Music

Working from the premise that very few people use drawstrings on their hoodies, HB3Labs has developed Hoodiebuddie - a lineup of garments that integrates earbuds into the end of the drawstrings and a 3.5 mm headphone jack in front pocket. Read More

It's probably best to make clear from the outset that Konkreet Labs' Synth in a Book is, for now, one of a kind. But as a demonstration of just what can be done with a MeeBlip hackable synthesizer kit, it may just be the perfect specimen. Though this particular hack may not be for the faint of heart, MeeBlip's range of synths include all-in-one kits suitable, MeeBlip says, for everyone. Read More

You hear a new song. Will it be a hit or a flop? Researchers from Bristol University in the U.K. say they can now tell you - well, sort of. After studying the Top 40 singles charts over the last 50 years and examining the audio characteristics for hits and flops, the team has come up with a formula as to what makes for a successful song and used it to devise software that "predicts" hits. The next step is a web app to allow budding musicians to score their own songs. Read More

You never know when you'll be walking down the street and want to bust out a few sweet beats. This Electronic Drum machine lets you bring a drum machine with you wherever you go, and create and layer beats on the fly. The shirt has nine different drum kits built-in, including Rock drums, Techno Punk drums, Classic Jazz drums, and Scratchy drums. Drums can be played and looped by tapping the drum pads and controls on the front of the shirt, and loops can be recorded up to three minutes in length. You can mix-and-match drums from different kits in the same loops, and even play all seven at once if you're feeling really adventurous. Read More

Earlier this week, we brought you the story of a radiologist and two violin-makers, who used computed tomography (CT) imaging to create a copy of a 1704 Stradivarius violin. The instrument that they produced was almost an exact replica of the original, as far as the shape, thickness and volume of its wooden parts was concerned. As one of our readers pointed out, however, much of the tonal quality of Stradivari's instruments was likely due to the microstructure and resonance characteristics of the wood of which they were made, caused by the growing conditions at the time. Well, it turns out that someone is working on reproducing that aspect of the violins, too. Read More

In an event somewhat akin to taking to a stage to show an audience an empty bag (cat long since departed), Daniel Ek confirmed at a press event this afternoon what, thanks to the Wall Street Journal, everyone watching already knew: Spotify is becoming a platform for third-party applications. Spotify's founder demonstrated several of the first wave of apps, including contributions from Rolling Stone, Last.fm, Tunewiki and Songkick. Read More

Perhaps you’ve experienced this frustration before. There’s a piece of audio on a website that you want to use in a project of your own, and it’s playing right there on your computer, yet you have no way of copying it – short of holding a microphone up to your speakers, that is. Well, Kenneth Gibbs and Seena Zandipour want to change that. They’ve invented a little gizmo called the SLUG, that can reportedly obtain lossless recordings of any streamed audio being played back by a computer or other electronic device. The music labels will no doubt be about as happy to see the emergence of this thing as they were when blank audio cassettes first hit the stores. Read More

A new teaching app has been released for iDevices where Mozart, Scott Joplin and Clara Schumann - and a friendly onboard instrument tuner called Toonr - join forces to make music practice less of a chore. The My Note Games system is said to be the first children's app to make use of note recognition technology and uses a suite of simple games to help kids develop sight reading, timing and tuneful playing skills. Read More

Whether it's cars, clothing or - in this case - guitars, there's something instantly appealing about Italian design. Combining the well-known tonal properties of aluminum and hardwoods like mahogany and rosewood, the hand-crafted Di Donato guitar is the brainchild of Edoardo DiDonato, who has applied traditional luthier skills used to craft violins, violas and cellos to create an instrument that is both modern and classic at the same time. Read More