Ripples

A composition for live performer and algorithmic music system.

Ripples is a musical duet where the human performance stimulates a cascade of responses from the machine. The work emphasises chordal and arpeggiated material derived, in the machine’s case, from underlying patterns of oscillation. The Ripples software listens to MIDI or Audio input from the musician’s performance and responds in real-time with generated MIDI output. Ripples was originally designed for performance by keyboard MIDI instruments (such as two Disklavier pianos) but may be adapted for other configurations. The musician is expected to play in a style influenced by and sympathetic to the character of the generative output. The Ripples system listens and responds to characteristics of the human performance. The structure and duration of the performance is at the discretion of the musician.