CDP DOCUMENTATION – MAIN INDEX
The CDP suite consists of a number of Function Groups, all of which are listed here. Most of these are the names of programs, each containing a number of functions; however, newer single-function programs have also been allocated to a group, for reference purposes. A few Function Groups consist solely of single-function programs.
CLICK ON THE GROUP NAME TO THE LEFT TO ACCESS THE CDP REFERENCE DOCUMENTATION ON THE FUNCTION GROUP.
CLICK ON THE GROUP NAME BELOW TO ACCESS A LIST OF PROCESSES IN EACH FUNCTION GROUP.TIME DOMAIN (Soundfiles)
- DISTORT – Distortion based on wavesets (pseudo-wavecycles)
- ENVEL – Alterations to the amplitude envelope
- ENVNU – Further specialised operations on envelopes
- EXTEND – Processes which extend and/or segment a sound in time
- FILTER – Techniques to filter or focus on frequency bands
- GRAIN – Granulate and manipulate grains
- HOUSEKEEP – Basic soundfile housekeeping utilities
- MODIFY – Various changes, incl. Brassage & transposition
- MULTICHANNEL – Multi-channel diffusion and processing
- MULTICHANNEL TOOLKIT – Multi-channel file-handling functions
- PSOW – Manipulate pitch-synchronous grains (FOFs)
- RETIME – Functions to rearrange and retime events in soundfiles
- REVERB – Functions to reverberate soundfiles
- SFEDIT – Soundfile editing
- SNDINFO – Soundfile information
- SUBMIX – Mixing and related processes
- SYNTH – Functions to synthesise sounds
- SYSUTILS – System Utilities
- TEXTURE – Create textures of sounds
- CDP 8 TIME-DOMAIN – list of Time-Domain Programs in CDP Release 8
SPECTRAL DOMAIN (Frequency)
- BLUR (Time) – Blur spectral data to diffuse clarity
- COMBINE (Spectra) – Combine frquency analysis data from two or more files
- FOCUS – Focus or sustain spectral amplitude data
- FORMANTS – Formant data and, more generally, the spectral envelope
- HILITE – Emphasise spectral amplitude, including spectral filtering
- MORPH – Create smooth transitions between sounds, using amplitude and frequency analysis data
- ONEFORM – Operations with single formants
- PITCH (& Harmony/Freq) – Operations based on partials
- PITCHINFO (Pitch Data Info) – Information about partials or extracted pitch traces
- PVOC – FFT analysis and resynthesis
- REPITCH (Pitch Data) – extract and alter pitch-related frequency analysis data
- SPEC (Gain/Edit) – Basic utilities in the spectral domain
- SPECFNU – Modify spectral shape in relation to formant peaks
- SPECINFO – Information about spectral data
- SPECNU – Various functions, mainly to clean up frequency analysis files
- STRANGE – some unusual and unpredictable effects
- STRETCH – stretch time or frequency data
- CDP 8 SPECTRAL – list of Spectral Programs in CDP Release 8
LIST OF PROCESSES IN EACH FUNCTION GROUP
BLUR – blur spectral data to diffuse clarity
Some BLUR processes operate across a number of time-windows, for example time-averaging the spectrum, shuffling or moving along the windows.
Others operate on spectral-channel amplitudes: thinning or averaging the spectral energy across a number of adjacent windows, or randomising amplitudes and frequencies.
BLUR AVRG Average spectral energy over N adjacent channels BLUR BLUR Blur the spectral data over time CALTRAIN Time-blur the upper spectral channels BLUR CHORUS Atd random variation to amplitude or frequency in analysis channels BLUR DRUNK Modify sound by a drunken walk along analysis windows BLUR NOISE Add noise to spectrum BLUR SCATTER Randomly thin the spectrum SELFSIM Replace spectral windows with the most similar, louder window(s) BLUR SHUFFLE Shuffle analysis windows according to a specific scheme BLUR SPREAD Spread spectral peaks BLUR SUPPRESS Suppress the most prominent channel data SUPPRESS PARTIALS Suppress the most prominent partials in the frequency band indicated WEAVE Weave amongst the analysis windows in a specified pattern
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COMBINE – combine frequency analysis data from two or more files
This group combines two or more spectra, for example by interleaving them or producing the sum, difference, maximum or mean value of the spectra.
Some processes combine characteristics of one spectral envelope with another (CROSS, SPECROSS, SPECTWIN and SPECSPHINX).
MAKE and MAKE2 are key tools for combining PITCH DATA files with FORMANT files to produce spectra that can be re-synthesized back to sound.
COMBINE CROSS Replace spectral amplitudes of 1st file with those of 2nd COMBINE DIFF Subtract one spectrum from another COMBINE INTERLEAVE Interleave (groups of) windows of several spectra COMBINE MAKE Generate spectrum from pitch & formant data COMBINE MAKE2 Generate spectrum from pitch, formant & envelope data COMBINE MAX In each analysis channel, in each window, take the maximum value amongst the input files COMBINE MEAN Generate the spectral 'mean' of 2 sounds SPECROSS Interpolate partials of pitched inanalfile1 towards those of pitched inanalfile2 SPECSPHINX Impose the channel amplitudes of inanalfile2 onto the channel frequencies of inanalfile1 SPECTWIN Combine the formant and/or total spectral envelopes of two spectra COMBINE SUM Find the sum of two spectra
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DISTORT – distortion based on wavesets (pseudo-wavecycles)
The DISTORT functions are variants of the grain concept, but the segments are pseudo-wavecycles called wavesets, found in zero-crossings. The wavesets are processed by repetition, omission, replacing waveforms, adding "harmonics", and so on. Cycles can be processed singly or in groups. Many processes do produce distortion with small groups of cycles, because of rapid and uneven changes of waveform, but larger groups produce smoother and often unpredictable results.
