The Amanuensis is an automated songwriting and recording system aimed at ridding the process of anything left-brained, so one need never leave a creative, spontaneous and improvisational state of mind, from the inception of the song until its final master. All you have to do is jam and music will flow out from you wherever you go.
- Requires https://www.github.com/to-the-sun/amanuensis-externals to be extracted or cloned to your Documents/Max 8+/Library folder
- Created with Max 8.6.5
It is the eventual goal for this system to blend seamlessly into any situation, so music truly can flow out from you wherever you go. I imagine walking down the street and because the sensors on your feet are picking up a steady repetition, a beat starts up spontaneously. Then, as you're compelled to start tapping your fingers on your thigh, the sensors there begin adding a melody of some kind to this inchoate song. A personal soundtrack of new, original music at all times. This is basically my goal in life. The first requirement in moving toward this reality would be an Amanuensis for mobile devices. For this reason it might be ideal to write version 2.0 using JUCE, which I hear is totally cross-platform. A more in-depth framework and one I have not used, but if it's going to be done, it should probably be done right.
The absolute best way to play music is with other people. If your band's not around and the auto-arrangement of the system itself (which only ever plays back what you give it) isn't stimulating enough, it would be great to be able to jump online and write music with any random person in the world. I find this feedback loop, the give and take with foreign minds, to be essential. Sites like JamKazam.com are great, but if augmented with The Amanuensis they could be taken to another level. Jamming with The Amanuensis becomes a lot like a game, a far more open-ended version of Guitar Hero with the goal to score highly and create the best music possible. An online matchmaking system could be every bit like those in videogames, throwing players together to compete against (or with) each other to write songs.
And I'll raise the ante once more. There's no reason this sort of pattern detection system has to be limited to audio. If your instrument plays video in addition to audio, you're basically describing what happens in a videogame. In the same way The Amanuensis currently plays back bits of audio that you must interact and deal with, a video Amanuensis would also send visual obstacles and enemies back your way that would then inform and determine your future playing. If you're not familiar with the game Crypt of the Necrodancer, I highly recommend checking it out. What I have in mind would be something like that but on a grander scale, with a soundtrack and even the levels themselves created by and evolving with you as you play, instead of ones that are set from the beginning.