Added: 4 months ago
From: smalin
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  • I really wish I alive in his time that would be cool lol who agrees with me

  • Comment removed

  • my 2yr old son loves this!

  • Beethoven was a great architect!|

  • Definitely, this is one of my favourite of your animations. the MAM project is coming along very nicely I see. Keep up the good work, mr. Malin!

  • Beethoven V: Attack of the Rhombi

  • That chord at 2:57 makes me want to get up and punch my wall. So badass.

  • @Bromotemoc same with 4:14 :P

  • How could anyone not like it? It's so realistic and

    exsposing.

  • I would disagree with a previous comment. I absolutely love this particular animation! I can't stop watching it. Something about this one has me hooked from the beginning to end. I think that the triangles, and the way that they connect during longer notes makes the piece so fun.

  • I absolutely love this new animation style. It seemed odd to me at first, but watching it go by, i became lost (in a good way) in it, and the music. I love it!

  • I have to say @smalin , I really do love your videos. Except in this one i don't particularly enjoy the animations. Mainly because I find it harder to watch, where as in your early videos your more simple animations are very simple to follow, I do however like the Caterpillar animations, and other one's that make watching the music more comprehensible.

  • As pretty as this version is, I must say that it is not as easy to visualize the music... I have to admit that I preferred the other one. Slightly less loud and easier to decipher.

  • Sure, you have a lot on your plate as far as requests go, but can you tell us what you're working on? I read somewhere you said you'd try to complete the Beethoven symphonies, but any sort of list would be appreciated. I'm hooked! thanks, and keep up the good work

  • @rds769 Except for long-term projects and ambitions (such as a live-performance version of my software, Bach's Chaconne or all of Chopin's piano music), I make decisions about what to work on next without planning; at some point, it just hits me "I've got to do this piece" and I start working on it. That happened with the Mozart Requiem movement five days ago; three days later, it was complete. Right now, I don't know for sure what's next. Could be Franck or Vivaldi ... or not.

  • @smalin Do you do Tchaikovsky? If you do you should make one because his music is so amusing. !!!!!!!!!

  • It's like a stream of never-ending argyle sweaters... in a good way.

  • This video alone has made me appreciate classical music on an entirely different level. There is something incredible about seeing the music move and weave together

  • Looks super cool! Especially when all of the instruments are playing at once! It might just be me, but I think it looks a lot like Fantasia's animation with all of the pastel colors and sharp angles :)

  • Well... I enjoy clasical music as I write code, and beethoven is my favorite. Sometimes I daresay I "understand" him through his music. But this! I can't take my eyes off this and go back to coding! And when I do so with a superhuman-feat-of-will, some part of music comes up and I wonder how it looks like on the graph so I alt-tab back! Congratulations. You are awesome. As a programmer too. I hope I hear much more of you.

  • It got a whole new life indeed, but it's so messy...

    btw i liked it

  • I like this one WAY more than the other one you made for bowing , the up and down one.

  • I have never grasped the unity of this piece before... It seemed fragmented... but with the visualization, I think I've "Got It"... THANKS!

  • smalin, are you a god? Ha ha, I'm just joking. But, seriously, you are one of my favorite people on the internet.

  • -even better (graphics) than the first one, thanks

  • Dude this style is excellent.. It really shows the dynamics very clearly. Awesome.

  • Absolutely brilliant music.

  • I loved the selection of the colour and the smooth gentle transition from one to the other though

  • What all do you have up on YouTube with this style of animation?

  • @b43xoit With this exact style, only this (I just invented it a few weeks ago, and I've been working on other things since then).

  • @smalin I wish I could just favorite your channel. Your work is beautiful.

  • Is all the music you put up in public domain? please respond.

  • @MrJhstuff It's a different answer for each aspect of each video. The compositions are in the public domain if they were written before 1923 and almost never otherwise. Very few of the performances are in the public domain. And, of course, the graphics are not in the public domain. But the answer to the "all" question is no.

