MUSIC 256A HW#3 - Metro Sequencer

Emily Kuo

Having grown up in Taipei, the metro system was an essential part of my childhood. I traveled to New York City for a conference recently and realized that the sounds of subway made me feel nostalgic. I started wondering about the different sounds and music that subways in different cities make and came up with the metro sequencer idea.

The sequencer includes several input controls. The user can add or remove stops in a metro line by clicking on a dot in the grid. The keyboard controls are the following:

• 1: switch to red line (drumset)
• 2: switch to yellow line (drumset)
• 3: switch to green line (french horn)
• 4: switch to blue line (guitar)
• 5: switch to purple line (acid bass)
• 6: switch to beige line (subway environmental sounds)
• space bar: switch between major and minor mode
• up arrow: shift note mapping up by one semitone
• down arrow: shift note mapping down by one semitone
• w: increase speed
• s: decrease speed

Here's a video demo of the sequencer:

Source code: metro.zip

Run "chuck go.ck" in the terminal to start the sequencer. Have fun!

I'd like to thank Kunwoo and Ge for helping me brainstorm, Andrew for helping me debug, and Soohyun for teaching me how to implement velocity for the car movements.

HW#3 Milestone #2 

Emily Kuo

November 8th, 2023

MUSIC 256A, Stanford University

HW#3 Milestone #1

Design Specs:

1. Sequence music

2. Create flow

3. Balance between inherent challenge and present skill

4. Potential for growth, immediate feedback

5. Setting reachable goals 

Main Design Questions:

1. Is it satisfying to play? How does it feel?

2. What kind of music can you make with it?

   1. Something that expresses you

3. For the player or for the audience?

   1. There’s something good about hiding nothing

Capabilities:

1. Edit sequence

2. Play sequence

   1. Motions can be linear, circular, etc.

   2. Fill material or scale shapes with sounds (ex. kicks)

Design Ideas: