My Life In A Nutshell, songwriting and iPhone Pocket Guitar

My Life In A Nutshell has been updated.

I'm writing a song for Urban Tapestry to perform in a couple of weeks at our CIBC Run For The Cure gig. I didn't intend to; the whole chorus just popped into my head without warning. I used my iPhone guitar apps to figure out a chord structure.

Speaking of iPhone guitar apps (and in keeping with the theme of the above cartoon), I recently downloaded another guitar app. This one's called Pocket Guitar, and it cost 99 cents:



The basic idea is to press the frets in various chord positions, and then strum or pick the bottom row. You can also adjust the settings so that you can pick the fretboard and automatically have the right note sound (as in the video below, though I'm not sure if the app is exactly the same or an earlier version). You can also choose from different instrument sounds, from electric guitars to acoustic to ukulele. Different effects can be achieved by tilting the Iphone.



From some of the YouTube videos I've found where people are using the iPhone guitar apps, it certain seems as if there's some potential, if you know what you're doing.



Next I may try out MooCowMusic's Guitarist.

Hm...it would be fun to get together with other iPhone musicians and have an iPhone jam session with all our digital instruments sometime. :-D



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Urban Tapestry at the CIBC Run For The Cure

I'm pleased to announce that Urban Tapestry has been invited to perform at Nathan Phillips Square as part of the CIBC Run For The Cure on Sunday, October 5th. We're currently scheduled for the 10:43 am - 11 am time slot; I'll post here if that changes.



The CIBC Run For The Cure is the largest single-day volunteer-led fundraising event, taking place in in 55 communities across Canada. Funds support the advancement of breast cancer research, education, diagnosis and treatment.


(Thanks to Reid and Luisa for the photo)

I've participated in the RFTC in previous years, plus Allison, Jodi and I performed at Relay For Life some years ago; it was another event in support of cancer research. I've always found these events incredibly inspiring.



We're getting together tonight to put together a playlist. If you're interested in finding out more about the event, you should check out the website. Want to participate in the run but can't be there in person? Consider doing a virtual run.

Quote of the Day

The other day, I updated my Facebook status to read "Debbie Ohi is in love with her iPhone. Jeff still comes first, though."

I was amused when Ryan Couldrey replied: "Jeff doesn't come with a monthly fee, though, he does come with a lifetime contract. That's gotta suck compared to your Rogers one."

:-D



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Comparing iPhone guitar apps

I've been posting comics more often in Inkygirl and just updated Will Write For Chocolate, if you want to check those out. Click the image below to see a bigger version.



But now I'd like to talk about my new iPhone.

I've been curious about all the music apps coming out for the iPhone. You can turn your iPhone into a piano keyboard, drum kit, xylophone, theremin, and other instruments.

I've been especially interested in the guitar apps. I used to do my songwriting with a guitar on my lap, but I've found that the prolonged strumming isn't good for my tendons. I compose with a keyboard now, but I prefer a guitar because it's easier (for me, anyway) to come up with chords and chord progressions for Allison to play.

With a keyboard, it's too easy for me to slip into chords and an accompaniment that would be very difficult to translate into something a 12-string guitar could easily play.

Which is why I've been delighted to find all kinds of cool guitar apps appearing in the Apple iTunes store. Here are mini reviews of some of the apps I've been trying out, but I welcome feedback from other iPhone users.

CHORD PLAY (v1.0)

Chord Play (v1.0) lets you pick up to 12 chord names to display on the main chord index. You just tap on any chord name then strum the strings displayed at the bottom of the screen. After just a few minutes' practice, I could tap chords with one hand and strum with the other -- I might try this out in an open filk sometime. :-)

String response is fast, and I like the fact that you can exchange the chords on the main page with any other chord. You can also make up new chords and save them.

Cost: $1.99

CHORD PRO (v1.3)

Chord Pro (v1.3) lets you pick chords with slider wheels instead of buttons. This means that you have immediate access to all the chords, but it also means that it takes more time to pick the chords -- using this for live accompaniment is probably out of the question.

As a chord dictionary, it would also be nice to see alternative chord variations. There's also a slight time lag when strumming chords, but at least this has improved since the first version.

Cost: $1.99

GUITAR TOOLKIT (v1.1.1)

GuitarToolKit (v1.1.1) is pricier than the previous two apps, but also includes an adjustable metronome, chromatic tuner and the ability to tune to any musical note or from 40+ standard tunings (standard, open G, drop D, etc.). You can opt for audible tones for tuning by ear if you don't want to use the chromatic tuner.

There's a library of over 260 chord maps and 1600 variations. My only beef is that you can't "strum" the strings to hear what the chord sounds like, but apparently the developers are working on this and a new version will be released in a few weeks.

Cost: $9.99

SUMMARY:

I'll likely stick with Chord Play for basic songwriting and campfire singalongs but will opt for Guitar Toolkit for everything else.

While our renovations are going on, we've got plastic sheeting hanging all over the place. I keep expecting to see people in protective environmental suits wandering around.



Renovations are going well, however! I'll post more pics soon.

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Time Travelling In Windsor

So Jeff and I spent the weekend in Windsor with his brother and family. Case and Debbie have two boys and a girl, and we don't get to see them as often as we'd like because of geography and schedules.



Because of this, I feel a little time traveller-ish whenever we do see them, watching our niece and nephews grow up at fast-forward speeds. My niece, for example, is teetering on the brink of adolescence. When did that happen?!? She's way more confident and together than I ever was at her age.



We played games on the Wii, attended one of our nephew's hockey practices (Case is an assistant coach), watched Camp Rock, ate Debbie's wonderful cooking, and browsed Somerset Mall.



Jeff and I both bought stuff at the Apple Store in the mall. He bought a car kit that works with his iPhone. I bought an Incase Slider Case for my iPhone as well as Altec Lansing UHS307 Earclip-S In-Ear Headphones. I've never been able to keep the regular Apple earbuds from falling out of my ears (I must have deformed ears or something) so have been looking for in-ear headphones that also have a microphone.



The photo at the top of this post is of the youngest boy, who really REALLY likes his DS. He'd become so absorbed in his games that he wasn't aware of his physical position. I walked into the living room one morning to find him playing in the position below, for instance. :-)



Anyway, many thanks to Debbie and Case for being such wonderful hosts. :-) The photos today are from our visit this past weekend, posted here with permission from Deb and Case.





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