Manual: BeatDetect | code.compartmental. [ javadoc | examples ] The BeatDetect class allows you to analyze an audio stream for beats (rhythmic onsets). Beat Detection Algorithms by Frédéric Patin describes beats in the following way: The human listening system determines the rhythm of music by detecting a pseudo-periodical succession of beats. The signal which is intercepted by the ear contains a certain energy, this energy is converted into an electrical signal which the brain interprets. Obviously, The more energy the sound transports, the louder the sound will seem.
But a sound will be heard as a beat only if his energy is largely superior to the sound’s energy history, that is to say if the brain detects a brutal variation in sound energy. Therefore if the ear intercepts a monotonous sound with sometimes big energy peaks it will detect beats, however, if you play a continuous loud sound you will not perceive any beats. The two algorithms in BeatDetect are based on two algorithms described in that paper.
[snip java] [/snip] BeatDetect. Spaces and Roots: Manipulating Sound with Processing + Touch, Tangible Interfaces. Musical Applications for Multi-Touch Interfaces from BricK Table on Vimeo. Across series of colored bars, sounds warp and mutate. Vines entangle as organic threads of music. Fingers and objects traverse sonic landscapes in surprising, mysterious ways. Welcome to the worlds of BricK, the musical table interface by Jordan Hochenbaum and Owen Vallis, which, charged with software by Dimitri Diakopoulos, Jim Murphy, and Memo Akten, explores new musical frontiers. The tool uses a combination of open source tools for tracking fingers and objects on a table, then feeds those into sound and music environments. Just following the landmark, long-awaited release of Processing 1.0, BricK demonstrates the expressive potential of the open-source platform.
Processing allows quick and elegant development of stunning visual interfaces, while other tools (ChucK and Reaktor, for instance) serve as sonic engines. CDM got to talk to Owen and Jordan about the projects. Spaces, Multi-Touch Music The Software. ForwardFFT \ Learning. Midi Visualization using processing.org. So first thing first: excuse me for the poor video quality, I couldn't use a screen capture software since my core2duo was too busy rendering balls and piano sounds. I had to film my computer screen using my cheap Canon camera. I'll post a better video as soon as I find a way. I've always had mixed feelings regarding sound visualization on computers.
While results usually look extremely cool, effective spectrum analysis and beat detection are hard to program, and the results never fully convey the feeling of looking at music. So I decided to try a totally different approach and work with General Midi instead. So here's how I approached the design, and how I represented the different dimensions: Pitch: Notes are displayed left to right, as on the piano. About the technology, I am using processing.org (java), a midi library and some OpenGL. Oh and I am looking for a performer that would be interested in teaming up to expand on the idea and do live performances using related technologies.