  • I must say you congratulations for the animations..is the most universal way to visualize music!

  • It's like looking at the coolest argyle sweater of ALL TIME.

  • Basically, I favor this over the old bar-graph notation, it's more trippy ;-)

    But the goal is still to make music more understandable, right? I see to (smaller) problems here:

    1. The time warp works best with rubato-heavy pieces like your Debussy Arabesque. There the notes are "drawn" to each other. Here however it creates a kind of "pseudo-rubato".

    2. The rhombes for the small notes, together with the time-warp create a "squareness" of the notes. I think, there are smoother in reality ;-)

  • @flippert0 I agree with both your criticisms. The time warp makes the "now" moment prominent, a good thing (matches perception), but it makes the true rhythm less visible. Adding the barlines helps (since they provide a reference) but it doesn't completely solve the problem. In this piece, there are tempo distortions (at the pauses), and it would be good to see those clearly. I am trying to find ways to show the smoothness of melodic motion; see my latest experiments (w/Bach cello suite).

  • @smalin hey, I need some advice for piano playing, I just got done with moonlight sonata (1 movement) a few weeks ago and now I am woking on für Elise, what song should I do next that is between those levels??? (It can be any composer)

  • Is that a mistake at 4:30? I hear it in both this and the original graphical score, but it might just be the same recording.

  • @cxeazn What does the mistake sound like? Are you just hearing the timpani?

  • @smalin In the second last chord of the phrase (from 4:30 to 4:31), it sounds like a note is misbowed because I hear a note followed by another note that's a tone lower and then it sounds like it's stopped. Sorry my music terminology sucks...

  • @cxeazn The only thing I can hear is that somebody moves to the chord at 4:32 a little bit early.

  • @smalin thank you for uploading these great videos with the great music,you make my day,you are my youtube hero..keep up the good work..i see from your comments that you are an intellectual person..may God bless you

  • 4:14 - 4:20 best part of the song

  • your videos are very cool

  • Every time I watch one of your videos I wonder if great composers see some kind of visual representation in their minds analogous to this, or even if they see sheet music in much this way...

    In any case I love your visualizations; they enrich my experience of music immensely.

  • omg... this is so wonderful...!

  • no one can do it like you do steve... an excellent rendition...!!

    keep up your perfect work hunny...!!

  • Whoa..... loved this, but right now, immediately after watching this, my vision is swimming in an odd way b/c of the movement of the animation XD

  • @smalin For me, this video could pass in Disney's Fantasia. Always a pleasure to watch your videos. I've waited a bit too long to see your new video, though. What took you so long?

  • @JeOfFShAdOwSeEkEr07 For several months, I was side-tracked by working on Björk's Biophilia project.

  • @JeOfFShAdOwSeEkEr07 I was thinking the same thing! Watching these things always makes me thing of the original Fantasia movie.

  • do you have this program available for download for Mac? Or is there only a Windows download?

  • @ConfuciousCarter Only the Windows version (which doesn't do anything like what's in this video).

  • please revert to your old style, it's a heck of a lot more manageable and legible.

    this new style is non-linear and hard to "read".

  • I like the idea of visualizing music, but I think you're giving a very linear view of how it is. As the audience, we shouldn't been seeing the notes up ahead, that's more of the musician's role. Is there any way you could program a version where it's as if we are riding the notes? I mean, where the x axis here is instead coming out of the screen instead of horizontally? That way, we'd be watching the notes currently playing, possibly their dynamics influenced by the size..?

  • @asdfuogh Sounds like you're interested in a very different thing than I am. I am a musician, and as a musician, I like seeing what's coming. I like following music with a score. My animations are my attempt to share that experience with people who can't read music. I don't think it's as interesting when you can't see what's coming. You can cover up the right side of the animation if you want to see what that would be like. (This animation shows dynamics with size, btw.)

