Computers Making Music Pt. 1 - The Basics

By popular request, I've attempted to cover a wide range of generative music techniques. But first, we need to understand how we guide basic circuits to make music for us. I don't have a Patreon or advertising affiliates, although this channel does have a lot of expenses to keep going. In the meantime, if you want to show your support, my Bandcamp page has a "pay what you want" option: theflashbulb.bandcamp.com/
Time stamps:
- Monologue: - 0:48
- Modular generative examples - 7:30
- Step by step modular - 9:33
- Second attempt with same technique - 26:56
- Arduino module generating random looping sequences - 30:08

[@BinaryDad2010]

One of the best music channels on here. I've learnt loads and fallen that little more deeply in love with making music. Keep on keeping on.

[@dylanmckeand4704]

One of the most fascinating and mind melting videos I've seen in a long time. Put together in such a masterful and entertaining way, as well. Made me excited about the concepts of computers and synthesizers in a way like I was a kid using a piano for the first time, infinite possibilities. I can not wait for more videos in this series, if these are "the basics" then the upcoming videos are sure to astound. Amazing work, the level of passion and love that went into this and all of your videos (such as the 3D model demonstrating binary pizza) is apparent and wonderful to see. These vids don't have to be this good, but yet they are. Thanks for making it.

[@noiselessfox7618]

You, making youtube content, is a delight. I want you to know that i am deeply and utterly thankful for you taking the time and discuss these topics on an open platform like youtube. Given that i pursue an similar overall musical aesthetic as your music, as the flashbulb, this content is absolutley priceless. THANK YOU SO MUCH BENN!

[@MikeHancho663]

Wow thank you for starting from scratch. this is EXACTLY my modular goals - self generating, random" Techno and electro monster. deep learning and logic based, its been hard to find modular people who know about computer learning or vice versa. subbed!

[@martzcopr]

Got here from your latest generative video and I'm learning sooooo much! You're a beast Benn 🤘

[@Taylor-op8tv]

Thank you so much man, can't tell you how much I appreciate your videos.

[@SeanKearney]

These videos are a real "masterclass." Thank you for making art about art.

[@Simon-cc9ob]

thank you so much for putting out content of this quality. you're clearly putting a lot of effort into it :)

[@Natemasterflex]

Fantastic video, especially for beginners! Would love to see more of the Control Forge in your work. Keep up the great work 🤘🏻

[@LuisRafaelHeredia]

To find out Benn, one of my absolute inspirations, has a youtube channel teaching this stuff, makes me happy.

[@Zaubrer488]

Looking forward to the series. Ultimately, generative music is what I am after after I discovered synthesizers so this should be helpful hopefully.

[@kierenmoore3236]

Great vid, dudely! :) Looking forward to the rest. Cheers, Be well!

[@sixmonthssleep3057]

This was so damn cool. Can't wait for the rest!

[@suddengaps2320]

Fantastic .... keep going

[@obowurx6625]

This is the video/series I’ve been looking for! (I think/I hope…)

[@krism6279]

MFB even calls my 522 drum machine a "drumcomputer" - excellent video as always Benn.

[@cbrpnk]

I can't understand why you don't have more subs.

[@Artem.Nouwa.Razlom]

The content is superb, but not that much peoples around are digging into the deep music engineering. Most of the bedroom producers are happy with FL, Metro's 808 sample pack and GrossBeat

[@jan-martinulvag1953]

cos he is really really smart

[@viridianloom]

With the way I've noticed things work, if Adam Neely ever includes him in one of his videos he'll make a major break through in subs. Neely doesn't get a lot of technical questions about music though, mostly theory.

[@Unit_With_Legs]

The average person has an iq around 90 and strongly dislikes thinking. Most people work many hours have a long commute and would rather have a drink and zone on television.

[@cbrpnk]

@@Unit_With_Legs the average iq is 100 by definition. And I wasn't talking about the average person but specifically about the subset of the population that would appreciate this content.