DISTORT AVERAGE Average the waveshape over N 'wavecycles' CLIP Clip a signal DISTORT CYCLECNT Count 'wavecycles' in soundfile DISTORT DELETE Time-contract soundfile by deleting 'wavecycles' DISTCUT Cut sound into elements with falling envelope DISTMARK Interpolate between waveset-groups at marked points DISTMORE BRIGHT Reorder sound segments in order of average zero-crossing rate DISTMORE DOUBLE Double (quadruple etc.) frequency of each waveset DISTMORE SEGSBKWD Reverse certain (sets of) segments DISTMORE SEGZIG Zigzag across tail segments or across whole soundfile DISTORTT Repeat wavesets within given duration DISTREP Timestretch soundfile by repeating wavesets DISTSHIFT Time-shift or swap wavecycles DISTWARP Warp wavecycles by a multiplier DISTORT DIVIDE Distortion by dividing 'wavecycle' frequency DISTORT ENVEL Impose envelope over each group of cyclecnt 'wavecycles' DISTORT FILTER Time-contract a sound by filtering out 'wavecycles' DISTORT FRACTAL Superimpose miniature copies of source 'wavecycles' onto themselves FRACTAL WAVE Fractally distort an input sound or wavecyle DISTORT HARMONIC Harmonic distortion by superimposing 'harmonics' onto 'wavecycles' DISTORT INTERACT Time-domain interaction of two sounds DISTORT INTERPOLATE Time-stretch file by repeating 'wavecycles' and interpolating between them DISTORT MULTIPLY Distortion by multiplying 'wavecycle' frequency DISTORT OMIT Omit A out of every B 'wavecycles', replacing them with silence DISTORT OVERLOAD Clip the signal with noise or a (possibly timevarying) waveform DISTORT PITCH Pitchwarp 'wavecycles' of sound DISTORT PULSED Impose regular pulsations on a sound QUIRK Distort signal by raising sample values to a power DISTORT REFORM Modify the shape of 'wavecycles' DISTORT REPEAT Timestretch soundfile by repeating 'wavecycles' DISTORT REPEAT2 Repeat 'wavecycles' without time-stretching DISTORT REPLACE The strongest 'wavecycle' in a cyclecnt group replaces the others DISTORT REPLIM Timestretch by repeating 'wavecycles' (below a specified frequency) DISTORT REVERSE Cycle-reversal distortion in which the 'wavecycles' are reversed in groups SCRAMBLE Scramble waveset order randomly or by size and level DISTORT SHUFFLE Distortion by shuffling 'wavecycles' SPLINTER Create splinters by repeating & shrinking selected waveset-group DISTORT TELESCOPE Time-contract sound by telescoping N wavecycles into 1
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ENVEL – alterations to the amplitude envelope
The 'envelope' is the overall loudness contour of a sound. You can extract an envelope (either as a binary or breakpoint text file) and edit or transform it in over 30 different ways. Envelope functions can alter the dynamic shape, creating fades and swells, warping it in many ways, or totally re-drawing it, creating new envelopes. Most importantly, you can impose or replace the envelope of one sound with that of another.
Most envelope functions use a parameter called window-size. This is the time-period used to measure the amplitude successively and it determines how accurately the envelope is defined: a small window-size gives a precisely defined envelope; with a larger one, amplitude values are averaged over a longer time.
ENVEL ATTACK Emphasize the attack of a sound ENVEL BRKTOENV Convert a (text) breakpoint envelope to a binary envelope file ENVEL CREATE Create an envelope ENVEL CURTAIL Curtail a soundfile by fading to zero at some time within it ENVEL CYCLIC Create a sequence of repeated envelopes, in a binary envelope file ENVEL DBTOENV Convert a (text) breakpoint file with dB values to a binary envelope file ENVEL DBTOGAIN Convert a (text) breakpoint file with dB values to gain values (0 to 1) ENVEL DOVETAIL Create fade ins and outs in a soundfile by enveloping its beginning and end ENVEL ENVTOBRK Convert a binary envelope file to a (text) breakpoint envelope file ENVEL ENVTODB Convert a binary envelope file to a (text) breakpoint envelope file with dB values ENVEL EXTRACT Extract the amplitude envelope from an input soundfile FLATTEN Equalise level of sound elements ENVEL GAINTODB Convert a (text) breakpoint file with gain (0 to 1) values to dB values ENVEL IMPOSE Impose an envelope on an input soundfile ENVEL PLUCK Pluck the start of a sound (Mono files only) ENVEL REPLACE Replace the existing envelope of a soundfile with a different envelope ENVEL RESHAPE Warp the envelope in a binary envelope file ENVEL REPLOT Warp the envelope in a (text) breakpoint envelope file ENVEL SCALED Impose an envelope on an input soundfile, scaling it timewise to the sound's duration SPIKE Envelope the sound to spike at the peak ENVEL SWELL Cause sound to fade in to and out from a peak moment ENVEL TIMEGRID Partition a soundfile into a sequence of 'windows' separated by silence TOPANTAIL2 Fade beginning & end of a sound TREMENV Tremolo a sound, with witdh narrowed after peak ENVEL TREMOLO Tremolo a sound TREMOLO Witdh-controlled tremolo ENVEL WARP Warp the envelope of a soundfile
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ENVNU – specialised operations on envelopes
A small group which extends the scope of the ENVEL functions. PEAKCHOP 2 produces an envelope based around the peaks in the soundfile; when this replaces that of the original source, the result is a gated sound with silence-separated events, particularly relevant to the RETIME programs.
EXPDECAY Produce a true exponential decay to zero on a sound PEAKCHOP Isolate peaks in a source and either play back at a specified tempo (Mode 1) OR output a peak-isolating envelope (Mode 2)
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EXTEND – processes which extend and/or segment a sound in time
The EXTEND group is concerned with repetitions of various sorts, which prolong the sound. The iterations tend not to repeat the whole file, but only segments of it (e.g. LOOP, ZIGZAG, DRUNK). SEQUENCE and SEQUENCE 2 are quite versatile sample-playing functions, which can play a sequence of sounds at given times, pitch, loudness and duration. Many newer standalone programs have been attached to the group, which explore different aspects of repetition.
EXTEND BAKTOBAK Join a time-reversed copy of the sound to a normal copy, in that order BOUNCE 'Bounce' a sound: accelerating repeats, decaying in level CERACU Repeat the source sound in several cycles that synchronise after specified counts EXTEND DOUBLETS Divide a sound into segments that repeat, and splice them together EXTEND DRUNK Drunken walk through source file (chosen segments read forwards) DVDWIND Shorten a sound by read, skip, read, skip procedure SFECHO ECHO Repeat a sound with timing and level adjustments between repeats ENVSPEAK Process speech 'syllables' EXTEND FREEZE Freeze a portion of sound by iteration HOVER Move through a file, zig-zag reading it at a given frequency HOVER2 Move through a file, zig-zag reading it at a given frequency, with inverted copies EXTEND ITERATE Repeat sound with subtle variations ITERLINE Iterate an input sound, following a transposition line ITERLINEF Iterate an input sound set, following a transposition line EXTEND LOOP Loop (repeat [advancing] segments) inside soundfile MADRID Spatially syncopate repetitions of the source soundfile(s) MOTOR Create faster pulse-stream within slower pulsed envelope PULSER Iterate a sound to create a stream of enveloped & pitched sound-packets PULSER MULTI Iterate a number of sounds, randomly permutated, to create a stream of enveloped and pitched sound-packets REPEATER Play source, with specified elements repeating EXTEND REPETITIONS Repeat source at given times ROTOR Generate note-sets that grow and shrink in pitch-range and speed EXTEND SCRAMBLE Scramble soundfile and write to any given length EXTEND SEQUENCE Produce a sequence from an input sound played at specified transpositions and times EXTEND SEQUENCE2 Produce a sequence from several sounds played at transpositions and times specified SHIFTER Generate simultaneous repetition streams, shifting rhythmic pulse from one to another SHRINK Repeat a sound, shortening it on each repetition SORTER Chop sound into elements, then reorganise by loudness or duration STUTTER Randomly repeat segments cut from elements TESSELATE Create repeating patterns with shift in space and time EXTEND ZIGZAG Read soundfile backwards and forwards, as you specify
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FILTER – techniques to filter or focus on frequency bands
Filtering changes the tone-colour of a sound, attenuating some of the harmonics and emphasizing others. The filter's power is well known through the classic "subtractive synthesis" model in which a synthesised waveform, rich in harmonics, is shaped by a time-varying filter. CDP's filter functions include all the classic types plus particularly effective Filter Banks, which can be used to "tune" the sound by strongly emphasising specified frequencies. (The VARIBANK data format is also used elsewhere within CDP.) There are also spectrally based filters (see HILITE).
