Metro MIDI Mogrifier

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snowglobe
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Metro MIDI Mogrifier

Post by snowglobe »

Wireless (UDP) MIDI controller for Win 8 tablets with endless Keyboards and other assorted widgets.

Releasing on the Windows Store in maybe a month or so.

vid 1
vid 2
snowglobe
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Re: Metro MIDI Mogrifier

Post by snowglobe »

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magmavander
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Re: Metro MIDI Mogrifier

Post by magmavander »

woahhh!!! This is amazing, will it be only for W8 tablets ? Nothing on W7 on a regular PC ?
Is the midi mogrifier you uploaded sometimes ago the version for W7 and PC ?
This tool is fascinating, especialy for a guy like me that have no knoweldge in music theory.
I hope that you will also release a complete help because I'm a bit dumb :lol:
Anyway, congatulation for this (magic) tool :ugeek:
snowglobe
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Re: Metro MIDI Mogrifier

Post by snowglobe »

magmavander wrote:will it be only for W8 tablets ? Nothing on W7 on a regular PC ?
Win8 required, yes. Tablet not actually a requirement, just the type of device I had in mind when writing it.
Is the midi mogrifier you uploaded sometimes ago the version for W7 and PC ?
This one came out of that earlier one, but it's a whole new ballgame now that you're talking about a multi-touch interface and MIDI-over-wifi. Crazy side note about the situation with Win8 and MIDI: so far Microsoft has put exactly zero support for MIDI into the API for Windows Store Apps. As a result, if someone wanted to write a Windows Store app that could send MIDI directly to a "desktop application" (like Buzz) running on the same machine they'd have a bit of a puzzle on their hands. (Everything you hear in the videos is the result of MIDI messages making a round trip from my development machine to a wifi router off in another part of the house and then back to my computer, where a little listener utility routes it to Buzz).
Anyway, congatulation for this (magic) tool :ugeek:
Thanks!
snowglobe
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Re: Metro MIDI Mogrifier

Post by snowglobe »

OK, I've put a free version in the Windows Store pretty much just for you Buzzers, in case anybody here has a Win8.1 device and would like to give MMM a whirl.

To use it with Buzz you need:
To get started:
  • Determine the IP address of your Buzz machine.
    Start the UDP listener utility on that machine; enter a socket number of your own choosing* and then set the MIDI output to the virtual MIDI cable.
    Run Buzz and load some nifty combination of machines.
    Run MMM on your Win8.1 device.
    In MMM, swipe down (or right-click) to open the main options panel, click the gear menu to open the Global Settings flyout, choose "UDP Ports"
    Add a new port with the IP address of your Buzz machine and the socket number you chose above.
    Swipe down (or right-click) and choose "New Tab"
    In the Tab's control panel, tap the red +KB button
    When the keyboard appears, tap its "Outs" button and select your IP+socket target.
    Check the "Direct" box on the Keyboard.
    Select one or more appropriate MIDI channels.
    Touch some triggers.
* I think the listener utility I linked to wants the socket number to be > 9000
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AndersBrontosaurus
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Re: Metro MIDI Mogrifier

Post by AndersBrontosaurus »

Marvellous! so much I don't understand at the same time.

When is the tutorial coming?

:-)
snowglobe
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Re: Metro MIDI Mogrifier

Post by snowglobe »

AndersBrontosaurus wrote:Marvellous! so much I don't understand at the same time.

When is the tutorial coming?

:-)
Soon as I buy a better headset :-) I started to work on some tutorial videos last night, but my crappy $12 headset defeated me.
snowglobe
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Re: Metro MIDI Mogrifier

Post by snowglobe »

snowglobe
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Re: Metro MIDI Mogrifier

Post by snowglobe »

snowglobe
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Re: Metro MIDI Mogrifier

Post by snowglobe »

Having a lot of fun making beats using MMM to trigger a SampleGrid3 setup in Buzz.
Made a little loop recorder utility to make it easier.
So easy to get different results just by transposing, changing tempo, and switching translation modes.

loop recorder, tempo change & transpose
mode switching
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szaszhareen
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Re: Metro MIDI Mogrifier

Post by szaszhareen »

very cool!

i upgraded my laptop to win8.1 just to try it out. i can't take full advantage of it since my only touch interface is the laptop touchpad mouse, but its fun nonetheless.

few questions:

what do the P up/down and B up/down menus do?

how do i use the translators?

what's the anchor for?
snowglobe
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Re: Metro MIDI Mogrifier

Post by snowglobe »

szaszhareen wrote: what do the P up/down and B up/down menus do?
Program and Bank changes.
how do i use the translators?
I'm going to keep it pretty short, barely scratching the surface of a complete answer (I'll be happy to elaborate to whatever extent you or anyone else has continued interest).

OK, so ...

In response to a "trigger note", an active translator might produce: nothing, a single note, a chord, a repeating sequence (which I will call an arpeggiation), or some combination of these.

When you add a Translator to a Tab and activate it (by clicking on it), by default it immediately starts "eavesdropping" on all Keyboards on that tab. When it hears a note, it performs calculations based on its (a) current mode and (b) selected rules. Once the translator comes up with a translation result it sends it off according to its routing assignments. (The default routing is to send it back ONLY to the originating Keyboard for outputting, and then ONLY IF that Keyboard has its RSVP box checked).

