pymodsynth

Modular Synthesizer in Python

Core Idea: Modular Synthesizers are "just" function generators with a nice user interface. Can we build something similar in Python?

⚠ Experimental Project ⚠

This project is highly experimental still. To explore the current version, see playground_v2/README.md.

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Contribute

Guidelines

Remove merged feature branches

BRANCH=<branch>
git branch -d "$BRANCH"       # Delete locally
git push origin -d "$BRANCH"  # Delete remotely

Milestones

• Framework:
  • Make sure everything we have in main works on macOS and windows
  • Visualize arbitrary signals.
  • Automatic testing (github integration?)
  • Cache outputs.
• Modules:
  • Kick and Snare (drum machine).
  • Filters (low/mi/high - buttersworth).
  • Filters (decay / reverb etc.)
  • Record with microphone.
  • Input samples.
  • Record output of the root module into a wav file for sharing/re-use.
  • Visual feedback in the GUI / explore keyboard and mouse again.

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Old stuff.

Random Ideas

• Windows:

  • Code: Where we write our functions
  • Patch matrix: Matrix where we can type x to connect outputs to inputs (might grow too large though)
  • Terminal window: Reload code, play, etc, possibly with a REPL like interface
  • Rolling output of current function f(t)

• Functions:

  • Everything is based on functions that take in time, and *inputs, and produce one or multiple outputs
  • To get memory, you can make a stateful function (e.g., instance function of some class)
  • There will be a decorator probably

• Interactive inputs

  • we will need some kind of interactive inputs that simulates knobs. maybe the multi touch trackpad? a mouse? the iPad?

• We form a graph via the patch matrix

  • unclear how to create the graph of callables but should be easy
  • should have multiple threads, reload of graph happens in the background: music should always continue

• Some form of live input would be cool, e.g., tracking the mouse?

Function examples

def saw_tooth(t, duration=1):
  return t % duration

Links

• pyo for audio?

Next Steps

• Kick and Snare (drum machine)
• Filters (low/mi/high - buttersworth)
• Filters (decay / reverb etc.)
• Record with microphone
• Input samples
• Record our sound
• Visual feedback in the GUI / explore keyboard and mouse again
• ability to plug window into any output
• visual knob/slider indicators which move when using mouse/kb to adjust parameters. should show hi/low/current