My name is Hai-Ting Chinn. I’m a singer, and I’m in the 2012 production of Einstein on the Beach. If you’ve seen the production, I’m the one with pig-tails who listens to the conch shell. I also sing the aria called “The Bed,” which consists of a series of increasingly longer and higher notes with [...]

Nice detail work in the banquet hall at Cardiff Castle, Wales. (Click to embiggen.) ..

We were alerted by Laughing Squid to the apparent existence of a music notation typewriter. Hadn’t heard of it before. Why? Because it’s a bad idea, and we’re not surprised it wasn’t successful. Nevertheless, ain’t history interesting? Read more here. ..

The New York Times has a nice piece about psychoacoustics-informed sound-system design. ..

From Squidocto: – Being a skeptic is 99% chance, 2% work, and -1% magic. – Opportunity rover forgot wallet, has to return to landing site. #NASAMarsrumor – Saw kid w “global warming burned my homework” tshirt. Explained how local weather isn’t necessarily proof of climate events… #noIdidnt – There’s a word for someone who denies [...]

In our last episode we questioned the legendary “riot at the Rite of Spring premiere.” We agreed that, looking at the original sources we found, it didn’t sound like there was a riot, and what hissing and booing occurred was a reaction to the choreography not the music, and that certainly the trouble didn’t last [...]

…where I am paid to sing in the choir on Sundays. (Yes, the church from which I tweet during the sermon.  Shhhh.) It was a silent auction, and as each person arrived, they were given a unique “paddle” number, to be held up for bids. Here I am with my randomly assigned number. Apparently someone [...]

Yes, Hai-Ting is on Twitter as @ScopesMonkeys. I am Tweeting only during sermons at the church where I am a paid member of the professional choir. Tweeting from the choir during the sermon shall henceforth be called “Tweeching.” On Sundays around noon, look for crazy hymn lyrics that don’t quite rhyme, odd bits of nonsensical [...]

Everybody’s favorite Vulcan is a well-known advocate of Reason over Emotion. He’s also (spoiler alert) a fictional character. Yet somehow (and I do aim some blame at Spock, at least as a representative of pop culture) there’s a pervasive idea that embracing reason will dull the emotions; that somehow, if you fine-tune your critical thinking… [...]

When talking about our podcast, I’ve been asked a few times whether I’ve read This is Your Brain on Music. And when I say um, err, not yet, I’ve been told I’m pretty gutsy to start a podcast about music and science without reading it. So, OK, I’m reading it. Jeez. This podcast is, for [...]