OSD600 Audio Data API project

This semester I'll be working with the ever expanding Audio Data API which is used to augment the way we currently use the HTML5 audio and video tags. At the bottom of that page are a whole pile of samples that use this new API, and they're just... so cool. I chose to work on this because it's just very new. It's exciting to imagine that I'll be working on bleeding edge web technology. I feel like expanding an web audio API is sort of a frontier area with lots of room to find a niche, and lots of room to find gaps that need to be filled. That, and for many many years I've been interested in working with audio and just never gave myself that 'kick' to do it.

For those who'd like to follow my progress, my project page is located here. Everything I ever post in there will be linked to or cross-posted in this blog though.

As my '0.1' release, I'll be hacking up Bloop to use music.js. Doing this will get me into javascript again, and really let me figure my way around this API. Following that, I'll have a much better idea of where I can fit into this area. Obviously my work won't stop with rewriting an existing demo; by the end of this semester I'm hoping to have contributed something actually meaningful and useful to the Mozilla community, and to 'the internet' in general.

Areas that I'm told I may fit into are: extending dsp.js - an audio library used for 'D'igital 'S'ound 'P'rocessing and expanding on music.js by filling in some gaps that exist.  Also, apparently bands and artists have approached the Audio Data API team requesting visualizations of their music. I'm sort of leaning towards working on this area.

Aside from David Humphrey, my contacts in this area are Al MacDonald and Corban Brook. I havn't yet talked to either of them, but I suspect I will soon. David basically filled me in on what areas need work, and pointed me towards the technologies I'd be working with. (Audio Data API, dsp.js, javascript)

So this is the part where I talk about the risks and fears I may have. Honestly, I havn't had experience with music and audio in a very long time. I'm OBVIOUSLY a little worried that I may be in a bit over my head. However, to be quite honest, all of these projects are very much NEW to everyone involved.
There are lots of risks going into this. It's new, and complex and I'll be working with people who have lots of experience in this industry and kind of secretly hoping to impress them. There's a lot of pressure with this project that doesn't REALLY exist in other courses, but those things are really what make this class and these projects exciting and inspiring. By the end of this, I'll have somethign amazing to show people, I'll have a foothold in the industry and an area to sort of call 'mine', and I'll have an edge on my resume. Knowing that stuff really mitigates any fears I may have entertained while jumping into this.

-Pete