Sound Events, Control Events and Parameters

Sample Events

Sample events allow you to play a pre-loaded samples, using keywords to specify the sample you need.

Syntax

(<sample-type> <keywords> <keyword parameters>)

Example

;; choose the 808 sample from the bd folder
(bd 'bd808 :lpf 1000 :rate 0.9)

Parameters

Parameter Default Description
:lvl 0.3 gain level
:rate 1.0 sample playback rate
:start 0.0 start within sample file, ratio
:atk 5 gain envelope attack, in ms
:rel 5 gain envelope release, in ms
:sus - gain envelope sustain, in ms
:pos 0.0 stereo position (-1.0 left, 0.0 center 1.0 right) or channel number in multichannel mode
:lpf 19000 lowpass filter frequency
:lpq 0.4 lowpass filter q factor
:lpd 0.0 lowpass filter distortion
:hpf 20 highpass filter frequency
:hpq 0.4 highpass filter q factor
:pff 1000 peak filter frequency
:pfq 10 peak filter q factor
:pfg 0.0 peak filter gain
:rev 0.0 reverb amount
:del 0.0 delay amount
:tags none additional tags

Live Buffer Events

Live buffer events allow you to play with the live input buffer. The live input buffer is continously recording the last 3 seconds (or more or less, if specified at startup) of input of the first input channel. Now there's severaly events that allow you to work with it.

feedr - read the live buffer like a regular sample

Using (feedr), you can read from the live buffer directly. All the parameters are the same as in the sample events above. Be careful about feedback if you have an open mic !

Example:

(sx 'ba #t ;; read from live buffer at varying starting points
  (nuc 'fa (feedr :start (bounce 0.01 0.99))))

freeze - freeze the live buffer

This event writes the current live buffer (as-is) to a persistent buffer specified by a number, like (freeze 1). If you use this in a ctrl event, you can periodically update the content of the frozen buffer.

;; freeze once, to buffer 1
(freeze 1)

;; freeze periodically, every 6 seconds
(sx 'ba #t 
  (nuc 'ta :dur 6000 (ctrl (freeze 1))))

freezr - read from frozen buffers

This allows you to read from the buffer previously frozen with freeze. You can use it like any regular sample. First argument specifies the buffer to be read from: (freezr <bufnum>)

(sx 'ba #t ;; granular sampling on freeze buffer 1 ...
  (nuc 'ba :dur 100 (freezr 1 :start (bounce 0.0 1.0) :atk 1 :sus 100 :rel 100)))

Simple Synth Events

Syntax

(sine|saw|sqr|cub|tri <pitch> <keyword parameters>)

Example

(sine 110) ;; with frequency
(sine 'a2 :rev 0.1) ;; with note name and reverb

Types

Type Description
sine simple sine wave
cub a sine like shape made of two cubic pieces (LFCub in SuperCollider)
tri a triangle wave
sqr a square wave
saw a sawtooth wave

Parameters

Parameter Default Description
pitch 43 pitch - might be frequency in hertz or quoted note name
:lvl 0.3 gain level
:atk 5 gain envelope attack, in ms
:rel 5 gain envelope release, in ms
:sus - gain envelope sustain, in ms
:pos 0.0 (see above)
:lpf 19000 lowpass filter frequency
:lpq 0.4 lowpass filter q factor
:lpd 0.0 lowpass filter distortion
:rev 0.0 reverb amount
:del 0.0 delay amount
:pw 0.5 pulsewidth (ONLY sqr)
:tags none additional tags

Risset Event

A simple risset bell event.

Syntax: 

(risset <pitch> <keyword parameters>)

Example 

(risset 2000) ;; with frequency
(risset 'a5 :rev 0.1) ;; with note name and reverb

Parameters

Parameter Default Description
pitch 43 pitch - might be frequency in hertz or quoted note name
:lvl 0.3 gain level
:atk 5 gain envelope attack, in ms
:dec 20 gain envelope decay, in ms
:sus 50 gain envelope sustain, in ms
:rel 5 gain envelope release, in ms
:pos 0.0 see above
:lpf 19000 lowpass filter frequency
:lpq 0.4 lowpass filter q factor
:lpd 0.0 lowpass filter distortion
:rev 0.0 reverb amount
:del 0.0 echo amount
:tags none additional tags

Control Events

Control events allow you to schedule parts that you'd otherwise execute manually.

Example

;; Change between two loops 
(sx 'ba #t 
  (infer 'ta :events
    'a (ctrl (sx 'du #t (cyc 'bu "bd ~ sn ~"))) ;; <-- executing the sync context is automated
    'b (ctrl (sx 'du #t (cyc 'bu "cym cym cym cym")))
    :rules 
    (rule 'a 'b 100 1599)
    (rule 'b 'a 100 1599)))

A Note about Note Names

Note names follow the Common Music 2.x convention, where 'a4 is the concert pitch of 440hz, above the middle c which is 'c4. 'cs4 denotes a sharp note, 'cf4 denotes a flat note. The sharp/flat schema is consistent over all notes.

A Note about Event Tags

Each events contain certain tags by default, such as the event type and the search tags in the case of sample events. As you might have seen, you can add custom tags. All tags can be used to filter in the respective applicators or modifiers, as well as to solo and mute in the sync context. Here's an example:

(sx 'ba #t :solo 'bass ;; <-- you can solo or block based on the custom tags
    (nuc 'fa (bd :tags 'drums) (sn :tags 'drums) (saw 100 :tags 'bass)))

(sx 'ba #t
    (pear :for 'drums (rev 0.2) ;; <-- only apply reverb to drums
        (nuc 'fa (bd :tags 'drums) (sn :tags 'drums) (saw 100 :tags 'bass))))