alga: Algorithmic automation for various DAWs

[ deprecated, gpl, language, library, program ] [ Propose Tags ]

Deprecated.

How to algorithmically control every aspect of music using familiar, robust tools: plugins, DAWs, etc. that have not been built with this in mind? I've partially solved the problem in MIDA — program that generates MIDI files using very simple and symmetric language. However, even though MIDA is a fine tool to create scores, it's not sufficient if you want to control everything. Initially I thought I could find some plugins that can algorithmically control other plugins, but there are no decent tools of this sort. How automation is handled in a traditional DAW? Well, you draw it in a separate track. Wouldn't it be a good idea to algorithmically perform exactly that: drawing of the automation track. This is simpler than it may seem: many DAWs allow to export tracks in XML format, and this is all we need to start our hacking.

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Versions [faq]	0.1.0, 0.2.0, 0.2.1, 0.2.2
Change log	CHANGELOG.md
Dependencies	aeson (>=0.7 && <0.12), alga (>=0.2.2), base (>=4.8 && <5.0), containers (>=0.5.5.1 && <0.6), data-default (>=0.5.3 && <0.8), exceptions (==0.8.), file-embed (>=0.0.9), filepath (>=1.3.0.2 && <1.5), formatting (>=6.2 && <7.0), haskeline (>=0.7.1.3 && <0.8), hxt (>=9.3.1 && <9.4), megaparsec (>=5.0 && <6.0), mtl (>=2.1.3.1 && <3.0), optparse-applicative (>=0.11 && <0.13), path (>=0.5.3 && <0.6), path-io (>=0.3.1 && <2.0), QuickCheck (>=2.8.2 && <2.10), random, semigroups (==0.18.), text (>=1.2.0.4 && <1.3), tf-random (>=0.5 && <1.0), transformers (>=0.2.0.0 && <0.6), yaml (>=0.8.15 && <0.9) [details]
License	GPL-3.0-only
Copyright	Copyright © 2015–2016 Mark Karpov
Author	Mark Karpov
Maintainer	Mark Karpov
Revised	Revision 1 made by HerbertValerioRiedel at 2019-05-20T18:50:18Z
Category	Language
Home page	https://github.com/mrkkrp/alga
Source repo	head: git clone https://github.com/mrkkrp/alga.git
Uploaded	by mrkkrp at 2016-09-10T13:32:15Z
Distributions	NixOS:0.2.2
Executables	alga
Downloads	2742 total (5 in the last 30 days)
Rating	(no votes yet) [estimated by Bayesian average]
Your Rating	λ λ λ
Status	Docs available [build log] Last success reported on 2016-10-26 [all 1 reports]

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Alga

Flags

Name	Description	Default	Type
dev	Turn on development settings.	Disabled	Manual

Use -f <flag> to enable a flag, or -f -<flag> to disable that flag. More info

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alga-0.2.2.tar.gz [browse] (Cabal source package)
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Readme for alga-0.2.2

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ALGA

How to algorithmically control every aspect of music using familiar, robust tools: plugins, DAWs, etc. that have not been built with this in mind? I've partially solved the problem in MIDA — program that generates MIDI files using simple, symmetric, declarative language. However, even though MIDA is a fine tool to create scores, it's not sufficient if you want to control everything. Initially I thought I could find some plugins that can algorithmically control other plugins, but there are no decent tools of this sort. How automation is handled in a traditional DAW? Well, you draw it in a separate track. Wouldn't it be a good idea to algorithmically perform exactly that — drawing of the automation track? This is simpler than it may seem: many DAWs allow to export tracks in XML format, and this is all we need to start our hacking.

How does it work?

You export your tracks in XML format, write some scripts in MIDA-like language and patch the XML file. Then you can import the files back, they will (hopefully) have fancy automation tracks in place.

Installation

Install the Haskell Tool Stack.

Add ~/.local/bin directory to your PATH, like this:

# in .bashrc or similar
export PATH=$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH

Clone the repo, cd into it, and let stack do its thing:

$ git clone https://github.com/mrkkrp/alga.git
$ cd mida
$ stack build --copy-bins

Check it out:
```
$ alga --version
ALGA 0.2.0
```

Example

ALGA is a simple declarative language. Just to get feeling of it:

#
# Example of ALGA program
#

my_track.pan  = {0..16} / 16 $ [{2}]
my_track.pand = 1/8, 0

This thing changes position of stereo-panorama for track named my_track. There are 16 possible values from left to right. Panorama is changed instantly, every eighth note.

You can control volume, panorama, mute, input gain, all parameters of send slots, insertion slots, and software synths. Changes can be applied to audio tracks, group tracks, instrument tracks, and effect tracks.

See ALGA Manual for more information.

License

Distributed under GNU GPL, version 3.