Skoog-a-licious
Skoog musical instruments (PC or Mac) - Skoogmusic
What is a Skoog? A Skoog is wonderful. But that's not helpful is it? More specifically, it is a spongey, colourful, versatile musical instrument that plugs into your Mac or PC's USB socket.
What does it sound like? It can sound uncannily like real-world instruments due to the use of some clever stuff called Physical Modelling Synthesis. This allows the computer to replicate things like the pressure of breath down a virtual flute, and the tension of a string on a bass guitar. It can also play traditional samples and MIDI instruments in a range of interesting ways. In short, a rainbow of sounds are under the control of anyone who can interact with the Skoog, and most people will be able to do so.
Alright, but what does it really sound like? Well, here's an Electronic Soup Podcast, where you can hear our early Skoog experiments.
So, how do you play it? At present, you can assign one note to each of the five different playable sides. By adjusting the sensitivity, it is possible to strike, squeeze, bash, tap, twist and rock it to make sound. You don't need to stick to the coloured domes, as the entire surface is responsive to the degree of pressure you exert. You can use very light touch to full body weight with a bit of tweaking, although I've not tried standing on it to be honest! You can follow a "Skore" (see below) which is a coloured representation of which notes to press, and for how long. Or just jam.
Ok, how much then? £500 + VAT. That may sound expensive initially (I thought so), but this is a serious bit of kit for musicians of all backgrounds. The more I've used the Skoog and discovered just how versatile it is, the more I think it is worth every penny. It's like nothing else out there. On top of that you get a lifetime of free updates via the web-site where Skoogmusic keep adding new functionality. Not many musical instruments keep getting better and better.
The following part of the review is for those who already have a Skoog, or are seriously contemplating buying one. Firstly, what accessories would we recommend for a Skoog user?
Trabasack: For wheelchair users looking for a convenient way to mount a Skoog, we recommend considering the Trabasack. It's a tray and bag all in one, with a soft bean-bag base. Great for zipping away any audio leads, or musical "Skores" you might need, and by using velcro stickers, a really excellent way of securing your Skoog.
Sound Samples: The Skoog has three ways to play sound samples, including the amazingly fun "Scrub" setting that I've never seen anywhere else. This allows you to play through a sample back and forwards as you wish by exerting different amounts of pressure. You can make an elephant sample trumpet fairly softly, to fully fledged get-out-of-my-way fury. You can play through a guitar lick and improvise with different parts of the sample just by squeezing the Skoog in and out. You can record your own voice, tune it, then sing with it using the Skoog. Here's three ways to get different samples to play with:
A. Built-in Microphone: Most PC's and Mac's have their own built in microphones and a free Sound Recording accessory. These are great for spoken words and experimenting with. Skoogmusic have a sound editing guide for doing this with the free PC/Mac utility Audacity.
B. Free samples from the web: Here's a useful post "55 Great Websites to Download Special Effects".
C. Record your own: I personally use a Griffin iMic USB interface with Audacity. This allows you to grab sound from higher quality microphones as well as from anything with a standard 3.5mm head-phone socket. I use a 3.5mm patch lead (male to male) as well as a 3.5mm to stereo RCA plugs lead to take sound from TV, iPods, games consoles and most usefully of all, from a second computer. This also allows you to create multi-track recordings using your Skoog and anything else you can mix in.
Importantly, I must add: You don't need any of this to massively enjoy your Skoog. But with all these huge possibilities, where to start, and how do you give musical choices to those who may struggle to make them? Well, what about a Dice Music System.....?
A Dice Music System is a way of randomly selecting from a pool of music creation rules. For those battling communication disabilities, it can be a way to give them more control. Rather than a teacher or helper choosing how they should play, they can rely upon their own luck.
For those who are more able to make deliberate choices, having a set-pool of creative starting points to step through for them to say yes or no to, can also help the creative process.
Roll-em on-line! 6-sided Die and 2-18 sided clock dice from Nanogames.
For retro-tech-heads: 2-100 speaking number generator from OneSwitch.
DMS 1: Skoog Instrument - Solo Performance
This is a simple way to play with some of the Skoog's real sounding instruments for those who cannot always make a clear choice of their own. First, roll your die...
Next, ensure that the Skoog is set-up according to the following rules...
1: Flute - C Minor - Octave 5 - Novice - Mono
2: Vibes - C Major - Octave 4 - Novice - Poly
3: Marimba - C Major - Octave 3 - Expert - Poly
4: Marimba2 - BbMinor - Octave 5 - Expert - Poly
5: Acoustic Guitar - C Major - Octave 4 - Expert - Poly
6: Bass Guitar - C Major - Octave 2- Expert - Mono
Roll your die again to decide how long the performance is to be for (or be guided by the performer's wishes whilst they are playing):
1 or a 4: Play for up to one minute
2 or a 5: Play for up to two minutes
3 or a 6: Play for up to three minutes
Adjust the sensitivity to suit the user, then play. You can listen to an example session I recorded, where a 6 then a 4 were rolled (Bass Guitar for up to one minute). It would be easy to broaden this system by using rule sets that make use of the powerful sample playing facilities of the Skoog, MIDI instruments (including those built into your PC) and so on. Here's another system that's quite easy to get going....