FILTER BANK Bank of filters, with time-varying Q FILTER BANKFRQS Generate a bank of frequencies for use as a filterbank FILTRAGE Generate randomised VARIBANK filterbank files FILTER FIXED Boost or Cut: above, below or around a given frequency FILTER ITERATED Iterate a sound, with cumulative filtering by a filterbank FILTER LOHI Fixed low pass or high pass filter FILTER PHASING Phase shift sound, or produce phasing effect PHASOR Introduce phasing into (mono) signal FILTER SWEEPING Filter whose focus-frequency sweeps over a range of frequencies FILTER USERBANK User-defined filterbank, with time-varying Q FILTER VARIABLE Lo-pass, High-pass, Band-pass or Notch filter with time-varying frequency FILTER VARIBANK/2 User-defined time-varying filterbank, with time-varying Q FILTER VFILTERS Make datafiles for fixed-pitch FILTER VARIBANK filters
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FOCUS – focus or sustain spectral amplitude data
The FOCUS functions complement those in HILITE and BLUR by emphasising certain aspects of the spectral envelope, or operating across a number of time-windows: freezing, holding or sustaining each spectral band. FOLD and SPECFOLD radically alter spectral frequencies.
FOCUS ACCU Sustain each spectral band, until louder data appears in that band FOCUS EXAG Exaggerate the spectral (formant) contour FOCUS FOCUS Focus spectral energy onto the peaks in the spectrum FOCUS FOLD Octave-transpose spectral components into a specified frequency range FOCUS FREEZE Freeze the spectral characteristics in a sound, at given times, for specified durations FOCUS HOLD Hold sound spectrum, at given times SPECFOLD Fold, invert or randomise the spectrum FOCUS STEP Step-frame through a sound by freezing the spectrum at regular time intervals SUPERACCU Sustain each spectral band until louder data appears in that band
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FORMANTS – extract and impose the spectral envelope (formants)
Formant files extract the time-varying spectral envelope. This can then be imposed on a different sound or combined with a pitch file to create a new sound. The group includes a spectral version of the classic Vocoder, in which the spectral envelope of one sound is imposed on another.
Related groups are the ONEFORM Group, which operates with single formants and SPECFNU, a group of twenty-three formant-manipulating processes.
FORMANTS GET Extract evolving formant envelope from an analysis file FORMANTS GETSEE Get formant data from an analysis file to a pseudo-soundfile to view in VIEWSF FORMANTS PUT Impose formants in a formant data file on data in an analysis file FORMANTS SEE Convert formant data in formant data file to a pseudo soundfile to view in VIEWSF SPECENV Extract the spectral envelope of file 2 and apply it to file 1 FORMANTS VOCODE Impose spectral envelope of one sound on another SEE ALSO: ONEFORM Operations with single formants SPECFNU Modify spectral shape in relation to formant peaks
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GRAIN – granulate and manipulate grains
The main CDP granular programs are MODIFY BRASSAGE and its variants WRAPPAGE and NEWTEX. Most functions in the GRAIN group manipulate the grains in a "grainy" sound, normally one with gaps (possibly created by MODIFY BRASSAGE Mode 5).
Grains can be treated in many ways, such as being duplicated, omitted, repitched, repositioned, shuffled and reversed in order.
GRAIN ALIGN Synchronise grain onsets in 2nd grainy sound with those in the 1st GRAIN ASSESS Estimate best gate value for grain extraction GRAIN COUNT Count grains found in a sound (at given gate and minhole values) GRAIN DUPLICATE Duplicate grains in a grainy sound GRAINEX Find grains in a sound and extend the area that contains them GRAIN GREV Find and manipulate 'grains', using envelope troughs and zero-crossings NEWTEX Generate a texture of grains made from a source sound or sounds GRAIN NOISE_EXTEND Find and time-stretch noise components in a sound GRAIN FIND Locate timings of grain-onsets in a grainy sound GRAIN OMIT Omit a proportion of grains from a grainy sound GRAIN REMOTIF Change pitch and rhythm of grains in a grainy sound GRAIN REORDER Reorder grains in a grainy sound GRAIN REPITCH Repitch grains in a grainy sound GRAIN REPOSITION Reposition grain onsets in a grainy sound GRAIN RERHYTHM Change rhythm of grains in a grainy sound GRAIN REVERSE Reverse order of grains in a grainy sound without reversing the grains themselves GRAIN R_EXTEND 'Time-stretch' natural sounds like the rolled 'rrr' in speech GRAIN TIMEWARP Stretch (or shrink) the duration of a grainy sound without stretching the grains themselves WRAPPAGE Granular reconstitution of one or more soundfiles over multi-channel space
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HILITE – emphasise spectral amplitude, including spectral filtering
The spectral filtering functions are probably the most powerful of the HILITE group. TRACE is related to other thinning functions in the BLUR group.
HILITE ARPEG Arpeggiate the spectrum HILITE BAND Split spectrum into bands and process these individually HILITE BLTR Time-average and TRACE the spectrum HILITE FILTER Filter the spectrum GLISTEN Randomly partition the spectrum into bins and play back in order HILITE GREQ Graphic EQ type filter on the spectrum HILITE PLUCK Emphasise spectral changes HILITE TRACE Highlight n loudest partials, at each moment (window) in time HILITE VOWELS Impose vowels on a sound
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HOUSEKEEP – basic soundfile housekeeping utilities
Some HOUSEKEEP functions are sound utilities, providing basic channel and gating functions, or tidying-up facilities.
The rest of the group consists of file-handling utilities.