[@LouisSerieusement]

The TT303 MK1 has an algorythm to generates pattern, and this algorythm learn by analysing your own way of programming

[@crouchingpython3294]

As someone who plays music AND teaches computer science(see what I did there with Boolean logic?) I really appreciate what you've done here. Great explanations!

[@MarcTelesha]

The first random noise was the sound of the mechanical owl in the original Clash of the Titans. Thank you that no one will even know what I am talking about but you still read my comment.

[@KindStranger]

Holy crap that's a reference I actually get!

[@Neuri]

I have learned SOOOOOOO much from you good Sir.. Thanks from Yorkshire

[@shortcutDJ]

criminally underrated content right here

[@KindStranger]

DPA headset mics are some of the best out there. Not cheap but they sound wonderful.

[@LeonvanBokhorst]

The market value of buffered dupes went through the roof after this very entertaining video

[@linasmak9199]

DPA brand mic’s is what you should be looking for Benn, not cheap tho. Great video as always, looking forward for part 2;)

[@reagancall5739]

Linas Mak yes I agree. Or a country man H6. I use them all the time and they sound fantastic.

[@robertsyrett1992]

God Bless Tom Whitwell, but for me a Turing machine is now forever a shift-register connected to a DAC and a noise source. Great video too, this is definitely one of my favorite. Looking forward to the node-based programing environment version of this :) Edit: Disting mode G5 is an audio tuner, I find it a reliable way to quickly tune my VCOs. Mode A1 can be used to shift the octave of VPO signals when there is just one input. Finally mode F6 is a quantized looping probability shift register (aka Turing Machine). Also, where do you livestream?

[@4rdArmpit]

Hi Benn, great video! Always noticed your tracks have really smooth reverb. Was wondering, do you know of any Reaktor verbs that live up to your standards?

[@MarshalArnold]

Lol, love that hackers reference! Such a great bad movie from the 90s 😁

[@hunterjpierce4623]

If you think you are smart at all, just watch Benn and Gear to be completely humbled. You're a damn wizard.

[@brakgeluid]

Hi Benn, thanks for the great vids! Have you tried the Antlion ModMic? I hear it's supposed to be very good, but I have no personal experience with it (yet).

[@TheSameDonkey]

Nice vid. I'm guessing you're going to delve into the neural network side of things soon and I'm looking forward to your thoughts on the matter. I'm personally waiting for the day someone comes up with the equivalent of deepbach on an fpga board... actually maybe deepbach can run on a raspberry pi... I just really want auto-generated bach in eurorack format and lack the time, knowhow and energy to make it happen.

[@hunterjpierce4623]

I would love your thoughts on mutable instruments marbles for generative stuff. for the HP it seems like a good bet.

[@nicolastelfyr6792]

Thank you)

[@prestonmoney]

every programming class ive ever taken has had at least one lab project where we code something or another for a fictional pizza parlor

[@westonboldt3957]

This is an awesome video! you've probably heard this before but I'm pretty sure it's not called `mult` because it multiplies the signal, it's called a mult because it mutiplexes the signal

[@gatorgoforth3097]

PerPLEXing

[@LouisSerieusement]

OMG you are the flashbulb ??Dude I totally love your music !!! My favourite album is Hardscrabble and favourite track is Monolite ; I didn't knew you were also into Human action network, I love this album too ; Is their a way I can be on a mailing list or something, do you plan to go on tour in Europe ?

[@truthseeker3907]

Thanks! :) Thumbs up Indiana USA.

[@jonathandill3557]

I did biofeedback for migraines in the 80's with a dude who had framed Frank Herbert quotes. When my daughter was little I used to set her up with SSEYO Koan and we'd play around with it that was pretty cool. I like the ideas here FB has been trying to convince me to check out Muse forever but to be fair I am active in a lot of Buddhist stuff.

[@aethervvav1658]

Just got to this video, I was thinking about using the same self generating patch on two different days with all the same settings and seeing if you could hear the temperature difference? I don’t have anything analog otherwise I would do this myself

[@kinderobi]

that crapy lecture image is gold lol

[@stomcode]

Dope haircut btw.

