Palm Sounds

MixPad from miniMusic

Well, the long awaited next delivery from miniMusic is well on the way to being available. Now in beta test MixPad is a fully featured MIDI file player/recorder/editor. It will let you take any raw MIDI file with you on your Palm and play it with using the miniMusic Krikit audio engine, on connected MIDI hardware, or on a sound card if your handheld has one (such as the Sony Clie NX series, or a Zodiac).

MixPad differs from any other MIDI file applications for the PalmOS; it includes powerful graphic support for simple viewing, mixing and quick editing.

Usable for real performance situations, or music practice, MixPad gives you a powerful real-time mixer interface to control channel volumes, panning, and solos and mutes for every track during playback. The main display gives smooth scrolling of all MIDI data (including velocities and controller data) and zooming. Unlike other MIDI file players that use hundreds of kilobytes (or even megabytes) of memory for sound samples, our software synthesizer generates audio without any recorded sound; it's only 10k! Unlike MP3 players, there is no recorded audio, so song files are also very small (usually under 100k).

MixPad currently works only as a song player/viewer. MixPad Pro will offer real time recording and MIDI file editing features.

According to the miniMusic site the software should be available in March which is really encouraging.

Coupled with this is a re-working of the Krikit audio engine synth to remove the latency issues that previously existed.

Finally I have to say that I love the icon for this application. it is superb!

My initial response to the app has been good so far. The interface works well although it has a lot going on, and files are easy to navigate to and open. The no latency synth is working well too. I'm going to have some more time to play with this soon and then I'll write more about how it all works. Back soon.

Abadja Rhythm for Palm

Abadja Rhythm for Palm is a flash application that has been designed to run in the flash player for palm devices. I have to start off by saying that I have a soft spot for these kinds of applications for several reason, not least of which is that I spent some time a few years ago making similar apps (although I have to say not nearly so well designed). Perhaps one day I'll dig them out and see if they've got life in them.

Anyway, back to Abadja Rhythm for Palm. Of the flash based applets I've seen so far this is by far the most complex and complete. It is a rhythm applet that uses several different percussion sounds that you can overlay together. It has a series of screens which explain the instruments used in the applet, and also gives some background to the music and culture of the region. This feature being a really nice touch indeed.

When you get to the main screen you have six percussion instruments that you can bring in or out of the mix. These combine to give you Abadja Rhythm.

Overall it is a nice applet that is an excellent example of what can be done using flash. Thanks to Hayden of Sonify.org for letting me review it.

Just to end here's a little video showing how it all works.

tags technorati : Abadja, Palm, Flash, Rhythm, PDA

Mobile Music Workshop

Ages ago I posted on the Mobile Music Workshop in 2006 in Brighton. This year's workshop is in Amsterdam, and I am hoping to go along.

I am also planning to submit a paper on Mobile Music Technology. To do this I need to carry out some research into what people use and how. If you are able to fill in a questionnaire please do. The questionnaire is available as a word document and you can download it by clicking here.

Details on the Amsterdam event:

INTRODUCTION
Combining music and mobile technology promises exciting future developments in a rapidly emerging field. Devices such as mobile phones, Walkmans and iPods have already brought music to the ever-changing social and geographic locations of their users and reshaped their experience of the urban landscape. With new properties such as ad hoc networking, Internet connection, and context-awareness, mobile music technology offers countless new artistic, commercial and socio-cultural opportunities for music creation, listening and sharing. How can we push forward the already successful combination of music and mobile technology? What new forms of interaction with music lie ahead, as locative media and music use merge into new forms of everyday experiences?

This series of annual workshops began to explore and establish the emerging field of mobile music technology in 2004. This fourth edition of the Mobile Music Workshop in 2007 offers a unique opportunity to participate in the development of mobile music and hands-on experience of cutting-edge technology.

This year’s workshop is hosted by STEIM and Waag Society in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and partners with the Futuresonic Festival in Manchester, England, taking place later the same week. The programme of the workshop will consist of keynote presentations from invited speakers, peer-reviewed paper presentations, poster sessions, in-depth discussions about the crucial issues of mobile music technology, demos of state-of-the-art projects, break-out sessions and live events. Registered participants will take part in hands-on sessions conducted by leaders in the field. In addition to traditional presentation sessions, the programme includes events open to a general audience, facilitating the presentation of artworks and technological breakthroughs to a wider public.

The Mobile Music Workshop sets the stage for a collaboration that brings together leading institutions in both experimental electronic music and mobile media. STEIM (the studio for electro-instrumental music) is a centre for electronic music production well known in the performing arts. STEIM promotes the idea that Touch is crucial in communicating with electronic and digital arts technologies, a vision that over the years has given birth to physical, sensor-based musical instruments. Waag Society is a research and development institute in the fields of networked art, education and creative industries. Waag develops platforms for artists to reach society through networked collaboration, media streaming, and locative media.

MORE INFORMATION

For more information about the previous and up-coming workshops, please consult:

http://www.mobilemusicworkshop.org/

tags technorati : Mobile Music Workshop, Research, STEIM, Waag Society, Futuresonic

Sonify dot org

I have been spending some time looking around the Sonify site for a while. Whilst I usually avoid industry sites this one is actually really useful. There's a whole host of useful information there on all sorts of different subjects from remixer apps for mobile phones to developer java guidelines.

There are also a number of very useful tutorials ranging from Java to Flash audio and more.

Sonify is a useful news source as well, and has a decent RSS feed.

Sonify.org describes itself as a community resource where Developers can unite with the common goals of adding interactive audio to the Web, Wireless and Digital Devices as well as advancing the development of the underlying interactive audio technologies. Sonify.org is also devoted to helping web, wireless and application developers add interactive audio to their projects.

Sonify.org works to educate the consumer and buying marketplace about the value of interactive audio to any web or application development effort - equal in importance to graphics or back end functionality, and Sonify.org is a community - a place for interactive audio developers to meet, share ideas & experiences, learn new skills, get exposure to potential employers and hopefully have some fun.

