CSOUND JOURNAL | Issue 18

Csound for Cage's Ryoanji

A possible solution for the Sound System

Enrico Francioni

francioni61021 AT libero.it

Introduction
With this article, I would like to continue the discussion begun in Issue 13 [Spring] of the Csound
Journal, examining another piece for acoustic instrument sounds and supporting sound system. This
piece is a version of John Cage's Ryoanji for contrabass with percussion obbligato (vocalise ad
libitum), published originally by Edition Peters. I hope to please not only the double bass players, but
also all of the musicians that use Csound everyday.

I. Introduction to Ryoanji

"In 1983 [Cage] started a composition in progress called Ryoanji, named after the rock
garden in Kyoto, Japan. This garden is a collection of 15 rocks, placed in a landscape of
raked, white sand. In the summer of 1983 Cage started a series of drawings entitled
"Where R=Ryoanji", using 15 different stones and drawing around these. Around that
time the oboist James Ostryniec asked Cage to write a piece for him, which resulted in the
first part of Ryoanji. Between 1983 and 1985 Cage added 4 more parts for voice, flute,
double bass and trombone. In July 1992 Cage made sketches (during an interview with
Joan Retallack and Michael Bach, described in Musicage - Cage muses on Words, Art,
Music.), together with Michael Bach, for a cello part he never completed. The solos (in
any combination or as solos) are always accompanied by a percussion part or a similar
20 member orchestral part. Every solo is a series of 8 songs (9 in the voice version). A
song is created on 2 pages, each of which contains 2 rectangular systems. In every
rectangle Cage traced parts of the perimeters of the given stones. These curves should be
played as glissandi, within the given pitch ranges. In some places, contours overlap, thus
being impossible to play for a soloist. In these cases, tape recordings are used to allow the
soloist to play duets or trios. The percussion part is a single complex of 2 unspecified
sounds, played in unison, wood and metal (not metal and metal). The metres for these
materials are twelve, thirteen, fourteen or fifteen. The twenty musicians of the orchestra
each independently choose a single sound, which they use for the entire performance.
They should play in "Korean unison", their attacks being close, but not exactly together.
These parts are a series of quarter notes (like in the percussion part) with notations
(different for each instrument) to play slightly before, slightly after or more or less on the
beat. The soloists represent the stones of the garden, the accompaniment the raked sand."

- from the comments on the John Cage Trust site for Ryoanji[1]

II. Notes
The following subsections are excerpts from the performance instructions for Cage's Ryoanji.

Contrabass

Each two pages represent a "garden" of sounds. The glissandi are to be played smoothly
and as much as is possible like sound events in nature rather than sounds in music. The
dynamics, not given, are to be soft rather than loud, as a rule, a rule that has exceptions.
The pieces is for bass solo (shown below in the part as a solid line) ____ , with vocalise
ad libitum (the straight horizontal lines, below, represent the staff) and prerecorded parts.
These latter are ......, __ __, and _ . _ . Each part is to have its own sound system [2].
 Figure 1. A page of the score showing the contrabass and vocalise ad libitum[2].
Extracts from RYOANJI by John Cage © Copyright 1984 by Henmar Press, Inc., New York.
Reprinted by permission of Peters Edition Limited, London.

Percussion obbligato

At least two only slightly resonant instruments of different material (wood and metal, not
metal and metal) are to be played in unison. The playing begins anywhere about two
measures before the instrumentalist or vocalist enters, continuing during silences between
two songs or pieces, and ending about two measures after the instrument or voice has
stopped. These sounds are the "raked sand" of the garden. They should be played quietly
but not as background. They should even be imperceptibly in the foreground. They should
have some life (slight changes of imperceptible dynamics) as though the light on them is
changing.

Figure 2. The first page of the Percussion part[3].

Extracts from RYOANJI by John Cage © Copyright 1984 by Henmar Press,
Inc., New York.
Reprinted by permission of Peters Edition Limited, London.

 
III. Versions and choice of performance
If we dedicate ourselves to a performance of Cage's Ryoanji, to resolve certain questions of technical
equipment, there is nothing more suitable than Csound. This choice is for a few good reasons: the
extreme-portability and flexibility of the .csd file for live performance, the ability to manage freely and
with great imagination the various elements in the code (the double basses, percussion and vocalise),
and the ability to choose execution depending on what are the aims and intentions of a given type.

