Sound Design and Composition

using Subtractive Synthesis

(introduction)

Pre-Class Music

•Luigi Nono: Das atmende Klarsein (1980/81)

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.

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.

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.

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

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)

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

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.