Battlestar Galactica Cylon theme on Eigenharp Alpha

[mbu00]

unbe-frakkin-lievable

[esolonet]

by your command

[tsns1]

From Moody Blues to EigenHarp's

[MrCroky123]

Wonderful ! I think you did just great. First time I've seen this instrument as well and I think it's amazing !

Keep up the good work.

[vladimer1st]

i have no prior music experience, and after seeing this i want to learn how to play this instrument. is it difficult to learn and eventually master as you did?

just bought the alpha, so now looking for music teacher who knows this instrument (good luck, sigh...). how did you learn?

[gbevin]

@vladimer1st congrats on your purchase. The Eigenharp is really new and there are not teachers available yet. There's a very active user community though. The Eigenlabs forums on are very helpful and we also meet once a week in a virtual clubhouse using Google+ hangouts (video conferencing).

The Eigenharp is significantly easier to learn than any other instruments I tried because it's a very smooth learning curve. You can start by playing in one particular scale without wrong notes ...

[gbevin]

@vladimer1st ... and then move on to more complex keyboard layouts. You can also start by just playing melodies or chords and then gradually learn other things.

[gbevin]

@vladimer1st I learned by just starting to figuring out where normal chord shapes are located and by just improvising in major and minor musical scales. Practicing daily gives you results quickly and then you just take it step by step. It's a musical instrument though, so don't expect it to be able to play it without efforts. However, compared to other instruments I found it much more rewarding during the process.

[solarnitemovie]

Wow.

This is great.

I wonder, is this instrument capable of making orchestral sounding versions of other themes, ie Fringe?

[gbevin]

@solarnitemovie totally, this is a real instrument, but with virtually no limits in the sounds you can make or how you play them

[Tean94]

Any chance you'll re-record this, without the cracking at the end??? It's a great remix!!!

[jverz]

Outstanding. And you play the Haken continuum as well? Incredible.

[duochrome818]

Whoa, never seen an instrument like that.

[3lectricMonk]

If you have that instrument why do you need all the others

[Sproato]

this is one of the soundest videos i've ever seen

[AesculapiusPiranha]

I know more or less nothing about Battlestar Galactica, but it's definitely a cool tune.

[Freecell82]

@AesculapiusPiranha

BSG has *amazing* music. Go find some more. Just about all of it is great, and there's several different genres within the soundtrack. Black Market is probably my favourite.

[Yapludenom]

Wow! Is it possible to download your song?

[gbevin]

@Yapludenom thanks for your comment, you can find the song to download on SoundCloud, read the description of the video

[dmilojevic80]

Unearthly!!!

[gvanessza]

Is this real? Frakking amazing.

[LovableVarmint]

Very impressive. Never seen an Eigenharp Alpha before but wow

[thezekefreak]

I really like the arrangement but this instrument terrifies/mystifies me.

[dracheneventide]

This is fantastic! I'd never heard of an Eigenharp Alpha before seeing/watching this. The whole thing sounded great!

[felipescalador]

this instrument looks very promising. I can imagine just down with my 4 fingers any scale and just focusing on the sound and not on the position of the scale along the fretboard!! amazing! The only thing missing is something like this but for chords!! like the harmonic table where the same position works for all same type chords..

[gbevin]

@felipescalador hi, yes indeed it's very refreshing to just be able to play and let go without thinking about the theory! It's totally possible to add something like this for chords. This week we open-sourced the software behind the Eigenharp and maybe someone will add this by simply writing a module we call an agent. It can take the root note input as well as the current scale and then determine the chords based on that. :-)

[Porly62]

This is unbelievably good...not just the rendition itself, but the actual arrangement.

[moonshad0w]

Fact: This was favorited by Bear McCreary favorited this on his own channel. Nice work.

[moonshad0w]

@moonshad0w Holy typo, Batman. Bear McCreary favorited this on his own channel. That's what I was trying to spit out.

[gbevin]

@moonshad0w thanks for the heads-up, very cool of Bear to do that! :-)

[Fangfur]

Impressive, how about a rendition of war of the worlds? :)

[gbevin]

@Fangfur thanks, not a bad idea, I love the score of 'War of the Worlds', one of my favorite musical pieces

[ivlogintheshower]

Every time I see these I think of the Mos Eisley Cantina song from Star Wars... lmao the instrument looks just like it. I also imagine that song would sound amazing on an Eigenharp.

