GREYDIE - Most approximately 4-5 minutes, to 18 minutes, recurrent
themes in different moods, and different playstyles.
Track GREYDIE1.WAV
- 1st analogue-to-digital track, proving age without limit. At age
70 entered the supposed complex world of digital recording and
editing by installing a Tascam a/d hardware device, then Wavelab
editor, and tried a brief stream from cassette to computer,
uploaded the module to the internet and online clicked it and
heard the same music once again in my room. Fists pumping high
in the air, shouts and sharp barks, good thing I was alone at
the time. This put to rest a seven year itch to play and record
music for the internet and perhaps a CD. Couldn't do more
than itch until finally putting aside moola a bit at a time
then heading out the door scouting music stores for advice
on means to digitalize cassettes and put them online for
instant play. Not easy, store clerks clucked their tongues
when asked details because none knew details, having found
the whole subject too complex. Fists high in the air was
the result, first time tried. Seemingly complex, but actually
wasn't.
It was the second device and editor, the first, a combined
package, from a computer store, would not record. It went back
for replacement, the new also a dud. Turned out the cheap unit
was duddish and the company had abandoned its hotline.
The second attempt, from a music store, was 6 times as
expensive coming out at $310.00 canadian for device and
software each separate, but, worked, first time tried.
GREYDIE - Most approximately 4-5 minutes, to 18 minutes, recurrent
themes in different moods, and different playstyles.
Track GREYDIE2.WAV
Track GREYDIE3.WAV
Track GREYDIE4.WAV
Track GREYDIE5.WAV
Track GREYDIE6.WAV
Track GREYDIE7.WAV
Track GREYDIE8.WAV
Track GREYDIE9.WAV
Track GREYDIE10.WAV
Track GREYDIE11.WAV
Track GREYDIE12.WAV
Track GREYDIE14.WAV
Track GREYDIE15.WAV
Track GREYDIE16.WAV
Track GREYDIE17.WAV
Track GREYDIE18.WAV
Track GREYDIE20.WAV
Track GREYDIE21.WAV
Track GREYDIE22.WAV
Track GREYDIE23.WAV
Track GREYDIE24.WAV
Track GREYDIE25.WAV
Track GREYDIE26.WAV
- short piece from HOUR2, recorded 2007 on an old Luxman
whose low base was inherently thumpy (no tone) and
whose fidelity was marginal (muffled), the result
a spread of sound nice for easy background listening
without concert hall distinction.
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Track JOIN1.WAV
- testing a none base effect.
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LOUD - Loud volume recording tests.
Tracks 1 and 2 had the input volume deliberately cranked up
when digitalizing. Result - loud, be prepared to turn down
volume if necessary.
Tracks 3, 4, 5
- Test your sound system with these. For example the
performance of these should excel on a high grade home
theatre entertainment center, giving psuedo approximations
to motion picture theatre sounds.
Tracks 3, 4, 5, were passed from the Hitachi, through a mixing
consul a second time from the cassette tapes, when digitalizing,
increasing base and bottom boom, as an experiment. These may
put strain on many lower gain sound systems so have your
volume well down when first trying them.
All of the original 'Greydie' tracks were passed from
the keyboard through a mixing consol and the sound stream
continued into Hitachi recording. This increased roomy boomy
aspects in the sound stream over the keyboard's defaults.
Single pass loud experiments are in tracks 1 and 2.
Track LOUD1.WAV - Loud
Track LOUD2.WAV "
Track LOUD3.WAV - Loud and more base
Track LOUD4.WAV "
Track LOUD5.WAV "
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HOUR - Hour long easy listening, These easy listening tapes are not
as bright or fidelic as the shorter pieces titled 'greydie'
and 'loud'.
Track HOUR1.WAV - 52 min
Track HOUR2.WAV - 46 min
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Next - the hourlong tracks split in half.
Track HOUR1A.WAV - 26 minutes
Track HOUR2B.WAV - 26 minutes
- latter portion is one channel only.
Track HOUR2A.WAV - 23 minutes
Track HOUR2B.WAV - 23 minutes
- latter portion is one channel only.
Recommended you download to do the green thing easing up on
internet use playing these hour long tapes.
Themes on these hour long tracks were recorded over a 6 year
period (beginning 2003) on several different cassette tape
recorders, none as good as recent recordings (summer-fall 2009)
using an old beat up looking Hitachi full of belly button lint
when bought off the shelf of a used high tech store for $20.00
canadian.
HOUR3 - is tracks 'greydie1.wav' to 'greydie15.wav' strung together.
Track HOUR3.WAV - 1 hr 13 min
HOUR3 - half tracks
Track HOUR3A.WAV - 35 minutes
Track HOUR3B.WAV - 38 minutes
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COMPOSING
The composer/player (a' moi) is self taught, beginning
with the purchase of a 5 octave keyboard in 2004).
Most earlier machine recordings (prior Hitachi) (on tracks
HOUR1, HOUR2), are weak in low and bottom base. One of the
cassette tape recorders used during 2004 which was very
fidelic had no base at all below a certain line, it was
cut from the signal completely by the machine's circuits.
LOUD
Unfiltered bottom base and big boom, can be heard on the
LOUD tracks linked below, recorded on cassette tape using
the Hitachi.
QUALITY
Some of the hourlong themes in HOUR1 and HOUR2 have a
detectable warbling. Some of this is due to the modulation
wheel on the keyboard at none zero unnoticed, and some from
lesser quality older tape recorders. Modulation has not turned
out to be a desirable effect for these themes and has not been
deliberately used.
