Re: Fugue and looping

[kkissinger@kevinkissinger.com]

Quoting Tobias Sjögren <sjogren@swipnet.se>:
>
> One of my interests for the past 2 years has been fugues, and J. S.
> Bach's ones in particular, playing them on my guitar.
> And since a few weeks I've been doing some experimentation with looping.
>
> Now, I believe there could be an interesting connection between  Fugues
> and looping...
>
> ...My idea is that maybe there could be a way to combine the Fugue
> repetition principles and looping.
> Not exactly an easy task, but maybe it could be done...
>
> You would need an algorithm that would be able to this:
> • transpose notes at different intervals.
> • invert intervals.
>
>
Hi Tobias,

I think a way to start on this path would be to work with two-part canons.

For this application your loop would play back only once (zero  
feedback) and would play back transposed.  (With canon, the imitation  
can be at any interval.)

If you maintain rhythmic independence of the voices then you can get a  
Bach-like outcome.  That is when your loop has long note-values, you  
play short note-values.  Also go after contrary motion -- the whole  
trick to all this is to maintain the independence of the voices.

With audio looping, there isn't any great way to do inversion --  
however you can do augmentation and diminution (i.e., playing the loop  
back at double or half speed).

Since you have an interest in Bach Counterpoint, you may want to take  
look at the Bach Trio Sonatas and also The Musical Offering.  Not  
fugues per se, however incredible studies in imitation and canon that  
might be more directly applicable to looping.

Another source of inspiration along these lines is Moondog. Moondog  
wrote rounds however they are so brilliant that you forget that they  
are rounds.

As far as a full-blown four-voice fugue...  it becomes difficult  
because of the episodes and other "free counterpoint" sections.  The  
imitation in a fugue is not as strict as is a canon.  Loops tend to  
lend themselves to strict imitation.

One approach would be to NOT pitch-shift -- rather, just build up a  
fugal exposition a track at a time.

Anyway, hope these ideas are helpful.

-- Kevin