introduction to the program and user’s guide

the creation of this program is part of my doctorate research, in close collaboration with the great mathematician and musician Frédéric Faure who works at the Institut Fourier in Grenoble / our idea is to create a series of tools for developing logical and intuitive methods for integrating Messiaen’s compositional systems and ideas into specific harmonic and melodic vocabularies ( based mostly on the modes of limited transposition = MOLT) that can be assimilated and used by an improviser/a composer in a wide range of (organized) musical systems / closed circuit (symmetric modes in isolation: generating organized (micro to macro) systems impervious to tonal hierarchical organization) and open circuit (generating tonal- and modal-sensitive organized (micro-to-macro) systems) / one of Messiaen’s music distinctive compositional features is the separation of rhythm, melody and harmony, and the harmonic field of action is well-delineated by his 7 modes of limited transpositions, their polymodal combinations and lots of other types of chords constructions / the MOLTexplorer program is part of my thesis which deals with a series of possible methods to put the theory into practice, experimenting different ways to explore these harmonic/melodic/rhythmic ideas in specific musical contexts and to translate an organized system for composition (fixed forms) into a wide array of real-time situations where improvisation remains the vital organ ( i.e here and now, indeterminacy, spontaneous composition, and interdependance ). The program is written by F.Faure in C++ and converted to webassembly by Emscripten.

explore the program here