11-05-2011, 03:54 PM
Last night I took it upon myself to waste my night googling and researching sound synthesis. Spent most of the time on one site:
Sound On Sound
The articles discuss in detail some of the factors that go into simulating real instruments on synthesizers. This doesn't pertain to sampled instruments, like I have a feeling many synthesizers use nowadays, but rather the fine-tunable synthesizers like Moog or Korg. Since FamiTracker doesn't use samples, this is a useful read, even if it doesn't tell you what you may want to know. There's no math, but lots of theory and simplified physics, and fortunately some diagrams. Of particular interest for me were the topics of envelopes (how volume varies from instrument to instrument), what waveforms are ideal for some types of instruments (figured this out on my own last night, though), and a refresher on the concept of attacks (blowing hard or softly into a trumpet, for example).
Another site I read, which was pretty simple but still insightful for me:
DrPetter's Basic Sound Theory and Synthesis
This article deals more with generating sounds for use in games. He talks a bit about waveforms and his thoughts on the psychology behind popular styles of sound effects, such as the coin from Mario, player deaths, lasers, and such. Again, it's pretty basic, but offers some decent insight.
Anyway, I started this topic so we could share links to sound synthesis guides, insight or summaries on what we've learned or discovered about sound synthesis, or any creations we've come up with ourselves. If you share instrument creations in FamiTracker, you can just copy/paste the MML data for Volume (V), Arpeggio (A), Pitch (P), Hi-Pitch (H), and Duty (D).
Some things I've learned last night:
Brass instruments tend to be plosive, that is, they have an attack at the beginning and then taper off to their sustained volume. In other words, a trumpet or trombone will not have a sustained V15. However in a slower song, maybe such as in a game over scene's music, the bugle (let's say) would have a gentler approach to the sustain. In order to make the plosives stand out in your song, you should keep all the sustains near the same level. But to make the plosive stand out, you need to drop below the sustain level (down to V8 or so) and then gradually crescendo up to the sustain.
Do not cut off your notes. In FamiTracker's instrument editor are two options, loop and release. When you record your notes, pressing \ adds a Release command. This will tell the note to then play whatever is in the release section. What you should do is have an instrument loop the vibrato (volume fluctuation) or tremolo (pitch fluctuation) and then gradually fade to V0 on the release. Of course, you wouldn't need to do this when notes are in rapid succession, but if there is a rest after a note, you should make use of releases for a richer effect.
Many games used DPCM timpanis/kettle drums and bass drums. The reason for this is because timpanis and bass drums are harmonic drums, as opposed to snare drums and cymbals, which are enharmonic. The enharmonic drums can just use the Noise channel. Toms are routinely employed on the Triangle channel because they behave like tiny bass drums hit with drumsticks. However, a tom's notes will be succinct, making a Triangle tom somewhat logical, but a timpani or bass drum will reverberate longer, so a Square channel would be best. A Triangle tom suffers from cleanness not present in a real tom. This can be compensated for by synching the Triangle tom with a noise hit, but another alternative is a Square tom. I feel a Square wave is ideal for harmonic percussion because the percussive noise at the time of impact for a harmonic drum can be simulated roughly by alternating duty cycles. Alternating between D1 and D3 then ending on D2 creates a percussive tom sound quite nicely. Repeating this flux works well for a bass drum. With any drum, D0 seems to be a poor choice at any point, but if you find a use for it, go for it.
On the topic of duty cycles...
D1 and D3 in the Square wave sound very much alike, but there is indeed a difference. Using a steady note, they sound alike, but with a pitch bend/tremolo or even vibrato, the difference becomes much clearer. With a tremolo, D1 sounds flatter and D3 sounds richer. We're talking the difference between a trumpet and a trombone, or viola and contra bass. The difference is very noticeable during a crescendo. D1 is better for slow attacks, while D3 is better for faster sweeps. In other words, D1 gives the sound more of a draw. Use D1 at the start of a viola's (for example) phrase and D3 whenever the notes are connected. With woodwinds and brass, D3 is useful for plosives or breaths, while D1 is hardly noticeable.