Translation rules can be

completely deterministic

Code: Select all

a5 --> return a fifth octave A regardless of the triggering note or the current scale of the originating keyboard
x --> return nothing
scale-and-trigger-relative

Code: Select all

0 --> return the trigger note
-2 --> return the note that is two steps down from the triggering note (in the scale that the originating Keyboard is set to)
11 --> return the note that is eleven steps up from the triggering note (in the scale that the originating Keyboard is set to)
-1 x 1 1 -->  return a gapped arpeggiation:   -1   gap   1    1  
probabilistic

Code: Select all

0 2 x 4   OR   x   OR  <-4 2>  OR  [-4:2]
return either an arpeggiation (0 2 x 4) OR nothing (x)  OR a <-4 2> chord  OR a single relative note anywhere from 4 steps below to 2 steps above the trigger
You can edit rules by right-clicking on them (or touch-and-hold if using a touch screen).

The 6 translation modes -- As Is, All Arps, One Big Arp Chain, Sequencer, Random Single, Random Multi -- I'll leave for a future post (if we get that far).
Also, every arpeggiation has a timing component - a topic in its own right.
what's the anchor for?
Simple thing, but not easy to explain without background info. Keyboards have a "C" mode (for "Custom") where each trigger can have its own translation rule. The Keyboard keeps track of the scale position of its most recent output note for use in calculating the results of any scale-relative rules. The anchor button silently returns the scale position marker back to the anchor note of the scale (which is its tonic in the fourth octave). A translation rule of "Anchor" does the same thing, except not silently - the anchor note is played.

It's all very wacky, I know.
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szaszhareen
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Re: Metro MIDI Mogrifier

Post by szaszhareen »

cool, thanks. those are great answers for now :)

i'm still unable to figure out how to use the translators. i've managed to find the menu where you can edit the translators, but i'm not sure how to assign them to a key (or if i'm even supposed to do that).

in your mode switching video, you have a screen which shows a bunch of translator modes with the anchor square in the middle. how can i open that screen? i'm pretty pumped about being able to load a few translator rules and just hit one button to hear crazy music.

also what are you using to screencast those videos? maybe i could use it as well to show you my continued folly as i attempt to use this program. XD

overall i have to really compliment you on improving your original idea, this version seems much more accessible and intuitive. i think once i've learned how to use it a little better i'll have a better grasp on the original midi mogrifier as well, which sort of left me drooling in a stupor trying to think about it. XD

thanks for putting up the free version for us to mess around with. :) the possibilities for this are pretty insane for live performance, i could have a hulking desktop computer running buzz sitting in a corner somewhere connected to a router and a PA, and wander around an event with a tablet making strange noises appear with no discernible source. that alone is a really amazing feature, especially for art exhibitions and ambience between bands at shows.
snowglobe
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Re: Metro MIDI Mogrifier

Post by snowglobe »

szaszhareen wrote: i'm still unable to figure out how to use the translators. i've managed to find the menu where you can edit the translators, but i'm not sure how to assign them to a key (or if i'm even supposed to do that).
The rules in a Translator are specific to that Translator - nothing to assign.
in your mode switching video, you have a screen which shows a bunch of translator modes with the anchor square in the middle. how can i open that screen?
That's the Custom Keyboard mode - load a keyboard and press the "C" button to switch to that mode.
Image
(If you want to change the rule assigned to a trigger, while in "C" mode, click on the Keyboard's gear icon and then "Toggle Editable Triggers")
also what are you using to screencast those videos?
I'm using Bandicam.
thanks for putting up the free version for us to mess around with. :) the possibilities for this are pretty insane for live performance, i could have a hulking desktop computer running buzz sitting in a corner somewhere connected to a router and a PA, and wander around an event with a tablet making strange noises appear with no discernible source. that alone is a really amazing feature, especially for art exhibitions and ambience between bands at shows.
Right on. I'm seeing similar things in my head, along with controlling lighting/visual effects (the "Pro" version will have fader banks and x/y pads to play with).
snowglobe
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Re: Metro MIDI Mogrifier

Post by snowglobe »

After months away from this project I'm taking it up again. For starters, I've begun putting a bit more effort into actual documentation.

Also, I just discovered something that is rather cool: if MMM and Buzz are running on the same machine everything works even when there's no wifi available!*

*It turns out that self-addressed network traffic is not actually sent out via network adapter but is instead handled by a local loopback interface. I came across this info here when I was trying to figure out why Wireshark was only seeing UDP packets sent by my app when the app was running on a different device.
snowglobe
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Re: Metro MIDI Mogrifier

Post by snowglobe »

I've written my own UDP-to-MIDI bridge utility in Java: UDP2MIDI

Requires JRE7.

UI is based on a certain Machine View!

Image
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szaszhareen
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Re: Metro MIDI Mogrifier

Post by szaszhareen »

awesome to see the new udp bridge. :) glad you're still working on this crazy thing. it inspired me to search the windows app store for useful apps, since i had never looked at it until you posted MMM.

after browsing the whole thing, i concluded that MMM is the only useful app currently in the windows app store. XD
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