Strange rquest I know, but we have a young guy (18) at church who is blind. He's got a lot of music going around in his head and I've been asked as to the best way he can record it.
Considering the complexity of wiring pulsar projects, using cubase in terms of recording, adding effects, mixing etc, I'm a bit out of my depth. Of course we all look at it from a sighted point of view.
So, does anyone know of any method that he could operate solo? He has got speeche synthesis on his pc but I don't know what it will work with etc.
One option of course is for him to have a hardware synth as a scratch pad and then have assistance in putting the tracks together after, but he's an independant sort of guy.
Has anyone got any background in this please?
How can the blind use Pulsar and other software
as far as computer audio recording goes, i think nothing beats ableton live in terms of simplicity to set up. every 'clip' (slots to record your sounds in) can easily be mapped to the keyboard (both midi/computer keys). it will be a bit of work to make a template (how to get the best workflow,...)
i'm also tempted to think a combined hardware/soft seq setup would work best.
i think if you do a well defined google on stevie wonder, you could come up with some interesting reading matter.
good luck!
i'm also tempted to think a combined hardware/soft seq setup would work best.
i think if you do a well defined google on stevie wonder, you could come up with some interesting reading matter.
good luck!
andy
the lunatics are in the hall
the lunatics are in the hall
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Nestor
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I think a Yamaha VS would be a more and less good solution. I don't think you are going to find anything perfect, becuase the process is complex in itself, it has too many parts. But perhaps, the fact of pushin bottons having just one surface, could help very much.
Nevertheless, I don't see ANY process to be completely solo, as you suggest. He will need help, always. What you could do is get things ready for him every time he nees it, and then he can do his music alone. Then you'll need to help him again for mastering. I don't see any other solution.
Nevertheless, I don't see ANY process to be completely solo, as you suggest. He will need help, always. What you could do is get things ready for him every time he nees it, and then he can do his music alone. Then you'll need to help him again for mastering. I don't see any other solution.
I agree!On 2004-02-15 10:13, Nestor wrote:
But perhaps, the fact of pushin bottons having just one surface, could help very much.
One surface is the best solution.
One that is blind need to have things suited and properly placed for that person in particular.
Orientation is the biggest issue obviously...and one surface alone would take less time to memorize.
But as Nestor said. He is going to need allot of help, atleast in the beginning.
I must say this is not a easy task.
I admire and have the deepest respect for the blind. They "see" things in a way that we couldn't start to imagine.
Good luck!
to the both of you.
_________________
Love to you all =)
(I Praise JAH)
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Jngaelin on 2004-02-15 10:51 ]</font>
For the present, check out Demudi (Debian) or Rehmudi (Redhat). These are low-latency music distributions for Linux and are part of the agnula project (a GNU/Linux Audio Distribution). Info can be found at http://www.agnula.org.
The reason this could be useful is that there are a number of command line programs which your friend could use simply by typing commands. Linux websites tend to be pretty standards compliant so it's possible he may be able to do a lot of the research on his own using a text browser such as lynx.
For CreamWare, I wonder if there is some way to make use of the tooltips. Are the sfp tooltips CreamWare specific, or are they an OS feature? If they are an OS feature, I would research to find out if somebody has programmed a way to have tooltips talk.
If the sfp tooltips are CreamWare specific, then programming a way to have them speak for the visually impaired would probably earn the programmer little - if any - money, but an enormous amount of good will, karma, years off from purgatory or whatever other nice thing you could wish on somebody.
Addendum: A couple of years ago I recall a story (slashdot, I think) that one of the mouse biggies, (Logitech, maybe?) had developed a mouse that would provide tactile feedback anytime it reached or passed over an edge on a screen object. Seems as if that could be worth investigating for your friend.
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: jabney on 2004-02-15 17:03 ]</font>
The reason this could be useful is that there are a number of command line programs which your friend could use simply by typing commands. Linux websites tend to be pretty standards compliant so it's possible he may be able to do a lot of the research on his own using a text browser such as lynx.
For CreamWare, I wonder if there is some way to make use of the tooltips. Are the sfp tooltips CreamWare specific, or are they an OS feature? If they are an OS feature, I would research to find out if somebody has programmed a way to have tooltips talk.
If the sfp tooltips are CreamWare specific, then programming a way to have them speak for the visually impaired would probably earn the programmer little - if any - money, but an enormous amount of good will, karma, years off from purgatory or whatever other nice thing you could wish on somebody.
