Making Generative Music With Voltage Modular - Volume 1
It´s about making generative music again. It´s about modular synthesizers again – but its specific about Cherry Audio´s “Voltage Modular” this time.
So, is it a mere “translation” of the first volume of my “old” trilogy about making generative music with modular synths, the one which was based on VCV Rack?
Not – not at all.
Without a lot of words about “how great” or “how important” this book is, here´s what it contents. Decide yourself!
Cheers and peace!
Rolf
Chapter 0: Some Words About Generative Music And About This Book 006
Chapter 1: Pseudo Randomness And Its Advantages and Disadvantages 008
Chapter 1.1: Using LFOs To Generate Pseudo Randomness 009
Chapter 1.2: Special LFOs And Other Cycle Generating Modules 028
Chapter 1.2.1: R_ware´s “LFO-inator” 028
Chapter 1.2.2: R_ware´s “SplineCurve” 034
Chapter 1.2.3: Looping Envelopes 041
Chapter 1.2.3.1: Mini Envelope VCA Plus by Andrew Macaulay 041
Chapter 1.2.3.2: Super Envelope Generator (Cherry Audio) 050
Chapter 1.2.3.3: AHR Generator (Adroit) 058
Chapter 1.2.3.4: Playertron´s Membrane Function Generator 065
Chapter 1.2.3.5: Benard´s Stochastic SR Envelope 075
Chapter 1.2.3.6: Voltage Modular And the Music Of the Krell 079
Chapter 1.2.3.6.1: Step 1 - Patching a Krell Engine 080
Chapter 1.2.3.6.2: Step 2 – Adding Breakpoints And Modulations 083
Chapter 1.2.3.6.3: Step 3 – The Role Of Sequencers In Krell Patches 091
Chapter 1.2.3.6.4: Step 4 – A Cascade of Krell Engines 093
Chapter 1.2.3.6.5: Step 5 – Modulating Minima And Maxima 095
Chapter 1.2.3.6.6: Step 6 – Polyphonic Krell 099
Chapter 1.2.4: Sequencers 102
Chapter 1.2.4.1: Stochastic CV Sequencers 108
Chapter 1.2.4.1a: Playertron´s Stochastic Note & CV Sequencer 114
Chapter 1.2.4.2: Stochastic Trigger Sequencers 121
Chapter 1.2.5: Shift Registers 125
Chapter 1.2.5.1: DMT´s Shift Register 131
Chapter 1.2.5.1.a: Parrot Machine 132
Chapter 1.2.5.2: Micro Feedback Shift Register
(Synthetic Future x R_Ware) 134
Chapter 1.2.6: Sequential Switches 138
Chapter 1.2.6.1: CHASER by Borkman 146
Chapter 1.2.7: Gray Code Modules 150
Chapter 1.2.8: Samples And Recordings 156
Chapter 1.2.9: Euclidean Sequencers 159
INTERLUDE 1: Randomness, Probability, Stochastic 164
Chapter 2: Different Kinds Of “Real” Randomness 169
Chapter 2.1: Sample & Hold Modules 169
Chapter 2.1.a: Andrew Macaulay´s “Sample/Track And Hold” 172
Chapter 2.1.b: Micro¨Sample And Hold (Synthetic Future x R_Ware) 174
Chapter 2.1.1: Sample Sources for Sample & Hold Modules 175
Chapter 2.1.1.1: Sampling From Regular Wave Shapes 176
Chapter 2.1.1.2: Sampling from Audio 179
Chapter 2.1.1.3: Sampling from Anything 182
Chapter 2.2: Turing Machines 184
Chapter 2.2.1: DMT´s “Turing Universe” 185
Chapter 2.2.2: Playertron´s Turing Algorithm Tape Splicer 191
INTERLUDE 2: Gates And Switches 203
Chapter 2.3: Probability Gates And Random Gates 210
Chapter 2.3.1: HetrickCV´s “Random Gates” 210
Chapter 2.3.2: “Stochastic Trigger Distributor” (Playertron) 212
Chapter 2.3.3: “scrambler” (sys.6 / planet.6) 213
Chapter 2.3.4: “Pulse Train” (Centripidity) 215
Chapter 2.3.5: Bernoulli Gates 227
Chapter 2.3.6: Probability Router 125 (Insomniac Music) 238
Chapter 2.3.7: Real World Triggers And Gates 230
