ï~~An Open Multiprocessing Architecture
for Realtime Music Performance
Camp
Techrnsche Urversitat Berlin H 51
StraIBe des 17. Wru 135
1000 Berlin 12 West-Germany
Phone: (0)30/314-25681
UUCP:...yrarnmid!tub!tubvax!carnmo
by Rupert C. Nieberle and Paul Modler
Abstract
We present a hardwaredesign of a multiprocessor
architecture for realtime audio-signalprocessing. The goal of the device is to process
interactively sounds in music-performance and
speech. With a flexible operating-system and
high-level music language (HLML) the system is
able to distribute various musical events to
the dedicated processing units. Special efforts
are made to provide full interactive control of
all relevant musical parameters. To reach that
goal, the extrem processing power and high
throughput can only be achieved by a multisignalprocessor architecture (MSP). Making
things afordable we used standard, highly
integrated hardware components.
1. Introduction
Over the last ten years dramatic changes took place in the
Irea of electronic musical instruments. The evolution from former
analog devices (e.g. Mini Moog) to todays lowcost digitalsynthesizers (e.g. DX7, D50) and sample devices brought advantages in complexity of sound generation but also deficiensies in
sound-control abilities.
Although we are working with various commercialy available Mididevices we can't overcome the restrictions of the Midi-standard
and the limited use of synthesis algorithms.
We found that special efforts should be made to solve the
following deficiencies of existing music composing and performing
systems:
- realtime soundprocessing and control for timevariant
parameters
- multidimensional variations in timbre (e.g. piano)
Recent progress in digital signal processors (DSP) encouraged us
to design a multi-signalprocessor architecture.
At the moment most of the available devices use one or two VLSI
chips beside specially dedicated hardware.
ICMC Proceedings 1988
258
