Interesting blogpost on how to create arbitrary rules for a composition using a web browser

Svetlovska

Designed to break the ‘I only ever make loops’ deadlock and power through to finishing things:

https://medium.com/music-thing-modular-notes/how-i-recorded-an-album-in-an-evening-with-a-lunchbox-modular-and-a-python-script-443ca08f34da

Here’s a direct link to one of the web browser versions of the score generating script referenced in the article:

http://darwingrosse.com/ScoreBuilder/

It’s basically Eno’s Oblique Strategies on steroids. Gonna have to give it a go.

Krupa

Heh, did you see the same eBay listing I did yesterday? (It had the same link on it)

Svetlovska

Yup! How did you guess? Lucky I’ve spaffed all my cash on the BARP and Lyra, otherwise I would have been tempted. I love lunchbox modulars…

Krupa

@Svetlovska said:
Yup! How did you guess? Lucky I’ve spaffed all my cash on the BARP and Lyra, otherwise I would have been tempted. I love lunchbox modulars…

Just too much coincidence otherwise, I’ve been trawling for a small box to host my spare modules but finding that sweet price is eluding me, might have to finally make one myself 😬😅

bygjohn

Fascinating idea, I’m tempted to give it a try. Though I have a feeling I might be tempted to embroider.

Though I don’t have an issue finishing tracks, on the whole, it’s doing something with them once done, ie compiling them into albums/EPs or whatever, sequencing the tracks and doing any tweaks (which is what passes for mastering in my universe). And deciding on an outlet.

Gavinski

Can you run these scripts on iPad?

catherder

@Gavinski said:
Can you run these scripts on iPad?

I have not tried, but one of the Jupyter apps ( Carnets - free, Juno - paid ) might be the best way forward. Jupyter notebooks are a way to integrate Python code with text and other elements. They are often used for educational purposes and data science.

update: Just tried running it in Carnets. I’m getting type mismatch errors. I think the original script ran under Python 2.x and that can cause problems with 3.x because all strings are now unicode. It should be possible to get it running by using byte strings. I might try that later.

lasselu

I must be dense but I can’t figure out how to read the notation…

Gavinski

@catherder said:

@Gavinski said:
Can you run these scripts on iPad?

I have not tried, but one of the Jupyter apps ( Carnets - free, Juno - paid ) might be the best way forward. Jupyter notebooks are a way to integrate Python code with text and other elements. They are often used for educational purposes and data science.

update: Just tried running it in Carnets. I’m getting type mismatch errors. I think the original script ran under Python 2.x and that can cause problems with 3.x because all strings are now unicode. It should be possible to get it running by using byte strings. I might try that later.

Thnx for checking…sounds a bit above my paygrade!

Svetlovska

@Krupa said: > Just too much coincidence otherwise, I’ve been trawling for a small box to host my spare modules but finding that sweet price is eluding me, might have to finally make one myself 😬😅

Don’t know if you’d consider it cheap enough, but the Behringer PSU in one of the smallest Doepfer unpowered plain wood boxes is pretty cheap for a lunchbox option.otherwise the Cre8 Niftycase box is pretty good value for an all in one:

https://www.cre8audio.com/niftycase

@Gavinski : the script runs fine in the browser link referred to on iPad. You can just cut n paste the text from the screen.

Gavinski

@Svetlovska said:
@Krupa said: > Just too much coincidence otherwise, I’ve been trawling for a small box to host my spare modules but finding that sweet price is eluding me, might have to finally make one myself 😬😅

Don’t know if you’d consider it cheap enough, but the Behringer PSU in one of the smallest Doepfer unpowered plain wood boxes is pretty cheap for a lunchbox option.otherwise the Cre8 Niftycase box is pretty good value for an all in one:

https://www.cre8audio.com/niftycase

@Gavinski : the script runs fine in the browser link referred to on iPad. You can just cut n paste the text from the screen.

Cut and paste to what though? I’m not very familiar with these things

Krupa

@Svetlovska said:
@Krupa said: > Just too much coincidence otherwise, I’ve been trawling for a small box to host my spare modules but finding that sweet price is eluding me, might have to finally make one myself 😬😅

Don’t know if you’d consider it cheap enough, but the Behringer PSU in one of the smallest Doepfer unpowered plain wood boxes is pretty cheap for a lunchbox option.otherwise the Cre8 Niftycase box is pretty good value for an all in one:

https://www.cre8audio.com/niftycase

@Gavinski : the script runs fine in the browser link referred to on iPad. You can just cut n paste the text from the screen.

I have actually got one of those beh psu things, I’m tossing up whether a set of rails and a shonky box are with the few quid I’d save, also trying not to think too hard about getting a 6u 104hp blank just cause I’m defo sure I can fill it with utilities and still feel short 😂

Svetlovska

@Krupa : yup, that is always the trade off. I actually think £60 for the cool looking tin box with psu already installed is not bad value, given that nothing in EuroCrack is actually good value…

@Gavinski : yes, you only need the text, because the text is the output, it’s not running anything. All the script does is automatically generate a random name, a set of conditions for your devices, moods to achieve etcetera as a text list, and a diagram using ascii characters showing the rhythm of the thing (sort of). The test is then that you have to produce an album adhering to this set of instructions. Kind of like a writing exercise where you are given a subject, but how you interpret it is up to you. Or even more precisely, like the Burroughs/Bowie style cut up technique.

Krupa

@Svetlovska said:
@Krupa : yup, that is always the trade off. I actually think £60 for the cool looking tin box with psu already installed is not bad value, given that nothing in EuroCrack is actually good value…

@Gavinski : yes, you only need the text, because the text is the output, it’s not running anything. All the script does is automatically generate a random name, a set of conditions for your devices, moods to achieve etcetera as a text list, and a diagram using ascii characters showing the rhythm of the thing (sort of). The test is then that you have to produce an album adhering to this set of instructions. Kind of like a writing exercise where you are given a subject, but how you interpret it is up to you. Or even more precisely, like the Burroughs/Bowie style cut up technique.

Ah that makes sense, I thought my browser wasn’t displaying notes correctly or something… and that cute wee lunchbox has already gone, I was pretty sure the modules I had in mind would have burned out the psu anyway… back to eBay saved searches and pondering my wood skills…