  • At 00:51 the timpani or something else in the low register repeats the di di di dah theme. Before seeing this animation, I probably never heard that component. I am in my late 50's, have not studied music, loved this piece from childhood, but probably up to now never learned to listen carefully enough to get some of the subtle contributions of the notes to the sense of the overall work. Your animation helps cure me of that cultural poverty. This is your best result to date; thank you.

  • I do like this best of the animation techniques you have shown so far. The dynamics are a big part of the music and I think it's cool that you can show them in the animation. So in all you show volume, pitch, duration, and a hint about the distinct timbres; an impressive 3 1/2 dimensions presented visually.

  • @b43xoit Sounds like you've been reading Tufte.

  • @smalin , no, [consults Wikipedia] but no doubt Tufte's influences have filtered in my general direction. Have you seen the famous chart of the attrition of Napoleon's army?

  • @b43xoit Yes.

  • Having the note's envelope in place of the diamond would be interesting, where the height would reflect the volume as it evolves over time.

    Other idea: make the big notes a little more transparent so the short notes will always show up well.

  • @b43xoit In my most recent video (of a Bach violoncello suite movement), I show the instantaneous dynamics. In this one, all the notes become more transparent with time, so that you eventually see what's under them. Also, notes that just started come to the fore, so a note that is sounding is not obscured.

  • @smalin In your reply to me, are you talking about /watch?v=Dsf8kV63ivg? It looks as though you believe, as a matter of the psychology of listening to music, that the listener's thought travels up or down the scale linearly over time from a given note to the following note in the line of musical narrative that note belongs to. This view shows in the present animation, the one you use for the 'cello piece, and your bubble-and-line diagrams. I want to see the diminishing note at its pitch.

  • @smalin , I take back my implication that the present animation participates fully in the pattern of showing a line from a given note to its following note. You do here show the association between such notes, but you do it sufficiently subtly that it does not take away from the visual confirmation that the note is being held at its original pitch rather than being bent.

    I see the fading you refer to, but I would make it faint from the start, based on the overall size of the envelope.

  • @smalin Why not use some good licensed stuff? CC-by, or even share-alike should be ok as you only add image to audio and keep the audio as is. They may not be as mainstream, but there certainly are modern-ish musicians out there providing liberative licensed music.

  • @Kissaki0 If they come to me, I will consider them.

  • i would love you to try this animation software with some modern music, i'm not saying it is better than this but i would be interested in what it does with some dub step :D

  • @liborhaus I've done some modern music, but not as much as I'd like. The problem is that since I'm a YouTube partner, I need to have legal permission to use the recordings in videos I post here. If you know contemporary musicians and can get them interested (and get the things I need to make the animation: permission, audio, MIDI for the music), that'd be great.

  • I AM like WATCHING A CONCERT!!

    got emotional there for a while!! thank you SMalin for this!

  • After watching that, the comments seem to be drifting to the right XD

    I'm a little saddened about your choice of recording, though. This one doesn't bring out the horn part at 6:49, which is really important.

  • @StewieSwan Let me guess: are you a horn player?

  • @smalin No.

  • @StewieSwan I'm surprised, then, that you think the horn part there is critical. It seems relatively insignificant to me: just another doubling of the chord sequence the winds are playing. At 6:52, the horns enter alone (or, rather, with only the timpani); that seems more important --- though still not significant enough to be a reason to not like this recording.

  • @smalin Well I'm not the only one who feels this way.  Check out the recording posted by castout888.

  • the room is moving S_S

    and beethoven was a genius

  • very interesting.Its very helpful to see the score animated like this.

  • This is like the most beautiful argyle sweater known to man.

  • Love this animation!

  • I must be too much a purist...This and the Caterpillar are okay, but I like the bars better...

  • I want my classical back. :(

  • Digitalized Beethoven's 5th Symphony! LOL

  • WOW! This is the best format I have ever seen out of all of your other videos! The texture, colors, and animation perfectly match the piece.

  • Heh is Beethoven's 5th a guinea pig for all your new animations styles? I like this one...

  • @Xenocide31337 Yeah, kinda.

  • it got hypnotizing after a few mins...

