sdf PhD

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thesis

Exploring visual representation of sound
in computer music software through
programming and composition

thesis — §1 — §2 — §3 — §4 — §5 — §6 — §7 → toc ← bib

Selected content from
a thesis submitted with a portfolio of works to the University of Huddersfield in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy

December 2013

Samuel David Freeman

Minor amendments
April–June 2014

Table of contents

• S D Freeman PhD thesis
  • Full text download and citation
  • Abstract context
  • Summary tables of contents
• 1: Introduction
  • 1.1 Motivation
  • 1.2 Initial context
    • 1.2.1 Representations of sound
    • 1.2.2 Computer music software
  • 1.3 Thesis structure
• 2: Looking at sound
  • 2.1 Looking at physical aspects
    • 2.1.1 Physical patterns
    • 2.1.2 The temporal trace
    • 2.1.3 Harmonic interactions
  • 2.2 Looking at psychological aspects
    • 2.2.1 Morphophoric mediums and (in)dispensability
    • 2.2.2 Paradox and pitch perception
  • 2.3 Looking at looking at sound
• 3: In software, on screen
  • 3.1 Pixels
    • 3.1.1 The sound of electricity
    • 3.1.2 System architecture
    • 3.1.3 Audience interaction
    • 3.1.4 Inherent paradox
    • 3.1.5 Towards programming with matrices
  • 3.2 Visyn
    • 3.2.1 Introducing visyn
    • 3.2.2 Looking at visyn
    • 3.2.3 Visual data to control sound parameters
    • 3.2.4 Ever-changing and always the same
  • 3.3 Sub synth amp map
    • 3.3.1 Live Coding with MaxMSP
    • 3.3.2 From passing thoughts to pivotal theories
    • 3.3.3 Names and numbers
    • 3.3.4 Looking at sub synth amp map
    • 3.3.5 Three layers, three mappings
    • 3.3.6 Input selections
    • 3.3.7 Lamp-light, Laser beams, and Laptop screens
    • (3.3.7.a) Lissajous figures
    • (3.3.7.b) Lamp-light
    • (3.3.7.c) Laser beams
    • (3.3.7.d) Projected oscilloscopes
    • (3.3.7.e) Laptop screens
    • 3.3.8 Connections and comparisons between study pieces
  • 3.4 Conceptual model of a gramophone
    • 3.4.1 Analysis of motion
    • 3.4.2 A spiral on the surface of a plane
    • 3.4.3 Stylus abstraction
    • 3.4.4 Gramophone_002_a
    • 3.4.5 Interacting with _002_a: limitations and inspirations
  • 3.5 Gramophone_005g
    • 3.5.1 Sequence generator
      • (3.5.1.a) List generation
      • (3.5.1.b) List value reordering
      • (3.5.1.c) Layers of abstraction
    • 3.5.2 Manifestation of g005g
    • 3.5.3 Audiovisual output: open outcome and recorded examples
    • 3.5.4 Shapes in time: using rectilinear views of recorded audio output
      • (3.5.4.a) Difference (and the samenesses within)
      • (3.5.4.b) Sameness (and the differences within)
      • (3.5.4.c) Pre- and post-DSP
    • 3.5.5 Contextualisation of the sound
  • 3.6 saw~onepole~noise~click~
    • 3.6.1 saw~onepole~noise~click~b2.maxpat
    • 3.6.2 The domain dichotomy
    • 3.6.3 Temporal structure
    • 3.6.4 Sounding events
      • (3.6.4.a) Triggering sound
      • (3.6.4.b) Synthesis flow
    • 3.6.5 Scored recordings
  • 3.7 Software as substance
    • 3.7.1 One-line programs
    • 3.7.2 Expressivity and technê in programming and composition
    • 3.7.3 Composing as an artist-programmer
      • (3.7.3.a) Bricolage programming