If you haven't visited it yet, give it a look now.

tags technorati : Sonify.org, PDA, Palm, Handheld, Windows Mobile

TASCAM's MP-GT1

Here's an interesting idea for an MP3 player from Tascam. An MP3 that thinks it is a guitar player's multi-track. Cool idea, although I'm not entirely sure if I'd use it.

I guess it would be useful for learning guitar, although it seems to me that there would be better devices for that kind of thing? The Zoom series of multi-tracks always struck me as being very guitarist friendly although they didn't have the option of slowing down / cancelling out which this device does.

There doesn't seem to be an expansion memory slots, which is odd as the capacity is only 240 songs.

Overall I think the concept is a good one, but I'm not sure that the song capacity is high enough. I could be wrong though.

Here's the information from the Tascam site:

TASCAM's MP-GT1 is the first MP3 player designed for musicians. Based on the award-winning CD-GT1mkII, this fun mobile guitar trainer includes enough memory to store up to 240 songs. Guitar parts can be slowed down, looped and even eliminated to help you learn new riffs. Play back MP3s using Variable Speed Audition, which slows down the speed without changing the pitch, and sections can be seamlessly looped while practicing tricky passages. Songs can even be pitched up or down to match the tuning of your guitar, so you don't have to re-tune for every song.

The guitar input lets you rock along with thick overdrive and multi-effects, including a guitar canceller so you can play along with your favorite bands. A tuner, metronome, and rechargeable battery are also built-in. All of this is packed into an MP3 player smaller than a stomp box, so stuff it in your backpack, gig bag or back pocket and hit the road.
The MP-GT1 uses a high-speed USB connection to load up MP3s and charge the built-in battery (an optional power supply is also available). Zip through your MP3 collection using a data wheel, dedicated buttons and a graphical LCD display. A rechargeable 9-hour lithium ion battery is built into the unit, and an optional power supply is also available.

Put 240 songs in your gig bag with the MP-GT1, the first MP3 player for musicians.

- 240-song memory capacity (based on average 4-minute MP3 encoded at 128kbps)
- Variable Speed Audition changes the speed of the MP3 playback without changing the pitch
- Pitch control in 1% steps so you don't have to re-tune
- Seamless looping for practicing tricky passages
- High-impedance 1/4" guitar input
- Guitar multi-effects include overdrive, distortion, delay, flange, reverb and more
- Guitar Cancel effect eliminates the guitar part from the recorded song so you can play along
- Built-in tuner, oscillator and metronome
- 1/8" Headphone output
- Built-in rechargeable battery with 9-hour reserve
- 128x64 graphic LCD display
- USB jack
- Auto Power Off and Hold function

tags technorati : Tascam, MP-GT1, MP3

TuneStudio Details from Belkin

Belkin details of the TuneStudio start to emerge. No information on the rumour about Ableton Live Lite being bundled with it. Never mind, plenty of time for that to come about.

TuneStudio for iPod 5th generation (video) - $179.99

- Records directly to iPod in 16-bit, 44kHz quality
- Streams audio through built-in USB interface to and from a PC or Mac® computer
- Each channel is equipped with 3-band EQ, pan and level controls
- Phantom-power-enabled XLR inputs provide up to 60 dB of microphone gain
- High-quality stereo compressor with makeup gain enhances audio dynamics and keeps audio levels within recording limits of the iPod
- Features one-knob compression control
- LEDs indicate master audio level, power status, peak indication, compressor activity, and recording status

tags technorati : Belkin, TuneStudio

MiniMusic in Education

Here's a great article about the use of palm music software in education, and some nice pictures including one of Chad!

I've used minimusic applications with my children for a while now. They've always found them lots of fun, and have learnt a lot from using them, which I suppose is the main point.

I hope that projects like this take off in more places. I know that in the UK pilot studies in the use of PDAs in schools have proved very successful.

Let's hope more people use minimusic in education.

tags technorati : Palm, miniMusic, Education,

TuneStudio Videos

I found this on YouTube. It doesn't give much more than the stills of the TuneStudio.

No more as yet on a European release date or pricing.

tags technorati : TuneStudio, iPod, Belkin

minMixa ported to Palm OS

An anonymous post on Palm Sounds says that miniMixa is to get a port over to Palm OS. This would be brilliant news if it could be confirmed...

any comments from Tao Group?

tags technorati : miniMixa, Palm OS, SSEYO

Pocket DJ

A little demo of the Pocket DJ flash app. This is one of four similar flash apps that run in the palm flash player. I got the flash player to work on my T3 eventually and so here's a video of this little application.

I think it is fair to say that the app isn't go to change the music world, but it is diverting enough to play with occasionally.

I hope to publish more videos over the next few weeks, and most if not all will be made using a Treo 650 camera.

XY Control Surface coming for miniMixa

I do like XY controls. This one might be bluetooth enabled allowing real interaction. Sounds like a wonderful idea! Here's what the colartz blog says about it:

"3GSM gets ever closer (next week now), and I am planning to show a new addition to miniMIXA - an XY control surface in the beta FXM Editor module. This allows you XY control of e.g. a high quality low pass filter on an audio loop or a modular (or even MIDI!) synth line - huge fun for a live mix. The FX chain (including the filter) can also include e.g. a stereo delay or reverb, so the whole sound is rather spectacular, and really cool to play with.

Not only is this something that I am going to show at the Tao buses (where Tao is showing its GamePlayer), but I also hope to do a small live demo at the Tao party - mobile music mixing, with audience participation, over bluetooth. Not being a “live performer” I am hoping the technology all works on the night"

I do hope there's some video of this demo, it will be excellent to watch.

tags technorati : 3GSM, miniMixa, SSEYO, XY Pad, colartz, Bluetooth

Nanoloop Running on a Palm Zire 71

Now that is cool, I really must get around to trying this out. I've been meaning to try two emulations on my T3, firstly running GBulator with Nanoloop and apps by 8 Cylinder inside it (as seen in this photo of GBulator with Nanoloop, and also running Atari ST old music software on CaSTaway.

It has to be worth a go, certainly I think that the GBulator with Nanoloop / 8 Cylinder will work, I think that the Atari ST idea might be harder and less likely yet still worth a try.

