kilobeat

Another ChucK experiment! This one is more interesting, I think, and as a bonus, I kept the source code this time to share! :D

Here is the source: http://pastebin.com/nDAkvSKj

Yes, I know, it is terribly written code, but give me a break, I have been learning for less than a day :P

And, in case you do not have ChucK installed, here is an .ogg file recorded directly from ChucK, with no post-processing or edits: http://www.mediafire.com/?4w1g89x7g7i7pb7

There are five main ugens being utilized here: 3 Kaplus-Strong string synths, a pure Sine bass, and a low Sawtooth wave with a short release and a resonant low pass filter. Harmonics are where the pitches are generated, there is no midi or western pitches utilized here. It is called "kilobeat" because there are exactly 1024 beats in the entire piece. It generates sound for several minutes, and then ends with a droning sine wave, though technically, it is not ended but instead halted for a one week (!) period of time. So, if you are VERY patient, then there are more than 1024 beats ;)

The piece runs through many time signatures, with bizarre "swings" not possible for a human to play in time, as far as I know... Maybe Mike Patton could do it? :P

ChucK!

Link: http://www.mediafire.com/?1k7t3se32d24r9c

Just experimenting with ChucK, an experimental audio programming language which is quite different from Supercollider, from what I have seen so far. Feels a lot more low-level and experimental, not that either of those are a bad thing! :P

Now, on this particular piece: it sounds very random at first, but it's neat to hear the pitch and rhythm patterns start to emerge over time (there is no midi, and it's not on any one scale, it's mostly relying on the harmonics of other harmonics of a modulating fundamental). I let it run itself for a minute, then replaced the code with a modified version (in real time! yay livecoding!) which added another variable, s, which was increased slightly every time a note was played. This variable was added to the amount of time between note changes, which resulted in a piece which eventually slowed down to a near halt. Very fun :)