      • (3.7.3.b) Composition model
      • (3.7.3.c) Comparison of cyclical models
    • 3.7.4 On the context of text in programming
      • (3.7.4.a) Programming with text
      • (3.7.4.b) Source code text as a layer of abstraction
    • 3.7.5 The medium is the meta-medium is the tool is the message
    • 3.7.6 In software, on screen: programming/composition
• 4: Spiroid
  • 4.1 Spiroid
    • 4.1.1 Circularity
    • 4.1.2 Radially extending
    • 4.1.3 On Spirals
    • 4.1.4 Curved continuum
  • 4.2 Some similar spirals
    • 4.2.1 In the inner ear
    • 4.2.2 In print
    • 4.2.3 Photosounder Spiral
  • 4.3 Spiroid display of partials as arcs on an lcd in MaxMSP
    • 4.3.1 Analysis and display
    • 4.3.2 SpiroidArc
      • (4.3.2.a) a_demo_of_SpiroidArc300
      • (4.3.2.b) Histogram of strongest pitch-classes
      • (4.3.2.c) Background option to show 12TET angles
    • 4.3.3 Chroma paradox
      • (4.3.3.a) (chroma ≠ chroma)
      • (4.3.3.b) Double jeopardy
      • (4.3.3.c) Suggested remedy
  • 4.4 Spiroid as an interface for input
    • 4.4.1 nRadii
      • (4.4.1.a) nRadii_sawOsc overview
      • (4.4.1.b) Construction of the nRadii GUI
      • (4.4.1.c) Angular manifestation
      • (4.4.1.d) A topic for NIME
    • 4.4.2 A spiroid widget design
      • (4.4.2.a) A type of dial that is based on the spiroid
      • (4.4.2.b) Mouse interaction with a spiroidial
      • (4.4.2.c) Specific implementation of a concept archetype
    • 4.4.3 SpiroidArc plus sequencing
      • (4.4.3.a) Frequency markers
      • (4.4.3.b) Sequencing with markers in a time-space
      • (4.4.3.c) _spiroidArc+timespace annotation
      • (4.4.3.d) Evaluation
  • 4.5 Assessment of the spiroid
    • 4.5.1 Recapitulation
    • 4.5.2 Spiroid beyond this project
    • 4.5.3 Chapter conclusion
• 5: CirSeq
  • 5.1 CirSeq and thisis
  • 5.2 CirSeq inception
    • 5.2.1 Basis for the search
    • 5.2.2 A circle on a cartesian plane
    • 5.2.3 Another circle on the plane
    • 5.2.4 Double and double again
    • 5.2.5 Common time
  • 5.3 CirSeq Zero
    • 5.3.1 Playing (with) the piece: an overview of CirSeq Zero
      • (5.3.1.a) The CirSeq Zero patch
      • (5.3.1.b) CirSeq Zero patch annotation
    • 5.3.2 Technical structure
      • (5.3.2.a) Original documentation
      • (5.3.2.b) CirSeq Zero structure
      • (5.3.2.c) Methods for control
    • 5.3.3 Making decisions to organise the soundmaking
      • (5.3.3.a) Similar concepts at different layers of abstraction
      • (5.3.3.b) An additional aspect to the piece
      • (5.3.3.c) The cascade of randomised decisions
      • (5.3.3.d) To unravel the cascade
      • (5.3.3.e) Deciding the duration of the cycle period
      • (5.3.3.f) Contextualising the blurring of lines on the time-domain continuum
      • (5.3.3.g) Running the cascade with pitch-like durations of the cycle period
    • 5.3.4 Meta-patch: an example of external control
      • (5.3.4.a) Annotating the meta-patch
      • (5.3.4.b) Exploring the effects of aliasing
      • (5.3.4.c) Explorations of soundmaking guided by shape
  • 5.4 Aesthetic analogies in the exploration of CirSeq patterns
    • 5.4.1 Exploration of the continuum – further detail
    • 5.4.2 Observation of a specific configuration
  • 5.5 Critique and chapter conclusion
