Composing With Parameters for Synthetic Instruments

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.

Name thesis:degree_name

A.Mus.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Music

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2012

Author dc:creator

• Goudeseune, Camille M.A.

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

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2001 Camille Martin Anthony Goudeseune

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

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

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/35290