Generation and control of automatic rhythmic performances in Max/MSP

Abstract

We present two algorithms and the corresponding software applications for automatically generate music rhythms and rhythmic variation. They can be used to substitute static loops with constantly varying rhythms which are intuitively managed and controlled in real time. The first, the kin.rhythmicator, generates rhythms characteristic of a certain rhythm and that do not belong to a specific musical style. It is based on a stochastic model in which various aspects and qualities of the generated rhythm can be controlled intuitively and in real time. Such qualities are the density of the generated events per bar, the amount of variation in generation, the amount of syncopation, the metrical strength, and of course the meter itself. The second, the kin.recombinator, recombines in real time a batch of MIDI drum loops in order to get non-excessively repetitive combinations of loops during a performance. The algorithm's power lies in a novel analysis of the drum loops which sorts them in incr