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I recently had the opening riff of I Love Your Smile by Shanice stuck in my head because a bunch of television shows I had watched had used it as incidental music. I didn't know at the time it was I Love Your Smile by Shanice and I was at a loss about how to look it up because the opening riff is basically just "do do do do do.. etc." This is not the first time I had a song in my head where I didn't know the lyrics and only the melody. I thought about making a voice post to see what kind of response I would get, but luckily I found a website that solves my problems. The site is called Midomi, and you can sing or hum a part of the song stuck in your head and it will look it up for you. It popped I Love Your Smile without a hitch and it was able to identify a bunch of songs I had stuck in my head for a while and that took me a while to track down. So next time you have a song you don't know stuck in your head, try seeing if Midomi can help you.
How I used QuickTime to Sing Better
Jul. 7th, 2006 01:14 amThose of you who've known me for a while know I like to sing along to songs. You've also probably noticed that many of my favorite songs/artists tend to sing at a higher pitch than I do. Which invariably leads to some awkward singing as I try to hit that high note. Then I discovered that QuickTime Player's AV controls for realtime pitch shifting. A quick test showed that lower the pitch a class or two indeed made previously unsingable songs singable.
Unfortunately while QuickTime Player is nice it doesn't give me the functionality of iTunes (and associated apps like AudioScrobbler or my lyric widget). Also, finding the source file in my music file can be annoying. Well with a little help of the interweb and AppleScript I was able to whip up a solution. I was able to make a script which takes the currently playing track in iTunes and continue playing it in QuickTime with the AV controls ready to shift pitch. The track keeps playing muted in iTunes so I get credit for playing the track on AudioScrobbler.
( Kozo's Sing Along Script )
I know it's not much, but I'm proud of myself none the less.
Unfortunately while QuickTime Player is nice it doesn't give me the functionality of iTunes (and associated apps like AudioScrobbler or my lyric widget). Also, finding the source file in my music file can be annoying. Well with a little help of the interweb and AppleScript I was able to whip up a solution. I was able to make a script which takes the currently playing track in iTunes and continue playing it in QuickTime with the AV controls ready to shift pitch. The track keeps playing muted in iTunes so I get credit for playing the track on AudioScrobbler.
( Kozo's Sing Along Script )
I know it's not much, but I'm proud of myself none the less.
As promised the year in review through music continues...
Looking through the tracks that were added this year, I've noticed a distinct trend in moving away from country music. In fact looking through the tracks, I'm moving away from English tunes in general. Thanks to my 5 week stay in Moncton I've added a significant number of French tracks into my collection. What follows are the top tracks that have found themselves in my collection in the year 2004.
( Top Songs )
Looking through the tracks that were added this year, I've noticed a distinct trend in moving away from country music. In fact looking through the tracks, I'm moving away from English tunes in general. Thanks to my 5 week stay in Moncton I've added a significant number of French tracks into my collection. What follows are the top tracks that have found themselves in my collection in the year 2004.
( Top Songs )
Year in Review Through Music: Part 1
Nov. 26th, 2004 11:33 pmOne of the first things that stand out as I remember the last 11 months is my involvement in debating. I've increased my involvement in debating both in the high school level and at the university level. It's hard to believe that I've only been part of the CUSIDnet message boards for less than a year. I've met many great people in this short span, and I came to McMaster with some ready made contacts. So what does this have to do with music? Thanks to debating I've added some music to my collection which I would have otherwise simply ignored.
While I was in Moncton I was able to meet someone, simply because we were both debaters. I got to meet John LaRusic at the Player's Lounge in Moncton during Jam Night. I got to see John play some impromptu guitar and bass, and had a great time overall. Mr. LaRusic thinks of himself as a mediocre musician at best, but some of his music is available on the net. It's catchy acoustic fair that enjoys some play on my iPod.
I've also had the pleasure of meeting Nick Tam from the University of Alberta. Mr. Tam currently serves as CUSID's Executive Director, he also maintains a very good blog. Nick uses his blog to look at some of his passions movies, games, Scrabble, books, and the piano. Nick operates a separate PianoBlog, were he interprets various works in a lounge style. As many of you know, I simply love simple piano music, so Nick's fine music was a great addition to my collection.
