The first is my audio effect. I had to implement an audio effect from scratch. I decided to try making something that sounds like the batman voice, from Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. I ended up implementing a real time version of an effect called a Whisperizer. This was fairly non-trivial, as it required a Fourier Transform to create, and the FT mathematically requires a lot of time samples, which makes real time very difficult. I got it to work using a short time fourier transform (STFT) with some windowing and overlapping, and it sounds pretty decent.

I originally wanted to run it on a sample of Adam West, saying that line about on coming thrust of manhood from the campy 60s show, but I couldn’t find a sound clip. So here is me saying it:

And here is that same sample after I ran my effect over it. This actually works in real time, although it’s hard to show that with a browser post.

My next post, which is probably not gonna be today, is going to demonstrate the synthesizer i made.

Here is my unaltered note:

And here is one if I just grabbed a couple of random points in the middle, repeated the segment in between them a few times to make the note longer:

Obviously, that is totally useless as far as stretching the note’s length.

When we talk about a musical note, and the characteristics that define it, we usually refer to pitch. Obviously, there are other considerations, which is why a clarinet doesn’t sound like guitar. I’m not going to go in to a whole discussion of harmonics and psychoacoustics, but generally speaking the primary pitch we hear on any given note is the fundamental frequency. That is to say, the lowest frequency contained in the spectrum of that note.

In order to then stretch the note, if we can take a sample that is exactly one wavelength, we should be able to repeat the note. So first, we need to find the fundamental frequency, and then find a couple of points in the signal that are that distance apart. Guess what my assignment was last week.

Although this does work, sort of, it sounds somewhat artificial. I found that taking multiple periods was more effective. Too many periods, though, and the amplitude envelope of the signal will vary. God help you if someone is playing with Tremolo.

In addition to that, you get artifacts at the seems between the splices. Usually little clicks, but it’s hardly a consistent phenomena. I ended up building a cross fader, and overlaying each repetition with a window. This helped a lot and produced the following result:

My code was pretty weak when it came to someone playing with vibrato and tremolo. Here’s the best I could do with a trumpet sample which has both. The pitch is preserved, but the timber most definitely isn’t:

Audio Effects Podcast

I recently had an assignment, that is relevant and maybe a bit neat to those who are interested in what I am doing.  I had to implement a time-stretch algorithm.  This is to say that I was implementing a way to slow down the tempo of a piece of audio.  The tricky part is doing so that the pitch doesn’t change.  Usually, when you slow down a sound file, the frequencies decrease and it sounds like Tardy The Turtle.

So here are three sound clips to show what I did.  My original code was just on raw .wav files. They were kind of big for the blog, so I’ve compressed them. I tried using aac but flash plugin bitched, so they are unfortunately mp3. The first is the original unaltered clip:

Then secondly, here is that same clip, but time-stretched by 20%.  This algorithm is designed to stretch the sound while maintaining the pitches from the original.  The downside is that high frequency transients of short duration, like a highhat or a snaredrum, get stretched and sound completely different.  Place close attention to the drum sticks at the beginning of the sound sample.

And here was the meat of my assignment.  I tried improving the sound quality, particularly of the percussive instruments, by a) detecting these high frequency transients and then b) not-stretching them.  The rhythm is going to sound a little wonky, but I still think it’s a significant improvement.

I have carried on further, and tried stretching the sections after the onsets an equivalent amount to improve the rhythm.  While it does make the rhythm sound correct, I’ve now introduced little gaps in to the playback, and I don’t think it sounds as good.  I’m sure I could correct this by spreading around the over stretching, but it was more work than I really wanted to put in to this assignment.  Maybe on the next one.

My assignment this weekend is to make a podcast, so you can all expect to see that show up on here eventually as well.

