Today’s post breaks down a recent improvisation I shared on YouTube, featuring orchestral instruments and pianos controlled by touch-sensitive surfaces on iPad and iPhone, then sampled, looped, and layered on the iPad.
Ideally, the tools I use will make it very obvious how they are shaping sound. Visual feedback is crucial to help me make sense of things and keep my brain engaged in my work; I love when music-making becomes a more tangible experience and its processes are made visible.
Because I approach my music from a place of playfulness and interactivity, I’m interested in controls that prioritize gestures, movement, and touch. I talked about this in an interview with 15 Questions a while back:
I feel like I keep using the word “playful” but I really do feel strongly that whatever I’m making should have some element of fun and play involved. In that sense, the creative state probably feels like a playground in my mind …just trying stuff, seeing what sticks, learning new things.
TC-Data, Samplr, and Loopy Pro all offer exceptional visual feedback, and because they use touch-sensitive, expressive interfaces, it really does feel fun and playful to use them. I had a blast performing this piece, even though it was originally set up to be nothing more than a hunt for possible sounds I needed in a very minor section of something else I was working on. I ended up spending a whole night playing with these sounds.
Here’s the video in question:
I’ll spend some time breaking down what’s happening here, and will highlight 5 of its specific component parts:
Orchestral instruments controlled by TC Data, a customizable control surface running on the iPhone and sending MIDI information to Ableton Live
Pianos controlled by Xequence AU and ChordJam, a keyboard and an intelligent chord generator, respectively
Processed samples of both the orchestral and piano layers, sent to the iPad and captured in Samplr
Processed loops of both the orchestral and piano layers, sent to the iPad and looped in Loopy Pro
Mixing and recording all of this in Ableton Live, controlled by a custom MIDI surface in Loopy Pro
Let’s get into it.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Sound Methods to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.