4PM (Nancarrow) / + 4:01 PM remixed by LL

GeoTony

Just messing about with 4 motifs generated by Piano Motifs and it reminded me of some of the music that was created by Conlon Nancarrow in (approximately) the 40s to 60s for the Player Piano, a mechanical piano ‘programmed’ via punched cards and capable of speeds far in excess of what a human could play.
A bit like a precursor to some of the apps we have today 😊

Art by AI…

UPDATE…..
@GeoTony sent me the midi tracks of the above track. I had suggested an elaboration and Tony was kind enough to indulge me. Many synths, staggering and transpositions as you can see from this screen shot. It took me a bit longer than the 1/2 hour I imagined. But, like Topsy, it grew some.
@ReneAsologuitar was curious about the concept. It’s a bit more elaborate, Rene, but you can see the structures.

!

LinearLineman

I would take this track and duplicate it three times. Transpose the second track up a major 3rd, 4th or 5th and down an octave.
I would then shift the third and fourth track each ahead a measure or two to create a three part round. Well… that’s what I’d do.🤞🙏

ReneAsologuitar

Wow, Linear Lineman - what an idea!
Talking about sophistication.
I am very interested to hear this recommended version is you are up to the technical difficulty of this idea.
Thank you.
Respectfully,
Rene

rottencat

Here’s what I’d do @GeoTony.

Nothing.

It’s perfect. And one of the things that’s perfect about it is it’s brevity.

LinearLineman

Send me midi or wav @GeoTony. I’d like to try it if you don’t want to. Will take about 1/2 an hour.

Svetlovska

Nancarrow! I have the player piano pieces. Yes indeed, like a 20th century analog precursor of our apps, so true. This is a great take, loving your work.

Artj

Love it, and great to read someone still listen to Nancarrow. I was at a concert in Buffalo many years ago where there were three ladies performing one of his pieces (the one that the ratio is still (barely) playable by humans) on piano and 2 early keyboard instruments. It took two tries to nail that one live! :-)

GeoTony

Ha! believe me @LinearLineman if I knew how to do that I would 😊 I think I can send you the MIDI files for this one 👍
Thanks @ReneAsologuitar . Once again @azul3D_Apps did all the hard work. I just ‘curated’ the motifs.
I agree @rottencat , any longer in its current form would have diminished it.
Thanks @Svetlovska and @Artj . Some of the maths that his pieces are based on is mind boggling.

palms

@Artj said:
Love it, and great to read someone still listen to Nancarrow. I was at a concert in Buffalo many years ago where there were three ladies performing one of his pieces (the one that the ratio is still (barely) playable by humans) on piano and 2 early keyboard instruments. It took two tries to nail that one live! :-)

Whoa, thanks for sharing this. Sounds wild - and for some reason I can’t easily discern, I’m fascinated and duly impressed by people who dedicate themselves to such difficult music.

Paulieworld

How about this... using 2 tracks in Cubasis, create a linear sequence that overlays 2 different motifs at a time, i.e. 1:2, 1:3, 1:4, 2:1, 2:3, 2:4, etc. That would give you 12 different combinations. If the motifs are short, the end result would still be a fairly short song. To make things even more interesting, you could then drag one or both motifs into additional MIDI tracks, while preserving the order, and use a different synth and effects on each. It might sound great... or not.

LinearLineman

Bumping to get this thread back in play.

GeoTony

Wowzer… I wasn’t expecting that 🤯 No wonder it took you more than half an hour.
Wasn’t keen on the brassy bit from about 0:40 for about 40 seconds. I think it got stronger as it went on… very original 👌
Many thanks for taking the Piano Motif by the horns!

LinearLineman

My pleasure @GeoTony. It was fun.