM on November 18, 2001

mixman studio is so amateurish, it's almost cool... ::hides my jungle/house/latin mixes::
posted by lotsofno at 10:32 PM on November 18, 2001

actually thats not what i meant at all. theres a common thing i hear all the time concerning "electonica takes no talent and any schmuck off the street can make a song"

im saying, sure any schmuck can make a song (myself included) and more power too them....

but it shouldnt be used negatively to imply that electronica itself is a mindless, simplistic, click a few buttons-twist a few knobs-style of music....

not ALL of it is house-music-esque =)
posted by Satapher at 11:25 PM on November 18, 2001

on top of that, i think one of the major drawbacks of the communication thru text, is that everything anyone says can be interpreted a thousand different ways, invoking a thousand different responses and ultimately creates a whole lot of banter about something that wasnt there in the first place...

just tone and facial expression and knowing someones background gets rid of alot of those misunderstandings.

but thats not a new thought.

fin.
posted by Satapher at 11:29 PM on November 18, 2001

I don't think I read more into it than you meant. My point is, who cares if someone thinks it's easy to make electronic music? Thinking it's easy may attract more people to the form and perhaps someone will come up with something new. At the very least they should be afforded the opportunity to start small, and by doing so can gain a sense of accomplishment. As they grow they will develop a more discerning ear and perhaps come to understand that really good electronic music can be just as complicated to compose as other forms of music.

Music in any form IS easy though, and anyone CAN do it. But not everyone has the drive and determination it takes to achieve a level of mastery. I wouldn't want to deny anyone their desire to make music (electronic or otherwise) or to think it's easy just because I feel I have a greater understanding of it's depth.

In the end, the same might be said of web design. It's easy and anyone can do it. And everyone is allowed to do it. But anyone who has an eye for it, knows what is good and what is not so good. More often than not the cream will rise to the top. Sometimes, as with anything, mediocrity rises to the top. I say, "who cares?"
posted by mikhail at 1:43 AM on November 19, 2001

>sonic foundry's acid 3.0

True - I tend to use Acid as a notepad - before I take the time to make all the loops the same speed it's good to find out whether they fit togther at all. I've never built a whole tune with acid though.

>cubase vst (if you've got a mac)

Also cubase if you've got a PC - The new cubase rules.

The only software I use is cubase, wavelab, the occasional rebirth loop, fruity loops and a handful of guitars. There are some of my tunes "somewhere" on the internet.

Spoon
posted by Spoon at 1:55 AM on November 19, 2001

Reason, while kinda expensive (depends on your financial status i suppose) is also good for making tunes. ive heard just about every possible style of music made on it.
posted by Satapher at 9:56 AM on November 19, 2001

Ah - the no sound thing appears to be a mac problem (or rather a flash problem specific to macs). Just tried it on my windows machine and there is sound right off the bat.
posted by sylloge at 10:29 AM on November 19, 2001