Crazy Birds by my Apartment

First Patch

The thing that took me the most time on this patch was the random number generator.  Pure Data has a random number generator which you can choose the range of, but I didn’t want it to repeat itself until it found all five numbers.  So instead of 1 2 3 1 4 5 1 2 3 1 2 it would be in sets of five 1 2 3 4 5 or 5 4 3 2 1 or 3 1 2 4 5 etc. I wanted each voice to come in before they started dropping out again.

There’s probably a better way to do this because I think it might skew the probability the way I set it up.  When a voice trips it then connects itself to the next highest number, or in the case of 5, back to 1, and when all voices are connected, it resets.  So after 1 is tripped, it becomes 2, and after 2 is both it and 1 would become 3. Another problem with this method is that it isn’t super easy to expand the range.

1 2 3 4 4 becomes 1 2 3 4 5

5 3 3 4 1 becomes 5 3 4 1 2

Each number is connected to an on/off switch for the voices, which are made from a choir sample played at different speeds simultaneously, original speed, ¾ speed, 3/2 speed, 4/3 speed and ⅔ speed, so the 3/2 and ¾ speeds are the same notes just shifted up and octave, as are the ⅔ and 4/3.  It reminded me to the opening of the 3rd movement of Bartok’s 4rth string quartet so I through in some quotes of the cello line. Also dang I was struggling with the drumming/bassing at the same time but it was fun!

After the first patch, I tried an additive meditation where it accrews variation slowly.  Can you tell where I accidentally break the pattern? I’m making it up as I go. Gotta remember to concentrate!  But I’m getting better at these sorts of mind games.

Second Patch

Whoo what a mess!  So the animal sounds are recorded obviously, but each of the little blips I programmed.  All of the osc~ mean oscillators and they are tuned in a 5 limit tuning (like the recorded samples before https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five-limit_tuning)  Does it make it sound better? The reasoning for the sustained samples in the first patch was so there’s less wubba wubba stuff, for the ping pong stuff in the second patch idk maybe, I tried it both ways and the jury’s still out.  

So for this patch the main attraction is the big ol select bar.  I’ve programmed it so it plays the blips like this: 1, 1 2, 1 2 3, 1 2 3 4, 1 2 3 4 5 etc until it gets to 25 where it will reset. I stole the idea from this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oR7KOncoYOc.  I’ve used it in my playing, but haven’t programmed a patch for it yet.  Every time the 11th blip is played, it starts playing a note every five eighth notes, after which it will slow or speed up the overall tempo at a gradual pace.  The big ol circle on the right flashes a metronome so I tried to play the same tempo throughout, while it shifted above me, so when you hear me out of tempo, I’m actually playing the same tempo throughout.  Pretty tough if I do say so myself. Does it pay off? It sure sounds weird sometimes. I think I’ll have to try something like this again to really know if it works or not. I have to sound like a metronome, and the electronics have to sound like they’re changing.  I don’t think I quite pulled it off. I end with an American style sort of thing.