Project Scriabin
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This new phase of Project Scriabin that is looking at music systems of both the east and the west required a simpler music output device. In the previous iteration, it was utilizing midi signals to send to the DAW (digital audio workstation) Ableton Live to hear the chords. However, with the eastern tonal system, midi cannot work since it is a finite, predetermined spectrum of values based on 12 tones western chromatic music. With the Arab system having 24 tones there aren't enough spaces for the added frequencies. To solve this problem I utilized the built-in audio oscillator present in TouchDesigner. It reads in a frequency and outputs a synthesized tone through an audio out node.
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Building the second phase of Project Scriabin relied on a ton more python scripting. It already required several lines of code to read, parse data, and send just a single tonal value. In the second part, the number of notes increased to 108. This meant small iterative changes within each “node” of python script to get all the mechanics, oscillator, particle effects, etc., to work properly.
The final outcome for this phase of the project was fairly satisfying. After wrestling with code issues, slow runtimes, and audio issues, it was nice to see everything running in the end. There was not as big of a difference in color and form between western and eastern music that I was expecting or hoping there would be. Again, it was satisfying to see the colors and particles shift with the color input from photoshop and hear some semblance of music being performed by the system. I think this is at a good point where it can be taken into a more focused direction. What has been explored here definitely has practical applicability and will hopefully be explored more in the future.