Extreme time stretching with Max/MSP/Jitter

Using a phase vocoder is one way of stretching the length of a sound without transposing it.

The following video is related to the free pdf article A Tutorial for Spectral Sound Processing with Max/MSP and Jitter, published in the Computer Music Journal, Fall 2008. It illustrates extreme time stretching and audio freeze.

Your own Max/MSP/Jitter Phase Vocoder

If you are using the Max/MSP/Jitter development environment to design audio & video interactive applications, make your own phase vocoder. In this series of Max/MSP/Jitter tutorial patches for sound processing in spectral domain (link updated 01/12/2010), patches number 1, 2, 3, 7, and 8 are the most directly related to this video.

Of course, the MSP Tutorial 25 and Tutorial 26 will be will get you started with the FFT inside Max/MSP, in case you are new to the spectral domain.

Un-Music Conference - Call for Works

The Graduate Music Forum at Harvard organizes a yearly Graduate Student Conference. Last Spring, the conference was entitled music & the urban. This year, the committee choose another exciting topic: Un-Music.

Last week, composers Bert Van Herck, Hillary Zipper, and myself met with organizers Michael Heller and Ryan Banagale to discuss the participation of composers to the conference. We are all very eager to host a great musical conference during which we want to facilitate a natural flow between the fields of musicology, ethnomusicology, theory and composition.

Are you a composer? Here is the official announcement, as it was recently published on the American Composers Forum:

Call for Works: Un-Music, Harvard Graduate Music Forum Conference, March 7, 2009

In light of the pluralism, stylistic diversity, and incorporation of new sounds in contemporary performance, we invite you to re-examine our definition of music: what is music and what is "un-music," and where are the boundaries? Must music be written and/or played by human means? Should it be analyzable? What, if anything, differentiates sound from sound-art from music from noise?

The Harvard Graduate Music Forum announces its sixth graduate student conference, "Un-Music," taking place on March 7, 2009. We invite graduate student composers to interpret this topic broadly and creatively, in the form of a work for live electronics, recorded sound, solo instrument, or a combination thereof. Works will be performed throughout the day of the conference and will be closely integrated with musicological presentations. Participants will also be asked to give a brief presentation on their piece and how they feel it relates to the spirit of the conference.

Composers should submit audio or video recordings as well as a cover letter describing the relationship of their work to the conference topic. These materials must be received no later than January 16, 2009. Please also provide a detailed description of the technical requirements of your piece (an 8-channel diffusion system will be installed in the performance space.) Works should be no longer than 12 minutes, and scored for live electronics, recorded electronics, and/or one instrument/voice. An 8-channel diffusion system will be installed in the performance space. Selected composers are expected to attend the conference and perform and/or present their works. Electronic submission is preferred and materials may be sent to gmfconference [at] gmail.com . An emailed confirmation of receipt will be sent to confirm that all materials have been received. If hard copy submissions are required, please mail them to composition committee co-chair Hillary Zipper at:

Hillary Zipper
Music Building – North Yard
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA 02138

We look forward to your submissions! For more information and our corresponding Call for Papers, please visit the graduate music conference web site.

11/60 - Play Along 1 - Mouthpiece and Voice

In May 2008, I announced the première of my series of three Bb clarinet studies. I'm happy to share with you the recording of this live performance, featuring two amazing musicians: Petra Stump and Heinz-Peter Linshalm.

Petra and Heinz-Peter during their concert in Vienna (Austria) on June 13th, 2008.

The first of these pedagogical miniatures is a very simple melody to play with just the clarinet mouthpiece, to whistle, and to sing and play at the same time.
Here is the score for two clarinetists: the teacher and the student.

Listen to 11/60 on last.fm

Singing and playing at the same time is less common on the clarinet than for instance on the trombone or the flute. I strongly recommend to listen to composer and clarinetist Evan Zyporin's "Tsmindao Ghmerto" (look for the title on the page, you should be able to download a mp3 version). It's a written solo for bass clarinet, to be sung and played at the same time. A great piece in a recital.

Beginning of January, I'll post the score for Play Along 2, stay tuned!

Aqua in Florence

Aqua is a composition for solo double bass, aquaphone, clarinet, and live electronics. It is the 5th part of the Arc-en-ciel cycle. It was created by the Ensemble New Flore during our tour "Spirales" in the Fall of 2004, with Jean-Daniel Hégé - double bass, Brenda Ohana - aquaphone, Elsa Biston - live electronics, Amandine Grevoz - stage assistant, and myself - clarinet.

Italian première anniversary

The first Italian performance took place in Florence exactly 4 years ago, on December 10th, 2004. Time to share a few pictures. Thanks to photographer Eric Cordier!

The piece was a joint commission by Montbéliard Music School and Centro Tempo Reale in Florence. I was invited to spend two weeks in the French Institute in Florence in July 2004, where I composed part of the work.

Thanks to the Tempo Reale team for playing the live electronics, and to all the great musicians: Giulio Rubino - double bass, Joël Lorcerie - aquaphone, and Véronique Ngo Sach Hien - stage assistant. I was playing the clarinet.

1-5/60 - Live Saturation (starring Mario Caroli)

Here is the recording of Live Saturation, for flute and electronic music. Flutist Mario Caroli was recorded live on May 24th, 2008 in Paine Hall, Harvard Music Department.

I already told you about my collaboration with poet Ruth Lepson for the production of the electronic music. That was a real pleasure to see her come not only to the concert, but also to a whole rehearsal.

Read her texts on www.ruthlepson.org.

Hit play to listen:

You will find on a previous post the program notes.

The flute part

The complete performance score is only 3 pages long. Cues from the electronic music part are rather easy to hear. As you can see (click on the pictures for more details), the degree of synchronization between the flute and the electronic music is left quite free. The performer must trust his/her ears and musical sense; by listening to the poem and recorded music, he/she decides when to play. Note that the musical phrases should be performed as precisely as possible.

Join the creation

The music is released under a Creative Commons by-nc-sa license, as all music in the 60/60 project. Get your personalized minute of music, share and remix!

Picture with rain in Paris after "fuente de vida" Creative Commons License by bachmont.