An Intro to Making Generative Music on Modular
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- čas přidán 28. 06. 2024
- Please support on Patreon! / mylarmelodies Breaking down some of the most useful module types one-by-one to aid in the pursuit of making generative music on your modular. AKA: How to jumble your stuff!
Please support me on Patreon if you Enjoy these vids!
⚡ / mylarmelodies ⚡
00:00 Intro
2:38 VCAS - To Modulate Modulation
8:35 LFOS - To Enact Changes Over Time
11:00 Random Voltage Generators - To Add Life
12:17 Pitch Quantisers - To Make Randomness Musical
14:15 Clock Dividers - For Long, Timed Occurrences
19:49 Sequential Switches - To Jumble Your Shit
23:25 Logic Modules - To Make Ace New Clock Patterns Out of Simple Or Unruly Ones
SHOUTOUT TO AWESOME CONTRIBUTORS AND GOOD PEOPLE:
/ umcorps
www.abstractdata.biz
/ d01
/ silentdilemma
/ hughhopper
And www.thonk.co.uk/shop/music-th...
And thanks Nick, for the Plog.
intellijel.com/eurorack-modul...
If you enjoyed this here's A NEW VID that shows a tiny generative modular and a whole host of interesting patches!! czcams.com/video/jt8ODLYN7XE/video.html ✨
@Element 115 there's a guy who focuses on software modular synths, specifically VCV Rack. I think your best bet would be to check his backlog: czcams.com/users/OmriCohen-Music
"The great benefit of computer sequencers is that they remove the issue of skill, and replace it with the issue of judgement."
- Brian Eno
Nicely put. Yes, that!
***** you raise a good point. however i would say the 'skill' associated with mixing, arranging, etc. is essentially based on judgement. pretty much anyone can, with minimal teaching and a pen, write legible 'music' on paper but what makes a composer 'good' or 'bad' is where they decide to put the notes.
conversely, a violinist is judged as 'good' or 'bad' by how accurately they can perform the music given to them. they make no decisions, but to physically play a complex or fast piece requires immense skill.
i always consider this in the setting of the rock band or singer-songwriter (Eno worked with many himself), where it meant that often a certain 'sound' might be desired by an artist, but without the means or budget to create that sound for the record (consider the desire for a string section on a ballad, or a high note in a melody that the singer can't reach). thanks to modern technology (synthesis and autotune, respectively) the 'skill' is no longer a limiting factor, and so the quality of the music is down solely to the artist's judgement in whether or not to include it.
in the context of generative music, as in the video, it goes further - the 'skill' required in even /writing/ the music is removed, but it can still be 'good' or 'bad': the distinction is by how the artist judges what is a 'good' or 'bad' sound, which dictates how they design their patches and which sounds they keep on the record.
But great disadvantage is that it supports repetitiveness and lazyness. Electronic synthesizers existed before sequencers. When sequencers became mainstream, house music was invented.
how you choose to structure your song, and how varied you choose to make it, are precisely the issues of judgement eno was talking about. you can blame the lazy producer for the terrible music, not the electronic sequencer.
Simple Trax House music is a wonderful thing. As is generative modular music. As is Shostakovich's 8th. As is Thelonius Monk. As is Kendrick Lamar.
"Generative music is a lot like gardening , you set up the parameters but the garden grows by itself" - Brian Eno
exactly
Happy modular gardening during journey in the universe
:)
"Watching MylarMelodies making a generative patch is wonderful in that you almost feel like you did something yourself while actually you just sat back and drank beer"
- Brian Eno
UPDATE: Said band member has literally since gone off the deep end and bought a 18U modular and been whatsapping me his generative jams. Theyyyyy alllllll come rooooound eventually.... ✅
Haha! So funny because I came here as I was discussing this topic with someone the other day, and they had the same reaction. I remembered this video, and wanted to send it to them. We're both math fanatics, and I was trying to explain that setting up a generative patch is an analog to writing a mathematical algorithm. You do such a great job of bringing up amazing examples of this concept.
Happy to hear your friend folded. Counting on mine to do the same in the next few months :)
What I find is that generative ambient has always been riding the borderland between live and created music from the beginning. I am clear that it requires creativity and is mostly live. When the music is being created, there is a "watching over" and "tweaking" that happens that is only perfected when all the conflict points, adverse feedback loops, and overload points are removed, and then it can be recorded like regular music or left as an automated sequence that is done by rules rather than recording (which makes it feel more alive). What is possible, though, is that after a generative patch and settings is set into motion, it can be tweaked in present time to introduce more subtleties in a kind of live ongoing improv. Thanks for sharing your process and ideas!
