Algorithmic Music Composition

I used max and used various combinations and

permutations of switches and randomness to generate funky audio effects and

loops. I paired this with a backing drumbeat to produce a final composition.

Details of each component in the max patch can be found in the comments on

the patch.

Each component of the algorithm uses randomness in some shape or form. I started the algorithm by making a looping pattern that outputs a click sound. I added functionality that will allow the clicking sound to be triggered on every 8th, 16th, or 32nd note. There is also the option of changing the tempo of this as the user desires.There is a random note generator module that is controlled by a "gswitch" component (again randomly controlled).

The random note generator has an inlet that receives a bang from the gswitch component. This triggers a random function inside the note generator module. This random function gets a random value between 0 and 199 which is then scaled to fit between 0 and 12 (octave). This scaled value is fed as the pitch to the makernote object. Once the scaling is done, it also triggers bangs for randomly generating velocity and duration values for the note being generated. The velocity is generated in a similar fashion to how the pitch was generated. A random value between 0 and 126 is generated and is then scaled down to be between 70 and 110 (This range was chosen by me to make sure values are not too low or too high). The duration value is generated outside this module(discussed later).

6 different select patterns are used to create different kinds of note patterns as shown above. The 6 select patterns are as follows:

Send a bang if the counter is 1. This is the setting for the slowest note generation

Send a bang if the counter is 1 or 5.

Send a bang if the counter is 1, 4, or 7.

Send a bang if the counter is 1, 3, 5, or 7.

Send a bang if the counter is any number. This is the fastest option for note generation as a bang is sent for any value the counter sends. So there will be a bang every time.

Send a bang if the counter is 4 of the values entered by the user. This can be seen below.

Each of the notes generated by this module was fed into a modulator which modulates the velocity and duration of the note played.

This note is then fed into a MIDI filter to fit the notes on a chosen scale. There are options for users to choose which octave they would like the random notes to be on. All this is then fed into a vst synthesizer. Using the vst enables many funky modulations to the notes. Further randomness was introduced by having random functions applied to the "Cutoff" and "Resonance" slider. The users can further manipulate the effects by using the other sliders themselves. Finally, a drumbeat was added to give the synth audio some pizazz. 

The algorithmic composition was run through my Compositional Art project. The results are as shown below.