So, there's a job for February.

Any other kinds of emulation worthwhile for palm?

tags technorati : GBulator, Cylinder 8, Nanoloop, Emulator, Atari ST, CaSTaway

Tim Cole's Boss Micro BR Review

Thanks to Tim (of miniMixa fame) for this excellent review. I've been wondering about getting one of these to replace my Zoom PS04. Not sure now though.

Maybe I should wait until they've ironed out some of the issues with it, especially the file format.

tags technorati : Boss Micro BR, 4-Track

Palm Sounds Calendar

I've started a calendar which you can find under the "useful links" section on the right hand panel. It doesn't have much on it at the moment, but the plan is to add stuff to it regularly on all sorts of handheld subjects.

Screens Environment: Safire and Music

Here's an interesting post about Screens and Safire and how it all works together for music based applications.

tags technorati : Screens Environment, Palm, Experimental, Safire, Music

RSS Photo feed updated

The Palm Sounds feed has been updated with lots of new pictures of your favourite applications for Palm and PocketPC.

SSEYO miniMixa in action

Here's an interesting video of miniMixa in action live. Stuff like this just makes me more intent on getting to grips with it.

tags technorati : miniMixa, Mobile, Mashup, DJ, PDA, PocketPC

SSEYO miniMixa

I have made abortive attempts to get to grips with this app a couple of times, but I've never been able to get my head around it. However, I gave it another go today. I sat down with the manual and started to try and get my head around it. Well, I didn't get very far at all. I just couldn't get it into my head at all.

I'm not going to let it go though, I will keep at it until I can say for sure whether it is something I want to play with on a regular basis or not.

I'll report back on how it all goes.

tags technorati : SSEYO, miniMIXA, Computer Music, Mobile Music Making, Mobile Studio

Audio Box Micro Composer: A first look...

I had a quick look at this application today. It was interesting to find that the application ran on my old Jornada 568. I had a look at the track arranger and the voice controller. All quite straightforward and easy to use. The pattern arranger was easy to deal with except for using drums. That wasn't so good.

Overall it is an interesting application. In some ways a bit like Griff, and in others like Bhajis Loops.

I think it is a good application from what I've seen so far, but it doesn't have a lot of new features that you can't find in other applications.

I have to say that the interface is very nice indeed. I especially like the VU meters.

tags technorati : Pocket PC, Audio Box Micro Composer, Mobile Music,

Update on Palm Sounds

I thought I'd write about what I'm planning for the rest of 2007...

- A Palm Sounds web site to contain up to date information on projects / links etc
- A download page to get palm apps that can't be found elsewhere
- A photos page of screen shots of applications
- An events calendar for what's coming up during this year and beyond
- Palm Sounds Mac OSX Widget
- Revamp of the Palm Sounds store (boo hiss)
- A regular podcast (well, fairly regular anyway)

That's just the start really, there is more, but it needs more work. Hopefully some of these things will be up and running in the next week or two.

Contacting Palm Sounds

Now you can email Palm Sounds with useful news information, photos, videos or whatever you want. To contact Palm Sounds email at:

palmsounds@googlemail.com

Hope to hear from you soon,

Collaborative Music Creation

Here's an interesting link to a patent that's just been filed by Magix AG (DE). It is for a way of using phones and PDAs to create music between multiple users.

Who knows how long it will take for something like this to get into the public domain, but nevertheless, it is interesting.

MiniMusic Treo 680 problem fixed

The minimusic site reports that they've fixed the issue with Treo 680 devices. Now they can move on to releasing some excellent new applications for this year!

StyleTap update

StyleTap has been updated to run on Window Smartphone. Excellent!

It is good to know that it is still getting developed and moving forward. I'd like to see it keep on moving forward. Here's my StyleTap wish list:

- Support for miniMusic applications like SoundPad
- Support for conduits

and here's my dream list:

- Emulation for other platforms like Symbian
- Multiple instances of a palm OS

Let's see how it moves forward.

tags technorati : Palm, Pocket PC, StyleTap, Windows Smartphone

Audio Box Micro Composer

This is (I believe) one of the few Pocket PC music apps / studios I haven't really got to grips with. This is mainly because it requires a 400mhz CPU and my old pocket pc runs at about 230.

Anyway, I decided to load it and see if it runs at all, and it does, although with some limitations.

Visually it reminds me a lot of Griff, although functionally it makes me think of Bhajis Loops. Anyway, I plan to play with it some more soon and see how useful it will be on my old Pocket PC.

Here's some info on Audio Box from the 4Pockets site:

AudioBox is an all in one virtual recording studio and sound creation tool for your Pocket PC. Create your own musical compositions without the need for additional software or dedicated hardware. Inspiration doesn’t always strike whilst sat at your PC, so if you’re a budding musician looking for a quick way to lay down your ideas or want to create complete compositions then this is the only package you need.

The Pocket PC alone does not have the ability to play standard MIDI files. This is because it lacks the necessary hardware support in the form of Wavetable synthesis necessary to achieve this. This means that at best you are limited to playing simple WAV and MP3 files. AudioBox solves this problem by allowing you to create your own virtual instruments which are fully configurable. AudioBox allows you to emulate the sound of classic analog synthesisers which became widespread in the 80’s and are still at the heart of modern music today. Customise the sounds to match your style of music or use the presets, it’s up to you! AudioBox also comprises a digital sampler, a dedicated string pad synthesizer and a drum machine allowing you to create your own customised drum kits and instrument sounds.

Of course having the ability to generate sound isn’t everything… AudioBox is a complete music composition package with both track and score editing. The interface is simple to use, and yet provides a comprehensive range of features.

Audio Box allows you to create up to separate 16 tracks, each track assigned it’s own instrument. An integrated mixing desk allows you to control the overall mix as well as assign multiple effects to each channel. The real time effects include digital delay, reverb, chorus, phaser, low / high pass filters and more.

AudioBox also features the ability to automate instruments, effects and mixer settings using custom controller messages sent from the sequencer. Quite simply this allows you to control settings such as mixer pan and fader settings by simply drawing on a controller graph. During playback these settings are relayed to the mixer in real time.

