ForumsHardware ← Soundplane for microtonal music?

I was very impressed with the very subtle pitch variations demonstrated on the Haken Continuum in this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMRUm_CoW-I

Compared to that you can really hear the quarter-tone "steps" in the Roli Seaboard.

How does the Soundplane compare for microtonal music? Is there a smooth gradient of pitches, or is there some level of quantization?

Im a little surprised to hear, you saying you can hear quarter tone steps on the Seaboard... as Ive not heard this expressed before - have you got an example of that?

(though id have thought the piano layouts perhaps doesnt lend itself to microtonal configuration anyway... but perhaps I'm wrong)

Ive seen a few comments on microtonal music here, but randy is the best to answer...

but from what Ive seen in the software/code, if you turn quantisation off, then the soundplane presents a continuous value for pitch, and I don't hear stepping... but frankly its only very recently I've started to "understand" microtonal music :)

like the continuum, of course continuous in digital systems, is not really continuous discrete steps are at affected by sensor accuracy, and any touch detection and following processing.

my new interest in microtonal music, makes me intrigued, on your thoughts on how you would setup the soundplane for this use.

btw: do you know of any good introductions to playing microtonal music, ive little idea where to start... but if i could figure that out, id be interested in experimenting in ways to use the soundplane in this context.

The Soundplane is a continuous surface at heart. It can give continuous pitch response or discrete steps, depending on how you set up the software. Much more like the Continuum in this cases but with the added benefit of full 2D sensing.

Randy, thank you very much. I'm excited to hear when the next batch of Soundplanes might be available.

thetechnobear, yes, check out the youtube video above. You can clearly hear the quarter-tone stepping.

Microsound is one reference you might look into:
http://www.amazon.com/Microsound-Curtis-Roads/dp/0262681544

But you might also look at it from a completely different perspective:
http://www.amazon.com/Genesis-Of-Music-Creative-Fulfillments/dp/030680106X

How would I set up the Soundplane to achieve this? Nothing special really, just being able to play very small variations in pitch is all I really need. Kind of like playing a fretless stringed instrument or a trombone.

There are many microtonal scales available in the "Key" menu of Aalto and Kaivo. (Thanks for that, Randy!)

How would I set up the Soundplane to achieve this?

I set up the Soundplane's defaults with this kind of playing in mind. Just turn a "quantization" toggle off, and any scale you pick will be played in a fretless way.

After some urging from people I also recently implements .kbm and .scl files, you the scales can be mapped to the keyboard flexibly. Most of the built in scales use a default keyboard mapping.

Randy, is there any way to be notified about the next batch of Soundplanes? I've been looking all over the site for an email or RSS option, but I'm not finding it.

There is an orange RSS link to the right of "News" on the front page. This feed is for the main News section, where I will certainly post when Soundplanes become available, and when it is anything like close. Also, in your account settings you can decide whether you are subscribed to the newsletter or not.

Perfect, thanks!