Difference between revisions of "220b-winter-2008/hw1"

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** chapter 10
 
** chapter 10
 
* skim through articles on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleatoric_music chance music], John Cage's [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Changes Music of Changes], and the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Ching I Ching]
 
* skim through articles on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleatoric_music chance music], John Cage's [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Changes Music of Changes], and the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Ching I Ching]
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<div style="text-align: left;">[[Image:Timber.jpg]]</div>
 
<div style="text-align: left;">[[Image:Timber.jpg]]</div>
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=== Specification (part 1 of 3): Crafting Timbres with FM ===
 
=== Specification (part 1 of 3): Crafting Timbres with FM ===

Revision as of 03:18, 21 January 2008

Homework #1: Timbre-scapes

Due date: 2008.1.30 11:59:59pm (or thereabout), Wednesday.

Reading


Timber.jpg


Specification (part 1 of 3): Crafting Timbres with FM

  • check out the FM synthesis/drone examples here, in particular
    • FM synthesis basics in ChucK
      • fm-by-hand.ck : fm synthesis, 1::samp at a time
      • fm-synth.ck : more commonly used FM synth basis, setting sync to 2
      • fm-synth2.ck : yet another way to do FM synthesis in ChucK, via the Step UGen
    • time varying Drone example (from class)
      • Drone-1.ck : FM synthesis with SinOsc modulating a SqrOsc
      • Drone-2.ck : the above with an added, time-varying "demon bunny" filter
      • Drone-3.ck : layering three of the above, controlling each independently
  • using FM synthesis in ChucK, create the following:
    • 3 different "static" timbres
      • building blocks: oscillators, filters, etc.
      • experiment with various parameters such as carrier frequency, modulator frequency, index of modulation, etc.
    • 3 time-varying timbres
      • building blocks: oscillators, filters, time-based control code
      • can be a "drone" (but doesn't have to be)
      • the time-varying process(s) should be somehow coupled to one or more of the FM/filter parameters
    • next, take a timbre from above, and apply an ADSR envelope to "carve" out an attack, decay, sustain, and release
      • test this by making some bleeps and bloops


Specification (part 2 of 3): Computer Music of Changes

  • explore and employ controlled randomness and chance, and compose a musical statement
    • macro-level structure/form: as an exercise, the piece should contain at least 3 sections (think about the flow and relationship between sections)
    • think about how to leverage randomness to controllably generate passages...
    • potential parameters that can be influenced by chance:
      • pitch
      • rhythm
      • meter
      • timbre / synthesis parameters (e.g., FM parameters)
      • dynamics
      • tempo
      • texture
      • many, many others
    • plan/score your composition somehow
    • write ChucK programs to generate the different passages/sections/layers; for each, run/record the program several times, and choose the best result for each part.
    • put them together in audacity/ardour, or a bigger ChucK program


Specification (part 3 of 3): Brainstormin'

  • without writing any code, imagine and think through how you might map a cellular automata to:
    • create/help create a piece of music
    • control timbre
  • no right/wrong answers - but try to think it through
  • convey what you come up with in word, diagrams, etc.


Deliverables

turn in all files by putting them in your Library/Web/220b/hw1/ directory, and then linking to them from your Library/Web/220b/hw1.html

  • 1) your static timbres (part 1)
  • 2) your time-varying timbres (part 1)
  • 3) your Computer Music of Changes musical statement (part 2)
  • 4) a short README text (readme.txt) file that:
    • conveys your ideas/comments in constructing each program
    • contains instructions on running your programs
    • describes any difficulties you encountered in the process
    • details your plan for mapping cellular automata (part 3)