sebastir@andrew.cmu.edu – 18-090, Fall 2019

Final – Beat Maker

Mon, 09 Dec 2019 14:30:49 +0000

In this Project, I wanted to make something to make beat making easier. I used a keyboard linked with some audio libraries, and adjusted velocity based on pitch (with variable tempo). I also used live.grid to create a 16 beat sequencer on 3 tracks.

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sebastir – Project 1: A Visualization Experience

Wed, 06 Nov 2019 14:32:24 +0000

This project was inspired by DataMoshing, but took an unexpected turn. Overall, this was a cool learning experience, and created some awesome visuals. I wish I had done more to use audio input for sound manipulation, but that is another project milestone to strive for.

Drive link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1GTesZIGtZGrMVbEFmWazoyrLa_eeHRCT

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sebastir – Assignment 4: Cubey Gone Wild

Sat, 19 Oct 2019 23:31:53 +0000

In this assignment, I wanted to experiment more with the resulting visuals, and how they are affected by external audio input. To do this, I created multiple objects, encapsulated, and layered them over each other. Each layer has distinct features, including rotation.

pfft-main

The above Max patch is explained in the following video:

Included is a link to the max code: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ihfGg-JVArA2gF8JW2zq88MuwBcvmvhk

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sebastir: Assignment 3: Convolved Tupac

Wed, 02 Oct 2019 22:38:01 +0000

To begin my experimentation, I took a snippet from the poem The Rose That Grew From Concrete, written and performed by the late Tupac Shakur. This poem has a beautiful cadence, and an authority I wanted to hear convolved in different spaces. For clarity, all trials were convolved and recorded twice per track.

Snippet taken from 2:00 to end of track. Could not post snipped due to copyright reasons.

In Trial 1, I used an Impulse Response recorded from the basement of Hunt Library’s stairwell, with the IR created from the top of the stairwell. This was done at night so as not to disturb anyone.

Trial 1: Hunt Stairwell

In Trial 2, I imagined Tupac atop a balcony giving this as a sermon. Naturally, I recorded an IR to make this a reality. In CFA, I recorded the IR from a floor below a balcony, where there balloon was popped. This created an interesting sound, and placed perception of this poem 4 flights of stairs away.

Trial 2: CFA Balcony

Interestingly, recording of Trial 2 lead to the inadvertent recording a weird clip that sounds almost like an IR. It came from sound waves created when picking up the recording device. This trial created distortion that aligns with the space the IR was recorded, similar to the previous trial.

Experimental “Impulse,” created inadvertently.

The results from this experiment led to interesting results, where the instrumentation from the track were clearly audible, yet muffled, while vocals are difficult to discern. This surprised me because the “impulse” used was very effective at keeping the melody of the original snippet.

Experimental Trial 1 (overall, 3)

In Experimental Trial 2, the impulse used is from Freesound.org, and is of a child laughing. At the end of the original snippet Tupac laughs, giving inspiration for this peculiar “impulse.” The results of this convolve were interesting, as the laugh dominates the sound, but the original snippet offers some of its rhythm. I was hoping Tupac and the child’s laughs would somehow mesh, but, sadly, this did not happen.

Experimental Trial 2 (overall, 4)

Following is the hyperlink to the google drive, where all these files are stored.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1BVn6pZVpdqyWZEbPTU4TaU0r_-wraHoE

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sebastir – Assignment 2

Wed, 18 Sep 2019 13:30:40 +0000

In this project, a video of Ed, Edd, and Eddy is delayed and time-shifted on both the audio and visual planes. This is done using both MSP and JIT objects. The effects add a hilarity to the video sequence.

MAX Patch, used for both creating and recording video and audio sequence.

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Sebastir — Assignment 1: Electric Relaxation

Wed, 04 Sep 2019 11:14:56 +0000

This attempted rendition of “I am Sitting in a Room” is done using an audio clip from the song “Electric Relaxation,” originally by the famed hip-hop group A Tribe Called Quest. The chosen sample consists of a the repeated lyrics “Relax yourself girl, please settle down,” a drum loop, and a rhythmic guitar sampled from “Mystic Brew” by Ronnie Foster.

Electric Relaxation in a feedback system using Reverb

The approximately 20 seconds long clip is played 11 times after the original, with increased echo and reverberation with each iteration. This is done by placing the same settings onto itself with each further iteration, until the melody and lyrics are unrecognizable altogether. Interestingly, the high notes of the guitar riff are somewhat audible but sounds like the riff is being played somewhere deep inside an expansive metal shaft.

all 12 sample clips, after feedbacks looped

Merged track, after looped

Reverb Kit, preset values

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