Unconventional Percussion
Unconventional percussion is the use of ones hands, fingers, knuckles or feet which is not directly related to the use of a drum set. For example: If someone uses a trash can lid as a symbol and the trash can as the drum, he can "Bang" his hands on the trash can to make a beat and hit the lid with a stick to make a noise similar to a symbol.
Unconventional percussion has been around since the beginning of music before drums were ever created. It does not have to directly refer to a certain beat however it can include simple rhythm and singing of a person or a group of people to create new music on the spot.
Some organizations, such as the Assembly of God Christian association Fine Arts Festival has grown to allow unconventional percussion as a new category, along with many other categories such as regular percussion and piano.
In my opinion, typical music can become repetitive and booring, whereas with unconventional percussion there is a new sound every time you hit a beat. And, you can make this sound anywhere: On your desk, in the office, or at school. Not everyone can play the conventional drum but everyone can play an unconventional percussion instrument.
Unconventional percussion is the use of ones hands, fingers, knuckles or feet which is not directly related to the use of a drum set. For example: If someone uses a trash can lid as a symbol and the trash can as the drum, he can "Bang" his hands on the trash can to make a beat and hit the lid with a stick to make a noise similar to a symbol.
Unconventional percussion has been around since the beginning of music before drums were ever created. It does not have to directly refer to a certain beat however it can include simple rhythm and singing of a person or a group of people to create new music on the spot.
Some organizations, such as the Assembly of God Christian association Fine Arts Festival has grown to allow unconventional percussion as a new category, along with many other categories such as regular percussion and piano.
In my opinion, typical music can become repetitive and booring, whereas with unconventional percussion there is a new sound every time you hit a beat. And, you can make this sound anywhere: On your desk, in the office, or at school. Not everyone can play the conventional drum but everyone can play an unconventional percussion instrument.
If you have a pair of bi-wirable speakers you will notice that their are four connection on each speaker. Two positives and two negatives. If you only have one AV or Stereo Amplifier you will notice that most only have one negative and one positive per speaker channel. This doesn't’t mean you cannot Bi-Wire your speakers. Firstly you will need some Bi-wirable speaker cable. Secondly you will need to remove the manufactures link adaptors from the speaker terminals and replace them with the bi-wire speaker cable. Using the correct polarity connection (positive to positive and negative to negative). Third connect the bi-wire speaker cable to the amplifier like you would connect any other none bi-wirable speaker cable. The real reason for bi-wiring your speaker is to increase the signal strength to the hi and low frequency ranges of the speakers. You may not notice any real improvement until you have listened to the cabling for a couple of hours. Then you should notice your system has become more musical and has gained better rhythm.
Bugs are synonymous with software. Methods to minimize them out can be code-oriented approaches such as OO programming & exception handling, or can be test-oriented such as continuous build & test, automated testing, and unit test frameworks. Here’s an example highlighting the need for a unit test framework.
Suppose you want to write a math library that includes conversions, such as Fahrenheit-to-Celsius, feet-to-meters, etc. Some base functions could be
celcius2fahrenheit( c ), feet2meters( f ), ...
Along with this base code, you can write test procedures using a pre-defined data set as a sanity check for the conversions. In pseudocode,
celcius2fahrenheit( c )
return 1.8 * c + 32
feet2meters( f )
return f*.3048
celcius2fahrenheit_driver( c, expected )
if celcius2fahrenheit(c) == expected
return True
else
print( "error in celcius2fahrenheit(), input = %f", c )
return False
feet2meters_driver( f, expected )
if feet2meters(f) == expected
return True
else
print( "error in feet2meters(), input = %f", c )
return False
test_all() // boundary points make good test data
celcius2fahrenheit_driver( 0,32 ); // freezing
celcius2fahrenheit_driver( 100,212 ); // boiling
celcius2fahrenheit_driver( 37 ,98.6 ); // body temp
feet2meters_driver( 3, .9144 ); // 1 yard
feet2meters_driver( 1, .3048 ); // 1 foot
Evolving to a framework
In this toy problem more code is dedicated to testing than the base functions itself, suggesting that the test code might introduce its own problems and be more trouble than it's worth. However, In full-blown programs, the base code will be more substantive, and test-code:base-code ratio will tip towards base code.
