Bleep Bloop Blertz

May 2, 2013 9:46 PM

Music Macro Language is a tiny programming language for making music. If you want to work with it yourself you can start with the guide, or skip ahead to some results with handy in-browser editors. Besides being supported by many BASIC implementations and having a compiler for more than ten consoles, it can be used by composer characters in the Mabinogi MMO, which has produced a number of blogs dedicated to producing MML tracks for use in the game.

As a bonus, Autotracker is a Python script that automatically spits tracker files with full songs. See also bytebeat (previously).

posted by 23 (11 comments total)

Beep bop boop bloop. Looks like a bitful of fun!
posted by tilde at 10:08 PM on May 2, 2013

There's an MMO where you can be a composer? This may actually break my resolve to never play an MMO.
posted by Doleful Creature at 10:12 PM on May 2, 2013 [2 favorites]

There are at least a couple. You can compose for and play a variety of instruments in LOTRO.
posted by restless_nomad at 10:15 PM on May 2, 2013 [1 favorite]

Lord of the Rings Online also has that feature, or at least it did when I played. You could even sync multiple performers on multiple instruments!
posted by lumensimus at 10:15 PM on May 2, 2013 [1 favorite]

Autotracker is awesome, but the link to the code is a 404. So here it is on the Internet Archive.
posted by neckro23 at 10:21 PM on May 2, 2013

Aw, crap. One of the tracks was from Einhander and now I need to play that game again.
posted by BungaDunga at 11:06 PM on May 2, 2013 [1 favorite]

Looks irksome, frankly. No triplets! No wonder the music is so straight.

Still, it's cute and old. I just wish it covered the basics thoroughly...
posted by lupus_yonderboy at 11:57 PM on May 2, 2013

restless_nomad: There are at least a couple. You can compose for and play a variety of instruments in LOTRO.

lumensimus: Lord of the Rings Online also has that feature, or at least it did when I played. You could even sync multiple performers on multiple instruments!

They indeed still do have player compositions. To the point where 2012 saw the fourth annual Weatherstock festival held at the summit of Amon Sûl—a.k.a. Weathertop—in the Lone-lands on the Landroval LotRO server. Hundreds attended to hear player bands from all over the world. Band registration for Weatherstock 2013 opens May 6th, and the event is scheduled for June 15th.

They're unlikely to attend Weatherstock V, but The Ponyjammers are one of my favorites. They have a really tight sound and aren't afraid to lay down the rock, evoke some nostalgia, or just have tons of fun with it.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the Lonely Mountain Band who created and help organize Weatherstock.

Honestly, one of the hands down, no bullshit, best times I ever had in my life was an impromptu Christmas concert I and a couple of guildmates gave one night in the back room of the Prancing Pony. Sure we were using pre-made ABC files, but it was still tons of fun.

I note for the record that LotRO is free-to-play, for some value of "free-to-play".


MML is extremely interesting, although I couldn't figure out how to control the voices. The Bosconian music did take me back to the day though.
posted by ob1quixote at 11:59 PM on May 2, 2013 [3 favorites]

In a similar vein - Overtone
posted by Leon at 1:00 AM on May 3, 2013 [1 favorite]

No triplets!

Actually, I just tried this ... if you write in 12/8 (4 over 3, I guess?), you can swing on the "straight" notes--your sixteenths, eighths, and quarters are all triplets, and your dotted notes are straight. You need to increase the tempo by 50%, but it'll do.
posted by uncleozzy at 5:47 AM on May 3, 2013 [2 favorites]

No triplets! No wonder the music is so straight.

Computer generated triplets are the straightest sound known to humankind.
posted by grog at 6:49 PM on May 3, 2013