My favorite
software is Csound.
I am totally
into it, and my presentation of it will be biased upon my view. It is
extremely flexible, and capable of doing any and all audio synthesis or
processing techniques know to date. This is mainly because the building
blocks in Csound is so small, and that you can combine them freely. Let's
not pretend that Csound is easy to learn, but once you grasp the general
principles you get into a way of thinking that makes Csound easy to use.
Unlike graphical patcher-type software like Max, Csound is text based.
This means that you write text files to program your patches (instrument
definitions, scores etc.). The text file is interpreted by Csound, and
your described audio synthesis or processing setup is generated.
If you want
to take a look at some of my Csound instruments,
you can find it later on this page.
The good
thing about a text interface is that it is a lot easier to patch large
numbers of signals around. A simple example when working with a graphical
patcher, if you're going to change the patching of 50 different audio
signals, you will have to use a computer mouse and manually edit 50 graphical
connections on the screen. When working with a text based system, you
can use a text editor's Search and Replace functions to re-patch your
50 audio signals automatically.
The best
place to look for info on Csound is www.csounds.com
There, you
can find Csound instruments, executables, documentation, access to mailing
lists, well... pretty much everything you need. If it is not within the
Csounds site itself, you will most probably find a link to it from there.
Csound is
free, for non-commercial purposes. This means nobody can sell the Csound
software in itself, however, it is legal to sell your patches/instruments/scores
and it is legal to sell the music you make with the software.
Csound is
both the most ancient and the most recent soft synth I know of. It stems
from the very first audio software made to test audio transmission of
telephone lines during the late 1950's, from there it was made into the
Music I to Music IV series by digital audio pioneer Max Mathews. Much
further down the evolution line, it was rewritten by Barry Vercoe and
renamed Csound in 1986. The full story can be found on the Csounds web
site. While having it's roots so deep down in computer music history,
Csound also remains one of the most frequently updated software today.
Also, due to the non-commercial nature of the Csound license, patented
algorithms make it into Csound years before they are commercially released.
One example of this is the recently developed synthesis technique Scanned
Synthesis, this technique was available to Csound users a few months after
it's initial development.
Some examples
from my Csound orchestras,
divided into
Instruments
Processing
Sound
Effect Models
Csound Compositions
Krøyt Performance Orchestras
ImproSculpt
Custom
Csound instruments
Instruments:
4-operator
FM synth
; midi instrument
; 4-operator FM synth, with triple detuned oscillators on the "main"
oscillator
; it is wired like this:
; 4
; / | \
; 3 | 2
; \ | /
; 1
; where oscillators 4,3,2 modulate each other and oscillator 1,
; and oscillator 1 is actually three oscillators subtly detuned from each
other to fatten the sound
FM_Feedback1
; midi instrument
; a simple synth with Frequency Modulation
; and direct feedback in the frequency modulation algorithm
; this leads to various interesting "artifacts" in the sound
of the instrument.
FM
Solosynth with feedback
; midi instrument
; a variation of FM Feedback1,
; a little more elaborate, and with an added FDN reverb
Sweep
Pad
; midi instrument
; a simple pad synth instrument
Vector
Synth
; midi instrument
; a pad synth instrument with some variation of tone,
; modeled after the "vector synth" setup used in the Korg Wavestation.
; 4 oscillators with different waveforms are dynamically mixed
Vector
Synth with FM feedback
; midi instrument
; a vector synth with Frequency Modulation
; and direct feedback in the frequency modulation algorithm
; this leads to various interesting "artifacts" in the sound
of the instrument
LPF18
Bass1
; midi instrument
; simple synth with two oscillators and one filter
; envelope control of filter cutoff and drive
; The lpf18 filter contributes to the character of the sound.
FM
Bass1
; midi instrument
; FM bass synth with warm distortion
; The 2-oscillator FM setup gives some overtones and "edge"
to the sine wave,
; and the distortion is used more for "presence" and "edge"
than actual dist.
; I find that this bass sounds similar to an electric bass in the sustained
part of the note.
FM
Bass2
; midi instrument
; FM bass synth with warm distortion, variation of "FMBass1.csd"
; The 2-oscillator FM setup gives some overtones and "edge"
to the sine wave,
; and the distortion is used more for "presence" and "edge"
than actual dist.
