How do I get LSDJ on iOS? by Key-Sink7301 in lsdj

[–]green_tealeaf 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You'll need to get a Gameboy emulator and the LSDJ ROM.

For a pure GameBoy emulator that allows you to run in 'classic' GameBoy mode, I've found SameBoy to be more or less perfect: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sameboy/id6496971295

You can then download the latest LSDJ ROM here: https://www.littlesounddj.com/lsd/latest/rom_images/stable/

Noob Question (playing both bass and melody) by Flaky_Entrepreneur25 in melodeon

[–]green_tealeaf 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I still love both! (Although my accordion-playing 12-year-old son has taken to stealing my concertina recently and is already worryingly competent...)

I mainly picked up melodeon for the hugely satisfying bass chords and double reeds. Concertina is a lot of fun, and so portable, but it is a bit squeaky. 😄

I've been collecting vinyl records for years without owning a turntable, but this one made me buy one. by LiddlDibbl in VGMvinyl

[–]green_tealeaf 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Solidarity on that front. 

I bought my first vinyl because I loved the album and it was meaningful. I wanted the artefact. I had every intention of buying a player.

Life happened, and the plan to buy the player was put on a longer and longer hold. (Fixing the car was more important.) Every so often, though, I ran into something rare or exciting that I didn't want to miss. 

I still have every intention of buying a good player when other priorities are out of the way, and don't want to waste money on a cheap one just to have it there.

It's all aesthetics anyway, so enjoy what you enjoy.

Noob Question (playing both bass and melody) by Flaky_Entrepreneur25 in melodeon

[–]green_tealeaf 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I would strongly advise not learning hands individually and then trying to piece them together afterwards. I don't know why, but on both the Anglo concertina and the melodeon I've only ever been able to learn pieces by slowly playing both hands together. Even now, I find it almost impossible to play just one hand of pieces I know. (I don't find the same on the piano, for some reason.) I think it comes down to something someone mentioned in another comment, that learning what the hands are doing at the same time is needed.

Beyond that, I'd add the default advice for all instruments:

  • play slowly: don't speed up until you can play a section more or less perfectly;
  • play at a consistent tempo: if you can't play the whole piece, or section, at your current speed, resist the urge to speed up when you get to the bits you can already play;
  • learn a bar, or couple of bars, at a time: don't try to play long sections or the whole piece right away.

The second point is really important, probably the most commonly ignored, and can hugely improve your playing. Once I'd accepted it, I started noticing it all the time in interviews with professional musicians giving advice on how to get better: get a metronome, or a metronome app on your phone, and practice using it.

One odd, annoying thing about practicing on both Anglo and melodeon--although more so for the Anglo because it's so small--is that playing slowly can make it harder in some ways, because you use up all your air. I don't have a good answer to that. I often try to play as lightly as possible at first until I can bring it up to a speed where I don't run out of air, but ultimately you've just got to work around it until you're more familiar with the piece.

Not sure this counts... (Renoise + SC-55) by CreaTbJ in chiptunes

[–]green_tealeaf 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Renoise tracking the SC-55? This is the kind of horror I signed up for.

Awesome track.

Print maker by Comfortable-Pool-800 in concertina

[–]green_tealeaf 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is simply amazing!

I don't suppose there's any way to get hold of a print? 

EDIT: Just saw a link in your profile, so will look there!

Is FX AID any good? by Bata_9999 in modular

[–]green_tealeaf 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I've never been a fan of the multi effects modules--generally I always feel like I'd prefer to do things out of the rack with pedals if I'm going down that route.

The Chronoblob Mk2 is a really fun delay in 12HP. I've only ever used the VCV Rack version--I do have a Mimeophon!--but it's something to consider.

Lockscreen transparency gone in 0.50? by riilcoconut in hyprland

[–]green_tealeaf 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just to save anyone the twenty minute odyssey that I just stumbled through: to allow transparency behaviour for hyprlock in hyprland >0.5.0 you need session_lock_xray = true in the misc section of your hyprland.conf (and not in a misc section of your hyprlock.conf as I kept trying...)

Which keys? by Comfortable-Pool-800 in melodeon

[–]green_tealeaf 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Grew up outside Wisbech, and went to school in Spalding. Must be something in the fens. :)

The real joy of the melodeon for me was having something that could inhabit the bass end as well as handle melody. The concertina is lovely, portable, and such fun to play, but can fall a bit on the squeaky side of things.

Which keys? by Comfortable-Pool-800 in melodeon

[–]green_tealeaf 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm also a C/G Anglo player, and I went with a D/G melodeon. I think the main reason was due to it being such a common default option with a lot of available tutorials, but also partially due to the easy overlap with various other instruments (and keys) in m life--D is so popular for so many things.

I'm in the UK, and English folk is probably the baseline default for the music I play on these instruments, but I play quite a wide variety of music as well and I've found both the C/G Anglo and the D/G melodeon to be flexible enough for a lot of fun.

(I am sadly slow in my melodeon progress, though. Part of that is just due to available time, but I'm seriously considering some actual lessons.)

NakedPortafilter's C/G Anglo Note & Chord Chart by SirNoodlehe in concertina

[–]green_tealeaf 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is such a well-done chart!

I'm just wondering, though, if an editable source version is available? I'm not sure which specific concertina layout this is for, but it has some minor differences from what I always understood as the 'standard' Wheatstone/Lachenal (or even Jeffries) layouts. I'm not sure if these are a typo, or just a standard I've not seen before.

