Monthly Archives: September 2010

Sound Byte: Glitch Generator

I’ve been working on this one for a few days. It follows the same principle as the beat generator from my previous post: whether or not a note is added to the generated sequence at a given step is determined by a probability. However, unlike the beat generator, this one doesn’t sequence distinct sounds. Instead, it is essentially generating timed control changes for effects on two sound files that are continually playing.

The first file is the vocal track from Half Life by Imogen Heap. Its playback rate is adjusted to the chosen tempo and “notes” in the sequence for it are turning on a sample-repeat effect. For each trigger of the effect, the length of the sampled audio is determined randomly based on the settings in the Vox Glitch range.

The second file is a loop from the beginning of Hydra Remix By Koen Groeneveld. The notes in the sequence for that track are setting loop points in a looping FilePlayer, though the resulting sound is the exact same kind of thing going on with the vocals. Once again, the length of the repeated audio is determined based on the settings in the Perc Glitch range. You can also specify whether you want each triggered glitch to fade in over its duration or not, which is kind of a nice effect.

Finally, you can choose to have a steady kick drum play underneath all the glitching to give yourself a good reference point. I’ve had a lot of fun playing with different settings, it’s like endless minimal, glitchy remixes of Imogen Heap. Try it out!

Sound Byte: Beat Generator

Probably the coolest Sound Byte yet, this one will generate drum beats based on probabilities for each sixteenth note in a measure. The sound-set is basic: kick, snare, hat, plus a chime loop that is overlaid for a little melodic flavor. You can tweak the probability of all the steps independently, or just click a button to set them all to new random values. Two “modes” allow you to specify whether you want the kick and snare to ever play at the same time and some simple rules are used to determine the amplitude of each note. I considered putting in panning of some kind, but decided it could go in a later iteration. I may do a bassline generator along the same lines at some point. Check it out!

Sound Byte: Broken Record

I wrote a UGen the other day that allows you to change the tick rate (or sample rate, if you like), of any UGen that you patch to it. After making a mouse-driven example to test it out, I created this example so that the change in the tick rate could be driven by the audio itself. Here, the current loudness (RMS amplitude, to be exact) of the audio being looped directly adjusts the playback speed. Louder parts result in a higher tick rate. What you get sounds like a really broken record player. Not only is it stuck looping the same four bars, but it sounds like the timing belt is having all sorts of issues. Check it out!