About

Spilling the Beans is a loose collection of texts that deal with the phenomena of the electronic medium in view of the musical work, but also occasionally take a look outside of the box of specialized knowledge.
The themes result from my daily artistic and researching work on compositions, programs, as well as preparations for guest lectures and workshops. Sometimes the themes are simply floating in the air.

Audio examples and graphics featured therein are exclusively generated by the VASP and AMP programs that I developed.

VASP (vector assembler for sound processing) is a program with which sound files or data can be loaded into a register, arbitrarily processed and outputted again as sound files or data. The main focus thereby lies on complex operations in different domains, holistic ('giant') or granular.
AMP (asynchronous music processor) is a time-independent, multidimensional sequencer into which VASP has meanwhile been integrated. 'Time-independent' means that the order of sequencer elements is not necessarily bound to a time sequence. 'Multidimensional' not only refers to the practically unlimited number of controllable sequencer parameters, but also to the construction of the program for multi-track application with an arbitrary number of tracks.

I began to write both programs in the middle of the Eighties and have constantly been further developing them until today. They can never be 'finished', but are operational at any time. Practically all my compositions that do not use analog electronics are worked with it. >> repertoire. (Normally, I only use a sound editor for material arrangement and final assembly).

Usually, I only pass these programs on in the course of workshops or teaching. One has to understand the material if one wants to work with it. Upon request, however, I will provide a test version of VASP for a nominal fee. A manual that will likewise never be finished goes along with it – up to now, however, only in German.

I endeavor to write the texts as generally intelligible as possible and avoid mathematical formulations where they do not serve to facilitate phenomenological understanding. Thus, I rather prefer to show proof with audible examples and comprehensible scripts than with formulas.
If something occasionally does not jibe with the established scientific representations, it can be due to a different approach or a different perspective.
If needed, I can make the one or the other source code available – albeit, only in the language in which all my programs are written: in FORTRAN.

Music is research – its result: music.
Günther Rabl

Copyright notice
(c) – unless otherwise stated - © Günther Rabl

Texts may be quoted, provided that the spelling is maintained and the source is acknowledged, until further notice.
Audio examples and graphics may, unless otherwise stated, be freely used, provided that the source is acknowledged, until further notice.
Photos are to be provided with an individual copyright notice. Any further use is to be individually settled with the holders of the rights.
Any other form of use or publication, whether commercial or not, requires a special agreement.

No other rights are connected with the permission to use the contents of this page (as quote, sample or material) in part or in whole.
Any type of use that is able to falsify the sense of the content offered here or to obstruct or to rearrange the free access to the offered information will result in the immediate revocation of the above mentioned general permission.