Pixel Tune

One of the most used technologies in audio software is the MIDI technology. Musical instruments digital interface (MIDI) is a protocol that allows electronic instruments to send and receive data to and from either other electronic instruments or MIDI devices and computers. MIDI files are not actually sound, but sets of data that set the specific parameters to be reproduced by a MIDI capable sound system.

Most of today's computers have MIDI capable sound cards, and they have drivers to translate MIDI messages into sound. This feature is very convenient, since it allows the use of very small software to produce audible sound. Many applications (computer programs) use this protocol to provide us with a whole world of sound, some with their own MIDI sound-library. Some other applications use the system MIDI interface directly, and even if the quality is not the best, there is plenty to be achieve with them.

One of those applications is called Pixel Tune (Punto y Tono in Spanish). Pixel Tune, created by Manuel Jander and Mario Arenas, is a mixed-media software that allows the user to use a series of graphic tools to draw and paint (just similar to the famous Paint, which is part of Microsoft Windows). The difference is that Pixel Tune uses the canvas as an interface to write MIDI data, which can be translated into sound by a playback button.

The playback option reads the file from left to right in a span of time that can vary according to the speed that we want. Up and down are translated into tempered chromatic pitch. Different colors are the different MIDI sounds, and the intensity of the color (brightness) is interpreted as MIDI velocity (or volume). When the file is played back, one can see the painting in full screen view, and so the music and the paint are displayed simultaneously.

One of the things I like the most is that there are a variety of tools, such as lines, shapes, spray, and a randomized paint. The result is not always tonal (actually most of the time it is not) and shapes such as squares produce interesting clusters of sound. You can use it directly to paint and have the paint interpreted as sound, or you can use it to consciously compose a piece, and you can use it conscious of those two aspects. The canvas scrolls to the right, so you can actually draw more than you can see in the space of a single screen, which is a feature that I have not seen in other apps that blend music and painting. And since the app uses the integrated MIDI capabilities of your computer, both the interface and the files are very small sized.

In terms of pedagogic application, Pixel Tune is a very useful tool that can serve various purposes. One of the most important might be to foster creativity and open-mindedness towards atonal music. Another element might be the development of a graphic language to create music and a step towards conventional and unconventional music notation.

In the following video, we can see students using the software.



Here is a link to download the software, which unfortunately is only available for Windows. The download is a compressed folder.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/pixeltune/

Once you have the files, extract them into  a folder and open the .exe file.

Dr. Mario Arenas, the main developer of this app, is a PhD. in education science, and Mr. in Arts and Composition. He teaches at Universidad de La Serena, Chile.

See his curriculum in the following link:
http://artedialogico.com/pgs/cv.html

Further reading and watching:

This is a link to Dr. Mario Arena's article Artefactos dialógicos: una propuesta para integrar la educación de artes musicales y visuales (Dialectic Artifacts: A proposal for integrating visual and musical art classes). The article is in Spanish, but it has an English abstract.

http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=44720020022

The following video is a record of Dr. Mario Arena's presentation in the Seminar for Visual Arts and Music.



References

Arenas, M. (2011) "Artefactos dialógicos: una propuesta para integrar la educación de artes musicales y visuales." Actualidades Investigativas en Educación, 11(2),  1-29. Retrieved from http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=44720020022>

Bauer, W. (2014) Music Learning Today: Digital pedagogy for creating, performing, and responding to music. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Escola El Sitjar. (2010, November 20th). Punto y tono 6A. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ecz8vkyu4Vg&feature=youtu.be

Proyecto Metaforas. (2013, September 2nd). Mario Arenas. Seminario Artes Visuales y Música [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qt0JMZJKVLk&feature=youtu.be