D2 is good for melodic percussion, like xylophones. However, as I say farther down this post, the Triangle wave is somewhat better for xylophones, in my opinion. Starting a duty cycle phrase with D2 will create a "ploink" every time a note is played. Alternating from D2 to D1 or D3 creates a low pop, possibly better suited for bass drums, timpani, or guitar slaps.
I've compiled this list of which waveform best suits which instrument (neglecting the VRC6's sawtooth, which is ideal for many of these) based on my poor hearing. I played a C3 or C4 or F3 or F4 in FamiTracker with no modulation for each duty cycle (except in the Triangle wave, which doesn't use duty cycles). These associations might not match other people's preferences, but again, these are based on what I heard on my Yamaha keyboard. And again, I have bad hearing, so...
Square Wave
Duty 0
Violin
Cello (C3 equals a cello at C5)
Smoke Alarm
Alto Sax
Duty 1
Viola
Contra bass (C3 equals a contra bass at C5)
Harpsichord
Organs and Accordions
Brass instruments
Harmonica
Bagpipes
Reed woodwinds (except Alto Sax)*
Piano sustain (remember, pianos are percussion)
Guitar sustain (haven't decided what to use for pluck/strum)
Duty 2
Pong sound
Simple woodwinds (for when vibrato is needed)
Square lead
Hawaiian Guitar
Harp
Pizzicato strings fade (use D0/D1 for the pluck)
Piano lead
Duty 3
See comments above
Triangle Wave
Organ (alternative)
Choral 'Ooh'
Simple woodwinds (no vibrato, requires high octaves)
Pan Flute (the only woodwind with the same octave)
Melodic Percussion sustain**
*Soprano sax is played at the same octave. Tenor sax is played one octave lower (i.e., C2 in FamiTracker is equivalent to C3 on the sax). Bari sax is played two octaves lower (i.e., C2 in FamiTracker is equivalent to C4 on the sax). Alto sax is closer to D0, although playing the same phrase on D0 and D1 using both Square channels may simulate an alto sax much better.
**Xylophones, marimbas and celestas can be simulated by playing phrases over all the channels with some timing differentials. Use the Triangle waveform for the middle of the note. Use Square and Noise for the percussive and fading parts. I know most people don't like taking up multiple channels for one instrument, but the great composers can do so without compromising their music. :p
Sound On Sound
The articles discuss in detail some of the factors that go into simulating real instruments on synthesizers. This doesn't pertain to sampled instruments, like I have a feeling many synthesizers use nowadays, but rather the fine-tunable synthesizers like Moog or Korg. Since FamiTracker doesn't use samples, this is a useful read, even if it doesn't tell you what you may want to know. There's no math, but lots of theory and simplified physics, and fortunately some diagrams. Of particular interest for me were the topics of envelopes (how volume varies from instrument to instrument), what waveforms are ideal for some types of instruments (figured this out on my own last night, though), and a refresher on the concept of attacks (blowing hard or softly into a trumpet, for example).
Another site I read, which was pretty simple but still insightful for me:
DrPetter's Basic Sound Theory and Synthesis
This article deals more with generating sounds for use in games. He talks a bit about waveforms and his thoughts on the psychology behind popular styles of sound effects, such as the coin from Mario, player deaths, lasers, and such. Again, it's pretty basic, but offers some decent insight.
Anyway, I started this topic so we could share links to sound synthesis guides, insight or summaries on what we've learned or discovered about sound synthesis, or any creations we've come up with ourselves. If you share instrument creations in FamiTracker, you can just copy/paste the MML data for Volume (V), Arpeggio (A), Pitch (P), Hi-Pitch (H), and Duty (D).
Some things I've learned last night:
Brass instruments tend to be plosive, that is, they have an attack at the beginning and then taper off to their sustained volume. In other words, a trumpet or trombone will not have a sustained V15. However in a slower song, maybe such as in a game over scene's music, the bugle (let's say) would have a gentler approach to the sustain. In order to make the plosives stand out in your song, you should keep all the sustains near the same level. But to make the plosive stand out, you need to drop below the sustain level (down to V8 or so) and then gradually crescendo up to the sustain.
