Audio Freeze - From Melody to Harmony

On my August 2008 post entitled A Free Tutorial on Spectral Sound Processing Using Max/MSP and Jitter, Alex asked: "I was wondering if you also put "Melody to Harmony" patch on line".

Good news, the patch is online! It is called 6-melody-to-harmony and free to download on this page: Jean-François Charles' Max MSP Jitter patches (link updated 01/12/2010).

A multiple freeze

With this patch, you can freeze a note, then add other notes, thus creating a frozen chord. There is no limit on the number of notes that you can freeze: it doesn't take more resources to freeze 100 notes than 2. By freezing successive notes of a melody, you transform it into harmony, in real time.
This patch uses the Max MSP FFT capabilities, while spectral data is stored and computed within Jitter matrices.

Max 4 version of the patch?

Antonio commented "pity some patches are for version 5 only" ; that's right, some of the most recent patches are only compatible with Max 5 and later. For this "melody to harmony" patch, you can click and enlarge the picture below. You will see the whole patch and the [pfft~] sub-patch. You can make a new Max 4 patch by patching the objects you see in the image. All are standard objects are available in Max/MSP 4.6 and Jitter. Nothing is hidden. The black rectangles are [jit.pwindow] objects.

This is the Max 5 version. You can build a Max 4 patch from this picture.

13/60 - Play Along 3 - Energy and Multiphonics

Listen to 13/60 on last.fm

One type of clarinet multiphonic is called "split tones". In the duet Play Along 3, I use the most common root pitch for split tones on the Bb clarinet: the lowest note of the instrument, a written E. The first time I played this particular multiphonic in concert was during the première of Javier Torres Maldonado's great piece Hemisferios Artificiales.
We created this work for flute, clarinet, percussion, piano, violin, and violoncello in February 2002 in Strasbourg. Ivan Fedele was the composition professor, and Armand Angster was leading the rehearsals. First, I had a hard time figuring out how to play this multiphonic sound, but in the end, the concert was great.

One breath

If you use this study in your teaching, it may be fun to play it in one breath. It may also be fun to watch this video of the fascinating trumpeter Raphael Mendez.
For the "one breath" section, watch from 3:03 on.

Your dedicated clarinet study

As Play Along 1 and 2, this étude is dedicated to Lionel Liebe, a distinguished musician of Les Jolis Rogers and a participant to the 60/60 composition project. Recording took place during Petra Stump and Heinz-Peter Linshalm's Short Cuts concert.

To receive your own personalized minute of music, visit the 60/60 Frequently Asked Questions, and see how easy it is. Presents start at $1.37 (current price for used version of Amandla!)

Formula Composition in Lapalu

I just finished a provisional version of Lapalu, a new work for viola and live electronics. In this composition, I used the musical formula technique.

Lapalu musical formula

Here is the manuscript of the Lapalu formula. You can read the four limbs of the formula, each inhabited by a particular musical character. I composed part of this formula after recording Garth Knox. I could then incorporate elements of his musical language. For instance, he ended the improvisation session with circular bowing, that he seemed to enjoy quite a lot: this is why I use this nice sound quality in the last bar.

First projection of the formula

On the next picture, you can see the how the Lapalu formula unfolds over the first section of the piece. In formula composition, musical material is not developed, but rather spread, unfolded. Each limb of the formula contaminates its character to the corresponding section. Each section contains one or more projection of the whole formula. Here, the first projection (first half of the "red" section) is not transposed, the subsequent ones are transposed.

The formula as a model for the large-scale form

At a larger scale, the formula is projected over several minutes. The "bend note" becomes a "Fall" section, that happens to be a "live electronics" solo.

Melody and harmony

In Lapalu, the harmony is directly derived from the melody. Or was the formula composed after the harmonic progression?

For more insight into formula composition, I recommend reading Karlheinz Stockhausen's presentation and analysis of his own music, for instance his Texte zur Musik, volume 5. And you may become convinced that Formula composition is just another version of total serialism.

12/60 - Play Along 2 - Quarter Tones and Swing

This study could be a first introduction to microtones for clarinet students. It's a playful short etude dedicated to Lionel Liebe, a former clarinet student of mine who took part to 60/60. Have fun with the quarter tones (and no, you don't need a quarter tone clarinet to play this tune)!

Listen to 12/60 on last.fm

Performers are Petra Stump and Heinz-Peter Linshalm. They recorded several albums. Online, you can get Pierluigi Billone: 1+1=1

More clarinet quarter tones

For advanced students, a great clarinet solo with quarter tones is If by Pascal Dusapin. I was lucky to learn it with Armand Angster at Conservatoire de Strasbourg. I highly recommend to meet and learn from him!