Composing With Parameters for Synthetic Instruments

Goudeseune, Camille M.A.

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/35290 Copy

Description

Title

Composing With Parameters for Synthetic Instruments

Author(s)

Goudeseune, Camille M.A.

Issue Date

2001

Department of Study

Music

Discipline

Music

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

A.Mus.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

• musical instrument design
• computerized musical instrument
• software synthesized sound

Language

en

Abstract

This dissertation presents a theory for designing musical instruments which produce sound by means of computer software, and suggests fruitful ways of composing for such instruments. Unlike other research in new instruments, it focuses on the interfaces between performer, instrument-controller and sound synthesizer. Instead of asking only what sounds a given instrument might produce, it asks how one might perform a given family of software-synthesized sounds, thereby encouraging composition of live music with the rich sound material offered by software synthesis. After surveying historical practice in explicit composing with parameters and analyzing the parametric behavior of existing orchestral and electronic instruments, a general solution to the problem of controlling an n-parameter synthesizer with fewer than n (two or three) controls is presented. This solution, simplicial interpolation, is compared to previous partial solutions in the literature. Examples and guidelines are given for applying this solution to particular problems of musical instrument control; future extensions are also presented. This theory is then applied to design a violin-based software-synthesis instrument called the eviolin. Solo and chamber works using this instrument are analyzed, with emphasis on their explicit representation of parameters in compositional decisions.

Type of Resource

text

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/35290

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2001 Camille Martin Anthony Goudeseune

Owning Collections