Yep, it was HIM talking bollocks from the start. 😂🤣
wow that cost as much as a house and car!
Why the fuck couldn't I take these kind of classes in high school? In the midst of global catastrophe and dehumanisation, it is indeed wonderful that this exists. Amusing how much humanity and pleasure lies within your nuanced explanation of the capacities of these machines.
Did music for 10 years in school and never got exposed to it - the only time i used a sequencer was pulling a System 100 out of a closet and teaching myself (in final year).
btw see also: probablility and conditionals on Elektron sequencers.
I'm a music teacher in a school. You've inspired me to step up my game. We already use quite a bit of modern gear, but nothing as wonderful as this.
@@stephenjoseph5265 that's so great to hear dude. Lucky students, lucky you.
You're a natural teacher and you do a great job re-emphasizing key points. And you do it with a light touch so you don't sound pedantic. Super useful video. Wish I had seen it years ago. Thank you!
Very nice video, with fundamentals of making Generative Music with Eurorack modules. All is very clear and informative. Great job!!!
Love your your videos, always calmly and clearly presented in a creatively and inspiring way. Thank you! 😃
You're doing such a fantastic job with this videos. Congrats on being the first person I've supported on Patreon - can't wait to see what comes next!
Thanks so much Oliver, that means a lot! People are awesome. x
Hi!
Just wanted to let you know that this video clarified a lot of things about the functionalities of different modules for me and got me on my way towards a more systematic approach towards building my modular set-up. Also very inspiring. Thank you for the awesome video!
This vid ties together so much knowledge! Best 30min of all-round modular basics I´ve seen on YT. Could literally hear the puzzle pieces falling in to place in my head. Getting the Disting to try out some of this stuff.
Man I keep on watching your tutorials and everytime you give me a new idea! Please keep on doing stuff like this!
Such a great overview and inspiring. I love how you obsessively tighten the nuts on module jacks :)
I absolutely love how you lay down philosophy behind generative music :)
This is the best video out there explaining this process! You are extremely detailed on the modules and how to patch them! Keep making videos like this...fantastic!
The patch from 8:35 is amazing!
CZcams keeps recommending this to me every couple of months, and I watch it every time 😁
I've come back to this again. Now that i'm a full 2 years deep into my Modular system. It's like revision. Excellent stuff.
This video is one of the most insightful description of how to approach generative music on modular. Thank you for sharing.
Brilliant video! I love the approach of explaining functions and methods, versus the usual breakdown videos. I always want to know what and why, rather than being “taught” combinations etc, and this is ideal, explaining what each type of generative source does and how it can work in a big patch. Love it!
for a starter this is probably the best vid i could find. always been heavily into sampling, now i grab bits from my own tracks, its brilliant
I've watched close to one hundred CZcams-videos about modular synths this week trying to promote myself from Newbie to Newbie second level. This video helped me the most of them all to understand the modular mystery. Thanks!
jesus christ the dark ambient in the "LFOS - To Enact Changes Over Time" part are absolutely stunning!
Boss videos dude.. I have actually brought modules based off the media in your great reviews and demos. Much respect. Best presented and my favorite modular vids . Cheers eh!
I love the way theres awsome dark abient sound and then this very interresting and calm rambling. I can watch this for entertainment only.
This is the first video of this kind that actually helped me make sense of the signal path in a modular system. Thank you for that. As a visual artist, I couldn't help but draw parallels to conceptual art and your distinction/definition of generative music as a worthy pursuit is apt. I see parallels with the ideas of Sol LeWitt in this definition.
Mind........blown. What a simply fuss free explanation of the subject. Thank you.
This is a wonderful video - thanks so much for putting in the time to share your knowledge in such a digestable inspiring way.
Loved this. Your defence of generative music being creative, creating the rules, deciding on what's right, etc., reminded me of many things I said in interviews in a former life when I did this sort of thing using software. Great to see the concept continues to evolve!
Phil (Thompson, aka Organised Chaos, Gingerbread: The Mandelbrot Music Generator.)
okay, this is incredibly lucid explanation. very rare & very necessary for folks like me. thanks so much for all this!!
