Cooperation with Martin Gretschmann
Reset the preset
With the possible combinations of music, images and interaction seeming not only to be inexhaustible but also extremely difficult this topic fascinates me again and again. In the case of PLAY PARTS I was privileged to cooperate with an extraordinarily gifted musician. We produced an interactive CD ROM application to appear as a bonus track on his double album "Reset the Preset".
The most important part in this application is played by interaction. The declared goal was to create six different interaction paradigms which deal with musical aspects in a playful way. In addition to that the instruments were provided with a possibility of orchestration to enable simultaneous playing. PLAY PARTS allows the user to create music intuitively and to go into musical aspects. And although PLAY PARTS is not a "professional" music tool but more of a light and playful application it also holds the potential to create tempting musical results.
6 divided by 3
The six different "PARTS" treat rhythms, melodies, ambient sounds and lyrics coming from three songs of the first part of the double album which is called "Reset". Their character varies from transparent, foreseeable to intuitive and unpredictable. They return auditive and visual feedback. In addition they can be combined or composed in any arbitrary way.
New
The graphical user interface of PLAY PARTS is in contrast to other musical applications on computers not derived from real-world musical instruments or devices. This innovation demands a willingness from the user to learn these paradigms first. Help functions in form of animations support your learning.
Images
Video
PLAY PARTS - Quicktime (40 MB)
PLAY PARTS - Quicktime (29 MB)
Downloads
PLAY PARTS - Mac OS X (9 mb)
PLAY PARTS - Mac OS9/Classic (9 mb)
PLAY PARTS - Windows (11 mb)
Credits
Concept, design, programming: Ralph Ammer
Sounds, lyrics: Martin Gretschmann