Taweeet

A Norns script for exploring bird sound

Taweeet allows one to display images of various birds and play with corresponding audio clips. There are about 1,000 birds configured, and each has 10 pictures available and up to 10 audio clips. So it is a lot to explore!

When the script starts you get a random species with random photo and sound clip for that species. Serendipity. Not intended to be completely intentional.

To change things from the main screen:

• Key2 - new random species, along with new photo and audio
• Key3 - new random photo and audio for the current species
• Key1 - jump to the Parameters Menu where you can change all the parameters to specific values. Not only can you.
• Encoder2 or 3 - Switch to Audio Clipping Screen

Current state of Taweeet

It works! But only part of the full feature set has been implemented. Currently you can select a species, picture, and audio track, or you can request random ones. The audio tracks are up to 30 seconds long. The audio track is played back in a loop, and the begin and end points of the loop can be adjusted via the Audio Clipping Screen screen. And you can of course add in the usual Norns effects like reverb.

My full goal is to be able to use randomness in the picture to control parameters effecting the bird song. This means that when you load in a different photo for the species you get a different sound. I really like the idea of combining randomness with nature, but still give the musician some control as well. But this will be for the next revision of Taweeet.

What is a Norns??

A Norns is an open source synthesizer based on a Raspberry Pi. Its really interesting because it is both capable and it has a big and active community. It is also because it has quite a crummy screen, 128x64 with just 16 levels of greyscale. But that is a feature! Having a very limited screen means one has to be more creative and adventuresome when creating a user interface.

To learn more see the Norns documentation

Parameters Menu

The Parameters Menu allows one to edit individual parameters.

• Use Encoder2 so select the parameter
• Use Encoder3 to select new value for the parameter
• Hit Key1 to exit and go back to the main screen
• Hit Key2 for parameters like Reverb > so enter the sub menu with list of parameters for the group.

Audio Clipping Screen

You enter the audio clipping screen by twisting encoder2 or 3. The audio clip screen displays the amplitude of the currently selected portion of the audio cilp.

A vertical line sweeps across the display to indicate the current point of the audio clip being played.

• Encoder2 to adjust the begin time of the audio clip
• Encoder3 to adjust the end time of the audio clip
• Hold down Key3 if want to make fine adjustments when turning the encoders
• Hit Key2 to exit the Audio Clipping Screen and return to the main screen
• Hit Key1 to go to the Parameters Menu

Taweeet backend

Since Taweeet handles so many bird types (about 1,000) there is no way to really combine all the data into a Lua script. Therefore I create a backend that gathers all the list of birds, along with photos and sound clips, and converts the photos and sound clips to formats that work with a Norns.

But you don’t need worry about the backend since I run a server which is always available (uses a Raspberry Pi justs like the Norns does).

The backend is written in Python and can be found on Github.

The nornsLib library

When developing Taweeet I ran into lots of complications and places where I thought the user interface could be improved. I figure it would help to demonstrate my suggestions before trying to submit pull requests. Plus the library addresses the bugs I ran into. Others can easily use the nornsLib library for their script and not wait for any of the features to be part of a regular Norns software release. Plus the library addresses some thorny problems, like how to create a really nuce audio clipping user interface, and I wanted others to be able to take advantage of my work.

See the nornsLib github repo for details.

Who am I

My name is Skibu, aka SynthBu, aka Michael Smith. I have a big technical background and have spent 50 years programming. Started with doing research in robotics, but then switched to doing data work for public transportation. I’ve also been really into music my whole life, especially with respect to playing piano.

Two years ago I got long COVID and can no longer work nor do many other things due to extreme fatigue and cognitive dysfunction. I highly recommend against it. Since I can’t play the piano in the same way (I’m limited to about 30 minutes a day now) I thought I would also explore synths since they are not as real time. Then a couple of months ago I found out about Norns and I purchased one, and I decided to try doing some programming. Turns out it is really hard for me compared to before, but still fun to learn about Norns programming. Its just that everything now takes 10 times as long.

You can also see my YouTube channel for more fun.