For my Thesis, and Sound In Space assignment #2, I am testing how users react when their movements, or how they move with others, impact ‘voices’ in a composition. I’m trying to suss out the proper number of people per voice and the number of voices for my “interactive dance floor.”
Technical setup: Touchdesigner
I created a ‘track control’ component for touchdesigner. The component has a number of options.
What is the volume level for ‘off’ and on? This allows users to feel their presence impacting the voice when entering the space.
Does it control a ‘rack’ device? This allows it to control parameters on instruments and effects
if so, how many parameters (macros) does it control?
Does it control clips by switching between them? This allows musical patterns to be changed by the ‘dance amount’
class trackController:
"""
trackController description:
controls one voice in ableton
in[0] - dance amount
in[1] - isPresent
"""
def __init__(self, ownerComp):
# The component to which this extension is attached
self.ownerComp = ownerComp
#does this launch clips?
self.ClipLauncher = False
#does this control racks?
self.RackController = False
#td ableton track object for volume and clips
self.Track = op('abletonTrack1')
#clip launcher, initalize it as off
self.clipControl = op('abletonClipSelector')
self.clipControl.allowCooking = False
#rack component for macro control, initalize it as off
self.rack = op('abletonRack1')
self.rack.allowCooking = False
#number of macros
self.MacroCount = 2
#store the track id that will be controlled
self.TrackNumber = 0
#set the default min/max volumes
self.minVol = .1
self.maxVol = .85
#create a custom menu for controlling this TrackController
self.MakeMenu()
def InitRack(self):
'''
select the appropriate rack device in ableton
assumes that its the first device in the chain
is called every time the TrackID parameter is changed
'''
self.rack.par.Device = 1
self.rack.par.Chain1 = 0
return
def MakeMenu(self):
'''
create custom properties on the comp for controlling the track
'''
o = self.ownerComp
#reset the custom pars
o.destroyCustomPars()
#add page for custom parameters
p = o.appendCustomPage("Track Options")
#make par for which track to control
m = p.appendMenu("Track")[0]
#set its menu labels to match the ableton track's labels
m.menuSource = "op('./abletonTrack1').par.Track"
#add value for number of macros
c = p.appendInt("Macrocount")[0] #[0] cuz it returns a tuple
#set the range of the custom par 'macrocount'
c.normMax = 8
c.normMin = 0
#set the default value
c.normVal = 1
#c.clampMax = True
#c.clampMin = True
#add value for presence volumes
v = p.appendFloat("Maxvol")[0];
v.normVal = self.maxVol
v = p.appendFloat("Minvol")[0];
v.normVal = self.minVol
#add toggles to enable/disable clip launcher or rack controller
p.appendToggle("Rackcontroller")
p.appendToggle("Clipcontroller")
def toggleComp(self,comp):
'''
turns a component on or off
returns its latest state
'''
c = not (comp.allowCooking)
comp.allowCooking = c
print(c)
return c
def ToggleRackControl(self):
'''
toggles rack component
'''
self.RackController = self.toggleComp(self.rack)
def ToggleClipControl(self):
'''
toggles clip component
'''
self.ClipLauncher = self.toggleComp(self.clipControl)
Technical setup: Ableton
In order for a composition in ableton to be controllable. It needs a few things.
TDAbleton needs a master component on the master track in ableton
Any track that has rack components must have them encapsulated in a TDInstrument component
Any clip that is longer than 1/2 a bar and will be switched between needs the ‘Legato’ setting enabled in the clip launching preferences
Composing
Still in progress. Need two more voices, plus considering adding in a drum voice when all voices are fully active to give a reward for collectively moving.
