Born and raised in El Paso, TX, now I call Chicago my adopted home. When not unearthing forgotten musical gems, I try to make some time to write my own music using acoustic guitars, MIDI controllers, and electric violin.
A Journey to MIDI Guitar Land: Part III
Do you know when I had the most fun using a MIDI guitar controller? When I forgot I had a guitar in my hand. It feels liberating to say this but: using the guitar merely as this vessel to do other far more interesting things with it was beyond revelatory. In this post, I’ll share […]
A Journey to MIDI Guitar Land: Part II
Not many dedicate a whole post to what you can’t do with something, but allow me to break a cardinal rule for a reason. Do you ever have one of those “a-ha” moments when things just click? I have to say, I had one quite recently when going through the land of guitar MIDI control […]
A Journey to MIDI Guitar Land: Part I
Lions lying down with lambs. Hams being stuffed into turkeys. Keyboards being turned into keytars. Guitars being turned into MIDI controllers. There are many things that many people consider an aberration (if not an abomination). Once, I felt the same way. But then I tried to turn my electric guitar into a MIDI controller. It […]
Beat Techniques: Ambisonic Music Production
Ambisonics is a phrase used to describe a way of listening to sound beyond the mono and stereo world we’re normally exposed to through headphones and speakers. Ambisonics is immersive audio coming to you from all angles — left, right, north, and south. If you’ve caught any of the previous Beat Connection posts, you’re probably […]
Beat Tools: Generative Music Software for iOS
Where were we before? First, I covered what “generative music” is, and its origins. Then, I wrote of taking generative music out of the sphere of pen-and-staff-paper and into the world of software — and pointed you toward the desktop-computer-based software that can help you add computer-generated compositions into your creative space. Today, we go […]
Beat Tools: Generative Music Software for PCs
As I wrote the title of this post, I suddenly realized: “There is nothing sexy about the words “generative music.” Just hearing them places you in the land of people in lab coats, looking at Matrix-like code, and listening to really unmusical, experimental music. After you know what generative music is (see: prior post covering […]
Beat Roots: Understanding Generative Music
On this edition of Beat Connection we dive into the macro idea of this thing called generative music. Some of you may not know it, but in some fashion you’re experiencing (or have quietly experienced) the rise of it. From apps like Endel, to things like YouTube algorithms generating playlists for you, we’re living in […]
Photo Gallery: Moogfest 2019
zZounds is back at it, training our eyes at Moog’s annual meeting of minds, music, and technology dubbed “Moogfest.” Located in the lovely confines of downtown Durham, NC, Moogfest is a synth and music lover’s festival complete with intriguing workshops, a huge synth marketplace, experiential art installations and brilliant music performances. Debuting this year is […]
What Does a DJ Do?
Life’s questions never come to you clearly. Sometimes, such pondering comes to you in places where you have to face them. For me, it was staring at a wedding DJ, who I can best describe as your friendly, local church lady, firing up her Lenovo laptop and proceeding to do something which I can describe […]
