alexbainter

New course: Building Generative Music Systems

Hey folks, for a while now I've wanted to create a course to show people how to build generative music systems for the browser the way I do. I wasn't sure how interested people would be, so I've released an "early access" version of it available now on Gumroad. That means it's text-only for now, and requires you to install a program on your computer to run the systems for you. It does not explain how to code or any music theory, so be warned! If you know a little about music ...

Generative.fm Play v0.11.1 released with iOS playback fix

Hey folks, just letting you know I released version 0.11.1 of Generative.fm Play. This includes a fix for playing music on iOS devices even when the screen is off or the site doesn't have focus.

You can check which version your on by visiting the About page (press the dots or the profile icon in the upper right corner of the site, then press "About"). You should either get prompted to update or you can ...

September 2022 Update

Hey folks, it’s been a long time since I updated here and I wanted to check in with you all.

I’ll get straight to the point: I probably won’t be working much on Generative.fm for the foreseeable future. I intend to keep the site running as-is, but I can’t guarantee whether I’ll add any new features or music going forward.

I wanted to let you know since it might affect your decision to continue supporting me th...

January 2022 Update

Hello! Here's a quick summary of what I'm working on right now.

Thanks for being here!

The short version

• I'm reorganizing and documenting the code for Generative.fm so I'm not the only one who can develop the software. You can track my progress on Github here. This will take a while but I'll keep sharing updates along the way.
• Yep, I caved: I've started experimenting with...
  2022-01-13 01:43:44 +0000 UTC View Post

November 2021 Update

Hi folks! Just wanted to say hello and let you know I've added a new piece called "Skyline" to Generative.fm. You can check it out here.

tl;dr: Sorry for the long break, thanks for sticking around, be sure to go vote on stuff you want me to work on next.

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I'm really sorry it took me so long to...

July 2021 Status Update

Hi folks, it's been a bit since I shared anything or released any updates and I felt like I owed you an update at the very least.

I made a poll a few months ago to see what everyone wanted me to work on, and the response was a clear and overwhelming preference for adding new music to the site. I have been working on that, but I haven't come up with anything I felt was ready for release. In the few years I've ...

Generative.fm Priority Poll

Hi again! There's been a lot of changes since the last poll so here's a new one. These really help me figure out how to spend my time so I appreciate you taking the time to vote on stuff that's important to you. Please vote for as many as you'd like.

Thank you!

Generative.fm Suggestions and Feedback

Hey folks, it's been a while since we had a thread for collecting suggestions and feedback. Since the last work poll is months old and I've finished the top choices, I want to make a new one soon. Before I do that, I'd love to hear anything you want to tell me about how the service could be better for you. Please leave a comment about anything you'd like to see added or changed, and I'll get a new poll up that incl...

Generative.fm Play is now Chromecast-enabled

Hey folks, the most recent release of Generative.fm adds support from Casting from Google Chrome. This was one of the top choices from the poll from last month (after a desktop app, which you can find here in case you missed it).

Search is currently in the lead so that will be my next focus. I've also been working on a way to send ...

Generative.fm Play Desktop App

Hi folks. I'm ready to release an "early access" version of the Generative.fm Play desktop app.

I've done some preliminary testing on all platforms but please let me know if you find any issues. Also, I think I'd like to keep these as exclusive perks just for patrons, so please don't share them with anyone. Thanks!

Instructions

Mac

Download and open the attached .dmg file.

Windows

Download and run the attached .exe file. ...

Generative.fm Work Update

Hi folks, just wanted to share what I'm working on right now.

The poll from a few weeks ago is still open: https://www.patreon.com/posts/48469012. Feel free to go vote if you haven't and thanks to those who already did.

Since a desktop player app is in the lead, I've started working on that. For now, the desktop app will be exactly the same as the site. But I'm sort of waiting on the Mac I ordered to ...

Generative.fm Improvement Priority Poll

Hey folks, I'm hoping to have Autochange released this week, which means I'll need to know what to get started on next. Here's a big list of things we could do.

You can vote for as many as you like.

As always, feel free to drop suggestions or questions in the comments.

UPDATES:

A desktop app is now available here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/49556043.

Google Cast is supported sta...

Generative.fm Update

Hey folks, just wanted to share a few updates about Generative.fm.

I just released a new generator called "Splash." I hope you like it.

I've also added a way for you to edit the current selection of generators. You can now add and remove generators through the generator menu (right click/long press/click the three vertical dots next to a generator). This has paved the way for custom playlists and autochange.

Speaking of which, I've closed the last poll deciding which feat...

Generative.fm Play is here!

Hi folks! I just released Generative.fm Play, the new player for Generative.fm, and I'd love for you to try it out.

Before you do, please remember that your data from the old Generative.fm will be automatically imported. After that happens, if you go back to old Generative.fm, any new activity (favorites and play time) will be ignored. Probably not a big deal, but just wanted to let you know.

I've...

Generative.fm Play Progress Update 3 / Release Timeline

Hi folks!

First, thank you so much for sticking with me and helping out with Generative.fm. I'm really excited about the new player app and I hope you'll find it was worth the wait.

The new player is about 95% complete. I'm planning to finish it and make it available to you in the coming weeks. The core functionality is all there and this last 5% or so is mostly just finishing touches. After that, I'll be dedicating some time to testing the app as...

Generative.fm Discord Server

Hi folks, just wanted to invite you to join the new Generative.fm Discord server. You may have already received a link in your email, but I'll quickly share what it is and how I hope to use it.