Audio Box has the ability to work in high quality 44Khz mode or 22Khz mode for some slower models of Pocket PC. The polyphony and number of effects are only limited by the speed of your Pocket PC, so there is nothing to hold you back!

System Requirements

5Mb Storage Space
5Mb Minimum program memory
xScale 400Mhz or better processor

tags technorati : Pocket PC, Audio Box Micro Composer, Mobile Music,

Palm Sounds Widget

Just a quick note to say that I am making a little palm sounds widget for Mac OSX dashboards using Apple's new Dashcode tool. Just for fun more than anything.

TuneStudio: Some thoughts and information

I found this information at CDM, which (in my opinion) is an excellent site for up to date info. CDM were at MacWorld and got to see the TuneStudio first hand. Theire post on it is well worth a read.

I think that the development of the TuneStudio is an interesting development for the iPod. Does this make the iPod a reasonable platform for music recording?

As I understand it the TuneStudio creates a single wav file sitting on the iPod, which is not great for post production work.

But I was thinking. If the TuneStudio was able to create a wav file for each track and then stick those in the iPod, they could be exported to GarageBand or another DAW and then you could do whatever you wanted with them.

Possible? I don't know?

tags technorati : iPod, Belkin, TuneStudio, GarageBand, 4-Track, CDM, MacWorld

iPhone as a platform

I like the idea of the iPhone, but when I heard that t was to be closed off to developers I have to admit that I was disappointed. However, this from iLounge, is a slightly different story.

If Apple are going to control what's on the iPhone, then maybe we will see some more interesting applications emerging. Maybe a sort of iLife for iPhone? Maybe something for making ringtones or remixing or something like that?

Anyway, no matter what I think that it is a fair point that you don't want a corrupted platform, and stuff like Palm does suff from that kind of problem. So perhaps it is for the best?

Here's the news from iLounge:

Apple CEO Steve Jobs says Apple fans can expect more mobile applications for the iPhone by the time the device ships in June (Q4 2007 for Europe). Jobs told Newsweek, however, that Apple will control what applications make it onto the iPhone, much like it has done with every iPod. “You don’t want your phone to be an open platform,” says Jobs. “You need it to work when you need it to work. Cingular doesn’t want to see their West Coast network go down because some application messed up.” During the unveiling of the iPhone, which runs a scaled down version of Mac OS X, Jobs showed off applications for email, web browsing, photos, SMS text messaging, and Google Maps, as well as widgets for weather and stocks. Other icons on the iPhone prototype include Calendar, Camera, Calculator, Notes, Clock, and Settings.

tags technorati : iPhone, iLounge, Palm, Platform, OSX, Apple

TuneStudio

I was really pleased to read this. Belkin's TuneStudio got an iLounge’s Best of Show 2007 Award. Fantastic. I think it deserved it. I think it is a really innovative product, I can't wait for it to come out. Well done iLounge for giving it an award too.

I was especially glad to see one in the picture as well. It is always cool to see these things in the flesh.

tags technorati : iPod, Belkin, TuneStudio, iLounge, MacWorld, Innovation

iPhone :Not OSX in your hand after all...

So it turns out that you won't be able to run third party applications on the iPhone after all. That is a big shame indeed.

Check out TUAW:

"The OS isn't going to be "OS X for real." It's more like a pseudo-OS X and, like the iPod, it will not have a public API and open development."

This is a real let down. No Garageband for iPhone, no pocket Logic.

Perhaps things will change in the future, maybe they'll open it up at a later stage. I can hope about that can't I.

tags technorati : iPhone, Apple, Mac, OSX, TUAW

iPhone - OSX in your hand?

Well, it surpassed my expectations completely. The idea of having a device that is as small as a phone and yet is able to run desktop class applications is fantastic. The hardware is amazing and the way it is integrated into the OS is very smart indeed. I think that this is the real day of the "smartphone".

If Apple can give us a device that will truly run OSX in your hand, what does that mean for mobile music? Perhaps a handheld version of Garageband? A phone version of Logic? Why not?

The ability to use a phone like this to access top quality music applications must be realised. I think that this is a fantastic opportunity to take the handheld music world forward.

Well done Apple, can't wait to get one!

tags technorati : Apple, iPhone, iPod, OSX, Handheld, Garageband, Logic

iPod becomes a 4-track...

This looks interesting. I love the idea of hardware add-ons for devices like iPods that take them completely outside the realm of what they were made for. This is a great idea.

If this comes out I am going to have to seriously re-evaluate my needs for an iPod.

Here's what iLounge say about it.

Belkin has introduced the TuneStudio, a four-channel audio mixer that allows users to create digital recordings directly to a fifth-generation iPod. The mixer accepts up to four different instruments or audio sources, and records the audio to the iPod in 16-bit, 44kHz stereo quality for instant playback; each source has a 3-band equalizer, pan and level controls, and the system offers microphone gain and makeup gain features attenuated to the iPod’s recording needs. According to the company, it can also serve as an external USB sound card for PCs or Macs, allowing PC source audio input and output to a PC from any of its inputs, as well as streaming audio over a USB connection.

“TuneStudio is compact, portable, and tough enough to withstand life in a rehearsal room or in a garage,” says Belkin. “Bands can easily attach instruments and microphones to TuneStudio and record jam sessions directly onto an iPod. Podcasters can also use this device to record their shows either in a studio or on location.” Belkin said the TuneStudio is expected to be released this summer, priced at $180.

tags technorati : Apple, iPod, Belkin, 4-Track, Mixer, Portable Studio

PsyTexx II 0.4 Update

PsyTexx II has just been updated to version 0.4. New in this version:

v0.4:
* Added RAW-samples loading function
* Some windows redesigned
* Added "Clear comments" function
* Added two timers: working time and playing time
* He he... Multichannel arpeggio (0xx effect) was added. I like it :)
* Click on a channel: left button - mute/unmute channel; right - solo channel/unmute all
* Added new font: 8x13
* Improved sample editor
* Added wave drawing to the channels view
* Fixed many different bugs

I keep meaning to get to grips with Psytexx, both I and II, but never seem to get around to it, which I think is a shame as obviously a lot of work has gone into the software.

