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Sample-based Synthesis
Sample-based synthesis is a form of audio synthesis that can be contrasted to either subtractive synthesis or additive synthesis. The principal difference with sample-based synthesis is that the seed waveforms are sampled sounds or instruments instead of fundamental waveforms such as sine and saw waves used in other types of synthesis.''Synthesizer Basics''. United States, H. Leonard Books, 1988. 72f. History Before digital recording became practical, instruments such as the Welte (1930s), phonogene (1950s) and the Mellotron (1960s) used analog optical disks or analog tape decks to play back sampled sounds. When sample-based synthesis was first developed, most affordable consumer synthesizers could not record arbitrary samples, but instead formed timbres by combining pre-recorded samples from ROM before routing the result through analog or digital filters. These synthesizers and their more complex descendants are often referred to as ROMplers. Sample-based instr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Subtractive Synthesis
Subtractive synthesis is a method of sound synthesis in which Harmonic_series_(music)#Partial.2C_harmonic.2C_fundamental.2C_inharmonicity.2C_and_overtone, overtones of an audio signal are attenuated by a audio filter, filter to alter the timbre of the sound. Overview Subtractive synthesis relies on source sounds that have overtones, such as Sine wave, non-sinusoidal waveforms like Square wave (waveform), square and triangle wave, triangle waves, or white noise, white and pink noise. These overtones are then Modulation, modulated to alter the source sound. This modulation can happen in a wide variety of ways, such as Voltage-controlled filter, voltage-controlled or low-pass filter, low-pass filters. The technology developed in experimental electronic studios which were primarily focused on telecommunications and military applications. Early examples include Bell Labs' Voder (1937–8). Composers began applying the concept of subtractive synthesis beyond the recording studio in conc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Stevie Wonder's Journey Through "The Secret Life Of Plants"
''Stevie Wonder's Journey Through "The Secret Life of Plants"'' is an album by Stevie Wonder, originally released on the Tamla Motown label on October 30, 1979. It is the soundtrack to the documentary ''The Secret Life of Plants'', directed by Walon Green, which was based on the book of the same name by Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird. It contains two singles that reached the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 charts: " Send One Your Love" (No. 4) and the minor hit "Outside My Window" (No. 52). The single "Black Orchid" reached No. 63 in the UK. Production Wonder created the film score by having Michael Braun, the film's producer, describe each visual image in detail, while the sound engineer, Gary Olazabal, specified the length of a passage. This information was processed to a four-track tape (with the film's sound on one of the tracks), leaving Wonder space to add his own musical accompaniment. Wonder attempted to translate the complex information of the book and film into song l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Gain (electronics)
In electronics, gain is a measure of the ability of a two-port circuit (often an amplifier) to increase the power or amplitude of a signal from the input to the output port by adding energy converted from some power supply to the signal. It is usually defined as the mean ratio of the signal amplitude or power at the output port to the amplitude or power at the input port. It is often expressed using the logarithmic decibel (dB) units ("dB gain"). A gain greater than one (greater than zero dB), that is, amplification, is the defining property of an active device or circuit, while a passive circuit will have a gain of less than one. The term ''gain'' alone is ambiguous, and can refer to the ratio of output to input voltage (''voltage gain''), current (''current gain'') or electric power (''power gain''). In the field of audio and general purpose amplifiers, especially operational amplifiers, the term usually refers to voltage gain, but in radio frequency amplifiers it usua ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Envelope Curve
In physics and engineering, the envelope of an oscillating signal is a smooth curve outlining its extremes. The envelope thus generalizes the concept of a constant amplitude into an instantaneous amplitude. The figure illustrates a modulated sine wave varying between an ''upper envelope'' and a ''lower envelope''. The envelope function may be a function of time, space, angle, or indeed of any variable. In beating waves A common situation resulting in an envelope function in both space ''x'' and time ''t'' is the superposition of two waves of almost the same wavelength and frequency: : \begin F(x, \ t) & = \sin \left 2 \pi \left( \frac - ( f + \Delta f )t \right) \right+ \sin \left 2 \pi \left( \frac - ( f - \Delta f )t \right) \right\\ pt& \approx 2\cos \left 2 \pi \left( \frac - \Delta f \ t \right) \right\ \sin \left 2 \pi \left( \frac - f \ t \right) \right\end which uses the trigonometric formula for the addition of two sine waves, and the approximation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Loop (music)
In music, a loop is a repeating section of sound material. Short sections can be repeated to create ostinato patterns. Longer sections can also be repeated: for example, a player might loop what they play on an entire verse of a song in order to then play along with it, accompanying themselves. Loops can be created using a wide range of music technologies including turntables, digital samplers, looper pedals, synthesizers, sequencers, drum machines, tape machines, and delay units, and they can be programmed using computer music software. The feature to loop a section of an audio track or video footage is also referred to by electronics vendors as ''A–B repeat''. Royalty-free loops can be purchased and downloaded for music creation from companies like The Loop Loft, Native Instruments, Splice and Output. Loops are supplied in either MIDI or Audio file formats such as WAV, REX2, AIFF and MP3. Musicians ''play'' loops by triggering the start of the musical sequence by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Computer Memory
