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First steps in sound engineering with supercollider
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| Majutsu |
Everyone claims to want to learn. So here are your first steps with the pan-flexible sound engineering tool supercollider. This is copied from where I put it on another forum, but since the hot topic is improving board quality, I thought I'd do my part, but I'm skeptical. Most people have trouble with sc3 and max because it's so deep and techy, but hopefully if I give you a little taste of freedom, you will see the light . . .
"Anyone else into supercollider 3? I'm all about max and sc3 lately. My favorite artist of the week is cylob I'm using the sonenvir build. Anyone else into sc3? Let's do it up. I think the oscillator and flow is better than max. Plus if you write david cottle, he sends you all of his class materials. He is so cool and supportive. Will forward the address to anyone who asks. Any other sc heads bark up. And are you using win, mac, or linux? The sonenvir build works great! -- even swingosc.
you have to unzip the sonenvir build
run msi to redistribute psycollider
then run psycollider
open new code window
then cut and paste the following little code into the blank new code window from one parenthesis to the other:
(
// select everything between the two parentheses
{
CombN.ar(
SinOsc.ar(
LFNoise1.kr(
4, // LFO
24, // range in MIDI
LFSaw.kr(
[8,7.23],//second LFO
0,
3, // range in MIDI
80 // offset in MIDI
)
).midicps,
0,
0.04
),
0.2, // max delay
0.2, // actual delay
4 // decay
)
}.play
)
When the whole thing is selected hit ctrl+enter (to compile). Enjoy the holiness that is pure sound Type alt+. to stop the sound.
Congratulations, you are now on that first step to real computer music."
-maj |
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| DigiNut |
This looks really interesting, and I can sort of see what's going on; I think what would help a lot is maybe some background info and/or links, as well as some explanation of what this script is doing. I'm an EE and a programmer but this syntax is alien to me!
I'm only suggesting because, this seems like something worth discussing in more detail and possibly posting in the master list, but I think most people here don't even know what supercollider is, let alone how to use it. And there don't seem to be many relevant results using the search either. I know we're all capable of using google, but people are lazy (hence the existence of the list).
So if you've got any of those things I mentioned up above, they'd help a lot! Sound clips are always good too; if you haven't got any webspace of your own, let me know and I'll put them on mine.
Don't take it as a criticism of your post - I think it's great for us experimental types who have the inclination to go download SC and try this out. For the sake of the lazy folk, it'd be even better to have a more detailed tutorial. That's entirely up to you though, I realize not everybody has the time for that! :) |
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| Majutsu |
god bless you, man. I really didn't expect anyone to care, so I wasn't going to put a lot into it. I am an adult with a demanding math/science (big suprise i know) job, so wasting time is not something i need to do.
supercollider is an object oriented programming language. It's a pigeon mash up of c and small talk. It is the most flexible music tool ever. You are literally bending your sound card in your own hands. Max is a low level oopl, and reaktor is to get kids started in modular concepts. Apps like fruity, reason and ableton are programmed in some language. Supercollider goes straight to the language. It is the favored tool of aphex, autechre (who used to be a max man, but now in recent interview says he abandoned it as "child's play", and where the genius goes i follow), and cylob. Cylob music (all in supercollider) may be downloaded free here: http://www.durftal.com/music/cylob/ . But if you like it, send him money, that's how it works. I strongly recommend his britain's best dj set on that site. I don't bother with posting my music anywhere anymore as everyone says that it's the strangest they've ever heard and likely to please no one from this planet. I strongly recommend you listen to the more commercial artists using sc3 i mentioned above.
My post is a step by step guide to downloading the sc3 build from sonenvir, unpacking it, pasting in that code (which is david cottle's code from his class that he sent me sunday :) great and nice man) and hearing experimental music come out of your computer. I would be happy to start something about sc3, but i'm pretty sure it might be you and me alone, which is ok. But if it was just me i was going move on, as i don't really need to hear about tiesto's latest -for-ears.