HOUSEKEEP BAKUP Concatenate soundfiles in one backup file, with silences inbetween HOUSEKEEP BATCHEXPAND Expand an existing batch file HOUSEKEEP BUNDLE List files into a textfile, for sorting, backup or creating a dummy mixfile CHANPHASE Invert the phase of a specified channel of an input sound HOUSEKEEP CHANS Extract channels or change channel format of a soundfile HOUSEKEEP COPY Make and delete exact copies of a sound HOUSEKEEP DEGLITCH Attempt to deglitch a sound HOUSEKEEP DISK Show available space on disk HOUSEKEEP ENDCLICKS Remove clicks from the start or end of a soundfile HOUSEKEEP EXTRACT Extract significant sound from a recording, top & tail, remove glitches, etc. HOUSEKEEP GATE Chop at zeros GATE Remove low-level sound from signal PAIREX Extract any pair of channels from a multichannel sound HOUSEKEEP REMOVE Remove existing copies of a file REPAIR Join a list of mono sounds into stereo or multi-channel outputs HOUSEKEEP RESPEC Change sample rate, format or properties of a soundfile (CARE!!) HOUSEKEEP SORT Sort files listed in a textfile TOSTEREO Diverge from mono to stereo, in a stereo file
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MODIFY –Wide variety of effects,
including granular synthesis, transposition, loudness, pan, delay and ring-modulation
The MODIFY group has several fundamental time-based functions as well as more radical traditional techniques. BRASSAGE implements granular reconstruction.
MODIFY BRASSAGE Granular reconstitution of soundfile MODIFY CONVOLVE Convolve the first soundfile with the second DSHIFT Atds Doppler shift to panning MODIFY FINDPAN Find stereo-pan position of a sound in a stereo file MODIFY LOUDNESS Alter loudness or balance of sound NEWDELAY Delay with pitch-defined output sound PHASE Invert phase or enhance stereo separation of a sound MODIFY RADICAL Reverse, shred, scrub, low-res, ring/cross mod, quantise resn. MODIFY REVECHO Atd reverberation or echo to the sound MODIFY SAUSAGE Brassage on several sources MODIFY SCALEDPAN Distribute sound in stereo space, scaling pan data to soundfile duration MODIFY SHUtdER Shutder a stereo soundfile MODIFY SPACE Spatialise, or alter the spatialisation of a soundfile MODIFY SPACEFORM Create a sinusoidal spatial distribution data file MODIFY SPEED Change speed (& pitch) of sound MODIFY STACK Create a mix that stacks transposed versions of source on top of one another VERGES Play source, with specified brief moments glissing up or down
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MORPH – Create smooth transitions between sounds, using amplitude and frequency analysis data
Morphing interpolates between the spectra of two frequency-analysis files, creating a gradual transition between them. GLIDE makes a frequency transition between two single spectra over any time; a spectral envelope from a suitable sound can then be imposed on the result.
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MORPH BRIDGE Interpolate between a specified window in one file, and another window specified in another file MORPH GLIDE Interpolate between two single window spectra MORPH MORPH Morph between one spectrum and another, where spectra may be time-varying NEWMORPH Morph between dissimilar spectra NEWMORPH2 Morph frequencies of spectral peaks
MULTICHANNEL – multi-channel diffusion and processing
The processes in the MULTI-CHANNEL group are all standalone programs which have been brought together purely for reference purposes.
Several are multi-channel equivalents of earlier mono/stereo functions. A second group manipulate channels or disperse sounds in multi-channel space. A third group is concerned with multi-channel mixing. See also the MULTI-CHANNEL TOOLKIT for further multichannel functions.
BROWNIAN Generate texture of sampled elements following brownian motion in pitch and space CASCADE Successive segments are repeat-echoed, and the echosets are superimposed on the source CRUMBLE Project segments spatially over progressively smaller groups of channels CRYSTAL Generate sound-events based on the position of vertices of a crystal, then rotate the crystal in 3-D space FLUTTER Atd multi-channel-distributed tremolo to a multi-channel file FRACTURE Disperse a mono signal into fragments spread over N-channel space FRAME SHIFT Reorient or rotate a multi-channel file MCHANPAN Pan sounds around a multi-channel space MCHANREV Create multi-channel echoes or reverb MCHITER Iterate the input sound in a fluid manner, scattering around a multi-channel space MCHSHRED Cut sounds into random segments and reassemble in random order within original duration MCHSTEREO Combine stereo files in a multi-channel output MCHZIG Read back and forth in the soundfile, panning to a new channel at each 'zig' or 'zag' MTON Create a multi-channel equivalent of a mono soundfile MULTIMIX CREATE Create a multi-channel mixfile NEWMIX Mix from a multi-channel mixfile to give a multi-channel soundfile output PANORAMA Distribute N source files in a panorama across a specified angle of a sound-surround loudspeaker array SPIN STEREO Spin a wide stereo image across stereo / multichannel space, with possible doppler-shift SPIN QUAD Spin two wide stereo-images across a 5-channel-wide sound image, with possible doppler-shift STRANS MULTI Change the speed or pitch of a multi-channel sound, or atd vibrato TANGENT SUBGROUP: TANGENT ONEFILE Play repeats of a mono soundfile along a tangent path TANGENT TWOFILES Play repeats of two synchronised mono soundfiles along a tangent path TANGENT SEQUENCE Play a sequence of mono soundfiles along a tangent path TANGENT LIST Play a sequence of mono soundfiles as listed in a textfile along a tangent path TEXMCHAN Create textures over a multi-channel frame TRANSIT SUBGROUP: TRANSIT SIMPLE Place repetitions of a mono soundfile on a path into and across an 8-channel array TRANSIT FILTERED Place filtered repetitions of a mono soundfile on a path into and across an 8-channel array TRANSIT DOPPLER Place pitch-shifted repetitions of a mono soundfile on a path into and across an 8-channel array, suggesting a doppler shift TRANSIT DOPLFILT Doppler effect on a path into and across an 8-channel array with filtering, to suggest greater distance TRANSIT SEQUENCE Position a sequence of mono sounds (at least 3) on a path into and across an 8-channel array TRANSIT LIST Position a sequence of mono sounds (at least 3), as listed in a textfile, on a path into and across an 8-channel array
Other multi-channel processes: NEWTEX Generate a texture of grains made from a source sound or sounds WRAPPAGE Brassage on one or more sounds, with (moving) multi-channel output
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MULTI-CHANNEL TOOLKIT – multi-channel file handling functions
The Multi-Channel Toolkit is a group of versatile tools for handling multi-channel files, including a special emphasis on ambisonics and the WAVE_EX file format. COPYSFX can copy/convert between a very wide range of soundfile formats.
ABFPAN Apply a fixed or orbiting 1st order ambisonic B-Format pan to mono soundfile ABFPAN2 Apply a fixed or orbiting 2nd order ambisonic B-Format pan to mono soundfile CHANNELX Extract all or selected channels from a multi-channel soundfile CHORDER Reorder soundfile channels in multi-channel soundfile CHXFORMAT Modify WAVE_EX header to change GUID and/or speaker positions COPYSFX Copy soundfiles / convert from one format to another FMDCODE Decode 1st or 2nd order ambisonic B-Format soundfile to a choice of speaker layouts INTERLX Interleave mono or stereo files into a multi-channel file NJOIN Concatenate multiple soundfiles into a single file, with optional CUE list for CD burning NMIX Simple mix of two multi-channel soundfiles, with optional offset PAPLAY Playback of multi-channel soundfiles RMSINFO Scan file and report RMS and average power level statistics SFPROPS Display soundfile details, with WAVE_EX speaker positions
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ONEFORM – operations with single formants
The ONEFORM group extracts and works with a single spectral envelope at a specific time. It complements the FORMANTS functions, and SPECFNU, which deals with various transformations while preserving the formants.
