Friday, March 20, 2009

Music Tools

More tools for music...
Making Music Blog
Musician's Friend - great low-cost gear
American Musical Supply - more great low-cost gear
Denemo - Open Source Sheet Music Editor
Audacity - Open Source Multi-track Sound Recording and Editing

Sounds of Silence

As the school term ends, I'm starting to think about summer evenings writing and recording music. Apartment living has its drawbacks, and a major one is that inspiration can't over-ride the rights of others to sleep in peace, and the "daily buzz" of life tends to get picked up on microphones.

As I was surfing around for new ideas on building a small "voice box" to sound-insulate the microphone from the rest of the apartment, I stumbled on some other great resources relating to soundproofing.

Here is some links to consider if you are building your own audio recording studio in a home, basement, or garage.


Construction Tips and Materials for Floors and Walls
Soundproofing Supplies - Residential and Commercial
Tips and Materials for Soundproofing an Apartment
Soundproofing Basic Theory
Portable Sound Control Booth - Homemade
Double Studwall Technique
Practical Sound Proofing including Windows and Ceilings

Friday, March 06, 2009

Access to MySQL Conversion

I'm doing some web design experimentation with Joomla, Drupal, and Moodle. As I am exploring these open-source applications, I also have an interest in converting some Microsoft Access databases into MySQL.

The big application would be a simplified, self-service helpdesk system which would allow users to pick a major category, sub-category, and task for which they need tips / advice. I think this is easier to build and populate in Access and the "push" into a MySQL database. (Or at least those are my thoughts for the moment - unless other can recommend some really easy GUI-based MySQL interfaces which allow CSV imports.)

Here are some articles I've come across relating to converting Microsoft Access to MySQL.
MySql: Migrating from Microsoft SQL Server
Bullzip.com tool Access To MySQL
Drupal Taxonomy Quick Find module
Joomla FAQ Extensions
Joomla MultiSites Extensions (helpdesk as separate site from main)