28c3: Open source music: Tracking 2.0

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Description: http://events.ccc.de/congress/2011/Fahrplan/events/4759.en.html

Tom Hargreaves: Open source music: Tracking 2.0

Tracking is so 1990s. Nowadays MP3 and other similar formats are overwhelmingly more popular. But is this really a step forward? A (very) brief history of computer music, where we are at now, and why I think people are headed in the wrong direction. And what we can do about it.

Distributing music as recordings is terribly limiting to hackers and tinkerers. Music as source code makes dissection, modification and reuse easier. I will introduce a prototype next-generation tracker for the web, with the ultimate aim of being a way to not just create but also distribute music, and to collaborate on music creation: Github for music, if you will.

As a music creation tool, trackers have been displaced in popularity because they are: Balky (arcane command+parameter syntax, steep learning curve, have slowly grown by accretion without regard to comprehensibility) Underpowered (many useful DSP effects are unavailable)

As a music distribution tool, tracked formats have been displaced in popularity because they are: Not ubiquitous (people may not have playback software) Underspecified (hence behaviour differs across implementations)

I believe all of these problems are soluble, and I'm going to talk about how. "modplayjs" (a working title which may well change by December) is a tracker written in javascript. While capable of playing existing module formats, it is primarily a playground for experimenting with shedding two decades of accumulated baggage, and is currently under heavy development.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• 28c3
• ccc
• Tom Hargreaves
• Open
• source
• music
• Tracking

[porjo38]

@JohannLau Homepage: fooble(dot)org

[JohannLau]

so... he doesn't even have a website for that thing? heh...

[JohannLau]

@psychofreud he makes some very good points starting 14:00 or so... and check out the demo at 21:00. mind you, I love renoise, and I when actually writing music I think those commands are actually useful (imagine *having* to draw pitch envelopes *all* the time, etc...). but audio in the browser rules, my hat is off for that, and I like his conclusion as well.. it's just that he doesn't know and cherish renoise like we do :D

[psychofreud]

@psychofreud on the other hand, Renoise automates this for you with the use of sliders.

[psychofreud]

6. The points being made in the speech are not valid for a serious or professional musician, but might go with amateurs who wants to share the source with others or simply play around with new web technologies. I personally don't think you need to mix these two subjects to get one conclusion. Using trackers as a tool is one thing. Making the format available to everyone is something completely different. I don't share my sources with anyone for a reason.

[psychofreud]

5. Speaker says that trackers are underpowered. This is simply not true. Renoise as an example has full vst and vsti support in addition to the built-in filters. The only real limitation lies in the hardware on which the software is installed.

[psychofreud]

4. Tracked formats have been displaced in popularity JUST in regards to distribution, not as a tool for producing music.

[psychofreud]

3. Making a tracker in javascript will most likely not be able to handle large sample data. It also removes the chance of using filters / vst's, which contrary to what is being said in this speech, the addition of filters is one of the reasons why people are still using trackers. Renoise has, by the way, a built-in set of filters which does not require VST add-ons, and they do cover most of the needs of everyone, from EQ, compression, delay, reverb, and so on...

[psychofreud]

2. There's also a misconception why someone would like to render to wav, and then to mp3. Keeping the source files and use them in demos was when the files were very small. A professional musician today using trackers would indeed use larger files, making the distribution of a 50mb tracker file too much of an inconvenience. On the other hand, there are quite a few musicians who are using the tracker as a tool for production but isn't interested in sharing the source.

[psychofreud]

I disagree with so much in this speech.

1. there's nothing wrong with commands in trackers - either you learn your tool or you don't, and if you believe most of the commands aren't being used in the first place you simply lack imagination. I use alot of the existing commands in the trackers with amazing results. (points will follow)