Granular Synthesis

Pre-Class Music Jon Nelson Scatter

Granular Synthesis Overview Any sound can be thought of as containing discrete particles. (Mosaic or Pointillism) A grain of sound typically lasts from 1 to 100 ms. Each grain shaped by an amplitude envelope.  very short envelopes, and envelopes with sharp curves, produce added frequencies in the spectrum. Sound parameters (pitch, panning, duration, envelope, location in sound file, wave type, etc) change on a grain- by-grain basis. Parameters are static within each grain.

High-Level Organization (1) Synchronous and Asynchronous.  quality of synchronicity refers to how parameters are controlled relative to each other, usually grain duration, panning, amplitude, density of grains, and transposition. Pitch-Synchronous Overlapping Streams  Tone Machine in Kontakt. Pre-Analysis needed.  The result is something like a pulse-train, or buzz generator (think vocal cords), with changing formants.  Works best on soundfiles with changing spectra, and often turns up in electronica as a rhythmic ostinato.

High-Level Organization (2) Quasi-Synchronous Streams  Grain length modified, but grains generally follow at regular intervals (related to AM). Can be used to time- stretch/compress and transpose sounds.  The number of overlapping streams, along with the grain length of each, can enhance or diminish the AM/tremelo effect. Asynchronous “Clouds”  all parameters independently controlled.  Roads refers to a precisely controllable water jet-spray nozzle.

Reading Roads, pp Kontakt manual, description of Tone Machine and Time Machine.