Dynamic Tuning, Mark I
Bill Sethares has recently implemented a demonstration of Dynamic Tuning & Timbres, running on top of Max/MSP. You can try it for yourself!
To run it, you need to already have the Max/MSP Runtime installed.
Then, right-click and "Save as..." this WickiSynth.zip file, unzipping them with WinZip.
Run Max/MSP, and open the wickisyn~.MXF file. There's a volume button to the lower-left; click it to activate your sound. Your QWERTY keyboard is now a QWERTY Thummer, with the Wicki note-layout. On the right-hand side, you'll see a slider controlling the width of the tempered perfect fifth. With your mouse, click and drag it up to increase the P5's width; drag it down to decrease the P5's width.
While playing (say) a major triad, drag the slider up and down. The pitches of the triad's notes will be adjusted automatically. So will the pitches of the partials that make up the tones sounded at those pitches.
The QWERTY keyboard is not an expressive instrument, nor are the timbres produced by with WickiSynth impressive. We don't expect that anyone is going to use this implementation in public (although, if you do, please post a video to YouTube and let me know!)
But...when you mess with this stuff, you are changing tuning and timbre dynamically, baby, using the Thummer's tuning-invariant note-pattern. That has never been done before.
To run it, you need to already have the Max/MSP Runtime installed.
Then, right-click and "Save as..." this WickiSynth.zip file, unzipping them with WinZip.
Run Max/MSP, and open the wickisyn~.MXF file. There's a volume button to the lower-left; click it to activate your sound. Your QWERTY keyboard is now a QWERTY Thummer, with the Wicki note-layout. On the right-hand side, you'll see a slider controlling the width of the tempered perfect fifth. With your mouse, click and drag it up to increase the P5's width; drag it down to decrease the P5's width.
While playing (say) a major triad, drag the slider up and down. The pitches of the triad's notes will be adjusted automatically. So will the pitches of the partials that make up the tones sounded at those pitches.
The QWERTY keyboard is not an expressive instrument, nor are the timbres produced by with WickiSynth impressive. We don't expect that anyone is going to use this implementation in public (although, if you do, please post a video to YouTube and let me know!)
But...when you mess with this stuff, you are changing tuning and timbre dynamically, baby, using the Thummer's tuning-invariant note-pattern. That has never been done before.
Labels: Dynamic Tuning, Max/MSP, QWERTY Thummer, WickiSynth
posted by JimPlamondon | 4:10 PM
2 Comments:
I like the Wicki layout. The keys fall in convenient locations for meantone-based tunings. One thing this could use, though is a parameter for stretching the octave. I've noticed that meantone with slightly stretched octaves can sound better without as much tempering of the fifths. I don't know what effect that would have on the timbre, but I expect it might sound less inharmonic.
You want to talk about dynamic tuning, check out the www.adhocelectronica.net media section. The song "fantom windfall" is incredible! I posit that if it was by Tom York it would be lighting up Tech Clubs all over Europe.
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