1. Virtual Piano
- Subjects
synthesize ,virtual piano ,modal method ,phantom partials ,physical model - Abstract
The computer technique of generating musical instrument sounds can be divided into threemethods: synthetic method, reproduction method, and production method. The productionmethod is using ‘physical models’. Judging from an academic purpose that analysis the soundgeneration mechanism of the musical instruments, judging from an aspect of the compliance tothe difference of the instrument form, the production method by ‘physical model’ is the mostattractive. In a piano, vibration is activated by a string struck by a hammer and is transferredto a resonant board through a bridge. At last sounds occur on a resonant board. Therefore, thephysical model must be a simulation of a series of these motions. In a popular piano, there are88 keyboards, and for every keyboard the number of strings, the length of the string, the massand the hardness of the hammer are different. But if we use the technique of the physical modeland change model parameters, we can make them correspond to every kind of piano forms easily.After we build a physical model of a piano with such 88 keyboards in a computer that will beindeed ‘Virtual Piano’. For the realization, a great deal of calculation is necessary, but in recentyears that becomes possible by the improvement of the computer calculation speed. Here thebasic theory of a physical model and the numerical calculation method are described.
- Published
- 2007