Programming

The Android Melody Generator – coming this week

The first version of my Android Melody Generator app is complete. The only things left to be done do not involve programming:

– create an icon for it
– create some screenshots for it
– create a little website for it that includes examples and some documentation (I purchased the domain melodygenerator.com … it’s simple and to-the-point … nothing’s there yet, but there should be soon)

And that’s it! Then I will upload it to the Android market. It will be $4.99. Might even be done by this time tomorrow.

I will admit this: one of the problems I have with the app is that, at least for me, it becomes more addicting to just have it write melodies and listen to the results than to actually spend the time using the melodies in my own work. For me, it’s a bit more like a musical toy than a tool. But that’s just a testament to how much I enjoy it. And I’m obviously quite biased.

Is it done? Does it work? Am I finished? … I am finished. It works. It is done. I am a genius. Sean, you are an unadulterated genius. You are an indisputable extraordinary — is that bug? No, it’s not. You’re a fool. You are finished. And it begins…

Careful, careful, mustn’t get excited, mustn’t overdo it. Slowly, don’t rush, you’ll get used to it in no time. Look at it! Incredible! What an app to use, what an app to write! I shall be inspired, I shall turn out symphonies and operas, measures by the ton, at last I have an app, and everyone will know, everyone in the world, everyone will know that it’s here. It is here! It is here!

By S P Hannifin, ago

Melody generator – almost done

My Android melody generator is complete (at least what will be the first version of it).  All I have to do now is put in some anti-piracy measures (though I know no method is ever 100% effective) and figure out how to get it on the Android market.  Not sure how long that will take, but hopefully less than a week.  And, as I said last time, I need to create an icon for it, take some screenshots of it, and make a little website for it, but that stuff should take less than a day to do.

And who didn’t think I could do it?  Who doubted me?  Who said it couldn’t be done?  There’s a traitor amongst us who does not belong… maybe it is Glenn Close dressed as a man…

By S P Hannifin, ago

Melody project – update 9

Whew, I haven’t blogged yet this month. Animation Mentor starts back up in less than two weeks, on June 27th, and my semester-long leave of absence will be over. I’m excited to get back to animation, but I’m not excited about free time being reduced once again to almost zilch.

Anyway, I’ve been continuing to work on my Android melody generator app, hoping to get it completed before Animation Mentor starts. It’s coming along slowly but surely…

The interface is pretty much complete, and most of the functionality is there. (The interface is nothing fancy, just Android’s default style menus and such, but I’ve been focusing on the algorithms, not fancy interfaces.) I could probably try releasing it now if I really wanted. There are just a few bugs here and there to work out, and then I need to figure out what to do to actually get it on the market. And then I need make an icon for it, take some screenshots of it, and make a little website for it.

I won’t get much done tonight, though… after work, I’ll be spending the evening at the movie theater, watching Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Extended Edition. Bwahahaha! I actually never saw FotR in theaters, so this should make up for it.

By S P Hannifin, ago

Melody project – update 8

I was too tired to podcast yesterday; maybe I will today. But I’m still really tired due to my sleep schedule being awfully messed up, so who knows.

So… about my Android melody generator project… Part of me really wants to maximize profits for this thing, so, as mentioned before I am preparing to query producers about my screenplay yet again, this time mentioning that a music box that writes infinite melodies is a true possibility. (At least, to the extent that my program can do it.) Part of me also wants to focus on the algorithmic programming of this generator, and not worry so much about creating a user interface for it, for Android or anything else. So, if a movie deal doesn’t work out (it would be a miracle if it did), I’m seriously considering just hiring / outsourcing some other person or company to program the interface. It would be less work for me, and, with experience, they’d probably do a better job than me anyway. Problem is I’m not sure how much that would cost… anyway, the point is that an actual Android app is still at least months away, because I want to give the movie idea a chance, as to me that seems like the most lucrative (though least likely) path.

By S P Hannifin, ago

Stories and code and stuff and whatever

I hit a snag in my in-progress short story Through a Flame of Blue and Green. I realized one of my scenes is purely expositional. The information given in the scene is important for the story, but there’s no action, at least no action that’s important to the story. My natural response to this snag is to just stop writing the story until I can figure out a way to make the scene work. “But wait,” I say to myself, “just skip the scene! Come back to it later!” Of course! Why didn’t I think of that? “You just did!” I say to myself. Oh yeah! Both I and me are the same! So I’ll do that… later.