I am also really impressed that it is released as open source.

Part of me wants to start looking at their code to try and understand what is going on, but I know that I am unlikely to understand any of it at all.

Still, only January and an updated Palm application already. Excellent start to the year.

tags technorati : Palm, Psytexx, Tracker, Handheld music, Mobile Studio

Here's to mobile music in 2007...

Welcome to 2007. Let's look forward to lots of new developments. Some if this post I used at the tale end of 2006, so you might find it familiar. There's bits and pieces added too!

MiniMusic

I'm looking forward to new applications from minimusic. If you look at their development calendar you'll see what they've got planned for this year.

MixPad has been in beta for a very long time indeed. MixPad is an application for mixing MIDI files.

MixPad is the next application that they plan to release, and, like the others so far it will use the Krikit sound engine. Once MixPad arrives you'll be able to create sounds in SoundPad use them in NotePad or BeatPad and then export them to MIDI to mix them in MixPad. The suite of apps will really take on a new dimension I think with the addition of MixPad.

Next I hope that there will be a new version of NotePad. In version 1.5 I'm hoping for the ability to export a song file as a .wav file onto memory card. Things will become very interesting if that comes about.

In theory you'll be able to create a .wav file in NotePad export it, and import it into Bhajis Loops. That would in effect give you the ability to have sounds created in SoundPad used in Bhajis Loops. Now that would be interesting. Or indeed, if you made percussion sounds in SoundPad you could use them (as .wavs) in Microbe and then export from Microbe to Bhajis Loops. I do like the thought of being about to move sounds and files around between all these apps, and I think that is really on the horizon now.

After NotePad I'm waiting for SpinPad. I have played with the demo of SpinPad for ages, since the day it was actually released in fact, and I find it so interesting. It is a completely unique interface for making music. I don't know where they got the idea from, but it is great. Again, if this uses the Krikit sound engine and has the ability to export to MIDI so you can then pick up your work in MixPad, that is going to be amazing. MiniMusic will have done an amazing job.

Of course it doesn't end there... I'd also like to see updates to SoundPad to include other wave forms, and features like locking banks of sounds. I'd like to see updates to AxisPad to allow recording of performances, and maybe even export to MIDI?

Finally, I'm holding my breath for WavePad the Palm OS multi-track digital audio editor. I don't know how it will work, but the idea is a really exciting one.

Pocket PC Applications: SSEYO

I hope that SSEYO will continue to develop their miniMIXA application, and possibly even port it to the Palm platform? Again, apps like Griff and Syntrax don't seem to be being actively updated, so miniMixa is sort of the only thing left. It would be nice to see more developers joining in.

Hardware:

It is difficult to say what will happen hardware-wise in 2007? Will Apple bring in a smartphone or newton update? Will it have a micro version of Garageband that you can use? That would be fantastic wouldn't it.

New Developers?

I would be great to see some new developers for palm, or pocket PC for that matter. Whilst it is a small market, it is a really interesting one.

What about the blog?

Well, I'd like to add more reviews to the blog and more about development of handheld music applications.

So, all in all, I think 2007 should be a good year.

tags technorati : MiniMusic, Palm, Bhajis Loops, SSEYO, miniMIXA, NotePad, AxisPad, WavePad, SoundPad, Griff, Syntrax, Microbe, MIDI,

2007

2006 was a good year all in all, here's to next year, and best wishes for 2007.

Electroplankton

Yesterday I played with Electoplankton for the first time. Absolutely awesom. I really loved it. It is as much a toy as a new way of relaxing. I have to enjoyed it.

I haven't as yet played with all of it, but I'm sure I will.

tags technorati : Nintendo DS, Electroplankton

Happy Christmas

A very happy Christmas from Palm Sounds.

miJam Mixer

I have to admit that I know very little about being a DJ, but devices like these intrigue me. I'd actually like to see something like this software wise for a palm or pocket PC. I doubt there will be though.

Anyway, it is an interesting idea.

Here's what amazon says about it....

- The mi Jam Mixer will have you mixing like a DJ in no time and is so portable you can take it anywhere.
- The Mixer functions with any digital music device, such as iPod and MP3 player.
- Each mi Jam Mixer features two scratch discs which work in both directions with a variety of effects.
- Also included in the Mixer are two programmed rhythm selection buttons, digital voice, techno effects, tempo and volume controls.
- Just like all other mi Jam products the Mixer works either as a standalone Mixer or can accompany your favorite music, so plug it into your music device and jam away
- You can even add the mi Jam Stage Mic to add vocals for the complete DJ experience.

tags technorati : miJam Mixer, iPod

EarMan from RoGame

RoGame have brought a number of music related products to the Palm Platform, all of which are tools or utilities for musicians rather than being music creating applications. However, they add to the pool of software, and that's a good thing.

This latest offering is another learning tool designed to help you to to learn intervals. I am all for music education software, and I shall give this a go, although it does remind me a bit of EarTrain from minimusic, although that application is a bit more aimed at children.

Anyway, good to see someone still developing music applications for the palm platform.

This is what the blub says on PalmGear....

One of the most important skills for musicians of any kind is the ability to correctly identify intervals by ear. Ear training is therefore a substantial building block of any kind of music education. Typically practicing this skill happens during class or with a private tutor and takes some time. EarMan is a tool that can enhance proficiency in ear training and can aid greatly in the process of advancing in this difficult subject.
The program offers a way for “spot learning” where specific interval sets can be practiced in specific ranges. This can be used to focus on weaknesses. Every session is graded in once completed. In addition EarMan offers a complete curriculum that trains the user step by step from correctly identifying simple intervals in limited groups to the full range including compound intervals.

