Compose yourself

The Gong folder is only needed for the sound “Gong”: unpack it, put the folder Gong anywhere and show it to JCself once in the tab “Klang” › Gong with “Gong-Ordner wählen …”, see Manual › Gong. The recordings are friction tones on tuned gongs, played by Peter Heeren.

Terms of use for the folder “Gong”. The recordings are protected by copyright (© Peter Heeren). You may use them free of charge with JCself – including in pieces you compose with JCself and then publish, perform or sell. You may not pass on or sell the recordings themselves, nor offer or use them – in whole, in part or edited – as a sound library or instrument outside JCself. A credit “Gong: Peter Heeren” is appreciated but not required.

The program itself is in German. The manual gives every German label with an English translation.

Installation

The package contains the folder JCself with the program, a start file each for Windows and Mac, and the manual. In full detail with all notes: Manual › Installation.

Windows

1. Install Java 8 or newer if it is missing, for example Eclipse Temurin, free of charge.
2. Unzip jcself-gipfel-en.zip and put the folder JCself somewhere you are allowed to write, such as “Documents”.
3. Start JCself by double-clicking JCself-start.bat.
4. For the Csound sounds, also install Csound (recommended). For the orchestral instruments – piccolo, flute, clarinet, horn, trombone, timpani, bass drum, violin, cello – you also need the unpacked folder of the free VSCO 2 Community Edition, see Manual › Instruments; for the sound “Gong” the folder Gong from jcself-gong.zip.

Mac

JCself runs on the Mac (tested on an Intel MacBook with macOS Sonoma). We welcome further feedback, especially from Macs with Apple silicon (contact).

1. Install Java 8 or newer, for example Eclipse Temurin as a .pkg (Apple silicon: aarch64, Intel: x64).
2. Unzip jcself-gipfel-en.zip and put the folder JCself in “Documents”, for example.
3. Start JCself by double-clicking JCself-start.command. If macOS stops the file the first time: right-click › “Open”, or choose “Open Anyway” under “System Settings › Privacy & Security”.
4. For the Csound sounds, also install Csound for macOS (the “universal” .dmg). For the gong and the orchestral instruments the same applies as on Windows: the folder Gong from above or the VSCO folder, see Manual › Mac.

Older version

The Gipfel version replaces the earlier package jcself.zip with the folder PHS. Both can exist side by side. If you put your old jcself.sav into the new folder JCself before the first start, JCself takes over its settings.

Terms of use

JCself is freeware, but licensed. The licence permits private use on up to five computers and use in sound installations and music productions. Copies are permitted for backup only and must not be passed on to third parties. Details under Licence.