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data-driven rhythms in R
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ddr has ~ 1 GB of built-in instruments. It will take awhile to install from github.
library("devtools")
install_github("ddr", "csv")
library("ddr")
Computers without shit tons of RAM may crash if you try installing that way. If that happens, try this, which uses less RAM.
git clone git://github.com/csv/ddr.git
cd ddr
Rscript -e 'library(devtools);install()'
You'll probably also want seewave, which indirectly depends on BWidget.
sudo pacman -S bwidge # In Arch Linux
Rscript -e 'install.packages("seewave")'
NOTE: YOU MUST RUN ddr_init EVERYTIME YOU START UP ddr!
The way ddr makes noises is by creating temporary wave files and playing them through an audio player of your preference. You can set your desired audio player as follows:
ddr_init(player="path_to_player")
By default, ddr is set to look for QuickTime on Mac OSX, eg:
ddr_init(player="/Applications/'QuickTime Player.app'/Contents/MacOS/'QuickTime Player'")
However, you might want to use mplayer, eg:
ddr_init(player="/usr/bin/env mplayer'")
One weird thing about using QuickTime is that, when it plays a temporary file, it will freeze the R console until you press esc. So, if you see this:
> play(piano$C3)
just press esc and ddr will move on to the next task.
ddr comes with 5 instruments and 2 drum kits:
# Instruments:
blip -- a sinewave with a quick attack
piano -- a classic-sounding grand piano
rhodes -- a fender rhodes
sinewave -- a simple sinewave
sweeplow -- a cheesy synth
# Drums:
moog -- moog drum hits
roland -- a roland 707
Instruments and drum kits are simply R lists with each element being a separate wave file. For instance, you can select middle C on a piano as follows:
piano$C3
# or, alternatively:
piano[["C3"]]
If you want to see the names of the wave file in a given instrument, just type: names(instrument), eg: names(piano) or names(moog)
Slice 'em up!
chop(piano$C3, bpm=100, count=1/8)
Reverse too!
reverse(piano$C3)
Chop and screw!
chop(pitch(piano$C3, -36), bpm=100, count=2)
Loop!
loop(chop(piano$C3, bpm=100, count=1/8), 16)
Generate chords!
chord(C3, piano, "maj", bpm=100, count=4)
ddr comes with a simple sound sequencing engine. This is best explained through an example:
# let's make a four-on-the-floor drum loop!
# first, let's put our drum sounds in a list:
wavs <- list(roland$HHO, roland$SD1, roland$BD1)
# now let's write a series of 1's and 0's indicating when we want each sound to play
# when we're done, let's also put these in a list:
hihat <- c(0,1,0,1)
kick <- c(1,0,1,0)
snare <- c(0,0,1,0)
seqs <- list(hihat, snare, kick)
# now lets put these lists into our sequence function and include a bpm and the count each note recieves
four_on_the_floor <- sequence(wavs, seqs, bpm=120, count=1/8)
play(loop(four_on_the_floor, 10))
Now lets take this logic and include chords to generate the chorus of Call Me Maybe
c1 <- chord(A4, sweeplow, "maj", bpm=119, count=1)
c2 <- chord(E4, sweeplow, "maj", bpm=119, count=1)
c3 <- chord(B4, sweeplow, "maj", bpm=119, count=1)
c4 <- chord(C.4, sweeplow, "min", bpm=119, count=1)
wavs <- list(c1, c2, c3, c4, roland$HHC, roland$TAM, roland$HHO, roland$BD1, roland$SD1)
A <- c(1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0)
E <- c(0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0)
B <- c(0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,0,0,0,0,0)
C.m<-c(0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0)
H <- c(0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,1,1)
T <- c(0,0,1,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,0,0)
O <- c(0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,0,1)
K <- c(1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0)
S <- c(0,0,1,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,1,0)
seqs <- list(A, E, B, C.m, H, T, O, K, S)
callmemaybe <- sequence(wavs, seqs, bpm=59.5, count=1/16)
play(loop(callmemaybe, 4))
But wait, there's more! ddr can also generate sequences that include amplitude changes. Here, any number between 0 and 1 simply corresponds with the relative amplitude of the wave:
wavs <- list(roland$HHC)
seqs <- list(c(0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8))
hihats <- sequence(wavs, seqs, bpm=59.5, count=1/16)
play(loop(hihats, 4))
BUT NOW IM REALLY GOING TO BLOW YOUR MIND. Since sequences are (mostly) binomial distributions, you can use built-in R functions to generate random music!
wavs <- list(roland$HHC, roland$TAM, roland$HHO, roland$BD1, roland$SD1)
H <- rnorm(32, mean=0.5, sd=0.1)
T <- rbinom(32, 1, prob=0.05)
O <- rbinom(32, 1, prob=0.075)
K <- rbinom(32, 1, prob=0.2)
S <- rbinom(32, 1, prob=0.3)
seqs <- list(H, T, O, K, S)
random_loop <- sequence(wavs, seqs, bpm=59.5, count=1/16)
play(loop(random_loop, 4))
Finally, ddr has a function for creating silly data sonifications. It's called arpeggidata. arpeggidata works by scaling a numeric vector onto a musical scale. YOU HAVE TO HEAR IT TO BELIEVE IT!
# Let's use ChickWeight - Iris is so played out...
data('ChickWeight')
cw <- ChickWeight
chicks <- arpeggidata(sqrt(cw$weight),
blip,
scale="Emajor",
bpm=200,
count=1/32)
play(chicks)
I used ddr to make the music in FMS Symphony. Here's the code (fms_data is built-in to ddr):
bpm <- 280
ct <- 1/4
rate <- arpeggidata(fms_data$rate,
sinewave,
low_note="",
high_note="",
descending = FALSE,
scale="Cmajor",
remove=NULL,
bpm=bpm,
count=ct)
writeWave(rate, "rate.wav")
ceil <- arpeggidata(fms_data$dist_to_ceiling,
sinewave,
low_note="",
high_note="",
descending = TRUE,
scale="Emajor",
remove=NULL,
bpm=bpm,
count=ct)
writeWave(ceil, "ceiling.wav")
gen_chords <- function(z) {
if (z < 0) {
if (z <= -0.5) {
c <- chord(A3, sinewave,
"min", bpm=bpm,
count=ct)
} else {
c <- chord(A4, sinewave,
"min", bpm=bpm,
count=ct)
}
} else {
if (z >= 0.5) {
c <- chord(C4, sinewave,
"maj", bpm=bpm,
count=ct)
} else {
c <- chord(C3, sinewave,
"maj", bpm=bpm,
count=ct)
}
}
return(c)
}
chords <- llply(fms_data$z_change, gen_chords, .progress="text")
bind_list_of_waves <- function(x, y) {
bind(x, y)
}
reduce_waves <- function(list_of_waves) {
Reduce(bind_list_of_waves, list_of_waves)
}
chords <- reduce_waves(chords)
writeWave(chords, "chords.wav")