Mark Sandford

Creating an Algorithmic System to Participate in Freely Improvised Performance

Music Technology - BMus (Hons)

Reid School of Music

marksandfrd@gmail.com

Mark Sandford - Website

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A close-up image of a man playing an electric bass guitar.

Performing with Edinburgh University Jazz Orchestra

Bio

I'm a musician, sound designer, educator, and audio programmer living in Edinburgh, Scotland.

As a bassist, I play regularly with various ensembles such as the National Youth Orchestras' of Scotland's Jazz Orchestra and the Edinburgh University Jazz Orchestra, as well as in my own band Grace & The Flat Boys. You can usually find me at one of Edinburgh's local jam sessions or performing at one of the city's venues such as Leith Theatre, McEwan Hall, the Jazz Bar, and the Rose Theatre.

A keen member of the University's jazz scene, I helped run the Edinburgh University Jazz Orchestra for two years and founded the more general Edinburgh University Jazz Society. Alongside my degree, I organised and ran a series of free, education-based, jazz jam sessions called EUJAM and also led the weekly jam session within the Students' Association.

As a Music Technology student, I've spent four years particularly interested in synthesis and digital signal processing (DSP), starting with languages such as Pure Data and Max, before moving on to more traditional languages like C++. In an effort to blend my jazz-based musical background with the degree, I have experimented with combining live improvised performance with computer-led direction and DSP analysis. The above document explains my efforts to create freer interactions between a performer and a conducter through a touch tablet interface.

Video of a Max patch algorithmically generating music based on physics objects colliding with each other.

Coding with Pure Data and Max

I have completed numerous pieces of work within the visual programming language Max (and the open-source alternative, Pure Data) throughout my undergraduate degree.

This video shows a physics simulation in Jitter, which sends MIDI data through Max into a seperate DAW to generate music based on the collision of objects within the space.

Below are a few screenshots which show snippets of code for various projects: a patch generating rhythmic loops and percussive drum sounds; sonification of electrons moving over time with sampling and polyphonic synthesis; an interface for interacting with a Max synthesiser through touch control; and a 'loop station', complete with effects and generated melodies, built in Pure Data.

A Max patch which generates semi-complex rhythms within different time signatures and tempos.

Analysing audio from a live performance in real-time using Max 8

Creating a drum-machine styled kick drum sound in Max.

Filtering white noise and applying envelopes to create a realistic snare drum sound in Max.

Visualising data for sonification within Max (using Jitter)

Code from a Max patch which controls a polyphonic synthesiser based upon data of electrons over time.

Screenshot of code for controlling an on-screen bass in a Max 'patch'.

'Hacking' a drawing tablet in order to move a physics object within Jitter and control a synthesiser coded within Max.

An array of writeable 'tape decks' within Pure Data, each with their own mixer and effect section, plus some extra modules on the right which generate melodies.

Other Projects

The screenshots below show work I completed during my final year. I learnt how to create interactive spaces in Unity and populate them with sound using the audio middleware Wwise, scripting in C# to bridge the two programs. I built several sound kits made of sounds recorded at home and built these into larger ambisonic 'sound worlds' alongside a collection of impulse responses recorded around Edinburgh. Finally, I coded a synthesiser based off of the 1995 Korg Prophecy, using the C++ framework Juce.

Walkthrough video of an interactive game enviroment that generates ambient music based on location and other factors.

Creating a 'sound world' using recorded sounds in Cubase.

A screenshot of code within Visual Studio.

A C++ synthesiser inspired by the 1995 Korg Prophecy, using the JUCE framework.

Creating different states within Wwise.

Creating an interactive sound enviroment within Unity, which sends calls to audio events in Wwise using scripts.

Music Technology Project

For my final project I brought together several aspects of my previously completed coursework. In the initial project that inspired my final project, I coded a patch in Max that allowed someone to direct a group performance using an abstract display controlled by touch input. I combined this premise with the work I'd done looking into algorithmic composition and ended up with a project where a system, coded in Max, led a free improvisation completely autonomously, by analysing the music performed in real-time.

For this analysis, I measured different variables such as loudness, density of notes, and the size of intervals to influence the decisions the system made as it picked from a set of available movement options.

Visual display of the final project, as it would be used in a performance.

Awards

The Cross Trust - Music (2019) Gwen Clutterbuck & Leighton Scholarship (2018)

Skills & Experience

President for Edinburgh University Jazz Orchestra 2020-21
Treasurer for Edinburgh University Jazz Orchestra 2019-20
Bass Player for NYOS Jazz Orchestra 2019-21

Other Music

Alongside my studies, I have been performing regularly on both electric and upright bass. As President of the University Jazz Orchestra, I organised a livestreamed concert of videos recorded from home during the spring lockdown of 2021, which raised over £1000 for Edinburgh charity Health in Mind. Among other members of the band, I was responsible for recording, mixing, and editing the videos for over an hour of content.

Also during the lockdown period, my band Grace & The Flat Boys started recording their debut EP, which we are expecting to release in September 2021.