Do not cut off your notes. In FamiTracker's instrument editor are two options, loop and release. When you record your notes, pressing \ adds a Release command. This will tell the note to then play whatever is in the release section. What you should do is have an instrument loop the vibrato (volume fluctuation) or tremolo (pitch fluctuation) and then gradually fade to V0 on the release. Of course, you wouldn't need to do this when notes are in rapid succession, but if there is a rest after a note, you should make use of releases for a richer effect.
Many games used DPCM timpanis/kettle drums and bass drums. The reason for this is because timpanis and bass drums are harmonic drums, as opposed to snare drums and cymbals, which are enharmonic. The enharmonic drums can just use the Noise channel. Toms are routinely employed on the Triangle channel because they behave like tiny bass drums hit with drumsticks. However, a tom's notes will be succinct, making a Triangle tom somewhat logical, but a timpani or bass drum will reverberate longer, so a Square channel would be best. A Triangle tom suffers from cleanness not present in a real tom. This can be compensated for by synching the Triangle tom with a noise hit, but another alternative is a Square tom. I feel a Square wave is ideal for harmonic percussion because the percussive noise at the time of impact for a harmonic drum can be simulated roughly by alternating duty cycles. Alternating between D1 and D3 then ending on D2 creates a percussive tom sound quite nicely. Repeating this flux works well for a bass drum. With any drum, D0 seems to be a poor choice at any point, but if you find a use for it, go for it.
On the topic of duty cycles...
D1 and D3 in the Square wave sound very much alike, but there is indeed a difference. Using a steady note, they sound alike, but with a pitch bend/tremolo or even vibrato, the difference becomes much clearer. With a tremolo, D1 sounds flatter and D3 sounds richer. We're talking the difference between a trumpet and a trombone, or viola and contra bass. The difference is very noticeable during a crescendo. D1 is better for slow attacks, while D3 is better for faster sweeps. In other words, D1 gives the sound more of a draw. Use D1 at the start of a viola's (for example) phrase and D3 whenever the notes are connected. With woodwinds and brass, D3 is useful for plosives or breaths, while D1 is hardly noticeable.
D2 is good for melodic percussion, like xylophones. However, as I say farther down this post, the Triangle wave is somewhat better for xylophones, in my opinion. Starting a duty cycle phrase with D2 will create a "ploink" every time a note is played. Alternating from D2 to D1 or D3 creates a low pop, possibly better suited for bass drums, timpani, or guitar slaps.
I've compiled this list of which waveform best suits which instrument (neglecting the VRC6's sawtooth, which is ideal for many of these) based on my poor hearing. I played a C3 or C4 or F3 or F4 in FamiTracker with no modulation for each duty cycle (except in the Triangle wave, which doesn't use duty cycles). These associations might not match other people's preferences, but again, these are based on what I heard on my Yamaha keyboard. And again, I have bad hearing, so...
Square Wave
Duty 0
Violin
Cello (C3 equals a cello at C5)
Smoke Alarm
Alto Sax
Duty 1
Viola
Contra bass (C3 equals a contra bass at C5)
Harpsichord
Organs and Accordions
Brass instruments
Harmonica
Bagpipes
Reed woodwinds (except Alto Sax)*
Piano sustain (remember, pianos are percussion)
Guitar sustain (haven't decided what to use for pluck/strum)
Duty 2
Pong sound
Simple woodwinds (for when vibrato is needed)
Square lead
Hawaiian Guitar
Harp
Pizzicato strings fade (use D0/D1 for the pluck)
Piano lead
Duty 3
See comments above
Triangle Wave
Organ (alternative)
Choral 'Ooh'
Simple woodwinds (no vibrato, requires high octaves)
Pan Flute (the only woodwind with the same octave)
Melodic Percussion sustain**
*Soprano sax is played at the same octave. Tenor sax is played one octave lower (i.e., C2 in FamiTracker is equivalent to C3 on the sax). Bari sax is played two octaves lower (i.e., C2 in FamiTracker is equivalent to C4 on the sax). Alto sax is closer to D0, although playing the same phrase on D0 and D1 using both Square channels may simulate an alto sax much better.
**Xylophones, marimbas and celestas can be simulated by playing phrases over all the channels with some timing differentials. Use the Triangle waveform for the middle of the note. Use Square and Noise for the percussive and fading parts. I know most people don't like taking up multiple channels for one instrument, but the great composers can do so without compromising their music. :p