ï~~Cooking with Csound:
Wavetable Synthesis Recipes for Woodwind and Brass Instruments
Andrew Homer and Lydia Ayers
Department of Computer Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology,
Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
email:
[email protected] and
[email protected]
ABSTRACT: This demonstration will give an overview of our upcoming book, Cooking with
Csound: Wavetable Synthesis Recipes for Woodwind and Brass Instruments. We have matched the
parameters for 18 woodwind and brass instruments using a genetic algorithm, and built Csound
instruments using the parameters. For the demonstration of each of the instruments, we will play
Csound scores of well-known orchestral excerpts such as the opening of Stravinsky's The Rite of
Spring.
1 Brief Synopsis of the Book
Cooking with Csound contains a collection of ready-to-use software synthesis designs for the
woodwinds and brass. The designs are in the Csound software synthesis language. We have included
a tutorial on Csound which shows the reader the basics of Csound and how to implement wavetable
synthesis. Our prototype Csound wavetable synthesis design implements expressive performance
nuances like vibrato, metric stresses and phrasing.
Using wavetable synthesis to simulate acoustic instruments is an ongoing research problem. We used
an effective genetic algorithm procedure for finding the wavetable synthesis parameters to match a
particular acoustic instrument tone (Homer et al. 1993). We can combined the matched parameters
from different pitch ranges of the instrument into a single design.
The main section of the book describes the derived wavetable synthesis parameters for each of the
woodwinds and brass instruments. For each design, we describe the general acoustic features of the
instrument and the matching parameters, and then give a short musical excerpt from the instrument's
repertoire. We then give some effects for customizing the instrument designs.
Instruments and their excerpts include:
1. piccolo (Stravinsky - Rite of Spring)
2. flute (Debussy - Prelude d l'Apres-midi d'un Faune)
3. oboe (Stravinsky - Rite of Spring)
4. English hom (Dvorak - New World Symphony, second movement)
5. clarinet (Mahler - Symphony #4, last movement)
6. bass clarinet (Stravinsky - Rite of Spring)
7. bassoon (Stravinsky - Rite of Spring)
8. contrabassoon (Dukas - The Sorcerer's Apprentice)
9. saxophone (Kenny G- Wedding Song)
10. trumpet open (Bach - Brandenberg Concerto #2)
11. trumpet cup-muted (Bach - Brandenberg Concerto #2)
12. trumpet harmon-muted (Bach - Brandenberg Concerto #2)
13. horn open (R. Strauss - Til Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks)
14. horn stopped (Â~R. Strauss - Til Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks)
15. trombone open (Brahms - Symphony #2, ending)
16. trombone cup-muted (Brahms - Symphony #2, ending)
17. trombone wah-wah muted (Brahms - Symphony #2, ending)
18. tuba (Berlioz - Symphonie Fantastique)
19. tutti (Opening to Stravinsky's Rite of Spring)
Horner & Ayers
390
ICMC Proceedings 1996
