A few sound synthesis and processing examples

There are examples of live performances and tutorials on the Kyma Vimeo and YouTube channels. For additional examples, see the Kyma International Sound Symposium concert and presentation videos.

Audio Morphing

• Morphing in MiddleEarth: Examples of Tau morphing. Listen for time/frequency warped flutes, granulated trombone-dogs, morphing wizards, random trombone sweeps, a trombone morphing to male vocal “ah”, Federico morphing to Valeria, a chorus of Jeffs, drops of water morphing into a spoken “oh”, flute morphing to an angry cat, a bongo roll slowing down, and a monotonized Valeria morphing to Federico.

• Morphs: woman to cat, baby to dog, dog to Harley, woman to little boy — all over a drum loop background

• HarpGuitarDog: a harp sound morphs into a guitar sound morphs into a dog bark

• Down for the Count: A multi-way sonic morph back and forth among three different people saying “1, 2, 3” with some Tau transmogrifications and synthesis in the background.

• SingScratch: a scratch drum loop is crossed with a voice

• Weird: A montage of strange Tau morphs.

Morphing with SampleCloud, Psi, Spectra, and GA Resynthesis

With Kyma X.82 we added three types of morphing (Morph1d, Morph2dKeymapped, and Morph3d) to three synthesis algorithms (Psi, SampleCloud, and GA) and a Spectrum source (used in conjunction with the OscillatorBank, FilterBank, CloudBank, and FilterBank) to give 21 new ways to synthesize, resynthesize, and morph. All sounds in these examples are synthetic, not samples, and are performed live without subsequent editing or post-processing.

• 3d Psi Morph on iPad (video): Morph3dPsi morphing Tuva singer, bongo, flute, angry cat, female voice, violin, cat meow, and shakuhachi using pen tab of Kyma Control on an iPad.

• morphadasical: The foreground ‘melody’ is performed live on a Continuum Fingerboard, using KeyTimbre (near/far) and KeyVelocity (pressure) to morph between re-synthesized violin, trombone and flute. In the background, Kyma is generating the Sax/Flute morph pattern.

• spectres: Voice morphing to bowed glass using Morph2dKeymappedSpectrum performed on keyboard tab of Kyma Control and piano spectrum controlling FilterBank with vinyl clicks input performed on standard MIDI keyboard.

• seedBox (by Cristian Vogel): MultiSampleCloud with chaotic controls applied to Cristian Vogel‘s sample library.

• glassGuitar (video): Morph2dKeymappedPsi morphing struck glass to guitar harmonic controlled by AnalogSequencer and Morph2dKeymappedSpectrum of flute to bowed glass controlled by Kyma Control on an iPad.

• cloud cadence: A Morph2dKeymappedSpectrum of piano re-synthesized by a CloudBank and performed on a standard MIDI keyboard.

• pno squeal: Piano spectra in Morph2dKeymappedSpectrum controlling FormantBank played on standard keyboard with ModWheel controlling !ScaleFormant.

• medieval miasma: Morph2dKeymappedSpectrum controlling FormantBank of organ and voice with slowly changing !ScaleFormant

• peace flute (video): A flute with a time-stretched attack using Morph2dKeymappedSpectrum and played on the Tonnetz.

• synthy voicey: Comical psi voice resynthesis with various formant shifts through a ping pong delay.

• psi-co pop: Guitar/Bass pizz Morph2dKeymappedPsi controlled by AnalogSequencer with Morph2dKeymappedPsi flute and cello performed on Continuum Fingerboard using KeyVelocity to control ScaleSusDur on the flute to create flutter tongue effect.

• trombello (video): Morph2dKeymappedSpectrum guitar and Morph2dKeymappedGA piano controlled by AnalogSequencer & Morph2dKeymappedSpectrum of cello and trombone controlled by Kyma Control on an iPad.

• new music ensemble: Morph2dKeymappedPsi struck glass, plucked strings, bowed strings, flute, trombone, performed on Continuum Fingerboard.

• driving in snow (for jvs): Morph2dKeymappedPsi of struck and bowed glass controlled by random number generators and MIDI keyboard.