ONEFORM GET Extract formant-envelope at a specific time in an existing formant file ONEFORM PUT Impose the formant-envelope in a single-moment-formants datafile onto the sound in an analysis file ONEFORM COMBINE Generate a new sound from pitch information and a single-moment formant
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PITCH – operations based on partials
The PITCH spectral group consists of functions which directly alter frequency content
PITCH ALTHARMS Delete alternate harmonics PITCH CHORD Transposed versions of the sound are superimposed onto the original PITCH CHORDF Transposed versions of the spectrum are superimposed within the existing spectral envelope PITCH OCTMOVE Octave transpose without formant shift PITCH PICK Only retain channels which might hold the partials specified SPECTUNE Find most prominent pitch and transpose file to it PITCH TRANSP Shift pitch of (part of) the spectrum PITCH TUNE Replace spectral frequencies by harmonics of specified pitch(es) TUNEVARY Replace spectral frequencies by harmonics of specified pitch(es), varying over time
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PITCHINFO – information about partials or extracted pitch traces
PCHINFO functions are for binary pitch files (.frq), extracted from spectral files by REPITCH GETPITCH.
PITCHINFO CONVERT Convert a binary pitch data file to a time frequency breakpoint text file PITCHINFO HEAR Convert binary pitchfile to analysis test tone file (resynthesise to hear pitch) PITCHINFO INFO Display information about pitch data in a (binary) pitchfile PITCHINFO SEE Convert binary pitchfile or transposition file to a pseudo-soundfile, for viewing PITCHINFO ZEROS Show whether a pitch data file contains uninterpolated zeros (unpitched windows)
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PSOW – manipulate pitch-synchronous grains (FOFs)
PSOW is a set of experimental grain processes for vocal sounds. It attempts to find and then manipulate FOFs (formant grains), used to synthesise the singing voice. PSOW processes require a pitch-trace taken from a spectral analysis file (see PTOBRK). The programs allow you to alter formants independently of pitch, often with unexpected results.
PSOW CHOP Chop sound into sections between specified grain (chunks) OR: Chop away sections of soundfile that you DON'T want to manipulate with PSOW functions. PSOW CUTATGRAIN Cut at exact grain time PSOW DELETE Time shrink sound by deleting a proportion of the pitch-synchronised grains PSOW DUPL Timestretch/transpose a sound by duplicating the pitch-synchronised grains PSOW FEATURES Impose new features on vocal-type sound, preserving or modifying FOF-grains FOFEX EXTRACT Extract FOFs to a file or to separate soundfiles FOFEX CONSTRUCT Superimpose FOFs to make output FOF PSOW GRAB Grab a pitch-synchronised grain from a file, and use it to create a new sound PSOW IMPOSE Impose vocal FOFs in 1st sound onto the 2nd sound PSOW INTERLEAVE Interleave FOFs from two different files PSOW INTERP Interpolate between 2 pitch-synchronised grains, to produce a new sound PSOW LOCATE Locate exact start time of nearest FOF-grain PTOBRK Convert pitch trace from binary .frq to text breakpoint file (.txt or .brk) for PSOW PSOW REINFORCE Reinforce harmonics in a vocal-type FOF-grain file PSOW REPLACE Combine FOFs of 1st sound with the pitch of the 2nd sound PSOW SPACE Distribute the alternate FOFs in the sound over a stereo space PSOW SPLIT Split vocal FOFs into subharmonic and upwardly transposed pitch PSOW STRETCH Timestretch/transpose a sound by repositioning the pitch-synchronised grains. PSOW STRTRANS Timestretch/transpose a sound by repositioning the pitch-synchronised grains PSOW SUSTAIN Sustain a pitch-synchronised FOF within a sound PSOW SUSTAIN2 Sustain an explicitly specific FOF within a sound PSOW SYNTH Impose vocal FOFs on a stream of synthesised sound TWEET Replace FOFs in vocal sound by synthetic tweets or noise
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PVOC – FFT analysis and resynthesis
The public-domain PHASE VOCODER (PVOC) is used by CDP to convert between the waveform representation of sound in the time-domain (.wav / .aif files) and time-varying spectral analysis files (.ana or .pvx) in the frequency domain – and back again. While in the frequency domain, the time-varying spectra are manipulated by spectral, formant and pitch-data processes to create effects that could not be achieved in the time-domain. CDP is especially innovative in this area.
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ANA2PVX Convert CDP analysis file (.ana) to PVOC-EX file (.pvx) PVOC ANAL Convert soundfile to spectral file PVOC EXTRACT Analyse, then resynthesise sound with various options FTURANAL ANAL Extract spectral features from an analysis file and output to a textfile FTURANAL SYNTH Use spectral features data to reassemble MONO source file PVOC SYNTH Convert spectral file to soundfile PVOCEX2 Stereo phase vocoder based on CARL pvoc (Mark Dolson) SEE ALSO: PVPLAY Direct playback of PVOC analysis files
REPITCH – Extract and alter pitch-related frequency analysis data
The REPITCH programs are mostly concerned with extracting pitch from frequency analysis files and processing the resultant pitch files, which can be in binary or breakpoint-text format.
To re-synthesise sound, COMBINE MAKE combines the pitch file with a formant file (.for), which represents the time-varying spectral envelope.