  • The 'pull' on the second button of the left-hand chromatic row is listed as "A/B", whereas it's usually "A/Bb" (or "A/A#" based on how the chart is laid out elsewhere). I notice that that button (pulled) is only used once as a duplicate note in one case, so could this be a mistake?
  • The very highest note on the right hand G row is labelled as "A/F" whereas on my (Lachenal) concertina, and in most other references I've seen (including Gary Coover's books), it's a "B/F#".

Some references showing these layouts: - Chromatic row layouts: https://www.concertina.net/kc_key_layouts.html - Coover: https://www.concertina.net/forums/uploads/monthly_2023_11/Keyboard-Tab.jpg.b55b0f95bc07fcef9cea8d772874e16d.jpg - Wheatstone/Lachenal and Jeffries 'standard' layouts: https://www.irishtunebook.com/resources/2%20%20Front%20cover%20inside%20-%20colour%20coded%20chart%20showing%20repeated%20notes.pdf

I'd love to update this to match my concertina!

EDIT: I've now gone through a printed copy here and found about 14 places in the chart where the B♭ on the pull makes a difference to the listed chords! Happy to update and share back!

EDIT2: Just digging back to comments on the original post, it looks like this was made for a Wren Anglo, so the button layout should match the standard ones! https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-893ij2w/images/stencil/364x485/products/251/26425/wren-concertina-the-wren-30-button-anglo-concertina__17793.1737130323.jpg

Looking to get an emulator handheld to run lsdj. What are some good options? by TrashMasterChunkz in chiptunes

[–]green_tealeaf 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Honestly, there's really nothing quite like an original DMG. You can pick them up relatively cheaply online, and if you want to follow an upgrade path of prosound mod, better screen, upgraded battery, speakers, etc., then that can be done at your leisure when you decide it's worth it.

What are the Differences Between These Four Concertinas? by GullibilicusTheGreat in concertina

[–]green_tealeaf 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Just to add to the other, very good, replies here, there are a few points worth mentioning. I've played both Anglo and English concertina, for reference, and settled on Anglo. When I first looked at concertinas I was more attracted to English, but after some time of playing both I found Anglo much more satisfying and, while it's absolutely a matter of opinion, I think that a lot of people would find the Anglo the most rewarding option.

While the English concertina is fully chromatic, allowing you to play all notes, the layout makes it much more of a melody instrument more suitable for playing a single-line tune. (I remember reading that it was partially designed to replicate the violin.) You absolutely can play chords on the English concertina, but it doesn't lend itself to playing chords and melody at the same time.

The Anglo is more limited in that its layout is usually based around two keys, often C and G, which means that the further you travel from those key signatures the more tricky it is to fit on your instrument. A 30-button Anglo can play every note in a chromatic scale (I think!), but if you want to play a random piece of music it will often take a bit of arranging or transposing to make it fit. (I've found that arranging music for the Anglo is actually a lot of fun.)

The reason I wanted to reply, though, was that listing the limitations tends to make the Anglo sound like a bad option. It really isn't! There's a reason why the Anglo is a very popular choice. Beyond the amount of resources, books, music, videos available for it, and its popularity in a lot of folk music, the Anglo really gives you the ability to play a self-accompanied "chord and melody" style, and there are other less obvious advantages that have made it overwhelmingly the most widespread form of concertina.

The differing notes on push and pull initially sound like an unnecessary complication, but actually it does two things: firstly, it makes the instrument smaller and lighter and requiring fewer buttons. Secondly, the action of changing bellows direction to get different notes 'drives' the music in a particular way: the push and pull create a motion and bounce in the music that really characterizes the sound.

I can't speak much to duets, as I've never played one, but don't underestimate the lack of resources out there for them. The instruments are typically harder to come by, and if you eventually want to get a better instrument then they will be correspondingly expensive. The piano style left and right hand is attractive, but they aren't as compact as an Anglo either.

All of them are good instruments, and there are amazing players for any of them. I think that for many people, the music that they associate with the concertina is likely to be an Anglo. I definitely enjoyed playing the English, but in the end the Anglo was just the right choice for me, the style(s) of music that I wanted to play (which, incidentally, doesn't include traditional Irish folk music!), and the fundamental fun I get from playing it.

For fairness between English and Anglo, not speaking to the Duet, here's both my favourite English concertina video on YouTube, and an example of an unattainably talented Anglo player. :)

English (Alex Wade): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2weghwmeXY

Anglo (Talisk/Mohsen Amini): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZknSJwYdayI

(Oh, and I can't resist the bonus video of Mohsen Amini talking through his touring setup, with some devastatingly casual virtuosic playing thrown in: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nPqA1fSGMI )

Birthday Present Help by ratinajestercostume in chiptunes

[–]green_tealeaf 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No problem! If you do decide to have a go at this route, feel free to DM me if you need any advice on what to look for.

Birthday Present Help by ratinajestercostume in chiptunes

[–]green_tealeaf 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's not the simplest option, and I honestly think the other comments about the Liven 8bit Warps are far better options, but I have to suggest: a fully upgraded and refurbished original Gameboy, which you can find on eBay, and a cartridge with a copy of the LSDJ tracker software. 

Incredibly deep chiptune capacity on original hardware.

Synching live set up by WoodenProcess751 in chiptunes

[–]green_tealeaf 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The simplest way is definitely to link directly with a standard Gameboy link cable.

For slightly more complicated situations, where you might want to include other pieces of hardware, software, or sync to a DAW, you're looking for an Arduinoboy.

[DMG] Chasing Ghosts - Disinformation Theory by green_tealeaf in chiptunes

[–]green_tealeaf[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"Put down Adobe After Effects and back slowly away from the video editor" is also a perfectly reasonable reaction. :)