Slonimsky's Thesaurus: Musical Pattern Generator

Introduction

This project adapts Nicolas Slonimsky's musical theories for digital application, drawing from his influence on musicians such as John Coltrane and Frank Zappa.

Overview

The application generates musical patterns based on Slonimsky's "Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns," using algorithmic interpretations. It utilizes the Mingus library for musical operations.

Features

• Generate Slonimsky-inspired musical patterns
• Visualize patterns on a piano roll
• Export patterns as MIDI files
• GUI for pattern customization

Prerequisites

Ensure you have the following prerequisites:

1. Python 3.8+: Download from python.org.

2. FluidSynth: Required for audio playback.

   macOS (Homebrew):

   brew install fluid-synth

   Ubuntu/Debian:

   sudo apt-get install fluidsynth

   Windows: Download from FluidSynth releases.

3. Soundfont: Download from FluidSynth SoundFont. Place in a soundfonts directory in the project root.

4. Tkinter: Included with Python, but may require separate installation on some Linux distributions:

   sudo apt-get install python3-tk

5. MIDI support: For Linux, install additional MIDI support:

   sudo apt-get install libasound2-dev libjack-dev

Installation and Setup

Follow these steps to set up a virtual environment:

1. Clone the Repository

   git clone https://github.com/your-username/slonimsky-thesaurus.git
   cd slonimsky-thesaurus

2. Create a Virtual Environment

   macOS/Linux:

   python3 -m venv venv

   Windows:

   python -m venv venv

3. Activate the Virtual Environment

   macOS/Linux:

   source venv/bin/activate

   Windows:

   .\venv\Scripts\activate

4. Install Dependencies

   pip install -r requirements.txt

5. Install python-rtmidi

   pip install --only-binary=:all: python-rtmidi

6. Run the Application

   python gui.py

   Or with command-line arguments:

   python slonimsky.py --root_note C --bpm 120 --progression_pattern I IV V

Remember to deactivate your virtual environment when finished:

deactivate

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.