Being a double bass player, for Cage's Ryoanji, I concentrated mainly in setting the version for
contrabass with percussion obbligato (vocalise ad libitum). From the catalog of Edition Peters [4] we
can see that there are also other possible versions of Ryoanji written for the following instrumental
ensembles: Contrabass and Percussion, Flute and Percussion, Oboe and Percussion, Trombone and
Percussion, and Voice and Percussion. It is also possible to apply some interpretive license, regarding
the "freedom" allowed by the author which is described in the introductory notes to this version.

Setting the interpretation of the version is the second stage of the work. This involves the choice of a
performance mode as mentioned above, where a performance mode is just one of a number of possible
approaches to the implementation of technical and musical performance. Csound can be employed in
various ways on the basis of this choice. Here are some of the possible performance modes of Ryoanji
with the use of Csound:

1. A performance with all the performers employing live double bass soloist, three double basses
recorded, percussion and vocalise "ad libitum"
2. A performance with the live soloist (a double bass in our case) and support or background
sounds which include three double basses, percussion and vocalise ad libitum
3. Another mode which is an interpretive "hybrid" approach
4. A performance totally in playback mode providing only sound direction

IV. Preparation of material

The musical score
There is no original overall score showing all parts together. After a quick look at the detached parts of
Ryoanji - the contrabass (with vocalise ad libitum) and percussion [see previous score, Figure 2,
above] - the need arises to see a combined, single score in order to obtain an overview of the entire
work (duration: 17:35, assuming a tactus of percussion equals 60 bpm per quarter note) and to have
complete control over the material.

Figure 3. A page of the score (overlapping parts: Contrabass/Vocalise and Percussion)[2][3].

Extracts from RYOANJI by John Cage © Copyright 1984 by Henmar Press, Inc., New York.

Reprinted by permission of Peters Edition Limited, London.

This is true because Cage himself left undefined elements, such as the point of initial overlap of the
parts of the contrabass with the percussion. In fact the author [Cage] writes that the percussion should
begin about two beats before, accompany the whole piece and cease their intervention (approximately)
two strokes after the last entry of contrabass.

Strictly speaking all logic may be conceived and rewritten using the time domain (the one given to the
crotchet percussion) borrowing from Cage the rectangles (or garden) of the contrabass. In fact this
betrays some intentions that aims instead more towards an interpretation of the score (contrabass and
vocalise) and a proportional system that is bringing back the parts to the whole duration of the piece.
Any forcing, however, must be interpreted as a need for rationalization aimed at the implementation of
the project. However, it is preserved as a micro-proportionality in the relationship between the
glissando basses, being almost impossible to measure those within a strict time schedule. This can be
refined in a detailed representation as shown in Figure 4, below, because of the objective
characteristics of the musical nature of the glissando.
 Figure 4. Detail of the score of the basses[2][3].
Extracts from RYOANJI by John Cage © Copyright 1984 by Henmar Press, Inc., New York.
Reprinted by permission of Peters Edition Limited, London.

This element, namely the indefiniteness of the frequency of glissando at a given instant in time, is a
characteristic thought of Cage. This can be traced back to the concept of alea and of indeterminacy in
his musical writings. On the other hand when an overlay time grid is placed on the rectangles of the
glissando, that activates a process of rationalization which is not entirely arbitrary or part of chance,
but necessary for the realization of performance.

Among other things we can note that Cage, for a greater determination of timbre in score, indicates the
string (contrabass) on which to engage the sound. We also see that for vocals, noted with lengths of
horizontal lines of various styles, Cage implies a certain freedom of interpretation, especially
regarding pitch. For basses, pitch is indicated in the extension notation at the top left corner, and the
range of the horizontal staves are listed on the grid to the left at the beginning of each garden, as in
Figure 5, below.

Figure 5. The elements of the original score[2].

Extracts from RYOANJI by John Cage © Copyright 1984 by Henmar Press, Inc., New York.
Reprinted by permission of Peters Edition Limited, London.

V. The project
The double bass soloist (live)

In the case of employing a live, solo, double bass there would be one of two solutions:

1. The execution occurs totally in acoustic environments designed for a small-sized space, which
requires a low level of overall intensity, without any correction of the sound.
2. A live performance that is partially or fully amplified in the case of execution in a medium or
large space. In this case the signal is acoustic as well as amplified - a maquillage of sound
(reverberation, spatialization, etc.) that can mix with the source of other instruments.

