Voxalead Nature Sounds Seed: The Shape of Music Zaha Hadid/Swarovski Crystal Palace Collection Roughly 2,500 years ago, Pythagoras observed that objects, such as the anvils he purportedly studied, produced harmonious sounds while vibrating at frequencies in simple whole-number ratios. More complex ratios gave rise to more dissonant sounds, which indicated that human beings were unconsciously sensitive to mathematical relationships inherent in nature. By showing that the world could be described mathematically, Pythagoras not only provided an important inspiration for physics, but he also discovered a particular affinity between mathematics and music—one that Gottfried Leibniz was to invoke centuries later when he described music as the “unknowing exercise of our mathematical faculties.” For a thousand years, Western musicians have endeavored to satisfy two fundamental constraints in their compositions. Together these constraints ensure a two-dimensional coherence in Western music analogous to that of a woven cloth.
30 Specialist (and Super Smart) Search Engines Google is widely (and rightly) recognised as the mother of all search engines. But, if you need to drill down your searches by more specific details, do you trust Google to give you what you need every single time? Here’s a collection of 3o vertical search engines which you should have up your sleeve when you need some specialist power. Flights / Travel 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Images 7. 8. People 9. Forums 11. Music 12. Audio and Video 16. Resources 18. Domain names 20. Icons 22. Private search 25. Similar websites 26. All-rounders 27. While some of these are better alternatives to Google and the other major engines, for the most part, the big boys do it incredibly (incredibly, incredibly) well. olly via shutterstock
Playlists / Tops Tops Singles / / Eddie Morceau / / Eddie Culture / / Eddie Tops / / Eddie Alternative Rock / / Eddie Culte / / Eddie The Social History of the MP3 Considering all the new music we have to sort through so far in the 21st century, we've sure been focusing an awful lot lately on two of the biggest stars of the 20th. Decades after their respective popular peaks, recent events reminded us, neither the Beatles nor Michael Jackson have loosened their grip on our imagination. Yet one particular thing I noticed amidst the nostalgia surrounding the latest (and likely last) Beatles CD reissues, and Jackson's sudden passing was a sense of resignation that the eras within which both stars emerged seem highly unlikely to happen again. The Beatles, in 1963-64 and 1967, and Michael Jackson in 1983-4 arguably represented for pop music what World Cups, the Olympics, and Super Bowls do for sports, and what blockbuster summer hits do for movies: the ability to command everyone's attention at once. The cassette "crisis" seems quaint when compared to the rise of the mp3. Let's not get carried away, though. Next> The MP3 Story Begins
15 Best Free Open Source Ecommerce Platforms When it comes to open source ecommerce platforms, there are plenty to choose from. Here, we take a close look at the 15 best available, which should help guide you in the right direction. I’m not going to lie- finding the perfect platform is not easy. Each one has its own set of pros and cons and has been designed with a slightly different user in mind. 1. You’ve only got to look at Magento’s client list to realise what an excellent piece of open-source software it is. 2. osCommerce (free) osCommerce is absolutely free under the GNU General Public License and caters very well to most people’s needs. 3. Not only does OpenCart look great, it’s extremely scalable. 4. Spree is an open-source ecommerce platform for Ruby on Rails. 5. PrestaShop is another robust, professional-grade e-Commerce solution that you can download, install, and use for free. 6. VirtueMart, which has been designed to work alongside Joomla! 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. SimpleCart(js) 2.0 is no longer only for Paypal. 12. 13. 14.
47 Sites Every Recording Musician Should Visit In a recent “Open Mic” we asked you, “Which music-related sites do you visit regularly?” This article is a summary of the great suggestions given in the comments to that article. You can make the list even longer by commenting on this article. As you’re reading this article, Audiotuts+ needs no introduction. Several commenters mentioned Audiotuts+ - thanks for the support! This is a great Flash site with many resources to help you learn music theory. The site content is split up as follows: Lessons, including topics that cover notation, chords and scalesTrainers, that teach you notes, keys, intervals, triads, keyboard, guitar and brass. Michael comments: “I have found very helpful. This is a site that helps you with scales and chords. The charts are guitar-based, and there are options for various alternate tunings and other stringed instruments. A website that helps you learn musical scales and chords. Joe comments: “Great Ableton/sound design videos.”
MP32Tube.com - Upload MP3 to Youtube