A Step-by-Step Guide to Playing Piano MontunoIntroductionUnlock the rhythmic magic of Latin piano with our comprehensive guide to mastering the Montuno style. In this blog post, we’ll break down an 8-step exercise based on the iconic piano arrangement from Gloria Estefan’s “Conga.” Whether you’re a seasoned pianist or a beginner looking to delve into the world of Latin grooves, this step-by-step breakdown will help you understand the nuances of playing a Montuno.

Step 1: Embracing the Chord Progression The foundation of any Montuno lies in its chord progression. In this case, we’ll explore the common structure found in many Latin tunes: I minor – bVII – bVII – I minor (or Em D | D Em in E minor). Dive into the importance of repetition and understand why this progression is the backbone of Latin piano playing.

Step 2: Crafting Compound Lines Montunos are characterized by compound lines, combining melodic patterns and rhythmic intricacies. Explore the melodic line played in octaves and the rhythmic pattern within the Montuno. Practice the melodic line on downbeats, emphasizing the importance of hearing and playing the accents.

Step 3: Mastering 16th Note Syncopation Delve into the heartbeat of the Montuno by practicing the essential 16th note syncopation. Learn the basic rhythm that gives the Montuno its groove, and discover the significance of placing accents on the syncopated notes.

Step 4-7: Building Layers of Complexity Gradually build the complexity of your Montuno by incorporating syncopation into the melodic line and inner rhythm. Explore playing with both hands, focusing on the left hand in step 7 to expose weaknesses and enhance syncopation skills. In the video tutorial we show you all the these steps in detail.

Step 8: Polishing the Montuno Refine your Montuno by addressing specific challenges on each hand. In step 8, focus on the right hand while omitting octaves on specific notes for smoother and more efficient play. Finally, play the entire Montuno, bringing together all the elements you’ve practiced.

Conclusion: Congratulations! You’ve navigated the intricate steps of mastering the Latin groove through the art of playing Piano Montuno. As a bonus, “exclusive access” members of the mDecks Youtube Channel can access a downloadable PDF linking to this video and a call & response video for further practice. Join our community and enhance your Latin piano skills.

AALTO seeks to democratize high-speed internet access through solar-powered dronesIn the beginning of 2021, Alphabet shuttered Loon. It was a familiar story within the annals of Google X history: an ambitious moonshot with tremendous upside that sputtered out prior to gaining any sort of meaningful traction after nearly a decade. “Despite Loon’s extraordinary technical progress,” X explains with a tinge of melancholy on the […]
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Crosses in RaleighCrosses is currently on tour in North America and Europe, showcasing their sophomore LP, “Goodnight, God Bless, I Love U, Delete.”

Crosses (stylized as †††) is an electronic alternative rock music group featuring vocalist Chino Moreno and producer/guitarist Shaun Lopez. Their music project seamlessly blends elements of alternative rock, synth-pop, trip-hop, and ambient music, emphasizing melody and mood. Despite the protentional for dark undertones, the duo characterizes their sound as “contemporary.” They draw influence from notable bands such as Nine Inch Nails and The Cure, which adds depth and richness to their musical pallet.

Crosses recently emerged from a self-described “hiatus.” Although there hasn’t been much public news or releases, Chino Moreno and Shaun Lopez have been quietly immersed in music production for the past four years. In 2022, the band made a comeback with a new EP titled “Permanent Radiant,” signaling to fans that they are back with their signature sound. Shaun Lopez highlighted that the success of this release bolstered their confidence, leading to the creation of tracks that eventually found their place on the 2023 sophomore album, “Goodnight, God Bless, I Love U, Delete.”

Chino Moreno, producer and vocalist of Deftones, brings his distinctive vocals to Crosses, contributing to a new and ethereal atmospheric sound.  Producer and multi-instrumentalist Shaun Lopez carries his own weight within the group, boasting a strong background in music production, guitars, and synthesizers. Shaun intuitively knows when to step up, making his sounds heard, and this ability can be particularly impressive at times.

The 18-song setlist you’ll experience on most tour night offers a blend of old and new tracks, including classics such as “This Is a Trick,” “Bitches Brew,” and “Telepathy” from their self-titled 2014 debut LP. The lineup also features big hits like “Invisible Hand” and “Big Youth” from their 2023 LP, “Goodnight, God Bless, I Love U, Delete.” One of the standout moments of the show was the Depeche Mode-influenced track “Vivien” from the 2022 ‘PERMANENT.RADIANT – EP,’ boasting a captivating mix of fluttering electronic and ‘80s new wave sounds.

Crosses continues on tour in North America until March of 2024 with upcoming shows in Sacramento, California; Portland, Oregon; and Seattle, Washington. After a brief break, the band will embark on a European tour in June 2024 with shows in Germany, France and the United Kingdom.

