JSB Work and Play

My loathings are simple: stupidity, oppression, crime, cruelty, soft music. - Vladimir Nabokov

2008, August 02

Family Cats

Family cats from Los Osos to San Pablo..

Lulu at rest, don't bother her.

Two cats in this picture, Itsy Bitsy and Baby Jane.

Monkey in filtered sunlight.

Lulu and Monkey were captured asleep on my visit to my daughter and granddaughter in July. Baby Jane (Lady Jane Grey) was captured looking up at the late Itsy Bitsy's photo.

Everyday life • Permalink

2008, July 31

Two Computers

Two computers replace one

GarageBand did not work for me—no experience with sequencers and all the tutorials start at a level over my head. I'm sure a youngster could come in here and show me how to do what I need done very quickly, but I am not able to figure it out for myself.

So I got an original iBook to run Panther and QuickTime 6.5 with Jeux, the organ SoundFont so I can make my conversions of a midi file to a QuickTime file with the capablilty to assign instruments to the channels. With an eight month old intel MacBook to run the big programs on Tiger, I will be in business again sooner rather than later.

So the computer problem is solved; now to tackle the rehab for the back injury.

Computer • Permalink

2008, July 26

Back Problems

Added to the aforementioned computer problems there is now a back injury. So the delay in getting back to the revision will be longer than I had hoped.

Everyday life • Permalink

2008, July 04

Death of a Mac

Logic board failure.

Suddenly, with no warning, the G5 has died. I really loved that Mac and now it is just parts, waiting to be disposed of. It will be replaced by a used MacBook from eBay. Not the same, but a very usable tool.

I got a MacBook for my daughter last year and am very impressed by it, so I don't think the transition will be too painful. She is graciously letting me use it for essentials, but it isn't reasonable to load on all my music software.

Of course, it means that there will be a suspension of the revision for a few weeks. It also means a change in the work habits and flow. I don't think QuickTime Pro 6.5 will work on the Intel system, so I may have to switch to GarageBand to make instrument choices for my files. This will entail a learning curve. I hope to have everything back up and running by the end of July.

Computer • Permalink

2008, June 26

California Wildfires and a Red Sun

1000 wildfires are burning around us.

White sky, red sun at sunset. A very smokey day in the San Francisco Bay area, causing burning and itching eyes, dry cough, a headache, aching muscles. The smell of smoke is so strong that it smells like the fire is right next door.

Everyday life • Permalink

QuickTime Default Synthesizer

Choose your sounds.

The sound of QuickTime files on any web page will depend on the synthesizer chosen as the default in the QuickTime Preferences on your computer, found on the Mac OS X in the System Preferences, under the Apple menu at the far left of the menu bar. QuickTime files on this website and the JSBChorales website are made to play with the QuickTime Music Synthesizer set as the Default. Other synthesizers will work, but you may get some strange sounds.

Music • Permalink

2008, May 26

Ninth chord

A revision of the analysis of the cross relation of April 22, 2008

Here is the original post with sound files of the parts.

A dominant seventh chord is built of four scale degrees: the fifth as the root, the seventh scale degree as the third of the chord, the second scale degree as the fifth of the chord and the fourth scale degree as the seventh of the chord. The fourth scale degree resolves to the third scale degree, thus acting as a passing tone.

Listen to the progression: i V V7 i:

Here is a discussion of chords and seventh chords.

The dominant ninth chord adds the sixth scale degree as the ninth of the chord. In four part writing, one note must be omitted, usually the fifth of the chord, the second scale degree.

Pertaining to the omission of the root of chords, R.O. Morris says: "It seems to the author…that a chord from which the root has to be omitted ceases ipso facto to be that chord at all, and that no suport should be given to so paradoxical a method of classification."

So I have revised my speculation about the analysis of the phrase in BWV 114.7 with the cross relation; I have changed it to the analysis shown below. I think this unnecessarily complex, cumbersome and academic analysis highlights the fact that Bach wrote chiefly with melody in mind and was not concerned with the mental anguish of his students three hundred years later.