For either case, there will be no particular problems with the code of Csound for realizing each way
for live performance.

Thinking of a one-man performance, it is also important for the soloist to have simultaneous control of
the various elements of the performance. For this reason it is essential to have the help of a GUI for a
preliminary calibration, execution, and for control of its direct metronomic live performance. It is not
essential, but at least desirable, to have a minimum of sound direction control.

Things are different if the bass solo is prerecorded and and played back. In this case the strategy of
preparation of the patch will be similar to that of the other three recorded contrabasses. It is
recommend to those who want to deal with this version of Ryoanji for contrabass be ready to employ
both methods (live and playback), and then have the ability to execute the first double bass playback
while preparing in advance the sound system.

The three contrabasses (on support)

The realization of the three contrabass parts for the support material, as well as that of the soloist in the
case of a playback performance, may be organized according to various strategies:

1. Make a studio recording using an audio track for each double bass, then import it into our
algorithm rendered with Csound in real time. Then, realize a patch which allows for making an
analysis (also in deferred time) and a resynthesis in real-time.
2. Use a recording of audio samples (in deferred time) and a stretching in real time of the recording
. It is essential to be aware that this mode still requires a considerable amount of CPU resources
from our machine.
3. Use a mixture of 1 and 2, realizing a preparation for the work in deferred time and then save the
result as audio files which are then imported back into our algorithm, rendered with Csound in
real time.
4. There may also be another method to save resources by realizing the parts of the three basses
using a synthetic route (eg. with the use of semi-physical models in Csound), but that hasthe
problem, however, of having no actual acoustic instrumental sound.

Percussion (on support)

In the mode chosen for the realization of the pulses for the required percussion that accompanies the
whole piece, audio samples that are a compound of the sound of metal overlaid with a sound of wood
were used. In addition to the patch for percussion there were two additional items:

The ability of the performer to choose the sound of the drums using two small libraries (via a
menu): metal (or metal + wood) and wood taken from the collection of some semi-physical
models provided to us with Csound and other samples from audio
Scanning the first beat of each "measure" with another percussion instrument (wood).

It would be possible to opt for a live performance of percussion, thus saving many lines of code, but
these are part of the choices that will be made by an interpreter realizing the score.

Vocalise ad libitum (on support)

For voice we can give free rein to the imagination. Cage in fact gives us no indication on the
implementation of vocalise; between the lines he wrote only that it is noted on the score with
differentiated horizontal lines . Also for Vocalise we are led to think that the solid line ______
indicates the vocalise live, while the other three types of notation: ____ /. . . . . / _. _. _. refer to
vocalise on the digital background.

In my version, however, all four lines of vocalise are realized in the support part in order to facilitate
even more of a one-man performance. Now let us see what we have to do for the project as it applies
to the operation and code of Csound.

VI. The patch for Ryoanji (Orchestra, Score and GUI)

Hardware

To play the .csd file, we will need to connect a multichannel audio card (four channels) to our
computer. From there we will need to connect four monitors (Ch1: Left Front; Ch2: Right front; Left
rear Ch3; Ch4 Right rear) to the outputs of the card, and two microphones into inputs 1 and 2 of the
card. We will the set the preferences of our frontend to match this configuration.

Software
Be sure the the .csd folder is located within the main folder of code for Csound, which is necessary for
a successful execution of .wav, .mp3, .pvx, and .txt types. The code for this project was written using
Csound version 5.13. For successful execution and conservation of resources, after launching the .csd
(Ryoanji_1.5.3b.csd), we will need to check that the following defaults are in the .csd options tag and
in the orchestra:

Real-time buffer frames: 1024

Disabling Output listing in I/O object
Disabling Display Functions in I/O object

Set the header for playback to the values as shown below.

sr = 44100

ksmps = 120

nchnls = 4

These are the the options to be used instead for recording, listed below.

sr = 44100

ksmps = 260

nchnls = 4

Score

With regard to the score, it was limited to only a few lines of code. The score will keep the algorithm
switched on for a time equal to 3600 seconds, manage the reading speed, perform the skiptime
(advance) and manage the GUI (GUI_reset, GUI_in, GUI_out) in realtime.

