Homepage > Document Archive
The archive contains a library of tools and documents. There are HTML/JavaScript pages, PDF documents, articles and e-books, and Weblogs and interviews (in English and Dutch).
Click on the Item (left column) to open the document. PDF documents will open in a new browser window.
| Item | Description | Document data |
|---|---|---|
| Pitch, Time Delay and Frequency | This page contains tools to convert musical pitch into MIDI data and acoustical frequency, and to calculate the cancelling frequencies for a given time delay. (JavaScript GUI) | 01/09/2010 |
| Symmetrical 12-Tone Series Vs. 1.2 | This page contains a tool to create retrograde and retrograde-inversion symmetrical 12-tone series (JavaScript GUI, update April 2011) | 03/05/2010 |
| String Natural Harmonics Vs. 1.0 | This page determines the sounding pitches and finger playing positions for the six upper partials of a vibrating string (JavaScript GUI) | 09/08/2009 |
| Film Music Tempo Calculation Tool Vs. 2.1 | This page finds the best tempo fit of musical beats coinciding with event timing markers in a film music cue (JavaScript GUI, update October 2011) | 09/06/2009 |
| Note and Tick Timing Tool Vs. 1.3 | This page calculated the durations of musical notes and software sequencer ticks for a given set of tempos in BPM (JavaScript GUI) | 09/06/2009 |
| Band Music Price List | This page contains the 2011 Price List for Fanfare and Concert Band compositions and arrangements (also in Dutch). | 01/01/2011 |
| Guide to the Fanfare and Concert Band Music | This document provides an introduction to the compositions and arrangements for fanfare and concert band. (also in Dutch) | 22/09/2007 |
| Instrument names and orchestral terms | This page gives an overview of instrument names and orchestral terms in English, Italian, French and German. (extended January 2008) | 24/02/2007 |
| Table of tempo indications | The table on this table gives an overview of tempo indications in Italian, English, French and German, with rough metronome markings. (extended January 2008) | 18/02/2007 |
| Tone series forms Vs. 1.2 | This page lists all the transposed, inverted and retrograde forms of a given tone series between 2 and 12 pitches. (JavaScript GUI) | 28/4/2010 |
| Harp Pedal Settings Vs. 1.2 | This page provides tools for keeping track of chromatic harp pedal settings and changes in a musical score. (JavaScript GUI, update April 2011) | 18/12/2006 |
| Pitch-Class Set 2.3 | This page provides interactive tools for visual inspection, transformation and analysis of pitch-class sets. (JavaScript GUI, update April 2011) | 05/05/2005 |
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| Item | Description | Document data |
|---|---|---|
| MIDI Keyboard and Controller to Sound Mapping | This document contains a set of tables with MIDI Keyboard and Controller to sound library mappings for the Apple Logic EXS24 Sampler Instrument and the Native Instruments Kontakt and Battery sample players. Useful for sound selection and MIDI sequencer editing of woodwind, brass, strings, drums and percussion sounds. (Update: May 2011) | 30 pp., 128 kb, 1/6/2010 |
| Harmony: Two Layers in Perfect Fifths | This document describes the analysis and application of harmonic structures, based on two layers of three-part chords in perfect fifths. The resulting chord structures are classified along a consonance-dissonance scale and two score examples are discussed. (update April 2010) | 8 pp., 92 kb, 15/11/2009 |
| Tonal Counterpoint Examples | This HTML page presents a table with a list of pdf booklets. These contain marked tonal counterpoint examples (2 to 4 voices, 1st to 5th species). To be completed (Update Jan 2011). | 01/03/2009 |
| Musical Instruments Range | This graph presents and overview of the (sounding) range of many (orchestral) musical instruments. It gives practical and extended ranges. | 1 p., 12 kb, 7/11/2008 |
