Don Buchla - Passing The Acid Test

050209 analysis

At the AHNE09 video page on vimeo, there was a request for more information about the music. Be prepared to be bored to death as a I go over the process in excruciating detail.

050209 video mix by stretta

Repetition in music is a powerful tool, but it is overused these days. Without repetition and predictability, it is impossible to perform some of the techniques I was having fun with in this composition.

All the tonal elements were created on my Eurorack modular. The drums are from MOTU BPM running through Automaton. Everything was sequenced using Digital Performer 6.02, Volta and two 828mk3 audio interfaces.

The first motif you hear are the slow chords. Our brains are conditioned to expect musical phrases to fall into familiar chunks: 4 bars, 8 bars, 16 bars. If you listen to the slow chords without a pulse behind it, you're going to assume the phrase is a slow eight bars. It isn't. This phrase is seven bars long.

The next element introduced are some bleating high notes that poke out of the reverb tail of the slow chords. These are simple triangle waves amplitude modulated by a slow envelope and LFO that isn't exactly in sync with the project. It is easy to sync LFOs to your project with Volta, so I created an LFO, set the period to a dotted quarter, and then turned off sync and dialed in a Hz value that was almost the same to my ears. This is a perfectly predictable, steady rhythm, and it gently pushes and pulls your perception of where the beat lays.

Rhythmic precision is another powerful tool. If events can be precise enough to set up a grid, it becomes possible to play with a fluid rhythm inside that grid. About 20 seconds in, we hear the first sound I designed for this composition. The note triggers are from a voltage controlled LFO that is controlled by aftertouch, so I can control the speed of the note triggering with pressure. It was very musical to play. For example, there are 17 note triggers within bar 9, but the effect is so fluid and musical, you don't perceive it as being 'wrong' or 'out of time' I recorded this performance while listening to a MIDI version of the opening chords you hear that was eventually replaced with analog modular pads.

This piece is harmonically simple for a good reason. I wanted to create an arpeggio with a complex periodic modulation and it needed to work over a large expanse of time. The arpeggio that comes in around 1:45 was created with four synced Volta sequencers. The goal was to create small patterns that act like wheels within wheels. It isn't possible to notice this without repetition. One trigger sequencer that isn't doing anything special, just firing off eighth notes to a hardware envelope. The first step sequencer is a pattern of 9 eighth notes; three groups of three. The first two groups are identical. The third group has one altered note. A second step sequencer modulating the filter is a short pattern of a prime number. A third step sequencer is providing accents to the amplifier at another prime number pattern. Finally, a periodic ramp automation element is modulating the decay time of the envelope. I could have used an LFO here, but I needed the modulation bias shifted due to the way Cwejman envelopes work, and it was easier to accomplish this with ramp automation, and the periodic automation tools in Digital Performer. The end result sounds simple, but if you pay attention, it doesn't fall exactly where you'd expect.

Another harmonic/rhythmic event was created by smearing out the harmonic content of the entire mix, then using a filter and amplifier modulated by a pattern sequencer. This was then bounced to its own track.

I don't think I would have bothered with a lot of this if I were not using Volta. Adding expression via aftertouch or other controllers is simple. Adding multiple layers of modulation is fun, not a hassle. Volta isn't for everyone, and there are limitations that come from audio interfaces and the gear you're connecting it to, but I'm finding the workflow very pleasant.

What is Music?

It begins innocently enough, especially in the context of a discussion about synthesizers. All it takes is an offhand remark like, "bleeps and bloops aren't music" or "sound is not music" and we feel compelled to search for a definition of music. I think this is a good thing. Searching and questioning is interesting. What isn't interesting is when someone presents a definition of music as fact.

Why does this happen? It seems some people jealously guard the definition of music because they fear a more open definition somehow 'cheapens' music - an interesting concept, by the way.

The dictionary inside my computer tells me music is

the art or science of combining vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion.

Well, that was interesting.

When I was growing up, it seemed all my friends liked football. I didn't 'get' football, but I was curious as to what the fuss what about, so I did what any good nerd would do - I went to the library. Needless to say, reading several books about football did not turn me into a fan. Clinging to a dictionary definition of music is just as useful.



I feel any attempt to define music by additive elements like "a series of pitches and rhythm, harmony, etc..." is ultimately futile. John Cage heavily influenced my personal definition of music. He offers,

Which is more musical, a truck passing by a factory or a truck passing by a music school?

Defining music is like defining art. I believe it comes down to what happens inside the audience's mind. Frank Zappa lays it down:

The most important thing in art is the frame. For painting: literally; for other arts: figuratively - because, without this humble appliance, you can't know where The Art stops and The Real World begins. You have to put a "box" around it because otherwise, what is that shit on the wall?

A few years ago, strolling around Harvard Square, I began to notice various plaques affixed to everyday objects by a guerrilla artist. For example, attached to a street trash can was a plaque that read, "Untitled XIV - steel and mixed media" So, I stopped and looked at it. I admired the light and shadows, enjoyed the gradients. The plaque re-framed the object. It wasn't a trash can, it was art, because it changed my consciousness. Art, as Zappa says, is the frame.

Again, John Cage:

Wherever we are, what we hear is mostly noise. When we ignore it, it disturbs us. When we listen to it, we find it fascinating.

Music isn't what I say it is. Music isn't what someone else says it is. Music is a state of consciousness and this varies from person to person, moment to moment, and context to context.

I look forward to your comments.

AHNE video music to download

I had a request to provide the AHNE video music as a download. Here it is. There are three different mixes. The original, as it appears in the video, which is about three minutes long, an extended version at five minutes which was the original length of the video before I decided to edit it down some, and an ambient version, which was the original intent.

Download 050209 Video Mix
Download 050209 Extended Mix
Download 050209 Ambient Mix


050209 by Matthew G Davidson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.

AHNE09 video

I captured this video using the Canon 5DmkII with the 50mm f/1.4 lens. I'm pleased with the visual quality, the depth of field is a refreshing change from the hard focus of normal camcorders. It almost looks... vintage. Be sure to check out the HD version on Vimeo for a better appreciation of what this camera can do.

I watched the video with the sound off and imagined a minimal, spacious background, even though the actual event was noisy and bleepy. I still couldn't resist throwing in an step sequencer and drum track, though. With the exception of the drums, the music was created on my Euro-format modular, controlled by Volta, naturally. The drums are MOTU BPM through Audio Damage's Automaton.

AHNE 2009 Photostream

AHNE 2009 was a roaring success and our biggest year ever. Go here for hardcore synth pron