    • 5.5.1 What you see is not always what you get
    • 5.5.2 Remedy in moving on
    • 5.5.3 Fractal potential
    • 5.5.4 Circle the square
• 6: Sdfsys
  • 6.1 Introducing sdfsys
    • 6.1.1 Overview
    • 6.1.2 Construction aesthetics
    • 6.1.3 Eight spaces
    • 6.1.4 Making sound
  • 6.2 Alpha
    • 6.2.1 sdf.sys_alpha
    • 6.2.2 Motivating factors for sdf.sys_alpha
    • 6.2.3 The gl-ui
      • (6.2.3.a) Decisions in the gl-ui design
      • (6.2.3.b) Divisions within the gl-ui
    • 6.2.4 Interacting with sdf.sys_alpha
      • (6.2.4.a) Rendering the gl-ui and remapping the mouse position values
      • (6.2.4.b) Frames in the sidebar
      • (6.2.4.c) sdf.sys.txt
      • (6.2.4.d) A video walkthrough: commands and parameters in sdf.sys_alpha
    • 6.2.5 Soundmaking in context
      • (6.2.5.a) Colourisation: Looking at bipolar audio data-matrices on screen
      • (6.2.5.b) Tildegraph: from a module to a concept
    6.2.6 The tildegraph concept
    • (6.2.6.a) Seeing sound
    • (6.2.6.b) The tildegraph concept in the context of wave terrain synthesis
    • (6.2.6.c) Wave terrain and scanned synthesis
    • 6.2.7 Concluding the alpha build
  • 6.3 Beta
    • 6.3.1 sdfsys_beta
    • 6.3.2 The beta design for the gl-ui
    • 6.3.3 Colour in sdfsys_beta
    • 6.3.4 _Area_1_Main
      • (6.3.4.a) Mousing data
      • (6.3.4.b) Eight spaces
      • (6.3.4.c) Parameter-sprites
    • 6.3.5 _Area_2_SpacesNetwork
      • (6.3.5.a) Visual patching
      • (6.3.5.b) Eight colours for the eight spaces
      • (6.3.5.c) Making connections in the spaces network
    • 6.3.6 _Area_3_Box
    • 6.3.7 _Area_4_SystemToggle
    • 6.3.8 _Area_5_TextToggle
      • (6.3.8.a) To toggle the text
      • (6.3.8.b) Editing the text-buffer
      • (6.3.8.c) Syntax in sdfsys_beta
    • 6.3.9 Infrastructures and Meta-patches
      • (6.3.9.a) sdf.sys.rtuis
      • (6.3.9.b) sdf.sys.network
      • (6.3.9.c) sdf.sys.reboot
      • (6.3.9.d) Loading other meta-patches
      • (6.3.9.e) The sdfsys_beta_xnn_video series
  • 6.4 Composing with sdfsys
    • 6.4.1 A composition with which to compose
      • (6.4.1.a) sdfsys as substance
      • (6.4.1.b) In the context of my compositional model
      • (6.4.1.c) On paper and on camera
      • (6.4.1.d) Introducing the included compositions
    • 6.4.2 orbit8 reading cyclephase
      • (6.4.2.a) 20120221_0200_cyclephase_orbit8
      • (6.4.2.b) 20120222_orbit8cyclephase
      • (6.4.2.c) ~g.r.orbit8
    • 6.4.3 febandflow
    • 6.4.4 five four three
      • (6.4.4.a) Multiple layers of abstraction
      • (6.4.4.b) The typewriter model
      • (6.4.4.c) fivefourthree_20120208.mov
    • 6.4.5 penhexsepoct
      • (6.4.5.a) Scripted start
      • (6.4.5.b) penhexsepoct_20120427
    • 6.4.6 more cogmos
      • (6.4.6.a) Using rtuis
      • (6.4.6.b) Recorded interaction
      • (6.4.6.c) more_cogmos.maxpat
      • (6.4.6.d) more_cogmos.txt
      • (6.4.6.e) 20121120_0040
  • 6.5 Evaluating sdfsys
    • 6.5.1 Ready-at-hand
    • 6.5.2 What's next for sdfsys?
• 7: Conclusion
  • 7.1 Framing the project
  • 7.2 Contextual grounding
  • 7.3 Techno-aesthetic development
  • 7.4 Tildegraphing
  • 7.5 Music via visual representations
  • 7.6 The sdfsys environment
• Detailed Table of Contents
• Bibliography