The G-clef is arguably the most recognizable musical symbol, also for non-musicians. Its familiar shape looks like a distorted ampersand symbol, though you might be surprised to learn that it actually emerged as an evolution of the letter G (well, I'd say it's as close to the original as this portrait of Picasso, but historians … Continue reading The Clock-Clef

Ventriloquists can utter entire phrases while their lips remain still. Their second voice doesn't appear to come from the usual parts of the body you would expect it to come from, yet it is there. So, when I first saw Jeff Dunham perform, I joked to my colleagues "This guy must have two soundcards". The … Continue reading Chronotron and the Ventriloquist Machines

When I use Chronotron to practice guitar licks, I find it cumbersome to operate the app while having my two hands lying on the instrument. For us guitarists dropping the pick to hit a button isn't a big deal after all, but things get really bad when you're playing violin or cello. There are different … Continue reading Your Voice is My Command

A friend of mine asked me recently why Chronotron is a Windows-only app. This is not an infrequently – nor unfrequently – asked question. Chronotron is a media player app whose design language is clearly touch-oriented. Music apps have been the realm of Macs for as long as I can remember, and today most touch-enabled … Continue reading How Old are You, Windows User?

A hundred years make a century, so goes the saying. What about a hundred app releases? A centu-re-lease. Bad jokes aside, reaching the 100th release of Chronotron is quite a milestone. It means the app package has been rebuilt, the release notes updated and the Microsoft Store review process completed at least as many times. … Continue reading Release 100 is Here!

The wide variety of Windows-compatible hardware out there poses a challenge to developers of apps that rely heavily on device CPU and GPU capabilities, let alone the developers of the OS itself. In apps like video games and media players, the configuration dialog always has a couple of settings whose sole purpose is to accommodate … Continue reading Pimp Your Chronotron

Many great pieces of music come to us from a time when popular songs were the ultimate expression of artistic talent rather than mere technological achievements. That's not to say that good songs are no longer written today; however, in my opinion music is consumed – and produced – nowadays in such a way that … Continue reading The Loop of the Tiger