8. Control all operations graphically and use a Timeline
to place sound events in time.
9. Render the final result into a multi track audio file.
3 Classes
Concepts like cell, figure, counterpoint, polyphony, layers, background/foreground, variation/repetition, and so on,
are permanently involved in the process of composing, as
much in instrumental music as in electroacoustic music. IRIN
helps one to compose and organize sound material having
these kinds of concept in mind. Sound objects were organized
hierarchically into three different object classes: Sample, Figure, and Meso-structure. Each class inherits the properties
of its predecessor adding new ones belonging to the domain
of a higher time scale. Together, Sample, Figure and Mesostructure objects form the pre-composition materials yet to be
organized into the macro-scale form of the piece. At the top
level, there is a fourth layer named Timeline. The Timeline
represents the "final" score where all objects (from the sample to the Meso-structure) are arranged in time to be played
back or exported as an audio file.
3.1 Sample
The Sample is the simplest of IRIN's sound objects. This
atomic object contains six properties editable from the Sample edit window (Figure 2):
Source sound file. The name of the file along with the sample start and end points.
Speed variation. Time-domain speed variation: changing
speed also changes pitch.
Filter. Implemented using Max/MSP biquad object (digital
filter specified by coefficients).
Amplitude envelope. Controlled by a breakpoint function
editor accepting up to 256 points.
Phase shift or multi channel trajectory. Depending on the
current audio output configuration one can choose to assign a
phase shift value 2, or edit a multi channel trajectory.
Shape. Each sample can be assigned to a preset graphic
shape of any color (shapes are used for display in the timeline window on "shapes view" mode).
Figure 2: Sample editor window.
Figure 1: Tree-like representation of sound object dependencies
3.2 Figure
An array of Samples in a specific order, each one anchored to a specific onset time can be encapsulated in a Figure. Inside a Figure, the order of the events and their onsets
2Phase shifting in this context is used as a composition technique belonging to the micro-scale domain (micro decorrelation temporelle). It concerns
the definition of spatial attributes of small sound particles by placing micro
delayed replica of it into different channels (Vaggione 2002b).
Proceedings ICMC 2004
