Writing by Caleb Hugo.
→ Play it here: resound.calebhugo.com I've been building a first-person game about music, and I've reached the point where I can prove the core idea holds up. This isn't a demo of finished puzzles. It's a proof of concept. Nine small rooms, each one showing that a piece of it works. Real puzzles come later. First I needed to know the idea was feasible. It is. The premise: creatures sing. You…
Reading Rod Dreher's book, "The Benedict Option", has sent my thinking careening back onto the subject of music in worship. More than that, it made me realize how important the subject is. Having felt like I would not succeed in my goal of playing a role in making the church's music more meaningful, I set the subject aside for seven years thinking I was finished with the topic. But Dreher has…
I released "Sleepless" by chugo as a single. chugo is the name that generally floats by my avatars in my personal internet life. It's pretty awesome. So here is that song, and now you know who wrote it: Sleepless by who? chugo? I figured I would try rebranding myself a little bit with the name "chugo" to see if it would work well with the dance/electronic genre . Unfortunately someone else had the…
I get nervous when I hear someone say something like "I don't care for that instrument" or "I don't like that genre." There is merit in every genre and beauty in every instrument. To discount such a broad category of culture without a good deal of explanation indicates an insufficient understanding of the subject. These situations prevent great opportunities. For example, singing hymns in parts…
Plastic Reeds Sound the Same as Cane...With Practice I was in undergrad when I tried a plastic reed. All of my peers and teachers met the switch with more or less hostile skepticism. This skepticism became worse when my sound was clearly different because of the product. But after a few months of using plastic reeds and a lot of listening, I began to sound just like I was playing a cane reed. It…
Earlier this week, I announced my plans to rewrite the How to Sing Harmony app (again). The main reason is that I made it nearly impossible to add more songs to the app. As more hymns enter into the public domain, I need to be able to easily add them in. (Or even better, I need to make it easy for you to add them in!) But besides that, there are several other reasons for doing this: I am a much…
Until this past month, I really hadn't touched my saxophone since my son was born. But then I was recently asked to teach saxophone lessons. At first I was reluctant to accept the opportunity because I didn't see how I could possibly make time to practice. Between working full-time, helping take care of a baby, and my endless pile of side projects I didn't see a way to make room in my schedule to…
If you like good music, classical guitarist Kaori Muraji's Portraits is some of the best. Listen to Portraits on Google Play Kaori doesn't just sit in a recording studio and play some tunes like a lot a classical artists do. She has put a lot of thought into the way this album is laid out. Just when you want to hear a little more slow lyrical guitar playing with those lush extended ternary chords,…
As some may have noticed, I've been in a slump. I am happy to announce that I am writing again, and am starting with an intermediate level band piece I think I'll be calling "The Modulator". The key continually goes around the circle of fifths while developing its melodic and harmonic content. It's going to be a blast for high school bands to play, and will hopefully be ready to go in time for the…
Even though it wasn't successful, this Kickstarter told us an important thing. You guys want this harmony app to exist! So far we have successfully built the iPhone version with the android version to come in a few weeks! The harmony app features a menu where you can select a song. Then you can mute and un-mute whatever parts you want to hear. It shows you the words, and all you have to do it sing…
We've gotten over 60% of our goal with four days to go! Of all the projects on Kickstarter, 98% of those that have gotten to this point have been successfully funded. Let's make their record even better and get this Harmonizing App nice and ad-free . Things you can do to help us out: Spread the word to people who would benefit from the $25 sponsorship. We only need 5 more of those to reach the…
In honor of NaNoWriMo , I (Zach) wrote some python code to help you participate in this month of novel writing. The code below will read a text file online that contains a list of English words, then print out fifty-thousand of them for your brand new novel! NaNoWriMo instant winner code import urllib2 from random import randint word_site =…
The How to Sing Harmony app is currently in development, but we need a hand with getting it launched ad-free. We are doing this Kickstarter so that you can help us make it happen! The $25 song sponsorship (with a link or dedications at the end of playback) will be first come first serve, so don't wait to jump on that! Other rewards are also available in both directions of pledge amount. There is a…
A new app is officially in production! It will help both musicians and non-musicians learn How to Sing Harmony . Here is a list of some of the app features we are including: App Features: -An app that can isolate each part (soprano, alto, tenor, and bass) so that people can easily learn a part individually. - Traditional music notation for those who read music. Those who don't can quickly learn.…
From July 14 2014 to August 3 2014, we did a Kickstarter to make the iPhone version of 2048 Infinite - The Circle of fifths . We were overwhelmed by the response and we want to take the time to say thank you each and every one of these amazing people for helping us create this app. A special thank you to our in game sponsors who created two great alternate color schemes: I CARE IF YOU LISTEN, a…