I’m still working on my Android melody generator program as well, but learning to program Android interfaces is boooooooooring, so progress is slow. However, a friend of mine recently gave me some extremely helpful feedback on the screenplay I wrote last year, The Melody Box, so I’ve been thinking about sending out another round of query letters, this time mentioning that a potential film could have the tie-in of software that does what the melody box in the screenplay does: generate melodies. Seems like both products would boost interest in each other. Not sure if that will truly interest anyone, but it’s worth a try, yes? Then I’ll get back to trying to learn how to program Android interfaces.

Other than that, I’ve been endlessly tweaking my outlines for Atarius Destroy This World. There are some tricky little issues here and there. But I’ll probably start writing on Saturday or next week. I’m kind of scared to start. I’ll have to keep saying to myself: “It’s just a rough draft. It’s allowed to be awful. Just get something down.”

By S P Hannifin, ago

Melody project: the great reprogramming – update 7

Whew, I can’t believe it’s Friday already. This week I’ve been mostly learning Android programming. I played around with some OpenGL graphics programming for Android a year and a half ago, but that experience is really no help for what I want to do now. So I’ve been going through a book on Android programming and playing around with some examples. There’s a lot to learn, so I’m not sure how long this will take, but I’ve only got 8 more weeks until my leave of absence from Animation Mentor ends, so I hope it won’t take too long… even though there are features I still want to add to my melody generator, I wouldn’t mind releasing it as it is (at a small cost) if I end up running out of time. So my priority now is programming an Android interface for the program.

And that is all I have to say at this moment.

Happy Easter!

By S P Hannifin, ago

Making a list… checking it once…

There are still plenty of features I’d like to give my melody generator eventually, but there are only certain features I think really need to be a part of my melody generator before I work on getting it out there for the world to play around with (in the form of an Android app). So here’s what I hope to work on before I try selling it:

1. – A couple minor changes to the main algorithm. (And fix that bug mentioned in the last post.)
2. – The ability to write 8-bar and 16-bar melodies.
3. – The ability to compose in any key.
4. – The ability to write a melody in major or minor.
5. – The ability to let the user decide the chord progression.
6. – The ability to let the user decide the ending note.
7. – The ability to let the user decide the tempo.
8. – The ability to write a melody in 2/4, 4/4, 3/4, or 6/8.
9. – Create an Android interface for all this.

Obviously there are other features I’d like my program to have eventually (more bar amount possibilities, more time signatures, key changes within a melody, etc.), but they can wait until the program is actually out there and on the market.

By S P Hannifin, ago

Melody project: the great reprogramming – update 6

It’s week 3 of the great reprogramming of my upcoming melody generator! While I could continue tweaking the main algorithms endlessly, I’m at the point now where I feel I need to branch off into three directions:

1. I need to get the program to output MIDI files automatically so I don’t have to keep interpreting text files.

2. I need to get the program to write in different time signatures, different bar lengths, etc.

3. I need to figure out how exactly I’m gonna get this program on the Android.

My main goal for now is #1… being able to output MIDIs, I can then have the program write 100 melodies or so in a row, and then go through the results and pick out the melodies I like, and perhaps orchestrate them into a little piece or something…

By S P Hannifin, ago

Melody project: the great reprogramming – update 5

As I stated yesterday, I’m now working on getting my program to create its own melodic knowledge rather than depend on melodic patterns found in pre-existing melodies. This turns out to be harder than I thought it would be — or at least more time consuming. I’m sure it’s possible, it will just take more programming. So I’m continuing to work on that. If I can’t get it done by the end of the week, I’ll give up on it for a while. In the end, perhaps I’ll use a combo of both methods.

Uh… yeah, that’s pretty much it for today.

By S P Hannifin, ago

Melody project: the great reprogramming – update 4

It’s week 2 of melody generator programming fun! Over the weekend, I was preparing to add more knowledge to my program’s melodic knowledge database, but then I thought: Wait a sec. If the knowledge in the knowledge database comes from patterns found in other melodies, why not create a knowledge database from the patterns found in that database? That way we’d only need a small database, and we can have the program create random melodic knowledge from it. Does that make sense? I have no idea if it will work or not, but I’ll give it a try, so that’s what I’ll be working on today: a melodic knowledge generator. I’ll try to have more musical examples by tonight or tomorrow night (or… later).

Thank you for reading update #4. I will keep the blog informed of any and all progress made on this revolutionary product.

In other news, I wrote some melodies over the weekend and started to hear a piece in my head, so I finally bought Garritan World Instruments, which I hope to use soon. I should be saving my money, but when you’re high on your own melodies playing through your mind, you sometimes just can’t help it. And Garritan products are at least priced awesomely for the amount of stuff you get.

By S P Hannifin, ago