Surprise Symphony

Ableton Live (with the help of Max for Live and Clyphx Pro) listens to 30 seconds of audio input and creates a new piece of indeterminate length, tempo, texture, rhythm, and general character. Participants can sing, play instruments, speak, grunt, clap, and basically produce any sounds they can imagine. The resulting Surprise Symphony movement will be different every time.

A list of parameters that are randomized by the system:

• Tempo
• Duration
• Launch Quantization
• Channel activation
• Clip length per channel
• Effects per channel
• Channel panning
• Audio quantize (on/off)
• Clip random transposition.

As a live performance, Surprise Symphony consists of 4-5 improvised movements. Audience participation is strongly encouraged.

As an installation, Surprise Symphony will reset itself after each generated movement. The system is operated by a single button.