The latest version of the iPhone Spotify App had an annoying bug in it that appears to be corrected when combined with the most recent iOS update I downloaded this morning. Good thing as it was making me crazy thinking the App was going to crash in the middle of class, while I'm waiting for the song timer to catch up with the music after a transition.
My Settings
Apple and Spotify update software in batches of users = your iPhone may update at a different time, depending on your location. If you want to compare yours with mine, I'm running Spotify version 1.1.0.2549 and iOS 7.1.1.
Crossfade set at 10 seconds and Gapless Playback turned on.
Here's what was happening
I you were watching the playlist timer during the crossfade between tracks, you would hear the music transition smoothly, but the timer and album artwork would freeze in place for an agonizingly long period of time.
Why this is/was important to me… I can barely see those tiny numbers
I will often use the Stage button on the console (with it's large numbers) to help me time longer intervals – possibly different from how you would. This is a work-around (hack) for me, due to having a hard time focusing on the small fonts Spotify is using.
The 3-4 minute “Best Efforts” I do early in class, to establish PTP (Personal Threshold Power) are a great example. I want the effort to end along with the song if possible, so I need to understand the total length of the track – but not have to continuously watch the countdown timer I have trouble seeing. During the fade between songs I'll sit up (bringing my eyes to the best focal distance) and take a quick peek squint at my iPhone, note the total time and then hit the stage timer on my bike.
Yesterday I used The Crystal Method — Busy Child which is long – 7:25 mins, for the opening 4 min PTP effort. If I hit the Stage timer at the start, I now have the large numbers counting up. Next I can do so simple math in my head: 7:25 – 4:00 = 3:25. Now I know that if the class and I hit the Stage button (resetting the timer to zero) and start the effort at the 3:25 mark on the console timer, I have a near perfectly timed 4 minute interval timed to finish with the music 🙂
Understanding how I do this, do you see how frustrating it would be for me to be sitting there, watching and waiting for the timer to catch up and display properly? I swear there were times when it would take 10 seconds or more, with me staring at my iPhone like Mr. Magoo.
Now everything appears to be working smoothly – and that makes me happy!
I keep coming back to this group because they're really good, but more importantly, my classes love them! They look up while we're riding and say, “Who is this?”
Well… they're an American rock band from Los Angeles California (lucky them I'm thinking, after the winter here in Minnesota)! The group is three sisters and a random boy drummer :).
I find myself coming back to Haim (rhymes with time) a lot lately. They have this really unique sound that I'm drawn to…and like I said, my classes are too!
Please enjoy “Forever” by Haim. It's 61 BPM and 4:05 in length. Just a great dramatic climb – plain and simple. I hope you have fun with it and all their other tunes!
Not sure where your are, but multiple days above 50°F has us all giddy with excitement here in the Frozen North! Then again it does signal the end of my Sunday Performance classes – last one is this weekend.
If it doesn't rain there's a good chance it will be very lightly attended, with all my normal's out enjoying the sunshine. For those who do attend (I get a bunch of non-bikers) I thought a lighthearted class would be in order.
Many of my class playlists begin with a “root” song/track that I build the rest of the playlist around. Looking for inspiration, I cued up Chris Hawthorn's Top Indoor Cycling Songs for 2013 list and there was exactly what I was looking for, right at the top of her list:
Counting Stars by One Republic: This song is so upbeat and catchy, that I could use it in every class. It has a great beat and can be used seated or standing, or in combination. Some other great songs from this album that made my top list: What You Wanted and I Lived. This is by far my favorite album that came out this year.
I'm thinking that this 5 minute remix could make an interesting warmup.
Do you really know when your class music is at exactly the right sound level?
That it's not too loud so it's unsafe… but not too quiet that you miss out on the energy?
How about the level of your microphone… is it adjusted so your voice and cues are easily understood by your class?
