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DRONIFY

An exercise in applying the SoundCloud API & Web Audio API

FEWD 34 Holly Habstritt Gaal @habber

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Understanding the Concept

Drone Music: is a minimalist musical genre that emphasizes the use of sustained or repeated sounds, notes, or tone-clusters – called drones.

I wanted to replicate aspects of this, giving a user the ability to apply some qualities commonly found in Drone music to any song.

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Tools

SoundCloud API

Web Audio API

* image from www.devbattles.com

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Resources: understanding SoundCloud API

SoundCloud API

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Resources: understanding Web Audio API

Filter Types!

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Resources: understanding Web Audio API

Prototype I mocked up to help design the filters (sound effects) behind the toggles buttons

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A few key things that helped me learn

Code Academy’s “How to use SoundCloud API” tutorial

Blog posts and MDN docs about Web Audio API

Finding multiple snippets of code that achieve the same result, accompanied by their rationale (for button toggles)

Asking questions to the right people (Noticed Web Audio API wasn’t altering sound quite like I expected, so I found the MDN docs author on IRC :)

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Some Helpful Links

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To dos

  • clean up css (style sliders, organize)
  • update toggle button style - on state looks inactive
  • add slider from audioBufferSourceNode that manipulates pitch as well as playBackRate
  • explore filter types within different parts of the web audio api (I’ve stuck mainly within the biquadFilterNode so far)
  • fix bugs
    • start playBackRate back and filters back to ‘0’ when new SC song is chosen
    • style/responsive bugs
  • make it work better in Firefox
  • learn more about CORS restriction errors for some SC tracks (see notes)

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DRONIFY

Thanks FEWD 34!

@habber