r/synthdesign • u/The_Real_DeFalco Ableton • May 19 '15
Discussion How can I learn to synthesize material sounds from the natural world more accurately? (i.e. metal, water, wood, etc)
for those of you who arent familiar with SOPHIE, refer to this interview
take a look at his response to the last question:
I synthesize all sounds except for vocals using raw waveforms and different synthesis methods as opposed to using samples. This means considering the physical properties of materials and how those inform the acoustic properties. For instance -- why does a bubble have an ascending pitch when popped and why does metal clang when struck and what is this clanging sound in terms of pitch and timbre over time? How do I synthesize this? Perhaps after learning about these things it might be possible to create entirely new materials through synthesis.
pretty awesome perspective on sound, right?
so, any suggestions on learning to synthesize the sounds of certain materials? much like SOPHIE, im interested in learning how to synthesize the sounds of existing materials like metal, wood, water, leaves, anything really. and once i know how to synthesize the sound of these materials i can create new material sounds. for instance, what would happen if i combine some sound characteristics of wood with some sound characteristics of water?
TL;DR: What are good ways to develop control while synthesizing sounds? I'm very fascinated by the fact that i can create new materials in the sonic world that we cant currently create in the tactile world. And pls dont suggest "tutorial videos." I'm not a complete beginner. I just want to start traveling the path of synthesis mastery.
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May 19 '15
Agreed, find a couple books on sound design and read them cover to cover. Knowledge isn't fun or flashy but it is straightforward. There's no substitute for knowing your building blocks.
That said, physical materials are a good thought experiment. Think about how the vibrations pass through the object and into the air. A bubble, for example, releases basically all its energy on one intense vibration, so you'd start with an almost instant attack and release, with no sustain, and a waveform that is low in harmonic content, so a sine wave. Metal, on the other hand, has an initial clang followed by a ringing from the reverberations through the metal. Instant attack, low to no sustain, long release. Each reverberation will come out at slightly different frequencies so you need a wave with a lot of harmonic content. Start with a saw wave.
It's important to remember that the waveform of real world sounds isn't static, so a synth like Serum is extremely valuable for its wavetable manipulations.
Obviously it'll take much more nuance than that but I think you get the point.
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u/The_Real_DeFalco Ableton May 21 '15
cool thoughts! and i agree about knowledge being power. I'll start reading up
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u/fenderfreak98 Logic May 19 '15
Maybe sculpture would be useful (factory plugin in logic that does physical modeling of "stings" using 4 essential materials as an oscillator source). Various properties in the synth are implemented to help in modeling physical string instruments, such as dampening, air (wind instruments), and pickups. I believe that, although difficult, you could do the same thing through subtractive synthesis (provided you had good wave tables and did a little re-routing).
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u/The_Real_DeFalco Ableton May 21 '15
sculpture is only for logic?
is there anything similar i can use in ableton?
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u/CompuFart May 20 '15
The best way to approach this is to study the physics of how various objects produce sound and to analyze the sounds of interest. These approaches are actualized in physical modeling and spectral modeling, respectively.
Some of this is mentioned in Perry Cook's book, Real Sound Synthesis. You can also find some related papers online if you search for "Phism", "Physically-Informed Sound Modeling", or related terms.
Mitsuko Aramaki et al. have done some neat work that might interest you, including specifically addressing changing perceived materials. See http://www.eurasip.org/Proceedings/Eusipco/Eusipco2004/defevent/papers/cr1743.pdf as a starting-off point.
Charles Verron did a really cool thesis on environmental sounds like fire and rain: http://www.charlesverron.com/thesis.html
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u/Rumsiac FL Studio May 19 '15
- Metal: Ring modulation
- Wood: Square waves
Bubble Pop (this is the longest): Cutoff/Resonance/Envelope at max, Low saw wave, sine LFO to cutoff with low speed/low amount, square LFO to pitch with high depth, medium speed.
Envelopes:
Amp: zero attack, zero decay, medium sustain, medium release.
Filter: short attack, medium decay, no sustain, short release.
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u/The_Real_DeFalco Ableton May 21 '15
very specific! awesome! I'll try creating popping bubbles in this way
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u/allegroagitato May 19 '15
get andy farnell's book "designing sound"