PatternDance - Interactive Music-Through-Dance

http://www.daveblack.org

OVERVIEW
The objective of this experiment was to provide dancers with a space in which to make music based on motion and color. I wanted dancers to be able to create their own music instead of dance to a preset track.

This demonstration features a dance space in which dancers create patterns of music using different colored umbrellas. Through a video interface connected to a program I wrote, the space is sectioned into a 4x4 grid, making 16 empty patterns available for the dancers, each linked to a separate sound patch. These patterns vary in length and octave range. This essentially turns the dance space into a sound creation canvas. The dancers use colored umbrellas to "paint" this sound canvas with sound.

ADD & DELETE NOTES
When placed in a zone, the red umbrella adds notes to a pattern, while the blue umbrella deletes notes from a pattern. The notes that are placed are random pitches at random positions in the pattern, but each pattern's notes are made to conform to a specified musical scale using a pitch quantization program that I wrote.

ADD & DELETE LINES OF TRANSPOSITION
In addition to adding and deleting notes, the yellow umbrella adds lines of delayed transposition, while the green umbrella deletes such lines of transposition. These transposition lines delay the notes in the pattern some amount, and transpose these delayed notes in octaves or fifths. Adding these lines of transposition increases the "thickness" of a pattern without changing its pitch classes.

From left to right the sounds being used are:
Organ --- Synth Keys --- Long Pad --- Percussive

Here is a sequence of events in the performance:

00:14: Add percussive synth
00:28: Delete percussive synth
00:42: Add percussive synth
1:16: Add Organ
1:34: Delete percussive synth
1:55: Add lines of transposition to organ
2:16: Delete transposition from organ
2:35: Add transposition to organ
2:52: Delete transposition from organ
3:07: Add percussive synth
3:25: Delete organ
3:49: Add long pad and percussive synth
5:00: Add synth keys and pad, delete percussive synth
5:35: Add high, then low long pad and a few percussive synth notes
5:52: Delete remaining notes

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• dance
• music
• interactive
• new
• electronic
• computer
• arts
• experiment

[groinhammer]

Was this done using Jitter and MAX?

[dblack34]

@groinhammer Almost... did it with Max and a video analysis program for Max called Cyclops.

[ChaostheClown]

The things you do [this and the snare duet] are incredible, you have a very creative mind.

5 stars for sure, more people should see your work.

[dblack34]

Thanks, I'm glad you enjoy it! I appreciate the comment!

Dave

[SpellieDev]

whoa....dope...