Exploring Visual Representationof Sound Incomputer Music
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University of Huddersfield Repository Freeman, Samuel David Exploring visual representation of sound in computer music software through programming and composition Original Citation Freeman, Samuel David (2013) Exploring visual representation of sound in computer music software through programming and composition. Doctoral thesis, University of Huddersfield. This version is available at http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/23318/ The University Repository is a digital collection of the research output of the University, available on Open Access. Copyright and Moral Rights for the items on this site are retained by the individual author and/or other copyright owners. 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For more information, including our policy and submission procedure, please contact the Repository Team at: [email protected]. http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/ – Exploring visual representation of sound in computer music software through programming and composition Samuel David Freeman 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 Minor amendments and corrections April–June 2014 – Summary Table of Contents Abstract ________________________________________________________________________3 Overview of the Portfolio Directories _________________________________________________5 1: Introduction ___________________________________________________________________6 1.1 Motivation _________________________________________________________________6 1.2 Initial context _______________________________________________________________ 7 1.3 Thesis structure ____________________________________________________________ 11 2: Looking at sound ______________________________________________________________13 2.1 Looking at physical aspects ___________________________________________________13 2.2 Looking at psychological aspects ______________________________________________22 2.3 Looking at looking at sound __________________________________________________27 3: In software, on screen ___________________________________________________________28 3.1 Pixels ____________________________________________________________________29 3.2 Visyn ____________________________________________________________________38 3.3 Sub synth amp map _________________________________________________________42 3.4 Conceptual model of a gramophone ____________________________________________63 3.5 Gramophone_005g __________________________________________________________76 3.6 saw~onepole~noise~click~ __________________________________________________ 101 3.7 Software as substance ______________________________________________________111 4: Spiroid _____________________________________________________________________128 4.1 Spiroid __________________________________________________________________128 4.2 Some similar spirals ________________________________________________________137 4.3 Spiroid display of partials as arcs on an lcd in MaxMSP ___________________________144 4.4 Spiroid as an interface for input _______________________________________________154 4.5 Assessment of the spiroid ___________________________________________________168 5: CirSeq ______________________________________________________________________ 172 5.1 CirSeq and thisis __________________________________________________________173 5.2 CirSeq inception __________________________________________________________175 5.3 CirSeq Zero ______________________________________________________________182 5.4 Aesthetic analogies in the exploration of CirSeq patterns ___________________________208 5.5 Critique and chapter conclusion ______________________________________________212 6: Sdfsys ______________________________________________________________________218 6.1 Introducing sdfsys _________________________________________________________218 6.2 Alpha ___________________________________________________________________221 6.3 Beta ____________________________________________________________________241 6.4 Composing with sdfsys _____________________________________________________261 6.5 Evaluating sdfsys __________________________________________________________274 7: Conclusion __________________________________________________________________276 7.1 Framing the project ________________________________________________________276 7.2 Contextual grounding ______________________________________________________277 7.3 Techno-aesthetic development ________________________________________________278 7.4 Tildegraphing _____________________________________________________________279 7.5 Music via visual representations ______________________________________________279 7.6 The sdfsys environment _____________________________________________________281 Detailed Table of Contents _______________________________________________________ 283 Table of Figures ________________________________________________________________ 288 Bibliography __________________________________________________________________291 2 Abstract Abstract – Abstract Abstract Presented through contextualisation of the portfolio works are developments of a practice in which the acts of programming and composition are intrinsically connected. This practice-based research (conducted 2009–2013) explores visual representation of sound in computer music software. Towards greater understanding of composing with the software medium, initial questions are taken as stimulus to explore the subject through artistic practice and critical thinking. The project begins by asking: How might the ways in which sound is visually represented influence the choices that are made while those representations are being manipulated and organised as music? Which aspects of sound are represented visually, and how are those aspects shown? Recognising sound as a psychophysical phenomenon, the physical and psychological aspects of aesthetic interest to my work are identified. Technological factors of mediating these aspects for the interactive visual-domain of software are considered, and a techno-aesthetic understanding developed. Through compositional studies of different approaches to the problem of looking at sound in software, on screen, a number of conceptual themes emerge in this work: the idea of software as substance, both as a malleable material (such as in live coding), and in terms of outcome artefacts; the direct mapping between audio data and screen pixels; the use of colour that maintains awareness of its discrete (as opposed to continuous) basis; the need for integrated display of parameter controls with their target data; and the tildegraph concept that began as a conceptual model of a gramophone and which is a spatio-visual sound synthesis technique related to wave terrain synthesis. The spiroid-frequency-space representation is introduced, contextualised, and combined both with those themes and a bespoke geometrical drawing system (named thisis), to create a new modular computer music software environment named sdfsys. 3 Abstract Abstract – Abstract Acknowledgements This projected was supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and supervised by Professors Clarke and Adkins (JMC and Monty) to whom I am eternally grateful, as I am also to family, to friends, and to Huddersfield. Copyright Statement i. The author of this thesis (including any appendices and/or schedules to this thesis) owns any copyright in it (the “Copyright”) and s/he has given The University of Huddersfield the right to use such Copyright for any administrative, promotional, educational and/or teaching purposes. ii. Copies of this thesis, either in full or in extracts, may be made only in accordance with the regulations of the University Library. Details of these regulations may be obtained from the Librarian. This page must form part of any such copies made. iii. The ownership of any patents, designs, trademarks and any and all other intellectual property rights except for the Copyright (the “Intellectual Property Rights”) and any reproductions of copyright works, for example graphs and tables (“Reproductions”), which may be described in this thesis, may not be owned by the author and may be owned by third parties. Such Intellectual Property Rights and Reproductions cannot and must not be made available for use without the prior written permission of the owner(s) of the relevant Intellectual Property Rights and/or Reproductions. 4 Overview of the Portfolio Directories Overview of the Portfolio Directories – Overview of the Portfolio Directories Overview of the Portfolio Directories An overview of the portfolio directories – found on the attached DVD, and also available online at http://sdfphd.net/portfolio – is given here, showing only folder names, and only to a depth of two: • sdfphd_portfolio_by_chapter ◦ chapter3_inSoftware_onScreen ▪ model_of_a_gramophone ▪ MoEpixels ▪ saw~onepole~noise~click~ ▪ sub_synth_amp_map ▪ visyn ◦ chapter4_Spiroid ▪ BensonSymmetryEx3 ▪ nRadii ▪ spiralArc300 ▪ spiroidArc+timespace ◦ chapter5_CirSeq