Call for music software to break out of limited boxes

[wolftune]

My biggest problem with music software is that the very tools which should be liberating music to be absolutely anything are actually homogenizing music. Music software often defaults to 4-beat meters and rarely supports more complex rhythms or any tuning outside of Western 12-note temperament.

I call on all developers to address this problem within FLOSS!

It isn't purely a matter of satisfying the desires of those who know they already want this, it is about keeping the options open for new creative users who aren't aware of the possibilities!

Here are some examples and issues:

Presently, Hydrogen can do any number of beats in a pattern, but it only splits beats into pairs or triplets, no quintuplets or other tuplets, no further heirarchical levels… Although I love that it allows for free-input and for timing offsets…

There's an old Mac program called Molten Sequencer that was gratis (not libre) and is now updated for iPad which has a simple solution: a box in the drum pattern instead of a dot (essentially like a piano-roll sequencer note) could be selected and split into even pieces of any number up to 9. This is an easy way to access a large range of rhythmic possibilities.

On the tuning front, the tyranny of 12-note temperament is pretty strong. This rules out a wide range of tunings used around the world as well as other theoretical and creative possibilities.

There are a number of solutions within the MIDI tradition that have been devised. The simplest but very limited is building into a synth or sampler the ability to specify alternate 12-note tunings. That solution is something but repeating 12-note tuning patterns are not able to accommodate that many varieties of tuning. Then there's the MIDI Tuning Standard (MTS) which allows a tuning table for all 128 MIDI notes, ideally allowing any tuning per note. For the most part that works. There's also other tuning specification formats like Anamark.
Finally there's the most flexible option: filtering input notes through a system that routes each successive note to a different MIDI channel along with the appropriate amount of pitch-bend. To work, this simply needs instruments that accept input on all channels as well as accepting separate pitch-bend input for each channel. For some cases, being able to change the pitch-bend range is necessary as well, because a +/- 1 semitone gives better tuning resolution. One reason this latter option is so flexible is because it can achieve any combination of pitches, not limited to a 128-note table. It is also flexible because it is easy to implement and use with multiple instruments.

For existing tools, there's:
Scala http://www.huygens-fokker.org/scala/
Muabor (which I haven't tried yet) http://www.math.tu-dresden.de/~mutabor/
Gervill http://java.net/projects/gervill/pages/Home
Timidity http://sourceforge.net/projects/timidity/ (seems hasn't been updated in a long time, it's just some MIDI player I guess that actually handles MTS)

And there's proprietary stuff not for GNU/Linux:
http://www.nonoctave.com/ is probably the best and has a fascinating website — commercial Mac only
http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/16tone/ - quite a powerful program, commercial Mac only

Among the best options are CSE and TPXE software from H-Pi.com:
http://www.h-pi.com/CSEsoftware.html
http://www.h-pi.com/TPXEsoftware.html
These are gratis for basic features but must pay license for full access, they run flawlessly under the latest version of WINE.

I actually own one of his keyboards. To make it work with software instruments, I need the •multi-channel input •pitch-bend separate input per channel and •ability to set +/- 1 semitone pitch-bend range.
If I have only the ability to set the PB-range, I can make it work by using multiple instances of an instrument and routing the channels in JACK, but that's a major hassle because any change to the instrument settings has to be mirrored on all the instances.

Toby Bear's free (not libre?) Windows plugin Microtuner http://www.tobybear.de/p_midibag.html
has this same per-channel PB function. I haven't tried that with WINE, but it seems like something someone could easily make a native version of. I'd love to see a native GNU/Linux version of basically this plugin or the H-PI CSE software.

There's other amazing stuff, particularly a new type of sequencer and a new type of instrument, at:
http://dynamictonality.com/
They are gratis but maybe not libre, and Mac/Win only (though I contacted them about possible GNU/Linux support and they were open to the idea). Their systems use the same per-channel-PB manner of getting different tunings.

There's a number of other resources out there, the whole microtonal community online is a world in itself.

My first request is that all instrument developers please simply include adjustable PB-range, multichannel input, and separate per-channel PB input. That will make your instrument compatible with my keyboard and with any software that uses this strategy.
Currently, the only GNU/Linux instrument that I know supports this is Pianoteq.
QSynth seems possible, but lacks obvious PB-range control and is tedious to change instrument on all channels at once.

