lately i've been more interested in "orchestration" or "arrangement" exercises than songwriting per se, as well as "generative" music. that is, where you create a system with "rules" for making music, and then let it run...
the idea behind this composition was euclidean rhythms:
https://dbkaplun.github.io/euclidean-rhythm/
each instrument plays in a different euclidean sequence out of 16, and in fact they are all prime number divisions of 16 beats:
1 - piano
2 - bass
3 - cello
5 - viola
7 - banjo
11 - mandolin
the drums aren't playing a euclidean pattern, but are there to make it feel more cohesive. i started with a chord progression i liked for the piano, the bass the plays the root notes, and the 4-note chords are split up among the other four instruments lowest to highest, with a little bit of random dancing up and down within a few neighboring notes (using the venomode phrasebox plugin). i messed with note lengths to give each "part" a different feel.
the end result almost works as a post-rock kinda thing. interesting exercise.
moving on....
@headfirstonly Mar 2022
Very interesting exercise. I've dabbled with generative music in Ableton, so this appealed to me a lot. I agree, it's definitely got a post-rock feel to it.
Are you familiar with Xronomorph at all? It would appear to be firmly rooted in this approach. It's fun to play with, but it hasn't been updated since 2016. https://www.dynamictonality.com/xronomorph.htm
@audrey Mar 2022
Oh how interesting your process to create this is, and what a fabulous result! It's so intriguing with all its unusual counterpoint between instruments. It's so harmonious with the exception of those delightful little minor-feeling slides here and there. This would work really well as a backdrop to a movie scene, perhaps of a main character arriving in some foreign place and checking out his/her surroundings. This could be sci-fi or fantasy or it even has a slightly medieval vibe. I love it. Had to listen twice.
@erikleppen Mar 2022
I love how this develops. Nicely and without weird "jumps", it slowly builds up into an ever more complete volume of sound, giving a slightly more positive/cheerful/energetic ambience as the song continues. I didn't even notice it was "algorithmic" in any way until I read your explanation. I need to remember this euclidean rhythm thing. Also, nice ending - I liked how it's not a "standard" ending.
@ericdistad Mar 2022
From the description I was expecting something a bit more chaotic, but this hangs together really well and has a very interesting feel to it. Nothing felt out of place but the instrument durations felt like they wove together around progression contrapuntally.
This was very cool!
@ofishell Feb 2022
Ooooh, that cello line! And the banjo was unexpected, but totally fits, and adds a hint of levity in a sea of dark sounds. I'm into it.
@katestantonsings Feb 2022
If we could "see" this sound, it would look like Moroccan tilework in the hills of Virginia with that banjo. What a blend! Cool experiment that has feeling, too. Music math--sacred geometry lesson!
@jdschramm Feb 2022
Music is math so why not. It works well and makes some unexpected overlapping rhythms. I like it, I’d say it’s a keeper.
@metalfoot Feb 2022
Now I feel like I need to do one of my math songs. Very fun bounce to this -- works better than you think it should on the surface!