Thanks for this crystal clear explanation of not only generative patches but also basic usage of modules. I needed that :)
This is the best approach to doing this that I could even imagine. You recognize that this process is self-generating, yet provide a way for creativity to flourish as a skill and progression. Fuck. I don't even do this and this is my nightmare, as far as production goes, but you did such a great job... for anything, ever.
this might be the 5th time i've watch it, some all the way through, sometimes going back for clarification on different module types. i love you for this video and would love you even more if you felt up to doing a part 2... not necessarily covering different modules, but different patch ideas or workflow with different manufacturers. cheers!!!!!!
I think I'm on my 5th run too. Really helpful as I've got a case now but no modules!
This is one of the clearest explanations of a very difficult concept! Beginner modular dude here and this is giving me a ton of inspiration.
This is definitely one of the most useful eurorack videos I’ve seen. Thanks so much!
Great video! Very much what I am into. Want to mention that in logic modules, an OR function acts as a two channel mixer, combining both inputs. Useful, with a regular beat plus a random element. Excellent videos from you consistently, so Thanks!
This video changed my life. Thank you for being so clear and direct
Probably the best introductory to modular on YT - thank you! Subbed
I keep coming back to this video. One of your best.
great video as always!!! as an advanced user, i knew everything you talked about already, but hearing you say it made me realize i was neglecting my vca's! also, i hadn't thought of quantized cv's to control envelopes, etc, not just pitch! thanks man!!! inspired to make more stuff!!!
how do you personally quantize your CV's??
This is one of the best explanations of modular synthesis I've seen on CZcams. Wow.
I love your videos - great work, thanks! Has helped me a lot in picking the modules for my first modular :-)
another simply put great video. thanks mate for all your work on these. they have really helped me.
Love your demonstrations and so must Google's algorithm as I keep being directed to your stuff, that or we have very similar interests in modules. What's especially funny about this is the fact you've only made about 40 videos. Seeing I've not made a New Years resolution, it'll now be a wish to see you create more of these fantastic vids.
This is so incredibly helpful. I was hoping to find the exact video. I have my first case on its way right now. This is really helping me figure out which pieces I would need. A Turing machine looks like a fun affordable way to start with generative cv stuff paired with a quantizer and I guess some envelopes like the video says.
awesome stuff! ... thanks for sharing your experiences. i am just at the beginning to enter the modular world with my mother32 and now building a clockdivider and router device and such... and your video is really informative to me.
current favorite source of random is the Two Drunks mode in Tides Parasite. love it because it's two sources of random with two kind of outputs (triggers and cv) that are related. it's usually the starting point of a lot of my patches.
also one function that I think is great for generative patches is envelope following. I use the 4MS SMR in the middle of a patch, taking the output of one or two modules and then using the envelopes it generates from the sound to influence those same or other modules. gets really interesting with the rotate function so that the envelopes are being generated based of different parts of the input.
just got a Cold Mac and I love the Follow and Location outputs, which are both envelope followers which behave in a sort of abnormal way, so you can have a CV modulation (like the Two Drunks) which can also generate two more related, but different modulation slopes.
One of the best and most informative wiggling video's I've seen. Excellent work dude.
Thank you so much for this amazing content! Your explanations are really inspiring and easy to understand. THANK YOU!🤗😁👊
This is the fourth time I watch this video. Simply love your channel man, big up!
/NaturligFunktion
who is really gettin hooked on that modular shit
Man I love your energy, I can tell you live modular ;) learning a great deal, massive respect, cheers
First video I've seen that explains what a logic module does. Thanks!
Fascinating, broken down nicely and sounds flipbpbping bonkers. Cheers.
The VCA tips alone are priceless. Thank you, sir!
would love to see a tutorial on MI Marbles from you! You're definitely my favorite modular tutorial go-to right now : )
The demonstration of the importance of a VCA was illuminating. As a noob trawling through forums, you see people saying you need more VCAs all the time, but this video made it clear why
Brilliant! This gives me so much to think about and tinker about with. Thank you.
Several days ago, I got the Pittsburgh Modular Lifeforms System 201. I know nothing about modular, but this video is an incredibly lucid and logical tutorial. You are an extremely good teacher. Thanks.
Very structured and clear explanation. Resulted in another boost of inspiration and (unavoidable): more modules ;-)
19:12!! Man I wish you were my neighbor and you could help me with this stuff. Absolutely gorgeous. Thank you for breaking it down like this. I needed this today!
Yeah i agree!!
"And they don't have to be audio--" *BLEEEWUUUUAAAOOOUUUUUUU* "It's VCA as well." I'm sold.