Addendum: A couple of years ago I recall a story (slashdot, I think) that one of the mouse biggies, (Logitech, maybe?) had developed a mouse that would provide tactile feedback anytime it reached or passed over an edge on a screen object. Seems as if that could be worth investigating for your friend.
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: jabney on 2004-02-15 17:03 ]</font>
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kensuguro
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I think it depends if he wants to just play a guitar or piano and sing, or if he wants to lay down every single track by himself. If he just wants to record live instruments, then just go for a VS or some sort of external HD recorder with a bunch of buttons. Buttons are good, they're always there, and provide tactile feedback. They do the same thing most of time also.
Laying down all the tracks by himself might be a bit troublesome. You could provide a keyboard for each different track, and perhaps provide a "template" setting with 16 instruments. You'd need 16 different MIDI controller keyboards, connected to 1 PC. Then it'll be obvious which channel he is working on. (without working with on screen buttons) But then there still might be problems with deleting sequences or copy/pasting, moving sequences... it's still a tough task to tackle when you don't have the ability to see.
Truth is, there's not an interface available for the blind at the moment. Atleast as far as I know. You would take a look at iCube as you can build tactile MIDI controllers. In logic, you can use MIDI control values to controll most parameters in the sequencer. Maybe you can also in Cubase. Either way, you have to find a way to make every single parameter in the sequencing window tactile. All feedback must also be audible or tactile.
Depending on the complexity, I can help you write software in Max/MSP (preferably Mac) that sequences and also gives audible feedback.. but it's still a tough task.
As for me, trotting along the path of Faith, I sincerely do hope that God's blessings be upon this gifted friend of yours, and that somehow we all can find a good way to make his visions come true. Feel free to e-mail me if there is something I can do to help.
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: kensuguro on 2004-02-15 15:26 ]</font>
Laying down all the tracks by himself might be a bit troublesome. You could provide a keyboard for each different track, and perhaps provide a "template" setting with 16 instruments. You'd need 16 different MIDI controller keyboards, connected to 1 PC. Then it'll be obvious which channel he is working on. (without working with on screen buttons) But then there still might be problems with deleting sequences or copy/pasting, moving sequences... it's still a tough task to tackle when you don't have the ability to see.
Truth is, there's not an interface available for the blind at the moment. Atleast as far as I know. You would take a look at iCube as you can build tactile MIDI controllers. In logic, you can use MIDI control values to controll most parameters in the sequencer. Maybe you can also in Cubase. Either way, you have to find a way to make every single parameter in the sequencing window tactile. All feedback must also be audible or tactile.
Depending on the complexity, I can help you write software in Max/MSP (preferably Mac) that sequences and also gives audible feedback.. but it's still a tough task.
As for me, trotting along the path of Faith, I sincerely do hope that God's blessings be upon this gifted friend of yours, and that somehow we all can find a good way to make his visions come true. Feel free to e-mail me if there is something I can do to help.
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: kensuguro on 2004-02-15 15:26 ]</font>
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Neil B
Well,
first of all a big THANK YOU for taking the time to think about and respond to this.
This has got to be the best internet site on this or any other planet.
Once again the brotherhood of "Z" rallies around its family.
Thanks to all of you for your ideas. I can at least do a bit of research on his behalf now with a few options to look at.
It seems to me that perhaps a GM based keyboard (or better) and a simple means of multi tracking a few tracks would be a good starter (mic input too), and then as many of you suggest it will be a case of taking these ideas and bouncing them to a pc for remixing and mastering.
Ken, thanks for the very kind offer but I think the idea must be to start small and see how it develops.
One thing is probably certain - that his other senses are enhanced - this is often the case. So his hearing and appreciation of the finer points of a mix will be 100% plus. I think I'll have to go a huge learning curve
Thanks again folks
first of all a big THANK YOU for taking the time to think about and respond to this.
This has got to be the best internet site on this or any other planet.
Once again the brotherhood of "Z" rallies around its family.
Thanks to all of you for your ideas. I can at least do a bit of research on his behalf now with a few options to look at.
It seems to me that perhaps a GM based keyboard (or better) and a simple means of multi tracking a few tracks would be a good starter (mic input too), and then as many of you suggest it will be a case of taking these ideas and bouncing them to a pc for remixing and mastering.
