Monster Media 1994 #2

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Text File | 1994-05-09 | 15KB | 271 lines

====================================================== ██ █ █ ██ █ █ ██ █ ██ ███ █ █ ██ ███ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ ████ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ ██ █ █ █ █ ██ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ ██ █ ███ █ █ ██ ██ █ ██ ███ ███ █ ██ ███ DILAUDID GLIDE - by SHANNON LARRATT, (416) 488 - 4028 ====================================================== FIRST OF ALL ----> USE PKUNZIP -D OR IT'LL ALL GO IN THE WRONG PLACES!! ((Manual later in file)) SOURCE FILES: figure it out yourself... they are sort of commented, but cryptic all the same... All programs are written in QuickBasic, i compiled with BC7 - anyway, i think it should compile just fine with QB4.5 with just a few modifications (if any) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- the program probably takes some playing with to really be useful, but check out the midi files and markov chain program if you are anyone else --> note they are not general midi, i think that some of them are sequenced for the E-MU MORPHEUS, ADLIB, and YAMAHA DX-27 (as those are the synths that i have in my "studio").......... i have found the results that this program outputs to be totally musical and non "computery", especially when well sequenced and with a good sound output device... it works even better if it is used interactively. although it is pretty easy to get strangely musical yet very random and chaotic files... also have fun with the markov chain program... i was going to make it work with music so you could go "make me a song that sounds sort of like this..." but i haven't got around to it yet with all my other projects.... however it works just fine for making computer poetry, philosophy, etc. - the idea is from an old Scientific American when they still had the computer recreations column - which should never have ended, but oh well... HOW IT WORKS ------------ the best way to use the program is probably to feed, say, an eight bar chord structure into the internal sequencer manually, and then have the program lay tracks over that -> this makes it much more harmonic. when your sequence is completed, enter it into a program like Cubase or Cakewalk and sequence it properly. anyway, what the program is doing is just taking numerical input, converting it into notes over a predefined set of scales, and then "frequency quantizing" those notes to any notes already in the sequence (to avoid too much dissonance). the numerical input can be generated by the program through several fractal/cellular/pattern generating methods........ [ps. read i think LONG DARK TEATIME OF THE SOUL or is it DIRK GENTLY'S HOLISTIC DETECTIVE AGENCY by DOUGLAS ADAMS - a program very similar to this one is actually developed by one of the main characters in that book] FUTURE STUFF FOR SURE --------------------- make it basically use midi file format internally. it's current method is just crazy... plus 11 monophonic tracks is pretty limiting - this is just because when i first did this thing i just had adlib. also allow midi input... add a real interface (and a real manual or online help)... i might just move it to windows, visual basic is just so incredibly simple that i could do it in an afternoon if i just sat down and did it... more pattern generators - get music structure from some kind of self transforming fractal, hodgepodge machine, life, etc. in a more interactive (that is, between tracks) to create sound entities which are 'alive' and interact with each other in the output stream. get music style from markov chain style analysis, using variable length chains (3,4,5 etc. notes - varies degree of chaos, structure, and similarity to original pieces). this would let you feed in a sequence and create new songs in the same style - so you could go: "make me a song that sounds 60% like Syd Barrett's 'Effervescing Elephant' and 40% like Mike Oldfield's 'Ommadawn' or whatever... / also this would include realtime interaction through midi or serial devices... simultaneous output of (psychedelic) graphical information - however a friend of mine is building a modular interactive video synthesizer so i may just let him do it (if you know about this stuff call him: DAVID EAGAN / FUTURE CONCEPTS + PSYBERCITY, (416) 661-3648 voice or (416) 661-5543 fax)... CALL ME ------- if stuff like this interests you, and you have more spare time than me and want to work on the program, or if you have written similar stuff yourself, call me: .,=======================================,. || SHANNON LARRATT || || (416) 488-4028 Voice and Voice BBS || || (416) 661-2661 Fax || || sorry, no email... || ``======================================='' PS. I am looking for (non-professional or off-time professional) programmer who have experience in voicemail programming - that is, experience with DIALOGIC or BIGMOUTH hardware... if that's you, call me FOR SURE. ============================================================================ ===================== "M A N U A L" ====================== ============================================================================ Main Menu: 1. View composition Displays a visual representation (basically like Cubase grid edit) of your sequence - time is horizontal, frequency is vertical, 1 grid squire = 1 octave by 1 bar (4/4 time only this version) 2. Add notes Takes you to the add menu, lets you add tracks to the sequence. note all tracks are monophonic, and separate sections within a single track may not overlap and must be added in time order. 3. Generate pattern Takes you to the generation menu. this is where you create the information (.CEL) files used in the add notes menu. 4. Delete notes this lets you delete one of the tracks... 