A project by Henning Berg (GitHub: Henning-Berg)
Tango² (Version 2.2, built on November 3, 2023) listens to an improvising musician, analyses what it hears and plays musical responses which relate directly to the musical input. If the improviser in turn reacts to these answers, a musical loop between the human and the machine can emerge. The way input and reaction correlate and the predictability of Tango’s responses can be defined by the user via a setup of improvising environments, called Rooms.
Under "Releases" two relevant files can be found:
-
Tango².2_2.zip contains the free software for Windows 10 with all necessary folders, English/German manuals and many example Rooms (zip, 57 MB).
-
Tango.2-2.Source.zip contains the complete source code for Tango 2.2. It compiles under Embarcadero C++ Builder 11.3, (Update 3) / Windows 10 (zip, 190 MB).
Here are a few short video clips of me improvising with Tango² in my studio. I added a screen recording to demonstrate the setup of a simple "Tutorial ROOM" which I also played in "Playing the Tutorial ROOM".
Obviously I did this because I like the music, but also because a video seems to be a good way to show how this kind of music-making can work.
Some pieces start more or less with the same phrase from the trombone, others with a simple C. From then on everything is improvised.
The actual Tango²- files (*.room) they were produced with can be found in Tango².2_2.zip .
"Ceremonial" (4:31): I improvise with 2 or more trombones and some piano in between. Towards the end T² uses its own piano accompaniment for short trombone-segments without me.
Prelude" (3:33): A quiet piece that makes extensive use of “Harmony”. The melody moves between the 3 voices. I am particularly proud of this one.
"Literally" (4:44): Tango² plays mostly with the samples of my last notes.
"Sarabande" (5:54): A jazz piece in slow 3/2, based on my favorite ballad. T² knows the chord changes and the melody. The harmony gets a little more abstract towards the end and Tango finishes the piece because it hears that I play the melody again.
The Tutorial ROOM :
"Setup of the Tutorial ROOM" (23:09)
"Playing the Tutorial ROOM" (4:30)
All compositions by Henning Berg
Thanks to my friend Hendrik Soll for the video-production and his great ideas throughout the whole project.