#11

Created on Friday 26th May 2017 on a sunny Paris by DD.

Every single note here comes from Bach’s Goldberg variations. I took the very first measures of the Aria.(the only part I can actually play properly…) recorded it and extracted the midi out of it.
Then took that midi data , removed the “important” notes (melody) and changed length of the remaining notes by 200%
Pasted that to some ambient/abstract sounding synthesisers (to contrast with the pure piano), and created a soundscape track fully with the “unimportant” notes, transposed an 8ve above and below, and on it’s original “left hand” octave.
Eventually you’ll hear Glenn Gould’s version (1980’s one) that I used “as is” and also after extracted midi and feed an Atmosphere sytnh with those midi notes. The track ends with Mr Gould final Aria ending emerging from chaos.

So
00:00 Aria: dd piano + soundscape (left hand edited background notes)
00:46 variations soundscape (left hand edited background notes): treated/edited/pitch shifted
01:38 enter Mr Gould’s version

Disquiet Junto Project 0282: Berio’s Bach

https://soundcloud.com/daniel-diaz/loaded-on-bach-disquiet0282

6 Likes
#12

Hi everybody, here’s my track :slight_smile:
‘ars similis casus’.
Theme in the style of J.S. Bach.
Variations by Logic random functions, and then reworked.
https://soundcloud.com/petrus-major/theme-randomized-variations-disquiet0282

3 Likes
#13

https://soundcloud.com/glsmyth/i-come-to-bury

Although the follow-up email stated that “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears” was not the correct subject line, I felt that the subsequent text “I come to bury” was appropriate, because the idea of the piece was to bury the decorations at the beginning and end in the main body of the work.

Musical decorations include passing tones, neighboring tones, and other ornamental additions to the primary structure of the line. The task here was to make a clear distinction between these decorations and the structurally significant portion of the lines at the beginning and end, but make these ambiguous between these endpoints. In this piece I have buried the ornaments into the body so that they become as significant as the other notes.

This piece is scored for piano and is available at http://bit.ly/2qXOlGU.

4 Likes
#14

My process for creating this piece was one of impulsiveness at first, followed by contemplativeness. I am sure this creative sequence mirrors that of both Bach and Berio, but the output is undoubtedly different. In the prompt, it seems “structure” and “decoration” are referring to note-based music techniques that both Bach and Berio utilized, but this piece instead observes composers like Trevor Wishart, Leigh Landy, or Hildegard Westerkamp, and touches on a bit of cinematic sound design, or even Michel Chion’s “cinema for the ears.”

I call it Ground Work. It might be about pipelines, it might be about water, it might be about neglect, it might be about solitude in the northern plains of North America.

4 Likes
#15

After lunchtime today I picked up the bass guitar and found a chord progression, then started a drum loop playing and fumbled about on the fretboard.

The result could use an edit but follows the instructions by outlining the root notes and then adding extra notes, before going off in a different direction for a bit.

In the meantime, I better get back to gardening.

2 Likes
#17

Improvised modular synth “decorations” over structural ostinato.
Created with Braids, Clouds and Flashback delay. Recorded and edited in Audacity.

3 Likes
#18

Humans have long been fascinated by destruction. It could be argued, in fact, that the desire to break things is a fundamental requirement for survival. The first tools invented by humans 2.6 million years ago comprised the earliest known stage of technological innovation. Thus did human capability advance through a process of fracture, limiting the lifespan of the tools we created by making them susceptible to damage through repeated use.

Rock-breakers 2.6 million years ago understood that the way materials broke apart defined their use. We build structures out of wood and steel because of their strength. We also use wood and steel to create such artistic objects as jewelry, furniture and sculpture. One could argue that buildings represent that which is “structurally significant” and art exists purely for “decoration.” It is in the humanities, however, from which we derive understanding on what it means to be alive. Judging by those who participate in the Junto every week, we can all agree that cultural pursuits are of critical significance.

For this piece, Suss Müsik sought to blur the line between percussion-as-spine and percussion-as-filler. A simple rhythm is played on wood blocks as random pieces of wood and metal are struck at varying intervals. Reed instruments contribute to the slowly evolving din, along with a circular piano phrase that attempts to keep along with the base tempo. Just as things seem to line up, the opening rhythm retreats and abandons the piano, who must now fend for itself. The function of wood and metal evolves from “structure” to “decoration” in turn, despite there being no change in tempo, sequence or notation.

The piece is titled Conchoidal, named after the type of sharpening or break that results in a smooth, rounded surface.

6 Likes
#19

Started with a “looking for a note” riff and built up many layers in FL Studio. Two tracks for each instrument with the first track being the “important parts” and the second track being the “decoration”. In the end, the distinction was not very well defined, so the track got fiddled with until it sounded somewhat more pleasant (if it is still about the steps above).

