The Synthesis Toolkit (STK) is an
open source
Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open-source model is a decentralized sof ...
API for
real time audio synthesis with an emphasis on classes to facilitate the development of
physical modelling
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 i ...
synthesizers. It is written in
C++ and is written and maintained by
Perry Cook
Perry R. Cook (born September 25, 1955) is an American computer music researcher and professor emeritus of computer science and music at Princeton University. He was also founder and head of the Princeton Sound Lab.
Cook has worked in the areas o ...
at
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the n ...
and
Gary Scavone Gary Paul Scavone is a computer music researcher and musician.
Scavone is currently an associate professor of music technology at McGill University. Previously, Scavone directed the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics at Stanfo ...
at
McGill University
McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...
. It contains both low-level synthesis and
signal processing
Signal processing is an electrical engineering subfield that focuses on analyzing, modifying and synthesizing '' signals'', such as sound, images, and scientific measurements. Signal processing techniques are used to optimize transmissions, ...
classes (
oscillators,
filters, etc.) and higher-level
instrument classes which contain examples of most of the currently available physical modelling
algorithm
In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm () is a finite sequence of rigorous instructions, typically used to solve a class of specific problems or to perform a computation. Algorithms are used as specifications for performing ...
s in use today. STK is free software, but a number of its classes, particularly some physical modelling algorithms, are covered by patents held by Stanford University and Yamaha.
The STK is used widely in creating
software
Software is a set of computer programs and associated software documentation, documentation and data (computing), data. This is in contrast to Computer hardware, hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work.
...
synthesis applications. Versions of the STK instrument classes have been integrated into
ChucK,
Csound
Csound is a domain-specific computer programming language for audio programming. It is called Csound because it is written in C, as opposed to some of its predecessors.
It is free software, available under the LGPL-2.1-or-later.
Csound was ...
,
Real-Time Cmix,
Max/MSP (as part of
PeRColate),
SuperCollider
A particle accelerator is a machine that uses electromagnetic fields to propel charged particles to very high speeds and energies, and to contain them in well-defined beams.
Large accelerators are used for fundamental research in particle ...
and
FAUST
Faust is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540).
The wiktionary:erudite, erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a ...
. It has been ported to
SymbianOS
Symbian is a discontinued mobile operating system (OS) and computing platform designed for smartphones. It was originally developed as a proprietary software OS for personal digital assistants in 1998 by the Symbian Ltd. consortium. Symbian O ...
and
iOS as well.
[Georg Essl, Michael Rohs]
Mobile STK for Symbian OS
Deutsche Telekom Laboratories, TU-Berlin
References
External links
STK Home Page at CCRMASTK in AS3 - ActionScript port of The Synthesis ToolKit in C++The STK repository on GitHubTutorial on using the STK on iOS
Audio programming languages
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