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hey all, i'm working on some algorithmic chipmusic and wondered if any of you guys knew of any examples of algorithmic chipmusic out in the wild? just looking for some context.
i'm specifically looking for insight into some of the methods employed/process. if you've written some yourself, it would be interesting to hear about this.
Last edited by firebrandboy (May 1, 2012 7:54 am)
outside of piping -> /dev/dsp which seemed to be quite popular.
there is this guy called pXtr.
i know a lot of his uploads to 8bc were made in this way which you describe, but seeing as that website is down, this is all i could find within a few minutes of my time.
little-scale did some- at least, some algorithm based work. I remember his "Swarm" and stuff like his weird laser-waterbowl.
A few others here have dabbled with it. I once wanted to do a compilation, but that came to naught because I had to deal with RL shit then (sorry everyone).
There's also the one-liners viznut et al. made.
gijs has done some too I think.
Last edited by µB (Apr 30, 2012 5:13 pm)
I have a generative house music program on my Amiga but I can't remember the name of it. 
Akira would probably know. It works impressively well LOL.
pXtR and the mist toggles where doing a lot of interesting stuff.
pxtr has a contact email on his abandoned netlabel
http://8it.shiftwave.org/
I have a generative house music program on my Amiga but I can't remember the name of it.
there's also Paul Slocum's lovely Pi House Generator project. Listen here!
I've done a little generative chiptune work. There is Subterrestrial's Map of the Interior World EP. It was originally released on floppy disk label Diskette Etikette Rekords, but has sold out and is now a free download. I also have another generative chiptune track The Polar Openings as Viewed From Space on a net release of mine.
A few others here have dabbled with it. I once wanted to do a compilation, but that came to naught because I had to deal with RL shit then (sorry everyone).
I don't think anyone held it against you man. RL always comes first!
Last edited by Subterrestrial (Apr 30, 2012 10:52 pm)
A few others here have dabbled with it. I once wanted to do a compilation, but that came to naught because I had to deal with RL shit then (sorry everyone).
this seems like a good thread to revive this idea. anyone else interested in throwing down for a generative chipcomp?
There's an amazing iOS app for this called Glitch Machine. The only problem I see, is some of the coolest stuff I made by messing around with it sounds exactly like what others have already made. I have one save on it that sounds exactly like the viznut video.
I've done a little generative chiptune work. There is Subterrestrial's Map of the Interior World EP. It was originally released on floppy disk label Diskette Etikette Rekords, but has sold out and is now a free download. I also have another generative chiptune track The Polar Openings as Viewed From Space on a net release of mine.
µB wrote:A few others here have dabbled with it. I once wanted to do a compilation, but that came to naught because I had to deal with RL shit then (sorry everyone).
I don't think anyone held it against you man. RL always comes first!
I'm really looking about insight into process here. Did you take a probabilistic approach? Sonifying mathematical algorithm, etc?
I suppose Wallflower and Glitchshifter and generative. Both use timers with math functions to create the music, Glitchshifter uses it to generate the waveforms too.
I'm really looking about insight into process here. Did you take a probabilistic approach? Sonifying mathematical algorithm, etc?
When I played around with it, I made a mental map of what I wanted to achieve. Since generative music is basically coding for me, I used the same approach when designing programs.
You got your basic black box layout:
Input->Black Box->Output
The input in this case is a set of random (or pseudo-random) numbers. Choosing the random source is probably the most fun aspect, because you can get really funky with it: Radio static, space rays, fractals, the text of a book etc.
The output determines a few things about the black box: How structured should it be? Do I want 12-TET notes? Should it be slow or fast? And so forth.
For each synth in the array, the black box opens to this content:
Input->Quantizations->Parameters->Synth
I then decide on per-voice basis, what parameters I want to manipulate and which should stay static. This decides on the number of quantization functions I have to write for the instrument. Let's say:
- Trigger
- Envelope
- Note
- Amplitude
There's a number of way to approach this, dependent on your aesthetic preferences. For example, for a droney background pad the function for triggers doesn't need to be that strict when it comes to hitting a tick. In the same example, you'd probably want a generally long envelope, so the functions need to be interdependent (maybe sharing the same function with inverse output).
For notes you'll generally want a quantization that translates to harmonic steps.
If I want to have a global structure, like arrangement, chord changes, speed changes etc, there'll have to be functions which control the other functions accordingly. The quantization functions for notes would need an input parameter which harmony they need to shift to in case of a chord change, for example.
Of course, there's always the Just-Try-Shit-Out approach in which you slam a random source to some parameters and see what happens, knob twiddling your way to success. 
I've spent hours just exploring synthesis that way.
Edit: Here's a very strict example. Arrangement is fixed, and the only random aspect is the probability of each note trigger.
http://chipmusic.org/µb/music/yellowjacket
Last edited by µB (May 1, 2012 9:56 am)
I haven't made generative music on and old computer, but I find the most pleasing stuff (to my ears) is deterministic. It can be simple. Like starting a few counters with different lengths, and selecting a number from each. So 0 will send a trigger maybe. Then add them together to trigger an instrument. Pitches could be selected from a list of chords or something in a certain key. You can step through the list with each tick, then the triggers will happen in different spots. Maybe set different loop points.
It's kind of a generally useable idea, of using different repeating patterns and merging them together. It could be done with sequencers and stuff.
Last edited by breakphase (Jun 18, 2012 2:13 pm)