Sinewaves are soundwaves

Music Through the Eyes of a Software Engineer

Sun, 05 Aug 2012 22:53:25 +0800

I am a Software Engineer by profession. I love both music and programming. One thing I realized about being a programmer who is also in a band is that both worlds seem to have a lot of things in common.

Parametrization - is the process of deciding and defining the parameters necessary for a complete or relevant specification

The ideas and/or energy you feed your bandmates will ultimately affect the outcome of a song or a jam. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve played wherein I was so down or unfocused but when my bandmates started to jam, I forget my problems and focus my energy on playing/performing.

Collaboration - developing software requires people getting together, brainstorming and designing the best way to achieve a solution or a specification

Music is not about the “me” principle. It’s more of the “we” principle. Though some talented folks standout, being in a band requires people to give and take constantly. Realizing another person’s strengths and weaknesses will help in forming a sound and will also dictate how a song will go about. Everyone has something to offer in a song. I’ve played in different situations wherein trying to make others play better made me play better. Believe in the people you play with and everything will turn out good.

Abstraction - formed by reducing the information content of a concept or an observable phenomenon, typically to retain only information which is relevant for a particular purpose.

Music is an art. In the end, it’s not about HOW YOU PLAYED IT… BUT HOW YOU EXPRESSED IT. A lot of musicians today are stuck in an “olympics” mindset of technique and complex ideas. They may be able to play you a face melting lick that will make your girlfriend wish you had those fingers but can they write a song? Most people who will listen to your music do not know what a 13/7 Myxolidian lick played with strict alternate picking is. You can’t explain to an audience how complex or advanced the technique you used is. And if you’re saying “Well, I’m doing this for myself. I don’t care about what people think about me.” then why play publicly then? People like to be taken on a journey when listening to music. How you achieve that is all up to you. Ultimately, the song should come first. The idea/emotion of the song should be expressed.

Software development life cycle- is a process of creating or altering information systems, and the models and methodologies that people use to develop these systems.

Bands are different from one another. How one band operates may not necessarily be applicable to another. This also applies to how people make songs. Every “way of doing things” has it’s pros and cons. In music.. the old adage of “If it works, don’t fix it.” applies. I’ve played with different people and the one thing I learned with playing with them is that there is no “one way” of doing things. Some people like to start with a beat. Some like to start with lyrics. Some start of with a riff. Some jam for hours until they stumble upon somthing. Some come in with a whole song already mapped out. All of these are okay if it will lead to writing a great song.

Syntax - is the set of rules that define the combinations of symbols that are considered to be correctly structured programs in that language.

There are a lot of ways to make a song. Just like there are different languages in programming to make a system. The goal is to express the idea. How you express it, the tools you use, the techniques you use are all part of a bigger picture… which is the song.

Learning by doing - programming concepts are better understood when applied because you can see the results and compare these concept from one another.

Learning is key in music. YOU CAN”T STOP LEARNING. Putting yourself in different situations will lead you to explore different ideas and will result in different outputs. People will get stuck in a rut once in a while but listening to different songs or learning a new technique can kickstart you in getting out of that rut.

I can go on and on about the similarities of software development and music but will stop here because a longer list might bore you. I hope this made sense to some of you. I love both music and programming… and I am happy that I am still doing both.

Y’all be good today!

Sun, 17 Jun 2012 08:15:18 +0800

Y’all be good today!

Salamat sa lahat Karl Roy.

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 06:44:00 +0800

jhnmyr: Rosie Rosewood strat.

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 08:47:35 +0800

jhnmyr:

Rosie

Rosewood strat.

bubiskumcantor: Awesome!

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 07:58:42 +0800

bubiskumcantor:

Awesome!

Just some guitars with pretty wood grain.

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 18:56:53 +0800

Just some guitars with pretty wood grain.

Hello Tumblr. It's been a while.

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 18:54:21 +0800

My weapons.

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 10:43:02 +0800

My weapons.

I personally don't believe in religion. But I don't rebuke those who do. I even respect people who are faithful to their God/belief. I do have qualms about people who do stuff that they don't understand though. Saying you believe in God yet doing stuff that show otherwise is just plain stupid. Absurd even.

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 10:12:32 +0800

No. I am you father.

Sun, 20 Nov 2011 22:46:10 +0800

No. I am you father.

Photo

Sun, 20 Nov 2011 19:57:38 +0800

fayegala: Day 26 - A Picture of Something that Means a Lot to...

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 07:51:00 +0800

fayegala:

Day 26 - A Picture of Something that Means a Lot to You

My chosen family. My brothers and sisters from a different mothah.

the-absolute-funniest-posts: Follow this blog, you will love it...

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 18:48:46 +0800

the-absolute-funniest-posts:

Follow this blog, you will love it on your dashboard

When you smile at cameras

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 18:28:35 +0800

When you smile at cameras:

the-absolute-best-posts:

Expectation…

Sad Reality…

Submitted by novemberjewel

Click to follow this blog, you will be so glad you did!

EH BENTA SAKIN SOLID! TAWA AKO NG TAWA SA SECOND PIC! WHHEHEHEHEHEHE!

vicioustheboat: “The Garden That You Planted” by Vicious The...

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 18:18:32 +0800

vicioustheboat:

“The Garden That You Planted” by Vicious The Boat (Originally by Sea Wolf)

Hello! Here’s a cover of a really lovely song by Sea Wolf. Hope you like!

Chill.

planetickets: Spaces is officially up today! The first entry is...

Sun, 16 Oct 2011 16:17:02 +0800

planetickets:

Spaces is officially up today! The first entry is from musician Thomas Meluch who you may also know as Benoît Pioulard. He shares a triptych of Polaroid pictures and a few words about his space.

Photo

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 07:44:59 +0800

ccabs: tiefighters: Luke Via: gamefreaksnz If this was on a...

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 23:43:01 +0800

ccabs:

tiefighters:

Luke

Via: gamefreaksnz

If this was on a shirt, I’d buy that shirt right nao. \m/

Darth-murai

Sun, 18 Sep 2011 19:28:27 +0800

Darth-murai

May 8th 1945,marks VE Day(Victory in Europe Day)& if it...

Fri, 16 Sep 2011 07:43:05 +0800

May 8th 1945,marks VE Day(Victory in Europe Day)& if it wasnt for the man in the back row we wouldnt be here today