randit, shell-script that rand gens patterns

[pafufta816]

Randit 0.00001

a shell-script, written by james s in collaboration with seth b.  an idea was developed during a conversation in late december 2010, one day later and we have some strange and exciting results.

randit calls on /dev/urandom to pick up random information.  a series of variables are determined from /dev/urandom, such as pitch, octave, volume, effects.  Randit can generate patterns which conform to modplug pattern data, which you can copy and paste from you terminal console into modplug.

i will post code and examples of randomly generated music created by Randit, following this post.


PS does this perhaps qualify as "technical documents"?

[revslaughter]

Just to clarify, this is a bash script for systems with bash. If you have any kind of unix this will probably work. If you have windows, give cygwin a shot? I don't know.

To use he attached script, save it someplace and make sure it has executable permissions. Then call it in your favorite terminal emulator.

We've been using MODPlug in WINE, and it works really well. You can copy/paste the output directly into your tracker. Hooray! Weird, random sounds for all.

If you have any ideas as to making this script better, please improve/update and repost. I'm still learning bash, and it really shows here. This script can be kind of slow because it calls on /dev/urandom quite a bit.

[pafufta816]

http://soundcloud.com/seth_b_pdx/seth-b-randit-1

the Randit theme song.   above is a link to a song generated using randit, you may d/l or stream from there without an account.  i chose the timing and arrangment of the patterns, as well as sound effects, while all notes, the dynamics and timbre were determined randomly with Randit, replayed in modplug with sine/square wave.

also attached is randit00001_b.txt.  it is different from randit00001.txt, which generates random patterns within user-input ranges, in that it is purely random and not within user defined parameters. we will post a tutorial soon on how to run these scripts and make your own random Modplug patterns.

[Saga Musix]

Looks interesting. I've seen similar tools before, so a nice addition would be to make parameter ranges customisable, and also randomize effects with two parameters properly.

Moved to the tech docs, btw, so it's visible to everyone.

[pafufta816]

we found that completely random patterns are sometimes hard to listen to.  high pitches, abrupt loud sounds, that sort of thing.  some work arounds include removing effects from the pattern, or moving every note to the same octave.  the first script posted was a way to avoid too much randomness, allowing the user to create patterns within a specified scale.

it's fun, i like giving creative control to spontaneity.  i like composing without having to make a decision about every detail of the song.