Ophidian and the Uncanny Valley.
David Bessell · University of Michigan Library Repository · 2011
Physical modelling is one of the most flexible and exciting of recent developments in software synthesis.New developments in synthesis methods are often accompanied by the emergence of new paradigms for the organisation of sound in composition.Here connections are drawn between Dr Masahiro Mori's concept of the 'Uncanny Valley' and tension and relaxation structures in timbrally varied musical phrases generated by physical models.This practice based study explores some of the possibilities with a flute physical model in an etude titled 'Ophidian'.In addition some further examples are discussed of the compositional possibilities of hybrid instruments made from mismatched components of other models.Parallels are made between ideas related to the uncanny valley and ways of categorising and organising synthesized sounds, which are more or less closely related to conventional acoustic instruments.The implications of these ideas for physically modelled instruments are tested in the piece Ophidian.The possibilities are indicated for a more generalised application of these ideas to other forms of synthesis.