image: mark falesch |
...in circles where euterpe is less dominant, i'm usually called Bob Falesch.
i think of myself as part of the free-improvisation community in the role of performer. as a composer, i'm into exploring the marriage of electronics and non-electronic instruments. i'm also developing a body of purely electronic compositions. some future activities and projects are posted, as well as my performance schedule, including many past ones. with time on my hands i produce essays and rants of dubious value. i use computers during performance and i'm exploring the use of software in the compositional process for purposes beyond sound design. this includes software which might help create and refine ideas for local and global formal structures. often the software involves my own designs. tools used include pd, max/msp and reaktor, and macro structures already built by scores of master musicians before me are of immeasurable value in my work. occasionally i use an instrument i've named metaPiano. the metaPiano is a keyboard-based instrument that usually sounds like a grand piano, but could use any sound. my piano keyboard (a 61-note or 88-note midi controller) sends signals to a computer which can alter them before they are sent to a sound-generating module (which can reside in the computer or externally). in the full metaPiano mode, my normal use is the performance of pitch set operations, in realtime, on the incoming midi stream. most of the time i'm not using metaPiano in a piano performance style, but much of the software of my metaPiano system is a central part of the instrument i use in improvised performance contexts. in this context i still use the piano keyboard midi controller (as well as a fader box), but the program tracks and uses pitch and articulation input in a different way: classical listener algorithms determine velocity trends (louder/softer, suddeness of change) and pitch trends (going higher/lower, or stasis). with these parameters, coupled with faders movements, traditional keyboard gestures can control my software synthesizers in a way that personally feels more natural and intuitive than sole reliance on knobs and computer keyboard. exploration of alternative gesture-capturing devices is, however, a high priority. i have used the metaPiano system to a limited degree in developing some compositions, and an important goal is to more tightly integrate the tools i use for performance and composition, and break down the barriers between process and work into a seamless system.
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