A feature that I have been interested in adding to the GMS for quite a while is rest probabilities. Prior to adding this feature the GMS generated a sequence of notes without ever playing any rests. What’s exciting about the rest probability feature is that now you can add space into the generative phrases that the GMS creates.
Each preset can have a rest probability that ranges from zero to one-hundred. At zero notes will play continually just as it worked prior to adding the feature. At one-hundred only rests will play. Elsewhere in-between the probability of a rest occurring instead of a note is based on comparing a random number between one and one-hundred to the user adjusted setting. If the user setting is less than the randomly selected number then a note is played, otherwise the note is skipped and replaced by a rest of the same duration. I have uploaded a new Mac build for the application (beta 0.11) available for download on the GMS page.
Glyn over at 
While reviewing my set for last night’s Ostraka performance, I noticed that using filtering followed by down-sampling produced a robotic vowel like sound applied to synth bass. It’s got a nice vintage vocoder or 
To celebrate the University of Minnesota Northrop Auditorium’s 80th anniversary season a concert was performed on Friday by three-hundred students from the School of Music’s Symphony Orchestra and Combined Choirs. The piece was Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Op. 125 “Choral.” The event was sold out and by the time I got tickets all the good seats were taken, so my recording suffered significantly. I was located near the front, but as far as possible to stage left. This left me in front of the ancient speaker system used to amplify the concert. There was also loud ventilation and the crowd ambiance seemed to collect in my corner of the space. Never-the-less the concert was thoroughly enjoyable, but it’s unlikely that I’ll do much listening to my ragged bootleg version. Here’s the orchestra tuning their instruments.
To create this silliness I set the 
Wednesday, April 22, 2009 was a beautifully sunny day in Minneapolis. This quarter my schedule includes a three hour break, which I usually use for catching up on curriculum, ACB entries or meeting with students, but this time I let Spring fever take hold and got on my bike a rode around one of my favorite city lakes. There’s a nice spot on the lake where I sometimes read or take an afternoon nap. Unfortunately just across the lake from my spot was a work crew using a jackhammer to break up a cement driveway. If you can’t beat ‘um, join ‘um right? Having my PCM-D50 along, I finally gave up on the idea of a few Zs and rode over to the action to make a recording. It took a minute to get the levels right, but I think they were going to be at it all day, so there was plenty of time for a good long recording. Here’s a few passes of the jackhammer engaged and splitting concrete.