DeepSpacePad

A generative music composer in your browser that uses the Web Audio API to create and play ethereal harmonies. Click for Demo: https://erichlof.github.io/DeepSpacePad/DeepSpacePad.html <br> Preferably listen with headphones! Relax and watch the inspiring space imagery unfold, or close your eyes - then let yourself be transported to deep space!

<br> <h3>How is this done?</h3> The sounds that you hear are entirely made from scratch in the browser - no recordings are used! Using the Web Audio API, brown noise (a smoother variation on plain white noise) is constructed in an audio source buffer. This buffer is then fed through a band-pass filter. Band-pass filters only allow a narrow range of frequencies to pass through. Any frequencies outside of this band are attenuated according to the filter's 'Q' parameter. The Q parameter specifies how narrow the frequency band is that will allow the chosen frequencies to pass through. The result is an ethereal airy, smooth-wind or low whistle sound. Multiple copies of this wind instrument are made, one for each note of the 'deep space' instrument. The A.I. composer makes a choice of what scale/mode will be used, and then certain random values are chosen for key transposition, octave range, etc.. Loop all of this every 30 seconds or so (adjustable), and you have a complete generative space orchestra and composer inside your browser! <br> <h3>Inspiration for this project</h3> I was influenced by the haunting space music in 2001: A Space Odyssey, Interstellar, Star Trek (The Original Series), space documentaries like Carl Sagan's Cosmos, and other films/TV shows. I am a professional musician and music teacher, and since computer programming is my #1 hobby, what better way to combine my two passions - hence this Deep Space Pad music project! <br> <h3>Updates</h3>

April 16, 2018: Finally squashed a Web Audio stuttering bug (happening mainly on mobile with less powered CPU). Before this fix I was creating a new Gain node and a new BiQuadFilter node for each of the 35 voices for each new harmony every 30 seconds. I don't think the garbage collector was taking care of the old ones that I discarded. Also, I read and re-read Chris Wilson's great article https://www.html5rocks.com/en/tutorials/audio/scheduling/ and implemented the just-in-time scheduler like he has for his metronome app. I also followed his later revision on GitHub to go one step further and put javascript's setInterval looping timer on its own background thread using a Web Worker. Now I am confident that the timing will be smooth, even if the user changes orientation on the mobile device, or resizes or minimizes the browser window on desktop. Even with all this going on, the timing stays rock solid - no more audio stuttering or hiccups! Yay :)

March 29, 2018: Initial Commit

<h3>Future Plans</h3>

• I want to explore melodic automatic composition rather than just harmonies. This is much more difficult to make convincing though.
• I might start with a Wind Chime type machine that randomly plays pleasing tones, then I'll try to refine this process to have more organization in the composition.
• Develop different rhythm generation algorithms and combine this with the harmony and melody making process.
• Eventually, way down the line, have the entire film score-type music composing process automated. Being realistic, I don't know how far I can take this artistically, but it's fun to think about and explore! :-)