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How many more times?

Submitted by nikkik on Mon, 06/15/2009 - 00:02

Well, here we go.. again. Consolidating seems to be at the core of my obsession these days. I want one app to write music with.. and then use it to do the actual "real" recording, editing, and mixing. Would be really cool to be able to simply use the same app to do all of the composing duties; lyrics (with revisions and mp3's of versions of a song), creating a "true" score of the song (hard copy print + PDF), and also allow all the things I am using Cubase 5 for now. The former pieces require that I go elsewhere.. Sibelius or Guitar Pro 5, with Sibelius being more complex, but providing a more "professional and thorough" treatment. For lyrics.. well, pick a word processor. But, after experiencing Scrivener (Mac only), it is a whole new ballgame.

Which leads me here...

I want an online "content management system." To have a place to blog (however infrequently as I desire, and as erratically); a place to keep a calender/schedule (accessible by myself and select others); perhaps a forum at some point (although doing a separate PHPbb may be best); "novel writing storage" (eh, more complex than necessary now.. but someday..); and all the things outside of the actual composing of the music, including but not limited to: lyric writing and management (categorized per album once "assigned"), retaining unique revisions (hahaha- yeah, a rough one) per song, adding some sort of player (flash?) I can embed multiple times in each song page (independent of revisions if desired!!) to link to uploaded song revisions and allow playback (while working on lyrics!), any research/idea tracking related to a song and/or album, and finally... embedding of the aforementioned "true score" and final recording of each song. To be able to keep logs, tracking notes (instruments, tunings, mics, FX, etc.. EVERYTHING!!!).. wow.. to have htis available in one place, and have a way to export, back-up, archive, etc...

Oh- and all of that in a nice, multi-themed package! Not too much to ask... is it? Heck, if I could save that, and then move it to the band website.. and even run the band site off of Drupal (or whatever CMS type software I end up with.. really do not want to code that mess from scratch myself.. sigh)... well, enough for now. I mainly began writing this to simply have a "first blog entry" to work with. If I am going to try and tailor this for my personal use as I outlined, I need to create content to manage!

So far, Drupal is like most things that require a ton of work: surrounded by technological towers of babel. Each tower a repository of wealth, but accessible only with magic words, patience, lots of cursing, stubbed toes and maybe some broken bones. My head already hurts. Oddly, I look forward to winding down after this tonight with a good book.. lol!!! I have taken several leaps simultaneously; MediaWiki, WordPress, and Drupal. MW is a bit... welll... And WordPress is definitely interesting; but, lacking. I could probably wrestle that oen into submission, and I could likely settle. But, I am hoping that with Drupal, I can begin creating content, and then sort of "sculpt" around it. The furniture I am building.. the drapes I am sewing... the..well, you get the idea. All these pieces, at their core, will need to be as they are regardless of the house they eventually end up in. If Drupal is not the set of tools to construct that house.. well, I am pretty sure Drupal has the toolsset, so it is either that I am falling short, or I might be better served by a toolbox/set that "fits" my hands a bit more comfortably.

And off I go!