autoplay

autoplay is a simple C++ library of a combination of some music composition algorithms (autoplayer is the executable for it). The target of this project is to create music software that can automatically generate good melodies in a lovely rhythm with a gentle dynamic, using advanced programming techniques.

For more information on how this project works, please take a look at the wiki pages. I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for there.

Functionality

By setting the right values and commandline arguments, you are currently able to generate okay-sounding multi-part scores and get a MusicXML representation of the score.

Triplet-like structures lie outside the scope of this project, wherefore they are not generated.

What's in autoplay?

Because most people like lists, I've listed the possibilities of autoplay below.

• Customizable!
• Pseudo-random (with a wide range of possible engines)!
• A wide range of pitch, rhythm and chord note count generation algorithms!
• Exports to MusicXML, a format used in many score-writing software!
• Integratable in other projects!

Execution

To execute autoplay, one simply has to execute the executable autoplayer. This will allow the user to add certain flags and fetch some options. For more info, please execute autoplayer with the flag -h or --help, or take a look at the Configuration wiki.

Installation

The installation of the project was never this simple! You just have to run the following commands and you're done.

git clone https://github.com/RandyParedis/autoplay.git
git submodule update --init --recursive
install.sh

Please be aware that this will install all dependencies! If you already have some dependencies and thus don't want to reinstall them, please export the following paths to the location where these dependencies are located.

• GTEST_LOC: The location where gtest is to be installed. It defaults to /usr.
• GTEST_ROOT: The location where gtest is to be installed from. It defaults to /tmp.
• BOOST_ROOT: The location where boost is installed. It defaults to /usr/include/boost.
• TRNG_LOC: The location where trng is installed. It defaults to deps/trng.

Note: This can also be used to determine where you want to install these dependencies

So, on my system, I have to run the following set of commands to install, because trng is installed in /opt/trng:

export TRNG_LOC=/opt/trng
install.sh

Dependencies

RtMidi 3.0.0

This project makes use of the RtMidi library, current version 3.0.0. This library allows for real-time playback of the music. Maybe this dependency will be removed/togglable later on.

To install this dependency, you have to install and update the submodules of this repo. The necessary files will be linked automatically during compilation.

Dependencies

RtMidi itself comes with a few dependencies, as can be found here.

The installation of these should happen automatically on Linux systems when running the install.sh script. On OSX systems, everything should be in order by default.

Boost

Boost is definitely a powerful library that can handle a lot of different things. In the scope of this project, Boost is used for easy JSON and XML parsing and generation.

Google Test

The Google Testing Framework is a useful tool for writing and testing unit tests. Of course randomization is difficult to test, but a series of algorithms can be tested anyways.

GTest Installation (Ubuntu 18.04 LTS)

sudo apt-get install libgtest-dev cmake
cd /usr/src/gtest
sudo cmake CMakeLists.txt
sudo make
sudo cp *.a /usr/lib

GTest Installation (Mac OSX)

sudo wget https://github.com/google/googletest/archive/release-1.7.0.tar.gz
sudo tar xf release-1.7.0.tar.gz
cd googletest-release-1.7.0
sudo cmake -DBUILD_SHARED_LIBS=ON .
sudo make
sudo cp -a include/gtest /usr/include
sudo cp -a libgtest_main.so libgtest.so /usr/lib/

TRNG (Tina's Random Number Generator)

Due to the random nature of the results of autoplay, trng was added. This library will handle all random actions that happen during the music generation.

After painstakingly trying to install trng similarly to how RtMidi was installed, the decision was made to keep it as a submodule.

Progress Log

Date	Update
07-11-2018	Added RtMidi library for easy playback.
13-10-2018	Started looking at different file formats to export to: - MIDI (might have issues with the non-generality) - MusicXML (standard open format for exchanging digital sheet music)
13-10-2018	Added TRNG as a pseudo-random number generator.
14-10-2018	Added Boost and started the concept of the RPG.
14-10-2018	Did some research on different music generation algorithms
14-10-2018	Added Travis CI
14-10-2018	Created the Randomizer class to handle all randomization without the need to keep on using the same code over and over again.
15-10-2018	Added gtest.
20-10-2018	Added tests for Note class.
21-10-2018	Added Clef and Measure class and added tests for the latter.
23-10-2018	Added zupply for logging, progress bars and command line argument parsing.
24-10-2018	Started work on Instrument class, by using a very basic implementation. Currently, only piano instruments are implemented in the music::instruments namespace, but this is enough for the current working version. Also added a music::instruments::findByName(const std::string&) function to find an instrument by name (precursor to config file support).
27-10-2018	Added Part, Score and MIDIPlayer classes.
27-10-2018	Added Config class.
28-10-2018	Added pipeline that executes autoplayer: It parses arguments, probes output ports, generates the music and plays it.
03-11-2018	Added modularity for Instruments and Styles.
04-11-2018	Added multiple part support. Also expanded Instrument set to 80 different instruments.
05-11-2018	Added different/custom Clef support.
10-11-2018	Fixed Rhythmic Instrument Support
17-11-2018	Added Brownian Motion as a pitch algorithm.
18-11-2018	Added rest-ratio and length parameters to config file.
18-11-2018	Added 1/f Noise and Centralized as a pitch algorithm.
22-11-2018	Fixed MidiPlayer playback with ties, added bpm and time signature to styles.
22-11-2018	Added Brownian Motion as a rhythm algorithm.
24-11-2018	Added support for chords, BUT MIDIPlayer currently only plays bottom note of each chord and no multiple-note chords are being generated by the algorithms (yet).
25-11-2018	Config file now requires styles.json, instruments.json and clefs.json. Also added automatic beaming of notes of a type less than a quarter note.
28-11-2018	Fixed MidiPlayer to a better algorithm.
01-12-2018	Added better chord generation support (or rather: made it better). Also added chord-progression as a style option.
02-12-2018	Added Accompaniment as a pitch algorithm.
02-12-2018	Started work on Markov Chains.
08-12-2018	Made autoplay run from anywhere; e.g. got rid of execution folder requirement.
01-01-2019	Markov Chains now work.
02-01-2019	Made install.sh (installation script).