If you're not familiar, Discord is a text and voice chat service, much like Slack or an instant messenger. A Discord server is a private space for a group or community to chat.

I think Discord's strength is in facilitating conversations which I'm really looking forward to, especially as we ...

Generative.fm Player Progress Update 2

Hi folks, just wanted to share another progress update with you. Let me know what you think!

I forgot to mention that your user data from the old player will be automagically imported to the new one when you use it. Also, I haven't done much of the work for the mobile UI yet but expect a slightly different layout that's optimized for the smaller screen size.

Thanks! Let me know if you have any questions or comments.

Vote for the Generative.fm features you want first

Hello again! As I mentioned in my last post, I'm working to get a beta version of the new Generative.fm player out as soon as I can, without all of the planned features.

What I'd like to know is, once that version of the player is released which feature would you like added first? I'll use the results of this poll to determine the order I add things in.

Thanks!

Generative.fm Progress Update

Hi folks, just wanted to share a quick update showing where the new player is at. These are screenshots of what I've actually built so far, where the last update was just mockups. Keep in mind that I'm still aiming for this: https://www.patreon.com/posts/43293077 and most of these buttons don't actually do anything yet. The data is fake too. Still a long way to go, but it's coming along!

I'm thinking about re...

Generative.fm Player Design Prototypes

Hey folks, I wanted to share some prototypes of the new Generative.fm player and find out what you think of them. These are definitely not final and there's all sorts of stuff missing here!

Now that the recording functionality is off in its own app, I think of the player as having one primary purpose: to help you find something to listen to.

For me, there are two "modes" I'm in when I'm looking for music to listen to. The first is where I don't know what I'm look...

"Zed" is now on Generative.fm

Hey folks, I wanted to let you know I added a new piece called "Zed" to the site last night. Hope you like it!

Remastering is complete, new music is coming next, then a new player

Hey folks, just wanted to let you know that I've finally finished remastering all the pieces. I just released a new version of the site for you to use: https://generative.fm

There should be significantly fewer audio issues like crackling during playback, so if you were previously disappointed when listening to the site on a mobile device or while doing something else on your computer, you should have a much better experience...

Generative.fm September 2020 Update

Hello again, here's another short update.

I'm still working on upgrading all of the pieces. I'm basically "remastering" each one and making improvements on a case-by-case basis. It took longer than I expected to get everything ready but progress is steady now. I hope to be finished sometime next month. It will be worth it to cut down on crackles and pops!

I've also been working on some new music which I'll release at the same time as the remastered versions of the old ones. I've s...

Generative.fm August 2020 Status Update

Hey folks, here's a quick update on what I'm working on right now.

After some early design work for the new Generative.fm player, I realized I'd need to make some  changes to how I structure the code for the generative systems. I'm finalizing those changes and starting to upgrade each piece. Two of the biggest improvements this will bring include:

• Less CPU usage for many pieces. That means less crackling/glit...
  2020-08-15 13:29:12 +0000 UTC View Post

Patreon growth update - thank you! ❤️

Hello again folks. I wanted to quickly acknowledge that the income provided from Patreon now exceeds the most expensive month of Generative.fm hosting costs ever. 🎉

If you didn't know, every month I share the cost of hosting Generative.fm for that month here on Patreon under Goals. When traffic to Generative.fm started to increase (or should I say exist), my hope was that I could keep the site free to use, share the costs of hosting it, and provide a way for people to pay for it. Co...

Generative.fm Record is Live!

Hey folks, I'm so excited to finally share the new recording app with you.

I haven't done a ton of testing, so super big warning that stuff might not work. Let me know if you find any problems.

I realize most of you don't use the recording feature much, but you can still get a feel for the style these new apps will have.

I'll announce this more publicly in a week or so. I'll clean up any bugs, and then it's on to the new listening app and some new music.<...

Generative.fm Update and Work Priority Poll

Hey everyone, quick update and a question for you.

I'm close to releasing the new Generative.fm recording web app. The most notable new feature is that you can specify a fade in and fade out for the recordings. I just need to spend some time making sure everything works well on mobile plus a few other things. Once it's ready you'll be the first to know about it.

So looking a bit into the future, I'd like to know your preference for how I spend my time. Note that I'll probably end...

New Recording Interface Update

Hey folks, just wanted to check in with a little progress update on the recording interface. It's coming along! This should give you an idea of what the new interfaces will look like.

You can see it's still missing some core functionality like playback. I also haven't done any of the work necessary for making it mobile-friendly yet. I'm planning on releasing a version ASAP even without all the bells and whistles, but everything will get added eventually. That way I can get started on th...

CPU Usage/Crackling Reduction! - Quick Update

tl;dr - I found a new approach that significantly reduces the amount of CPU used by Generative.fm pieces. In one case, it brought CPU usage from 45% to 5%. This means pieces using this approach won't crackle so much.

Hey there, just wanted to share some exciting news. As you've probably noticed before, most of the pieces on Generative.fm use a lot of your computer's processing power. If you've listened on older hardware, on a smartphone, or while your processor was occu...

Generative.fm Record Designs

Hey everyone, just wanted to share these early (not final!) designs for the new recording app. Let me know what you think. Some of the icons are just placeholders for now but the colors and general theme is what I have in mind.

I'm getting started on building this but it's going to take a long time to build. I'll share updates along the way.

Thanks!