|
|
|
2011.04.23 Taplin Auditorium in Fine Hall, Princeton University and 2011.04.29 92Y Tribeca, NYC The Princeton Laptop Orchestra (PLOrk) presents an evening of music performed by members of the Spring 2011 PLOrk seminar and ensemble:
In Line, by Jascha Narveson In Line by Jascha Narveson, PLOrk Concerts 2011 from PLOrk on Vimeo. In Line plays with different tempos, letting players move a stream of pulses through faster and slower speeds. When players intersect, interesting things happen.Slip, by Michael Early Slip by Michael Early, PLOrk 2011 Concerts from PLOrk on Vimeo. Slip was originally inspired by karaoke, but I’m honestly not quite sure how to describe what it’s turned into. The six laptop performers in PLOrk see themselves and each of their fellow performers on their screen as six differently colored spheres, which they move around by sliding a joystick up, down, left, or right. Their position controls the speed of their notes and sounds, and they quality of the sound they produce. Each performer receives text messages on their screen that give them general instructions – including what pitches to set on their computers and how to behave in relationship to their fellow performers. Sometimes, for example, they are all instructed to ‘flock’ and follow one player’s sphere – red, yellow, etc. – as one single-minded group. At other times, they must be ‘loners’ and avoid all contact with their neighbors.
Whac-A-Note by Jeff Snyder, PLOrk Concerts 2011 from PLOrk on Vimeo. Whac-A-Note is both a musical composition and a multi-player video game. By playing the game, the performers create the music. In the creation of the piece, I sought to balance game- play design goals with musical intent and compositional considerations.Each player in the game uses a Manta, a controller I designed. The Manta has 48 hexagonal sensors which represent pitches. In the normal mode of play, if a sensor lights up red, it is a note that the player should hit. Correct hits produce pitches, mistakes produce noise. The players receive a click track over headphones for tempo information, and the score achieved by a correct hit is based on how close to the beat the note was hit. All notes must be played one at a time, creating an arpeggio texture, and the direction the arpeggio should go is indicated by LEDs on the Manta every time a collection of notes is presented. Playing notes in the wrong direction scores no points. There is also an alternate play mode, which I call the Noise Race, which occurs occasionally in the piece. In this mode, every sensor touch is worth 1 point, and the players race to get as many points as they can. However, a soon as one player reaches a certain score, the race ends, and the game immediately enters the normal mode of play. There are two Power-Ups in the piece - Melody Notes and the Slider Bonus. If a sensor lights up amber, that means that it's a Melody Note, and the performer can touch it and hold it down for at least 2 seconds to get a bonus. The Slider Bonus is a power up that becomes available once in a while and passes around the ensemble. If the Slider Bonus is available, it is indicated by an LED on the Manta. This means the player has the option of turning up a slider to receive five times the normal score for any correct hits while the Slider Bonus LED remains active. It also effects their sound, modulating it with another oscillator of random frequency, to produce a more discordant timbre. You can follow the "pole position" of the players by watching the 3D video generated from the game data. You see a representation of each player's Manta, and their position moves to reflect their ranking based on their current score. The value of the slider (used to collect the Slider Bonus) pushes their image toward you in the z-axis. Musical materials (chords, tonal centers, melodic pitches) are generated on the fly by a server computer, and are dynamically controlled by the actions of the players. Each performance of the piece will be substantially different. Schismatics, by Alex Ness Schismatics by Alex Ness, PLOrk Concerts 2011 from PLOrk on Vimeo. RUMOUR. Open your ears; 9r"5j5&?OWTY Z0d –The Monkey Shakespeare SimulatorLathyrus by Paula Matthusen, PLOrk Concerts 2011 from PLOrk on Vimeo. In Space by Blake Carrington, PLOrk Concerts 2011 from PLOrk on Vimeo. 24 Axes by Daniel Iglesia, PLOrk Concerts 2011 from PLOrk on Vimeo. plork | music | cs | soundlab |