REPITCH ANALENV Extract the window-loudness envelope of an analysis file REPITCH APPROX Make an approximate copy of a binary pitch data file BRKTOPI Convert a breakpoint pitch data file to a binary pitch data file
REPITCH COMBINE Generate transposition data from 2 sets of pitch data, OR transpose pitch data with transposition data, OR combine 2 sets of transposition data to form new transposition data, producing a binary data file output REPITCH COMBINEB Generate transposition data from 2 sets of pitch data, OR transpose pitch data with transposition data, OR combine 2 sets of transposition data to form new transposition data, producing a time value breakpoint file output REPITCH CUT Cut out and keep a segment of a binary pitch data file REPITCH EXAG Exaggerate the contour of a pitch data file REPITCH FIX Massage pitch data in a pitch data file REPITCH GENERATE Create a binary pitch data file from a textfile of time midi value pairs REPITCH GETPITCH Extract pitch from spectrum to a pitch data file REPITCH INSERTSIL Mark areas as silent in a binary pitch data file REPITCH INSERTZEROS Mark areas as unpitched in a pitch data file REPITCH INTERP Replace noise or silence by pitch interpolated from existing pitches REPITCH INVERT Invert pitch contour of a pitch data file REPITCH NOISETOSIL Replace unpitched windows by silence in a pitch data file REPITCH PCHSHIFT Transpose pitches in a pitch data file by a constant number of semitones REPITCH PCHTOTEXT Convert binary pitch data to text REPITCH PITCHTOSIL Replace pitched windows by silence REPITCH QUANTISE Quantise pitches in a pitch data file REPITCH RANDOMISE Randomise pitch line in a pitch data file REPITCH SMOOTH Smooth pitch contour in a pitch data file REPITCH SYNTH Create the spectrum of a sound following the pitch contour in a pitch data file REPITCH TRANSPOSE Transpose spectrum (spectral envelope also moves) REPITCH TRANSPOSEF Transpose spectrum: but retain original spectral envelope REPITCH VIBRATO Atd vibrato to pitch in a pitch data file REPITCH VOWELS Create spectrum of vowel sound(s) following pitch contour in pitch file SEE ALSO: COMBINE MAKE Generate spectrum from pitch & formant data COMBINE MAKE2 Generate spectrum from pitch, formant & envelope data only PITCHINFO CONVERT Convert a binary pitch data file to a time-frequency breakpoint text file PTOBRK Convert pitch trace from binary file (.frq) to text breakpoint file (with zeros) for PSOW
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RETIME – rearrange and retime events in a soundfile
The RETIME program has 14 modes dealing with the retiming of events in a soundfile. There are three divisions: functions that create or retime silences, those that retime amplitude peaks, and those that retime silence-separated events.
RETIME is documented within the SFEDIT (soundfile editing) group.
1: PULSED PEAKS Output user-specified peaks at a regular pulse at the given tempo 2: SYNCHRONISE PEAKS Reposition specified peaks to specified times at a given tempo 3: SHORTEN EVENTS Shorten existing silence-separated events 4: PULSED Find existing silence-separated events and output them at a regular pulse 5: SPEED Find existing silence-separated events and change their speed 6: REPOSITION AT BEATS Find existing silence-separated events and position them at specified beats in the output 7: REPOSITION AT TIMES Find existing silence-separated events and position them at specified times in the output 8: REPEAT EVENT(S) Repeat one (or a group of) silence-separated event(s) at a specified tempo 9: MASK EVENTS Replace some silence-separated events by silence in a specified pattern 10: ACCENTS Adjust levels of silence-separated events to be more equal, or accented 11: FIND DURATIONS Find the durations of the shortest and longest silence-separated events 12: FIND START Find first non-zero sample in soundfile 13: MOVE FOUND PEAK Find sound peak and move whole sound so peak goes to specified time 14: MOVE SPECIFIED PEAK Specify peak position, then move whole sound so peak goes to specified time
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REVERB – functions to reverberate soundfiles
The REVERB group's two main programs are REVERB and ROOMVERB, comprehensive reverberation functions incorporating such features as reverberation time, dry/wet mix, absorption and early reflections. The programs use built-in sets for small, medium and large rooms, or they can use a datafile created by the separate ROOMRESP program. There is also optional filtering and pre-delay (giving the effect of a bigger room). ROOMRESP's data can also be used by TAPDELAY, a tapped delay line.
Also in the group is FASTCONV, an FFT-based convolution program, which can simulate a wide range of reverberation types using a sampled impulse response of a building or other responsive space. More experimentally, the impulse-response input can be any soundfile. Convolution can also implement an FIR linear-phase filter.
FASTCONV Multi-channel FFT-based convolution REVERB Multi-channel reverberation (classic Schroeder) ROOMRESP Create early reflections data file for REVERB, ROOMVERB and TAPDELAY ROOMVERB Multi-channel reverberation with room simulation TAPDELAY Stereo multi-tapped delay line with feedback
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SFEDIT – soundfile editing
One of the largest function groups, SFEDIT has the fundamental cutting and splicing functions found in visual editors, but CDP also extends these operations into relatively uncharted areas. (See, for example, MASKS, ISOLATE and PARTITION, RANDCHUNKS and RANDCUTS, TWIXT and SPHINX, PACKET and WAVEFORM, JOINSEQ and JOINDYN.) The RETIME program has 14 ways of retiming events in a soundfile.
CANTOR Cut holes in a sound in the manner of a cantor set (holes within holes within holes) CONSTRICT Shorten the durations of any zero-level sections in a sound SFEDIT CUT Cut and keep a segment of a sound SFEDIT CUTEND Cut out and keep the end part of a soundfile SFEDIT CUTMANY Cut and keep several segments of a sound ENVCUT Cut sound into elements with falling envelope SFEDIT EXCISE Remove a segment from a soundfile and close up the gap SFEDIT EXCISES Remove segments of a soundfile and close up the gaps SFEDIT INSERT Insert 2nd sound into 1st (overwriting or spreading first sound) SFEDIT INSIL Insert silence into a sound (overwriting or spreading the sound apart) ISOLATE Disjunct portions of soundfile are specified by textfile or dB loudness and saved to separate files SFEDIT JOIN Join files together, one after another SFEDIT JOINDYN Join in loudness-patterned sequence SFEDIT JOINSEQ Join in patterned sequence MANYSIL Insert many silences into a soundfile SFEDIT MASKS Mask specified chunks of a sound, with silence SFEDIT NOISECUT Suppress noise in a (mono) sound file, replacing with silence PACKET Isolate or generate a sound packet PARTITION Partition a mono soundfile into disjunct files in blocks defined by groups of wavesets PREFIX SILENCE Atd silence to the beginning of a soundfile SFEDIT RANDCHUNKS Cut chunks from a soundfile, randomly SFEDIT RANDCUTS Cut soundfile into pieces with cuts at random times SFEDIT REPLACE Insert a 2nd sound into an existing sound, replacing part of the original sound REJOIN Remix segment-files originating in ISOLATE process RETIME Rearrange and retime events within a soundfile (details above) SILEND Atd silence to the end of a soundfile SFEDIT SPHINX Switch between several files, with different switch times, to make new sound SFEDIT SUBTRACT Subtract one file from another SFEDIT SYLLABLES Separate out vocal syllables SFEDIT TWIXT Switch between several files, to make a new sound WAVEFORM Generate a wavetable from existing sound SFEDIT ZCUT Cut and keep a segment of soundfile, cutting at zero crossings SFEDIT ZCUTS Cut and keep segments of a MONO soundfile, cutting at zero crossings (no splice)
SEE ALSO: DISTCUT Cut sound into elements with falling envelope
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SNDINFO – basic soundfile information
SNDINFO functions either report to the terminal or produce textfile reports. Some functions require two or more infiles, to compare them. UNITS and TIMESMP offer a number of useful unit conversions.
Other reporting functions specific to particular Function Groups are found in that group. (These include DISTORT cycle count , GRAIN grain count, MODIFY find pan and STRETCHA: stretch factor for STRETCH TIME.)