f0 3600 ; active for one hour

; AGOGICA
; AGOGICA

t0 60
; skiptime (advance)

a0 0 0

; [ section: I=32 ; II=156 ; III=280 ; IV=404 ; V=528 ; VI=652 ; VII=776 ; VIII=900

; RESET GUI

i300 0 .1

; GUI IN

i301 .1 -1

; GUI OUT

i302 .1 -1

Orchestra

As can be seen in the flow chart at the end of this article (Figure 18.), this patch is concentrated mainly
in the orchestra and is divided into two parts: sample registration and performance. The first lines of
code in the head of the orchestra concern prealloc tools, initialization of global variables (types a, k
and i) and functions (ftgen). Regarding the description of the code of the orchestra, some images of
the GUI controls can help with your understanding. These were written using MacCsound 1.5, but you
should also be able to open the .csd with CsoundQt.

VII. Recording
The .csd has been prepared for all the files types needed to run the project, such as .wav, .mp3, .pvx,
and .txt. See the link below for downloading all files needed to run this project. This section was added
to allow the interpreter to customize the performance by making use of its material (as far as the
contrabass register and vocalise). This tool, shown in Figure 6, below, has the task of recording and
saving audio samples (.wav) of double bass (four C2 on all four strings), as well as audio samples
(.wav) and analysis files (.pvx) of voice (vowels I, O, A, E which correspond to the four parts of the
Vocalise). The selection and order of the voice is only a suggestion for performance.

     
Panel for the control of the Choosing the type of sample to
 
recording be recorded

Figure 6. Recording panel GUIs.

Before recording, you can turn on a count-down display(cntdwn), punctuated by the LED light, as well
as decide the length of the recording (dur). After triggering the Start Render and setting the controls,
the REC button will activate the count-down and the subsequent recording (be sure to attach a
microphone on Channel 1).

The code for this is listed below.

instr irec ; call recording

gkirec = 1 - gkirec

schedkwhen gkirec, -1, 1, "rec", gkwhen, gkdur

schedkwhen gkirec, -1, 1, "Timout", 0, gkwhen

turnoff

endin

instr Timout ; count-down recording

if gkirec != 0 goto cont

turnoff

cont:
idur = 1

p5 = .01

p6 = .4

p7 = .01

daqua:

gknvTmout linseg 0, p5, 1, p6, 1, p5, 0, idur - ((2 * p5) + p6), 0

timout 0, idur, continua

reinit daqua

continua:

rireturn

endin
instr rec ; recording file wav and pvx (one track at a time)

if gkirec != 0 goto cont

turnoff

cont:
aIn inch 1

gktmRec timeinsts

if i(gkrec) == 1 then

Sfile = "/Users/enrico/Desktop/Ryoanji/myCbC3_I.wav"

fout Sfile, 2, aIn

elseif i(gkrec) == 2 then

Sfile = "/Users/enrico/Desktop/Ryoanji/myCbC3_II.wav"

fout Sfile, 2, aIn

elseif i(gkrec) == 3 then

Sfile = "/Users/enrico/Desktop/Ryoanji/myCbC3_III.wav"

fout Sfile, 2, aIn

elseif i(gkrec) == 4 then

Sfile = "/Users/enrico/Desktop/Ryoanji/myCbC3_IV.wav"

fout Sfile, 2, aIn

elseif i(gkrec) == 5 then

Sfile = "/Users/enrico/Desktop/Ryoanji/myVx_I.wav"

fout Sfile, 2, aIn

fss pvsanal aIn, 1024,256,1024,0

pvsfwrite fss, "/Users/enrico/Desktop/Ryoanji/myVx_I.pvx"

elseif i(gkrec) == 6 then

Sfile = "/Users/enrico/Desktop/Ryoanji/myVx_O.wav"

fout Sfile, 2, aIn

fss pvsanal aIn, 1024,256,1024,0

pvsfwrite fss, "/Users/enrico/Desktop/Ryoanji/myVx_O.pvx"

elseif i(gkrec) == 7 then

Sfile = "/Users/enrico/Desktop/Ryoanji/myVx_A.wav"

fout Sfile, 2, aIn

fss pvsanal aIn, 1024,256,1024,0

pvsfwrite fss, "/Users/enrico/Desktop/Ryoanji/myVx_A.pvx"

elseif i(gkrec) == 8 then

Sfile = "/Users/enrico/Desktop/Ryoanji/myVx_E.wav"

fout Sfile, 2, aIn

fss pvsanal aIn, 1024,256,1024,0

pvsfwrite fss, "/Users/enrico/Desktop/Ryoanji/myVx_E.pvx"

endif
endin

VIII. Performance (Play)

For performance playback there are at least four areas of code: double bass solo, the three basses in the
background, the percussion, and the vocalise (ad libitum). As mentioned above, each element of
performance is manageable in an almost independent manner of the other. For further simplification
there are also some pre-defined settings for execution available from the Preset menu (in GUI).

