Why no music creation tools.

[Inventor Alchemi]

To my knowledge SL has no music creation tools besides sample playback.  While a lot can be done with samples, they are just one limited technique.  Considering the open source code exists for languages like ChucK, Supercollider, Csound, and the like that exist, I find it very strange that LL has not incorporated music synthesis int LSL.  The ability to sweep a VCO or pluck a Karplus Strong string synthesis algrorithm, etc. would be a tremendous enhancement to SL yet there appears to be no effort to p rovide this feature.  Why is that?  

[Dazler]

The viewer is complex enough as it is. I also think that it is the complexity of the Second Life viewer that puts many new-comers from staying after their first visit. I think the current system of uploading sound files suits many residents - it is my guess that only disc jockeys and musicians would need these advanced features.

[Claireschen Hesten]

DJ and musicians have their own ways to stream music in SL shoutcast streams is one of them they may well use Sam-Broadcaster if the are a DJ or real musical instruments and a mic if they are musicians. as long as the land has the right stream url in the media section of about land anyone can listen to whatever band or DJ is on

[Inventor Alchemi]

Regarding the issue of viewer complexity, the music synthesis functionality would be built into LSL, not the viewer.  Regarding the DJ streaming capability, that is music playback and live performance while here we are discussing music synthesis.  

I think that people who have never gotten involved in electronic music creation or any music synthesis techniques are unaware as I was previously of the incredible music creation tools that are available.  It's not all capturing performers and recording them, it's programming, mathematical models of instruments, software synthesizers, fractal note sequencers, and the list goes on and on.  People tend to think that LISTENING to music is good enough for SL, however I feel that if we were capable of CREATING music in ways other than samples then SL would be a far richer place.  

If the intent of my message remains unclear, please ask and I will elaborate more.  

 

 

[Mikki Miles]

hehe, sure, some VST or AU plugins implemented into the viewer would be cool, and all participating clients synched...

I'm afraid that would be enough work for a whole new developer team at LL, and it will be another great challenge beside all the stuff that needs to be worked on, so I wouldn't hold breath.

[Inventor Alchemi]

Yes, good point that development effort could be an issue, though as I recall the ChucK language was ported to iPhone development in a matter of months.  Actually that's the one I'd recommend, ChucK because it's open sourced and fairly powerful.  

Also a full programming environment is not necessary.  Something as simple as a few LSL functions that oh, say, work with samples a bit would help a lot.  Filters are easy enough to implement, oscillators are simple, the ability to play samples at different rates including backwards would help.  

In other words, LL could write ONE SINGLE LSL function such as an oscillator and suddenly music creation gets richer, more vibrant, and dynamic.  

[Jenni Darkwatch]

There are no musician functions anywhere in SL. A simple pitch shift by speeding up or slowing down sample playback alone would be easy to do as well. As well as envelopes and so on and so forth. Except that there doesn't seem to be any desire to do so. LL would rather have people upload 88 samples to play a full piano. And correspondingly, tax the asset servers when these 88 sound clips are downloaded to viewers...

The same holds true in many other areas of SL. It was simply never built to be a comprehensive virtual world for each possible purpose. It's way too laggy for most anything, including any kind of realtime music besides Shoutcast streaming, which isn't even part of SL itself.

[Inventor Alchemi]

Yes, certainly a pitch shifter created by varying the playback speed would be an easy feature to add.  That particular one and some others like filters and oscillators would be hardly any more computational burden than sample playback and the burden could be placed on the client so that there would be little lag on the sim if any.  More involved stuff like VSTs, intrument models, etc. would definitely add too much lag to the server though.  

So it's a matter of choosing some select basic simple functions and letting the creators cut loose with them and create.  After all, look at all the excellent instruments and art installations that have been created using sensors and sample playback.  

As far as LL's plans I have no idea.  

 

[Jenni Darkwatch]

VSTs and instrument models would (or should) be clientside, IMO. But really, there's a ton of things SL is missing. Any kind of musical toolset is really just one of them. It does appear that LL is working on some improvements. Which ones - that's the big question.

[Inventor Alchemi]

Actually Jenni and others, the notion of client-side music features reminds me of my earlier attempts at adding the ChucK music programming language to the client.  With the help of a friend who wrote some server translation software for this purpose, I was able to do voice morphing and voice processing, plus control music heard by the client with scripted prim objects.  So for example you touch a prim slider to adjust it's position along it's length from 1 to 100%, and the ChucK synth changes some parameter in a flute model is one thing we did.  

Interestingly enough it can also work the other way where ChucK senses mouse or keyboard or joystick or accelerometer or whatever and sends that information into SL.  But that's the flip side of the coin, both sides do work anyway (or should).  

Hope I didn't wander too much with that, but yeah I've taken a first step which is a good step but it's not working right now due to my buddy taking the server code offline.  Maybe the project should be resurrected?