SNDINFO CHANDIFF Compare channels in a stereo soundfile SNDINFO DIFF Compare two sound, analysis, pitch, transposition, envelope or formant files SNDINFO FINDHOLE Find largest low level hole in a soundfile SNDINFO LEN Display duration of a soundfiling-system file SNDINFO LENS List durations of several soundfiling-system files SNDINFO LOUDCHAN Find loudest channel in a stereo soundfile SNDINFO MAXI List levels of several soundfiles SNDINFO MAXSAMP Find maximum sample in a soundfile or binary data file SNDINFO MAXSAMP2 Find maximum sample within a specified timerange in a soundfile or binary data file ONSET Return the succession of sound-onsets in each channel of a multichannel file SNDINFO PEAKFIND Find times of loudness peaks in a sound and output as a datafile SNDINFO PRNTSND Print sound sample data to a textfile SNDINFO PROPS Display properties of soundfiling-system file SEARCH SIGSTART Find earliest time at which there is signal in two or more soundfiles. SNDINFO SMPTIME Convert sample count to time in soundfile SNDINFO SUMLEN Sum durations of several soundfiling-system files SNDINFO TIMEDIFF Find difference in duration of two soundfiles SNDINFO TIMESMP Convert time to sample count in soundfile SNDINFO UNITS Convert between different units SNDINFO ZCROSS Display fraction of zero-crossings in a soundfile SEE ALSO: RETIME Mode 12 Find the start of the sound in the file (the 1st non-zero sample) RMSINFO Scan file and report RMS and average power level statistics SFPROPS Display soundfile details, with WAVE-EX speaker positions
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SPEC – gain and editing utilities in the spectral domain
A collection of spectral utilities, some of which are spectral counterparts of time-domain functions. CLEAN has been superseded by SPECNU CLEAN; both require a sample of noise for comparison, so that the noise frequencies may be spectrally removed.
ANALJOIN Join analysis files together SPEC BARE Zero the data in channels which do not contain harmonics SPEC CLEAN Remove noise from spectral analysis file SPEC CUT Cut a section out of an analysis file, between starttime and entdime (seconds) SPEC GAIN Amplify or attenuate the spectrum SPEC GATE Zero all channels (in all windows) whose amplitude lies below the threshold SPEC GRAB Grab a single analysis window at the point specified SPEC MAGNIFY Expand (in duration) a single analysis window at time time to duration dur
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SPECFNU – Modify spectral shape in relation to formant peaks
SPECFNU is a single program of 23 modes, modifying the spectral shape while aiming to retain the existing formants. Many of the functions are equivalents of existing ones, but with the addition of preserving formants. Other modes manipulate the formants themselves.
1 NARROW FORMANTS Steepen skirts of formant peaks by power factor 2 SQUEEZE SPECTRUM Squeeze spectrum around specified formant 3 INVERT FORMANTS Formant peaks become troughs, and troughs peaks 4 ROTATE FORMANTS Formant peaks & freqs move up (or down) spectrum, re-appearing at foot (or top) on reaching formants' edge 5 SPECTRAL NEGATIVE Spectral values inverted for each channel 6 SUPPRESS FORMANTS Suppress the selected formant(s) 7 GENERATE FILTER(S) FROM FORMANTS Output Varibank filter data based on formant peaks 8 MOVE FORMANTS BY Displace individual formants by a Hz value 9 MOVE FORMANTS TO Displace individual formants to specified frequencies 10 ARPEGGIATE Arppegiate partials of sound, under formants 11 OCTAVE-SHIFT Octave-shift pitch of sound, under formants 12 TRANSPOSE Transpose pitch of sound, under formants 13 FREQ-SHIFT Frequency shift partials of source sound, under formants 14 RESPACE PARTIALS Respace partials in source spectrum, retaining formants. 15 PITCH-INVERT Invert pitch of sound, under formants 16 PITCH-EXAGG/SMOOTH Exaggerate/Smooth pitch line, under formants 17 PITCH-QUANTISE Force pitch onto pitch field, under formants 18 PITCH-RANDOMISE Randomise pitch of source, under formants 19 RANDOMISE PARTIALS Random-shift partials of sound, under formants 20 SEE SPEC ENVELOPES Outputs viewable (not playable) soundfile 21 SEE SPEC PEAKS/TROUGHS Print textfile of frequencies of peaks & troughs per window 22 GET LOUDNESS TROUGHS Print textfile of times-of-troughs between syllables 23 SINE SPEECH Convert formant frequencies to sine tones. A single sine wave represents each formant.
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SPECINFO – information about spectral data
SPECINFO functions either report to the terminal or produce textfile reports. Various functions report on the time-varying spectral peaks in the sound or extract the amplitudes of partials. (NEWMORPH2 in the MORPH function group lists the frequencies of the most prominent spectral peaks.) PRINT prints (part of) the analysis data to a textfile. This produces huge files and is best used for tiny portions.
SPECINFO CHANNEL Returns PVOC channel number corresponding to frequency given SPECINFO FREQUENCY Returns centre frequency of the PVOC channel specified GET_PARTIALS HARMONIC Extract relative amplitudes of partials in a pitched source SPECINFO LEVEL Convert (varying) level of analysis file to a pseudo-soundfile, for viewing (1 window -> 1 sample) SPECINFO OCTVU Text display of the time varying amplitude of the spectrum, within octave bands SPECINFO PEAK Locate time varying energy centre of spectrum (text display) PEAK EXTRACT Extract spectral peaks from analysis file and write to a text file SPECINFO PRINT Print data in an analysis file as text to file SPECINFO REPORT Text report on location of frequency peaks in the evolving spectrum SPECINFO WINDOWCNT Returns the number of windows in the infile
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SPECNU – various functions, mainly to clean up frequency analysis files
Three functions in this group are concerned with cleaning up files. SLICE partitions the spectrum into frequency bands and outputs these as separate files, an important resource for processing of these files separately prior to a possible remix.
FRACTAL SPECTRUM Fractally distort spectrum by transposition SPECNU CLEAN Eliminate any persisting signal that falls below a threshold (defined by the noise file) MATRIX Matrix manipulation of spectrum of sound SPECNU RAND Randomise the order of spectral windows SPECNU REMOVE Remove a pitched component from the spectrum of a sound SPECNU SLICE Divide an analysis file into individual frequency bands, saving each as a separate analysis file
OR: Invert spectral frquencies around a given frequencySPECGRIDS Partition a spectrum into parts, over a grid (=SLICE Mode 1) SPECULATE Generate versions of source with channel data progressively permutated SPECNU SQUEEZE Squeeze the spectrum into a frequency range, around a specified frequency SPECNU SUBTRACT Eliminate any persisting signal that falls below a threshold and subtract the amplitude of the noise in the noisefile from any source file signal that is passed
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STRANGE – some unusual and unpredictable effects
The "strangeness" of this Function Group is perhaps subjective. WAVER's detuning can be subtle or extreme; if minimal, it can be used to give a chorus effect.
The frequency-shift function SHIFT is a standard way of turning harmonic sounds into inharmonic ones.