Some of the themes recorded on the cranky old Hitachi cassette
machine, are low on one or another channels (low volume on left
or right speaker). Ignore the missing volume, there is not
much signal, turning up the speaker channel will result in
a blast when a full channel theme comes by later.
(The problem of Hitachi low signal on one or the other
channel has been corrected by vigously blowing the Hitachi
with case off while playing, fast forward, and reverse, using
a compact vacumm with hose reversed blowing a powerful stream
of air through a venetian blind attachment dislodging stubborn
ticks of interferring oily lint amongst the wheels and gears
of the Hitachi).
_______________________________________________________
Greydie - Computer video camera, by Alfredo from Columbia, 2001.
_______________________________________________________
Greydie - Westboro Beach Ottawa August 2009. After seeing this photo,
diligent less eating and more exercise has eliminated most of the pork.
Unabashed Enthusiasm
- Second photo by me a few days later, ducks were moving,
camera held up in hand as steadily as possible aimed by
intuition.
PHOTO CREDIT
Photo credit - ducks: Wayne Cuddington, chief photographer Ottawa Citizen.
Wild baby female mallard ducks being hand fed 12 grain cereal bread
at Westboro Beach near downtown Ottawa, August 2009.
These little ducks stayed well clear of some people, mobbed a tiny
selection of nice feeling friends. Dozens of ducks of small, medium,
and adult sizes mobbed me everyday, at times by the dozens, plus
seagulls. One afternoon a (youngest brood) baby duck beat off two
adult seaguls, a large piece of bread pinned under its tiny webbed
foot, then raced with the secured large bread piece to the water
so fast it was almost a blurr. Who would have thought a baby duck
could run so fast, and stand off two adult seagulls.
This photo above captures only a few of the mob that hit this
photographed feeding session, when even some mother ducks were
walking upon their friend, a moi, a few even allowing gentle hand
strokes, two, a kiddy and adult, actually soliciting effection,
murmuring in a soft steady quacking.
The mob would instantly vanish hurrying to shore line waters of the
Ottawa River the instant a dog of any kind appeared approaching the
beach. Don't forget, at a beach, dogs love to chase anything that moves.
The mighty, spectacular, majestic Canadian geese were roosting by the
hundreds a half kilometer around the bend in the shoreline further east
toward downtown Ottawa, and took care of many baby ducks and seagulls
also roosting amongst the baby geese. The geese's annual daycare center
is quite a sight.
As far as I know only a few humans were allowed touch including the
mighty dragons. Good vibes are always proven by wildlife. Adult geese
only allowed touching, any approach to the daycare caused the whole
daycare to lift and move away at arm's length.
The dragons were the biggest males, who took turns standing guard over
the daycare on an expanse of grass along the Ottawa River shoreline,
these mighty dragons stood tall at allmost eye to eye height and are
magnificent, expecially when friendly. Unlike ducks which move fast
when turned on by hand feeding, the geese all move very slowly when
approaching and departing, if you move too fast it startles the geese.
Ducks, on the other hand, even tolerated being gently but firmly batted
aside by a hand when one was picking on a younger one, the bat moving
it aside across some sand no different than gently batting a puppy
getting too belligerent with another. Back it would come, soon to
get another bat.
Canadian geese too like nice people and come up to get stroked under
the chin, and warily move away from anyone with bad auric signatures.
_____________________________________________
KEYBOARD MUSIC - HISTORY AND PHOTOS
_____________________________________________
AMAZING DRUMBALLIA - drum music tracks
AMAZING DRUMBALLIA - history and photos
_____________________________________________
SHORT ANIMATION WITH DRUMBALLIA
SHORT ANIMATION - by Meta and friend in Uganda, using Amazing
Drumballia riffs.
_____________________________________________
LARRY ROCK - recorded live at the Dunvegan - winter 2002 ottawa:
Track LARRY01.WAV
Track LARRY02.WAV
Track LARRY03.WAV
The fidelity sucks. Recording was two channel cassette with one cheap
PA mike, and an inexpensive Akaii pencil thin condenser mike, both laid
pointing to the music on top of a 35 year old pre golden edition model
Sony.
A copy of the cassette was given to Larry, who gave it to a young
lady friend who worked in a CD producing studio, who resized and
remixed the tape to comprise a CD thought of sufficient pro quality
to be played on local radio stations including top FM. A squabble
about upcoming royalties booming the horizon not involving larry
and me, caused the CD to be withdrawn from the airwaves a couple
of weeks later, stopping all distribution.
That is me playing the tamborine. Steve on upright beat up rocking
old wood grand piano, (it moved wagging back and forth in the air
adding hang by pauses in the wags), Bill Barns on quitar, also his
band equipment including mixing board and equalizer and PA amps. The
base player, a young civil engineer who supervised heating and air in
one of ottawa's privately owned larger showcase building complexes,
has no name, I can't remember it. A long time blues pro added
rythm guitar.
These three are the only tracks on the cassette. It was an open house
at the (now closed) Dunvegan yuppy upper restaurant and lounge with
open house every thursday and sunday led by Bill Barns. There were no
drums set up that night. Usually my proto hand built drum set prior to
the amazing drumballia was there, word had spread, drummers from other
provinces passing through town stopped by to bang out a set on them.
It got to where my only input was occasionally adjusting something so
this night because there was a snowstorm I left the drums home. It is
possible drums would have spoiled larry's three songs comprising his
allowed number of tunes in turn at the open house which always had a
list of performers waiting.
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OTHER SITES BY GM
drumballia.com The Amazing Drumballia
history.com Keyboard and Drumballia History in photos