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Music Grid

music-grid.surge.sh

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Re: Music Grid

#171

Post by samizdis »

__max__ wrote: post #122
gfxgirl wrote: post #109

I'm not trying to be cynical but what is special about this verses that 1000s of similar sites that came before? Here's one of google's https://www.google.com/logos/2017/fischinger/fischinger17.ht... Here's Ableton's https://learningmusic.ableton.com/ Is there something special about this one?

I too feel a little cynical, because I built basically exactly this back in 2012. Before Google, and before Ableton. AFAIK, it was the first grid sequencer online. The first version used the Mozilla audio API, before Web Audio was even a thing. I wish I was credited for the inspiration somewhere, but I guess it's very possible that this is an independent reinvention. I called it MusicToy: http://maximecb.github.io/Mu…

Coldcut, a Brit electronic music duo who also dabbled in audio/video mix software, made a simple online music tool for Absolut Vodka in 1998. (Absolut was targeting the youth market and set up a site called Absolut DJ.) Coldcut's thing was a simple grid on which you placed sound effects/samples sprites. A dot moving through the grid would play each in turn as it hit them. It was really good fun, but I can't find it now. Might have been made in Flash - or perhaps it was still known as Shockwave Flash back then.

Here's an archive article about Absolut's campaign:

https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/absolut-vodka-launche...

Coldcut's Wikipedia entry:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coldcut

Re: Music Grid

#174

Post by Kiro »

AnonC wrote: post #143

This is so much fun. It would be great to have an export function that throws out an mp3 or aac file to share the music with others directly or use it (embedded) somewhere. I tried several patterns myself and also tried the links others shared here. But now I’m left with the feeling that they all sound very similar. :(

It's just one fixed scale so everything will automatically sound very similar. Also the reason why nothing sounds bad. It's "cheating" in that way compared to a piano.

Re: Music Grid

#176

Post by ybbond »

superfrank wrote: post #30

Welp... My first reaction was to draw a penis and it didn't turn out bad at all, IMO https://music-grid.surge.sh/#2114-1365-2730-1365-2730-2322-2...

surprisingly sounds ecstastic

Re: Music Grid

#177

Post by williamdclt »

wwwwewwww wrote: post #118

Can someone with knowledge of music theory explain how it works? Meaning, how come if I close my eyes and place some random tiles, it still come out sounding OK. But not so if I bang random keys on a piano.

If you bang only the white keys of a piano, with a good rythm (ie on the tick of a metronome), you'll get the same effect

Re: Music Grid

#178

Post by williamdclt »

I'm finding an interesting effect: when I'm making my own loop I'm finding the music pretty cool and enjoyable and I can definitely imagine turning it into an actual song. When I listen to the compositions posted here, I'm thinking "this is isn't interesting to hear whatsoever".

I'm not sure what's my point (definitely not that I'm doing better, what I composed objectively suck), maybe that composing your own stuff gives it a different dimension? Or maybe just the fact that you're building it bit by bit makes it more interesting because there's a sense of progression

Re: Music Grid

#179

Post by jonplackett »

axismundi wrote: post #169
jonplackett wrote: post #157

This is just one of my favourite things I’ve played with in ages. Thanks for making it! Here’s one of my many attempts at tunefulness https://music-grid.surge.sh/#162-2628-33-16-130-593-2048-388... Can someone explain how it works musically? Why does (almost) anything you make sound good?

You know how a piano keyboard has white and black keys? This toy shows you the white keys only. And it works well, kudos to the author!

Is it really that simple?

Re: Music Grid

#180

Post by williamdclt »

Kiro wrote: post #174
AnonC wrote: post #143

This is so much fun. It would be great to have an export function that throws out an mp3 or aac file to share the music with others directly or use it (embedded) somewhere. I tried several patterns myself and also tried the links others shared here. But now I’m left with the feeling that they all sound very similar. :(

It's just one fixed scale so everything will automatically sound very similar. Also the reason why nothing sounds bad. It's "cheating" in that way compared to a piano.

What makes all pieces sound so similar isn't the fixed scale, it's that it's always the same "instrument" and always made of quarter notes.

There's thousands upon thousands of songs for any scale after all

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