Hi Joel and David,
thanks both of you for your very kind feedback. the story about the Swiss
composer/musician is lovely.
David, physically modelled or informed. Physical modelling is what it
sounds like: building a physical model of an instrument. Analysing the
components in an instrument that produce sound, other components that
shape it or add to it and things that resonate. The piano-like sound is
based on the idea of a physical model of a piano. Things like the Array
Mbira like sound are more tuned by ear and using a tiny bit of theory.
Mostly combining things that sound good and get closer to the desired
timbre.
The basic techniques involved are waveguides (tuned feedfback delays)
and modal synthesis, highly resonant filters. For plucked or struck
instruments, you basically send a short noise burst - or sound burst -
into either the delay line or the filter. The modal filters can be used
like additive synthesis. You take a few of those filters, tune their
resonant frequencies and let them ring out. The decay of those filters,
as the decay of the feedback delays, sound very natural and envelope and
for the delays also in frequency. Usually a lowpass filter is put in the
delays feedback.
I'm not much up on synth plugins in Linux, but there are many commercial
software synths using that approach. The Mutable Instruments Plaits
"oscillator" should offer both kinds of synthesis. It's basically free
software and has been implemented a few times in hardware and software.
I hope this explains the process better and has answered what you want
to know. If you'd like to know anything specific, please just ask. Even
though the code might need more beautifying and possibly a little more
overhaul for public consumption, I can share it.
Best wishes and thanks again,
Jeanette
--
* Website:
http://juliencoder.de - for summer is a state of sound
* Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMS4rfGrTwz8W7jhC1Jnv7g
* Audiobombs:
https://www.audiobombs.com/users/jeanette_c
* GitHub:
https://github.com/jeanette-c
But now I'm stronger than yesterday <3
(Britney Spears)