EarMan uses RoGame’s sound library and includes a Grand Piano library for playback on devices with Palm OS 5.0 and higher. Intervals a shown in grand staff notation to aid the learning process. Interval sets include complementary intervals. The interface for the application has been designed to be free from distractions so that one can fully concentrate on the sound.

tags technorati : Palm, EarMan, RoGame, Intervals, Music, Learning

Trinity

I posted on this device ages ago, but went back to have a look again. There's a sizeable number of apps now running on it. It made me wonder if when ALP is released for Palm devices, if these kind of apps will be able to run on it? ALP is of course LINUX based, so it makes sense to me, but then what do I know.

Anyway, at $1000 each, I don't think I'll be buying on.

tags technorati : Audacity, Palm, Multitracker

Emulation and Music Software

I noticed someone the other day selling a Palm Zire 72 on eBay. It was unusual as it was billed as an auction for musicians only, and that attracted my attention. The seller had various music applications loaded up on this Palm, namely, SoundPad, Bhajis Loops etc. However, in addition to this GBulator was running and supporting Nanoloop and apps by 8 Cylinder.

Now ages ago I had toyed with the idea of emulating an Atari ST to run old music software, but I gave up as I found it just too difficult to get running. Obviously this particular ebay seller has managed to get these GBA apps running ok, which makes me think I should try again.

The ST emulator is CaSTaway, and perhaps it is time to get some of those old Atari music apps running again on my T3?

tags technorati : Palm, Emulator, GBulator, Nanoloop, 8Cylinder

MP3 Encoder for Palm

Well, just when you think you won't be seeing anything new this year, something completely new and unexpected comes along. Who would have thought there would be an MP3 encoder for the Palm platform. Priced at only $12 you can't really go wrong.

Mp3Enc is from newborngames, who make WaveEditPro (and the enterprise version) which in my opinion is probably the best audio editor software for the Palm platform.

Here's what the site says about it...

Mp3Enc is the first ever Mp3 encoder for the Palm platform!

Now you can record sound, compress into Mp3 on your SD card, and plug the same SD card into your external player!

Writes Mp3's in a variety of bitrates from 64 to 320

Supports batch jobs: Select many files at once and leave the encoder running!

ARM code enhanced for the best possible speed

tags technorati : Palm, MP3, Encoder, Newborngames, Mp3Enc

Mobile Music in 2007...

After my post yesterday about 2006 I thought I'd write something about 2007 and what I'm hoping for.

Palm Applications: MiniMusic

One the things I'm most looking forward to in 2007 is new applications from minimusic. If you look at their development calendar you'll see what they've got planned for next year, and it looks really appealing.

1st off there's MixPad an application for mixing MIDI files. MixPad is the next application that they plan to release, and, like the others so far it will use the Krikit sound engine. Once MixPad arrives you'll be able to create sounds in SoundPad use them in NotePad or BeatPad and then export them to MIDI to mix them in MixPad. The suite of apps will really take on a new dimension I think with the addition of MixPad.

Next I hope that there will be a new version of NotePad. In version 1.5 I'm hoping for the ability to export a song file as a .wav file onto memory card. Things will become very interesting if that comes about. In theory you'll be able to create a .wav file in NotePad export it, and import it into Bhajis Loops. That would in effect give you the ability to have sounds created in SoundPad used in Bhajis Loops. Now that would be interesting. Or indeed, if you made percussion sounds in SoundPad you could use them (as .wavs) in Microbe and then export from Microbe to Bhajis Loops. I do like the thought of being about to move sounds and files around between all these apps, and I think that is really on the horizon now.

Finally, I'm holding my breath for WavePad the Palm OS multi-track digital audio editor. I don't know how it will work, but the idea is a really exciting one.

Palm Applications: ChocoPoolp

I would love to see some new developments of Bhajis Loops or Microbe, but I doubt that this will happen in 2007 which is a shame although understandable. There was some discussion of a mini synth application on the Bhajis Garden forum, but nothing has happened as yet.

Pocket PC Applications: SSEYO

I hope that SSEYO will continue to develop their miniMIXA application, and possibly even port it to the Palm platform? Again, apps like Griff and Syntrax don't seem to be being actively updated, so miniMixa is sort of the only thing left. It would be nice to see more developers joining in.

Hardware:

It is difficult to say what will happen hardware-wise in 2007? Will Apple bring in a smartphone or newton update? Will it have a micro version of Garageband that you can use?

Mixing / DJ'ing

There seem to be more applications on mobile phones that allow you to do things like remix tracks and make ringtones from mp3 files and the like, maybe we'll see more of this kind of application come to the surface? Who knows, it could be interesting.

Other stuff:

In 2007 I'd like to get along to the Mobile Music Workshop. The one in 2006 was in Brighton and I'd wished I'd gone along.

... so, lots to look forward to, lots to comment on, lots to enjoy making music with. Here's to 2007.

tags technorati : MiniMusic, Palm, Bhajis Loops, SSEYO, miniMIXA, NotePad, AxisPad, WavePad, SoundPad, Griff, Syntrax, Microbe, MIDI,

Thoughts on Mobile Music Making in 2006

I thought I'd jot down some thoughts about the state of mobile music making, and also about the blog and where I see things going. As the year comes to a close I think it is worthwhile looking at what good stuff came about and what is coming up.

2006: A Good year for mobile music making?

Well, in some ways yes and in some ways no. Bhajis Loops is no longer being developed, and that is sad, but understandable. But this year we've seen a new version of NotePad from MiniMusic which has been an excellent move forward for notation on the palm.

We've also had a new version of BeatPad which again has extended the use of the the little palm sequencer.

These two applications have tied into the miniMusic SoundPad application for sound design. The three of them together form the basis of the minimusic pro-suite, and I think that it really does feel like a suite of apps now.

Add to this the latest application from miniMusic, AxisPad only delivered in November this year, and you have a really rounded suite of music applications.

Of course, minmusic aren't going to stop their, if you look at their development calendar you'll see what they've got planned for next year, and it looks really appealing.

But it is a such a shame that there are so few developers of palm music software. Perhaps we'll see a few more in 2007?

2006 was a good year for PocketPC music. We saw miniMIXA open up in a big way. We saw PocketPC's become able to use Palm software, and in particular Bhajis Loops by the use of the new StyleTap Palm emulator.

