Rest Probabilities Added to the GMS

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.

Mel Mann and Martin Inda at Panoramica Buenos Aires

Mel Mann + Inda @ Panoramica Bs As from Martin Inda on Vimeo.

Martin Inda recently informed me about his collaboration with Mel Mann, and documentation of the piece being performed at Panoramica, Buenos Aires. From Martin:

All of the material is filmed by me with an unexpensive Panasonic Lumix ZS3 camera, then composed in After Effects. The live performance is done with VDMX soft, and uses the audio analysis tool to trigger effects in real time using the sound. The image is composed by 3 projectors. Music: Mel Mann creates his music using synthesizers, samplers and acoustic instruments, like a ukulele and a harmonics flute, which he plays live combined with Ableton.

The geometric imagery reminds me a little of the Umfeld project with Speedy J and Scott Pagano that was performed last year at the Spark Festival of Electronic Music and Art.

Falling Objects Synchronized to Produce Rhythm

Gravité from Renaud Hallée on Vimeo.

It has been around for a while, but I just came across this very clever piece by Montréal based artist, Renaud Hallée. His composition uses video and sound from falling objects edited together to produce some nice rhythms with a few unexpected twists. Hint: it’s not all tennis balls.

The art of sound: IP rights for music-focused digital artists

I just got word from Flora Watters about an event [Update] coming up on Wednesday the 21st and 28th of April in London titled The Art of Sound: IP Rights for Music-focused Digital Arts. From the article:

When it comes to cross collaboration in multimedia art forms, the lines can get blurred in terms of who owns what when there is more than one author. This is typical in terms of digital art forms where varied creative input has been pooled together to create sound scapes, or in the use of sampled music to build installations or to create performance pieces. When working across the creative spectrum with DJs, VJs, music producers, visual artists, filmmakers and owners of performance spaces, professional multimedia artists can protect their work by outlining agreements such as licensing contracts, copyright assignments and contracts with live venues. This event will take an in depth look at issues of intellectual property (IP) and Creative Commons licenses for multimedia artists sharing work and ideas in the field of music.

The event is free and open to the public, so if you’re in the area check it out and let us know how it went.

Rock This by Jawara Hughes

Rock This from Jawara Hughes on Vimeo.

I was quite pleased with this project for my audio production class that was produced recently by Jawara Hughes. Around mid-term I introduced Propellerheads Reason to the class. This was only the second time that Jawara used Reason to create an original track. He added the vocals and finalized the piece in Pro Tools. Congratulations, on an excellent piece of electro-funk-meets-kinetic-type.