Applications of bioacoustics to musical instrument technology: Models for sound synthesis and musical controllers based on animal sound production mechanisms.

摘要

In this research, the scientific and artistic contributions of animal sound production---or bioacoustic---systems to the field of music technology is explored through the development of musical controllers and real-time physics-based synthesis models of the cicada's tymba and the songbird's syrinx.; A physical model was developed of the cicada and was successful both in producing the desired sound and in revealing the uniqueness and efficiency of the cicada's sequential buckling mechanism as a means of exciting a mechanical resonator. A scaled mechanical model of the tymbal was then constructed as an input device to the computer synthesis model and also to determine whether the buckling rib mechanism could be used effectively by a human. A videotape demonstration shows the buckling mechanism allows the ribs to be played extremely rapidly.; A physical model of the bird's vocal tract was developed following an article published by Neville Fletcher that provided a detailed quantitative description of birdsong. The model presented in this work uses waveguide synthesis techniques for the bronchi and trachea tubes and finite difference methods for the nonlinear vibrating syringeal membranes. Problems of numerical integration such as bringing sampling rates down to an audio range and reducing aliasing by "feathering" the collisions of the beating reed-like membrane were solved.; The final contribution of this work presents a method for extracting the two primary control parameters, lung pressure and membrane tension, from recorded birdsong. This serves to judge the model's ability to produce actual birdsong and to restrict the parameter space so that the model can be more easily controlled.; There are three main aspects of instrument design being addressed in this research: sound production, sound control, and mapping, which determines relationships between the input of the performer, the synthesis parameters and the intended produced sound. The bioacoustic umbrella under which this research is conducted aims to expand the availability of quality musical sounds by searching for models that go beyond traditional musical instruments.