Ken, thanks for the very kind offer but I think the idea must be to start small and see how it develops.
One thing is probably certain - that his other senses are enhanced - this is often the case. So his hearing and appreciation of the finer points of a mix will be 100% plus. I think I'll have to go a huge learning curve
Thanks again folks
Interesting...I suspect this largely undeveloped for presently, so no solution will be 'truly' optimal.
First off for interacting with a computer I would think a Refreshable braille display would be one peripheral that would help a great deal.
However before going TOO far down the 'computer music' path, I wonder how much can be found in hardware to suit his needs.
I would avoid overly digital devices and start with simple things like a drum machine (or an interface that allows step-sequencing of some sort), an analog mixer with fairly fixed routing (which could be paired VERY well with a fixed pulsar project to provide a few instruments and send/return loops for fixed effects). I would think digital mixers have too many features that require navigating submenus etc to be useful, but a nice 16 channel analog board where everything has a knob and/or button that can be manipulated for instant feedback is something I enjoy myself as well.
Also older digital (like my jd800) or analog keyboards where almost every parameter has a control that can be hand manipulated (even my novation basstation key) would probably help him a great deal.
If you're able to put together a system he can navigate and operate at least part of the time unsupervised then he might even wind up ahead of a lot of us in these days of 'seeing' and editing everything on your screen. I know I have to force myself to close my eyes and LISTEN sometimes, because its too easy to get caught up in how an arrangment LOOKS.
Good luck!
First off for interacting with a computer I would think a Refreshable braille display would be one peripheral that would help a great deal.
However before going TOO far down the 'computer music' path, I wonder how much can be found in hardware to suit his needs.
I would avoid overly digital devices and start with simple things like a drum machine (or an interface that allows step-sequencing of some sort), an analog mixer with fairly fixed routing (which could be paired VERY well with a fixed pulsar project to provide a few instruments and send/return loops for fixed effects). I would think digital mixers have too many features that require navigating submenus etc to be useful, but a nice 16 channel analog board where everything has a knob and/or button that can be manipulated for instant feedback is something I enjoy myself as well.
Also older digital (like my jd800) or analog keyboards where almost every parameter has a control that can be hand manipulated (even my novation basstation key) would probably help him a great deal.
If you're able to put together a system he can navigate and operate at least part of the time unsupervised then he might even wind up ahead of a lot of us in these days of 'seeing' and editing everything on your screen. I know I have to force myself to close my eyes and LISTEN sometimes, because its too easy to get caught up in how an arrangment LOOKS.
Good luck!
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Nestor
- Posts: 6688
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- Location: Fourth Dimension Paradise, Cloud Nine!
I have a friend, called Pedro in Argentina, and it was amazing how well he could play guitar and bass... He's blind as well.
Another guy, in France, would use a computer to build some loop-base-music, he liked to do sort of Genesis kind of music, I was surprised at the capacity of doing it by himself, of course, he was also blind.
For this little experience, I can say that blind people can develop incredible high levels of skils, so mind you... it seems very difficult, but I'm sure that if you give them a FULL PATH to follow, even if it is very complex, they will achieve it!
Another guy, in France, would use a computer to build some loop-base-music, he liked to do sort of Genesis kind of music, I was surprised at the capacity of doing it by himself, of course, he was also blind.
For this little experience, I can say that blind people can develop incredible high levels of skils, so mind you... it seems very difficult, but I'm sure that if you give them a FULL PATH to follow, even if it is very complex, they will achieve it!
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paulrmartin
- Posts: 2445
- Joined: Sun May 20, 2001 4:00 pm
- Location: Montreal, Canada
Hello!
I'm a teacher.
I only have one blind student so I can't say that I'm an expert.
I recomend Sonar with caketalking and Sibelius with Sibelius Speaking.
You also need Jaws (pro)
http://www.dancingdots.com
(I have pulsar running in the background)
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Kohl on 2004-02-16 13:52 ]</font>
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Kohl on 2004-02-16 13:54 ]</font>
I'm a teacher.
I only have one blind student so I can't say that I'm an expert.
I recomend Sonar with caketalking and Sibelius with Sibelius Speaking.
You also need Jaws (pro)
http://www.dancingdots.com
(I have pulsar running in the background)
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Kohl on 2004-02-16 13:52 ]</font>
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Kohl on 2004-02-16 13:54 ]</font>
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Neil B