Aphex is on the sc forum under james... when he is not banned for being a drunken welshman shouting obscenities that is. :) So is cylob and sean of autechre.
sc is deeper than maxmsp because graphical linking essentially confines you to a linear process (as in linear mapping of multivariate calculus see edwards book on the same). Sc can do non-linear processes, and can also process arrays, and chaotic processes like markov chains. I would suggest reading the classic Computer Music Tutorial for the details of all this, if you haven't already. I can not give you the tutorials from the above guys as they make you promise not to share with strangers. But if you email or pm me, i will give you an email where you can present yourself, your background, songs, and ask for the same, and they assured me any worthy referrals will get it all. What you really want is the text from cottle's university class in sc at uni of utah for sound engineers. Do you like IDM? I am not an engineer (my dad is :) ); I am a medical doctor, but engineering and physics are hobbies, in addition to bodybuilding and powerlifting where I've attained some notoriety in small circles. In addition to taking cottle's class by correspondence, I also take a night studies in riemanian geometry right now. I am very glad to meet you and look forward to further conversations! |
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| Majutsu |
| actually i just read azndragons very good tutorial on melody and now i see what you're looking for. I really don't think sc would have any popular appeal or utility as a sticky. But feel free to correct me if i'm wrong. I will write a real tutorial on sc3 if there is enough interest. I just wanted to let one or two people know about something new. i don't think most people have any interest in coding experimental music. Don't people just want to party mostly? |
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| Majutsu |
http://sonenvir.at/downloads/sc3/
I guess I should have spelled this all out. This is an ass-backwards thread, sorry. Starting with the end and finishing up at the beginning. :eyespop: |
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| Majutsu |
Supercollider consists of :
Objects - The important uppercase words in sc, usually with arguments. Everything is actually an object in an object program language, but for now... SinOsc, LFNoise, etc
Messages - Follow objects with a dot. play, scope, and midicps are examples of sc messages
Arguments - separated by commas in parentheses, usually defining things like cutoff frequency, sweep times etc
Variables - lower case, words you make up to store info
Functions - anything in {} brackets
Ugens - unit generator with an object, message and argument. They make sound!
When you copy in the patch above, you can run it and enjoy it. Then select an object like SinOsc then hit f1 (in windows) shift+com+/ in mac and a help window will pop up telling you the arguments. You can start to learn the language this way. Feel free to change some arguments and note the difference.
Sc can synthesize, sequence, control midi, and even pull up graphical entities like an oscillisope (with the scope message ;) ) There's a little parallel universe in those 3 windows . . . Down the rabbit hole! |
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| Zild |
| I just heard of max and supercollider maybe last week. Looks like something I'd like to get into being a math/science guy myself. |
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| Zild |
| Damnit need to get my windows updated. |
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| DigiNut |
| quote: | Originally posted by Majutsu
actually i just read azndragons very good tutorial on melody and now i see what you're looking for. I really don't think sc would have any popular appeal or utility as a sticky. But feel free to correct me if i'm wrong. I will write a real tutorial on sc3 if there is enough interest. I just wanted to let one or two people know about something new. i don't think most people have any interest in coding experimental music. Don't people just want to party mostly? |
I can't promise you popular appeal, but I think it's an interesting topic, very unusual tool, and worth having at least one reference in the master list. I'm going to try this out myself when I have some time.
The master list has a lot of fairly basic tutorials at the moment, but that's incidental, and isn't tied to the purpose of the list itself. We don't get a lot of mathies on this forum and I'd love to have some more esoteric topics up there as reference. A while back I was looking for the same kind of info on crusherX and similar tools but couldn't find much. Same with Reaktor, Kyma, and other DSP tools. The lack of links in those areas is really just due to a lack of information, not a lack of demand.
Anyway, if you don't want/have time to write a full tutorial, I'm happy to add this thread to the list and people can post any tidbits they have in here. If you do want to write one, let me know and I'll link that one instead. Up to you! |
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