• tablet speech morph (dry) (video): Morph3dPsi morph among four different people counting, controlled by Wacom tablet.

• folk morph: Morph2dKeymappedPsi morphing saxophone to flute, folk harp to voice, piano to bass clarinet, guitar to organ, performed on Continuum Fingerboard.

• pno sax loop: Piano and Sax Morph2dKeymappedPsi loop performed on Continuum Fingerboard.

• SETI communication: Flute, violin, bass clarinet Morph2dKeymappedPsi controlled by AnalogSequencer with two layers of Morph2dKeymappedPsi Voices performed on Continuum Fingerboard.

• slide guitar trombone: Morph2dKeymappedSpectrum guitar and trombone performed on a Continuum fingerboard.

• rando morph psi: Rapid jumping between timbres using Psi resynthesis.

• piano voice (video): Morph2dKeymappedPsi of Voice and Piano controlled first by the modulation wheel on a standard MIDI keyboard, then by the KeyTimbre direction of the keyboard tab in Kyma Control

• ghost child: Voice morphing to violin and back again using Morph2dKeymappedPsi performed on keyboard tab of Kyma Control.

• violin hack: Schmalzy Morph2dKeymappedPsi violin performed on Continuum Fingerboard.

• nazgul memory: Organ spectrum controlling a FormantBank with slowly sweeping !ScaleFormant control. The ‘scream’ is a flute FormantBank resynthesis performed on standard MIDI keyboard and using Mod wheel to shift the formant. The voice is a Morph2dKeymappedSpectrum resynthesized with the OscillatorBank

• morph noodle: Noodling around on the Continuum Fingerboard with Morph2dKeymappedPsi violin pizz, violin arco, flute, trombone, using KeyVelocity and KeyTimbre to morph between timbres with AnalogSequencer controlled flute/sax psi morph in the background.

• flarp: Splicing a harp attack onto flute sustain using a fast morph and Morph2dKeymappedPsi performed on standard MIDI keyboard.

• vinyl clicks thru piano filter: This is the piano spectrum FilterBank with vinyl clicks input by itself.

• pianotar saxobone: Piano and guitar spectra in Morph2dKeymappedSpectrum controlled by AnalogSequencer and saxophone trombone spectrum morph played on the keyboard tab of Kyma Control.

• scampers: Organ spectrum controlling a FormantBank with slowly sweeping !ScaleFormant control, this time with bowed glass spectra performed on the keyboard tab of Kyma Control on the iPad.

• glass flurries: Random triggering of struck glass Psi resynthesis.

• cloud piano: A Morph2dKeymappedSpectrum of piano re-synthesized by a CloudBank and performed on a standard MIDI keyboard (variation on the cloud cadence example above).

• noizPNO: Piano spectra in Morph2dKeymappedSpectrum controlling FilterBank with noise input.

• elephant dance: Same piano-spectra-controlled FilterBank plus Morph2dKeyMapped2dPsi of plucked Bass, both controlled by AnalogSequencer.

• pno wail: Another variation on piano spectra in Morph2dKeymappedSpectrum controlling FormantBank played on standard keyboard with ModWheel controlling !ScaleFormant.

• Courage fanfare (video): Trombone to organ morph using Morph2dKeymappedSpectrum and the Tonnetz tab of Kyma Control. The morph control is a horizontal fader across the top of the iPad.

• piano bagpipes: A spectrum-freeze of an additive re-synthesis of piano using Morph2dKeymappedSpectrum gives a bagpipe-like timbre when the key is held down, but piano-like when playing staccato.

• amateur organist: Slow morph from organ to harpsichord and back using Morph2dKeymappedPsi and CrossFiltered with a balloon burst in a parking garage.

• saxBoneGuitiano (video): Morph2dKeymappedSpectrum guitar and Morph2dKeymappedGA piano controlled by AnalogSequencer & Morph2dKeymappedSpectrum of sax and trombone controlled by Kyma Control on an iPad.