So, on the whole not bad. And maybe more things to come in 2007, who knows? I think that should be for another post.

tags technorati : Palm, Mobile Music Making, miniMusic, Bhajis Loops, AxisPad, SoundPad, NotePad

Palm OS4 Music: Harmonic Square

I can remember this from a long time ago, playing about with it on my palm IIIx. It was quite fun as I recall. Sadly the link to download this is broken, but I am sure I have it on a disc somewhere. I'll have to dig it out to add it to my OS4 collection.

Anyway, here's the blurb:

The Harmonic Square is a revolutionary new musical instrument conceived by theoretical physicist and inventor Nick Charlton. It has a set of 25 keys arranged in a square, each one playing a harmonic of a particular base note. This arrangement enables the player to produce a far richer selection of harmonics of a given note than an ordinary keyboard.

The Harmonic Square is more like a 2-dimensional keyboard. Keys are one of two colours. The dark keys correspond to notes that already exist on a keyboard. The light keys correspond to new harmonics that cannot be produced on an ordinary instrument.

tags technorati : Palm, PDA, Handheld, Music, Harmonic, Square, Palm OS, Mobile Music

Palm OS4 Music: Piezo Power

I remember this app from when I started playing around with palm pilots and music software. It was a lot of fun, especially if you synchronised with another PDA and made a piezo duet.

I couldn't get it to work under OS5, but with my older clie it works fine.

I plan to post on all the older OS4 software eventually, one app at a time, and, if possible with screen shots too.

I think it is worth keeping these older apps as they were the forerunners of the new music applications we're seeing today.

tags technorati : Piezo Power, Palm OS4, Palm, Music, PDA, Handheld, Piezo, Clie

Z4 Music: Mini Review

Whilst this is a good little app for mucking about with sequencing, the issue I have with it is just that. It is a good app for mucking about with. I can see it being fun if you are not big into music, or just want to play around. However, if you are more serious about handheld music making this won't get you far.

tags technorati : PocketPC, Z4 Music, Drum Machine, Sequencer

BoomChic mini review

I've played with BoomChic for a bit now, and it is fun although really a very limited music application. Of course, being freeware means that you can't complain really.

It is fun though to play with and if that's what you're after then that's fine.

tags technorati : PocketPC, BoomChick, Drum Machine

Sound Synthesis Revisited: Porting the Drum Machine to the .NET Compact Framework

Now, I don't pretend to understand this, but here's a useful article about how to code your own drum machine application for a PocketPC. I guess it is only useful if you can do that sort of thing, but maybe YOU can.

Anyway, I think more people should write handheld music applications, that would be a good thing.

AxisPad 1.0

MORE ABOUT AXISPAD: Here's the Press Release . . .

AxisPad uses the full touch sensitive screen to control sounds, changing their pitch, volume or other characteristics. A built-in software synthesizer creates a wide range of instrument sounds, or some handheld computers can also be connected to MIDI hardware (like keyboards, samplers, or tone modules) which AxisPad can also control, altering the sound of that instrument while you play.

The new user interface makes it very easy to change the range of pitches or volumes being controlled. It is also simple to edit the guide-lines on the screen helping you mark pitches you want to return to, or mark volume levels to help you shape the dynamics of your performance over time. AxisPad also gives you full control over the colors of each instrument so you can make each visually distinct.

"We've been wanting to make this product for a while," says Chad Mealey, chief developer at miniMusic. "We've been adding our Krikit Audio Engine to other applications for the past year or so, but AxisPad is our first product to allow 'pitch bends' where you can slowly slide between two notes in a scale. The advantage of using the same sound engine is that you can design your own sounds with our SoundPad application, and then perform with them in AxisPad!"

AxisPad is a re-imagination of an older shareware application named Theremini, written by Pete Moss. Named after the Theremin, a musical instrument heard in such films as The Day The Earth Stood Still, Ed Wood, Mars Attacks! and Forbidden Planet, Theremini has not been updated in several years and so is not compatible with many modern handheld features.

Pricing, Availability, and Distribution
AxisPad is available now for $19.95 from the miniMusic website. For a limited time AxisPad will be included free with orders of the miniMusic Handheld Music Suite or the Pro Music Suite, each available for $69.95 on-line and from select retail outlets. A free demo of AxisPad is currently available for download from the miniMusic web-site at www.miniMusic.com.

About miniMusic
Based in San Francisco since 1999, miniMusic creates handheld computer software for music composition, education, performance, and entertainment so that musical ideas can be explored anywhere and anytime, giving individuals the freedom of musical expression on their own terms. Shipping applications include NotePad, BeatPad, SoundPad, EarTrain and BugBand. Upcoming products will tackle MIDI sequencing, multi-track editing and innovative new musical interfaces.

I really like this application. Maybe you can guess that.

tags technorati : Palm, AxisPad, minimusic, Theremin

AxisPad 1.0 from MiniMusic

Wonderful!

A new application from MiniMusic. I haven't had time to play with this as yet, but I've bought it, and at only $19.95 I'd hav to say that I think that it is excellent value.

I shall post again when I've had a good play with it.

tags technorati : Palm, AxisPad, miniMusic, Theremin, Mobile Music

Palm Sound and Vision

This is a piece of video that I took on my Treo 650. The music was made with a Tungsten T3 using Bhajis Loops. The two were brought together using iMovie on my Mac, but all the source material was handheld only.

Although not likely to be a first, I thought it was an interesting experiment.

tags technorati : Palm, PDA, Video, Guy Fawkes, Bhajis Loops, Treo 650, Tungsten T3

Mobile Studio: Palm OS4

Some time ago I posted quite a bit about the older Capers applets and demos. This made me think about lots of old apps I used to use which won't run under Palm OS5. Sad really. I decided to get myself an old Clie series device.

Why clie? Simple, the older clies (some of them anyway) have a built in MIDI chip and hence don't need a module like the Swivel Systems SG20. If you're interested there's a good list of which ones have the chip at the MiniMusic site under the hardware section.

