Fractal Music Generator
A downloadable application for Windows, macOS, and Linux
A downloadable cross-platform application for creating polyphonic audio and midi music from fractals.
Please, consider watching the following video for a clearer explanation and some demos:
Main Features
- Direct conversion from orbital values to audio
- Customize interpolation and orbit keeping
- Sinusoidal wave generator with frequency linked to orbital values
- Customize conversion range and pitch
- Audio wave polyphony
- 55+ pixels can be played at the same time
- Fractal outline detection
- Lock outline while exploring details
- Unlock for playing different pixels while preserving the detected shape
- Play the original fractal shape on different fractals
- Midi support
- Extensive customization for conversion from orbital values to midi data
- Every pixel uses its own sequencer connected to the synthesizers
- 55+ sequencers playing midi sequences (like midi files) concurrently
- Separate customizable management of midi drums
- 55+ sequencers playing drums concurrently
- Select instruments by hand or let the fractal decide
- Support for external soundfonts
- Save converted orbital values from a fractal to a midi file
- Support for Jack Audio Connection Kit
- External real hardware midi devices
- Play a fractal on your keyboard
- Virtual midi devices
- Connect to DAWs
- GPU accelerated fractal rendering
- Smoothing, histogram, various fractals
Known Issues
- GPU acceleration requires OpenCL
- GUI will report if a GPU is available: fallback to CPU otherwise
- The built-in soundfont is of different quality for different platforms
- Please load a high quality one (DLS or SF2 format)
- For this reason the built-in presets cannot always be optimized
- The application can be fully used in standalone mode but it is intended as a source for DAWs
- Requires LoopBe1 or VirtualMidiSynth or Virmidi as virtual devices
- Arm-based Mac support is untested
License
GPL version 3
Source Code
The project source code is available here.
Feel free to report any issues you encounter, or about ideas you have for improvement, in the comments. Thanks for giving it a try!
Download
Install instructions
- Choose your preferred platform, unzip the downloaded file. Install as usual. Administrator permissions are not required.
- Should you change your mind, the uninstall process will clean all the files present in the application installation folder and the folder itself.
- A platform independent, portable, runnable Java jar file with dependencies, without a runtime (JRE), is provided, if you so prefer.
- Optionally, for GPU rendering ensure that support for OpenCL is available. Should be included within your GPU drivers. If not, install the package needed.
Comments
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The app crashes immediately in Windows 11 running an Asus pro-art Intel i9 and 64 Gb with a GPU Asus Proart 4060 ti 16Gb. I installed the latest Java and everything is ok. I've got the following error log:
# A fatal error has been detected by the Java Runtime Environment:
#
# EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION (0xc0000005) at pc=0x00007ffe7ffa3a8b, pid=10128, tid=10856
#
# JRE version: OpenJDK Runtime Environment Temurin-17.0.6+10 (17.0.6+10) (build 17.0.6+10)
# Java VM: OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM Temurin-17.0.6+10 (17.0.6+10, mixed mode, tiered, compressed oops, compressed class ptrs, g1 gc, windows-amd64)
# Problematic frame:
# C [msvcrt.dll+0x53a8b]
#
# No core dump will be written. Minidumps are not enabled by default on client versions of Windows
Can you help me, please?
Thank you!
Fix for "FMG is damaged... move to trash". Download the BatChmod app. Drop FMG in the file path and select all options: change permissions, clear ACLs, unlock and clear extended attributes (xattr) and also check the implement on included folders and files. BatChmod is a lifesaver when some apps or packages won't open.
I ran FMG on a MacMini late 2009 with OSX Mojave 10.14.6 installed. I've played around for a bit and it seemed stable. FMG is strange, but I like these kinds of experimental apps that bridge music, art and the natural sciences.
it didn’t work, but thanks for trying to help
Ok then we take out the big guns, aka open the Terminal and type the following:
sudo xattr -cr (after cr hit the spacebar) and drag and drop the dmg in the Terminal window. It will ask for your password. Type it and hit enter. Then continue typing:
sudo xattr -rd com.apple.quarantine (hit space after quarantine and drag and drop the install file and hit enter). And lastly:
sudo codesign —force —deep —sign - (notice two dashes before force deep and sign and one space and dash after sign and hit the spacebar again and drag and drop the install file).
Long story short, these commands bypass Apple’s quarantine of unsigned apps and also forcefully signs them. As opposed to Batchmod which unlocks and changes permissions. If this doesn’t work then download Winebottler and the Windows version of this app and try to run it as a wrapper.
If you’re running Silicon on macOS 12 and up there’s probably another way to do it. I have no experience with anything beyond macOS 11 (Big Sur) or Silicon/ARM processors.
Good luck!
Is it possible for the user to enter fractal formulas?
There are specific shapes I would like to see and hear.
I got the Same Message: "Fractal Music Generator is damaged....move to trash". Any work-arounds?
Mac Pro Tower (2019) 3.5GHz - Intel
Mac OS Sonoma 14.4.1
Logic Pro 11.0
FMG 1.0.1
Hi, I posted a fix as a comment a few moments ago, but here it is again:
"Fix for 'FMG is damaged... move to trash'. Download the BatChmod app. Drop FMG in the file path and select all options: change permissions, clear ACLs, unlock and clear extended attributes (xattr) and also check the implement on included folders and files. BatChmod is a lifesaver when some apps or packages won't open."
on my Intel Mac, it says “ fractal music generator is damaged and it should be moved to the trash”
Hi, I posted a fix as a comment a few moments ago, but here it is again:
"Fix for 'FMG is damaged... move to trash'. Download the BatChmod app. Drop FMG in the file path and select all options: change permissions, clear ACLs, unlock and clear extended attributes (xattr) and also check the implement on included folders and files. BatChmod is a lifesaver when some apps or packages won't open."
I just tried to install FMC on a M2 Mac Studio Ultra. i get the msg that the program is damaged and won't work. I dl'd 2x and still no joy. hope you can help. I've been looking for a well developed fractral music creation tool for years. I was deep into this form of creation back in the daze of Atari. I really hope we can get this to work on the new Mac. I'm running the latest OS v. Ventura 13.5.2 thanks or your help.
Hi, I posted a fix as a comment a few moments ago, but here it is again:
"Fix for 'FMG is damaged... move to trash'. Download the BatChmod app. Drop FMG in the file path and select all options: change permissions, clear ACLs, unlock and clear extended attributes (xattr) and also check the implement on included folders and files. BatChmod is a lifesaver when some apps or packages won't open."
Hi Enkaytee! Thanks for reporting.
If I'm not mistaken your hardware is:
iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020), macOS 12.x (Monterey), 10th-generation Intel Core, AMD Radeon Pro 5x00
I suspect this happens with some new graphics cards when the application finds the availability of a GPU but fails to manage it. The developers of the dependency used for graphics acceleration are working on a new version: hopefully they will release it soon.
If you try to run the application in a virtual machine or in a sandbox, it will work because it won't be able to access the GPU and will automatically fallback to CPU; it will be painfully slow, but at least you can get an idea of what it should be. As an example, a virtual machine like Virtualbox running Ubuntu should do the job.
Thanks again for your patience.