You can find additional tour dates and music at crossesmusic.com

An ESP32 MultiFactor TOTP GeneratorMFA, or multifactor authentication, is a standard security feature these days. However, it can be a drag to constantly reach into one’s pocket, scroll to Google Authenticator (other MFA applications are available!), and find the correct TOTP code to log in to a site for a short while. [Allan Oricil] felt this pain point, so they took the problem by the horns and created a desktop MFA TOTP generator to make life just that little bit easier.
TOTP, which stands for Time-based One-Time Password, is a security measure that uses a device or application to provide unique codes that expire after a short time. Two-factor authentication requires a physical item (something you have), such as a key or swipe card, and knowledge of a fact (something you know), like a password, rather than relying on a single factor. This approach ensures a higher level of security. [Allan]’s project is a physical thing one would use with a password or key file.

Utilising the snappily titled Sunton ESP32-2432S028 EVB, based around the Espressif ESP32-WROVER-32 module and a generic touch screen, the neat little package is intended for custom IoT projects. However, we can use it for practically anything. The project uses the PlatformIO infrastructure and associated plugins for VSCode, which are a winning combination if you ask us. The service details and associated secret strings are stored as plain text files on an SD card, so moving from one physical device to another and adding new services is simple. If you’re wondering why a physical device needs a Wi-Fi connection, this is to sync the RTC (the local measure of ‘time’ for that TOTP) with a downstream NTP server. If you don’t do this, you quickly get out of sync with your target services, and your codes could expire prematurely or even fail outright.
If you want to read more, see our guide to Two-Factor Authentication. Regarding hardware implementations, here’s a sweet macropad-based solution, and a tiny one using a BadUSB for good.

Micro Jeep Model Kit is Both Business Card and PortfolioWhen finding work in product design and prototyping, two things are important to have at hand: a business card, and a sample of one’s work. If one can combine those, even better. Make it unique and eye-catching, and you’re really onto something. That seems to  have been the idea behind [agepbiz]’s 1:64 scale micro Jeep model kit that serves as an  “overcomplicated” business card.
Complete with box and labels in a shrink-wrapped package.
At its heart, the kit is a little print-in-place model kit that looks a lot like larger injection-molded model kits. Completing it is a custom-made box with custom labels, and it’s even shrink-wrapped. The whole thing fits easily in the palm of a hand.
There’s a lot of different tools effectively used to make the whole thing. The model card itself is 3D printed in multiple filament colors, and the box is constructed from carefully glued cardstock. The labels are custom printed, and a craft cutter (which has multiple uses for a hobbyist) takes care of all the precise cutting. It’s an awfully slick presentation, and the contents do not disappoint.
Get a closer look in the video, embedded just below. And if you like what you see, you’re in luck because we’ve seen [agepbiz]’s work before in this mini jet fighter, complete with blister pack.

Interscope Geffen A&M and Capitol Music Group are now officially consolidated under the ‘Interscope Capitol Labels Group’; Steve Berman and Annie Lee both promoted to new rolesInterscope Capitol Labels Group is headed up by Chairman and CEO, John Janick
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Sound Particles’ International Women’s Day sale Sound Particles have announced that they are offering a 30% discount on all of their products until 9 March 2024 in celebration of International Women's Day.

Moby breaks down how he made his classic track Extreme WaysVeteran producer Moby has given a full multitrack breakdown of how he put together his popular 2002 song, Extreme Ways.
The song was originally released as part of his sixth studio album, 18, which landed that same year. It is also famously used across the Bourne film franchise.

READ MORE: “When you first start, you’re like, ‘I don’t know if I want another artist to see all the shit I have on my master chain’”: Rezz on approaching collaborations

In a new video shared to YouTube, Moby has given insight into how he built each layer of the song, including drums, bass, guitar, string pads, electric piano and other synth elements.
The track remains one of Moby’s most popular, with nearly 100 million streams on Spotify alone. In just three minutes, you can get a closer look behind the track. Watch the full video below:

Moby released Ambient 23 last year – a collection of sixteen ambient tracks that span two-and-a-half hours long in total, which are inspired by some of his ambient music heroes – from Brian Eno to Jean-Michel Jarre and Will Sergeant.
“[It is] made to help anxiety (my own, and hopefully yours, too),” he wrote following the release. “For 2023 may we all be less anxious (and may we all stop looking for validation from a culture we don’t respect…)”
It’s not uncommon these days for artists to give fans a deeper look into how their music is pieced together. In November last year James Hype released a 30-minute video showing how he pulls together a remix. In Ableton Live, the DJ and producer remixed the track Baby by Quality Control, Lil Baby and Da Baby in full.
Find out more about Moby.
The post Moby breaks down how he made his classic track Extreme Ways appeared first on MusicTech.

Unofficial Guide to Music Industry Events during SXSW 2024The Music Tectonics and Rock Paper Scissors team has pulled together an impressive list of official and unofficial music industry and music industry and music tech events happening next week in Austin during SXSW.....
The post Unofficial Guide to Music Industry Events during SXSW 2024 appeared first on Hypebot.

Warner Music makes $1.8B bid to buy Believe, TuneCore, Naïve, Nuclear BlastWarner Music Group (WMG) has confirmed its intention to acquire Believe for $1.8 billion, a price greater than one made by a consortium led by Believe founder Denis Ladegaillerie.....
The post Warner Music makes $1.8B bid to buy Believe, TuneCore, Naïve, Nuclear Blast appeared first on Hypebot.

