Why Start a Blog
Same as most people, I have various opinions on various topics of various quality, and like most [reasonable] people I'm not especially compelled to throw those opinions around haphazardly. In part because not every thought crossing between these ears merits a public display. More importantly though is that some ideas are so personal and even sacred that it would be foolish to simply throw them into a public space without fully understanding them. That being said, there are many ideas that I've been working with for a long time, and the only thing left to do is share them with those who would enterain my rambling in hopes that maybe the process would improve my own understand while also bringing some improvement to the understanding of others.
What Topics to Cover
Most of the topics I'd like to cover are audio related with most of those topics being related to music theory (concepts and practice), production (design, mixing and mastering), and sometimes venturing into video game programming (game engines, audio engines, and coding). The goal is to have a progression to each topic starting with an overall philosophy, and then moving on to basic concepts that will be the basis for future posts.
The Plan
I've put together a rough outline of topics which will serve as a kind of 'table of contents'. This will mostly serve the purpose as being a guide, but to a lesser degree a kind of personal accountability.
- Music Theory and Composition
= Modern Philosophy of Classical Traditions: Music and Musicianship
= Frequency,Pitch, and Notes: Building Blocks of Building Blocks
= Motifs and Melodies: the Power of a Single Voice
= Modality: Starting from New Beginnings
= Intervals: Diatonic Expression
= Voice Leading: Control through Counterpoint
= Keys: Codifying Centers
= Chords: The Third Wheel that Changes Everything
= Harmony and the Beginning of Complexity
= Functional Harmony and Common Practices
* The I Chord and its Neighbors
* I and V
* I, IV, V (i, iv, V)
* The Deceptive vi
* Extending the Progression with ii
* Diminished Dominance
* Median in the Mix (iii)
* Secondary Dominance
* Pivots and Key Changes
* Modulation: The Scenic Route
* Foundations of Form: Beyond Free
* Binary and Ternary
* Rondo
* Sonata
* Chromaticism and the Prelude
* Mahler and Romanticism's Second Wind
= Tristan Chord: The Death Knell of Tonality (as it was known)
= Expressionism, the Darkness of Man, and the Collapse of Form
= Sets and Serialism
= Impressionism
= Planing and Palindrones
= Modernity and the Rejection of Tradition
= Indeterminacy and Silence
= Post-Modernism: Questioning the Ivory Tower
= Minimalism and Spirituality
= Neo-Classicism: Out with the Old and in with the New Old
= Contemporary Concerns
- Music Production
= Philosophy of Mixing
= The Tools of Mixing
* EQ
* Compression
* Saturation
* Reverb/delay
= The Principles of Mixing
* Cuts, Not Boosts
* Compress to the Beat
* Saturate is the Salt of your Mix
* Parallel Processing
= Philosophy of Mastering
= The Tools of Mixing
* EQ
* Compression
* Multiband Compression
* Saturation
* Limiter
= The Principles of Mastering
* Mono Compatibility
* 3db is all you Need
* Compress Less put Your Mixing to the Test
* Mas'turation Proclamation
* Loudness Accords
- Sound Design
= Philosophy of Design
= The Tools of Design
* Samples
* FM Synth
* ADSR Envelopes
* LFO
* Envelope Controlled Filters
= The Principles of Design
* Understanding the Parts of a Sound
* Picking the "Right" Samples
* Samples vs Synthesis
* Simplicity over Complexity
* Remember the Journey
- Programming
= Breaking from Convention: Philosophy of Game Audio
= Game Engines from a Musician's Perspective
= Audio Engines: The Musician's IDE
= Programming (Scripting) for Musicians: Starting with Godot
