BARBAR

Before and after

Each example is one chord progression heard twice: a figure before and after the Shepard part, then an accent pattern before and after the Risset part. The sound is a sine wave on purpose, so nothing hides the effect.

In the plugin the chords come from another track or a dragged-in MIDI file. Here each example carries its own, named along the top of its piano roll.

The figures and accent patterns were written for this page and are CC0.

Shepard tone

Staircase

A one-bar climb over four chords in C major. Each repeat starts a chord tone higher. It never runs out of stairs.

The figure following the chords: 44 notes over 16 beats, round and round.The Shepard part: 501 notes in 4 octave layers. Then the 48-beat loop comes round again. C major, 104 bpm.

Undertow

A minor, pointed the other way, over a progression that walks down too. It sinks a chord tone each repeat and never hits bottom.

The figure following the chords: 32 notes over 16 beats, round and round.The Shepard part: 368 notes in 4 octave layers. Then the 48-beat loop comes round again. A minor, 96 bpm.

Six against eight

An eight-step figure through seventh chords in D dorian. It repeats every half bar, so it climbs twice a bar.

The figure following the chords: 64 notes over 16 beats, round and round.The Shepard part: 243 notes in 4 octave layers. Then the 16-beat loop comes round again. D dorian, 112 bpm.

Slow climb

A pentatonic figure over two-bar chords in G. Six notes a bar, so you can follow every step of the climb.

The figure following the chords: 48 notes over 32 beats, round and round.The Shepard part: 548 notes in 4 octave layers. Then the 96-beat loop comes round again. G major pentatonic, 100 bpm.

Risset rhythm

Staircase

The same four chords as blocks, on a one-bar accent pattern. It keeps speeding up and never gets any faster.

The accent pattern on the chords: 144 notes over 16 beats, round and round.The Risset part: 567 notes in 3 tempo layers. Then the 32-beat loop comes round again. C major, 104 bpm.

Undertow

The same chords, roots only, down in the bass. The rhythm winds down for good and never stops.

The accent pattern on the chords: 32 notes over 16 beats, round and round.The Risset part: 126 notes in 4 tempo layers. Then the 32-beat loop comes round again. A minor, 96 bpm.

Six against eight

A six-step accent pattern on the same chords, roots only. Six steps against a bar of sixteen, so the accents drift across the bar line.

The accent pattern on the chords: 192 notes over 48 beats, round and round.The Risset part: 260 notes in 3 tempo layers. Then the 32-beat loop comes round again. D dorian, 112 bpm.

Slow climb

The same two-bar chords as blocks, on a sparse one-bar pattern. It keeps slowing down and never comes to a stop.

The accent pattern on the chords: 144 notes over 32 beats, round and round.The Risset part: 141 notes in 4 tempo layers. Then the 32-beat loop comes round again. G major pentatonic, 100 bpm.

In each piano roll, colour is the layer and opacity is the velocity, so a faint note is quiet. The pole by the BarBar name turns with whatever is playing: up or down with the Shepard part, faster or slower with the Risset part.