| Studio Orchestra Seating | This document presents the seating arrangement for a large studio orchestra. Favourable aspects will be discussed. As an example, the Metropole Orkest seating will be considered. (update April 2010) | 6 pp., 1.1 Mb, 28/09/2008 |
| Hybrid 5- and 4-Part Harmony | This document is a guide to the Hybrid 5- and 4-part Harmony technique, as presented in Book 5: The Special Theory of Harmony from the Schillinger System of Musical Composition. The document describes the rules and guidelines for this technique and discusses a set of examples. (update August 2010) | 19 pp., 148 kb, 09/02/2008 |
| Musical Analysis: Visiting the Great Composers Vs. 2.4 | This booklet presents a number of diagrams with the formal, harmonic and melodic analysis of pieces from the classical music repertoire. | 111 pp., 488 kb, 23/09/2009 |
| Twelve-tone chords | This document discusses the derivation of 12-tone chords with minimum harmonic tension from a set of traditional 4-part chordal building blocks. These structures are being used in contemporary classical music compositions, e.g., in the music of Lutoslawski. (update November 2010) | 7 pp., 140 kb, 27/01/2007 |
| Counterpoint styles | This document lists the characteristics of the late Renaissance and Baroque counterpoint styles, as derived from the textbooks by Jeppesen and Schoenberg. | 4 pp., 136 kb, 21/12/2006 |
| Guide to The Theory of Rhythm Vs 1.2 | This document is a guide to Book 1: The Theory of Rhythm from the Schillinger System of Musical Composition. It presents alternative notation to the original, worked out lists and musical score examples and provides comments to the original. (update March 2011, incomplete) | 37 pp., 580 kb, 03/09/2006 |
| Arranging by Examples | This manual is a practical guide to voicing techniques for jazz big band arranging; it contains many voicing examples discussed in detail. (Restyled version: 07/11/2008) | 79 pp., 888 kb, 29/01/2005 |
| String Fingering Diagrams | This document contains a set of string instrument fingering diagrams that may be used for checking hand span, multiple stops and combinations with natural harmonics. Diagrams (on A4 page size) are provided for violin, viola, cello, double bass and guitar. | 5 pp., 44 kb, 02/01/2005 |
| Size of the String Section in Popular Music Recordings | This document lists the size of the string section in a number of popular and jazz music recordings. String section numbers for symphony and chamber orchestra are given for comparison. (Update: 28/11/2010) | 5 pp., 40 kb, 13/11/2004 |
| Latin Music for Fanfare and Concert Band | The document presents essential guidelines for playing Latin music (Cuban or Puerto Rican style) for fanfare and concert band. | 7 pp., 48 kb, 09/09/2004 |
| Swing Music for Fanfare and Concert Band | Popular music compositions and arrangements for fanfare and concert band may be written in swing style. This document gives background information about and performance guidelines for swing music. | 4 pp., 28 kb, 22/08/2004 |
| Rhythmic Precision in Swing Music | This document contains a number of exercises to train rhythmic precision when playing swing music containing rhythmic accents. | 2 pp., 20 kb, 16/08/2004 |
| Vocal Range: an Overview | Vocal ranges, as specified in literature, may vary considerably. This document gives an overview of various sources; vocal range will be presented for choir and solo voices. | 2 pp., 16 kb, 02/07/2004 |
| Pitch-Class Set Diagrams | This document contains blank diagrams that may be used for composing atonal music based on pitch-class sets. The origin and use of these diagrams is explained in the text. | 4 pp., 56 kb, 11/07/2004 |
| Manuscript paper 2 staves | I use this manuscript paper for rudimentary musical drafts. Piano staves (1 treble, 1 bass clef), 7 systems per page. | 1 p., 8 kb, 09/07/2004 |
