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From:
Steven I Davis
To:
EggyToast
Cc:
Chloe Sasson ,
Date:
Sun, 16 Jul 2000 12:10:11 -0700 (PDT)
Subject:
Re: [idm] Mathematics of Music
Msg-Id:
<Pine.SOL.4.10.10007161209170.20833-100000@ieng9.ucsd.edu>
In-Reply-To:
<003001bfeee7$a13abae0$a43d0b3f@k8y8w1>
Mbox:
idm.0007.gz
This might be getting a tad esotheric, but is there a would changing the phase shift of the wave have an effect? einhander icq#21518714 On Sun, 16 Jul 2000, EggyToast wrote:
quoted 61 lines I am not a producer of music-however I am interested in learning about the> > > > I am not a producer of music-however I am interested in learning about the > > algorithms and wave formations(sinewave??) that people often talk about > when > > discussing the production of electronic music. > > > > I have printed out some stuff,but it is very confusing! > > This is a pretty common problem with any electronic thing, since most > manuals and information is written in a way so that people who already konw > what's going on will know what's going on. This, of course, it pretty much > useless as far as the *actual processes*. It took me about 6th months to > find out what cutoff actually was. > > anywho, common algorithms are as follows: > sawtooth wave: this is above the "center line" in a wave, and pretty much > looks like a basic sawtooth (straight up on one side, slanted going back to > the middle, and then back up (or down, depending on the previous). it > usually creates more of a buzz and very "acidic sounds." looks like > |\|\|\|\ kinda > square wave: this basically makes rectangles out of the soundwave. it looks > like a series of vertical lines connected at the ends, and they're opposite > the adjacent ones. looks kinda like |_|-|_| only with that middle line > being at the top (instead of the middle). these tend to sound pretty > smooth, and are usually smooth leads and pads, along with bass sounds that > don't sound "acidic" (often confused with sine basses) > triangle wave: it looks like \/\/\/\/\/\/ =) it sounds smoother than the > sawtooth, but more jagged than the square. bass sounds are rumbly, and > treble sounds tend to be squeakier (although they can all sound pretty > squeaky with the right effects). > sine wave: well it's a basic non-modulated wave. sounds very smooth, but > is a pain to work with because there aren't many effects you can apply to a > basic sine wave (usually just amplitude and frequency). > > i have no clue how the actual oscilators on synths or whatever work to > create these, but these are the basic waveforms used by most synthesis. you > can also mix these and get a really wide variety of waveforms, which > probably explains a lot of the more complicated algorithms in "sound wave > technology" > > they can all be modified by increasing/decreasing the amplitude (basically > the loudness), and the frequency (how close the peaks/dips are to each > other), which affects the pitch of the sound (if the "peaks" are more > compact, the pitch is higher, and if the wave is more stretched out, then > it's bassier). things like cutoff, delay, and other basic filters, simply > modify those waveforms overall shape (delay will stretch it out more at the > end, etc). in reality, all soundwaves are simply combinations of basic > waveforms like this, just to an extremely complex degree, which is why some > people claim to be able to make synths sound like real things (cos they *do* > sound like real things, only simpler). > > well hopefully i answered some questions. =) > > -derek > > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org > For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org >
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