Contrabass soloist
The settings shown in Figure 7, below, are available as performance options: off, live, file, and
samples.

Figure 7. Control panel for double bass soloist.

off - playback totally acoustic without any correction of the sound.

live - playback with the correction signal (microphone channel 1) - width/mute, reverb and
spatialization.
file - playback (mp3 file); you can adjust amplitude/mute, reverb and spatialization. The
interpreter for playback can also use their own audio files that will be loaded with MacCsound
in a .csd such as below.

gaCB1 soundinmac "/Users/enrico/Desktop/Ryoanji/CB_01-mn.mp3", 1, i(gkskiptim)

samples - for playback with the ability to choose from the library of audio samples that will be
imported from itab, using the opcode mincer (dedicated to stretching) shown below:

gaCB1 mincer atime, kamp, kpitch, itab, ilock

In stretching the sample number, it is each time re-modeled in the pitch by the argument kpitch
through the transeg opcode (based on the performance track in the score - glissando).

The options available for samples (through the menu on the right), shown in Figure 8 below, are from
the first library of audio samples (lib_smp) which refer to the existing library in the directory of the
.csd (CbC3_I.wav, CbC3_II.wav, CbC3_III.wav, CbC3_IV.wav). The second library (rec_smp) calls
the custom and pre-recorded samples (samples labeled: myCbC3_I.wav, myCbC3_II.wav,
myCbC3_III.wav, myCbC3_IV.wav).
 Figure 8. Choice of sample libraries for the bass soloist.

Contrabass (on support)

This is concerning the three basses which are the fixed parts in the execution of Ryoanji. We can see
that this time the menu, shown in Figure 9, below, has two options: file and samples.

Figure 9. Contrabass panel for support, with the file/samples menu.

The file option invokes three previously recorded mp3 audio tracks (one for each part of the bass). The
samples option (such as the double bass soloist) in turn provides us with access to the side menu to
import the sample data or use pre-recorded samples.

As in the code for the bass soloist, a dedicated Csound instrument for each contrabass part is used, as
well as the option for what type of execution, which calls (schedule) for the instrument that performs
stretching. The following is an excerpt of code for the double bass 2 instrument:.

instr CB2

if gkiPlay != 0 goto cont

turnoff

cont:
if i(gkCB234) = 1 then

gaCB2 soundinmac "/Users/enrico/Desktop/Ryoanji/CB_02-mn.mp3", 1, i(g

gkled2=0

elseif i(gkCB234) = 2 then

clear gaCB2

gkled2 = 1
; p1 p2 p3 p4 p5 p6
schedule "cb2", 57.85, 7.85, 3, 1, 2, 1, 0,
schedule "cb2", 82.50, 4.4, 2, 4, 1.5, -.5, -1,
schedule "cb2", 88.45, 7.25, 2, 1, -2, -1, .5,
schedule "cb2", 147.55, 2.77, 3, -1, -1.5, -2.5, -3,
schedule "cb2", 422.00, 5.1, 3, 2.5, .5, -.5, 0,
schedule "cb2", 427.40, 3.9, 3, 2.6, 3.2, 2.3, 1.4,
schedule "cb2", 443.40, 3.9, 2, 0.85, .85, 1.5, 2.7,
schedule "cb2", 455.40, 3.4, 4, -1.3, 1, 2, 2.6,
schedule "cb2", 458.80, 5.95, 4, .8, 1.2, 1.8, .8,
schedule "cb2", 470.70, 7.1, 3, .4, 1.4, 1.9, 1.2,
schedule "cb2", 515.20, 7.6, 2, 1.2, .7, 1.8, 1.3,
endif
endin

The arguments to schedule (from p4 to p19) refer to the values destined for the opcode mincer, which
in this case is located in the instrument cb2.

