Blog | davidsmith208

Small Midi keyboard

You are asking two very good strategic questions about building a small music system: 1️⃣ Can another keyboard brand give me more software? 2️⃣ Do I need Bluetooth if my MacBook only has two USB-C ports? Let’s look at both. 1. Yes — different keyboards often include different software bundles This is actually one reason some musicians buy multiple brands. Example controllers Arturia (your current ecosystem) If you bought Arturia MiniLab 3 MIDI Controller you usually get: Anal

davidsmith208

Mar 122 min read

String Quartet dream

That’s a fascinating musical image your mind produced. What you described — four voices moving independently in steady rhythm — fits very naturally with the idea of a string quartet texture or a sequencer-like contrapuntal pattern. 🎼 Why your mind may have chosen four voices Four independent lines is one of the most stable textures in Western music. A classic string quartet has exactly four voices: First violin – often the highest melodic line Second violin – inner counterpo

davidsmith208

Mar 112 min read

Synthesizer class

That dream has a very interesting structure because it looks less like a random dream and more like a problem-solving or integration dream. These often happen when the brain is organizing ideas you’ve been thinking about recently. 🧠🎶 You’ve recently been exploring things like: synthesizer patches rhythm structures (like 7/8 in Tom Sawyer) music production tools and MIDI gear the possibility of AI generating musical notation So your brain likely used sleep to simulate a conv

davidsmith208

Mar 112 min read

Banana - Tennis - Plaintain

What you ate in the photo looks like a ripe yellow plantain (plátano maduro) that has been air-fried. That is actually a very good carbohydrate source, especially for someone doing tennis and pickleball like you. 🍌 Let’s compare it to a normal banana. Nutrition comparison (per ~100 g) Banana Plantain Calories ~89 ~116–122 Carbohydrates ~23 g ~31 g Fiber ~2–3 g ~2 g Potassium ~358 mg ~465 mg Plantains have about 30–35% more carbohydrates than bananas, mostly from starch. They

davidsmith208

Mar 112 min read

Fat stacked oscillators

The famous synth sound in Tom Sawyer by Rush comes from an analog synth patch played by Geddy Lee. It was created on an Oberheim OB-X (later sometimes OB-Xa live). The sound is often called a sync-lead or OB brass lead. The “Tom Sawyer” Synth Patch Here are the basic ingredients of the patch. Oscillators Two oscillators slightly detuned. Oscillator 1: Sawtooth Oscillator 2: Sawtooth (slightly detuned) Detuning creates the thick analog sound. Filter A key part of the tone. Low

davidsmith208

Mar 102 min read

Quantize and clean it

Automatic scores with Ai Even in Garage Band AI is already beginning to do this, but it is not yet perfectly reliable for complex parts like the synth solo in Tom Sawyer by Rush. However, the technology is advancing quickly. Let’s look at where things stand. 1. What AI can already do (2026) AI systems can already perform automatic music transcription — turning audio into notes or MIDI. Some tools that musicians use now include: AnthemScore – converts recordings into sheet mus

davidsmith208

Mar 102 min read

7/8 time Rush

Yes — Rush loved unusual time signatures, and that’s a big reason their music feels intellectually exciting to play. Both Tom Sawyer and Subdivisions use rhythmic tricks that most rock bands avoid. Rhythm in “Tom Sawyer” Most of the song is in 4/4 time, but Rush adds subtle rhythmic tension. Main groove The basic pulse is: 4/4 rock time Count it like: 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 But the synthesizer and guitar accents often land between the beats, creating a syncopated feel. Example of the

davidsmith208

Mar 102 min read

Samvega

Yes, those are important Sanskrit terms, and the aphorism you mention from the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (I.21) is very compact but philosophically rich. The sutra reads roughly: tīvra-saṁvegānām āsannaḥ “For those whose zeal or urgency is intense, samadhi is near.” Let’s look at the two words you mentioned. 1. saṁvega (संवेग) saṁvega is a powerful word in Sanskrit spiritual literature. Basic components sam = together, completely, intensely vega = speed, force, impulse, surge

davidsmith208

Mar 102 min read

You can meditate in the evening

At a time that is before you can make an excuse. Like I choose 5:30pm which is before I am tired and before sunset. You can say Goodbye yellow brick road and just go on your own. If you just step into the world of divine love you will not have a thorn. There won’t be anyone to scorn. You can try to break open your blindness by just contemplation. With Simran you can achieve bunker busting leverage and just leave the body. With your legs just crossed you can easily fly in

davidsmith208

Mar 83 min read

Ju produces Nur

In the poetry of Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī, one of the most important “meaning-pairs that are also rhyme-pairs” around spiritual hunger involves the Persian word: جوع — juʿ (hunger) This word comes from Arabic but is used constantly in Persian Sufi literature, including the Masnavi. Rumi often pairs it with rhyming spiritual concepts that express its inner effect. Key Rhyme / Meaning Pairs with Spiritual Hunger 1. جوع / نور juʿ — nūr hunger — divine light This is probably th

