GimmeDaBlues is a music application for iOS devices (iPhone, iPad, iPod) that allows users to play music in blues/jazz styles with a virtual jazz quartet with trumpet, piano, bass and drums, in real-time. While the trumpet and piano are played directly by the user, the bass and drums are generated automatically, responding to the user’s input activity. GimmeDaBlues was developed in the project “Kinetic: Gestural controller-driven, adaptive, and dynamic music composition systems”, between November 2009 and December 2011, led by Prof. Carlos Guedes (IPP/UP/NYUAD).
The main window has two main areas in the center. The top half is the solo area, where the user can play a virtual trumpet. The bottom area is the keyboard, that allows the user to play chords using one or two fingers.
The instrument selection aimed to represent a traditional standard jazz group formation and also to address four instruments that have very different characteristics and roles. For each one, a specific algorithm was developed, focusing on idiomatic features and role in the group, but also in the playability and ease of use that were key features in this project.
Papers:
- Dias, R.; Marques, T.; Sioros, G.; Guedes, C. (2012). “Gimme ‘Da Blues: A Jazz/Blues Player And Automatic Comping Generator For iOS Multitouch Devices”. In InForum Coimbra 2011.