DMS 2: Skoog and MP3 Play-a-long
Skoogmusic have supplied the notes to many different tunes to make it easy to play along with and improvise on top of the original. The following six are just a tiny sample of what is possible.
First, roll your die...
Next download the corresponding Skoog notes from the list below, and then load them into your Skoog (click on the Note tab, then drag and drop the file into the user-file box).
Set the Skoog up to act as a Flute, in Polyphonic novice mode. Adjust the senstivity to suit the user.
1. Jessie J - Price Tag (Skoog notes - Spotify link - YouTube alternative)
2. Ke$ha - WeRWhoWeR (Skoog notes - Spotify link - YouTube)
3. Ke$ha - TikTok (Skoog notes - Spotify link - YouTube)
4. Deep Purple - Smoke on the Water (Skoog notes - Spotify link - YouTube)
5. Noah & the Whale - 5 Years Time (Skoog notes - Spotify link - YouTube)
6. Kraftwerk - The Model (Skoog notes - Spotify link - YouTube)
Use the Spotify link above to play the chosen song. Alternatively you could use YouTube, or buy the original MP3 file via Skoogmusic or elsewhere. Set your volume controls appropriately. When all is good to go, perform!
DMS 3: Band Play
1. Jazz Band: Trombone and Rhodes-keyboard.
Set your Skoog to Trombone - Eb Major - Octave 4 - Novice/Expert - Poly
Download this Rhodes-Riff sample and drag it into the sample playing bar.
Roll the die again, and use the timing system as in DMS 1.
Improvise. Try Green then Yellow - Green then Orange.
The sample was made using the amazing AudioTools by Burnstudios.
2. Rock Out!
Download these guitar samples cribbed from the wonderful Guitar Shred Show. Click on the Skoog microphone tab for the samples area. Drag and drop the corresponding sample into its sample slot. Click on "Scrub" then click on "Refresh". You should be able to hear your guitar. Set playing to mono novice and make sure all the samples are playing "FWD" and not "REV" (i.e. forward and not reverse).
Next get Tony-B Machine (machine 3) running in the back-ground. A second person can operate this (start with just the drums as a suggestion). It's possible to play Tony-B Machine using one-switch on PCs by the way.
Roll your die again to determine your performance time, guided by DMS 1 above. Enjoy yourselves!
3. Flute Techno: using Tony-B Machine
Set your Skoog as follows: Flute - C Major - Octave 5 - Novice - Poly
Next mark your keyboard keys with the following Coloured Stickers:
RED: Treble ("D") and Bass ("N")
ORANGE: Treble ("A","K") and Bass ("V")
YELLOW: Treble ("G") and Bass ("Z")
GREEN: Treble ("J") and Bass ("C")
BLUE: Treble ("F") and Bass ("M")
Roll your die again to determine your performance time, guided by DMS 1 above. Load in Tony-b Machine (machine 3). One person plays flute, the other plays the sequencer. Try to match one another's colours, and improvise around them.
4. Farm-yard Band
Go to the Samples skoog screen (click on the microphone tab). Then from your Sound Samples "Animals" folder, drag and drop a random mix of farm-yard animal noises into the sample slots. Select "Trigger" then "Refresh". Set to C Minor, Octave 5, Poly Novice mode. Adjust the volume and sensitivity to suit.
Next open Horse Harmony into another window. Click on any of the four horses to start them singing. If you can not hear them, refresh the window, or try running in an alternative web-browser (Internet Explorer 8 and Firefox seem to work well with the Skoog).
Roll your die again to determine your performance time, guided by DMS 1 above.
5. Trombone and Tone Matrix
Set your Skoog up as a Trombone in Novice Poly mode. Either download and load in this set-of-notes or manually set your notes to:
RED = F5; ORANGE = B4 (HOME); YELLOW = A4; GREEN = D5; BLUE = E5
Load in Tone Matrix into your browser window. Plot some notes on the base line by pointing and clicking. Use SPACE (or switch set to SPACE) to clear the music. Roll your die again to determine your performance time, guided by DMS 1 above.
Note: There is a one-switch version of Tone Matrix available for PCs called Tink. You may need to adjust your Skoog notes to tune it better to Tink's notes.
6. One-human Band
One of the many great things about the Skoog is the facility to record what the Skoog is performing. Using this, it's possible to record yourself, then play over that again.
Use Dice Music System 1 to pick an instrument set-up.
Roll your die again to decide how long the performance is to be for (or be guided by the performer's wishes whilst they are playing):
1 or a 4: Play for up to one minute
2 or a 5: Play for up to two minutes
3 or a 6: Play for up to three minutes
Click RECORD, then select a place to save your recording (the desk-top is an easy place, and give it a catchy name). When ready, click START then perform for your time. When your time is up, wait a few moments then click STOP.
Next find your recording (e.g. on your desk-top) then drag and drop it into the "Drop loop here" oval. When ready to perform again, click on Play and go through the process again for one final time, to play on top of yourself.
Future ideas: To broaden this process futher, consider Skoogmusic's complimentary Pentatonic scales sheet. Consider making a many multi-layered recording, using different instruments and sounds. Have different musicians take it in turns to build up a track. Consider collaborative working with other musicians, schools and so on, e-mailing your work in progress recordings to musicians any where in the world. Then share ideas on the Skoogmusic forums, and tell the world.
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