Integrate with other open source algorithmic composition systems

[gogins]

Add better facilities for integrating CsoundAC with other open source algorithmic composition systems. I will start with Python, but there might be others. Other systems should be able both to receive events from CsoundAC, and to send events to CsoundAC. The model should be something like the LispNode, but the Node subclasses should be specialized for the composition system in question.

• [x] Identify systems. See the next comment. For now, I am doing only those that can be implemented in Python.
• [x] Design pattern when CsoundAC is the host. Usually, it will suffice to provide a Python module that reads the output data of the other system and parses it note by note to append to a csound::Score.
• [x] Design patterns when other systems host CsoundAC. Usually, it will be necessary for the other system to provide some facility for reading in external score data. Usually, this will be a MIDI file.
• [x] Implementation.
• [x] Testing. I am testing basic functionality as I go.

The main motivation here is to use Xenakis sieves with the chord space stuff without having to re-invent the wheel.

[gogins]

I'm not necessarily going to do all of these, by any means! This is just to identify possibilities.

• [x] athenaCL (Python). The main question is how to get the AthenaObject to produce notes that can go into a ScoreNode. The code is extremely wormy and does not identity a Csound i statement until at the very end of a tree when it simply writes to a file. I could clone the command or the engine and intercept things to build up a flat list. Actually I completed AthenaObject=>csound::Score.
• [x] abjad (Python/Lilypond), all output ultimately is from Lilypond, as notation, MIDI, or note lists. Some of the abjad examples produce extremely sophisticated notation and exist as GitHub projects with build systems!... abjad depends upon Lilypond for all output and interpreting the abjad timeline would be challening with tempo changes. Not doing this; an ExternalNode could run the program and import the MIDI file.
• [x] musx (Python). Currently does not reveal source code and supports only MIDI file output. There is access to all MIDI events in a MIDI file or sequence, but as note on/note off pairs only. This could be worse and I am sure I can implement this. Note: musx is fun, easy to use, and similar to Common Music. Done for musix to Csound and CsoundAC, working with Rick Taube.
• [x] music21 (Python). Seems never to have heard of Csound, produces many notation-based formats and of course MIDI. Flattening a score is possible but doing so drops information about instruments. Not doing this; an ExternalNode could run the program and import the MIDI file.
• [x] Pure Data (C). Not sure if this is suitable.
• [x] Common Music (Scheme). Given the existence of nudruz and musx, there is no need to deal this this form of Common Music. Not doing this; an ExternalNode could run the program and import the MIDI file.
• [x] Common Music (Common Lisp). What I need to do here is fix up nudruz to work without cl-math. I'm opening a separate issue for this.
• [x] Open Music (Common Lisp, won't run in the CsoundAC process). I would love to have this but without asdf I am not doing anything at this time. Not doing this; an ExternalNode could run the program and import the MIDI file.
• [x] mutwo (Python). Too new, maybe later.
• [x] SuperCollider (own language). Maybe later, not finding easy Python wrapper or interface.
• [x] blue (Java/Python). Currently hosts externals but only as sources of Csound scores, not as sinks. I added to csound::Event and csound::Score facilities for printing "i" statements and Csound scores in the format expected by blue External soundObjects.

[gogins]

Might be easier to port the sieve from something.

[znmeb]

@gogins Is there an implementation of the sieves in any language? I've got the book but don't recall ever seeing code other than what Xenakis himself or his students wrote.

[gogins]

At least music21, athenaCL, and I think SuperCollider.

Regards, Mike

On Fri, Apr 16, 2021, 18:52 M. Edward (Ed) Borasky @.***> wrote:

@gogins https://github.com/gogins Is there an implementation of the sieves in any language? I've got the book but don't recall ever seeing code other than what Xenakis himself or his students wrote.

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[znmeb]

I'll try SuperCollider first - I already have the build scripts for that. :-)

[gogins]

I have completed a facility for generating scores in athenaCL and using them in CsoundAC, as csound-extended/CsoundAC/athenacl-to-csoundac.py. I do not currently see how to go in the other direction, or if that would even be necessary.

[gogins]

Got the musx stuff working with just Csound. Now for CsoundAC.

[gogins]

Did musx_to_csound and musx_to_csoundac.

Installed abjad and music21. abjad uses Lilypond and thus uses the Lilypond file export format, which would be awkward for CsoundAC because it is not a flat, context-free list.

music21 has notes that are found in streams, so presumably iterating over streams (as done internally for MIDI) could produce a flat list of notes.

Indeed, Score.flat produces a flat list of objects, many of them Notes, with offsets (and even seconds, if a tempo is given) measured in beats from the start of the Score.

[gogins]

In general, feeding CsoundAC scores to other systems would require those systems to already have in place some facility for reading external music. MIDI of course is the lingua franca.

[gogins]

Abjad uses only Lilypond for output.

Lilypond either engraves, or creates MIDI files, or does this text export:

http://lilypond.org/doc/v2.18/Documentation/notation/saving-music-events-to-a-file

[gogins]

For systems such as abjad, music21, and Lilypond, it is tedious to discover how to flatten the score and yet retain all the information that CsoundAC needs. For these systems, the CsoundAC ExternalNode can store a Python script and the inputs to the system, save the score as a MIDI file, and import the MIDI file into a CsoundAC Score.

[gogins]

I've taken this as far as I can consistent with continuing to compose. I am opening a separate issue for the inability to run nudruz with Embeddable Common Lisp.

[gogins]

For musx, fractional pitches are implemented using a master track with different pitch bends for different channels, then fractional pitches for actual instruments are divided between channels. This is awkward to say the least.

[gogins]

This will probably be an ongoing issue for a while.

[gogins]

I had a productive Zoom call with Rick Taube and played some stuff for him, which till now he has not heard because ctcsound is broken at this time for recent versions of Python.

I am closing this issue as @ricktaube says he will merge my Csound adapter code into musx. New issues will appear in @ricktaube/musx.