Instrument: Instrument code for the arborealis project

Getting up to speed with Processing and Minim

0. Processing examples
1. Minim
2. Minim ugens
3. Minim pydoc
4. Minim examples: In Processing, goto File->Examples... -> Minim -> Synthesis

Included sketch directories

• ArborealisInstrument: simulate the arborealis sound experience from the keyboard
• ArborealisInstrumentOSC: simulate the arborealis sound experience from a touch screen

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Components

####Simulator: allow simulation of the play-space using a touch screen

• Create a grid interface in TouchOSC, one for each instrument.
• Touches will send updates to a Processing sketch in the form of /grainsynth/event touchnum xval yval

####Orchestra: coordinate the different instruments

• Integrate the different instrument code

####GrainSynthInstrument

• Split input sample into 20 equal spaced subsamples
• When a player is in x=i play ith subsample with looping indefinitely
• y=0->1 defines the fractional length of the subsample to play
• There's no concept of beats per minute in this instrument, the tempo is defined fully by y
• e.g. if players exist at x=i,j; we play iiiii... at the same time as jjjjj...
• V2: What does z map to?

####ArpeggioInstrument

• Split input sample into subsamples separated by returns to zero
• Play subsamples corresponding to existence of player in x-space
• Subsample play order is defined by time of entrance into current x-bins
• Master tempo defines time interval between subsample beats, but the subsample does continue playing into the next time interval if it's longer than the beat (polyphony)
• e.g. if player1 in x=i then play iiiiii... if player2 then enters x=j, play ijijij... if player3 then enters x=k, play ijkijkijk... if player2 moves to k=h, play ikhikh...
• y=0->1 defines the fractional length of the subsample to play
• V2: z=0->1 defines the volume of that subsample

####PianoInstrument

• Split input sample into subsamples separated by returns to zero
• When player enters x=i, play ith subsample at the next beat; nothing happens if player doesn't move
• Subsample doesn't start exactly on entering an x-space but waits for end of current beat defined by the master tempo
• Subsamples continue playing into the next time interval if they are longer than the beat (polyphony)
• If multiple notes are triggered by a player on the same beat, only the last one will play in the next beat. e.g. player runs from x=2->7 in same beat, just play 2 then 7
• Two players moving to new x-spaces at the same time will cause two subsamples to be played with their onsets synchronized
• y=0->1 defines the fractional length of the subsample to play (or low-pass filter)
• Problem?: we are unlikely to track players so what if player1 x=2->3 and player 2 x=3->2; no change will be identified and no note will be played