Chapter 2.3.7.1: Triggers And Gates From Field Recordings 230
Chapter 2.3.7.2: Triggers And Gates From Observations 233
Chapter 2.3.7.3: “The Rhythm Of a Day” 234
INTERLUDE 3: Nature´s Paradigm 236
Chapter 3: Modulation Targets And Trigger Targets 248
Chapter 3.1: Pitch 249
Chapter 3.2: Timbre 252
Chapter 3.3: Filters and Equalisers 260
Chapter 3.4: Wave Shapers And Wave Folders 263
Chapter 3.5: Additive Techniques (Partials And More) 271
Chapter 3.6: Voices 281
Chapter 3.7: Rhythm 284
Chapter 3.8: Effects 291
Chapter 3.9: Envelopes 295
Chapter 3.10: Quantizers 297
Chapter 3.11: Grains 299
Chapter 3.12: Sample Player 307
Chapter 3.13: Slew Processors / Limiters 311
Chapter 3.14: Comparators 313
Chapter 4: Compositional Aspects Of Generative Music 316
Chapter 4.1: Basic Compositional Decisions 316
Chapter 4.2: Basic Compositional Techniques 327
Chapter 4.2.1: Contrasting 327
Chapter 4.2.2: Repeating, Modifying And Inverting Relations 330
Chapter 4.2.3: Basic But Exclusively Generative Techniques 335
Chapter 4.3: Specific Compositional Techniques 339
Chapter 4.3.1: Pitch Dependency 339
Chapter 4.3.2: Rhythm 340
Chapter 4.3.3: Tension And Layers 345
Chapter 4.4: Certain Patch Techniques And Examples 347
Chapter 4.4.1: Switching Voices And Layer Parts Of the Patch 347
Chapter 4.4.2: Sculpture Randomness And Setting Borders 353
Chapter 4.4.3: Mixing Regular And Random Elements 356
Chapter 5: Building Blocks Of Generative Patching 363
Chapter 5.1: The Instrumentation Of Envelopes 363
Chapter 5.2: 5 Faces Of Randomness 370
Chapter 5.3: Random Harmonies 381
Chapter 5.3.1: Basic Random Arpeggio Set-Ups 381
Chapter 5.3.2: Certain Modules To Work With Harmonies 384
Chapter 6: Generative Principles In Nature And Society
And Their Musical Reproduction 391
Chapter 6.1: The Physicist´s Tunes 391
Chapter 6.1.1: Heisenberg´s General Pings 391
Chapter 6.1.2: Einstein´s Melody Of the Spheres 393
Chapter 6.1.3: de Broglie´s Electron Concert 393
Chapter 6.1.4: Heisenberg´s Cosmic Pings (plus a fun patch) 398
Chapter 6.1.5: Feynman´s Dance Of the Quarks 403
Chapter 6.2: The Biologist´s Tunes 407
Chapter 6.2.1: The Symphony Of Photosynthesis 407
Chapter 6.2.2: Enzymatic Choirs 410
Chapter 6.3: Society´s Tunes 414
Chapter 6.3.1: The Wailing Shopping Mall 414
Chapter 6.3.2: City Death Tune 417
Chapter 7: Modules Which Are Especially Useful
When Making Generative Music 421
Chapter 7.1: Quadrature VLFO by Cyberwerks Heavy Industries 421
Chapter 7.1.1: Functionality 421
Chapter 7.1.2: Applications 424
Chapter 7.2: “Feigen” by Vult 428
Chapter 7.2.1: Functionality 428
Chapter 7.2.2: Applications 430
Chapter 7.3: “Distributor” by Vulpus Labs 433
Chapter 7.3.1: Functionality 433
Chapter 7.3.2: Applications 434
Chapter 7.4: Jadwiga Single Pole Filter (Playertron) 437
Chapter 7.4.1: Functionality 437
Chapter 7.4.2: Applications 443
Chapter 8: The Bridge to Volume 2:
Certain Patch Ideas And Their Musical Meaning 447
Chapter 8.1: Competing Melodies And the Turn Of the Tide 447
Chapter 8.2: Stream Of Life 449
Chapter 8.3: Immanent Threat 451
Epilogue 453
Appendix A: Your Personal Advantages As a Buyer Of this Book 454
Appendix B: Contact And Social Media 455
Appendix C: Copyright