As for the soloist there are controls for amplitude/mute and reverb (nreverb), which also influence the
sound of the bass soloist. There are sliders for the duration in seconds (ktime) and the amount of
diffusion at high frequency (khdif) for the reverb.

Percussion
 Figure 10. Panel for Percussion.

The Percussion panel, Figure 10, is shown above. The Impulse panel is dedicated to all the quarter
notes, while the First panel is dedicated to just the first quarter note of each bar. In both percussion
panels we can manipulate the type of sound, amplitude/mute and reverb. In addition, through a menu
there are several options available:

off - turns off both Impulse and First (with turnoff);

live - is an option exclusively dedicated to Impulse, to enable a live performance with the effects
signal (microphone, channel 2) that controls width/mute, reverb and spatialization, while the
First tool continues to play the selected samples;
samples - with this choice in both tools (Impulse and First), shown in Figure 10, below, we can
select sounds from a library of percussion samples.

Figure 11. Panel of Impulse, off/live/samples.

When selecting the samples menu option (in PERCUSSIONS panel, see Figure 10), the instruments
PC12 and PC3 from Ryonji_1.5.3b.csd activate timing (utilizing values written in a table as .txt files)
for instruments pc1, pc2, and pc3, which determine the type of samples. The instruments pc1, pc2, and
pc3 will in turn send the audio signal output to instruments pc12out and instrument pc3out. The
following is the model code for PERCUSSIONS (First panel, see Figure 10), utilizing the schedule
opcode along with the opcode loop_le.

istart = 0

iend = 77

looppoint:

ip2 table istart, gir27

schedule "pc3", ip2, 10

loop_le istart,1,iend,looppoint

As mentioned above, for both the First percussion tool and for Impulse, shown below in Figure 12,
there are two distinct percussion libraries: one for Impulse (percussion of metal + wood) and another
for First (percussion of wood).

     

Figure 12. Percussion tools, menu access to the sounds.

Here are some of the percussion sounds used in the patch (as samples or semi-physical models of
Csound):
asig_01 tambourine 30000, .1

asig_02 cabasa 30000, .01

asig_03 sleighbells 20000, 0.01

asig_04 diskin2 "scod_perc-mn_03.wav", 1

and

asig_01 guiro 25000, p3

asig_02 bamboo 9000, .1, 0, .035, 0, 1000, 3000, 10000

asig_03 cabasa 20000, .01

asig_04 diskin2 "30-prc01-gaml1-mn.wav", 1

Also for Percussion, controls for amplitude/mute, reverb and spatialization (the latter inside the .csd)
are also utilized.

Vocalise (ad libitum)

For Vocalise (ad libitum), we can choose between these possibilities of execution: off, mnc, or pvx, as
shown in Figure 13, below.

Figure 13. Panel Vocalise (ad libitum).

off - the tools associated with Vocalise are suppressed (turnoff).

mnc - activates stretching of audio samples, similar to the double bass soloist.
pvx - resynthesis is activated, using the pvsfread, pvscale, and pvsynth opcodes with .pvx
files. This alternative requires more cpu resources than using the mincer opcode.

With both mnc and pvx there is access to two corresponding libraries: the first is the default one and
the second is a custom one.

Below, in Figure 14, is shown the library selection for mnc. The lib_smp selection is the sample library
of audio data and the rec_smp selection is for the custom library of sound samples.

Figure 14. Sound sample selection options.

Below, in Figure 15, is shown the library selection for pvx. The lib_pvx selection is for the default
library and rec_pvx is for the custom library.

Figure 15. pvx selection options.

For Vocalise there are also controls for amplitude/mute, reverb and spatialization (the latter inside the
.csd).

Within the Play panel shown below, we have the ability to perform several functions:

enable/disable the rms signal (either in code or in the GUI) for further savings on the CPU
reset the controls in the GUI (reset)
perform the skiptime for the choice of the point of execution of the file
see the scan rate of the metronome through the two LEDS
check the timer number that marks the second.

You can choose the value of skiptime with the menu section that will start running from one of the
eight gardens in the following times (in seconds): I = 32; II = 156; III = 280; IV = 404; V = 528; VI =
652; VII = 776; VIII = 900.

To start the playback, after using Start Render and choosing the type of performance, we will select the
Play button.

