Post your probability based, generative or just weird music/soundscapes

[StudioDave]

I'll bite. Here are a couple favorites:

A recent self-generating patch created in VCV Rack:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1H-i4j4QAs

An older piece created with AVSynthesis (Csound-based composition environment):

https://soundcloud.com/davephillips69/v ... equence-ii

Best regards,

dp

[IncarnateX]

And where is @harry when you need him, btw?

This Harry?

The one and only

Thanks for dropping by. This is the thread where I would be happy if you would post your future results of your new music making system. I am busy getting to know Korg Karma but will return and listen to all the new contributions later.

And thanks to the newcomers for dropping by too As Vurt just said, it is nice to have things in one place. Whenever you post something in a dedicated thread, you are more than welcome to post it here too. That goes for all the “post your”-threads. Thus, your oldies do also belong here.

[JazzyClarinetMan]

I'm very new to this forum and I don't create music. I just listen avidly!

I love the unusual, avant-garde and experimental and there are some amazing creations in this thread!!!

This is NOT a loaded question as I am genuinely curious as I have no experience at all with the composing process:

With these entirely generative and / or random pieces where there is little actual input from the 'composer', what does the creator actually get out of it all?

Sorry if anyone is offended by that; I am seriously interested from a point of ignorance.

[vurt]

With these entirely generative and / or random pieces where there is little actual input from the 'composer', what does the creator actually get out of it all?

Sorry if anyone is offended by that; I am seriously interested from a point of ignorance.

i can only speak for myself of course, no offence taken at all for a genuine question.

for me, my generative pieces are done with my modular synth. while it is true, i can set it up so that it generates an ever changing soundscape. so there is input, its just before the fact. this is probably true of most people, none of what you hear is actually "random" as such, as justin said, he follows certain rules.

these recordings can then lead to moments of accidental genius from the machines (not me, im no genius) which i can then either slice up the audio and use it in a sampler, or i can work out what id done to make that particular bit happens and use that in a further recording.

but the main thing i get from it is the fun of exploring, just seeing whats possible with the tools i have, sometimes it works, sometimes it really, really doesn't but even then it can be fun.

good to have you on board

[feralsystems]

I'll bite. Here are a couple favorites:

A recent self-generating patch created in VCV Rack:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1H-i4j4QAs

An older piece created with AVSynthesis (Csound-based composition environment):

https://soundcloud.com/davephillips69/v ... equence-ii

Best regards,

dp

These both sound really nice, thank you for sharing. And I've never heard of AVSynthesis before - I may have to see if it's still around.

[feralsystems]

With these entirely generative and / or random pieces where there is little actual input from the 'composer', what does the creator actually get out of it all?

Where generative/algorithmic music is involved, my reward comes from creating the actual process, then listening to the result to see how long it holds my interest. A lot of times it's just trying out ideas to see where they lead and perhaps hearing something that I wouldn't have otherwise written myself. As vurt referred to those "happy accidents".

[Delta Sign]

Yeah, what vurt and feralsystems said.

There is actually a lot of user input. Like the Rec2 nS thing I posted. I spent quite a bit of time getting the algorithm to sound the way it does. It's not like I just pressed a button and it suddenly started to make music. Instead of putting in notes, it's fiddling with conditional logic, interaction between sounds, recursive modulations etc. I very, very rarely use randomness.

The beauty of generative music, at least to me, is the element of interaction and surprise. I love those "What the f**k was that?" moments. When I'm writing something on the piano, I simply write what's in my head, there is no surprise, no feedback. Generative music does give me feedback in the form of unexpected sounds, which I'm then reacting to. It almost becomes a conversation between the composer and the song. It is a very rewarding process. I give the song something new to work with, it gives me something back.

[Delta Sign]

holy crap that rec2n5 sounds like aphex twin brawling with autechre
awesome! some great little scuffles between the bass and other elements here n there, as chaotic as it sounds it never actually gets lost?!?

Thanks a lot, mate!
I actually made this shortly after Autechre's NTS Sessions came out. It was supposed to be some kind bad imitation of their style
They said in some interviews that their system doesn't really differentiate between rhythm and sound anymore, so that's what I tried. I also shoved lots of things in lots of feedback loops, because that's what Sean always does

yeah, i can see this thread being one of those that is filled with good stuff.

