New Beginnings

It’s been so long since I’ve posted here or updated this site I almost forgot how the WP back-end works, yikes!  I hereby acknowledge I have been remiss and offer a formal mea culpa.  I have projects and experiments on my desk that warrant a post or three, some musical discoveries, and lots of news…

Read More

DIY Workshop Madness

I am really excited to be teaching a series of open source software and hardware workshops this year at Yale as part of a new initiative we started called the Open Music Initiative.  The aim of the initiative is to indoctrinat… er, expose faculty and students to the merits of FLOSS and open source hardware via workshops wherein…

Read More

Modular Synth Components

Last night El MuCo (The Mutagenic Cooptoraptors) accomplished a feat heretofore unimaginable: three circuit projects were undertaken and three projects were completed successfully.  While you may be tempted to think that, with the assistance of a book (Ray Wilson’s Analog Synthesizers) and the vast power of the internet this is not a big deal, you…

Read More

Music V: Back to the Future

In 1969 Max Mathews published The Technology of Computer Music in which he provides a  primer to digital sound and synthesis, describes the function of a computer music program, and provides a manual to the language he was describing, namely MUSIC V. It was to be the last MUSIC-N language he would write, and was…

Read More

SuperCollider on CrunchBang Linux

[UPDATE] This post has been updated to reflect better practices. Following my post for installing SC3.6 on Ubuntu (Xubuntu) where I advised readers of the awesomeness of #! (CrunchBang) linux I have decided to post a quick how-to for getting SC3.6 IDE installed on your CrunchBang system.

Read More

Experimental Musical Instrument Workshop @ MakeHaven

I am pleased to announce another experimental musical instrument workshop in New Haven, this time at MakeHaven (266 State Street New Haven CT.)  The event page is below.  From there you can RSVP if you are interested in coming! http://www.makehaven.org/event/experimental-musical-instrument-workshop-part-i Just in case you’re still not sold on the idea of whacky musical instruments, here’s…

Read More

Sonic Options à Go·Go

  Because all of the cool kids are going to MySpace and because I am not one to be left behind, I have recently updated my MySpace page with a lot of music.  (and virtually nothing else.)   www.myspace.com/scottepetersen  If you don’t want to muddle through the sea of pretty icons and menus on this…

Read More

Make Testing Speakers for Free**

Required Parts: 1-2 8 ohm speakers an enclosure (cardboard box, tea tin, coffee can, etc.) insulation (cotton, an old shirt, the hair you get from your pet when using the Furminator.) wire glue ( any will do, but… I cannot recommend a hot glue gun enough. see below) alligator clips (deluxe version) or just some…

Read More

Raspberry Pi: first impressions

Getting the Pi Baked I got my Raspberry Pi in the mail yesterday — a long anticipated event. My excitement was slightly deflated when I realized I didn’t have anything I actually needed to make the damn thing run: micro USB for power, an hdmi-dvi adapter so I could actually see and control it, and…

Read More

Electronic Music from “How Things Work” c.1970

On a recent outing to a local bookshop I encountered a 4 volume set of books titled “How Things Work.”  It is a wonderful compendium of knowledge in simple but not simplistic language with really great illustrations.  The four volumes cover everything from knitting to jet engines.  Naturally what caught my eye were all of…

Read More