  • The string and circles one is my favorite but these make nice shapes on the loud parts, great job!

  • I like this far better than the "bar graph" version. Consider altering the appearance of the leading edges of the diamonds to more represent the percussion effect of sudden loud passages.

    Chas

  • OOooOOooh Stephen, I'm loving the graphics!

  • I personally prefer the barline style, the advantages of this style is that you can see the dynamics and volume, but the bar-like visual is still cleaner and smoother, you can see what's happening more clearly, and it's more enjoyable to watch.

  • OH DEAR LORD PLEASE PUT THIS IS THE RELEASE OF MAMplayer SO WE UNDERLINGS MAY BASK IN THIS GLORY :3

  • another hit!

  • I wonder what it would look like if different instruments had different animation styles.

  • @bachaddict I've done some like that, and I'll probably do more in the future.

  • @smalin Specifically shapes that suggest the sound of the instrument in question, like lines for Strings or circles for Brass. It would make it that bit more immersive.

  • I like how the volume controls the vertical width of the shapes :) Almost adds another dimension.

  • Amazing song with amazing animations!

  • Please hold as i have a seizure watching this.

  • Definitely the best animation, love the way intensity is represented, it looks like it could almost be "touched". Awesome.

  • this is great. I personally liked the bars and circles better, but this is great. great music, and animation thingy. Kudos all around.

  • I've always wondered this: what does musanim and smalin mean? I'm guessing it's a name but I'm not sure...

  • @alexisrussian musanim is short for Music Animation Machine, and smalin is short for Stephen Malinowski.

  • Just discovered these. This music gets me pumped up, and the visuals are amazing.

  • I'm also another vote for the lines as opposed to the diamonds. Yes, the diamonds are pretty, but a little disturbing. The simplicity of the bar graph enhances the enjoyment of the music by allowing the listener to "hear" the subtleties in the music.

  • Nice to see some uploads again Smalin!

  • Woah... diamonds are trippy.

    A little distracting actually, lol.  I always loved those simple lines.

  • fabulous!

  • Amazing!

  • LOVED IT. Every Part. Thank you!

  • nice work, but i really prefer the old visuals

  • @cohrzor me too, could you do it in the earlier styles? i'm just a fan :D

  • I prefer the old visuals. Granted, I used to use FL Studio a lot, so that probably has a lot to do with it.

  • great job, really appreciate it.

  • This is simply awesome

  • very amazing!!

  • I never cease to be amazed at the creative ingenuity that allows us to "see" such magnificent music through the mind and genius of Smalin.....I cannot wait until Smalin and we who appreciate his fantastic endeavors have holographic capabilities in our own homes.  Can you imagine the beauty dancing around us? My oh My! The future treats that await us all!

  • Man I am really diggin' that new visualization. Wonderful!

  • You helped with Bjorks new album?!?! What did you do?

  • @ColtonBrook  I didn't have anything to do with the album, but with the iPad/iPhone app: I did an animation for each song. She also uses these in her shows.

  • @smalin Ah :) I went back and looked. Congrats! Glad to support you, and glad you are doing well!

  • I love the new animation style. (I was actually skeptical about the diamonds when I saw the thumbnail, but they grew on me.) And, glad to see you're back!

  • Very nice, though some "wierd" orchestration could ruin it (i.e. instead of all instruments moving a similar interval between 2 chords, say, a major second, a few actually move sixths, or something else). It would be rather chaotic.

  • Chopin done like this would be perfect!

    thanks smalin

  • Why couldn't Fantasia do something this awesome?

  • @DonnieTheKing Walt Disney hired Oskar Fischinger (whose animations are an inspiration for me) to work on Fantasia, but then insisted that Fischinger simplify his animations. Fischinger quit in disgust, telling Disney that he could use the "Disnified" results in his film, but not to put his (Fischinger's) name on it. We can only imagine what the result would have been if Fischinger had been given free rein.