The simplistic approach above starts getting unwieldy when there are tens of base code functions and hundreds of data points. As off balanced as the test-code:base-code ratio is, our test code function "drivers" should do more. It should be informative when there’s an failure by printing out the callstack, handle exceptions, collect pass/fail statistics, etc. Now we begin to see a need for a framework library such as the Java's Junit, Python's PyUnit, .NET's NUnit -- more generally known as the xUnit famiy.
While the above abilities inflate the test code, language specific features can trim it down. One could use asserts or passing function pointers to generalize & consolidate the *_driver() definitions into a single function.
Organizing test code
In organizing the test code within the directory structure of the project code, one must balance two opposing forces:
# Primarily, we want to separate test from base code to prevent them from cluttering the typically very complex base code.
# At the same time, we want to keep them together to easily maintain and synchronize them. If it's a small project, we can keep them in the same directory, or even in the same file.
Usually, our projects are complex so separating them is the best practice. One might keep a test directory tree that mirrors the tree of the base code. This mirror will help keep the test & base in sync, while separating them. The disadvantage is that one has to switch back-and-forth between trees while coding.
Suppose you want to write a math library that includes conversions, such as Fahrenheit-to-Celsius, feet-to-meters, etc. Some base functions could be
celcius2fahrenheit( c ), feet2meters( f ), ...
Along with this base code, you can write test procedures using a pre-defined data set as a sanity check for the conversions. In pseudocode,
celcius2fahrenheit( c )
return 1.8 * c + 32
feet2meters( f )
return f*.3048
celcius2fahrenheit_driver( c, expected )
if celcius2fahrenheit(c) == expected
return True
else
print( "error in celcius2fahrenheit(), input = %f", c )
return False
feet2meters_driver( f, expected )
if feet2meters(f) == expected
return True
else
print( "error in feet2meters(), input = %f", c )
return False
test_all() // boundary points make good test data
celcius2fahrenheit_driver( 0,32 ); // freezing
celcius2fahrenheit_driver( 100,212 ); // boiling
celcius2fahrenheit_driver( 37 ,98.6 ); // body temp
feet2meters_driver( 3, .9144 ); // 1 yard
feet2meters_driver( 1, .3048 ); // 1 foot
Evolving to a framework
In this toy problem more code is dedicated to testing than the base functions itself, suggesting that the test code might introduce its own problems and be more trouble than it's worth. However, In full-blown programs, the base code will be more substantive, and test-code:base-code ratio will tip towards base code.
The simplistic approach above starts getting unwieldy when there are tens of base code functions and hundreds of data points. As off balanced as the test-code:base-code ratio is, our test code function "drivers" should do more. It should be informative when there’s an failure by printing out the callstack, handle exceptions, collect pass/fail statistics, etc. Now we begin to see a need for a framework library such as the Java's Junit, Python's PyUnit, .NET's NUnit -- more generally known as the xUnit famiy.
While the above abilities inflate the test code, language specific features can trim it down. One could use asserts or passing function pointers to generalize & consolidate the *_driver() definitions into a single function.
Organizing test code
In organizing the test code within the directory structure of the project code, one must balance two opposing forces:
# Primarily, we want to separate test from base code to prevent them from cluttering the typically very complex base code.
# At the same time, we want to keep them together to easily maintain and synchronize them. If it's a small project, we can keep them in the same directory, or even in the same file.
Usually, our projects are complex so separating them is the best practice. One might keep a test directory tree that mirrors the tree of the base code. This mirror will help keep the test & base in sync, while separating them. The disadvantage is that one has to switch back-and-forth between trees while coding.
