swt loves writing music
Here are some pieces of music that I wrote.
Here are .xm sources for the music files above. These are modules (tracked music files), so you will
want to get a player (or winamp plugin) that can handle .xm files, if you don't have such a thing already.
Some pieces of music that have been computer-generated. Some Python
source
code is available, if you want to see how
it's done. I was surprised by how few lines of code were necessary.
First generator - This algorithm 'walks' through the chromatic scale. Each track is 'centered' on
a note seven half-steps above the last, wrapping around at the end of the octave, and eventually hitting
each note. Over time tracks may change instruments or transpose an octave; they can also introduce new
notes around their center tone. Occasionally a rhythic silence-pattern is used to blank out all tracks.
The algorithm shifts from a collection of 'slow' rhythmic patterns to 'fast', and then back to 'slow'.
random1.xm
random2.xm
random3.xm
Second generator - This is (very loosely) based on music of the amadinda. The amadinda is a wooden
xylophone played in parts of Africa,
including Uganda. The amadinda is played by musicians at opposite sides of the instrument, who strike the
keys out of phase - one player strikes the keys in the 'off beats' between the other's notes. (This is something
which takes practice for most people. Ask a friend to clap their hands, and try clapping in the middle of the
off beats. Many people find it surprisingly hard at first) A third player often joins and emphasizes certain
notes in the main pentatonic melody by playing them an octave higher. I had the great pleasure to study amadinda
music while at the University of Wisconsin--Madison, which also has an Indonesian Music Ensemble.
PentaA.xm
PentaB.xm
PentaC.xm
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