An Orchestra

How can an orchestra be stupid, one may ask? Well, when musically measuring a toaster next to a cello, one device certainly comes across as inherently… dumber. Think 200 vintage vacuum cleaners, blenders and washing machines assembled into a whirling, ringing, humming cacophon ...more

Video: . Being one of the most popular DIY/maker projects around, Musical Floppy Drives are nothing new. However, myFloppyDriveOrchestra includes a few unique features, which separate it from the crowd. FPGA - by implementing the drive control on an FPGA, I have effectively c ...more

It may take practice to get to Carnegie Hall, but a new mobile app gives the average iPhone or iPad owner the experience of walking on stage with a live orchestra. Available now on the App Store, the Spatial Orchestra app brings music to life comes with augmented reality and ...more

You don't have to know how to read piano chords or piano sheet music in order to use this piano tutorial. Connect a piano keyboard or start playing on your computer keyboard right away! Practice one hand at a time, change playback speed, transpose to a different key, create lo ...more

Doesn't look too hard, right? Step 1: Perfect your basketball skills. Step 2: Reach Shaq fame so the Boston Pops will request you as guest conductor. Step 3: Just a brief primer in conducting and you're ready to go. Shaq's take on the experience: "Actually you know I have a w ...more

First off, don't be frustrated. YOU CAN DO IT! Contrary to the message in the image above, it's NOT over. It's just beginning. And when it comes to solving the New York Times crossword puzzle, the old cliche does apply: practice makes perfect. I've read quite a few books and ...more

There's a ton of videos on the web of musicians playing homemade PVC instruments, but I just recently stumbled upon the impressive work of PVC pipe player Kent Jenkins, aka Snubby J. His most recent video features a duet with his faux-twin, playing "Wizards in Winter" by the T ...more

Every year at the big video game trade shows around the world, like E3 and gamescon, the big three console makers each do a hot-ticket exclusive press conference to let the media know what's coming for their system. Computer games have no such press conference. Who would give ...more

Beatboxing flutist, Greg Pattillo, burst onto the YouTube scene circa 2007, racking up over 20 million views for his performance videos. Patillo has garnered world recognition for his skills, as well as attention from the New York Times: "Greg Pattillo may be the best person ...more

Welcome to Minecraft World! Check out our advanced tutorials and come play on our free server. While it may first appear complex, the Multi-Channel music sequencer made famous by User FVDisco is rather simple in principle. It relies on proper combination of timing and tone to ...more

Here is our entry for the Greek building contest. It is a model of the theater at Epidaurus. Here are our favorite images and descriptions out of those we used to build it: 1 2 3 4 And here are just a few screenshots. (I promised myself not to get too carried away with signs ...more

Video: . Project Overview Have any old school floppy drives lying around? Get hacking... and transform them into an electronic orchestra! This project uses a myRIO embedded controller and four floppy disk drives. The myRIO effectively plays the disk drives like musical instru ...more

Rickard Bengtsson's artfully paced, super slo-mo puddle and dirt video makes me wish for a rainy day. Shot with the Canon EOS 550D; music by Penguin Cafe Orchestra. Previously, Stunningly Beautiful Slo-mo Surfer. Super Slo-Mo Lightning Looks Like Mother Earth's Fireworks Show. ...more

According to Wikipedia, to be called "the Stradivari" of any field is to be deemed the finest there is... "A Stradivarius is a stringed instrument built by members of the Stradivari family, particularly Antonio Stradivari. According to their reputation, the quality of their s ...more

My autistic son loves music. One afternoon, when he was nine, I downloaded GarageBand to his iPhone to help with the boredom of a long wait at a doctor's office. Instead of pacing or escalating into a meltdown, he spent the entire hour and a half practicing, learning, and comp ...more

A woman from space that who has been dead hundreds of years has been resurrected on the internet and you're the IT assigned to fight the viruses attacking her. Child of Eden is a mesmerizing musical game, with fluid animations, great game play, and lots of replay ability. Pla ...more

Take the best RPG of all time. Combine with the only instrument with invisible strings. And you have pure elf-worthy magic! This incredible viral video shows Randy George, a concert thereminist from Los Angeles, playing the legendary theme from the video game Zelda. It looks ...more

Smartphone technology has become as ubiquitous as automobiles. In Austin, Texas, a city that is widely known as the "Live Music Capital of the World," smartphones have been embraced by the music community not just as a way to document and promote, but to create music. A rock ...more

Remember concerts? Those were fun. While gathering in large groups to listen to live music might not be allowed at the moment, the live music part still is. Thanks to the internet, more and more musicians are taking the stage each day to perform for those of us stuck in social ...more

I just found out that I might be expected to tip all the vendors... on top of the exorbitant fee they charge! Sigh... Here is a great tipping cheat sheet courtesy of theknot.com. When you're already dipping deep into your (or your parents') savings for so many wedding expense ...more

DRUM! Magazine — the leading magazine for drummers and percussionists worldwide — has announced the biggest drumming event ever to take place in Northern California. On Friday, August 13, drummers will descend on the San Jose Repertory Theatre in the heart of Silicon Valley to ...more

Here are 8 video clips from the feature film "Fantasia 2000" Fantasia 2000 is a 1999 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. A sequel to 1940's Fantasia, the film is the thirty-eighth animated feature in the Walt D ...more

There's also Shakira at the Staples Center going which is worth mentioning. The big toughie for me is Interpol or Air though. I was lucky enough to snag a pair of GA tickets to Air, which is a small standing pit in front of the orchestra. I bought them during the presale, in t ...more

The Zelda series has always had phenomenal music. In honor of its 25th anniversary, a 70 piece orchestra and choir will preform a selection of songs from the legendary games at the Pantages Theater in Los Angeles on Friday, October 21st. It's a bit pricey, but also could be a ...more

When Microsoft unveiled Mesh a couple of weeks ago, the move revealed a major part of Microsoft's next steps toward dominating the augmented reality space, particularly with regard to enterprise customers. But aside from the general details contained in the announcement, what ...more