Computer Sound Design, Second Edition: Synthesis techniques and programming (Music Technology) [Paperback]

Eduardo Miranda (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0240516931 | ISBN-13: 978-0240516936 | Publication Date: December 27, 2002 | Edition: 2

This comprehensive introduction to software synthesis techniques and programming is intended for students, researchers, musicians, sound artists and enthusiasts in the field of music technology.

The art of sound synthesis is as important for the electronic musician as the art of orchestration is important for symphonic music composers. Those who wish to create their own virtual orchestra of electronic instruments and produce original sounds will find this book invaluable. It examines a variety of synthesis techniques and illustrates how to turn a personal computer into a powerful and flexible sound synthesiser. The book also discusses a number of ongoing developments that may play an important role in the future of electronic music making.

Previously published as Computer Sound Synthesis for the Electronic Musician, this second edition features a foreword by Jean-Claude Risset and provides new information on:

· the latest directions in digital sound representation
· advances in physical modelling techniques
· granular and pulsar synthesis
· PSOLA technique
· humanoid voice synthesis
· artificial intelligence
· evolutionary computing

The accompanying CD-ROM contains examples, complementary tutorials and a number of synthesis systems for PC and Macintosh platforms, ranging from low level synthesis programming languages to graphic front-ends for instrument and sound design. These include fully working packages, demonstration versions of commercial software and experimental programs from top research centres in Europe, North and South America.

* Increase your understanding of the major computer synthesis techniques with this accessibly written introduction

* Discover the latest developments and future direction of the field

* Try out a range of synthesis software for free - available on the accompanying CD-ROM

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Clear, readable and detailed without being wordy
or heavy."
Tony Thompson, Mighty Wight Productions

Reviews of the previous edition:

'An extremely readable and comprehensive coverage of the audio synthesis domain. No high level maths required. The straight forward and lucid descriptions of each of the major synthesis approaches (and some of the more esoteric ones too) will empower the reader to get a deeper (and better) understanding of their synthesis instrument. The addition of several software synthesis applications makes this worth the price alone. New noises abound. As a MAX MSP user this was exactly what I needed to begin designing new synthesis instruments...great book.'
A reader, Amazon.com

...an excellent source of ideas for creating innovative sounds for my mixes and multimedia works.'
A reader, Amazon.com

About the Author

Eduardo Reck Miranda is a researcher at Sony Computer Science Laboratory, and a renowned composer in his own right. He is one of the creators of the Computer Music Group (NUCOM) of the Brazilian Computer Science Society (SBC); he is also a member of the International Computer Music Association (ICMA), the Brazilian Electroacoustic Music Association (SBME) and the Audio Engineering Society (AES). He is on the editorial boards of Leonardo Music Journal, Organised Sound, and Contemporary Music Review.

Product Details

• Paperback: 263 pages
• Publisher: Focal Press; 2 edition (December 27, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0240516931
• ISBN-13: 978-0240516936
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,342,922 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Too broad, some misconceptions, October 8, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Computer Sound Design, Second Edition: Synthesis techniques and programming (Music Technology) (Paperback)

I was first impressed with Eduardo Miranda's book "Computer Sound Design" but as I read more, I realized that this ambitious survey of sound synthesis over-generalizes and even criticizes mature well-accepted techniques. Admittedly, the scope of the book is vast, but I can't help feel that the approach to most topics is far too cursory for the book to be more than a reference to other works.

I was very disappointed with chapter 3, "Spectrum Modelling Approaches" as it not only was a terse white-wash of spectral synthesis techniques, there were multiple instances of unfounded criticism for the rich field of spectral signal processing and its growing constituency of pracitioners. It would have been much more effective for Miranda to simply admit his lack of expertise in the area without providing false unfounded judgements.

15 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Most welcome and very helpful, May 21, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Computer Sound Design, Second Edition: Synthesis techniques and programming (Music Technology) (Paperback)

The book is designed to be very practical. It can serve as an introduction, but also as a clarification and reminder for the already experienced reader. The author provides the support necessary for finding one's own path in an extremely clear fashion, so that every step appears simple. The choice of topics includes important and neatly classified methods for sound modelling. At the end, the book ventures towards "the cutting edge" - applying artificial intelligence techniques and evolutionary computing for sound design, and taking into account the implications of parallel computing for sound synthesis: the author is himself conducting research in these promising fields, at the new frontier of computer music. The CD-ROM provides useful software as well as tutorials and examples.

Doing one's own thing with digital sound technology requires some effort indeed: but this effort is necessary to take advantage of vast potential resources in an original, personal and musical fashion, and this book should help in this worthwhile endeavor. I believe that Computer Sound Design - Synthesis Techniques and Programming" will play a useful role in the diffusion of knowledge and know-how on software synthesis, and greatly facilitate the approach of digital sound design.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book!, May 18, 2003

By 

John Simpson (Cambridge, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Computer Sound Design, Second Edition: Synthesis techniques and programming (Music Technology) (Paperback)

This is an excellent book and I found it ideal as a text book for sound synthesis courses. It covers a wide range of different synthesis techniques and the concepts are clearly explained with examples and useful diagrams. What I found most positive in this book is that it does not focus on any one system in particular (ie, it's not a user guide for a specific software). Rather, it surveys of a number of systems - commercial and public domain - including unusual ones for physical modelling such as Praat and CORDIS. Also there is a chapter of more advanced synthesis techniques using genetic algorithms and artificial intelligence, which makes it a nice addition to the norm. I only wished the book was longer, with more in-depth discussion on some of the many interesting examples. The CD-ROM has useful additional materials and tutorials.