conworlds.info

Kurt M. Weber · Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 4:16 pm Post subject: Con-instruments

Something I've been playing with a lot lately--a consequence of my music background--is replicating the sound of instruments in my constructed worlds.

Timbre is primarily a consequence of the relative strengths of the overtones/harmonics produced on top of the fundamental pitch, so what I've been doing is using Audacity to generate a series of sine waves at the fundamental and its harmonics, and modifying the amplitude of each of the overtones to emphasize or de-emphasize certain ones.

It leads to some interesting results...when I get around to it I may post some mp3s of what I've created.

chiarizio · Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 9:24 pm Post subject:

Can you use Audacity or some version of it for free and online?
Or some similar piece of software?
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Kurt M. Weber · Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 11:36 pm Post subject:

Audacity is GPLed, yes.

Blake · Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2009 11:03 am Post subject:

This seems interesting, please do post a sample.
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Miekko · Newcomer Joined: 09 May 2008 Posts: 7

have you also considered the attack and flux of the instruments?

Another added thing is the harmonics needn't be integer multiples of the fundamental - on pianos and bells they're not, and this influences the timbre somewhat too.

chiarizio · Posted: Sat Sep 19, 2009 6:34 pm Post subject:

Miekko · Newcomer Joined: 09 May 2008 Posts: 7

flux is the nature of how the component waves change over time - how fast different frequencies decay, possible changes in frequency, phase thingies,

There's lots of things to think about when talking about the music of conworlds - there's so many parameters to play around with.

For a sample:
- what kind of textures do they use? monophony? homophony? polyphony? how rich is the polyphony or chord background in homophonic contexts? how complex are the interactions?
- if there is harmony, what kind of harmonies are there?
(triads? any combination of notes? relatively free interaction between independent voices? I hear some folk music in our world even uses sustained stacked seconds!)
- how do they select which pitches to use? just intonation? overtone scales? temperaments? (well-temperaments or equal temperaments?) more arbitrary scales? do they have octave equivalence, or do they base their music on some other interval (stretched octaves are very common for unaccompanied melodies even in our culture - the ear prefers a slightly too wide octave; pianos also tend to be tuned to a stretched octave, but how about basing the scales and music on the fifth of the octave - a ratio of 3/1 instead of 2/1? or a stretched such one? or a narrow such one? or have the scales repeat at the fifth instead) how large deviations are common on free-pitch instruments and in singing? do they use off-pitch thingies for effects (chorus effects being one use for that we have in western music, but e.g. pelog and such intentionally use additional 'microvoices' that are a fixed amount of *hertz* off from the melody)

Various things one'd expect to sound really bad can actually be made to sound ok with some tweaking of the timbre.

Foolster41 · Posted: Tue Sep 29, 2009 10:27 pm Post subject:

You know, I had the idea of a stringed instrument that you blew on, (some sort of tube obviously would channel the airflow) but I never did get around to getting past the idea part and doing research on whether it was possible, and I'm not quite convinced it is.

It's obviously not listed on that classification (thought that's an very interesting page)
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Rorschach · Posted: Wed Sep 30, 2009 12:56 am Post subject:

Here you go. I happen to use Audacity myself when I'm just mucking about on the keyboard. I've not attempted to make D'Sari (or any other race) music.

Cerne · Wizard Joined: 16 Dec 2006 Posts: 863 Location: Canada

Foolster41 · Posted: Wed Sep 30, 2009 8:29 am Post subject:

Cerne: Neat! Thanks! It sounds like it's always used to make random music, I wonder if there's a way to use to play a song. (buttons that change the tuning like an auto harp maybe?)
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Cerne · Wizard Joined: 16 Dec 2006 Posts: 863 Location: Canada

I am not sure. That second link I gave directs you to a post I made. Right before the "EDIT" there are two links. The second one has a guy explain the mechanics of how Aeolian harps are used and how you can manipulate them. I'm sure you could blow on the strings themselves to make a sound though. After all, it's just air being forced through the strings to make them vibrate.

su_liam · Newcomer Joined: 19 Jul 2010 Posts: 21

Okay. I've been thinking about a conculture with a thing for windchimes. I definitely need to add windharps and those tubular things to the works. I imagine a windy Singing City.

Singing Ringing Tree. Eeerie as hell. Like some sort of hive of angry alien bees.

Wind Harp on a Beach

San Francisco Wind Thingie

Not musical instruments, as such, but something that adds a real aural texture to a conworld.