Also, supporting MTS or Anamark or other options such as scala input would be something. Though that won't work with my keyboard, it will give users in general a ay to break out of the box of 12-note temperament. I would consider this a lower priority though.

In my dreams, sequencers will be developed to better accommodate or represent various tunings and scale systems (and rhythms), but that's much more complex. As long as a sequencer can record multiple channels on a single track and keep the PB messages distinct per channel (I know REAPER does this, maybe others do too), then that is adequate for use along with instruments that meet the requirements.

So again: while there are lots of potential things that would be nice, the one thing I'm really asking for is:
•adjustable PB range
•multichannel input
•per-channel pitch-bend
For all software instruments.

I'm also hoping to encourage all developers to consider how to make software flexible enough that it doesn't push users into 12-note-termpered and/or 4/4-meter boxes. We need more flexibility for many reasons, if anything for the sake of everyone who doesn't want to just hear the same type of electronic music all the time…

[wolftune]

From Jeff's questions about implementation at another topic:
Here's a PDF with all the info about implementation for instrument developers:
http://www.h-pi.com/additionals/TPXSoftInstGuide.pdf

That mentions a few strategies, but I was voting for the PB-based 16-channel one because that seems simple and also matches the behavior of Pianoteq and could work with other software that could be developed for use with generic MIDI keyboards. To be specific, H-Pi already makes CSE software which runs perfectly under WINE and retunes any generic MIDI keyboard, it's just proprietary not FLOSS, and it has some features gratis and others with paid license. At any rate, any instrument that implements this will then work within this framework, which will be useful to anyone, not just those who get the Tonal Plexus keyboards.

[varpa]

I have not used this feature myself, but zynaddsubvx/yoshimi can be loaded with alternative scales. Its described in the zynaddsubfx manual: http://www.wiki.linuxmusicians.com/doku ... bfx_manual

[wolftune]

Thanks, let me add: you SHOULD use that feature!

Anyway, I've been really exploring things more and here's the update:

The *only* way to practically access a wide range of options in an accessible real-time way that I know of is by using a microtonal controller of some sort that goes beyond the limitations of the piano-keyboard format. Along with some such controller, synths need scale settings or the pitch-bend method to get results. It works fine to access some alternate scales with regular controllers but it is just really conceptually awkward to do anything other than fitting limited 12-note scales.

That said, scales that do fit conceptually enough to the normal keyboard mapping can still be really nice. Besides Yoshimi, I just learned that the whole Bristol set (or at least some for sure) can load alternate scales in scala format! And so can AMSynth!

In my dreams I'd have a controller like my Tonal Plexus but velocity-sensitive, aftertouch sensitive, and able to glide between pitches too. It may be that the best thing will be some multi-touch tablet software controller, but I don't like supporting the iOS walled garden and I'm hesitant but willing to try Android — if I can get something working that is Linux compatible for syncing and backing up and anything else… Well, anyway, no perfect tool exists that does absolutely everything. All I'm asking is that we not design tools in way that restricts people artificially, in other words, software shouldn't don't presume 12-note-temperament nor 4/4.

I'm optimistic about using the capabilities in Yoshimi, Bristol, and others… but I do want to be able to play with my controller keyboard too, and Yoshimi and Bristal are not set well for that…

[Excds]

Have you checked out din? That's a softsynth that's beyond the ordinary...
http://dinisnoise.org/sounds/

[wolftune]

Have you checked out din? That's a softsynth that's beyond the ordinary...
http://dinisnoise.org/sounds/

No I had not before heard of that! !@#*!&@^#*!&@#!!!!!!!!!!!!

That is SUPERB. I'm about ready to say that this alone is enough to make my switch to GNU/Linux worthwhile regardless of all the other advantages…

It looks like that would work ideally with something like a drawing tablet for a controller (which I bought a good one for $17 from Monoprice already, which works perfectly under GNU/Linux)

Boy oh boy, this will keep me busy for a while… Awesome, and thanks for the link!