Anyway, I've got one now. A clie T425. Very nice it is too. It took a bit of getting used to a monochrome screen again, but even so I am impressed. The sound is fine, and even with only 8mb (7mb available) on board it is still quite useable. The device itself is very slim indeed. The only drawback is it doesn't have a headphone jack, so anything I use it for I will need to record with a mic.

After this initial disappointment I decided that this was a good thing as I could actually record one palm with another, which would be quite interesting.

So what am I using it for then? Well, here's a list of what music app I've put on it so far:

AxisPad (current minimusic preview)
BeatPlay
Burrito
Egg-Demo
Hedgehog
Luna
Meedy
Piezo Power
SpinPad
Theremini
ThumbMusic
Tractor
Beat Key
Botzam MIDI Player
ittyMIDI Player
Almond
Bugband
DaCapo
EarTrain
FretBoard
GTrainer
GuiPar
McChords
Mozart
PocketBeat
Transpose
Tuneit
BeatPad
composer
ittyMIDI Drummer
Handi Drum
MelodyPad
MusicInHand
MusicStudio
MusicTracker
NotePad
Pocket Piano
pQuencer
RhythmPro

Quite a list, and I'm still going back over old CD-ROMs where I kept apps to see if there's anything else. You never know, I might find one or two bits more.

Once I've had more time to play with some of these I'll post proper reviews on some of them.

burrito.prc
HEDGEHOG.ZIP
meedy.zip
EGGTIMER.ZIP

tags technorati : Palm, Clie, Sony, PDA, Music, Handheld, MIDI, Mobile Studio

AxisPad Preview from MiniMusic

I've been meaning to post on the latest addition to the minimusic range, but I wanted to be able to add a few extras to this post before I wrote about it.

I've enjoyed playing with the preview application. The interface is fantastic, but then nothing less than you'd expect from minimusic. It is a real fun app to work with and the full version is due out this month!

Here's what the minimusic site says about it:

AxisPad is a music instrument on your handheld computer. You can use the full touch sensitive screen to create sound gestures. Each axis (up/down, left/right) can be assigned to change different parameters of the sound. The preview lets you control pitch and volume to create sounds similar to a Theremin. Push the up control on your phone or handheld to change the settings, down to hide the settings, or use the left/right controls to change instruments.

The full AxisPad will offer additional controls, customizable guide-lines, support for MIDI output and sound cards on some handhelds, and support for older handhelds that cannot run our software synthesizer. AxisPad is our update of the Theremini/Theremidi application by Pete Moss.

The November 8th Preview 2 greatly improves performance on most handhelds, eliminating the "click" sound while changing the volume of a sound. It also adds support for basic sound on older handhelds (Palm OS 3 or 4, which cannot run our Krikit Audio Engine). We've also remapped the screen to adjust volume based on the we we perceive loudness rather than the linear amplitude changes in Preview 1.

The free preview only saves one patch. The full application will include several additional features and support a wider variety of hardware.

The current preview requires a handheld running Palm OS 3.0 or greater. Some features require the Palm OS 5 Streaming Sound Libraries. Usually, any OS 5 handheld with a headphone jack qualifies (with the exception of a few Sony Clie models).

AxisPad produces sounds reminiscent of a Theremin as heard in such films as The Day The Earth Stood Still, The Thing (From Another World), Ed Wood, Mars Attacks!, and Forbidden Planet. But AxisPad can do so much more. The full application will let you save multiple configurations, set custom colored guides, and on some handheld models AxisPad will send control changes to MIDI hardware like samplers, synthesizers and tone modules.

The free AxisPad preview can also be found at the miniMusic website and the full version will be available in November for $19.95.

I wanted to be able to show what AxisPad was like, so I enlisted the help of my children to make a little video about it. Here's our AxisPad duet.

tags technorati : Palm, AxisPad, minimusic, Theremin

Another Pocket PC Drum Machine

I found another PocketPC Drum Machine. This one has a bit of a twist. Here's the product's details:

Drum Kit Ace is a brilliant music & memory game and also an easy to program drum machine!

In the two game modes Memory Master and Rhythm Master use your touch screen stylus to hit the drums and follow the computers lead. Practice drumming in Freestyle mode, complete with metronome to help improve your timing.

The Drum Machine enables you to create up to 99 drum tracks. The interface is simple and intuitive. If you play an instrument (e.g. guitar, bass, keyboard) then why not create a drum track to play along to...for fun, for practice, for real.

Features:
Stylish Photo Realistic VGA Graphics
Excellent Animation
Portrait and Landscape View supported on ALL devices
Multi-Language Support (English, French, German, Italian, Spanish)
Memory Master
Rhythm Master
Freestyle
Drum Machine

tags technorati : PocketPC, Drum Machine

BugBand 1.2 Released

I've posted on the previous version of BugBand which I thought was already good, this new version takes it much further. I love how innovative this app is in helping to teach notation using many different instruments now.

Adding the Krikit audio engine is also a big step forward. Krikit provides rich sound synthesis and is a big improvement for BugBand. It will be nice to see this in EarTrain as well when it comes along.

Here's what the miniMusic site has to say about BugBand:

BugBand helps you practice sight reading, letter names of notes, piano, guitar, violin and brass instruments. With a practice level for the complete beginner and ten levels of difficulty, BugBand can help anyone improve their sight reading skills. Great for teaching kids the basics of music, helping students get through music classes at school, or anyone learn to play an instrument. Lots of bugs! Lots of fun!

The new 1.2 version adds: Two new instruments (Violin and Trombone), software synthesis for rich audio and a new "boring mode" so you can play with normal note heads as you would see in real printed music instead of the colorful bugs. Our Krikit Audio Engine (or Krikit Synth) can create rich sound on most modern handheld computers (like the Zire 31, 71, 72, Tungsten T, T2, T3, T5, TX, C, E, E2, Treo 600, 650, 700p, Lifedrive, Tapwave Zodiac, Sony Clie UX40, UX50 or TJ35, and others). Oh, and there is a new golden butterfly!

tags technorati : miniMusic, BugBand, Learning music, Palm OS, PDA Music, KriKit Audio Engine

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