2008/5/3 AlgoMantra <algomantra_at_gmail.com>:
>
> I had a few basic tenets behind this:
>
> 1. Minimise the middlemen software between oneself and the "unix file" that
> IS
> the sound. If you were to be able to write simply numbers to this file, the
> math
> can actually become more fun because it would be a journey of mathematical
> expression, rather than learning standard or traditional synthesis/analysis
> concepts
> passed on by others into a language like ChucK or PD (which are great too,
> but..).
>
I can see the concept of minimising the middle-man in software but on the
level of what you will actually write not much need to be different. CK an
SC (PD is obviously a bit different being graphical) are perfectly fine with
with sending the outcome of a equation straight to the output. You lose the
nice ready-made Ugens and their optimisation but you can. I imagine that at
that point shell-scripting and ChucK would start to look a lot alike as math
is math.
>
> 2. I hate dictionaries, and all (correct me) computing languages require
> the repeated reference to, or rote memorization of, some dictionary or the
> other. The ChucK manual for
> instance, or Python manual, or PD manual. They are simply dictionaries of
> functions
> or classes which point to some abstract manipulation of numbers or the
> other.
>
Erm..... you may want to look at a manual for the Unix shell (type "man man"
at the terminal to get you the manual entry for the manual command). It has
quite a large dictionary, I fear.
>
> 3. Just introduce me to the sound card, and let us develop our own
> rapport/language
> in which we shall converse.
>
Have a look at Forth. Forth (in some versions) can boot straight into Forth,
skipping the OS altogether, at that point the *only* thing you can do is
develop a language to converse in... with no middle man. I'd take a ancient
computer for this, 8086 or so because there are good reasons for middle-men
on modern ones.
>
> 4. I don't want to master Linux just to understand how sound is produced
> from it. Perhaps
> thats too much to ask?
>
>
I dunno.... me, I just want world-peace, 6 or so more hours to the day, a
bit of love every once in a while.... and another cup of coffee. Some of
that might be a bit much to ask so I started with the most attainsable one.
If you don't want to master Linux I wouldn't use it for synthesis directly.
Middle-men don't bug me as long as they are transparent; I don't feel the
middle-men that go from a value at ChucK's abstraction of the DAC, to this
file, to a driver, to some little buffer on the card to, a current on the
actual DAC to, a offset in the speaker's position, to vibrarting air to me
hearing the sounds that objectionable.
As I see things modern computers are too large and complex to have minute
controll over all the details, I'm fine with pretending the VM is the
computer and ignoring the middle-men altogether aside from occasionally
configuring a driver or buying a new soundcard.
But hey; it's your concept and it's a commendable concept so why not? See if
and where your get stuck, at the very least you'll learn stuff.
Cheers,
Kas.
Received on Sat May 03 2008 - 11:03:49 BST