[Xarcles]

Loving it! This motivates me to working some overtime, i want that toy!

[ToddtheJewApproves]

wow, I think I like this arrangement more than the original! obviously, Bear McCreary's version fit perfectly with the show, but as a stand alone piece, I think your rendition is much cooler. theres less time spent on the build up, and more time spent on the main melody/development. Great work

[gbevin]

@ToddtheJewApproves wow, thanks a lot for the very nice comment! :-)

[UnseenOnAndOn]

Hey this is a fantastic demo of the Eigenharp. Wondering if you could comment on the expressivity of this instrument vs. the Haken Continuum. I know in a perfect world one would buy both, but if you had to choose?

[gbevin]

@UnseenOnAndOn I actually have a Continuum also, I never use it. It's not that I don't like it, but the Eigenharp makes me feel much more in touch with the instrument itself. Its keys are amazing, giving you that connection to every note that you normally only have with real instruments like a guitar. I keep planning on getting back to using the Continuum, but I never do.

[Tams80]

@gbevin Having an instrument that is easy to get used too is one of the most important things. Not that an instrument is bad if you have to try a bit to get it's 'feel'.

[kumquatsta]

incredible

[czinaf]

awesome...

[gearblues]

This is really amazing! You are a master!

I'd beg you for a "non drops" version, please!

Just when the song hits the top... :(

Amazing work, congrats!!!

[elpagna]

Sounds awesome :P

[lonesailor21va]

These things are awesome, and your playing is top notch!! I hope they add PC drivers for the Alpha as they have done with the Pico, I might have to get one when they do. Your cover of this song is phenomenal, two giant thumbs up!

[bernardopina]

Really, really, really incredible. Genious!

[magog360]

1 person doesn't like looking at the future

[afrix]

eKkkk, the menacing eyes at the end :o

[PeturHinrik]

Ever since I stumbled upon this, I've been listening to this like 2-4 times a day! So bloody brilliant.

[nutelina]

Incredible, I was looking for how the cello sounds though

[gbevin]

@nutelina there are a few bits of cello in there

[mpe0]

Bo! that was awesome man :)

[Huliganenswe]

Awsome =) i love this instrument

[Huliganenswe]

Awsome =) i love this instrument

[Soulintentdnb]

the future is here! very well played. I'm buying one from Jigsaw Systems, calling it a early xmas present (the Pico not the big beast in the vid)

[KRISisLOST]

That's an interesting instrument ;o

Nicely done

[TigerEnos]

One man band cool!

[WillP999]

That thing is awesome!

[randommusicband]

I just wanna say, this is awesome. But it's not the cylon theme, it's All along the watchtower.

[carvingCode]

Every time I listen to this I think it's more amazing than before. Nice!

[gbevin]

@carvingCode thanks! :-)

[hammer1234509876]

I have a question.... Do you HAVE to have a mac-book "in front" of you when your playing one of these, or can you just play it through an amp?

[gbevin]

@hammer1234509876 you always have to go through a computer, you can however use a Mac mini for instance without screen and plug that into an amp. The Eigenharp allows you to continue to upgrade its 'brain' over time. Most other digital instruments have one built in that you're stuck with.

[hammer1234509876]

@gbevin Thanks for your reply :D

[Pommes1983]

Great! I am really feeling like switched on now..

[rmherbert1957]

this video is like crack. i play it everyday.

[Synthacus]

It was nothing. Just looking for an ease of improvisation.

If it is not your forte than do not risk shaming the instrument.

I thought it was true genius to let Battlestar Galactica meet the Eigenharp.

[Synthacus]

Thanks for this, it is great to see you progressing on this.

Please video some more.

It would be cool to have a 10min brainstorming session video.

Just pick a new scale and see how rapidly you get something going.

[gbevin]

@Synthacus thanks for your continued attention to my videos ... I will definitely post some more. I'm not much of an improvisation guy, really more of a songwriter/arranger that slugs through parts and ideas over the timespan of days, weeks or months. I don't think you'll get much out of me noodling around for 10 minutes :-)

What are you interested in, in particular?

[rambadibow]

so wait, what is the mouthpiece for?

[gbevin]

@rambadibow in this case I'm using it during the last part to bow the cello with my breath instead of using the strip controller, this because I'm using my other hand to play the guitar solo. You can use the breath controller for various purposes, it's fully configurable.

