Symbolic Composer Faq

Date: Fri, 10 Jun 1994 16:45:53 -0500 From: Fokke de Boer <Fokke.de.Boer@rivm.nl> Subject: F A Q on S-COM ================= F A Q on S-COM follows ========================== Symbolic Composer FAQ - version 1.1 Last updated: Jun 2, 1994 Hi! I'm Fokke de Boer and running the Lodge, a non-profit network of algorithmic composers using S-COM. A lot of people have been asking me what Symbolic Composer is. So, I made up a sort of FAQ. What is Symbolic Composer? Symbolic Composer is a lisp-based modular music language for scoring music of any style and complexity. It enables you to write music in a very high-level language, and use this composition model to produce MIDI files. There are no limitations concerning music style and complexity, but it requires a certain design thinking approach. On what platform does it run? S-COM runs only in the Macintosh and requires at least 4 MB RAM. It requires that you already are familiar with sequencers or scorewriters. In fact, you will need one on your machine. The language was initially developed on the Atari, but that version is not available anymore. The current 3.1 version runs only on the Mac. How does it operate? First, you write the composition using the Modular Music Language. Then you compile the file. The compiler produces a MIDI file, which you play back with your sequencer. What sort of language is it? The language consists of 250 operations categorized in several classes: generators, processors, neurons, definers, libraries, transformers, tonalizers and analyzers. Operations like transpose, retrograde, invert, mix, ornament, filter, shift, scroll, morph etc. are applicable to melodies, chords, rhythms, durations, velocities, channels & program changes, controllers, tempos and composition structures. Operations can be daisy-chained and nested. Grammars are used to define score time structures and instruments. Who is it for? It is not for beginners. You already must have a couple of years experience on MIDI systems. Some experience with programming will be helpful too. It is not an easy language! The system focuses on non-interactive composing and don't allow interactive MIDI generation. But if you are interested in exploring what fractals and chaos can offer for music, then S-COM is one of the best systems around. Also, if you are scoring music for real orchestras or doing special film scores, then S-COM is the perfect tool. But, as said, it's a designer's tool and not suitable for the average MIDI user. Has anyone used S-COM to compose a song on the charts? The Shamen in UK have been using S-COM to score music. The Who guitarist Pete Townsend has also S-COM. In UK, where the system come out from the virtual reality user group in the beginning of 1990, there are many illegal copies of the Atari version around, mainly in London. Copies have also been encountered in IRCAM, CCRMA and STEIM. Several scores for real orchestras have been produced with S-COM. Is anyone using S-COM with Max…