Musical use of a general and expressive plucked-string instrument in software
Thomas Wells, Donald Harris, James Michael Croson · 2004
Plucked string instrument models have enjoyed an intensive history of development in computer music, offering novel methods for synthesis and ever-better simulations of actual acoustic instruments. Research in acoustics has improved our understanding of the physics of musical instruments, and made available to composers and performers more natural sounding computer-based instruments. This paper outlines issues in the development of plucked string software models, emphasizing the opportunities for expressive musical use of these models. A general plucked string instrument emphasizing maximum expressive control is presented in implementations for two software platforms, Max/MSP and Csound. Nukulele, the instrument model, couples four plucked strings together for exploration of many control parameters including the effects of using different excitation impulses, dynamic function control of some parameters, resonance between the strings, and feedback effects. The instrument model is implemented two ways: one in Max/MSP for rapid prototyping and exploration, and the other for use in Csound, a score-based, repeatable, and adjustable system for making music. The effects of varying available parameter settings are illustrated by audio examples, and I offer guidance for their exploration and use. Appendices provide the Max/MSP Nukulele application, a Csound orchestra and score file template, and a Max/MSP application to convert data from the Max/MSP prototyping implementation to Csound score format for high quality and repeatable rendering. This document is aimed at musicians and educators and emphasizes practical musical use: the mathematical underpinnings and theory reside in the cited literature.