Over at CDM, Peter Kirn turned me onto Hans Kuder’s tiction – a new visual music performance/sequencing application.

Tiction is a flexible, nodal music sequencer created in processing. You can see it in action in the video, above. 

Each node represents an event, and a connection from one node to the next triggers the next event after a certain number of tics.

Nodes send MIDI note messages and/or MIDI controller change messages when triggered. Connecting nodes in a circuit lets you start a repeating pattern when one of the nodes is triggered.

A node can change its pitch and controller values based on its position on the screen. When a node is triggered, it performs some physical action: either repelling or attracting other nearby nodes, or nudging itself in a random direction. The physical interaction between nodes allows you to construct complex, rhythmic melodies and effects without having to draw filter envelopes or touch a traditional sequencer.

If you’re familiar with Nodal, you’ll see some overlap – but tiction introduces some interesting physical action, while sacrificing reliability and predictability. 

Tiction is free and is available for Mac, Windows and Linux. Tiction relies on other apps for sound generation; see the download page for software requirements.