So I've added some music this year thanks to debating. Who wouda thunk it? Go check these guys out!!!
The next installments of 'Year in Review Through Music' will probably focus more on individual songs or artists. 'til next time!!!
While I was in Moncton I was able to meet someone, simply because we were both debaters. I got to meet John LaRusic at the Player's Lounge in Moncton during Jam Night. I got to see John play some impromptu guitar and bass, and had a great time overall. Mr. LaRusic thinks of himself as a mediocre musician at best, but some of his music is available on the net. It's catchy acoustic fair that enjoys some play on my iPod.
I've also had the pleasure of meeting Nick Tam from the University of Alberta. Mr. Tam currently serves as CUSID's Executive Director, he also maintains a very good blog. Nick uses his blog to look at some of his passions movies, games, Scrabble, books, and the piano. Nick operates a separate PianoBlog, were he interprets various works in a lounge style. As many of you know, I simply love simple piano music, so Nick's fine music was a great addition to my collection.
So I've added some music this year thanks to debating. Who wouda thunk it? Go check these guys out!!!
The next installments of 'Year in Review Through Music' will probably focus more on individual songs or artists. 'til next time!!!
Good things about Moncton
Aug. 7th, 2004 09:13 pmFor all the complaining I did about Moncton, I will admit that it was an important experience. I met some great people, learned about Acadian culture, and I learned a thing or two about living with college students. The other thing I picked up is a taste for some French music. For those of you looking for something a little different go check out Swing, Zachary Richard, or 1755 (the Beatles of Acadia).
I wish I could elaborate but I just can't....
BTW if anyone knows who Yervant Terzian (not the Cornell astronomer) is, let me know. I'll be living with him come September and he didn't leave any contact info. I'll be happy if someone could shed light on the cultural/ethnic origin of that name.
( Summer Reading List )
I wish I could elaborate but I just can't....
BTW if anyone knows who Yervant Terzian (not the Cornell astronomer) is, let me know. I'll be living with him come September and he didn't leave any contact info. I'll be happy if someone could shed light on the cultural/ethnic origin of that name.
( Summer Reading List )
Go check out The Postal Service
Jun. 21st, 2004 11:17 pmI picked up the Post Service album today. It's great!!! I discovered these guys through Audioscrobbler, and I'm glad I did. Their music can be described as, electronica with catchy lyrics.
CHECK IT OUT!!!
CHECK IT OUT!!!
Back to earth (I'm a little less country)
Apr. 1st, 2004 08:21 pmThe high from the McMaster acceptance has worn off. I still have to maintain a 80%+ average, which means I actually have to work hard again. I'm sure my desire to go to McMaster and desire NOT to go to McGill will sustain me.
I was actually going to talk about music before I got the good news, so let me do that now. I've always stuck out because of my love for country music, for better or worse I've been labeled a country boy. I never really fought the label, in fact I relished it since I garnered me many odd looks among people my age. I have an iTunes playlist that constantly updates to show my 100 most played (vocal) tracks. Recently I noticed that my top 10 only has 2.5 country songs (Blue Rodeo is a little iffy), and further investigation revealed that I had only added 3 country songs since mid - December. This shift in tastes surprises me, so naturally I blamed George W. Bush. I believe that President Bush's recent actions and the Texas/Country connection has subconsciously pushed me away from country music. This paranoid theory can be the only explanation, anything else would be crazy talk. Before everyone panics, I should point out that 28% of my music collection is country, outranking any other genre. It's just that I'm a little less country now.
I was actually going to talk about music before I got the good news, so let me do that now. I've always stuck out because of my love for country music, for better or worse I've been labeled a country boy. I never really fought the label, in fact I relished it since I garnered me many odd looks among people my age. I have an iTunes playlist that constantly updates to show my 100 most played (vocal) tracks. Recently I noticed that my top 10 only has 2.5 country songs (Blue Rodeo is a little iffy), and further investigation revealed that I had only added 3 country songs since mid - December. This shift in tastes surprises me, so naturally I blamed George W. Bush. I believe that President Bush's recent actions and the Texas/Country connection has subconsciously pushed me away from country music. This paranoid theory can be the only explanation, anything else would be crazy talk. Before everyone panics, I should point out that 28% of my music collection is country, outranking any other genre. It's just that I'm a little less country now.