Definitely! I hope we keep this going. I'm looking forward to listening to all the stuff tomorrow

[sprnva]

The patching does take some time (less in my case as I only have a very simple setup) but happy accidents and surprises can occur even during that. It just feels like you're almost instantly making music unlike a DAW where you have to spend time selecting instruments and sounds and playing in notes. While patching might also look like a lot of setting up, it feels like less of a chore.

It's also very much a two-way communication. I used to play in bands years ago but over time everyone went their own way. Working in a modular environment gives me a similar vibe. It feels like I'm playing with the instrument rather than just playing it. It can have as much input in the outcome as I do.

But also, I just would never have made this kind of music if I had to create the sounds and sequence or play everything into a computer. It's a lot of fun to make music this way but I can understand that a lot of that might not carry over to the listener as they don't have the same investment in how it was made.

[ThomasHelzle]

With these entirely generative and / or random pieces where there is little actual input from the 'composer', what does the creator actually get out of it all?

I can only speak for myself of course, but there isn't only "composing" in the traditional sense (and a lot of that is actually rather "generative" in a way ).
There also is the joy of arranging sounds, finding effects that fit a piece, change parameters to make things more interesting...

Most "normal" music is about emotion or making you move or having meaningful lyrics or any other kind of basically "grabbing" your attention. Sometimes this is great, but often I find it annoying, especially if I do something else at the same time. I am for instance completely unable to have a radio playing in the background, it drives me totally nuts (and trailers kill me). Same with TV etc. (don't have either for over 20 years now).

So, similar to Tibetan windchimes, birdsong, wind in the trees, ocean waves, city noise etc., it can be very fulfilling to listen to something that has no "meaning" in the human sense but still moves our eardrums in a pleasant way.
I create these pieces for myself first, and then, if I think something is worth it, I may release it on BC.

But like was said above, it's not really random in my case. Only if a generator creates something that somehow touches me as interesting I'll pursue it further.
Once I wrote a Processing Midi generator and sent it's output to a piano VST. My girlfriend (a piano player) came in and asked, if it's the new Keith Jarrett album. That made my day
And I DID pursue that script further.

It is similar with my generative/procedural (3D-) graphics work or abstract macro photography. Some people ask "why do you create this, what do you get out of this?". I have no answer to that, but it makes me happy to do it and I love the results.
Some people love it too, others look at it and are totally lost.

It actually took me many many years to accept that this is my thing, I always thought it's somehow weird and that you need to create stuff with a "meaning". I'm 99% okay with it nowadays though.
Most days that is

Cheers,

Tom

[ThomasHelzle]

https://archive.org/details/IMHULTheGildedPath

A lot of the effects routing and sample selection/background noise and glitches are managed via a generative algorithm I came up with to help me with live performances. Some of the elemental sounds (fire, wind) are completely synthesized as well.

I didn't say it was good...but it is weird. LOL!

Awesome!

[woggle]

referring to ThomasHelzle just now - arranging is a big part of the pleasure for me as well. This is another selectionist piece where I put Gymnopedie 2 through some scripts (generated variations), did some editing (selection) and then arranged the output. I probably made quite a few arrangements of this as I was going and finally settled on this one.



https://soundcloud.com/greghooper/varia ... mnopedie-2

[vurt]

see, rather than any offence, you've inspired a conversation that has revealed some interesting insights.


ill be continuing listening through over the next days, its almost 11pm here so not the best time for listening sessions

[woggle]

ill be continuing listening through over the next days, its almost 11pm here so not the best time for listening sessions

same here - but it is morning here and I am about to head off to teach TaiChi to a bunch of nursing home residents and then some community centres in the afternoon. Filling in for someone who is on holidays

[vurt]

same here - but it is morning here and I am about to head off to teach TaiChi to a bunch of nursing home residents and then some community centres in the afternoon. Filling in for someone who is on holidays

that would be far more fun if you where just a mate he was getting to fill in who knew nothing about tai chi