[slowpick]

There's a number of other resources out there, the whole microtonal community online is a world in itself.

http://www.xen-arts.com/2012/05/ivor-mi ... nalog.html

Maybe you'll find some use for this?

[parchment]

I'd just add that the meat and potatoes of midi work is the ability to manage a lot of tracks at once, and being able to manipulate data easily and quickly.

As an example, I'm using Muse2 at the moment, and i respectfully suggest if midi tracks are changed from single channel to multi-channel, and/or folders are introduced, to manage a lot of tracks more efficiently, it would take the app even further forward. ( all credit to the Muse team, they've made some very decent additions to the midi element of the app recently.)

Ardour3 has multi-channel, and while the midi is still being worked on, i think it's a good start, and smart design.

We have a big advantage with jack midi ports, with one port equalling 16 channels, and i would personally like to see that advantage utilized.

I know linuxaudio concerns itself more often than not with audio recording, but i believe devs would gain ground by maturing midi further, particularly in co-operation, and providing powerful midi tools using Jack's multi midi port potential.

Alex.

[wolftune]

Yeah, Xen-arts stuff looks great, I'll have to check it out sometime.

As for MIDI-channel stuff, my real ideal is more like what VST 3.5 offers from Steinberg, though I don't know if there's much overall support yet. What that has is per-note control, where pitch, modulation, and all sorts of other automation is edited independently per note instead of across a channel. That's the real dream goal. Bitwig advertises something like that too. I'm not sure what the future of all this is. These capacities go beyond the standard MIDI framework…

[StudioDave]

Something else to consider:

http://sourceforge.net/projects/rationale/

http://www.badmuthahubbard.com/cgi-bin/rationaleinfo.py

Have you used Csound - or Pd or SC3 - for exploring microtonality ?

Best,

dp

[wolftune]

Something else to consider:

http://sourceforge.net/projects/rationale/

http://www.badmuthahubbard.com/cgi-bin/rationaleinfo.py

Have you used Csound - or Pd or SC3 - for exploring microtonality ?

Best,

dp

No, I haven't yet explored Csound or PudeData or SuperCollider, though they all seem great and are on my someday list to try…

But that rationale thing! !!!!!!!!!!!
That's amazing! I'm so happy to learn about this. It is REALLY close to something I've been imagining for years. And the open-source nature of it means maybe I could even adapt it to the view I want, but it is really superb already. I'm gonna be busy playing with that! Thank you SO MUCH for bringing it to my attention!!!! !!! …!

[wolftune]

Ok, I need some help here. I can't make that rationale thing output any sound. I choose "O" as the manual says to get the ouput window, but I can't figure out how to load a soundfont. I also do not have any csd files for csound sounds. I've never actually used csound, so all this is new to me.

[StudioDave]

Ok, I need some help here... I've never actually used csound, so all this is new to me.

Hi Aaron,

Well, it's been forever that I tried to use it so I can't be much help. But Chuck Hubbard's a good fellow, leave a note for him on his site, he'll help you through Rationale.

If you're into microtonality you gotta get into Csound and similar environments. Your original post indicated that you're looking for unconventional - i.e. not 4/4, not equal temperament - music software, and you can't get too much more unconventional that SuperCollider3 or Csound5.

Btw, here are some screenshots from a program called AVSynthesis. It's my favored environment for creating music with Csound :

The Cmask implementation.


The microtonality grid.


Some of the music I've made with it can be found on SoundCloud :

http://soundcloud.com/davephillips69

Unfortunately AVS is a rather difficult program to configure and use. If you'd like an easier way into Csound I suggest trying Andres Cabrera's excellent CsoundQT in tandem with Jim Aikin's book Csound Power :

http://sourceforge.net/projects/qutecsound/

http://www.amazon.com/Csound-Power-Jim- ... 981&sr=8-1

Good luck with your research. Stay tuned.

Best,

dp

[StudioDave]

Steven Yi's blue is another great environment for Csound. It includes a piano roll editor that can be configured for microtonal display/composition. Among other features the piano roll supports Scala tuning files. Cool stuff. See this page for more information:

http://blue.kunstmusik.com/wiki/index.php/PianoRoll

Best,

dp

[slowpick]

I already felt like an old hermit, now all this I never heard or dreamed of