davidsmith208

Mar 82 min read

A Present for God

Your observation is very perceptive. In the Masnavi, Jalāl ad‑Dīn Muhammad Rūmī repeatedly recommends eating less, fasting, night-wakefulness, and early prayer as part of the Sufi discipline. These practices are tied to tazkiya (purification of the self) and weakening the nafs (ego). The passage you showed (Book I, around 3171-3180) is one clear example where he says: bring a gift to God that gift is less sleep and less food join those who seek forgiveness at dawn This echoes

davidsmith208

Mar 82 min read

Nazar and khabar

You noticed a very real and important Persian rhyme pair: nazar (نظر – vision/glance) and khabar (خبر – news, information). Sufi poets repeatedly contrast them to make a philosophical point: khabar = second-hand knowledge, reports, concepts nazar = direct seeing, spiritual vision So the rhyme itself becomes a mini teaching device. 1. A famous Persian couplet with nazar and khabar A well-known line (later quoted by Muhammad Iqbal when discussing Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī) con

davidsmith208

Mar 72 min read

Nazar or life inspiring glance

Yes — the Persian/Arabic word nazar (نظر) literally means a look, gaze, or glance. In many Sufi and Sant traditions it refers to the transforming spiritual gaze of a realized master. The idea is that a saint’s inner state (ḥāl) can be transmitted instantly through presence or even a single look. Below are several famous examples from Sufi literature and Sant-Mat tradition, including references connected to Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī and other masters. 1. Rumi – The Transformi

davidsmith208

Mar 73 min read

Worldly Wealth

Yes — many mystical traditions (Sufi, Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Taoist) repeatedly suggest that simplicity or detachment from wealth makes deeper spiritual perception easier. The idea is not always that wealth is evil, but that attachment, distraction, and pride interfere with inner awareness. Your page reflects a common theme in the poetry of Rumi: worldly success can function as a veil that keeps a person occupied with appearances instead of reality. Below are some well-k

davidsmith208

Mar 73 min read

Band setup

Your idea actually makes very good practical sense for a band setup. You’re separating things into: home studio keyboard (Arturia) portable travel keyboard band practice keyboard (PSR-330) MacBook running the sounds That’s a common working musician approach. 1. The speaker connection you discovered When you used a 3.5 mm → 1/4-inch TRS cable from the MacBook into the band speaker, you essentially used the MacBook as the sound module. Flow: Keyboard → MIDI → MacBook (Ableton /

davidsmith208

Mar 62 min read

Key rhyming pairs in Rumi

Yes—this is a very perceptive observation. Jalal ad-Din Rumi often builds spiritual teachings around rhyming word pairs. Persian poetry loves rhyme, but Rumi frequently chooses pairs that carry philosophical tension or transformation—almost like miniature spiritual formulas. Your example qāl / ḥāl is one of the most famous. Here are several other important rhyming pairs used in Sufi poetry and often in Rumi’s verses, especially in the Masnavi and the Divan-e Shams-e Tabrizi.

davidsmith208

Mar 52 min read

Qal and Hal

Rhyming pairs in Rumi Yes—Rumi very intentionally rhymes and contrasts the words qāl (قال) and ḥāl (حال). In Persian Sufi poetry they are almost always paired because they rhyme and because they represent a deep spiritual contrast in Sufi psychology. • qāl → “speech, words, doctrine, explanation” • ḥāl → “inner state, direct experience, spiritual condition” For Jalal ad-Din Rumi, the distinction explains the difference between knowing about God and experiencing God. ⸻ The P

davidsmith208

Mar 52 min read

Get some Hal

Sayyid Burhān al-Dīn Muḥaqqiq of Tirmidh Sayyid Burhanuddin Tirmidhi (Persian: سید برهان‌الدین محقق ترمذی) was a major 13th-century Sufi master from Termez in Central Asia. He died around 1240 CE in Kayseri. He is best known historically as an early spiritual teacher (murshid) of Jalal ad-Din Rumi. His background Disciple of Bahauddin Walad, Rumi’s father, who was already a famous mystic known as Sultan al-Ulama. After Bahauddin died in Konya (1231), Burhanuddin came to guide

davidsmith208

Mar 53 min read

Yamaha P125 as speaker

Very nice setup 👍 — you’ve basically created a small hybrid studio. You have: 🎹 Yamaha P-125 connected via USB-to-Host (MIDI to Mac) 💻 MacBook running Ableton Live 🔊 Piano acting as an external speaker for the Mac audio 🎹 Another MIDI keyboard (Arturia) controlling sounds too That’s actually a powerful arrangement. Let’s break down what you can now do. 🎛 What This Setup Allows You To Do 1️⃣ Assign Each Keyboard to Different Sounds (Yes — exactly) Inside Ableton: Create

davidsmith208

Mar 42 min read

The Yamaha HS8

Yes — at $298.97 for a new Yamaha HS8 SG Powered Studio Monitor, that’s a very serious monitor and arguably a step above most of the others you’ve mentioned. Here’s why the HS8 is so impressive: 🔊 Why the Yamaha HS8 is a higher-tier monitor 1. Much deeper, stronger bass 8″ woofer vs 6″ or 7″ in others Frequency response down to 38 Hz, which is very deep for a monitor without a subwoofer You’ll hear bass notes clearly instead of just “feeling” them vaguely. 2. More power and

davidsmith208

Mar 42 min read