BRAZILBEAT SOUND SYSTEM
Origin: Berkeley, California
Country: New Zealand
Activity: 2000-present
Genre(s): electronica, dance, Brazilian, world
Label: Belezza Records
Members:
Nego Beto - Percussion and MC
DJ Mara
BrazilBeat Sound System is a DJ-percussion electronic live-act based in New Zealand.
BBSS originated in San Francisco, California in 2000, and moved operations to New Zealand the following year.
Brazilian percussionist Nego Beto created the project after touring, recording, producing and educating in five continents over a 25-year music career. He toured with The Wailers Band in 1990 and 91, and created and produced the first Reggae MTV in Brazil in 1991. He played with Brazilian groups Cidade Negra, Plebe Rude, Elba Ramalho, Mighty Reggae Beat (Paralamas do Sucesso), and Nabby Cliford.
Nego Beto's MC style and performances on congas, timbales, bongos, drum machines and varied percussion instruments define the BrazilBeat sound. DJ Mara mixes electronic genres infused with Brazilian elements.
The BBSS live sound combines funk, house, breaks, dub, roots & drum ‘n bass.
In New Zealand BBSS have played at festivals such as Soundsplash, Rhythm & Vines, Cuba Street Carnival, Splore and Jambalaya.
BrazilBeat Sound System released their first full-length album Nova in November, 2007. Tongan-New Zealand DJ/producer Soane Watkins was the executive producer of the album and co-producer on "How U Like." New York-based Jamaican vocalist Sparlha Swa is featured on "Rain."
Nego Beto & Mara also write the Brazil Beat column in The Beat Magazine (USA).
Discography:
Albums:
Nova (Belezza Records) 2007
Compilations:
Bits Sessions (Nikita Music) 2004
Kaiti Collective (Te Toka) 2004
Resolution 2005 (AD Recordings) 2005
Jambalaya (Bench Recordings) 2005
Twilight Sessions (Tuborg) 2006
Websites:
www.brazilbeat.org
www.myspace.com/brazilbeat
Origin: Berkeley, California
Country: New Zealand
Activity: 2000-present
Genre(s): electronica, dance, Brazilian, world
Label: Belezza Records
Members:
Nego Beto - Percussion and MC
DJ Mara
BrazilBeat Sound System is a DJ-percussion electronic live-act based in New Zealand.
BBSS originated in San Francisco, California in 2000, and moved operations to New Zealand the following year.
Brazilian percussionist Nego Beto created the project after touring, recording, producing and educating in five continents over a 25-year music career. He toured with The Wailers Band in 1990 and 91, and created and produced the first Reggae MTV in Brazil in 1991. He played with Brazilian groups Cidade Negra, Plebe Rude, Elba Ramalho, Mighty Reggae Beat (Paralamas do Sucesso), and Nabby Cliford.
Nego Beto's MC style and performances on congas, timbales, bongos, drum machines and varied percussion instruments define the BrazilBeat sound. DJ Mara mixes electronic genres infused with Brazilian elements.
The BBSS live sound combines funk, house, breaks, dub, roots & drum ‘n bass.
In New Zealand BBSS have played at festivals such as Soundsplash, Rhythm & Vines, Cuba Street Carnival, Splore and Jambalaya.
BrazilBeat Sound System released their first full-length album Nova in November, 2007. Tongan-New Zealand DJ/producer Soane Watkins was the executive producer of the album and co-producer on "How U Like." New York-based Jamaican vocalist Sparlha Swa is featured on "Rain."
Nego Beto & Mara also write the Brazil Beat column in The Beat Magazine (USA).
Discography:
Albums:
Nova (Belezza Records) 2007
Compilations:
Bits Sessions (Nikita Music) 2004
Kaiti Collective (Te Toka) 2004
Resolution 2005 (AD Recordings) 2005
Jambalaya (Bench Recordings) 2005
Twilight Sessions (Tuborg) 2006
Websites:
www.brazilbeat.org
www.myspace.com/brazilbeat