Interactions, Improvisations, and the Generative Process in Composition
As part of its research on generative processes, the work of the Musical Representations team at IRCAM is expressed in the design of musical accompaniment software that interacts with composers, musicians, and improvisers. By means of artificial listening and synchronization of musical signals, OMax and DYCI2 implement intelligent agents capable of learning on the fly or in advance, and of immediate or pre-defined musical interactions in structured or composed contexts.
Objectives
Upon completion of this course participants will be able to use both the OMax and DYCI2 environments independently. They will be able to continue the technical and musical exploration developed during the course and to use it in their own practice.
Public
Composers, musicians, teachers, performers...
Prerequisites
Participants must be comfortable with a computer environment and have experience in performance, composition, or musical interpretation. Experience in musical improvisation with an acoustic instrument or computer is a plus;
A beginner's level knowledge of Max software (© cycling74.com) is strongly recommended. If you are learning on your own, we suggest that you do at least the first 10 tutorials.
Educational Resources and Techniques
Training room equipped with iMac computers with software, headphones, MIDI keyboards, and microphones. The hands-on sessions will take place in an IRCAM studio;
Technical requirements: each participant is asked to bring their own database of sounds to work with DYCI2. This will be used to feed the agents' memory, which is controlled by "navigating" through files, by listening and reacting to a "live" audio stream. All data are good to use, regardless of the repertoire (personal music, completely exogenous material...), but "simple" files that are relatively homogeneous in terms of timbre and number of instruments (ideally separate monophonic tracks) will make it easier to use;
For each environment (OMAX, DYCI2), a download link will be provided to the participant, for a personal installation after the training;
Training format: alternating between theoretical explanations and hands-on exercises;
Teaching aids: video-projected presentations, course material with bibliographic references, software documentation.
Supervision and Assessment
Welcome the first day of training beginning at 9:45am;
Attendance controlled; signature of an attendance sheet required every morning and afternoon;
Assessment: evaluation of projects;
A certificate at the end of the program is given to each participant with the results of the exam.
Training Period and Organization
30 hours of training, Monday-Friday, April 4-8, 2022 10am-1pm/2:30pm-5:30pm
11 students maximum
This training program will be held at IRCAM on-site in accordance with local sanitary guidelines and measures in place at the current time. These guidelines and measures may change. In the event that IRCAM cannot physically welcome students for a program that requires face-to-face instruction, the program will be cancelled.
Programme de la formation
After the first morning of this training devoted to the general context and history of creative companions, participants will dive successively into the mechanisms and the concrete use of the OMax and DYCI2 software (2 days per software). They will tackle these tools both theoretically and through hands-on practice, in pairs and collectively.
Monday
| Morning | General introduction: discovering the history of improvisation and the tools of co-performance Discover the genealogy of the tools of IRCAM's Musical Representations team Understand the interaction situations in which Omax and DYCI2 are used: free improvisation and interactive activation of "meta-composed" behavior. |
| Afternoon | DYCI2: Introduction to the environment and concepts |
Tuesday
| Morning | DYCI2, computer skills: learning to use the tutorials, building your own databases |
| Afternoon | DYCI2: hands-on session in pairs DYCI2, computer skills: using your own databases |
Wednesday
| Morning | DYCI2, hands-on session: sharing, debriefing |
| Afternoon | Omax: introduction to the environment and concepts |
Thursday
| Morning | Omax, computer skills: improvisation modes, time and form management, expert settings |
| Afternoon | Omax, hands-on session in pairs: apply the concepts discussed, practice your skills alternately as an acoustic instrumentalist and as a software manipulator |
Friday
| Morning | Omax, hands-on session: sharing, debriefing |
| Afternoon | Evaluation General debriefing |