It's been a while since I last posted. I learned a new programming language (Haskell). Today I completed my first Haskell project, an arpeggiator for Csound score files. It does more than just arpeggios -- it calculates any number of arbitrary parameters and outputs them to the score.
bmccosar's blog
hsboscil #1
Submitted by bmccosar on Sat, 03/14/2009 - 18:32.Objective
As you may have inferred from my path so far, I'm learning each opcode one by one. I read the documentation, set up a test system, and then try different variations to see if I can generate a sound that I like. Today I'm working with hsboscil.
Fedora 10 / CCRMA
Submitted by bmccosar on Fri, 03/13/2009 - 21:40.I'm almost back to Csounding.
I got distracted this week. For various reasons, mostly related to hardware, I've been having a lot of audio problems. I finally got sick of it and decided to start over, with a clean slate, in a new Linux distro, using the sensible and varied packages at Planet CCRMA.
Convolution is the Solution #1
Submitted by bmccosar on Sat, 03/07/2009 - 23:09.convolve, which, according to the documentation, entered the opcode world in 1996.
Additive Synthesis #1
Submitted by bmccosar on Sat, 03/07/2009 - 16:07.Objective
To create a richly textured, bell- or chime-like sound using additive synthesis.
Strategy
The opcode I chose for this experiment was adsynt.
Granular Experiment #2
Submitted by bmccosar on Thu, 03/05/2009 - 23:43.Objective
To create a (stereo) synthesized pad similar to a flute -- yet strange -- using granular synthesis.
Strategy
Again I'm using diskgrain for the synthesis, this time with a new idea: to create a stereo pad by slight variation of the grain size of the right and left channels. This should smooth out the 'bumps' and create an interesting stereo texture.
Granular Experiment #1
Submitted by bmccosar on Thu, 03/05/2009 - 02:33.Objective
To develop a prototype strategy for (highly flexible) sound morphing using granular synthesis.
Strategy
My first attempt makes use of diskgrain. Ideally, there is a smoother way to transition between the sounds than I have chosen here (probably by altering the density of the grains). However, I spent most of the evening learning to make the opcode work and how to set the parameters properly.
Returning, and Not Returning
Submitted by bmccosar on Wed, 03/04/2009 - 22:37.Greetings, everyone. I've been away from Csound for a while.
I'd like to say I'm returning; but to return, I'd have to be back where I started.
Impossible.
Here's what happened.
Realtime Csound on Linux: Tips, Tricks, & Instruments
Submitted by bmccosar on Sun, 05/18/2008 - 20:50.I've been working with realtime Csound as a side project for a while, now. I decided to write up a short list of some of the tips and tricks I've discovered.
The abcsound test drive.
Submitted by bmccosar on Sun, 05/04/2008 - 21:57.J. Knapka has been hard at work developing abcsound. I have actually taken it for more than one test drive. However, today, I completed a small scale compositional project using it. Not bad for an alpha stage module!
Whoosh!!!
Submitted by bmccosar on Sat, 05/03/2008 - 21:27.Now I understand. Realtime MIDI has my full attention.
Simple Bass
Submitted by bmccosar on Fri, 05/02/2008 - 02:44.For once, this will be a short article. Below, I've posted four simple bass instruments. I've been generating samples to use in Renoise (which, by the way, is available for Linux); I wanted a set of simple, but powerful bass sounds -- completely clean, and hugging the 16 bit maximum.
Random Ambient: pvpipes
Submitted by bmccosar on Sun, 04/27/2008 - 22:24.bpsets: Bohlen-Pierce Pitch Class Sets for Python
Submitted by bmccosar on Sun, 04/27/2008 - 01:41.Around nine months ago, I wrote a module called pcsets: Pitch Class Sets for Python. Since then, I've tried to improve it, but found it difficult to do so -- it seems like I actually got it right the first time. However, pcsets now has a derivative: I've adapted it to handle the base-13 Bohlen-Pierce scale.
Bohlen-Pierce Composition (now with standard tuning)
Submitted by bmccosar on Fri, 04/25/2008 - 23:31.I have revised my original Python converters for the Bohlen-Pierce scale. After reading more about the scale on The Bohlen-Pierce Site, I discovered there was already an existing tuning system standard.