IX. Spatialization and Localization

In spatialization/localization of sound, four channels are utilized: (Channel 1: Left front - Channel 2:
Right front - Channel 3: Left rear - Channel 4: Right rear). This implies the use of a quadraphonic
system for the four basses or four types of vocalise. In the code, each part is given a location and a
basic movement within the acoustic space. The parts are generally assigned to channels as described
below:
 Contrabass I: Left front (In the case of a live performance without microphone, the soloist will
be placed with the double bass near the monitor Channel 1-Left front)
Contrabass II: Right front
Contrabass III: Left rear
Contrabass IV: Right rear
Percussion (Impulse and First): Linear from the Left front, Right front and back
Vocalise (ad libitum) I: circular movement and returning to the starting position Left front
Vocalise (ad libitum) II: circular movement and returning to the starting position Right front
Vocalise (ad libitum) III: circular movement and returning to the starting position Left rear
Vocalise (ad libitum) IV: circular movement and returning to the starting position Right rear

The opcode space was employed for the spatialization, with parameters as shown below:

a1, a2, a3, a4 space asig, ifn, ktime, kreverbsend, kx, ky

For the four basses ifn changes movement through the function (GEN28), shown below.

gir9 ftgen 9, 0, 0, -28, "CB01.txt"

Above, ftgen reads the values in a text file (.txt) that contains a time-tagged trajectory, using an
example shown below. In this example the track of the movement of the bass soloist is in the area of
the Left front space.

0 -1 1

39.30 -1 1

47.00 -4 4

52.30 -1 1

55.60 -1 1

62.00 -3 3

82.50 -1 1

84.35 -2 2

etc...

Also for Percussion (Impulse and First), two f-tables (ifn) are used for space, which are loaded via
GEN28 (PC12.txt and PC3.txt).

In Vocalise I-II-III-IV, circular spatializations are utilized (different for each type of vowel) expressed
in code as shown below. This example is taken from the code used for Vocalise I. In the code below,
with the value 3.14159 the signal path starts from the left, but with the value of 3.14159 / 4 the signal
starts from the right front. With the value 6.2832 panning tends to be complete - this calculation
determines the values that define each point of the circle . The multiplier kr determines the number of
laps around the speakers (this can be less than 1 or a fraction of 1).

kangolo init 3.14159/4

incr = 6.2832 / p3 / kr * 1

kx = cos(kangolo) - 1

ky = sin(kangolo) + 1

kangolo = kangolo + incr

Shown below, in Figure 16, is the graphical interface as a whole.

Figure 16. GUI of Ryoanji.

Below, in Figure 17, is a list of active Csound instruments utilized.

 Figure 17. Active Csound instruments.

Below, in Figure 18, is shown an overall algorithmic design for the composition.
 Figure 18. Overall algorithmic design.

X. Conclusion
This algorithm offers a technical solution for a one-man-performance of Ryoanji by John Cage in the
version for contrabass, percussion and vocalise ad libitum. This fills a gap in the literature of sound
systems dedicated to historical works for acoustic instrument sounds and background playback. It also
gives us the opportunity to choose a performance version more suitable to the performer thanks to the
various options proposed: acting directly on the presets, using the GUI controls, or controlling other
specific parameters directly in the code of a .csd. This also allows the performer to use their own
concrete material, giving an impression of a somewhat customized performance.

The patch can be easily modified and adapted to other frontends (CsoundQt, WinXound, Cabbage), as
well as modified and expanded as desired by the performer. All the code for the GUIs and examples
use Csound, a software synthesis application which is free and widely available for use by all. Csound
continues to demonstrate increasing portability and adaptability for the most varied applications.

You can download a compressed folder containing the algorithm Ryoanji_1.5.3.csd and all the files
needed for this project at Ryoanji.zip. See below for a complete list of files in this archive. Also there
is an audio realization of the piece available online at SoundCloud, for contrabass with percussion
obbligato and vocalise ad libitum, featuring the author on contrabass and original four channel
playback system(the recording is from 2008). See below in "Essential Sitography".

