Designing Sound in SuperCollider/Boing

Fig 33.2a: clamped-mode vibration ( ~clampedmodes = { |basefreq, env| var freqs, amps; freqs = [1, 6.267, 17.55, 34.39]; amps = [0.5, 0.25, 0.125, 0.06125]; Klank.ar(`[freqs, amps, 0.2], env, basefreq); }; {~clampedmodes.(100, Impulse.ar(10))}.plot(1) ) Fig 33.2b: free-mode vibration ( ~freemodes = { |input, basefreq=100, res=80| var filtfreqs; // The actual filter freqs take these harmonic relationships: filtfreqs = basefreq * [1, 2.7565, 5.40392, 8.93295, 13.3443, 18.6379]; BPF.ar(input, filtfreqs, 1/res).sum * 10 }; {~freemodes.(LFSaw.ar(4))}.plot(1) ) Motion of the twanged ruler Here we use Env to create an asymmetric waveshape - when the value is below zero, the ruler is touching the table and so is practically "shorter". Therefore it has a higher frequency (shorter wavelength) in the lower cycle than in the upper cycle. ~rulerwave = Env([1, 0, -0.7, 0, 1], [0.3, 0.1, 0.1, 0.3], [4, -4, 4, -4]).asSignal(512).asWavetable; ~rulerwave.plot; // Here let's plot it running at a frequency that speeds up. // This approximates the actual trajectory of motion of the end of the ruler: {Osc.kr(~rulerwave.as(LocalBuf), XLine.kr(50, 100, 1), mul: XLine.kr(1, 0.001, 1))}.plot(1) // Now, every time the wave passes zero in a downwards-going direction, that represents the ruler thwacking on the table and therefore transmitting energy into the resonances. // This code builds on the previous one to derive the thwacks - one at each downward zero crossing, with an energy proportional to the speed (==derivative of position, found using Slope) ( { var motion, thwacks, isDown; motion = Osc.ar(~rulerwave.as(LocalBuf), XLine.kr(50, 100, 1), mul: XLine.kr(1, 0.001, 1)); isDown = motion < 0; thwacks = Trig1.ar(isDown, 0) * (0-Slope.ar(motion)) * 0.01; thwacks = LPF.ar(thwacks, 500); [motion, isDown, thwacks] }.plot(1) ) Let's hear it OK, so now we need to make sound from this data. The base frequency for the resonator is higher if isDown==true, since the effective length is shorter. So we need to modulate the base frequency at the same time as pushing the thwacks through the resonators. ( { var motion, thwacks, isDown, basefreq; motion = Osc.ar(~rulerwave.as(LocalBuf), XLine.kr(10, 100, 1), mul: Line.kr(1, 0.001, 1, doneAction: 2)); isDown = motion < 0; thwacks = Trig1.ar(isDown, 0) * (0-Slope.ar(motion)) * 0.01; thwacks = LPF.ar(thwacks, 500); basefreq = if(isDown, 289, 111); ~freemodes.value(thwacks, basefreq, 100) + ~clampedmodes.value(basefreq, thwacks); }.play ) // That was a model of a ruler-on-a-desk. The next one is... something else. ( { var motion, thwacks, isDown, basefreq; motion = Osc.ar(~rulerwave.as(LocalBuf), 80, mul: Line.kr(1, 0.001, 1, doneAction: 2)); isDown = motion < 0; thwacks = Trig1.ar(isDown, 0) * (0-Slope.ar(motion)) * 0.01; basefreq = if(isDown, 289, 111) * Pulse.ar(10).exprange(0.9, 1.1); ~freemodes.value(thwacks, basefreq, 100) + ~clampedmodes.value(basefreq, thwacks); }.play )