MusicTech@UNCG » Software

Paper CD Case Website

Brian — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 18:56:18 +0000

Here is a handy website when you need to create a case for a CD or DVD when you do not have extra jewel cases. The case can be a little tricky to learn to fold, but it comes in very handy if you just want to burn a few files or audio clips to a CD for a student or faculty member.

Website: Paper CD Case

Audacity

Brian — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 17:54:57 +0000

Audacity is open source and cross platform software designed for audio recording aned editing. It can also be extended with the use of plugins to provide additional editing features and effects. Being cross platform you can use the program on Windows, OS X, or Linux. I personally use it to make edits to files ripped from CDs for use in the classroom, because of it’s ease of use in creating fade-ins and fade-outs to make the example have a more professional sound. Any faculty that would like to make use of this software can contact me for individual training. There will be a “cheat-sheet” tutorial on this site in the near future.

Bach, Musicological Font

Brian — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 01:09:28 +0000

Using music notation in Word documents and other text based resources can be trying at best. Instinctively, one tries to use the musical fonts that come with either Finale or Sibelius, however, these cause major formatting issues with conventional text processing applications. There are several ways around this issue, including using graphics created in the previously listed programs, but you cannot easily create examples like this:

This font can help with issues such as indicating a tempo from a score, show rhythmical examples, and even includes fonts for Renaissance music scholars. Full deatils can be found on the Bach Font website. I have created a special zip version that includes all of the fonts in a single package available below.

Note: There is a file embedded within this post, please visit this post to download the file.

PDFCreator

Brian — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 14:02:21 +0000

What do you do if you want to create a PDF file from any document that can be printed? If you’re using a Mac, all you need to do is select “Print” and then choose the “PDF” option and your done. Not so easy on a Windows machine. This is where PDFCreator comes into play. It creates a virtual printer on your Windows computer so that when you want to create a PDF file, just select “Print” and then choose the PDFCreator as your printer. This had been my PDF printer of choice for Windows for the longest time, however with the release of Vista, it stopped working. Now that program has been updated to work with Vista and Windows 7, it ranks once again as my top choice.

Visit the PDFCreator website for the most recent version.

Note: There is a file embedded within this post, please visit this post to download the file.

Mixcraft 4 – Affordable multi-track audio and MIDI recording software.

Brian — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 13:14:49 +0000

Several times I have been asked to recommend an audio software package for Windows that is similar in scope and simplicity as GarageBand on the Mac. I’ve read about Mixcraft before and suggest that people look into it, but this week I am going to download the demo and do a comparison between these two projects. I will try to create the same song in both programs, list the differences in work flow between them, and then post MP3s of the resulting tunes for quasi-sonic comparison (both being mangled into the mp3 format). For equality sake, I will export the resultant songs to the native WAV or AIFF and then encode those files to MP3 using the same program for both to avoid any differences in encoder quality between the Mac and PC. Look for the complete comparison by the end of the week.

Mixcraft 4 – Affordable multi-track audio and MIDI recording software.

Macworld | Learn GarageBand tips and tricks

Brian — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 20:34:00 +0000

Brief article excerpted from a PDF book about GarageBand. Contains information about combining two GarageBand projects into one, something I have been trying to figure out with a few of my own ideas.

Macworld | Learn GarageBand tips and tricks

Microsoft Office 2007 Compatibility

Brian — Wed, 30 May 2007 14:58:23 +0000

Microsoft Office 2007 uses a new file format based on XML. Older versions of Office are not able to open these new files, so if you receive a file from someone who is using the newer version you won’t be able to open it without the following solutions. Microsoft has provided two utilities (one for Windows and one for Mac) that will allow you to convert the new format files to one that is usable in the older versions of Office. Below are links to the downloads available on Microsoft’s website.

FileCompatibilty Download (PC)

Format Converter (Mac)

SmartMusic 10 Released

Brian — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 16:35:19 +0000

MakeMusic has released SmartMusic 10 (which I have been beta testing and exhibiting at state MENC conventions) which has the following new features:

New repertoire for band, jazz band and orchestra
Standard of Excellence, Book 2
Over 200 large ensemble titles with on-screen notation for band, jazz band, and orchestra, with professional audio recordings for students to practice.
Standard of Excellence, Book 2
Time Pieces for Flute, Volumes 2 & 3
Baroque titles for all instruments and more
SmartMusic Impact™—Easily manage, grade, and document assignments for all your students with this effective, web-based grade book, included with all Educator subscriptions.
Create assignments with audio-quality accompaniment for any concert selection: SmartMusic supports any piece of music you choose! Simply upload the audio file and distribute sheet music; then your band, orchestra, and choir students can practice their part with accompaniment in SmartMusic.
Educator-approved SmartMusic assignments help all students improve quickly. Now it’s easy for music teachers to give students graded homework assignments. Band, jazz band, and orchestra titles in version 10.0 include pre-authored practice assignments for all parts, so you can guide how, and what, students practice – even at home.
Compatibility with SmartMusic accompaniments created in Finale® 2007
Support for Intel-based Macintosh computers
Percussion assesment in large ensemble titles and Standard of Excellence, Book 2.

Updated System Requirements: SmartMusic 10.0 requires Windows® 2000/XP or Macintosh® 10.3.9 or higher (Mac-Intel and PPC) and 512MB RAM.