BMus1: Electronic Music

Week 8 Pure Data: Installations

Recap
We’ll spend a bit of time recapping the basic synth/sequencer from last session. The example patches
can be found in the Pure Data – Useful Info PDF on Moodle.
We will also look at the random object and its uses.

Fluency Exercises
Create the following patches:
- Use PD to calculate and display the answers to the following maths problems. Display your
answers in a number box.
o 124 + 63 o

234 * 436 o

353 / 9

- A counter that starts at 0 and counts up to 10 before resetting back to 0.

- A counter that starts at 10 and counts down to 0 before resetting back to 10.
- A counter that loops continuously from 0 to 10 and back to 0 and so on.

Interactive Systems
The term interactive music system is very vague. At its broadest, it can mean any interactive object
that lets you create music, however, it is most often used to refer to electronic systems that respond to
inputs from performers and audiences.

Some examples of interactive systems in action are:

- Art installations
- Standalone pieces of music
- Electronic instruments
- Accessible instruments (Clarion)
- Modular Synths

These systems are often complicated to create and as a result, it is common for projects to involve
multiple technical specialists as well as the artist themselves.

This flowchart shows a simple breakdown of how one of these systems might work.

Inputs Process Response

Alexander Schubert – Weapon of Choice

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nv4CHcBjJTI&t=248s

Inputs: Microphone, motion sensor (on violin bow), video camera.

Processing: Computer program uses data from the motion sensor to recognise specific movements and
triggers changes in audio and video FX.
Response: Audio and video are changed to reflect the position of the bow.

This system creates a relationship between the player’s movement and the overall sound.
It is a good example of how interactive systems can be used to create ‘games’ that performers and
audiences can explore and understand.

Interactive systems often use generative techniques to create complex relationships between inputs and
responses.

Creating an Installation
For the remainder of our classes on PD, we are going to be looking at how we can use PD to create an
interactive installation. We will use your simple sequencer as a starting point and will expand it to
respond randomly to inputs from an audience. The mock brief for this installation can be found
below…

Brief
Create an interactive music installation to be installed as background music in an art gallery. We would
like the music to be controlled by the audience’s position in the space.

Inputs
4 motion sensors that output a bang when someone passes by.

Designing Your Installation

Your challenge is now to start creating an installation that fits this brief (we’ll do this in class).
I have included a PD file on Moodle that you are welcome to copy and paste from or use as a starting
point to create something new. We will be looking at sound design next week, so for now just focus on
creating some interesting interactive material.

Pure Data
Pure Data (PD): https://puredata.info/downloads Select the
first option in featured downloads.