Further Developments
I believe that with a good preparation and appropriate changes to the code, it will be possible to to
interpet the values of pitch (in time) much more faithfully to the score by Cage. I think there is an
opportunity to use graphic sequencers such as IanniX (http://www.iannix.org/), or GeoSoniX
(http://www.geosonix.com/top/), which, through the OSC protocol, are able to communicate data to
Csound in real time or in deferred time. In this case, we would be able to read and communicate values
of pitch in time directly from the graphs that represent the glissando. Of course, the reading of values
of real-time pitch is more complex to implement in terms of code and will likely require more CPU
resources.

This possible solution is without a doubt very laborious, especially in the first phase. For the
transformation of the graphics into vectors (remember that the glissando concern all four basses and
that the piece has a life of respect), a number of software options are possible. We could use Adobe
Illustrator or, to remain open-source, use programs such as Plot Digitizer
(http://plotdigitizer.sourceforge.net/). However, in return for this work, we would no doubt get good
results in the extraction of pitch values.

It must be said finally, and it is almost taken for granted, that to get a higher sound quality for the
project when working with sampling, it would be necessary to use a small sample library of bass
sounds diversified in pitch and timbre.

Acknowledgments
I thank Steven Yi, James Hearon, Eugenio Giordani, Victor Lazzarini, Francesco Porta and Csound
Journal for helping me in various ways on the realization of this project.

References
[1]John Cage Trust. (2013). [Online]. Available: http://johncage.org/pp/John-Cage-Works.cfm .
[Accessed May 27, 2013].

[2]John Cage. (2013). "Ryoanji, Contrabass with percussion or orchestra obbligato and ad libitum with
other pieces of the same title - Edition Peters, 1984 - 66986e," (used by permission) in Edition Peters
[Online]. Available: http://www.edition-peters.com/search.php?keyword=ryoanji&searchby=ryoanji.
[Accessed May 27, 2013].

[3]John Cage. (2013). "Ryoanji, Percussion - for Percussion (or played with songs of the same title or
other pieces of the same title for oboe) - Edition Peters, 1983 - 66986a ," (used by permission) in
Edition Peters [Online]. Available: http://www.edition-peters.com/search.php?
keyword=ryoanji&searchby=ryoanji. [Accessed May 27, 2013].

[4]Edition Peters. (2013). [Online Catalog]. Available: http://www.edition-peters.com/search.php?

keyword=ryoanji&searchby=ryoanji. [Accessed May 27, 2013].

Bibliography
Andrea Cremaschi and Francesco Giomi, "Rumore bianco, Introduzione alla musica digitale," (In
Italian). Bologna, IT: Zanichelli, 2008.

Charles Dodge and Thomas A. Jerse, "Computer Music: Synthesis, Composition and Performance, "
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Discography
Joëlle Léandre, "John Cage." Ryoanji, with J.Léandre, double bass, voice, tape realisation, and N.Lê
Quan, percussion . Auvidis Montaigne MO 782076, 1996

Stefano Scodanibbio, "Dream, John Cage." Includes Ryoanji. Mainz —Wergo WER 6713 2, 2009.

Essential Sitography
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May 25, 2013].

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https://soundcloud.com/kolox/cage-ryoanji-stereo_version , [Accessed May 26, 2013].

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Works.cfm, 2013 [Accessed May 25, 2013].

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[Accessed May 25, 2013].

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7, 2013 [Accessed May 26, 2013].

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26, 2013].

List of Files in the download for this project, "Ryoanji.zip":

contrabass:
CB_01-mn.mp3,
CB_02-mn.mp3, CB_03-mn.mp3, CB_04-mn.mp3,
CbC3_I.wav, CbC3_II.wav, CbC3_III.wav, CbC3_IV.wav,

percussion:

scod_perc-mn_03.wav, scod_perc-mn_04.wav, 30-prc01-gaml1-mn.wav

vocalise:
Vx_I.wav,
Vx_O.wav, Vx_A.wav, Vx_E.wav,
Ryoanji_01.pvx

spatialization:

CB01.txt, CB02.txt, CB03.txt, CB04.txt,

CBS01.txt, CBS02.txt, CBS03.txt, CBS04.txt,

PC12.txt, PC3.txt

The recorded files will have these names:

contrabass:

myCbC3_I.wav, myCbC3_II.wav, myCbC3_III.wav, myCbC3_IV.wav,

vocalise:

myVx_I.wav, myVx_O.wav, myVx_A.wav, myVx_E.wav,

myVx_I.pvx, myVx_O.pvx, myVx_A.pvx, myVx_E.pvx