A microtonal wind controller building on Yamaha’s technology to facilitate the performance of music based on the “19-EDO” scale

We describe a project in which several collaborators adapted an existing instrument to make it capable of playing expressively in music based on the microtonal scale characterised by equal divsion of the octave into 19 tones (“19-EDO”). Our objective was not just to build this instrument, however, but also to produce a well-formed piece of music which would exploit it idiomatically, in a performance which would provide listeners with a pleasurable and satisfying musical experience. Hence, consideration of the extent and limits of the playing-techniques of the resulting instrument (a “Wind-Controller”) and of appropriate approaches to the composition of music for it were an integral part of the project from the start. Moreover, the intention was also that the piece, though grounded in the musical characteristics of the 19-EDO scale, would nevertheless have a recognisable relationship with what Dimitri Tymoczko (2010) has called the “Extended Common Practice” of the last millennium. So the article goes on to consider these matters, and to present a score of the resulting new piece, annotated with comments documenting some of the performance issues which it raises. Thus, bringing the project to fruition involved elements of composition, performance, engineering and computing, and the article describes how such an inter-disciplinary, multi-disciplinary and cross-disciplinary collaboration was co-ordinated in a unified manner to achieve the envisaged outcome. Finally, we consider why the building of microtonal instruments is such a problematic issue in a contemporary (“high-tech”) society like ours

Improvising with the threnoscope: integrating code, hardware, GUI, network, and graphic scores

Live coding emphasises improvisation. It is an art practice that merges the act of musical composition and performance into a public act of projected writing. This paper introduces the Threnoscope system, which includes a live coding micro-language for drone-based microtonal composition. The paper discusses the aims and objectives of the system, elucidates the design decisions, and introduces in particular the code score feature present in the Threnoscope. The code score is a novel element in the design of live coding systems allowing for improvisation through a graphic score, rendering a visual representation of past and future events in a real-time performance. The paper demonstrates how the system’s methods can be mapped ad hoc to GUI- or hardware-based control

Towards musical interaction : 'Schismatics' for e-violin and computer.

This paper discusses the evolution of the Max/MSP patch used in schismatics (2007, rev. 2010) for electric violin (Violectra) and computer, by composer Sam Hayden in collaboration with violinist Mieko Kanno. schismatics involves a standard performance paradigm of a fixed notated part for the e-violin with sonically unfixed live computer processing. Hayden was unsatisfied with the early version of the piece: the use of attack detection on the live e-violin playing to trigger stochastic processes led to an essentially reactive behaviour in the computer, resulting in a somewhat predictable one-toone sonic relationship between them. It demonstrated little internal relationship between the two beyond an initial e-violin ‘action’ causing a computer ‘event’. The revisions in 2010, enabled by an AHRC Practice-Led research award, aimed to achieve 1) a more interactive performance situation and 2) a subtler and more ‘musical’ relationship between live and processed sounds. This was realised through the introduction of sound analysis objects, in particular machine listening and learning techniques developed by Nick Collins. One aspect of the programming was the mapping of analysis data to synthesis parameters, enabling the computer transformations of the e-violin to be directly related to Kanno’s interpretation of the piece in performance

A new approach to onset detection: towards an empirical grounding of theoretical and speculative ideologies of musical performance

This article assesses aspects of the current state of a project which aims, with the help of computers and computer software, to segment soundfiles of vocal melodies into their component notes, identifying precisely when the onset of each note occurs, and then tracking the pitch trajectory of each note, especially in melodies employing a variety of non-standard temperaments, in which musical intervals smaller than 100 cents are ubiquitous. From there, we may proceed further, to describe many other “micro-features” of each of the notes, but for now our focus is on the onset times and pitch trajectories

Pivotuner: automatic real-time pure intonation and microtonal modulation

Pivotuner is a VST3/AU MIDI effect plugin that automatically tunes note data in an adaptive pure intonation, in real time. Where previously pure intonation was out of reach for most musicians due to difficulty and impracticality, Pivotuner enables it to be achieved easily and straightforwardly by using novel yet simple algorithms. This may lead to more widespread exploration of pure intonation for a larger and more diverse crowd of musicians! This paper includes a review of prior systems for adaptive pure intonation systems, including Hermode Tuning/Kontakt Dynamic Pure Tuning and Just Intonation. The paper introduces the notion of an adaptive tuning center and how it serves as a flexible underlying concept for multiple tuning algorithms, as well as extensions to offer greater control for performers, including pitch and tuning center locking and resetting, and gradual interpolation between equal temperament and pure intonation. The paper then showcases some pieces which use Pivotuner effectively, then discusses areas for future exploration within Pivotuner's feature set, and plans for future development.Comment: 5 pages, associated files and additional information available at https://www.dmitrivolkov.com/projects/pivotuner

Applications of system dynamics modelling to computer music

Based on a composer's psycho-acoustic imagination or response to music, system dynamics modelling and simulation tools can be used as a scoring device to map the structural dynamic shape of interest of computer music compositions. The tools can also be used as a generator of compositional ideas reflecting thematic juxtaposition and emotional flux in musical narratives. These techniques allow the modelling of everyday narratives to provide a structural/metaphorical means of music composition based on archetypes that are shared with wider audiences. The methods are outlined using two examples

New sounds and extended composition techniques

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.This commentary supports my PhD composition portfolio. The composition processes of each piece are related to my central research questions, which concern the creation of new sounds using overtone-based scales and extended instrumental techniques. I have developed four main conceptual composition themes and these are represented in the thirteen compositions in the portfolio. In this commentary I consider how each composition was developed around these conceptual themes.Nomura Foundation, Japan for a research grant, Brunel Graduate School for the Vice Chancellor’s Travel Prizes (2010 and 2012), and for the PRSF and Bliss Trust Composer Bursarie

Pocket gamelan: tuneable trajectories for flying sources in Mandala 3 and Mandala 4

This paper describes two new live performance scenarios for performing music using bluetooth-enabled mobile phones. Interaction between mobile phones via wireless link is a key feature of the performance interface for each scenario. Both scenarios are discussed in the context of two publicly performed works for an ensemble of players in which mobile phone handsets are used both as sound sources and as hand-held controllers. In both works mobile phones are mounted in a specially devised pouch attached to a cord and physically swung to produce audio chorusing. During performance some players swing phones while others operate phones as hand-held controllers. Wireless connectivity enables interaction between flying and hand-held phones. Each work features different bluetooth implementations. In one a dedicated mobile phone acts as a server that interconnects multiple clients, while in the other point to point communication takes place between clients on an ad hoc basis. The paper summarises bluetooth tools designed for live performance realisation and concludes with a comparative evaluation of both scenarios for future implementation of performance by large ensembles of nonexpert players performing microtonal music using ubiquitous technology