Why does the Big Ears applet sound so good?
Because I hand-sampled my Yamaha U-1 piano! The samples aren’t perfectly consistent, but I think they are quite good given the constraints of Java audio (8 bit, 8000 hz, mono). • What does the name mean? “Big ears” is an expression used mostly by jazz musicians. A person with “a good ear” for music is said to have “big ears.” • Are there any plans to expand Big Ears? Yes. Sound support in Java is severely limited, but this should change sometime in 1997. When more advanced capabilities are available, Big Ears should get a (sonic) face lift. Further applets may be added to allow users to train their ears in different ways. Suggestions are welcome! The following enhancements are planned for the near future: • Interval Driller repeat button will play the exact same interval (it will start on the same note and have the same direction). • Keyboard will have a control to turn on or off the messages. (Turning them off speeds things up significantly, so that you can actually make something lik
