Audio Editting

Audacity is an open source software used widely for audio editing.
Audacity use the LAME MP3 encoder to convert audio files into MP3 format.

See "Where Do You Create and Share Your Audio Files and Remixes?" at youtube for relevant suggestions.

The following are my current steps from collecting raw recording to compile into audio and video:

1) Digital voice recorder is first used to record the sound into wav format. The raw file is rather dry. This can be seen from the "ocean mist" wave shape when played in windows media player: one only sees some very small individual mist peaks, instead of the normal wide and abundant mist.

2) Open this raw file in Audacity and export it into MP3 or WAV format. Then the wave shape becomes normal. Audacity has the function to remove white noise, but trying it doesn't show that the effect was actually good due to sound distortion, so I gave up.

3) After this, windows movie maker can be used to incorporate the audio into a video, which can then be uploaded to youtube. In this step, one should use the audio file exported from Audacity. Using the raw file would result in plenty of noise, and sound quality totally screwed.

However, it should be noted that seems the automatic "processing" function of youtube would trim the video to remove silent ending. This leads to the loss of the last chord in the second version above, which appears in the end after a while of silence. That's bad. The solution is to add some variation to the end. Since the sound cannot be changed, an end title page can be added (change font color to be the same as background, so words won't show).

Online music resources

Youtube no doubt is a comprehensive source.

http://www.medici.tv is one dedicated to audiovisual programs in performing arts and documentary. It was launched on April 30, 2008.

http://imslp.org/wiki/Main_Page stands for the International Music Score Library Project. Lots of open source music scores can be found on this site. It went online on February 16, 2006.

Bach Inventions and Sinfonias

Bach wrote 2 collections of short fugue pieces for music education of his pupils. They became popular exercises for beginners. But of course their value is far more than just exercises.

The 15 2-part pieces are called inventions. The 15 3-part pieces are called sinfonias. These are numbered as BWV 772–801, altogether 30 pieces.

Here is an article on these inventions and sinfonias.

The performance of all these inventions and sinfonias by Glen Gould can be found on youtube.

I think these pieces are not particularly melodic. They are good demonstrations of fugue music though, and good finger exercises.

For inventions, I like No. 9 and No 13 most, especially No. 13, since I ever heard live performance on this.

Piano collections

This favorite list will grow as I listen to more.

Bach
-

Badarzewska
- The Maiden's Prayer

Beethoven
- Fur Elise WoO.59
- Moonlight sonata 1st movement [Piano (Wilhelm Kempff)]
- Pathetique sonata 2nd movement [Piano (Glenn Gould)]
- Turkischer Marsch Op.76 [Piano (Evgeny Kissin)]
Note: Beethoven has 32 sonatas. All are introduced at wikipedia.

Chopin
- Fantaisie Impromptu in C# Minor, Op. 66 [Piano (Yundi Li)]
- Nocturne Op. 9 No. 1 [Piano (Vadim Chaimovich)]
- Nocturne in E-flat Major Op. 9 No. 2 [Piano (Yundi Li)]
- Nocturne no. 20 in C sharp minor Posthumous [Piano] [Piano, part]
- Etude “Chanson de L'adieu”in E Major Op.10-3 ("Tristesse", Good bye) [Piano]
- Revolution etude (Op.10-12) [Piano]
- Waltz in A minor (Op. Posth.) [Piano]
- Minute Waltz (Waltz in D flat major, op.64, No. 1) [Piano (Kissin)]

Debussy (1862-1918, French, Impressionism)
- Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune [Dance accompaniment]
- Clair de lune (Moonlight) [Piano] [Piano (Marianelli)] [Orchestra]
- Syrinx [Flute]
- Beau soir [Violin & Piano]
- Dieu! Qu'il La Fait Bon Regarder [Chorus]
- Arabesque No.1 [Piano]

Grieg
- Nocturne Op. 54 No. 4 [Piano]

Liszt
- La Campanella (Clock) [Piano (Yundi Li)]
- Liebestraum (Dream of love) [Piano (Evgeny Kissin)]

Mendelssohn
- Spring Song Op.62-2 (from Songs without words) [Piano]

Mozart
- Turkischer Marsch K.331 [Fun: Two pianos]

Rachmaninoff (notorious for being difficulty)
- Piano Concerto No.2 [Piano (Rachmaninoff)]
- Piano Concerto No.3 [Piano (Kissin)]
- Preludeium cis moll [Piano (Rachmaninoff)]

Rimsky-Korsakov, Nikolai
- Flight of the Bumble-bee [Piano (Yuja Wang)]

Saint Saëns
- The Carnival of the Animals: The Aquarium [Orchestra]
- The Carnival of the Animals: The swan [Cello]

Schumann
- Traumerei Op.15-7 (Fantasy) [Piano (Horowitz)]

Tchaikovsky
- Piano Concerto 1, 1st movement [Piano and Orchestra]
- Nutcracker suite [Piano (Mee-Hyun Ahn)]

Pachelbel's canon in D Major

Similar to the Air on the G String by Bach, Pachelbel's canon in D Major is famous Baroque music.

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nPyLLedfAs

See introduction and score.

Composers

- David Nevue
Youtube link: Solitude - Just serves as a gateway link. This song by itself is not very interesting to me. I like his greensleeves arragement.

Green sleeves

Green sleeves is a song written possibly in the 1500s in England, and said to be one of the most widely spread songs of Europe. This song was mentioned in Shakepeare's 1602 drama "The merry wives of windsor", suggesting that it might be already popular then. Folk story says it was written by King Henry VIII for his wife Anna Boleyn, although this must be just a legend since the song was written in a style known in England only after Henry VIII passed away.

Here is a relatively complex piano arrangement (by David Nevue): Green Sleeves (piano).

This is a vocal version (soprano with lute accompaniment): Green Sleeves (vocal). It contains the sections 1, 2, 3, 4 and 8 of the 8 sections in the lyrics, and is sung in a setting mimicking the mid ages. The variations of the tune is by Francis Cutting. It usually should be sung by a man (tenor) though.

A vocal version by man and ensemble: Green Sleeves (vocal by king singer's (A capella)).

Another one by orchestra: Green Sleeves (orchestra).

The lyrics says:
Alas, my love, you do me wrong,
To cast me off discourteously.
For I have loved you well and long,
Delighting in your company.

More about this song and its lyrics are at wiki: greensleeves.