We've recently made a stunning update to our circle of fifths page . Using animated gifs is an efficient way to teach music theory . These three moving pictures appear in the text as visual aids. The first shows the only fifths that need different accidentals. The second shows the relationship between key signatures and the circle of fifths. The third is cycling through the 12 different fifths to…
Some chords are just like that. You change the bass , and the whole chord is completely different. An easy example is when the bass changes to the root of the relative minor (the 6th scale degree ) underneath the tonic triad . Chances are that you've heard this tonic prolongation technique before. Maybe even used it! (Take note that I've added the 7th scales degree in the example. This simply make…
Paradiddles are difficult for beginners. When I was little, I asked a guy to show me a few things on the drum set. He showed me paradiddles. I didn't practice them because they were hard and didn't sound cool. Those are very good reasons for a kid not to practice something! There are more efficient ways of leaning the monotonous skill. So I made a drum rudiment game that includes paradiddles. A…
Don't get excited. It's a rare thing. Turning off the metronome is for professionals only. That is unless a professional told you to turn it off. If you're a beginner musician, leave your metronome on. If you've been playing a while and can keep fairly steady time, this is where a metronome just might be holding you back from progressing. The traditional argument (and it's a good one) is that if…
Too often older folks tell me that they have no musical talent what-so-ever. This is usually in the context of discussing my own musical abilities. I appreciate the compliments (don't we all). Compliment me further and ask to be taught! This is actually very important for the same reason that it is important to learn music in a person's early years . The key to being a lifelong learner is knowing…
Thank you so much for backing our project. Please browse through this collection of Caleb Hugo's music and download whatever you like. Click the bolded link to download each collection. Email us at calebhugo@calebhugo.com if you have any trouble. The embedded videos next to each category is an example of what you'll be downloading. If you like the sample, you will like the collection associated…
Wow! We are totally overwhelmed with the generous support our backers have shown in our Kickstarter . Thank you all so much! Special thanks to our two $80 backers who's generous contributions have driven this Kickstarter well beyond where we thought it could go. We have gotten above the $700 stretch goal, which means that Upbeat Bird and Rudiment Rock-It are coming to Android! Orchestral 2048 We…
In percussion technique, a double stroke is two rapid taps in a row from one hand. The double stroke roll is two rapid taps from each hand consecutively, back and forth. This can yield a much faster speed than the single stroke roll , but only when done cleanly and correctly. Two problems have to be overcome. The weaker hand needs to be able to perform a double stroke roll as quickly as the…
The Single Stroke Roll is deceptive because it's very easy to learn but takes years to master. Everyone has done it before at some point. A drum roll to prepare for an announcement. Tapping along to a sweet song. Nervously waiting for something. It's just tapping back and forth. Easy. Until you're forced to do it evenly and quickly. Us right handers hastily realize how stupid our left hands are,…
Who's pumped for Upbeat Bird on Android !? Our 2048 Infinite Kickstarter broke $500 today, so we are giving all "$10 or more" backers magnets in addition to stickers! But that was just stretch goal number one. We need $198 more dollars in the next 8 days to meet our next stretch goal, which is Upbeat Bird and all future games to be published on Android! If you want this to happen (and I know a lot…
When talking about the adjective versions of each word, it quite obvious what the difference is. When something is offbeat, its strange or unseemly. A search for the word yields synonyms such as "funny" and "weird." Upbeat is peppy and cheerful! Ambiguity of either makes for some cheeky musical humor. Musically the two words are actually related to their respective adjective forms. Offbeat is most…
2048 Infinite - The Circle of Fifths is soon going to have a counterclockwise mode if the Kickstarter is funded. It's going to sound very different, and here is why: Going up a fifth repeatedly yields the clockwise circle of fifths . But what about down a fifth? Counterclockwise, of course, but can we really call it the circle of fifths at that point? It really depends on how you look at it.…
The first two days of the 2048 Infinite Kickstarter have been fantastic! Thanks so much to our (currently) 31 backers who have put us well on our way to making this iOS version of 2048 Infinite - The Circle of Fifths possible. Special thanks to Scott Jon Siegel whose tweet got us an Article at kotaku.com ! We ended up having to upgrade our server. Thank you! Technology Tell and Complex Gaming also…
Click the download icon to help us get this iPhone app accomplished through Kickstarter ! 2048 is a sweet game, and the awesome creator of the game, Gabriele Cirulli made it totally free to use and modify. We saw an opportunity to put a musical twist to it and make a music theory game out of it. But we had to modify it a lot to get it to work with 12 different tiles, and then to make it truly…
Zach's high score of 532% 2048 Infinite - The Circle of Fifths is obviously based on the popular game, 2048 . However, in using the Circle of Fifths , the game becomes infinite, circular, and almost completely different from the original! With the tiles progressing in a circle, the game becomes mesmerizing. This also means that the score has to be calculated differently. As you play, what was once…