[@idoco12321]

Hey Ben will you review the lifeforms sv1?

[@Krmpfpks]

I love your vid. But just for completeness sake: computers can generate truly random numbers. There are different ways to do that, from using the timing of User key presses or network activity, sample noise from the spundcard, most CPU’s even have hardware random number generators built in (eg a diode outputting noise). As this is very slow these random numbers are then used as starting values of the pseudo random number algorithms you explained, depending on the requirements on the security vs speed of the numbers.

[@mikebrodhead]

I'm glad someone else typed that and saved me the trouble. :) (Including the "I love your vid" part of course.)

[@tz4601]

It's maybe a semantic difference, but in your examples the computer is not _generating_ random numbers. It's _sampling_ them. (And in fact, things like user key press timing is still fully pseudorandom; if two people happen to input a key press at the exact same time -- which is possible because computer time is discrete -- they will get the exact same sequence.) Seeding a pseudorandom number generator with a value sampled from a random source does not make the numbers the PRNG actually generates truly random. They are still fully deterministic.

[@Krmpfpks]

@@tz4601 I generally agree that ‚sampling‘ might be more correct than ‚generating‘. However there are very well researched papers about how to get truly random numbers from a combination of multiple entropy sources (like keypresses, network I/O and so on). These algorithms have a hard time seeding random numbers on virtual machines, because they just cannot collect enough non predictable entropy bits.

[@mikebrodhead]

@@Krmpfpks ​ Yep. There is robust math and CS behind this. TZ, you're quite right that a single keypress does not provide much randomness. Modern PRNGs pull continuously from multiple sources. Events such as keypresses, network packets, RF, temperature, etc, each provide a certain number of bits of entropy as they are added to the host's PRNG seed. As software consumes PRNG output, the random pool slowly depletes. Depending on use case, software can continue using a depleted random pool (such as for games) or block until sufficient entropy is available (such as for cryptography). In practice, modern PRNGs are good enough to be indistinguishable from true randomness for all but the most sensitive applications. (Sorry for the sidetrack, Benn, and thanks again for all the great vids.)

[@crysstoll1191]

AT 7:00. My newer (homebuilt) VCOs barely react to temperature swings.

[@corticallarvae]

Love you Ben this is s strange camera angle of your modular bro

"There is one button! And it's called subscribe! 😂

[@keithlane4705]

This would be easier to follow in VCV rack, just a thought ;)

[@mx676]

the intro is a parody to Siraj Raval? awesome haha

[@GrizzlyWang]

just to chime in... my braids also randomly acts "aggressive" when i send modulated quantized voltage to it :)

[@dirtyharry1881]

What does wifi has to do with air?? It's electromagnetic signal and it's totally using 1s and 0s.

[@EpsteezyFoSheezy]

Why the Ardcore as a Turing Machine, and not the O+C?

[@BennJordan]

Because the O+C is probably the most complicated module I've ever used. :)

[@DBCisco]

Given an infinite supply of NAND Gates, I can construct any binary logic system that can ever be devised. Hint: All Logic Functions can be created using an array of NAND Gates.

[@MaurizioKi]

This is the content I was looking for! Thanks for sharing Benn! About the headset microphone you should try the tiny omnidirectional one. I guess an omni mic could be placed a bit more far from the mouth, so you are not forced to speak into it. You can see it "in action" in this video, listen also to how they sound kzbin.info/www/bejne/qJSWl4tqrdqnsMk Definitely expensive tho..

[@kierenmoore3236]

Of course. Everything is entirely deterministic. Everything. :)

[@kierenmoore3236]

"30:53" ... "completely random" ... ? I think not ... ;)

[@benjamindragon598]

GZOR!

[@goodboid]

And here I was, fretting about trig conditions on my Digitakt...

[@Only1retro]

Aged well

[@ricochetsixtyten]

You look youre about to go and blow up the death star.

