Sound Design and Composition using Subtractive Synthesis (introduction)

1. Sound Design and Composition using Subtractive Synthesis(introduction)

2. Pre-Class Music • Luigi Nono: Das atmende Klarsein (1980/81)

3. Basic Sound Design Principles • A “Good” sound changes over time. • Successive sounds from the same instrument differ in some way. • The changes within a sound, or succession of sounds, shouldn’t become predictable.

4. Sound Design (2) • You need to fully understand the controls that a synthesis system allows, • Envelopes, LFO’s, Continuous Controllers (Modulation Sources) • What they can control—oscillators, filters, other effects. • How these controls can be varied in real time, and • You must listen carefully. • Stockhausen: “I spend as much time listening as I do composing.” • Actively listen to the sounds that you produce, and listen to the sounds you hear around you in everyday life.

5. Kontakt System Architecture • Program menus limited to interaction with host computing platform, other software applications, and external hardware. • audio output settings, MIDI, etc. • “Environment” settings and all instrument editing, saving, and loading takes place within the application window. • Visually, Kontakt uses the metaphor of hardware samplers in a physical rack.

6. Kontakt Architecture (2) • Samples (lowest level) • individual sound files • Zone • sample mapped to the keyboard, with key range, volume, pan, and tuning • Group • multiple zones combined. • most instruments you program will only have one group • most sound processing and control takes place at the group level

7. Kontakt Architecture (3) • Instrument • one or more groups with combined instrument insert effects processing and send effects. • Highest Level: a Multi-Insrument • a group of individual instruments with all their settings. (it’s a specific rack)

8. Kontakt Architecture (4) • Each instrument has a header module in the rack. • (Group) insert effects appear under the sampler module in an instrument. (in edit mode) • Send effects and instrument insert effects appear under the amplifier module in an instrument. (in edit mode) • Modulation routers appear directly under the module of parameter controlled. (in edit mode) • the receiver of the modulator, and how much effect the modulator will have on that receiver. • Modulation sources appear at the bottom of the instrument. (in edit mode) • control of the modulator’s parameters

9. First Assignment (preliminary) • With the ultimate goal of producing your first creative project… • create 4 distinctive instruments using Kontakt. • instruments should make creative use of filters. • Instruments should make use of modulators (LFOs, Envelopes, MIDI CC’s). Each instrument should have at least one MIDI CC controlling some parameter. • instruments should not be simple variations of each other. (slowing down the attack of an instrument and saving it as a “new” instrument doesn’t count.) • Instruments are due ?? • I’ll publish a turn-in procedure this later this week.