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NeXT Education Software Sampler 1992 Fall
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Patchmix.README
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Patchmix by Mara Helmuth
email: mara@woof.music.columbia.edu
mara@silvertone.princeton.edu
US mail: 709 Dodge Hall, Columbia University, New York, NY 10025
category: Music
Patchmix is a graphical interface to the Cmix Programming Language.
Within it, you can create and test Cmix instruments by constructing
a flow chart of unit generator icons.
Patchmix is used for teaching Cmix, signal processing and C programming
in the Computer Music class at Columbia University.
It was developed under NeXTstep Release 2.1.
Cmix must be installed. Be sure to put the correct directories in the file information window.
Description:
What is Patchmix?
Patchmix is a graphical interface to the Cmix Programming
Language. Within it, you can create and test Cmix instruments.
Since the code for the instrument is written out to a specified directory,
you can then work with this code later and modify it as you wish.
Patchmix can be helpful either to someone learning Cmix or to put together
quickly instruments which could then be altered as necessary. To run it, you
need Cmix installed in the directory specified in your file information window.
To get started, first make sure you have correct file info in the panel.
Then, drag unit generators from the palette window onto the white patch view.
Double-click on any unwanted unit generators to remove them. To set
parameters for their inputs, double click on the parameter knob and
set the value in the top right param field. Then, connect the unit
generators, outputs to inputs, by dragging the mouse from output to input.
Redrawing will erase them. When you're done making a patch, write out
a score from the test score panel, being sure to fill in any designated
parameter fields if you used them in the input parameters (i.e. p[3] could be
frequency input to an oscillator). Then, you're ready to test it out.
Write out a score file from the Score Data Window. Hit the "write code",
"compile", "run", "rescale" and "play" buttons. To make sure each
process has finished before starting the next, watch the "display output" window.
Send any bugs, suggestions or comments to mara@woof.music.columbia.edu.
Main Window
The main window is where the flow chart is constructed, and where you select instrument-
building functions with the compile, play or run buttons. Also, the name of your instrument
and the directory where you want the code to be written should be specified in the form fields.
To the right, the "param" field holds values you want to store as inputs to the unit generators.
Panel Buttons
reset will clear the flow chart off the screen (except for the output unit generator).
This is an irreversible procedure.
write code will write out the Cmix code into the "Newinst" directory, under filenames
"inst1.c", Makefile and profile.c. If you already have these files in this directory
they will be overwritten. If you specify different file names in the main window,
they will be used.
compile will compile the new instrument program.
run creates the sound file by running the Cmix program.
rescale will rescale the sound file from a floating point to an integer sound file.
play will play the sound file.
compile will compile the instrument that has been written out.
run will run the cmix job using the instrument specified in the main window, and the
score file and sound file specified in the file information window.
rescale will rescale the soundfile into a playable integer file.
play will play the soundfile.
Warning: Loops in the patch will not work.
Cmix Unit Generators
The unit generator panel contains in the first row an oscilator, buzz, random number
generator, evp (simple envelope with attack and decay) and a reson filter. The
second and fourth rows are not yet working. The third row contains addition, subtraction
multiplication and division operators. The six items in the right-most column are pitch
converters. "pch" means octave.pitch class representation, "oct" means octave.decimal,
and "cps" means Hertz or cycles per second. So, "pchcps" converts from Hz to octave.
pitch class notation. The Cmix man pages explain more about these unit generators.
The input values to each parameter or argument of the unit generator may be set internally
by Patchmix, or more often can be set by the user in the "Param" field at the top of the main
window. If the value is something that should be determined by the data or score file
and not specified in the instrument, enter a new p-field number in the Param field when this
input is selected. For example, in a one-oscil instrument, perhaps frequency should be a
p-field. Go to the Score Data window and choose an unused p-field (i.e. p[3]) and enter
it into the frequency param. Then pitch will be determined in the score for this instrument.