Controlling the pitch contour with axis-plot and axis-sub-plot

[torstenanders]

Dear all,

 

The rough outline of a melody can be described by a melodic contour, which sets the rough curve formed by the pitches of a melody without fixing the detail of all melodic intervals and pitches. Opusmodus allows controlling the melodic contour, e.g., with the function axis-plot in its Schillinger Inference function set. However, the documentation is a bit confusing as it seems to suggest that such functionality is offered only by its sibling axis-sub-plot.

 

The function axis-sub-plot is documented to add more complexity to the result by dynamically displacing the underlying axis. However, that seems to be the case only for the second element and the last, see example below. Am I missing here anything? 

 

(axis-sub-plot 0 '(a) (gen-repeat 16 1) '(0 12)) 

; -> (0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 12)

 

By contrast, moving the underlying axis is already possible by the slightly more simple function axis-plot by giving the axis argument a list of integers as shown below. 

 

(axis-plot (gen-integer 6) '(a) (gen-repeat 16 1))

; -> ((0 1) (1 2) (2 3) (3 4) (4 5) (5 6) (6 7) (0 1) (1 2) (2 3) (3 4) (4 5) (5 6) (6 7) (0 1) (1 2))

 

(integer-to-pitch (axis-plot (gen-integer 6) '(a a c) (gen-repeat 16 1)))

; -> ((c4 cs4) (cs4 d4) (cs4 d4) (eb4 e4) (e4 f4) (e4 f4) (fs4 g4) (c4 cs4) (c4 cs4) (d4 eb4) (eb4 e4) (eb4 e4) (f4 fs4) (fs4 g4) (b3 c4) (cs4 d4))

 

So, what is actually the point of axis-sub-plot? Also, axis-plot examples like the ones above might be useful in the documentation.  

 

Thanks!

 

Torsten

[opmo]

Shortly Jeremy Arden will explain the difference in more details.