originally this week I showed you some ways to contribute utility program to iTunes via AppleScript . Since it ’s Friday , today seems like a unspoiled twenty-four hours to show you how to have a little fun with your iTunes library .
Most people have heard ofName That Tune , apopular TV biz showthat publicize in various incarnations in the 50s , 70s , and 80s , where contestants had to identify birdsong based on light and shorter snippets . And I ’d bet that most people have , at some spot in their music - listening life sentence , create their own makeshift home version — someone plays a few second of a song and challenge you to name it . ( In fact , Shuffle modality on the iPod and in iTunes have made this easier — and more fun — than ever , even if it ’s just to pass the time on a route trip in the car . )
I ’ve always love the wreak - at - home rendering of Name That Tune , even though I ’ve often found it to be relatively easy — as a music nut and a former college - radio DJ , I can piece out most of the 8,000 tracks in my iTunes library fairly rapidly . But Andy Van Ness’Counterpoint 1.1 (; spare ) is a new twist on the definitive game , and one that makes identifying songsmuchmore of a challenge . You see , alternatively of naming just one tune , you have to name multiple tunes — all playing at the same clip !
What exactly do I mean ? Each round of Counterpoint involves listening to a superimposed mix of tracks from your iTunes program library : one cartroad in the first round , two in the second , three in the third , and so on . When starting a secret plan , you may choose to trammel tracks to a special play list ; so , for example , you may play the game using only higher - rated ( read : your favorite ) runway . ( you may also choose to start at a higher storey if the former levels are too well-fixed for you . ) Counterpoint then randomly pick the appropriate number of tracks from the pick out informant and plays them back simultaneously , one on top of the other , and challenges you to distinguish each .
During each cycle , the left - hand side of the Counterpoint window number possible tracks and their artists ; when you figure out a song , double - tick it ( or select it and select Answer ) . Assuming your guess was correct , the track is proceed to the Already Guessed Songs list and — gratefully — removed from the cacophony . This continues until you ’ve identified every song in the mix , thus ending the round .
Counterpoint gives you a specific amount of time to complete each circular , and award points base on the rotund turn , the time it take you to discharge each round , the act of tracks in the reference play list or library , and how many wrong speculation you make . ( The latter increases the trouble because , for object lesson , if you experience you hear a Tom Petty Sung but you ca n’t count on out which one , blindly render every Tom Petty cart track will cause you to suffer point . ) Thankfully , Counterpoint gives you tidy sum of prison term for each unit of ammunition ; you ’ll in all likelihood throw in the towel out of mental tiredness before you get to a one shot where you range out of time .
Counterpoint is gainsay , but it ’s a lot of fun , too . unluckily , its interface for guess tracks leaves a mess to be desire . For example , you may sort the cut list by racetrack or artist name and then scroll through the leaning until you recover the want song ; however , if your library or playlist has thousands of songs , this process can be unmanageable . The secret plan ’s search / filter landing field looks like it might help , but its logical system remains a mystery to me — the filtrate / result leaning always includes point that appear to have slight relation to my lookup terminus . The ripe I ’ve been capable to do is to type in the most unequalled word of the creative person ’s name , sort by creative person , and then pasture the resulting filter listing to find the desired raceway . A more - functional search box would go a recollective way towards hold Counterpoint leisurely to roleplay .
ultimately , a serious monition : Beverycareful with bulk levels when play Counterpoint . It ’s almost instinctual to ferment up the mass when we ca n’t hear something clearly , and there are time when you ’ll feel the urge to increase the volume of your speakers or phone to “ unspoiled ” hear the mixture . Don’t . It wo n’t help you tease out individual tracks ; it will just damage your auditory sense .
With that in brain , if you ’re a great music fan like I am , give Counterpoint a try — alone or with a group of friends — and see how well youreallyknow your music . I ’m up to Level 20 — and , I have to take on , getting a bit of a cephalalgia .
Counterpoint 1.1 need Mac OS X 10.4 ( Tiger ) or afterward and is a Universal Binary .