Louis Armstrong – Cool Yule
Louis was one of those artists who always had a smile on his face, and it was hard not to catch.
Run-D.M.C. – Christmas In Hollis
This is a bit of a guilty pleasure, as I simply cannot listen to 80s rap without picturing Will Smith rotating in a throne; a staple of my afternoons throughout high school. That said, they deliver the goods, and it’s not the only 80s song on this list.
The Ramones – Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want To Fight Tonight)
Nobody lightened the mood better than the kings of American punk. They had a skill for how to take both serious issues and outright silliness, and make brilliant music from it.
U2 – Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)
No way am I making a list without my favourite band.
Olivia Olson – All I Want For Christmas Is You
You pretty much have to buy the Love Actually soundtrack to get it. The Mariah Carey original is ok, but like most of her stuff, it’s over produced and tries too hard. My Chemical Romance made a snicker worthy version if you want a good laugh. Give MCR this: they never take themselves too seriously. In the end, it’s a good song no matter who does it.
John Lennon – So This Is Christmas (War Is Over)
The greatest songwriter of all time wrote a Christmas carol. Argue with me if you want, but this song never gets old, and it really doesn’t feel like Christmas until I hear it at least once.
Band Aid – Do They Know It’s Christmas
A Irish songwriter writes a song, calls up a few of his buddies, and records a single to try and raise relief for starving Ethiopia. His buddies call their buddies, and they all get together and make this. I can’t think of anything that says Christmas spirit more than that.
Wham! – Last Christmas
I’ve always thought Wham was underrated entirely because of Wake Me Up Before You Go Go, a really unfortunate song to be your lasting achievement. George Michael recovered his reputation afterwards, but he was always good, as this proves.
Bob & Doug McKenzie – Twelve Days Of Christmas
What, I’m Canadian. Good Day, eh?
Boney M – Jingle Bells
As much as it sometimes pains me to say this, there’s just no way you can make a Christmas album without Boney M on it. Thankfully, they made an entire Christmas album, and you can move right past Mary’s Boy Child, and get to something that is less overplayed.
David Bowie and Bing Crosby – Little Drummer Boy
This is the last thing Bing recorded before he died in 1977. The story about how it was made is well worth the read on Wikipedia. I also recommend you check out the video on youtube if you’ve never seen it.
Nat King Cole – The Christmas Song
I’ve argued for years that he had my all time favorite voice. My dad, of all people, made a really valid counter argument. Nat is great if you want to feel happy, but he can’t make you feel sad. He offered Frank Sinatra as being the best at being able to do both. Nat’s voice is definitely the best at making you feel good. Speaking of . . .
Frank Sinatra – White Christmas
Ole’ Blue Eyes is no slouch at good music.
Dean Martin – Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer
Neither were his drinking buddies.
Ella Fitzgerald – Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
Enchanting Ella.
Mel Torme – Good King Wenceslas
He may have written the Christmas song, but his best Christmas carol is definitely this bluesy stripped down version of the classic carol.
Holly Cole – Santa Baby
To many Canadians, Holly Cole has become a Christmas staple. I became a fan in the early 90s when I saw her cover of I can see clearly now on much music. I saw her sing her Christmas show in 2006, and she does a brilliant job of making the season.
The Boston Pops – Sleigh Ride
Do not, under any circumstances, substitute a vocal version of this song. In my opinion it totally ruins it. Close your eyes, listen to this, and you are on a sleigh ride. You can’t do that with the vocal versions.
Vince Guaraldi Trio – O Tannenbaum
You knew Charlie Brown was going to make the list some how. Linus and Lucy is the most famous song on the album, and probably the best, but this is a Christmas album, and their version of O Tannenbaum has a special place in my heart.
The City Of New Orleans – O Holy Night
If you’re not a fan of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, you may not have heard of this gem. In 2006 they made a Christmas episode that involved a subplot about New Orleans musicians coming to L.A. to make a little money to take home. The song was available for purchase online with the proceeds going to Katrina relief.
Harry Connick Jr. – Carol Of The Bells
It’s both the classical version, and jazzy version all his own.
KT Tunstall – Lonely This Christmas
These last three songs are pretty sad, but that’s hardly surprising.
The Pretenders – 2000 Miles
Doris Day – I’ll Be Home For Christmas
. . .If only in my dreams. Merry Christmas everyone.

No time for a gentle rain
No time for my watch and chain
No time for revolving doors
No time for the killin’ floor

Everybody knows that the dice are loaded
Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed
Everybody knows that the war is over
Everybody knows the good guys lost
Everybody knows the fight was fixed
The poor stay poor, the rich get rich
That’s how it goes
Everybody knows

Whilst I was shopping for ingredients, I ran into a few snags.  The veg was fine, mushrooms, peppers, pineapple, it’s all here.  However, they don’t go overboard with 80 kinds of bbq sauce the we do in North America.  This forced me to adjust my sauce recipe (calling Dr. Daniels, Dr. Jack Daniels).  The bbq sauce I found is good, but it’s actually a bit too strongly flavoured to my liking for pizza sauce.  It made an adequate replacement, and I’ll continue using it.

The real issue came when it was time to top the pizza.  No Calabrese.  No Cappocolo.  While I have since found some Cap, I swear it’s impossible to find Calabrese in this city.  So, I grabbed some German salami as a nice substitute.

