How do I write music over the course of my workday?
October 25, 2010 7:43 AM Subscribe
Are there any websites with a flash piano (or something) where I can record, save and email to myself simple melodies I've come up with?
I come up with a lot of melodies in my head over the course of my workday, but by the time I get home to write and record some songs I've forgotten them. Aside from finding somewhere private to record myself humming them into my phone like an idiot, or downloading something like LMMS or FruityLoops-style software on my work computer - is there anywhere online that I can capture the melodies I'm coming up with? Ideally it would be a simple website with a flash piano that can "record" a couple of notes, and then email it to myself to listen to when I get home?
I come up with a lot of melodies in my head over the course of my workday, but by the time I get home to write and record some songs I've forgotten them. Aside from finding somewhere private to record myself humming them into my phone like an idiot, or downloading something like LMMS or FruityLoops-style software on my work computer - is there anywhere online that I can capture the melodies I'm coming up with? Ideally it would be a simple website with a flash piano that can "record" a couple of notes, and then email it to myself to listen to when I get home?
If you're not completely prohibited from downloading programs onto your work computer, you might give Modplug Tracker a try. It's a small (and free!) program, and allows you to use your computer keyboard as if it were a piano keyboard in order to put in notes. You can also control the playback tempo. It supports MIDI, so you can export your melodies to MIDI format, which can be played easily on a lot of platforms (and there are programs to convert MIDI files to sheet music, if that's something you're interested in).
Trackers are notoriously complex programs capable of all kinds of effects, but inputting simple melodies and adjusting playback tempo is very simple. Modplug may be able to play your computer's built in General MIDI patches (such as the piano patch), but if it can't, you can probably download a simple piano instrument somewhere.
An often-overlooked advantage to this type of program for sketching melodies is that you can quickly push notes around by tapping the cursor keys and insert/delete keys. Also supports quick copy/paste operations.
posted by Maximian at 9:53 AM on October 25, 2010
Trackers are notoriously complex programs capable of all kinds of effects, but inputting simple melodies and adjusting playback tempo is very simple. Modplug may be able to play your computer's built in General MIDI patches (such as the piano patch), but if it can't, you can probably download a simple piano instrument somewhere.
An often-overlooked advantage to this type of program for sketching melodies is that you can quickly push notes around by tapping the cursor keys and insert/delete keys. Also supports quick copy/paste operations.
posted by Maximian at 9:53 AM on October 25, 2010
do you have an iphone? There are a ton of apps for the iphone that let you record melodies, etc.
posted by empath at 11:05 AM on October 25, 2010
posted by empath at 11:05 AM on October 25, 2010
Aviary's music creator is worth a look, and a bit different: Jam Studio.
posted by sageleaf at 11:35 AM on October 25, 2010
posted by sageleaf at 11:35 AM on October 25, 2010
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posted by aspiring polymath at 8:21 AM on October 25, 2010 [1 favorite]