Music 256A Homework 3
Elena Stalnaker | Fall 2021
The Microwaver - Final Video - 11/8/21
Microwave Sequencer (YouTube Link)
Instructions:
Play the letters on your keyboard, A, S, D, F, J, K and L. The sounds they make will automatically loop, and you can add new layers as you please :) To make a new beat, restart (working on a more elegant solution to that).
Screenshots:
I think screenshots beyond this first one would ruin the effect of the narrative, so I will hold off on posting them until later.
Inspiration:
I chose my first idea for this project, to make a live performance aid that would help me play the percussion parts of songs I've produced that use field recordings as percussion. I wanted the sequencer to be tactile and physically playable like a drumset, but also to loop automatically so that I could add different layers separately. This version is simplified and buggy compared to what I would need to actually perform, but it is still a lot of fun to play with.
THANK YOU!!!
I want to thank Kunwoo (as always) for encouraging me to stick with the microwave idea. I was going to do something else I thought would be easier but I don't think it actually would've been and this is way cooler :-)
Milestone 2 Video - 11/3/21
Music Sequencer Brainstorm - 10/25/21
Idea 1: Live performance aid
I have a couple of songs I produced that rely on a wide array of field recordings for percussion, and I have been struggling to see how to perform that live. I was thinking I could build some kind of complicated physical drumset out of objects similar to the ones I recorded, but that seems like quite the headache and not at all portable. I liked how "Yume" used sounds from an album to make the sequencer, but also gave the user some control over those sounds. I'm thinking I could do something similar with my field recordings, using sndbuf to bring them into chuck and then modifying them according to different parameters there, like reverb or filtering or even pitch. I'm not sure exactly what visual I would want to go with it, but something that would aid in a live performance and have clear correlations to each sound. Depending which song I choose, I could also have the visual relate to the lyrics. For "Orange," I think I would want a lot of orange things (duh) that correspond with the lyrics, and/or a kitchen that corresponds with how I got the sounds for the percussion.
Idea 2: Doors
I love the idea of magical doors that open to other worlds, especially when they are set into trees or giant oranges or hillsides. I think it might be fun to have a collection or maze of doors that open to different musical worlds, like the different scenes in "Yume". Alternatively, it might be interesting to have each door be a sound, and opening or closing it turn that sound on and off. However, I would want more control over the sound if I did that, so it might also be fun to have little rooms behind each door where you can go in and modify each sound. Then again, we only have so much time for this project, so maybe just one room would be good, which kindof connects back to my kitchen with objects that make sound idea up above.
Idea 3: Tunnels?
I really liked the rail shooter example from class where the player makes music as they move through a space. I like how it was an active game, and also a way of making music. I think it would be cool to make a game using what I learned in roll a ball where one could pick up or drop different sounds, or crash into objects at different speeds to make other sounds, while going through some king of tunnel system or maze. I feel like it might be fun to have a looper pedal element to the game, where you can record different parts of the course, and change what you pick up or don't and how fast you go, and then layer the loops on top of eachother. I could also get creative with what objects make what sounds.
Chickencer Tutorial - Progress Report - 10/25/21
I am unfortunately only halfway through the tutorial, but it has been very helpful so far, and I'll finish it as soon as I can. Currently taking a break to work on my 3 ideas for the first milestone.
Music Sequencer Research
I found a blog post titled "15 of the Best Music Sequencers Online" which mostly contained sequencers designed mainly for functionality with creating synths, but there were a couple examples that were more artful in their interface and output. My favorite was one called "Yume" by Helios. They had this beautiful layout of slightly abstract mountains and kites (the kites could have been perceived as floating islands with hanging roots) and you could move the kites and the music would respond in different ways correlating to each kite. Some kites moved only up and down, but many also moved laterally. It was so fun to get lost in the different calming, beautiful arrangements, and try to figure out what parameters each kite was geared to. I think most were connected to multiple, some audio and some visual. One kite would control the volume of percussion, and the mountains would pulsate according to how loud it was. Another kite correlated to a buzzing droning sound, but I think also the EQ of the entire sound, and the shading of the whole scene. There were 5 different scenes you could go to, each with different backgrounds, music and corresponding kites, and at the end it led me to a screen advertising an electronica album of the same name as the sequencer. I'm not even mad they were trying to sell me something because the music is so good and the sequencer was so well designed and fun to play with. I'm currently listening to the album as I write this.
Blog post on Music Gateway: "15 of the Best Online Music Sequencers" by Joelle Banton
Another sequencer from the blog post that I found interesting was "Typatone". This sequencer takes keyboard input and makes music out of it. You can type words and see how they sound, or just play the keys for the sound itself. You can hit a little music note button and the sounds will change. It is simple and fun to play with!
I also found an article in The Verge about Google Songmaker. It was cool, and reminded me of the drawing sequencer with the little bugs we looked at in class. It made me realize I'm more interested in doing something relatively specific for my sequencer, like an interactive artwork, as opposed to trying to make one that is attempting to be all purpose like the Song Maker.
The Verge article about Google Song Maker
Some other sequencers I checked out: