The Latest Thinks . . .

There are vast fortunes to be made in the world of iPhone apps if you've got that certain multi-touch mojo. Programming the iPhone might turn out to be the easiest part, because the work sure doesn't end there! Competition is fierce, and it's getting harder by the minute to stand out in a world where 100,000 apps (and growing) vie for the attention of 50 million users on the go. It's been three cold weeks since ChordCalc made its debut on the iTunes App Store, and as I anxiously wait to see what happens next, I thought I'd take some time and recount the trials and tribulations of a sleepless developer who's beginning to wonder if all the blood, sweat, and tears is really worth it.

The premiere version of ChordCalc features old crufty notation making this a creaky beta release. User feedback helps us to refine chord notation to a level of pristine beauty in later versions.

This piece was created in FretPet as an experiment to see what kind of syncopation happens if you combine sets of 3 with sets of 5 in a 15 beat measure. I then recorded it in Garageband and added a 4/4 beat. So now if you listen carefully you'll notice that each measure ends a little bit ahead of the beat. There are sets of three tones that fall on every fifth beat and sets of five tones that fall on every third beat, which together create a really interesting syncopated sound.

The changes are very simple, mostly relying on the drums changing. There are no breaks in this piece, so it zooms right along. With some alternate voicing a couple of short breaks might be very welcome within this sequence.