Pacarana videos

• Expansion: Hooking up an 18-processor SuperPaca (3 Pacas + 3 Pacaranas), synthesized sound track (no samples were used), filtered noise, oscillators, cross filter, binaural panning

• Analogy: Audio from an espresso machine, analyzed using TAU editor, resynthesis combinations from TAU Gallery

• Glimpse: Sound track by Tobias Enhus, using Kyma modal filters, Harm Visser’s physical modelling toolkit for Kyma, CrossFilters and his own vocal synthesis algorithm implemented in Kyma and performed live with Max Mathew’s Radio Baton

Mixtures of synthesis and processing

• USO Project Kyma Studies: USO Project and Synesthesiarecs exploring the slipstick timbre space!
• Haiku: sample clouds, aggregate synthesis, choppers, additive synthesis, morphing, GA resynthesis, sample mangling, resonator-excitor synthesis, featuring the voice of Yasuski

• ReBack: grain clouds, GA resynthesis, chopping, FilterBank, and CloudBank resynthesis
• ReZooma: all sounds came from two short samples of Zooma** (chopped & spectrally transmogrified)
• Snailsbury Remix: Remix of a children’s song by PDJ, includes morphing, vocoding, chopping, and resynthesis
• The Planet of Intelligent Dogs: Formant-shifted beats, synthesized Harley RPMs, alien ambiences, analog synths, filtered noise-drums create the pack-mind of intelligent dogs. All the sounds in this example were generated using Tau synthesis.

• Video of John Paul Jones using Kyma for Live looping in the Triple Neck Song.

• ColdPlanet: granular synthesis
• SampleCloud: granulating a harp loop and a vocal sample
• Couscous: a mix of processed voice, chopped granular synthesis, and an electronic drum loop
• BassBits: a bass guitar loop is chopped up and rearranged by Kyma’s SampleBits module (here’s the original*)

• RandoMiniLoop: this module randomly changes the start and end loop points (the original was a bass drum hit*)
• Deranger: vocal, drum, & saz* samples chopped to bits and rearranged in real time by the Kyma Deranger module

• Velocity-sensitive multicycle oscillators designed and performed by Edmund Eagan on Continuum and Lemur
• Tau synthesis of trombone with mute analyzed and recorded by Edmund Eagan on Continuum
• Multiwave: oscillator whose waveform and filter cutoff are being changed in real time
• HarpAh: a MIDI keyboard-controlled additive resynthesis of a harp morphs into a voice singing ‘ah’

• BucketShoppe: a drum loop* filtered by a harmonic resonator that tracks the amplitude envelope of the drum
• FilteredDrumChoppedVox: a drum loop filtered by an amplitude-tracking all-pass filter plus chopped rap sample*
• Vocoder: live vocoder with changing noise content, input frequency, formant, and bandwidth

• InvertSpectrum: various frequency ranges of a harp sample are spectrally inverted (original harp is at the end)
• BirdCymbal: different amplitude ranges of a drum loop* are clipped in the spectral domain (here’s the original*)

 Aggregate Synthesis

In Aggregate Synthesis, complex timbres are constructed using banks of simpler elements. Most people are already familiar with one form of Aggregate Synthesis: the classic “additive synthesis” in which hundreds of sine wave oscillators are combined to create complex, evolving timbres. Symbolic Sound has extended that technique to include banks of other sound generating elements such as filters, grain clouds, and synthesized impulse responses. Aggregate Synthesis algorithms can be used to resynthesize a live or recorded spectrum or to generate purely synthetic spectra.

• CloudBank: A bank of grain clouds, each cloud assigned its own amplitude and frequency envelope in addition to the usual granular synthesis controls like density, grain duration, frequency jitter, etc. (here’s the original drum loop*)
• FilterBank: A bank of bandpass filters, each controlled by a center frequency and amplitude envelope with the additional parameter of bandwidth. (In this example, you hear a spectral analysis of a voice resynthesized through the FilterBank with extreme time-stretching. The bandwidth is controlled by the VoicedUnvoiced module).
• FormantBank: A bank of synthesized impulse responses, each with its own amplitude and frequency envelope plus an additional control on the frequency of the formants, independent of the fundamental frequency control. (In this example, you hear a spectral analysis of a singing voice, resynthesized through the FormantBank. The Formant control is being varied to create the sound of a smaller head first and then a larger head.)