3 Likes
#20

The loss of the percussion leaves me hanging over emptiness, looking for a place to land.

1 Like
#21

was´t sure if i could realize the assignment so i tried to do something could fit. improvised a piece on piano and added a part which contains the for me decorative notes.
used the Ableton Grand Piano run thru Graincrusher for the “structurally significant” notes and a kind of experimental sound for the decorating (unnerving) part.

7 Likes
#22

Indeed. Where do all the stray balloons in the sky ultimately end up?

1 Like
#23

https://soundcloud.com/ohm-research/zorn-disquiet-0282

5 Likes
#24

Moving along, this takes a nice turn and carries me with it.

1 Like
#25

I think I forgot about the middle part of this assignment, which was to have a middle part that was ambiguous between significant and decorative…Anyway, the inspiration for this week’s Disquiet Junto assignment was a quote from Berio on Bach, so I decided to make this, spiritually, Baroque. I grabbed some lyrics from my “random lyrics” notebook, wrote down a short melody, and then tackled the “decorative” portion.

In my head, the melody would play with random, randomized, but melodic, interruptions from various plug-ins…but I couldn’t get the plug-in chain to generate melodies on single words. In Ableton, I sliced the audio recording of my singing into a sampler, but the randomization plug-ins ended up being much more percussive than melodic.

So, at the last minute, I decided to take the samples of my melody and “play” them using a MIDI keyboard. I did three takes, one in which I used a piano sound, one in which I used the vocal samples, and one in which I let myself hear both the piano and vocal sounds. This last method worked the best, so I kept that. Overall, I like this version a lot better.

I edited the improvisation a little bit and added some long tones underneath (down-pitched and timestretched recording of the melody).

Lyrics:
The chess tutor
He speaks of sunlight and snakes
His sentences spiral
into footnotes from which
he rarely emerges

2 Likes
#26

Nobody’s Bach ( DJ 0282 )https://soundcloud.com/vgmrmojo/nobodys-bach-052017

Checked out Bach’s scores at:
http://imslp.org/wiki/Category:Bach,_Johann_Sebastian

A. Decided to use organ for the “structurally significant” part
B. Reaper
C. Analog Lab
D. Kirnu Cream
E. Synth 1
F. Zebra
G. Mix
H. Master

2 Likes
#27

Imagined the experience of a spacewalk, an astronaut’s tentative steps outside the safety of his craft. Surrounded by the vast marvels of the universe in every direction, with the mundane tools of his trade to hand, the umbilical chord keeps his fragile negligible life tethered to Mother Earth, providing meaning and sustenance for his being, his task. Pirouetting, spinning, graceful tumbling, blinded by sun and stars and the enormity of his insignificance, he must stay grounded, focused, yet humble, passive.

In keeping with this week’s project, strong ‘lead’ parts frame this track, with a middle 16 that features passing decoration.

Synths used: XILS, SynthMaster, Strobe2, UVS-3200.
I read that JM Jarre recorded Oxygene III last year with an imposed restriction of 8 tracks, à-la his original Oxygene album. Since I was going for space vibes, I too imposed a similar regime this week - two drum tracks, and at most six synths playing concurrently. And the filter envelope on the UVS-3200 pad and the lfo-modulated filtered noise osc on the XILS are a nod to what I love in Jarre’s original Oxygene album.

Also, saw the ISS pass overhead twice last Friday night, against a dark sky - what a marvel!

5 Likes
#28

Hey folks,
https://soundcloud.com/user-651760074/the-depthsdisquiet0282
After a long week, this weeks project is getting in just before midnight. I made a 16 bar pattern and plugged it into Fugue Machine. The four playheads where set from 1/64 to 1/8 play speed and were sending midi to four different synths; Sunrizer, Animoog, Waldorf Nave and Thor. The pattern was run until every playhead completed the pattern. The result was recorded in AUM and sent to Cubasis where I played another instance of Sunrizer live with the recording. After a little mixing and eq this was left. https://soundcloud.com/user-651760074/the-depthsdisquiet0282
Cheers :slight_smile:

5 Likes
#29

https://soundcloud.com/repetition-l/bronze-interiors-disquiet0282

Hi,this is my track for this week.
A brief composition.
I’m not happy with the result, but ok, it’s training.
I played the acoustic drum and some sample libraries.
I did not think much about the guidelines because I’m trying to fight a composition block.
Thank you!

2 Likes
#30

a little queasy about sampling the greatest recording in history :stuck_out_tongue: but you made it work… esp love the eno-esque mid section

2 Likes
#31

Thanks, you’re very kind.
That recording (GG’s 1980) …and the one I didn’t use (1955), landmarks for humankind really.
I admit I felt all the time on the verge of sacrilege. When the time comes, If I don’t go to heaven with the nice good ones I know it will be because of this junto0282…

1 Like