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* 0.5 default cps * 1 -> 0.5 cps defaults * start moving examples to 2Hz * more 2Hz doc edits * small tweaks * format * adapt cycles page * adapt pitch page * tonal page * accumulation * synth page * adapt conditional-modifiers * audio effects page * adapt signals doc * fix: errors for signals * adapt signals page * start time modifiers * adapt time modifiers * adapt factories * hydra + pattern intro * adapt mini notation page * start recipes * adapt recipes page * use code_v1 table * delete old dbdump + add new csv based tool * fix: tests * fix: cpm * shuffle featured patterns * fix: snapshot --------- Co-authored-by: Felix Roos <flix91@gmail.com>
131 lines
3.6 KiB
Plaintext
131 lines
3.6 KiB
Plaintext
---
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title: Understanding Cycles
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layout: ../../layouts/MainLayout.astro
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---
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import { MiniRepl } from '../../docs/MiniRepl';
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import { PitchSlider } from '../../components/PitchSlider';
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import Box from '@components/Box.astro';
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# Understanding Cycles
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The concept of cycles is very central to be able to understand how Strudel works.
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Strudel's mother language, TidalCycles, even has it in its name.
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## Cycles and BPM
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In most music software, the unit BPM (beats per minute) is used to set the tempo.
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Strudel expresses tempo as CPS (cycles per second), with a default of 0.5 CPS:
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<MiniRepl client:visible tune={`s("bd")`} />
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Here we can hear the 0.5CPS in action: The kick repeats once every two seconds.
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Let's make it 4 kicks:
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<MiniRepl client:visible tune={`s("bd bd bd bd")`} />
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Now we have 4 kicks per cycle, but the whole pattern still plays at 0.5CPS.
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In terms of BPM, most musicians would tell you this is playing at 120bpm.
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What about this one:
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<MiniRepl client:visible tune={`s("bd hh bd hh")`} />
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Because the second sound is now a hihat, the tempo feels slower again.
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This brings us to an important realization:
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<Box>
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Tempo is based on perception.
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The choice of sounds also has an impact on the tempo feel.
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This is why the same CPS can produce different perceived tempos.
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</Box>
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## Setting CPM
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If you're familiar with BPM, you can use the `cpm` method to set the tempo in cycles per minute:
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<MiniRepl client:visible tune={`s("bd hh").cpm(110)`} />
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If you want to add more beats per cycle, you might want to divide the cpm:
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<MiniRepl client:visible tune={`s("bd sd bd rim, hh*8").cpm(110/4)`} />
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Or using 2 beats per cycle:
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<MiniRepl client:visible tune={`s("bd sd, hh*4").cpm(110/2)`} />
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<Box>
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To set a specific bpm, use `.cpm(bpm/bpc)`
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- bpm: the target beats per minute
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- bpc: the number of perceived beats per cycle
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</Box>
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## Cycles and Bars
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Also in most music software, multiple beats form a bar (or measure).
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The so called time signature specifies how many beats are in each bar.
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In many types of music, it is common to use 4 beats per bar, also known as 4/4 time.
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Many music programs use it as a default.
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Strudel does not a have concept of bars or measures, there are only cycles.
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How you use them is up to you. Above, we've had this example:
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<MiniRepl client:visible tune={`s("bd sd bd rim, hh*8").cpm(110/4)`} />
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This could be interpreted as 4/4 time with a tempo of 110bpm.
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We could write out multiple bars like this:
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<MiniRepl
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client:visible
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tune={`s(\`<
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[bd sd bd rim, hh*8]
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[bd sd bd rim*2, hh*8]
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>\`).cpm(110/4)`}
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/>
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Instead of writing out each bar separately, we could express this much shorter:
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<MiniRepl client:visible tune={`s("bd <sd rim*<1 2>>,hh*4").cpm(110/2)`} />
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Here we can see that thinking in cycles rather than bars simplifies things a lot!
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These types of simplifications work because of the repetitive nature of rhythm.
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In computational terms, you could say the former notation has a lot of redundancy.
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## Time Signatures
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To get a time signature, just change the number of elements per bar. Here is a rhythm with 7 beats:
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<MiniRepl client:visible tune={`s("bd ~ rim bd bd rim ~")`} />
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or with 5:
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<MiniRepl client:visible tune={`s("bd hh hh bd hh hh bd rim bd hh")`} />
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We could also write multiple bars with different time signatures:
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<MiniRepl
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client:visible
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tune={`s(\`<
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[bd hh rim]@3
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[bd hh rim sd]@4
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>\`).cpm(110*2)`}
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/>
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Here we switch between 3/4 and 4/4, keeping the same tempo.
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If we don't specify the length, we get what's called a metric modulation:
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<MiniRepl
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client:visible
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tune={`s(\`<
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[bd hh rim]
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[bd hh rim sd]
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>\`).cpm(110/2)`}
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/>
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Now the 3 elements get the same time as the 4 elements, which is why the tempo changes.
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