#1160

FWIW - @neauoire is in the middle(ish) of the Pacific ocean and might not reply for some time. :slight_smile:

2 Likes
#1161

Haha thanks for the heads up! Maybe by the time they get back we’ll have crowd-sourced solution.

#1162

@DeepValleyDrive I think that it is really cool that you have reached out to other javascript programmers friends and midi-clock specialists. I do think that some more work could be dont to the sync’ing of the midi clock. Looking forward to see how this will evolve.

With that said I also want to add that I think there should be multiple ways of choosing the clocking system between ORCA and some form of third party DAW software. I find a lot of inspiration in the way that orca’s frames and ableton’s transport clock don’t always match up, which I have come to see more as an interesting create constraint.

I would like to see ORCA and DAWS function flawlessly, but also the flexibility to use the way the ORCA’s clock works atm. because I see great value in how the small temporal glitches aids in the creative proces.

Hope it makes sense, and I am looking forward to futures updates regarding the clock :wink:

#1163

Has anyone tried the web version of Orca

https://hundredrabbits.github.io/Orca/

on a Chromebook? Lot of these in education and thinking about doing a workshop. I’m testing it now on a laptop running CloudReady (Chrome for laptops) … the Orca code will run, but I’m not hearing any sound.

Tom

1 Like
#1164

Wow thats awesome, wasnt aware of that! Thats perfect for workshops.

1 Like
#1165

Perfect if the sound works. This is the version they run on the Raspberry Pi also. Do you have a ChromeBook to test on?

#1166

I’m not sure I understand where you’re attempting to get sound from, as ORCA only sends MIDI messages and has no sound engine of its own. You have to use something external that can receive those MIDI messages to produce sound. The quickest way to achieve this within the browser is to use Enfer as provided here:

https://metasyn.github.io/learn-orca/

The link posted above worked on my C425 (sound wasn’t stable, but I’ve got a lot of Linux crap running and tabs open, at the moment, though I haven’t had much luck with music production on this thing, generally), but I also thought I should mention that there is a C version of ORCA which works on the Pi, though you would still need something to receive MIDI (Sunvox, for instance).

#1167

The web version generates sound. It uses something called Web MIDI. I didn’t know if that was included in Chromebook software or not. I’m glad to hear it worked on your Chromebook.

I’m working on some Orca workshop material that can be delivered remotely. Perhaps the Chromebook supports MIDI over USB? Or there is a Chrome app.

I tried the C version of ORCA, mostly to see if that worked better with my bad eyesight.

The metasyn site is nice. I will use that as a resource. This will be for for middle and high school students.

If you know of any other good workshop/tutorial, pls send links.

Thanks,
Tom

#1168

I’m sorry, but I’m still not understanding what you’re referring to. MIDI is not a sound engine, and Web MIDI allows for MIDI communication within the browser. ORCA merely sends MIDI messages, which is Gates, Notes, Pitch, etc… Learn-ORCA only produces sound because it includes Enfer.

From learn-ORCA:

For the purposes of this site, we’ve connected some drum racks and synthesizers from Enfer in the bottom right and are patching them in as virtualized midi instruments. Normally, Orca will not make sound on its own, and rather just sends messages or data to external devices or programs.

Incidentally, I plugged my phone into a USB-C hub for monitor, keyboard, and a desktop environment and gave ORCA and Enfer a spin on that. It actually worked great (better than on my Chromebook, actually).

#1169

You are right. Thank you for the correction.

I had not noticed that the web version of Orca at https://hundredrabbits.github.io/Orca/

was using the softsynth that I had running on my computer. I’m researching this for remote Orca tutorials where the students have various types of equipment…some may only have a chromebook.

I think the metasyn tutorial site is probably a better option since the Enfer synth is embedded.

Tom

#1171

I HAVE RETURNED!
The sea is terrible btw.

@DeepValleyDrive Thanks for looking for help with this, I’m slowly catching up with the Github issues and PRs that happened while I was away :slight_smile:

@onewheeltom Orca works on a chromebook, it’s what I’m currently using at the moment. I use my own synth called Enfer(docs) to use alongside it, you’re welcome to use it too. edit: Ah sorry, I was typing this as I was going down the thread, just noticed you already tried enfer, what do you mean by embeded, the way I use orca with it on the chromebook is to have one tab with orca, and one tab with enfer.

14 Likes
#1172

Nice that you are back again! I am glad you survived the sea :wink:

#1173

@neauoire I saw that you were recently in Victoria. I was there for a family vacation and it was beautiful. As for Orca, I am collecting material to create a tutorial (mostly based on an updated version of the workshop document in the Orca GitHub repo) that can be presented to public school students during this upcoming school year when they will be learning from home. I want to provide options for students that may only have a Chromebook. In my discussions with a NYC public school teacher, he was using Sonic Pi in the classroom but when the students were sent home, many of them had difficulty getting SonicPi to work and he spent a lot of time doing tech support, which I would like to avoid. Loading Orca in one tab and Enfer in another should work for both Chromebook and PC or Macintosh users.
I just need to document how they would load the software to prepare for the tutorial. I am just 2 weeks into this project and still learning Orca.
Part of that earlier discussion was my misunderstanding of how the web version of ORCA generated sound.

1 Like
#1174

Well, sounds like you’re getting it sorted out, do let us know if you have any question :slight_smile: You’re following this workshop, isn’t?

#1175

I’ve taken that information and turned it into a more traditional presentation where the instructions are described in more detail. After reading your interview on Future Of Coding, I’m thinking of simplifying the initial presentation to just T, C, D, U, N, E, S, W, X and O as you mentioned most of what you see mostly use those commands.
My intent is to present this to the teachers that will actually present the material (I work at a university and a grad student - my advisor will arrange for me to present to education students in training) . I have been thinking about how to engage the students by perhaps challenging them to solve problems or complete tasks on their own. I like the idea of having them determine their own solutions.
I will definitely share what I have done and will be happy to take suggestions…thanks…tom

3 Likes
#1176

If you do improve the descriptions, consider making an edit to the wiki page, maybe others could benefit :slight_smile:

3 Likes
#1177

Most of what I am doing is making the visuals more descriptive by labeling the different “moving parts”. I will update the wiki with any changes that I make.

1 Like
#1178

i do love a lot of R. maybe that’s a year two thing.

#1179

Could I get some more detail on running Orca and Enfer in separate tabs? How does the configuration change when there is no external internet?..just the Orca tab communicating with the Enfer tab? The Enfer docs did not mention the port number, but from the run script, it looks like port 8000. I’m interested in making this available to people that may not have reliable internet…Tom

#1180

I have a folder filled with .orca files, and would like to play them one after the other for a set length of time each (say, 20 seconds), using a script of some kind, so that it’s all automated. Is that within the realm of possibility?