Computer memory stores information, such as data and programs, for immediate use in the computer. The term ''memory'' is often synonymous with the terms ''RAM,'' ''main memory,'' or ''primary storage.'' Archaic synonyms for main memory include ''core'' (for magnetic core memory) and ''store''. Main memory operates at a high speed compared to mass storage which is slower but less expensive per bit and higher in capacity. Besides storing opened programs and data being actively processed, computer memory serves as a Page cache, mass storage cache and write buffer to improve both reading and writing performance. Operating systems borrow RAM capacity for caching so long as it is not needed by running software. If needed, contents of the computer memory can be transferred to storage; a common way of doing this is through a memory management technique called ''virtual memory''. Modern computer memory is implemented as semiconductor memory, where data is stored within memory cell (com ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Polyphonic Synthesizer
Polyphony is a property of musical instruments that means that they can play multiple independent melody lines simultaneously. Instruments featuring polyphony are said to be polyphonic. Instruments that are not capable of polyphony are monophonic or paraphonic. An intuitively understandable example for a polyphonic instrument is a (classical) piano, on which the player plays different melody lines with the left and the right hand - depending on music style and composition, these may be musically tightly interrelated or may even be totally unrelated to each other, like in parts of Jazz music. An example for monophonic instruments is a trumpet which can generate only one tone (frequency) at a time, except when played by extraordinary musicians. Synthesizer Monophonic A monophonic synthesizer or ''monosynth'' is a synthesizer that produces only one note at a time, making it smaller and cheaper than a polyphonic synthesizer which can play multiple notes at once. This does not n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Physical Modelling Synthesis
Physical modelling synthesis refers to sound synthesis methods in which the waveform of the sound to be generated is computed using a mathematical model, a set of equations and algorithms to simulate a physical source of sound, usually a musical instrument. General methodology Modelling attempts to replicate laws of physics that govern sound production, and will typically have several parameters, some of which are constants that describe the physical materials and dimensions of the instrument, while others are time-dependent functions describing the player's interaction with the instrument, such as plucking a string, or covering toneholes. For example, to model the sound of a drum, there would be a mathematical model of how striking the drumhead injects energy into a two-dimensional membrane. Incorporating this, a larger model would simulate the properties of the membrane (mass density, stiffness, etc.), its coupling with the resonance of the cylindrical body of the drum, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Wavetable Synthesis
Wavetable synthesis is a sound synthesis technique used to create quasi-periodic waveforms often used in the production of musical tones or notes. Development Wavetable synthesis was invented by Max Mathews in 1958 as part of MUSIC II. MUSIC II “had four-voice polyphony and was capable of generating sixteen wave shapes via the introduction of a wavetable oscillator.” Hal Chamberlin discussed wavetable synthesis in Byte's September 1977 issue. Wolfgang Palm of Palm Products GmbH (PPG) developed his version in the late 1970s and published it in 1979. The technique has since been used as the primary synthesis method in synthesizers built by PPG and Waldorf Music and as an auxiliary synthesis method by Ensoniq and Access. It is currently used in hardware synthesizers from Waldorf Music and in software synthesizers for PCs and tablets, including apps offered by PPG and Waldorf, among others. It was also independently developed by Michael McNabb, who used it in his 1978 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Multimedia PC
The Multimedia PC (MPC) is a recommended configuration for a personal computer (PC) with a CD-ROM drive. The standard was set and named by the Multimedia PC Marketing Council (MPMC), which was a working group of the Software Publishers Association (SPA, now the Software and Information Industry Association). The MPMC comprised companies including Microsoft, Creative Labs, Dell, Gateway, Inc., Gateway, and Fujitsu. Any PC with the required standards could be called an "MPC" by licensing the use of the logo from the SPA. Background and reception CD-ROM drives were just coming to market in 1990, and it was difficult to concisely communicate to a consumer all the hardware requirements for using "multimedia software", which mostly meant "displaying video synced with audio on a PC via a CD-ROM drive". The MPC standard was supposed to communicate this concisely, so a consumer buying hardware or software could simply look for the MPC logo and be assured of compatibility. The MPC program h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Sound Card
A sound card (also known as an audio card) is an internal expansion card that provides input and output of audio signals to and from a computer under the control of computer programs. The term ''sound card'' is also applied to external audio interfaces used for professional audio applications. Sound functionality can also be integrated into the motherboard, using components similar to those found on plug-in cards. The integrated sound system is often still referred to as a ''sound card''. Sound processing hardware is also present on modern video cards with HDMI to output sound along with the video using that connector; previously they used a S/PDIF connection to the motherboard or sound card. Typical uses of sound cards or sound card functionality include providing the audio component for multimedia applications such as music composition, editing video or audio, presentation, education and entertainment (games) and video projection. Sound cards are also used for computer-b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Music Workstation
A music workstation is an electronic musical instrument providing the facilities of: *a sound module, *a music sequencer and *(usually) a musical keyboard. It enables a musician to compose electronic music using just one piece of equipment. Origin of concept The concept of a music sequencer combined with a synthesizer originated in the late 1970s with the combination of microprocessors, mini-computers, digital synthesis, disk-based storage, and control devices such as musical keyboards becoming feasible to combine into a single piece of equipment that was affordable to high-end studios and producers, as well as being portable for performers. Prior to this, the integration between sequencing and synthesis was generally a manual function based on wiring of components in large modular synthesizers, and the storage of notes was simply based on potentiometer settings in an analog sequencer. Multitimbrality Polyphonic synthesizers such as Sequential Circuit Prophet-5 and Yamaha D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |