Sampling

This is another powerpoint I've been working on. It covers sampling.

Next will come a powerpoint on digital to audio conversion, and then wavetables.

A Good Bit Depth and Bit Rate Explanation

LYNDA.COM

Tutorial on Sampling Rate and Bit Depth.  These slides helped me visualize the difference between bit depth and bit rate.

bit rate = bit depth x sample rate

Click here for article:  Explanation of Sample Rate and Bit Depth

Digital Audio

Digital audio recording works by recording, or sampling, an electronic audio signal at regular intervals (of time). An analog-to-digital (A/D) converter measures and stores each sample as a numerical value that represents the audio amplitude at that particular moment. Converting the amplitude of each sample to a binary number is called quantization. The number of bits used for quantization is referred to as bit depth. Sample rate and bit depth are two of the most important factors when determining the quality of a digital audio system.

ChucK reactions and cool discoveries

It has been really great learning to use ChucK, and making cool discoveries with each new day before me. ChucK to me is not a challenging language, but the challenge comes in understanding what you are doing. Understanding how to use the unit generators (I overheard the professor saying "unit generators" seems to be an old phrase, but I don't know what else to call them), and understanding the many STK

Changing the Face of Music: making your keyboard a musical instrument

Changing the Face of Music: Making your keyboard a musical instrument

             I view research as a process of examining society’s problems, and then look for ways to provide solutions for those problems. Research to me is never purposeless, but it always has an intrinsic goal to serve. After working on ChucK for the past few days and discovering how one can turn a computer keyboard into a musical instrument, I realized how this technique could be used to meet societal needs. Being an international student from a developing nation living in a developed nation now, I have a deep understanding of problems that could be in both developing and developed nations, and I continually realize that financial problems are not just a curse for developing nations—they exist in developed nations as well. Because many families and institutions barely make ends meet, musical instruments become luxuries to many. Many kids may even grow up without much knowledge of music, yet they are gifted and could do great in the field. As a way to curb problems of access to musical instruments, I thought it would be great if we could turn our keyboards into musical instruments. Instead of complaining about lack of money, we can enjoy the best of both worlds—our computers and the music. Even if the keyboard instruments may be so different from the real instruments, sparking an interest in any person about something may make it easier for that person to learn the real thing when exposed to it. Besides, this is a generation where people are doing things they have never done before, and breaking new ground, so this could be a dawn of a new era in music.

            There are also a bunch of other people who might not have garage band and other applications that play musical instruments on their computers, yet they love music, but they just cannot get off their computers to play an instrument, or the do not own an instrument. Such people could also benefit from the musical instrument models in ChucK.

What you need to turn your keyboard into a musical instrument

COMPUTER SOUND DESIGN / Sampling and Synthesis

Sampling Rate and Bit Rates

Sampling Rate and Bit Rate - More Graphs

DIGITAL FILTERS from CCRMA

COMPUTER SOUND DESIGN:  Synthesis Techniques and Programming

Download Textbook in PDFThis has excellent technical descriptions and visuals throughout the textbook.  In depth descriptions of wavetable synthesis methods and granular synthesis.

Get a Grip on Synthesis is an introduction to (subtractive) synthesis for people who may have no musical knowledge and may know nothing about synthesizers, but who want an introduction to the subject.  This is an intro video and for more depth go to the BootCamp videos:

Synthesizer Boot Camp Videos - Click on link to watch more videos on modulation, filters, and other short basic videos on how synthesis works in greater detail.

MONKEYING AROUND

STANFORD FINAL PROJECTS
Check this main page and scroll to Final Projects for Fall 2009, 2010, and 2011


FINAL PROJECT - SoVND
This uses neural activity from a monkey experiencing stimuli to create music.

SUGGESTION BOX - Exercises

EXERCISE:  Ask students to choose a particular app like Songify, Broadlands, Ocarina, Beatstream, MoMu, MoPho, Glee Karaoke, VoiceJam, MagicPiano, MagicFiddleSmule, I am T-Pain, LaDiDa or company like Smule, that allows users to create their own digital sounds and music, individually or collectively through social media.

EXERCISE:  Examples for beginning exercises are in Chapter 6 of Ge Wang's thesis.  Create a percussive arrangement.  Run code examples provided and modify parameters, create two programs to generate one rhythmic and one non-rhythmic arrangement.  pg. 127 Thesis

EXERCISE:  Build soundscapes. pg. 129 Thesis by Ge Wang