# New Electronic Piece *Subconscious Ripoff Alert*



## Guest (Jul 9, 2015)

Since I've written in popular idioms my whole life as an occasional hobby, all my attempts at "classical composition" are still works in progress to one degree or another. Mostly because I have to transition to writing in traditional scores to get proper playback with dynamics and everything. So while my piano pieces are floating around never-yet-finished, an electronic work influenced by my new eyes (because the others are typically 4/4 IDM kinda nonsense) seemed appropriate.

Link

Only a couple hours later, when I sampled the finished product, however, did I realize that there are some obvious Stockhausen influences here that had scarcely crossed my mind (I'm looking at you, _Cosmic Pulses_)

The original concept is simply a series of 8 sounds that pulse at intervals derived from the actual orbital periods of the 8 planets. The duration of the work is representative of 7 days on Earth. Each pulse sounds when its respective planet would have experienced, in a relative respect, an "Earth" day.

Have a listen, if it suits you.


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## Crudblud (Dec 29, 2011)

I have a couple of concerns. First of all, the timbrel range is very limited, I understand that this is necessitated by the conceptual framework of the piece, but for me it doesn't make for the most interesting of listens. However, this issue could be fixed by addressing my second issue, which is that the mix is totally static in a spatial sense. For a piece based around the idea of the orbital movements of planets, the stereo field, which is a great means of simulating three-dimensional space in two dimensions, along with reverb and so forth, is not utilised at all. A more dynamic staging built around the same concepts as those that determine the timing of the pulses would serve the piece much better. You may not have the surround mixing capabilities Stockhausen applied in _Cosmic Pulses_ and other works, but that doesn't mean you can't create a spatially interesting mix for this piece. I encourage you to give it a shot.


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## Guest (Jul 9, 2015)

Crudblud said:


> I have a couple of concerns. First of all, the timbrel range is very limited, I understand that this is necessitated by the conceptual framework of the piece, but for me it doesn't make for the most interesting of listens. However, this issue could be fixed by addressing my second issue, which is that the mix is totally static in a spatial sense. For a piece based around the idea of the orbital movements of planets, the stereo field, which is a great means of simulating three-dimensional space in two dimensions, along with reverb and so forth, is not utilised at all. A more dynamic staging built around the same concepts as those that determine the timing of the pulses would serve the piece much better. You may not have the surround mixing capabilities Stockhausen applied in _Cosmic Pulses_ and other works, but that doesn't mean you can't create a spatially interesting mix for this piece. I encourage you to give it a shot.


Thanks for the words, Crudblud. The only thing I did to demonstrate the elliptical nature of orbitals is a very gradual microtonal decrease, pitch being a relative physical quality when the perceiving body is in relative motion. However, this is pretty near imperceptible as it occurs over such a long period of time. You can really only hear it for sure by fast-forwarding.

A nice idea to build upon the pallet of sound would be to base long pulses on planetary motion and then to include short pulses based on major moons. Another idea would be to use another function to transform the period values, as the actual values only allow the inner system to pulse a few times throughout the piece.

By "spatial sense", do you mean gradually adjusting the panning on each body? Admittedly I'm ashamed to have not thought of this sooner.

I like this piece for what it is, so I may simply remix it for the "spatial" element but create a "Part II" to get a wider range of sound. But I certainly agree with your points.

One thing that fascinates me in my own listening, though, is following the two shortest pulses as they seem to dance around one another. Neptune has an orbital period equivalent to ~1.96x that of Uranus, so the two are always off from 2:1 ratio by a factor of only 1/32nd note in my composition.


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## Crudblud (Dec 29, 2011)

nathanb said:


> By "spatial sense", do you mean gradually adjusting the panning on each body? Admittedly I'm ashamed to have not thought of this sooner.


Dynamic panning based on the mathematics you're using, at any rate; if that would mean a gradual panning over the course of the piece, then yes. It would complement the slow downward shift of pitch, while also enlivening the stereo field, giving the ear a little extra information, which for me at least would be a huge bonus given the limitations placed on other parameters here.


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## Guest (Jul 10, 2015)

I am reworking the piece with some of these changes in mind. 

Firstly, I am applying a transform to the period values so that the less frequent pulses are not nearly as sparse.

Secondly, I've developed a series of data for panning and accompanying pitch variation. Each pulse has a unique duration through which it undergoes a full pan from left to right and back, each with a unique magnitude ("Neptune" pans the slowest, but also pans farthest right and left). 

Also, the pitch transformation will no longer run throughout the piece, but rather, each pulse will have a unique pitch transformation based on the difference between the apogee and perigee of its orbit. The pitches will be most increased or decreased at opposite points of orbit: thus, through each panning cycle.


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