Generative synth sketches · Lab

SuperCollider code from my Sonic Arts MA: synths whose patterns pick durations and pitches at random, routed through a shared bus into a reverb.

What it is

FIG. 1Signal path in subtle media. Eight synth definitions; seven write to the shared bus, while the kick (not drawn) goes straight to the output.
Source: SonicAdventure repo, Audio Programming/Miam/subtle media.scd (last commit 18 Jun 2022)

SuperCollider code I wrote in 2022 during my Sonic Arts MA, kept in a folder called Audio Programming. It starts with a small "Week 2" exercise in random numbers and ends with a piece in one file, subtle media.

The piece has eight kinds of synth: a sub bass, a saw, noise, a beep, a kick, an acid line, a percussion hit and a slow drone with a moving pitch. Most of them are driven by patterns that pick durations and pitches at random from short lists. The synths write into one shared audio bus that feeds a reverb in its own group, while the kick goes straight to the output. A sine on a control bus is meant to move the reverb mix. The file is laid out to be run block by block, starting and stopping patterns by hand.

What happened

An earlier sketch, MultiSynt, has two pulse voices that jump between harmonics of a base note four times a second. The repository is small: four SuperCollider files, about 500 lines, eight commits from March to June 2022, and no recordings. The code is public on GitHub.