External MIDI Control via XML

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After a few performances live looping with Ableton and the GMS, I have found it cumbersome and frustrating to have to repeatedly swap between the two applications. To solve this, I have added he ability to control the GMS with an external MIDI device. I achieved this by creating an XML document with the parameters included as tags with a CC attribute to designate what control change value to use for each setting here’s a few lines out of the XML document.

<GMSMidiController>
    <MIDIControllerName>Korg MS2000</MIDIControllerName>
    <MidiChannel CC="31" type="knob" />
    <TopOctaveIncrement CC="82" type="button" />
    <BottomOctaveIncrement CC="78" type="button" />
    <Preset useProgramChange="true" />
    <ToggleFreeMode CC="77" type="button" />
    <StartStop CC="89" type="button" />
    <Sustain CC="64" invert="false" type="pedal" />
    <SetDuration CC="30" type="knob" />
    <ToggleDotted CC="92" type="button" />
    <SetScale CC="29" type="knob" />
    <ToggleMirroring CC="86" type="button" />
</GMSMidiController>

As you can see I’m using knobs to adjust some settings and buttons to adjust others. It’s really fun to turn a knob on my Korg MS2000 and see the sliders in my software start to move in response. Program change for presets and note on for transposition will work from any old controller, but the rest of the parameters need to be mapped to knobs, sliders or buttons. In total I have around thirty-six specific parameters that are now adjustable with a controller.

GMS Performance Excerpt #4

YAGMSMT

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gmsdata1Translation: Yet Another GMS Micro Track. Many of these experiments are all starting to sound very similar. The reason why is that I’ve been doing all my testing with the same GMS preset file and the same set of virtual instruments in Ableton Live.

Soon, after I’ve slowed down on tailoring the code, I’ll start creating some new versions of things to see what sort of variety is possible. I also have plans for using these techniques in an ensemble.

GMS Microtrack 2

Foot Falls Breaking Sticks in Wooded Area

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Here’s a set of crunchy footsteps recorded in a wooded area. There’s a bit of wind noise, but it otherwise represents the sound of trailblazing through a thick, young forest.

Foot Falls in Woods

Horse Whinnies and Snorts

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TennesseeI recently had the opportunity to gather some horse neighs, whinnies and snorts at an equestrian event. Apparently, when separating a horse from other horses it identifies as part of it’s herd, it will neigh or whinny more frequently. I was holding Tennessee while his friend Ginger was competing in a dressage competition.

I switched on my recorder to capture his vocalized separation anxiety. He wasn’t too anxious because most of the time he spent eating grass. However, every so often he’d take a break from grazing to protest his situation with a whinny or snort. I edited them all close together, but each sound was recorded at a different level, so be prepared for some volume changes.

Tennessee Winnies and Snorts

Breezy Cottonwood Ambiance

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Cottonwood LeavesPlains cottonwood (Populus sargentii) grows near water, and tends to mimic water in several ways. Visually their leaves ripple in the wind like water rippling on a fairly still pond. The sound of the wind through their leaves also mimics water flowing in a stream. I recorded a gentle wind passing through a small grove of cottonwoods near a swamp full of cattails, birds, insects and amphibians. My wind sock for the PCM-D50 didn’t provide all the wind noise protection I would have liked, but I got a good few seconds out of it anyway.

Breezy Cottonwoods