[StegoOnVenus]

its rare for a cover to outdo the real thing

its even rarer for a single instrument to outdo an entire orchestra.

but

it seems you have done it

best

cover

ever

[rmherbert1957]

vangelis/bladerunner? tubular bells? anything from kraftwerk.

[StegoOnVenus]

i have an alpha

but the alpha is what you truly need

absolutely top work

one of the best covers ive seen

who needs an orchestra when you have an alpha!?

[odddrakon]

FRAKKIN' AMAZING!!!!

I am a HUGE fan of BSG and have always been captivated by this particular piece of music from the series but you just took it to a whole new level for me, THANK YOU! What I just heard is beyond anything that I expected when I clicked play, I got goosebumps at 46 secs and never lost them til the end. LOL!!

[gbevin]

@odddrakon Thanks for leaving this very encouraging comment, I'm glad you like it!

[quicsilver]

This is brilliant work. BSG has the best soundtrack out there even better than star wars in my opinion. You should also do a follow up on the All Along the Watchtower song from the series. It would be interesting to see it played on this instrument.

[gbevin]

@quicsilver Thanks! I've been thinking on doing that indeed, loving the BSG soundtrack also ... stay tuned! :-)

[korsakovsky]

never saw such an instrument before......but i'd like it =D

[kaneda7katsuragi]

This is a great Video! It's by far the best demonstration vid of the Eigenharp's abilities. (and I'm a BSG fan)

gKevin, do you know if this could be attempted on the Tau with similar results? or would the limited amount of buttons stop it from being done?

Thanks for the great vids (and the tutorials)

Kaneda

[gbevin]

@kaneda7katsuragi Thanks! Yeah, you should be able to get the same results with the Tau. The only section of what I'm playing that's not really possible is when I use both strip controllers on the Alpha, the Tau only has one.

The number of keys are enough.

[Kryptexx]

Please give covering Another way to die by Jack White and Alicia Keys a try.

I know i would if I could, I think it's perfect for the instrument.

[PortlandCityPlayas]

Dang The Alpha Has Way More Options Over The Tau!!!!

[TheGreyfoo]

Your skill and technique is simply superb, it'll be interesting to see where you take this emergent capability next!

[Mrsynthguy]

You need to pull the metal guitar face, not the synth face, it works better for vids.

[RMBurnett]

Now this is some powerful shit right here. Way to rock that Eigenharp. How'd you get so virtuoso on an instrument which has only existed for a year.? Could be the coolest instrument in the entire history of music, btw...

[gbevin]

@RMBurnett thanks a lot for the compliments! The secret is daily practice of course ;-)

However, I've been playing the guitar for 23 years, so the dexterity in my fingers is already there. I agree, the Eigenharp is the coolest instrument I've come across, it's strangely also the one I'm feeling the most intimately connected with now.

[iamthewaffler]

Absolutely gorgeous. "Kara Remembers" is one of my favorite songs in the entirety of the soundtrack, and you did both an epic and musically very interesting improvisation...bravo times one hundred!

[gbevin]

@iamthewaffler thanks, this theme is indeed the melody that has struck me the most during the series, it's incredibly beautiful in its simplicity!

[tedero]

Absolutely amazing! I've never heard of such an instrument! Seeing as my first exposure is your face melting rendition of the BSG Cylon theme, I'm afraid all future listens will pale in comparison!

[gbevin]

@tedero I've heard some other people play that are getting pretty good, I think that in a few months there's be a nice collection of YouTube videos appearing :-)

[crazyforfood]

frakking cool sir

[xeylace]

wow nice sounds ;)

[Lancaster71]

Awesome cover, I really like the way you did the build up.

[ShiryuGL]

Stunningly brilliant, congratulations. Bear McCreary should be proud. =)

[katebornstein]

OK, that is a frakking brilliant re-imagining of the soundtrack. Thank you. ❤ K

[gbevin]

@katebornstein Thanks for the kind comments, glad you like it!

[eugenbo]

the beginning is kinda lame, but i like the end very much, despite the fact that your macbook starts melting ^^

[gbevin]

@eugenbo thanks I guess :-) The beginning being lame is kind of on purpose, the original song has Kara Thrace being hesitant, trying to remember how to play the song in the beginning, this is what I'm trying to convey also.