#emotionalcode

This is my first iteration of a 12 tone music generator. Right now it is just a monophonic composition but I would like to add chord handling in and to control the arcs of the dynamics and tempo rather than just relying on random in the next week. I made a version of this sketch that allows you to speed up and slow down the tempo and included a couple of simple representations of the sound.

Experiments with 12 tone serialism For my final project in Coding for Emotional Impact I have decided to continue working with sound. In high school I took a music theory class in which we spent a month on composition. As a math enthusiast and violinist I enjoyed experimenting with 12 tone serialism. I would like to revisit this method of composition - a sort of algorithmic composition before we even had computers - and employ some of the functions we have learned to programmatically adjust rhythm, dynamics, and the voicing of the work. I have randomly generated my primary sequence and worked out the corresponding matrix. I also recently ordered a ton of surface mount microphones. It might be interesting to bring this work into the physical world and do a twist on Steve Reich's Pendulum Music that uses the relationship of the speaker to the microphone to "play" the piece. 12 tone works "kill tonal perception". By giving each note an equal share of the piece the piece drifts along and challenges our harmonic expectations. I would like to try to harness this effect. I would like the piece to begin with a playful feeling but to then devolve into something seemingly unordered / out of control / unpleasant only to be once again redeemed.

Polyphonic composition I have been wanting to do some algorithmic composing so this seemed like the perfect week to get that started while experimenting with polyphony! I used Mimi Yin's Chorus sketch which uses the SoundCipher library. I played around with the various parameters and changed the voicing. I like the sound of the natural cycles that occur - the way it builds and falls off is nice, though unexpected. I thought it would be much more chaotic and difficult to control. I think playing more with dynamics and progressing past just an ocarina sound would help. I'd enjoy combining these generated sounds with my wave graphics from earlier in the semester as a visualizer. Play with the code on Github and listen below.

I listened to it for 10 minutes. Here are my thoughts: 10 seconds It's kind of fun to listen to 30 seconds Maybe a bit eerie? it doesn't feel like a looped pattern yet 2 minutes My favorite part right now is that really gentle, beautiful ending. it's really surprising and nice. It feels like you could transition to a new movement now. 5 minutes Oops, just kidding. That nice part is in the middle of the loop. It's funny how when you listen to something so many times over and over you are constantly reestablishing where the "beginning" and "end" is. You also begin to notice other patterns and similarities that hadn't appeared previously. 10 minutes That static in the recording isn't really supposed to be there. But I like it. It makes the whole things feel very analog. Wow, I still like this loop. I now perceive the "beginning" as being at :07.