5. Move notes in theory this would let you move tracks around, but i don't think i ever finished it. 6. Load sequence lets you load a sequence (.DGS) file 7. Save sequence lets you save a sequence (.DGS) file 8. Save text lets you save a text/grid (.TXT) representation of your sequence... 9. Save MIDI (std file format 1) Lets you save a FORMAT 1 midi file. a format 1 file stores the tracks one after another, this is useful for loading into sequencer software. 10. Quit go to dos. ADD menu: (file list) files that can be loaded are .CEL files (1 byte/note, rounded to scale), or .NOT files (ascii note lists: a f D f" etc) Channel # channel to add to (1-11). Main filename filename being used as main note info source Note range start lowest note to be rounded to (range is at top of screen) Note range end highest note to be rounded to Scale type there are various scales that you can pick from... look in the ROUND() subroutine to see the scales themselves - adding your own scales for your own compositions is probably very useful Rounding buffer specify a number, usually 0-2, which indicates how many semitones must come between two notes. That is, if you pick 2, and already in the sequence is the note 'C' and you try to add a 'D' it will be rounded up to a 'D#' so as to space 2 semitones. Spacing style this lets you set up the rhythm. type in the note pattern, 1 letter being a 16th note, 'x' being a played note and 'o' being a silent note (rest) --> so >> xxxx xxxx oo xx xxx x <-- this is a 1/4 note, 1/4 note, 1/8 rest, 1/8 note, dotted 1/8 note, 1/16 note... once you get used to it, it's quite simple... OR OR OR Note length ^^enter nothing for spacing and you will be asked for a note length in 16ths, all notes being the same length... 1 is a sixteenth note, 2 an eighth, 4 a quarter, 16 a whole, etc. Spacing repeats If you did enter a spacing style, the number of repeats is the number of times the style repeats with NEW notes being loaded into it, if you want the notes and style to repeat, use repeats, below... Time place start the point at which the sequence starts, in bars, starting at bar 1 Time length if you are using single note lengths, this is the number of bars to play for # repeats this is the number of times the whole sequence repeats... Degree variation this is the number of semitones that each full repeat can vary from the next Repeat filename this is the file to be used to modulate the degree of variation Arpegiator menu: Chord sequence enter a series of chords, in the format XX0 where XX is the beginning note (C c' c: etc) and 0 is the chord type (3=3rd 4=4th 5=5th 7=7th 9=9th): ----> ie --> c3 c'4 c4 c'3 D5 Arpeggio style 0th enter the type of arpegiation-> note# note# note# note# etc... (so for c3 you could go 1 3 2 3 as sort of a guitar picking arp. or for D5 you could go 1 4 3 2 or whatever) cellular menu: NOTE: this is a bastardization of the HODGEPODGE machine from SciAmer. K1 (1-10,2) just some variable... K2 (1-10,3) " " " Spd (1-20,4) speed of healing/dying Row start (1-35) row to start capturing at Number of rows number of rows to capture Col start (1-35) col to start capturing at number of cols number of cols to capture Time start # of cycles in to start recording Duration # of cycles to capture Random seed initialize rand. num. generator generate menu: Takes you where you want to go: 1. Cellular 2. Wave 3. Random 4. Mountain range 5. Life simulation 6. Arpeggiator life menu: Row start (1-35) row to start recording at Number of rows number of rows to record Col start (1-35) column to start recording at number of cols number of cols to record Time start # of cycles after which to start recording at Duration total # of cycles to record for Random seed rand.num. generator initializer mountain menu: % conjunct jumps this sets the % of note->note jumps which are conjunct (in the same direction), that is if the notes are ascending, they will continue to. % disjunct jumps this sets the % of note->note jumps which are disjunct (in a different direction), that is if the notes are ascending, they will start to descend. % 'nonjunct' jumps (this is not asked, it is automatically calculated) - - 'nonjunct' the note does notes change - a repeated note, could be used in drones Conjunct jump size maximum size of a conjunct jump (averages to about half this number) --> note clipping occurs at 0 and 255 (1 byte resolution), so a good value is about 35 Disjunct jump size maximum size of a disjunct jump Number of pattern buffers sets the number of pattern buffers to use Max size of buffer the number of notes which can be stored in the largest of the pattern buffers Buffer size the number of notes in this individual buffer Relative/Absolute (ra) a relative buffer stores the delta values, that is the relative changes from note to note rather than their absolute values - so A would make repeating, identical sections, and R would make 'steps' or something like that... Start record chance the % chance that on any given opportune note that the buffer will start recording... Start play chance the % chance that on any given opportune note that the buffer will start playback Beat lock note to lock to, 4 would mean that the buffer start/record is checked every fourth note, 1 every note, 5 every fifth, etc... useful since it lets you lock to the bar or whatever.. Seed randomizer variable Length the number of notes to return -> since the minimum dos file size is i think 2k, you might as well generate 2000 notes... at least... wave menu pick the shape of wave, the number of notes per wave, and the number of times the wave repeats... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- (what a crappy manual...)