  • @smalin didnt know that about fantasia. good work by the way; a little red nudge or something in the middle, where the play is, might be helpful. thx for the post

  • @smalin Interesting. I did not know that. Is it a similar story for Fantasia 2000, in which this piece appears?

  • @DonnieTheKing  I don't know. (But Fischinger died a long time ago.)

  • Beautiful !

  • I am loving the new style. Well done!

  • love the smoke effect and how it's organized by bars (That was my conclusion)

  • Nice to see that you haven't quit after eight months without a new video. In any case, shape-wise I would prefer bars over diamonds, but I like the way this new style looks, most specifically the transparency, the "smearing" of each note, and the measure bars. I'll be waiting for a public release!

  • @ZucchiniSky (For some of that eight months, I was working on my part of Björk's Biophilia; check it out!)

  • Your videos actually got me into liking classical

  • I love these, thank you so much @smalin for your work.

  • I mean the part at 4:13 !

  • have heard it 6 times now. I like the star wars part lol!

  • @smalin

    I like the new technique, but it seems to be a little obstructive when there are a lot of instruments playing at the same time. This would be much better suited, i think, to pieces where there are fewer voices. The bubbles seem a little better for pieces with more voices.

  • @Cellomaster1234 I have mixed feelings about that. When there are a lot of instruments playing at the same time, the sound is more cluttered, and the graphics reflect that. For example, at a place like 1:14, where there are loud held notes at the same time as fast-moving notes, you see the fast-moving notes poking through, but the intensity of the held notes is very strong. Maybe I'll figure out a way to have both clutter and clarity.

  • Smalin is back!

  • i like the measure lines

  • "I've recently been rewriting my music animation software"

    Awesome! I'm holding my breath for the pro version :D

  • I hope you are able make money from your talent.

  • @marilyncrosbie I'm rewarded for what I'm doing in many ways; money is a part of that, but it's not the reason I'm doing it.

  • HE LIVES!! THE RETURN OF SMALIN!

  • @smalin It's good that you get some remuneration. I know what you are saying, but there are times when artists with a lot of talent are not rewarded financially and they hardly have enough to live on.

  • me gusta

  • i like the circles the best

  • Plan is a fearsome word as plans do so often escape our nets. Your work is pure delight. You have several pieces that I "play" on my iPad (PianoMan) and seeing music helps be hear it better. Thank you for adding breadth to the deep and wide.

  • yeahy! 720p! Please make 1080p in the future :)

  • increíble, el sueño de alguien inmortalizado para siempre...

  • I enjoy every one of your videos! Thank you for bringing out an appreciation of classics in me!

  • Amazing! I didn't notice the height differences until I looked at the description though. I'm expecting more amazing stuff from you, smalin. :D

  • Now I know who to hire to do the graphic design for my 80's Power-Wedding-And-Disco-Concer­t.

    All kidding aside, though, that was trippy awesome.

  • Wonderful!

  • Danke from Germany

  • Everytime I see master pieces as these I share them on facebook in the hope someone will click like and say: Oh man this is so nice, now this is music.

    Anyway: THANK YOU SMALIN!

  • I wonder how an autistic person sees these videos...

  • Cool!

  • I like the new style of animation.

  • Wow this is really cool

  • @guyboy625 Well actually I'm already have bootcamp windows. But because Mac app store is really good, and I can assure you this kind of app will sell more on Mac app store rather that just create a website of his own or smt else.

  • hmm i noticed the description refers to smoothly shaded triangles but i dont see them in the video

  • @piggemz well, rhombuses are composed by two triangles, that's maybe what he meant

  • @kunstderfugue indeed

  • @piggemz If you look closely at the stuff the moves between the note rhombi, you'll see that it's shaded (that is, the color varies between nothing and something); those things are made up of eight triangles.

  • I hope you develop this as a software on Mac. Post it on Mac app store.

    ????

    Profit.

  • @Doraeminemon01 he already offers it free (albeit a less actualized version) but i would like it as well if he put it for sale once it is finished

  • @Doraeminemon01 why not use wine?