Transforming Patterns

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We can start to make much more complex patterns using transformations

Using functions like slow you can start to transcend the cycle

slow stretches the pattern over more cycles

d1 $ sound "arpy arpy:1 arpy:2 arpy:3"

d1 $ slow 2 $ sound "arpy arpy:1 arpy:2 arpy:3"

fast squashes the pattern into less than one cycle

You might also see people writing density - it’s the same thing!

fast 0.5 is the same as slow 2!

d1 $ fast 2 $ sound "arpy arpy:1 arpy:2 arpy:3"

d1 $ fast 0.5 $ sound "arpy arpy:1 arpy:2 arpy:3"

hurry is similar to fast, but also applies a speed transformation

d1 $ sound "arpy arpy arpy:1 arpy:2"

d1 $ hurry 2 $ sound "arpy arpy arpy:1 arpy:2"

d1 $ hurry 0.5 $ sound "arpy arpy arpy:1 arpy:2"

You can reverse a pattern with ‘rev’

d1 $ rev $ sound "arpy arpy:1 arpy:2 arpy:3"

Or play it forwards and then backwards with ‘palindrome’

d1 $ palindrome $ sound "arpy arpy:1 arpy:2 arpy:3"

iter starts the pattern at a different point each cycle, shifting it the given number of times until it gets back to where it started

d1 $ iter 4 $ sound "arpy arpy:1 arpy:2 arpy:3"

every allows us to schedule transformations or effects in different cycles e.g. every fourth cycle, play twice as fast:

d1 $ every 4 (fast 2) $ sound "arpy arpy:1 arpy:2 arpy:3"

... or you could schedule an effect in the same way, using #

d1 $ every 4 (# vowel "a o") $ sound "arpy arpy:1 arpy:2 arpy:3"

jux (short for 'juxtapose') takes a transformation or an effect and plays it in one speaker the original pattern plays in the other speaker.

d1 $ sound "arpy arpy:1 arpy:2 arpy:3"
d1 $ jux (rev) $ sound "arpy arpy:1 arpy:2 arpy:3"
d1 $ jux (hurry 2) $ sound "arpy arpy arpy:1 arpy:2"

chunk applies a transformation or an effect to a different part of the pattern each time. For example with 4 as a parameter, it will step through each quarter of the cycle.

d1 $ chunk 4 (hurry 2) $ sound  "arpy arpy:1 arpy:2 arpy:3"
d1 $ chunk 4 (# speed 2) $ sound  "alphabet:0 alphabet:1 alphabet:2 alphabet:3"

Feeling brave?

More than one transformation is possible! You can chain them together using .

d1 $ jux (rev . (slow 1.5)) $ sound "arpy arpy:1 arpy:2 arpy:3"

Remember that (almost) everything is a pattern so we can apply these transformations to our effects too!

d1 $ sound "jvbass [jvbass jvbass] jvbass ~" # note "1 [3 5] 7"
d1 $ sound "jvbass [jvbass jvbass] jvbass ~" # iter 3 (note "1 [3 5] 7")

What about slowing down or scaling sine and saw?