FM
Bass3
; midi instrument
; FM bass synth with warm distortion, another variation of "FMBass1.csd"
FM
Bass4
; midi instrument
; FM bass synth with warm distortion, another variation of "FMBass1.csd"
XhzRootHarmonics
; midi instrument
; "Overtones of overtones of XHz"
; a design suggestion by Buyo-Buyo-Igor (well, that's the only name I
know him under)
; led to this orchestra setup.
; It is a 3-oscillator setup where one oscillator play a harmonic overtone
series
; while another play a harmonic undertone series.
XhzRootFM
; midi instrument
; a variation of XhzRootHarmonics, with FM feedback
Processing:
FM
delay
; this csd demonstrates the use of Frequency Modulation (FM) as a "postprocessing
effect".
; Normally, the synthesis technique of FM is an integrated part of the
; oscillator setup in the synth design.
; However, if we can use the same technique later in the signal chain,
; we can use it to modulate other kinds of input sounds too.
; Even live input can be Frequency Modulated, when setting it up as described
here.
Ring
Modulator
; Well, actually amplitude modulator with the possibility of ring modulation
; a standalone ringmodulator for processing of sound files
; with some enveloping control of modulation frequency and index
; requires FLTK GUI opcodes in Csound
; this orchestra was written for a project with Arne Nordheim,
; to process sounds cut from his earlier works, for use in an interactive
installation
PitchFollower
; a very simple pitch tracker for use on realtime audio input signal
; requires FLTK GUI opcodes in Csound
Sound Effect
Models:
Chopper
; a simple model of a helicopter/chopper noise
Engine
; a simple model of a ship/boat engine,
; this is a "simplest form" with no profiling of the
; characteristic properties of of a specific engine
Wave
; a very simple model of waves breaking at sea
Wind
; very simple modeled wind sound,
; the use of rspline and jspline adds some random movement
Csound Compositions:
Only one
for now...
The
Bear of the Red Mountain
; a composition made from observation data of a brown bear
; commissioned by the international brown bear conference held in Steinkjer
2002
; The Csound file provided here renders the core part of the composition,
; with the data mapping to synthesized sound
The full composition includes some extra image to sound mapping done in
another software called Coagula Image Synth, and some background bear-howling
done by granulating a bear cry in Csound/ImproSculpt.
The full composition can be found in the Music
section of this web site
Krøyt
Performance Orchestras:
As a taste
of how I use Csound live with the band Krøyt.
You need some
specific audio files to run these orchestras,
they are zipped with the csd file.
You will need to do a little text-editing on the csd file to reflect the
path where you have stored these audio files.
For more info on Krøyt check www.kroyt.com
Silent
a composition dated 1998/1999, released on out "Body Electric"
EP (2000).
Different background audio loops follow different sections of the song,
selection of "next loop" is done via midi controllers. I use
DimensionBeams for this task on stage.
There's also some simple routing of midi controllers from my BodySynth
(EMG muscle activity sensors made by Ed Severinghaus). The BodySynth controls
volume of a synth pad, as well as pitch and delay parameters on an external
effects unit used to process audio from my vibraphone.
Rock Us
a composition dated 2001/2001, not released on any album.
The instrument is made up of a Bass synth, with percussion riffs being
assigned to
different midi notes. Some notes has a "hardwired" midi split
and thus play the same riff
each time the same midi note is played, while other notes has a random
selector for percussion riffs, choosing among a few similar riffs. Some
notes has a Boomy Bass Drum assigned, while others has a Large Crash Cymbal.
One note can trigger the start of a preprogrammed drum loop, while another
can stop the loop.
ImproSculpt:
I've written
a live sampler orchestra/application for improvisational processing of
realtime audio.
This is a performance instrument meant to be played in ensemble with other
musicians playing more traditional instruments.
ImproSculpt is released under GPL
license, free for noncommercial use.
I spent a year writing this instrument, so I'd be very happy for any donations
you are able to give me. How much you want to donate is entirely up to
you, consider what you think it's worth and what you can afford. You can
also order custom Csound instruments
off me.
There's
a fair chance you will need my help to get it up an running, it is not
the typical "off the shelf" music software. Do not hesitate
to ask for assistance in getting it to work.
You can download it under the ImproSculpt
software section of this web site.
You can read more about my band project with this software under the ImproSulpt
project section, and finally, you can listen to some music made with the
software under the Music section of this
web site.
Custom Csound
Instruments:
I currently
offer custom audio software build with Csound. If you have specific needs,
contact me for pricing and info.
If you want a custom live sampler ala ImproSculpt, or a completely new
electronic instrument, don't hestitate to ask.
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