computer music software

The Who’s Pete Townshend, with the help of mathematician and composer Lawrence Ball and software engineer David Snowdon, has created a computer system called The Method which allows users to make unique pieces of music created by inputting personal information, sounds and a rhythm. Users will ’sit’ for the software in the same way a person would pose for a portrait painting, and the compositions created will be posted on the site.

Townshend plans to use the music created on the web on the next Who album as long as his bandmate Roger Daltrey gives the project the go-ahead.

Speaking at the launch of The Method yesterday (25.05.07), Townshend said “When I first had this idea John Entwistle and Keith Moon were still alive and in the band. They were very dismissive of it.”

“But today, The Who is just me and Roger Daltrey. If I was going to work with this idea, I would want to do it full on and if Roger was into it then I don’t see why we couldn’t make an album.” Read more…

Studio to Go! is a CD of integrated music software that runs direct from a computer CD drive. The CD is designed to run on any Windows compatible PC and to configure itself to the system and sound hardware automatically.

The CD includes a Linux operating system and a large collection of music applications. Read more…

Symbolic Sound has announced that Kyma X.1is now shipping. Kyma X.1 delivers support for using a Wacom pen and tablet as a 3 dimensional control surface, 3 new kinds of oscillators, modules for turning presets into a 3 dimensional parameter subspace, plus other enhancements and improvements to the Kyma X sound design software.

Using a Wacom Tablet as a 3-D Sound Control Surface

Sound designers can use a Wacom pen and tablet to perform creature voices or match SFX to picture. Musicians can quickly and intuitively explore the parameter space of a patch or even perform the tablet as a new musical instrument.

“Our goal is for sound designers and musicians to be able to shape sounds with their own hands. The human hand is virtually a direct connection to the human brain,” said Symbolic Sound president Carla Scaletti. “Using your ear and your hand, you can explore and refine sound design patches with incredible speed.” Read more…

TazMan Audio has released TheExtractor, PC VST plug-in that can extract audio information in real-time and convert it into MIDI messages, as well as allowing you to control up to 4 parameters at the same time from a single audio source.

TheExtractor makes it is possible to control a synthesizer/sampler or effect unit (as long as they accept MIDI data) by using audio input instead of a MIDI keyboard.

Features:

• 2 different pitch detection algorithms.
• Note and Beat transient detectors result in an automatic generation of MIDI notes.
• Volume and Brightness parameter detection.
• Input Gate for tracking just the input signal you want (and ignore low level noise).
• Modulation Matrix provides you with the choice to select which MIDI messages (Targets) you wish to generate from the 5 extracted parameters (Source).
• Graphical displays of the Input, Pitch, Spectral and Note output parameters.

TheExtractor is a VST plug-in for Windows that can be purchased online for $34.95. Demo version and audio examples are also available.

For more information, visit their web site at http://www.tazman-audio.co.uk.

StartCom Linux has released a add-on CDROM, called StartCom MultiMedia Productivity, that adds music recording capabilities to Linux.

The software is meant to be installed in addition to the StartCom distribution, StartCom MultiMedia Edition. The additional CD comes with a autorun installer and a advanced set of audio and video manipulation programs.

The MultiMedia Productivity CD lets you transform your Linux system into a productive Music Recording Studio by using your existing hardware (a soundcard is required) and the provided set of applications. It includes ALSA (Advanced Linux Sound Architecture) drivers for most soundcards, Jack Audio Server for advanced application interaction, Audacity and Ardour Recording Studio, 24 Track Midi Sequencer, Hydrogen Drum Machine, various Synthesizers and Samplers for Sound Manipulation. A set of Video editing tools are also included, including Kino and Cinelerra, enhanced by filter applications, camera capture tools and more.

StartCom MultiMedia Edition can be downloaded free from the SmartCom site.