| Manuscript paper 4 staves | I use this manuscript paper for full orchestra sketches. Four staves per system, 5 systems per page. | 1 p., 4 kb, 09/07/2004 |
| Item | Description | Document data |
|---|---|---|
| De Metropole Orkest weblog | Weblog over concerten en evenementen met het Metropole Orkest. Tekst en foto's. (in Dutch) | html, 2007-2011 |
| Interview with Martin Fondse | Interview with composer, arranger and pianist Martin Fondse for the Metro Friends (May 2010, in Dutch). | html, 30/09/2010 |
| Interview with Franck van der Heijden | Interview with composer, arranger and producer Franck van der Heijden for the Metro Friends (March 2010, in Dutch). | html, 30/09/2010 |
| Interview with Bob Zimmerman | Interview with composer and arranger Bob Zimmerman for the Metro Friends (March 2010, in Dutch). | html, 28/09/2010 |
| Interview with Jules Buckley | Article published in the Metro Friends, Volume 12, Nr. 23 (September 2009): interview with composer, arranger and conductor Jules Buckley (principal guest conductor of the Metropole Orchestra). | html, 15/10/2009 |
| Interview with Sebastiaan Koolhoven | Article published in the Metro Friends, Volume 12, Nr. 23 (September 2009): interview with composer and arranger Sebastiaan Koolhoven (in Dutch). | html, 15/10/2009 |
| Interview with Walter van de Leur | Article published in the Metro Friends, Volume 12, Nr. 23 (September 2009): interview with Prof. dr Walter van de Leur, holding the Jazz and Improvised Music chair at the Universiteit van Amsterdam (in Dutch). | html, 15/10/2009 |
| Interview with Vince Mendoza | Article published in the Metro Friends, Volume 12, Nr. 22 (April 2009): interview with composer, arranger and conductor Vince Mendoza (chief conductor of the Metropole Orchestra). | html, 30/04/2009 |
| Interview with Vellu Halkosalmi | Article published in the Metro Friends, Volume 12, Nr. 22 (April 2009): interview with Finnish composer, arranger and conductor Vellu Halkosalmi. | html, 30/04/2009 |
| De violen in het Metropole Orkest | Artikel voor het tijdschrift Metro Friends, Jaargang 11, Nr. 21 (December 2008): een gesprek met concertmeester Arlia de Ruiter en Merijn Rombout, aanvoerders violen in het Metropole Orkest (in Dutch). | html, 23/12/2008 |
| De altviolen in het Metropole Orkest | Artikel voor het tijdschrift Metro Friends, Jaargang 11, Nr. 21 (December 2008): een interview met Mieke Honingh, aanvoerder altviolen in het Metropole Orkest (in Dutch). | html, 23/12/2008 |
| De cellisten in het Metropole Orkest | Artikel voor het tijdschrift Metro Friends, Jaargang 11, Nr. 21 (December 2008): een interview met Bastiaan van der Werf, aanvoerder cellisten in het Metropole Orkest (in Dutch). | html, 23/12/2008 |
| De contrabassen in het Metropole Orkest | Artikel voor het tijdschrift Metro Friends, Jaargang 11, Nr. 21 (December 2008): een interview met Erik Winkelmann, aanvoerder contrabassen in het Metropole Orkest (in Dutch). | html, 23/12/2008 |
| De harp in het Metropole Orkest | Artikel voor het tijdschrift Metro Friends, Jaargang 11, Nr. 21 (December 2008): een interview met Joke Schonewille, harpiste in het Metropole Orkest (in Dutch). | html, 23/12/2008 |
| Een portret van Leo Janssen | Artikel voor het tijdschrift Metro Friends, Jaargang 11, Nr. 20 (Juni 2008): een portret van Leo Janssen, saxofonist in het Metropole Orkest (in Dutch). | html, 17/03/2008 |
| De percussiesectie van het Metropole Orkest | Artikel voor het tijdschrift Metro Friends, Jaargang 10, Nr. 19 (December 2007) over de samenstelling en de werkwijze van deze percussiesectie (in Dutch). | html, 20/12/2007 |
| The Harenkarstival Overview | An overview of the Harenkarspel Music and Theatre Project 5-8 June 2008, with project history and production details. (in English) | html, 21/06/2008 |
| Overzicht van Harenkarstival | Een overzicht van het Harenkarspel Muziek en Theater Project 5-8 Juni 2008, met historie en productiedetails. (Nederlandstalige versie) | html, 07/09/2008 |
Frans Absil