Fugue and looping

[Rainer Straschill <moinsound@googlemail.com>]

Thomas said:
>To begin with, you transpose the repetition up a fifth up, or a forth 
>down.
> But not all the notes are transposed at the same interval - there 
>usually is one or more notes that are transposed.

This has to do with the fact that you (usually) stay in the same scale
- which means if you start at the root and your dux (the first
appearance of the theme) starts with a "one step down" movement and
you're playing a ionic (major) scale, then this step is a half-step.
Now with your comes (the second appearance one fifth up), this becomes
a whole step.

The only way to do that (with typical audio processing technology)
would be to apply one of those "intelligent" harmonizers which are set
to keep the notes in one scale.

As Kevin said:
> With audio looping, there isn't any great way to do inversion

There is however a way to do that (and also quite simply obtain the
other means of modification you mentioned), and I believe Kevin also
implicitly hinted at that, namely to use a MIDI sequencer with some
kind of processing capabilities (be it something like MAX/MSP, Cubase
with its Logical Editor or something really oldskool like Music Box).
Now you may not want to limit yourself to MIDI sources, but there is a
way (but actually a very cumbersome one): use an audio looper that
allows for pitch shifting (like the Repeater) or a (multi-track,
multi-output) looper in chain with a pitch shifter. Record your
playing. At the same time, use some kind of processing algorithm (e.g.
from an effects device which has this kind of function, or some
computer thing) to determine the pitch of your playing and record that
into a MIDI sequencer. Then have the aforementioned algorithm process
the MIDI data and calculate the needed pitch shift values for e.g.
inversion and use that process to control the pitch shifter.

I'd like to add to Kevin's recommendations by also mentioning "Die
Kunst der Fuge" (The Art of the Fugue), also by Bach, as well as his
entire "Das wohltemperierte Klavier" (well-tempered clavier), or
rather the fugues, and of course his organ works. I used to do a
sixstring open tuned bass guitar plus looper rendition of his c minor
Passacaglia BWV 582, which is kept together by a passive theme (an
ostinato theme in the pedals - a steady bass line to use more modern
terminology), which I did loop and then play the additional parts on
top of it.

Best,

              Rainer