Generating music using tiny programs [2023 NE Synth Fest]
Channel: provod
Date: 2023-11-06

This is a slightly updated version of a small presentation I made for New England Synthesizer Festival on Oct 28th 2023 [https://nesynthfest.alt-mode.com/].

Slides link: https://provod.works/talks/2023-synthfest/

Prods shown in this video:

Hardware:
- Floppotron 3 https://www.youtube.com/embed/kCCXRerqaJI
- Freespin by Reflex: https://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=89362
- Coil whine music test by Optimus6128: https://www.youtube.com/embed/4xrW3pi-c4I

Oldschool:
- Megademica 4K by Serzhsoft (4k, ZX+AY): https://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=89362
- Mus1k by Orb (1k, C64): https://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=50562

MIDI:
- Function(20) by Abaddon (256b, DOS): https://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=92226
- Farewell by Desire (256b, DOS): https://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=95042

Tracker music:
- -- c h i p -- by cueder: https://modarchive.org/index.php?request=view_by_moduleid&query=81398
- Usva by Little Bitchard: https://demozoo.org/music/171713/

Bytebeat:
- A big collection of bytebeat: https://dollchan.net/bytebeat/
- Incoming Transmission by Citavia (64b, DOS): https://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=91590
- Lots of posts and articles about this technique: http://canonical.org/~kragen/bytebeat/

Bespoke softsynths:
- SHTOY128 by and (GLSL, AY emulator): https://www.shadertoy.com/view/XlBGz3
- sampler by w23 (GLSL): https://www.shadertoy.com/view/MlfGRM
- ikubun by fsqrt&jetlag (256b, DOS): https://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=79281
- final stage by 0x4015 (4k, GLSL, bytebeat+softsynth): https://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=69657

Useful tools:
- https://graphtoy.com/
- https://shadertoy.com/
- Basic shader that shows the generated waveform while also playing it: https://www.shadertoy.com/view/DsGBzc

Softsynths for 4k:
- 4klang: http://4klang.untergrund.net/,
- Sointu: https://github.com/vsariola/sointu,
- Oidos: https://github.com/askeksa/Oidos, 
- Sonant: https://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=53615

Softsynths for 64k:
- WaveSabre: https://github.com/logicomacorp/WaveSabre
- 64klang: https://github.com/hzdgopher/64klang
- v2: http://1337haxorz.de/products.html

Tiny softsynths examples:
- Absolute Territory by Prismbeings (4k, 4klang): https://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=69642
- Transient by LJ & Virgill (4k, 4klang): https://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=78520
- trashpanda by Logicoma (64k, WaveSabre): https://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=78634 
- A mind is born by lft (256b, C64, SID): https://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=69724

Greetings:
- abaddon, alcatraz, and, citavia, cueder, desire, farbrausch, ferris, frag, gopher, hellmood, iq, keen, lft, little bitchard, lj, logicoma, macau exports, marquee design, miiro, monad, noby, ob5vr, optimus, orb, prismbeings, reflex, rrrola, ryg, serzhsoft, silent, sthephan.shi, virgill, viznut
- all sizecoders and bytebeat musicians

Sections:
00:00 - Introduction that takes too long
01:50 - Dad jokes that overstay their welcome
03:09 - A real introduction
03:51 - Oldschool
06:42 - MIDI
09:06 - Tracker music
13:32 - Making music 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒉™
14:19 - Bytebeat
19:00 - Bespoke softsynths
20:54 - LIVE DEMO TIME
33:29 - GPU synths
37:46 - SSAAS: Small-Softsynths-As-A-Service
43:31 - The last thing
46:40 - Outroduction