That ambient soundscape setup was such quality. Then the sound at 10:24 changed my life.
Awesome video man, very instructive and easy to understand. Thank you!
Fucking awesome! I’m just getting into modulars and this laid out the whole spectrum to a much more comprehensive scale. Thank you Sir 🙏🏽
beautiful! thanks sooo much for sharing this in such fun way!
Great video explaining the types of modules and not just your specific module. 👏🏾
I got goosebumps over and over by the Sounds as he explained point 2 ( the lfo ) ... Sounds from outer Space coming and going .... I Love it! Also point 5 ( the clock dividers ) 😍
Wow, I'm hyped lv 99999 for building my own modular :D.
Never really looked into it, but now that I have I'm in love!
Always loved synths, so I guess this is my love amplified :D
beautifully shot and instructive video. thanks, dude)
you are an excellent teacher - i really love watching your videos and learning - keep up the great work
Thanks mate
Brilliant :)
thank you for the inspiration !
Thank you for this excellent video! I found it because I wanted to know what generative music is and I got a new understanding of electronic music in general! Also a weird mental model of the brain.
Brilliant video (as always). This is exactly the reason I want to get in to Eurorack.
Fascinating vid, I really enjoyed this! Learning a lot
The modular synth is a musical instrument, it is just asynchronous to the player. If you give it the parameters, it is the same as using the Nashville numnbering system in a recording session with human players. The patch is its chart. You could also think of it as a robot guitar, instead of using a pick to play it, you use cables. Current technology means we have a new process for creating music, it's just a different way to play. It also gives us deeper insight into what music is, people have loved electronic sounds for decades. In fact, we have greatly expanded the range of sounds we consider to be musical and emotionally impactful. The 12 tones of the Western scale are just a subset of what a synth can produce. When I look at the DAW, I actually have control of a full orchestra in my laptop. It will perfectly play whatever I tell it and I can humanize it too.
Sounds great man!
Okay, two things:
First: Thank you for FINALLY making me understand how modular synthesis works. I've been going digital for a few years and, for me, modular was like "Whooooa, too many patches for me, baby!", but now I finally get it... And I love it.
Two: Curse you! You made me want to end my degree ASAP, get a job and earn some cash to buy some of these toys! :P
Oh, and finally, you got yourself a new subscriber. Thanks for the great content, and keep it up!
This is a very nice and new idea to me ... will def. test some of this, Thanks a lot
Fantastic video, thank you so much for your inspiring work!
love love loved this. super helpful thanks!
Man, I enjoyed the sonic beauty of those sounds a lot. Great stuff for my ears - brain interchanging relation :)
Very good video, thank you for this wonderful job, you open my mind and I want to go patching just know!!!
Excellent -- really really useful. Serious SAW Vol 2 vibe going on there in the first segment. \keeps staring into the modular rabbit hole
Jannakar Don't do it! (Do it)
Thank you for your willingness to help others. This is a quality video presentation.
Best video on the whole of the internet? Absolutely!!
What would a system like that cost?
This is very helpful to newbies like myself looking to get started on modular gear- my Eurorack friend told me you can never have enough VCAs. You also can run out of LFOs and Envelopes quickly as well from what I hear. I also have folks recommend a mixer, sequencer and sampler module as part of the setup besides VCO/VCA/LFO/VLF for a base setup.
I had a Hugh Hopper album in the 70s, the weirdist record I had, it went around and around. I kind of knew that 40 years later I would be playing a couple of Moog Mother 32s, but I also knew there was a convoluted route to that.
Very helpful, thank you. As a beginner, with beginning gear, I think a VCA would be an excellent addition.
Awesome masterclass! Thanks 🙏
Really great video, very informative - thank you!!!
this is ace! I learned so much. Thank you!!
Beautiful and inspirational video, thank you.
awesome job mylarmelodies!
Great video, simple clear explanations.
I'm just building a modular system and my main interest is control structures :-).
Here’s the point!
And points.....
Yup, there it is.
Great hand work as always.
(& the content is ok too! ;)
just the start sounds amazing !
Yes! Just the Sound makes me curious to watch the whole video! :) btw: so cool while he talks at the beginning just turn a bit this knob or that knob and change the sound
I live in the Buchla universe, but this well-founded lesson translates across quite well!
Great video, Good to see you using the Plog, I'll have to wipe the dust & cobwebs off my Plog and get patching.
Incredibly helpful!! Thanx!