Tidal Composition

In terms of my musical composition, I’ve developed six distinct sound layers that blend nicely together. To organize the composition, I initially introduced these sounds sequentially, building towards a climactic moment. Halfway through the performance, I muted the first three tracks, creating a jazz-y shift in the musicality. Later, I reintroduced the three muted sounds one by one, gradually building up their presence before delicately fading them out towards the end of the composition. This gradual decrescendo provided a satisfying sense of closure. I think this structure effectively showcased the diverse range of notes and layers present in the composition.

d1 $ qtrigger $ filterWhen (>=0) $ stack[
    fast "<0.5 2>" $ s "lt:3 lt lt ~" # gain 0.8,
    s "909!4" # gain 1,
    ccv "2 4 1 1" # ccn 0 # s "midi"
  ]


d2 $ qtrigger $ filterWhen (>=0) $ stack [
   s "hh*2 hh*2 hh*2 <hh*6 [hh*2]!3>" # gain 0.8,
    ccv "45 90 270 360" # ccn 1 # s "midi"
  ]


d3 $ qtrigger $ filterWhen (>=0) $ stack [every 3 (hurry 2) $ sound "bd sd [~ bd] [cp bd*2]",
  sound "kurt:4(3,8)" # shape "0 0.98" # gain "0.5" # speed 1.04,
  struct "t" $ ccv (irand 15) # ccn 2 # s "midi"
]

d4 $ qtrigger $ filterWhen (>=0) $ stack[
    fast "<0.5 2>" $ s "lt:3 lt lt ~" # gain 0.5,
    s "909!4" # slow 2 ("<1.5 1>") # gain 1.2,
    s "hh*2 hh*2 hh*2 <hh*6 [hh*2]!3>" # gain 0.7,
    sound "sax(3,8) sax(5,8)" # legato 1 # n 3 # note "<[9 7] 5 [9 12]>" # sz 0.8 # room 0.4 # gain 0.8,
    struct "t" $ ccv (irand 127) # ccn 3 # s "midi"
  ]

d5 $ qtrigger $ filterWhen (>=0) $ stack[
  s "bd*4" # gain 1.4 # krush 10,
  struct "t t t t" $ ccv (irand 4) # ccn 4 # s "midi",
  ccv "2 4 1 1" # ccn 6 # s "midi"
]

d6 $ qtrigger $ filterWhen (>=0) $ stack [
  sound "sax(3,8) sax(5,8)" # legato 1 # n 3 # note "<[9 7] 5 [9 12]>" # sz 0.8 # room 0.4 # gain 0.8,
  struct "t" $ ccv (irand 6) # ccn 5 # s "midi"
]

Hydra visuals

Each layer of sound is assigned a distinct CC number, which sends MIDI data to Hydra. This allowed me to introduce variations to the original rectangle shape depending on the sound being played. It was particularly satisfying because silencing specific sounds would also disable particular visual distortions since the corresponding CC number wouldn’t be transmitted.

To add variety throughout the performance, I would comment out some lines to create the effect of visuals gradually building towards a climax. During the jazz-y drop, I disabled the pixelate line to allow for subtle changes in the oscillating visuals. Similar to the music, I wanted a gradual buildup and fading of the sounds, so it was essential for me to begin and end my visual composition with just one line.

For the next performance, I’m eager to expand on the scope of visuals. I’m intrigued by how many visuals I was able to generate with just 14 lines of code.

update = () => {
  let n = ccActual[2]+1
  let k = ccActual[4]
  shape(2, ()=>ccActual[6]*0.1) //()=>ccActual[6]*0.1
    .modulate(osc(1)) //*0.2
    .pixelate(()=>ccActual[0])
    .rotate(()=>ccActual[1])
    .scrollX(1/n)
    .scrollY(1/k)
    .mult(shape(()=>ccActual[5],()=>ccActual[5]*0.2))
    .modulate(noise(()=>cc[3]*5,0,1))
    .scale(1, ()=>window.innerHeight/window.innerWidth,1)
    .out()
  }