Performance at NIME/Algorithmic Composition Show
I played the Mutation Synth at the NIME/Algorithmic Composition show, at Exit Art.
It was very exciting to hear the Mutation Synth connected to a really loud sound system - I had only listened to it through headphones until then. There is a short video of me playing the synth here. Unfortunately the sound is not great, I'll be posting some samples from the synth a bit later.
I was very pleased with the instrument: a couple of last minute changes made it much more interesting to perform with. The ability to save and restore states of the system allowed for much more drama in performance. As expected, the technique of bringing back a saved state then letting it "mutate" in different directions was a good way of structuring a performance. Without this, the changes are always too gradual - it is very difficult to make dramatic transitions.
I also made another change just before the performance, which was to only allow mutations at the end of each melodic phrase. This had the effect of slowing down the mutation rate (from 400 times per second to 2!) and making the repetition of the note phrases that much more apparent.
Here is a picture of the synth:
The control system for the synth is fully implemented now - it is possible to save and restore four states of the synth, and the mutation pots and switches are all working.
The four pots control octave shift (phrases will tend towards higher or lower pich), sound control (more plucked vs. more drone-y), permutation (sequence of notes will be more random vs. more similar across voices) and tempo (tempo and sequence length more random vs. more similar).
I want to make the mutations more abstract. Next iteration of the software will have the pots controlling things like happy vs. sad, intense vs. calm, complex vs. simple arrangement, complex vs. simple timing, etc.
The way forward now is to refine the mutation algorithms, and to make the whole device much, much smaller. It would be fun to make it ultraportable.