Ultimate Guide to how the Spotify Music Discovery Algorithm works [Janelle Borg]Even though streaming has become unimaginably easy for the user to discover new music, that does not mean the process isn't complicated. This guide breaks how the Spotify algorithm works its magic and how musicians can use it to their advantage.....
The post Ultimate Guide to how the Spotify Music Discovery Algorithm works [Janelle Borg] appeared first on Hypebot.

Lindell Audio announce LiNTEC Lindell Audio's latest hardware release sets its sights on Pultec’s famous EQP-1A equaliser unit. 

Roberto Neri appointed Chief Executive Officer of The Ivors Academy in the UKNeri was most recently CEO of the publishing arm of Believe
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Music labels suing Twitter/X for copyright infringement partially allowed to move forward with lawsuitThe coalition of music labels suing X (Twitter) for alleged copyright infringement are permitted to move forward with parts of their lawsuit, it has been reported.
In June 2023, it was revealed that 17 music industry bodies – including Sony Music Publishing, Universal Music Group, Warner Chappell, BMG and more – were seeking to claim $250 million in damages for “hundreds of thousands” of alleged infringements of approximately 1,700 pieces of music.

READ MORE: “Music is on the right track”: UK recorded music revenues hit new high for the first time since 2001

Now, as The Verge reports, US District Judge Aleta A. Trauger has partially denied X’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit, stating that it’s still not clear “to what extent X Corp may be liable for the infringing acts of users on its platform” in a new filing.
X’s motion to dismiss claims that it allegedly failed to respond to infringement claims in a timely manner and didn’t take appropriate action against “repeat infringers” has also been denied.
However, the judge has also agreed to dismiss allegations put forth by the coalition (the National Music Publishers’ Association, or NMPA) that X engaged in direct copyright infringement and that the platform is “vicariously liable” for direct infringements by users.
As opposed to other social media platforms, X has reportedly not negotiated music licensing agreements with music copyright holders. This has also been addressed in the filing document.
It states, “The plaintiffs complain that, ‘[w]hile the Twitter platform began as a destination for short text-based messages,’ it has since become a ‘hot destination for multimedia content, with music- infused videos being of particular and paramount importance.’ There are lawful ways for a social media company to offer such media – particularly, by entering into licensing agreements with rights holders, as TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat have done.
“Copyright licences, though, typically must be paid for, and X/Twitter is, the plaintiffs suggest, effectively trying to generate the kind of revenue that one would expect as a lawful purveyor of music and other media, without incurring the cost of actually paying for the licences.”
Proceedings now remain ongoing. View the full document, as shared by The Verge, to find out more.
The post Music labels suing Twitter/X for copyright infringement partially allowed to move forward with lawsuit appeared first on MusicTech.

“The tools that we now use to make music are made in the image of technicians, not musicians,” says Bronze.ai CEO Lex DromgooleAVA London Conference: Lex Dromgoole, CEO of AI music tech company Bronze.ai, has explored the theory that music today, made using tools that’ve been created “in the image of technicians”, sounds more machine-like. He’s also suggested that AI technology could allow us to “reevaluate what we can actually bring to the table as humans”.

READ MORE: Adobe’s new Project Music GenAI tool is basically Photoshop for music

The AI industry leader made the statement during a recent panel at AVA London Conference at the British Library on Thursday 29 February. Entitled Surviving The AI Apocalype and hosted by AI company Voice Swap. The panel explored the benefits and issues posed by AI and problems that could arise in the future as a result of the technology.
“The current expectation for music makers now is that you have to have a serious level of technical proficiency in terms of software,” he said. “There are a lot of very imaginative people left on the sidelines.
“The tools that we now use to make music are made in the image of technicians, not musicians. AI gives us an opportunity to reevaluate all of that,” said Dromgoole. He went on to say how computational models like parameters and sliders were complex and rooted in technical music terminology, which many musicians can’t grasp. However, he believes AI can help design more intuitive and understandable interfaces for music production.
“I would argue that the tools that we use now to create music have made us as humans act more like computers because of how technical they are,” he said. “For the last 20 or 30 years, we’ve already been making music that sounds more and more like it’s been made by a computer.
“From an artistic point of view, as well, it actually gives us the opportunity to reevaluate what we can bring to the table as humans, that these models can’t.”
Lex Dromgoole, CEO of Bronze.ai, is a seasoned audio engineer with credits including Björk and Arcade Fire. Bronze.ai is a software platform where users can create AI models of their music, generating new iterations with each play. Collaborating with artists like Arca and Disclosure, Bronze offers endless variations, as seen in Disclosure’s anniversary version of Settle.
Keep an eye on AVA Festival for details about AVA’s upcoming festival in Belfast, and check out bronze.ai.
The post “The tools that we now use to make music are made in the image of technicians, not musicians,” says Bronze.ai CEO Lex Dromgoole appeared first on MusicTech.