Pure Data Composition

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Pure Data Composition

• By
• Zainab Raza
• CSC 354
• Music Seminar
• Judy Franklin
• May 1st, 2007

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History of Digital Music

• Goes back to the 1950s
• Experimentation with computer generated sound was
  started by Lejaren Hiller
• Illiac Suite for String Quartet
• not entirely successful, but led the way for
  further research on Artificial intelligence
• Today, computers have the ability to participate
  in live performances

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Influences in my composition

• Belkin
• Foreground vs background
• When too many sounds, we prioritize our
  perceptions
• put the sounds I wanted to prioritize at given
  times in the foreground
• Different ways to make certain sounds stand out
• Volume
• Pitch
• Tempo

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• Break
• There are 2 points in my composition when none of
  the instruments are playing
• This creates suspense, climax and buildup
• Progression
• Composition starts off with one voice playing,
  others get added in
• At end, the voices slowly fade out

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GEMS Article

• Dramatic Shape
• Start the composition asssertively
• Having one main climax
• 60 of the way through the composition

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Outline

• 3 minute composition
• Used 5 different Voices (instruments)
• Synth Voice
• Voice Aahs
• Celesta
• Steel Drums
• Open Triangle - percussion

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Pure Data

• Composition created using Pure Data
• Pure data is a real-time graphical programming
  environment used for audio and graphics
  processing
• Free and open-source
• Objects used to create composition
• Bang
• Delay
• Random
• Makenote
• noteout

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• Used algorithms for the creation of music
• Harmonize
• MidiNotes2
• Playing of instruments controlled by complex
  system of delays
• Volume control

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MidiNotes2
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Instrument 1 Synth Voice

• Works with harmonize algorithm
• Length of note varies between 300 and 800
• Played on channel 1 and 2

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Harmonize subpatch

• One note played at 55
• One at either 555 or 557

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Instrument 2 Voice Aahs

• Works with nextpitch3 subpatch, calculates next
  pitch to be played
• Note played on channel 3
• Volume for this instrument by the volume control
  loop

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NextPitch3 subpatch

• Next note to be played is calculated in this loop
• Loops between note values of 50, 53, 57, 63, 50,
  58, 65 and lastly 75.

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Volume Control

• A loop that controls the volumes of instrument 1
  and 2
• The loop is initiated with the start bang
• The volume goes from 40 to 100 in increments of 5

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Instrument 3 Open Triangle

• Percussion instrument
• always played on channel 10
• Pitch controls voice for percussion
• Volume for this instrument by the volume control
  loop

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Instrument 4 Steel Drums

• Steel drums are my personal favorite instrument
• Love the sound
• plays a random pitch between 35 and 85
• Notes are played every 0.05 seconds
• Played on channel 5

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Instrument 5 Celesta

• Uses newpitch subpatch
• In contrast to the steel drums which play lower
  notes, the celesta plays higher notes
• Volume is also higher to go with higher pitches

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Newpitch subpatch

• Note loops between 75, 79, 84, 76, 93, 78,
  75, 82, 94, 78, 90 and 100

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Controlling the composition

• Composition is started by a single bang and stops
  automatically after three minutes
• Within the composition, different instruments are
  started and stopped according to complex system
  of delays

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Delays