Then to get some cheese.  Provolone?  Nope.  Ok, how about Monterrey Jack?  Nope.  Alright, I guess I can use Mozzarella.  Nope.  What?!  No Mozzarella?  WTH?  Seriously, who doesn’t have mozza?  In the end, I ended up using a bag of pre shreaded, mixed swiss and mozzarella, that was obviously designed to top pizza and provide no flavour.  As an aside, emmental is easy to get there, and my usual pizza cheese is half emmental and half provolone.

Since there were a ton of British cheese, of which I had never heard, available, I got down to business and started trying them out.

First off, 90% of the cheese isle in a UK supermarket is cheddars.  Now, these are what I’ve always called real cheddar.  White, very old, a little crumbly, strong sharp flavor.  The kind of stuff Balderson’s makes.  And it’s all good.  I love the sharp cheddars they have, and I’m happy to see them offered cheaply and plentifully.

Now on to the other British cheeses.  There are three major varieties (not including Stilton, which is famous enough that I knew what it was in advance.)  They are, Double Gloucester, Cheshire, and Leicester.  Leicester is a bright red color, all through, so I decided to hold of on trying it until I had a better handle on UK cheese.  I bought a block each of Cheshire and Double Gloucester.

Double Glocester is essentially what at home they call Canadian Cheddar.  Bright orange, smooth, not crumbly at all, cheddary flavour, but not quite as sharp as the real stuff.  It would melt easily in a grilled cheese sandwich (processed cheese is for heretics) or on top of a burger.  Good stuff, but nothing I haven’t had a billion times.

Cheshire, is a white cheese, that is very crumbly and tangy.  If that sounds like feta to you, then you aren’t far off.  Although not quite identical to feta, it is very similar.  It’s a dryer cheese, however, and slightly milder.  Honestly, I like it more, and just finished making some risotto with it.

So, in the end, I’ve found that the UK really is a lot like home.  They have the same cheese here, they just call it by different names.  Well except for the still missing Italian cheeses.

I got in to residence, and am living there right now.  I got particularly lucky in the room draw, as I have the biggest room in my flat and it has two windows because it is on the corner.  I have some excellent flat mates, who hail from China, Greece, Greece, Denmark, and Taiwan.  I’ve met lots of new friends from all over the world, and had a bit too much beer. 

I have my first class tomorrow, and am quite excited to finally get started on my program.

I have uploaded most of my pictures to my newly upgraded flickr account, so you can feel free to check them out here:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/11702947@N00/sets/

Mom is actually fairly computer savvy.  She knows how to surf the web, view pictures, do emails and chats, and is even on facebook.  She also, for the most part, knows enough to avoid breaking anything.  This is one of the reasons that I haven’t had to fix her computer in so very long.  She is using the second computer I ever bought, a Celeron 333a that I have over the years upgraded to 640 MB of ram.  It was the darling computer of its day.  Sadly, its day was 10 years ago this Autumn.

Once upon a time, I was a huge windows fanboy.  I was always lusting after the newest video card so I could play games harder, better, faster, stronger and in better quality.  So before my conversion to alternative operating systems, I built myself a sweet gaming rig.  Well sweet for 2002 anyway.  Since I bought my first laptop however, it’s been sitting in my basement rather like the harley owned by my buddy Andy W.  It gets used maybe once a month at best, since he’s usually carting around kids in the minivan.

So I figured I might as well get it running for mom.  Since it has always run windows XP, and I have one legitimate license key left (thank you university) and mom has never used anything that wasn’t made my windows, it seemed a no brainer.

After two days of fighting with finding a copy of Windows XP to install that wasn’t virus ridden and had full functionality, followed by countless headaches finding 5 year old drivers, I said screw it.  This can’t possibly be this hard.  All mom does is surf the web, email, and play games.

30 minutes later I had the computer full installed with Ubuntu.  Firefox worked out of the gate.  More games than came with windows sitting in the games menu.  Thunderbird took me about 3 minutes to get installed and configured.  Pidgin accepted her msn client with no problems.  I installed NX so that mom could remote in to the server from her old computer until she gets used to linux.  Seems I didn’t need to bother, she was right in to it with no issues like she was an old pro.

The only things I still need to get working for her are skype (which has installed) for video conferencing and her printer.  And I haven’t even tried to get them installed yet.

So, if you’re worried about supporting parents or grand parents using windows, I say forget about it.  Ubuntu has matured to the point that it is a viable replacement.  It look me maybe an hour total to get everything functional to meet mom’s needs.  No viruses, no spyware, no headaches.  Most importantly, I don’t ever have to reinstall windows again.