I only know one Instructors on the planet who can answer this with, YES John, I do know when my mic and music volume are adjusted correctly – our very own Jennifer Lintz. That's because Jennifer teaches at a studio where they've spent $766.00 to purchase one of these soundear noise meters. In this article she discusses teaching class with it hanging in the back of her studio. She only needs to take a quick peek and watch the color changes to know when everything is adjusted properly.
Image from http://www.soundsafety.com.au/
$766.00, for something you could live without, is what my buddy Randy would call “Stupid Money”. To be fair, the SoundEar appears to have been designed for use in hospitals, where the intent is keeping noise levels very low.
Continuous understanding vs. checking once or twice a year 🙁
Do you still do this in your class?
Over the years I've seen infrequent requests from GF Dept Heads saying something similar to:
We're getting complaints about music levels in some classes!! Please check the sound levels in your classes!! I have a sound meter in my top drawer you can use. I'm also going to make spot checks of classes to check and see that you're under 100 decibels – which is our company policy.
How does checking my sound level today help me a month, week, day or even 20 minutes from now?
I can't help comparing an annual sound check to the good old days when we checked our pulse with fingers and a watch. This gave the illusion of doing something important, but it's a worthless exercise when you compare it with the understanding you get from a Heart Rate monitor that display BPM continuously. If my HR is too low, I can increase my level of effort, and then wait, check again and adjust as necessary.
The typical fitness studio sound system includes a bunch of knobs that will change the sound levels. Where I teach there are 5 ways I can adjust what my class hears:
Master Volume Knob
iPod Volume Knob
Mic Volume Knob
CD Volume Knob
And the volume level slider on my iPhone
+ don't forget how many tracks play at a different volume
All those knobs effect how loud the music will be in class. Making a mark on the Master Volume Knob (as often suggested) ignores all the other settings that will over ride the Master Volume Knob. I need a meter that tells me the correct settings to make for the best class experience.
You don't hear… what they hear
In most studios there's what I call a cone of silencer, that looks like this:
What sounds perfect to you on the instructor bike can be deafening to riders in the front row. The only way you can truly understand what your class is hearing, is to get off and walk around the room.
So I propose building a Fitness Studio Sound Meter that looks like this prototype
Why in the clock?
Every fitness studio (if it doesn't already) should have a clock hanging on the back or side wall, so the Instructor can easily know the time. I feel it makes perfect sense to incorporate the sound meter where it's plainly visible while teaching.
Visible to you… but discrete
I've already test marketed this idea to a few dozen Instructors and Studio owners. The one negative concern expressed was not wanting participants focusing or judging you based on their watching the sound meter. So our design features small LEDs that are very easy to see in any level light.
I have a saying; “my ideas always sound good… to me“. The purpose of this campaign is to find out if my idea sounds good to you 🙂
I'll be posting more details and a link to Indiegogo campaign tomorrow (Sunday 3/30/14)
I'm having so much fun building a playlist, using a single as the “base” track to build off of and then scrolling through related artists to fill in the rest. Plus it doesn't hurt to hear multiple; “great music tonight John!” at the end of class to know I'm doing something right 🙂
In the previous PRO Podcast, I linked to this playlist I built using Peter Frampton — Do You Feel Like We Do – Live as the “base” or “root” artist from which I explored artists related to Peter Frampton in Spotify. Eric Clapton has been a long time favorite of mine and when Spotify said he's connected with Frampton – that was all it took to include a 7:07 version of Layla from Derek & The Dominos which was the band that introduced us all in the USA to Clapton and band-mate Duane Allman – the future lead guitarist of the Allman Bros. band.
I love long climbs at higher than typical cadences. Layla is perfect to really tax the leg muscles of your Club Athletes during a seven minute effort at 58 RPM. Plenty of opportunity to alternate in / out of the saddle for sure!
This cover may fit where your need a sub 3 minute effort
I keep coming back to this group because they're really good, but more importantly, my classes love them! They look up while we're riding and say, “Who is this?”
