So.. I’m working on one of my pieces for Electrogals 2010, and I thought I’d give y’all an overview of what I’m doing with it. Heather composed a beautiful piece called Prayerful and Human, and my job is to reinterpret it.
I do some of my composing using Max/MSP. Max/MSP is a visual programming language for music, which was developed by a company named Cycling ’74. It’s good for creating interactive music; I’ve used it in installations, and to do things like triggering a sound file when another sound is heard (for example, I can have a cello player play a note which will cause Max/MSP to play the sounds of trains going by). Max (without the MSP) was originally designed to interface with electronic musical instruments as a “control” language using MIDI; MSP (short for Max Signal Processing) was an add-on that allowed the manipulation of digital audio signals in real-time. MIDI transmits event information (ones and zeros – it doesn’t send an audio signal), which allows computers, sound cards, synthesizers, etc, to control one another.
Mary Wright, one of the co-producers of this show, teaches a class on computer music at PCC. She asked me to come in and talk about Max/MSP to her class. As I was discussing various ways to control a Max/MSP, I pulled out my iphone, as an example. “See,” I explained, “you can use this MIDI Motion Machine Application to send data to Max/MSP. I could write a piece that I could play with my iphone.” Some student immediately pointed out, “but then someone else could control your piece from the audience.”
Aha!
So that’s exactly what the audience will be doing at the concert.
I’m asking everyone to download the MIDI Motion Machine (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/midi-motion-machine/id304067260?mt=8) to their iphone, touch, or ipad, and to bring it with them to the concert. Then you’ll be able to participate in playing the piece. I’m taking the sounds from Heather’s amazing piece, and breaking them down into smaller parts. While you’re sitting in the audience, you’ll be able to influence what happens to the piece – what sounds come in next, what sounds leave, what parts get brought out or die away, and how some sounds get manipulated into something else.
I think – I hope – that it’s going to be pretty cool. I’m really looking forward to hearing how it sounds with a bunch of people playing along. I hope you participate!
Performance directions are below – I’ll be handing these out at the concert as well.
How to Play Prayerful and Human
If you don’t haven’t already downloaded the iphone application:
* Pull out your iphone, touch, or ipad
* From the App Store, download the MIDI Motion Machine (it’s a free app)
Once you have the iphone application
* Turn your iphone to silent just in case anyone calls you in the middle of the concert.
* Go to your iphone, touch, or ipad Settings, click on Wi-Fi, and connect to the network electrogals
* Open the MIDI Motion Machine application – it’s titled MMM
* If your first name begins with the letters A-M, click on the button that says HOLD in the lower right hand corner. There are 16 buttons on the screen, and you’ll be able to influence what sound files are played in Prayerful and Human by clicking on those buttons. Once you’ve played around with the sounds, feel free to click on UNHOLD and follow the directions below.
* If your first name starts with the letters N-Z: MMM is an accelerometer based MIDI controller app, so you can tilt your iphone from side to side to influence what sounds are played. Once you’ve played around with the sounds, feel free to follow the directions above for the rest of the alphabet.
And thanks for playing!
