The Synthesis of Complex Sonic Events by Functional Iterations

Agostino di Scipio and Ignazio Prignano

Laboratorio Musica & Sonologia
Dipartimento di Matematica Pura ed Applicata, Universita di L'Aquila

Abstract:

This paper introduces a non-standard sound synthesis method that the authors, with terminology drawn from the literature on chaos theory, call synthesis by functional iterations. It describes the general formalism and application of a difference equation model - the "sin map". Sounds generated with method can show dynamical properties ranging from very "active" behavior (spectrally rich transient phenomena, turbulence and noise) to relatively "inactive" behavior (smooth, if not almost flat curves), and unpredictable transitions in between.