[@MrLucasErler]

The Microphone You are looking for ist the : MBP 648 HS from MBHO Haun. . 🔥 . 🌺😇🌺 🙏

[@surenoblack2658]

can you order ham and pineapple though?!?!?!

[@pennyhemens478]

Tattoo gun for the eyebrow is only a thought. Don't kill me.

[@therealsunnyk]

Why does generative music have to be random? Why can't it be deterministic?

[@jazzdirt]

3 bit pizza?!?! That's not even half a byte. My biggest problem with modular is... Figuring out what I was doing when I haven't touched it for a while.. Cablesalade is real...

[@pagezmusic5013]

this man really opens the video dissing sampling??? aside from an otherwise cool video i cant let that one slide!!! 0:28 - "one way or another, everyone of these techniques requires knowledge skill or just plain hard work. theres only one magic button that allows you to enjoy the spoils of being a songwriter without having to actually write a melody yourself and its called sampling" sampling requires knowledge skill and hard work!!! i understand that if you take pre existing loops and just slap them together on a daw, that takes no skill other than dragging and dropping... BUT THATS ONLY IF ALL THOSE LOOPS ARE THE SAME TEMPO AND SAME KEY!! IF THEYRE NOT, YOU NEED SOME SKILL AND KNOWLEDGE NOW!! scaling the tempo of loops without effecting pitch, or vice versa, is one of the most deceptively simple concepts in the creation of music. now we can talk about the legal side of it and how you are bound to not get far as a musician if you are simply using other peoples musical phrases without changing them at all. not to mention other musicians and fans questioning your authenticity. this is why its known as the art of sampling... in the lofi hiphop and electronic music scene there is a heavy emphasis on chopping samples up and "flipping" them. people can tell when you are just looping stuff. how deeply are we discerning before making these claims and handwaving sampling as some cheat code? people act as if there is not an art to taking something and making it something different. are collages not art because the pieces are cut from preexisting art? you realize you can chop up chords someone else played and rearrange them and transpose them into an entirely different chord progression that is unrecognizable from the original right? how is that not songwriting? you wanna get even more into it then what about drum sampling in electronic music? you didnt record those drums sounds, a purist audio engineer would say the engineer who MIC'ed and recorded the drum sounds deserves the credit. if anything the magic button is money. when youre dj khaled and you can just pay a whole camp of producers to make music for you while only giving oversight and choosing what you like, to then put Produced by DJ Khaled on every release... NOW you are enjoying the spoils of being musician without writing any music.

[@michaeldelacruz6370]

Cant you try mushrooms to do trully generative music? Like there's this guy on youtube that does modular and mushrooms. Something about the electrical stuff from mushrooms and a module's interpretation of it.

[@timppaUT]

And my world turing machine tells me, that if you want to pickup small sausages, you would have made an excellent (Well. That ”excellent” is debatable) catholic priest! And if my, perhaps malfunctioning, turing machine conclusion insults some catholic priests that like small sausages: Good!

[@jan-martinulvag1953]

You know all this cos you did not waste all your time on youtube like I do

[@stuartdavid8493]

Turn the background music off

[@benasaro1043]

Hmmm ... I have really enjoyed the videos from you in the past that I have watched, but I must admit: this one left me nonplussed! You probably know what generative music is, as in where it got it's name from, but you totally bypass any explanation of what generative music actually is and lead the view to believe that generative music = machine music, which is totally not the case. You can make generative music with machines, or you can make it with people, or any combination thereof! That aside, I figured, okay -- at least we can see your approach to generative music as it pertains to your machines ... and then it turned into a massive patch this-to-that video ... it still didn't actually explain generative music to any satisfying degree, in my opinion. Looking forward to seeing Part 2, regardless. PS, a mult creates a *multiple* of the original signal, just like making mults in your DAW.

[@cymbolic_space1832]

only dupes call mults mults. dont be duped by the dupe dude.

[@Knardsh]

2 things: I’m pretty sure Zor is a gender pronoun now and I’m hereby calling my brother a buffered dupe.