The Last Turkey in the Straw
for Disklavier
Robert Willey, keyboard and programminguses "Keith" patch with custom software written in C for IBM-PC (286).
Another name for the process used here is "refraction". The idea came from the study of physics, where the term is used to explain the bending of white light by a prism into a rainbow of varying frequencies. In the MIDI domain, notes were bent into different pitches and/or times. Pitch refraction could be done in two ways, either by "bending" the note into a different octave while remaining its pitch class (i.e. "A", "Bb", "C" regardless of octave), or atonally where the velocity of the played note became the key number of the output note. In either case, the harder keys were played, the higher they came out. Softer notes came out lower.
In the time domain, harder notes could be caused to come out sooner, softer notes later.
The theme is played six times, with a different combination of processes each time:
- Pitch "refraction" by velocity, pitch classes maintained: the harder a note is played, the higher the octave it comes out in.
- Pitch refraction as in #2 and adding time refraction: the harder notes are played, the sooner they are heard.
- Refraction similar to #2 and #3, except now pitch classes are not maintained. Instead, velocity goes directly to key number, harder notes come out higher, but it is an atonal result. Harder notes come out sooner as well. Some extra pauses added to increase the poignancy of the turkey's situation.
- Refracted: velocity goes to pitch, no time change
- Reprise of #2 with pitch refraction: velocity quantized to octave, pitch classes maintained
