GeoMaestro
not so Frequently Asked Questions
What is GeoMaestro ?
- a research tool for experimental and algorithmic composition
- an extensible package for creating MIDI files and Csound scores
- a system based on KeyKit, interfacing with several free softwares, such as TiMidity++, Scala, Csound and Emacs.
- quite a personal view of what is music composition
What is not GeoMaestro ?
- a standalone program
- a user friendly computer music software
- what you need to compose the next dancefloor hit
- a real-time system
- a tool for writing music as you learn it in schools
On which platform does it run ?
It is developped and used under Win98. It is regularly tested under Linux. It should work fine under MacOS, but I never got any feedback from Mac users so i'm only guessing. If KeyKit runs in your system, try GeoMaestro and write me if any problem occurs.
How can I get it ?
Download KeyKit from here, then download the archive from there, then read this.
How can I use it ?
I believe you can use it in many different ways. Please browse the documentation and the tutorials to make up your own opinion. Also note that the Compositor tool is independent from the projection-based algorithmic system.
May I listen to something actually composed with GeoMaestro ?
A few short compositions are available from this page
Did someone famous ever use it ?
Oh yeah: Mr Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart used our product on a daily basis. John Coltrane tried it but he couldn't understand how to save its work. Jimi Hendrix loved it, only he didn't have a computer. Bob Marley smoked the mouse before he even started. Soft Machine found it too hard for them.
Can it increase my productivity ?
You already work too much. It's time to decrease your productivity. You may die before you retire.
Can it make me richer ?
Money will not prevent you from dying, and being rich will not be of any help when you die.
How can I thank you for such a wonderful piece of software ?
Report the bugs you find. Of course you can also send me a lot of money (believe it or not, I have no income), although I know you won't.
Who are you, anyway ?
Here's a picture of me (this was some time ago):
Here's a piece of my writing:
I'm too lazy to translate the documentation; especially if nobody asks for it (don't pretend you asked ! I wrote all questions and answers in this page)
By the way, are there other interesting French persons ?
Most of them are dead (France is an old country). I think Jacques Chirac is still alive. Johnny Halliday is not French, he's from Belgium. Hmm... the Rita Mitsouko. P'tit Luc. We could say that the Monty Pythons are French (it would just be a lie). Also Pedro Almodovar (he's Spanish: a very exotic kind of frenchies). Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Agnès Jaoui. Jacques Bouveresse.
Do you really eat frogs ?
Only the legs.
Aren't we off-topic here ?
I'm tired of having conversations limited to specific topics. Excessive classification is the death of spirit. Have you ever tried to find good music in mp3.com by using their stupid lists of musical styles ? Never got an angry message in a newsgroup from someone that didn't like the way your discussion with someone else went slightly off-topic, so that you're were talking about the beauty of the buddhist philosophical poetry while you were supposed to compare the cotations of biotechnology start-ups ? This really pisses me off.
Do you think that enough of us will reach higher levels of conciousness in order to save mankind before the global warming melts down our subtle bodies ?
I'm trying to do this (I mean: saving the world) by myself. I will let you know if I succeed (well, maybe you'll notice). Getting subtle is a subtle affair. There's a lot of not-so-subtle guys around, with not-so-subtle ideas. Maybe we should try to save the worl in a not-subtle way.
Dozug ?
Zab.
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