Symbolic Composer 4.0 For The PowerMac
PRESS RELEASE: Symbolic Composer 4.0 For The PowerMac (2/13/97) Tonality Systems today announced SCOM 4.0 for the PowerMac. SCOM 4.0 covers 500 functions that can be freely combined and applied to music generation. Besides fractal mathematics SCOM 4.0 includes complete range of functions that cover composing methodology, scales, chords and tunings. SCOM 4.0 for PowerMac port was financed by pre-ordered subscriptions by the users. A similar Windows port is under negotiation. Those interested should contact Peter Stone. SCOM 4.0 runs fully PowerMac-native and is 31 times faster than SCOM Pro on PPC. A score that previously took 30 minutes to compile is now ready and playing under a minute. The fast responce time makes SCOM 4.0 attractive for multimedia and studio composers who are seeking interesting pre-compositional material for further working. Once the composer becomes familiar with the system he will appreciate the SCOM 4.0 music language that lets him realize in minutes full-instrumented and complete compositions up to 256 channels full of MIDI controllers and complex internal relations with just few pages of code easily editable on a standard 14 inch monitor. New features were also added: tonality interpolators and processors, fade-in/out automation plus web-access directly from SCOM menus. SCOM 4.0 users may now download and contribute scores to Score Forum, and let Score Clinic solve problems. Globally-accessible compositional idea bank accessible from SCOM 4.0 menu is now made possible by these enhancements. SCOM 4.0 price is set to $495 for a single license. Extra site licenses are available for $99. Special discounts are available for music education (ask more). This scheme makes SCOM 4.0 attractive for user-group sizes of 2 and up. If you have a friend who also wants to work with the program, two copies can be obtained at the price for $495+$99=$594, which is $297 per copy. A demo can be downloaded from page http://www.xs4all.nl/~psto/ SCOM 4.0 Highlights Ready-to-use and modificable score demos Easy to maintain and develop complex scores Instant Lisp access, expansion and environment customisation Visual compiler spots errors in the right place Easy examination of values at a given point of score Suitable for generating final productions and pre-compositional material Applicable for commercial, experimental and modern music of any complexity Wide range of musical functions Perfect partner for small and large MIDI studios Perfect tool for music education Interface to industry-standard MIDI sequencers and notation programs Runs on standard 14 inch bw or color monitor, no need for a big monitor ZIPI-like instrument control, up to 256 channels using standard MIDI Easy-to-use tunings (cents, ratios, algorithms) Lisp-based editor with auto-formating and parenthesis counting Compositional element library Web-access directly from the program Customizable launching of other programs while booting up Online electronic hyperhelp documentation and tutorials The SCOM 4.0 Language SCOM 4.0 functions are selected from hierarchical menus and pasted on the editor. Each function has one output and several inputs. Functions are nested into each other to achieve the proper functionality. SCOM 4.0's unique feature that nearly any function can be connected to any other function maximises the creative freedom and allows to develop new compositional ideas. New composition-specific functions can be programmed on-line by the composer with build-in Common Lisp interpreter. The extensions can be included in the score, and made available for other user as plug-ins, including a hypertext documentation. New interface extensions can be designed using the MCL 4.0 compiler (Macintosh Common Lisp) available from Digitool http://www.digitool.com/ SCOM 4.0 function library covers 500 musical and mathematical building blocks, chaos, fractals, series, progressions, morphs, interpolations, a complete scale and chord system, tree-like orhestral and section hierarchies, 300 experimental tunings, ZIPI-like instrument control structure and 256 MIDI channels realized in standard MIDI protocol. Programming environment allows graphical examination and manipulation of compositional data. Plug-ins developed by composers add new features to the system, such as modern music function library, Lisp documents and VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language) interface (for those who have always wondered how would it actually feel to VISIT inside a 3-dimensional composition). The Principle Of Operation The composer may define length, symbol, velocity, channel, controller, program, signature, duration, expression, groove, tempo, tuning, rhythm, class, grammar, orchestra, section, tonality and zone contents of the score. Definition is done by hierarchical function nets, which can be build using the following generators and processor: Generator Categories Fractal Expansions Fibonacci Series Grammars L-System Loops Morphs Palindrome Randomization Arrays Chaos Theory D-Forms Energy Fields Fourier Synthesis Noise Number Theory Oscillators Solar Systems Autocatalysis Conversions Neurons Processor Categories Chordize Harmonize Fill Filter Find Mask Misc Mix Reflect Resize Shift Transform Transpose Trigger Amplify Analyze Modulate Quantize Slice Library Midi Tonalities Complete western scale system Complete western chord inversion and position system 300 experimental tunings Harmony theory generators Overtone and n-tet octave generation Interpolations Distortions Enrichments Mixing Sorting Minimum-energy folding Metrics Time units are expressed as standard music notation ratios with dot, triplet, tuplet etc. extensions, or with milliseconds. Time units can be processed by algorithms. Same time unit expressions are applicable to both rhythmics, subsection and section lengths. Configuration SCOM is available for both 68k Macs and PowerMacs. A minimum of 8 MB RAM is needed to run the system, although 16 MB is suggested. SCOM runs equally well on all monitors sizes and types. Build-in Lisp Interpreter can be used to extend the system on-line and it allows to develop new plug-ins by the user. The system footprint is between 20-50 MB depending on the partition scheme of the hard disk. Peter Stone
20 pieces on problems in contemporary music performance, by Arthur Jarvinen - composer, percussionist with the California Ear Unit. A unique teaching and learning tool. All etudes playable on ANY instrument. For players from high school to professional. Ideal for private or group lessons, self-teaching, classroom. Introductory essays on each subject, many useful references. Plus a 40 minute demo cassette by members of the California Ear Unit. If you play, teach, or want to learn about contemporary music, you should have this book. $25. plus $2.50 postage and handling (CA residents add sales tax) Available now from Leisure Planet Music 13041 Gridley Street Sylmar, CA 91342 Arthur Jarvinen
[1] Music Theory Online (MTO) as a whole is Copyright � 1997, all rights reserved, by the Society for Music Theory, which is the owner of the journal. Copyrights for individual items published in MTO are held by their authors. Items appearing in MTO may be saved and stored in electronic or paper form, and may be shared among individuals for purposes of scholarly research or discussion, but may not be republished in any form, electronic or print, without prior, written permission from the author(s), and advance notification of the editors of MTO.
[2] Any redistributed form of items published in MTO must include the following information in a form appropriate to the medium in which the items are to appear:
This item appeared in Music Theory Online[3] Libraries may archive issues of MTO in electronic or paper form for public access so long as each issue is stored in its entirety, and no access fee is charged. Exceptions to these requirements must be approved in writing by the editors of MTO, who will act in accordance with the decisions of the Society for Music Theory.
in [VOLUME #, ISSUE #] on [DAY/MONTH/YEAR].
It was authored by [FULL NAME, EMAIL ADDRESS],
with whose written permission it is reprinted here.