I spent my college days in the scholastic embrace of Oberlin College, which has as its counterpart (counterpoint? har har) the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. The two schools share living space, dining facilities, and even a five-year double degree program, so student interaction between them is common. I’ve been friends with a number of conservatory students, including Composition and TIMARA (Technology In Music And the Recording Arts) majors.
Anyway, this is all a very roundabout way of saying that I’m no stranger to procedurally generated music. I’ve heard programs that generate music based on ten tones of your selection and all the known digits of pi, and computers that bring dead composers back to life through the cunning use of flags numbers.
The newest music and numbers thing I’ve been introduced to is CODEORGAN, which will turn any humdrum work-a-day website into the dulcet tones of an angelic choir. Or, failing that, set it up with a nice reggae beat.
Codeorgan converts any webpage in to a short song, through the cunning use of flags letters. Using the text of the page, choosing a key based on the most commonly used note used on the page as a letter. If the number of this most popular letter is even, the key is major, if odd, minor. The kind of synthesized sound and drum beat used are determined by ratios in the total text. Geekosystem.com currently comes out as a samba-y slap base in the key of A major.
Go forth and experiment, at Codeorgan.com!
