Help with MATLAB music code | Signals & Systems

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around a MATLAB assignment related to music creation in a signals and systems class. Participants are exploring how to incorporate pulse duration into their function, alongside frequency and duration of notes, to account for quiet periods in the music being generated.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses confusion about how to utilize the pulse variable, questioning if the given duration already accounts for pulses.
  • Another participant suggests that pulse may relate to loudness and its dissipation, comparing it to tapping a piano key.
  • A different participant clarifies that pulses represent the start of a pulse wave, explaining how the duration of each pulse relates to the timing of notes played.
  • Some participants reference music theory concepts, discussing definitions of pulse in terms of musical meter, but others emphasize that the focus is on playing frequencies for specific durations without delving into music theory.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the role of pulse in the assignment. There are competing views on whether pulse relates to loudness or is simply a timing mechanism for note duration.

Contextual Notes

There are unresolved assumptions regarding the relationship between pulse, duration, and the overall structure of the music being created. The discussion reflects a mix of technical and theoretical perspectives without definitive conclusions.

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For my signals and system class were creating music. I am given a structure with three variables, frequency/notes, duration, and pulse. ex: frequency(in note numbers which i then convert to frequencies)[44 45 47 50...].
duration[2 1 1 3 4...] with pulse duration being .25s and pulse[1 3 4 5 8 13...]. So basically I am having a hard time with what I am supposed to be doing with pulse. Doesn't duration with the given .25s already basically give me my pulses? The assignment states to incorporate pulse into my function to account for quiet periods which i guess is represented by 12(in the above example) because 8+4=12 and the next pulse starts at 13 in my pulse vector. I really have no clue how I am supposed to account for it. Hope this is stated this clear enough, let me know if I need to add more information.-thanks for any help.
 
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Is pulse related to loudness and then it dissipates? Like tapping a piano key?
 
jedishrfu said:
Is pulse related to loudness and then it dissipates? Like tapping a piano key?
The pulses represent the start of a pulse wave. Like at pulse one the duration is 2(2 pulses) and since a pulse is .25s is represents 1second playing my first note 44. Then pulse three starts since two pulses already occurred and it has a duration of 1 or .25s and plays note 45.
 
If this is music theory, is http://wmich.edu/mus-gened/mus170/RockElements.pdf the definition of pulse?
Duple meter = 2 pulses per group: 2/4 time
Triple meter = 3 pulses per group: 3/4 time
Quadruple meter = 4 pulses per group: 4/4 time
 
FactChecker said:
If this is music theory, is http://wmich.edu/mus-gened/mus170/RockElements.pdf the definition of pulse?
Duple meter = 2 pulses per group: 2/4 time
Triple meter = 3 pulses per group: 3/4 time
Quadruple meter = 4 pulses per group: 4/4 time
We're not going into music theory, were basically playing one frequency for a period of time and then playing a different frequency for a different period of time. nothing fancy.
 

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