STRANGE GLIS Create glissandi inside the (changing) spectral envelope of the original sound STRANGE INVERT Invert the spectrum STRANGE SHIFT Linear frequency shift of (part of) the spectrum STRANGE WAVER Oscillate between harmonic and inharmonic state
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STRETCH – stretch time or frequency data
The two original processes STRETCH SPECTRUM (c.f. STRANGE SHIFT) and STRETCH TIME are complemented by a revised time-stretcher SPECTSTR and the utility program STRETCHA.
SPECTSTR Time-stretch analysis file, suppressing artefacts when stretch > 1 STRETCH SPECTRUM Stretch/compress the frequency components of a sound in an inharmonic way STRETCH TIME Stretch/compress a sound in time without changing the pitch STRETCHA Utility to calculate timestretch factor relating to beats and tempo for use with STRETCH TIME
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SUBMIX – mixing and related processes
The centrepiece of the SUBMIX group is MIX, which mixes the sounds listed in a text mixfile. (See also the multi-channel version: NEWMIX). There are also support functions which manipulate the data in mixfiles.
Other mixing functions which do not use mixfiles include MERGE, MERGEMANY, BALANCE, CROSSFADE and FADERS – plus the two INBETWEEN functions, which produce multiple outputs involving a transition from one sound to the other. An important workhorse is INTERLEAVE, which combines mono soundfiles into a stereo or multi-channel file. (See also INTERLX in the Multi-Channel Toolkit.)
In general, CDP Mix functions are best for mixing small sounds to create larger units. Although larger mixes are perfectly possible, a visual editor is more intuitive and tends to have better controls.
SUBMIX ADDTOMIX Atd soundfiles (at maximum level and time zero) to an existing mixfile SUBMIX ATSTEP Convert a list of soundfiles to a mixfile (fixed time-step) SUBMIX ATTENUATE Alter the overall level of a mixfile SUBMIX BALANCE Mix between two soundfiles, using a balance function SUBMIX CROSSFADE Quick crossfade between 2 soundfiles (with same number of channels) SUBMIX DUMMY Convert list of sound names to a basic mixfile (for editing) SUBMIX FADERS Mix several mono or stereo files using a time-changing balance function SUBMIX FILEFORMAT Display format of a mixfile SUBMIX GETLEVEL Test maximum level of a mix, defined in a mixfile SUBMIX INBETWEEN Generate a set of sounds inbetween the 2 input sounds, through weighted mixes of the input sounds, from mostly sound1 to mostly sound2 SUBMIX INBETWEEN2 Generate a set of sounds in-between the 2 input sounds by interpolation pegged to zero-crossings SUBMIX INTERLEAVE Interleave mono files to make a single multichannel outfile SUBMIX MERGE Quick mix of 2 soundfiles (with the same number of channels) SUBMIX MERGEMANY Quick mix of several soundfiles (with the same number of channels) SUBMIX MIX Mix sounds as instructed in a mixfile SUBMIX MODEL Replace soundfiles in an existing mixfile SUBMIX ONGRID Convert listed soundfiles to a basic mixfile on a timed grid (for editing) SUBMIX PAN Pan sound positions in a mixfile SUBMIX SHUFFLE Shuffle the data in a mixfile SUBMIX SPACEWARP Alter the spatial distribution of a mixfile SUBMIX SYNC Synchronise soundfiles in a mixfile, or generate such a mixfile from a list of soundfiles SUBMIX SYNCATTACK Synchronise the attacks of soundfiles in a mixfile, or generate such a mixfile from a list of soundfiles SUBMIX TEST Test the syntax of a mixfile SUBMIX TIMEWARP Timewarp the data in a mixfile
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SYNTH – functions to synthesise sounds
Only a small number of synthesis functions are provided within CDP, which is predominantly a sound-processing system. Apart from basic waveforms, there are additive-synthesis possibilities in NEWSYNTH, while SYNFILT and SYNSPLINE can also produce a richly varying timbre and TS OSCIL sonifies an arbitrary series of numbers.
SYNTH CHORD Generate a chord with a simple waveform CLICKNEW Make clicktrack using times listed in textfile SYNTH CLICKS Create a click track from tempo, meter and barring data IMPULSE Create a stream of impulses MULTIOSC Nested FM-style oscillations MULTISYNTH Synthesize several sound-streams from a score NEWSYNTH Synthesisze complex spectra NEWSCALES Synthesise a series of short tones with defined frequency and timbre SYNTH NOISE Generate noise PULSER SYNTH Iterate synthesized wave-packets defined by partials data SYNTH SILENCE Make silent soundfile SYNTH SPECTRA Generate both channels of a stereo spectral band SYNFILT Noise filtered by time-varying filterbank, with time-variable Q SYNSPLINE Synthesise waveforms by smoothly joining randomly generated points TS OSCIL Create sound from time-series text data TS TRACE Create sound from time-series data treated as a pitch-trace TSCONVERT Convert input data to specified range and format SYNTH WAVE Generate simple waveforms
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SYSUTILS – system utilities
SYSUTILS is a group of standalone support programs, some of which manipulate data (especially COLUMNS).
ASCIIGET Display the contents of a text file as a list of characters with ASCII decimal code (ALIAS) Create a shortcut to a soundfile (PC only) – withdrawn COLUMNS Manipulate or generate columns of numbers COPYSFX Copy/convert a soundfile DIRSF Soundfile directory listing GETCOL Extract a column of numbers from a textfile LISTAUDEVS List audio devices PAPLAY Playback of multi-channel soundfiles PUTCOL Place a column of numbers into a textfile PVPLAY Play back (audition) a PVOC analysis file or soundfile RECSF Record, creating a soundfile VECTORS Numerical operations between two columns of figures SEE ALSO: TSCONVERT Convert input data to specified range and format
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TEXTURE – create textures of sounds
The TEXTURE processes repeat and transpose the input sound(s) in various ways to create a texture of note-events. The note-events are whole sounds (which may or may not be played to the end), but the user can easily edit one or more sounds to provide segmented events for the processes.
Note-events can be treated as simple repetitions, or repeated in groups, or with a timed rhythm, or as transposed ornaments or fully-defined motifs (timed and transposed). Key parameter values such as pitch, duration, gain (level), spatialisation and sound number are generally chosen randomly from within a specified time-variable range (which can also be a fixed value).
In each of the eight main functions, repetitions can be pitched at random within the defined pitch range, or restricted to a user-defined pitch-set or harmonic-field (which octave-transposes the pitches); the set/field can be time-varying. More than one input sound can optionally be used, and the range of sounds chosen can be time-varied.
It is not easy to grasp the differences between the Texture programs, and the suite is best explored at first using a simple note sample or similar short sound. CDP supplies two sets of tutorial examples for this purpose.
TEXTURE SIMPLE Create textures from single events TEXTURE GROUPED Create textures from groups of events TEXTURE DECORATED Create a texture with decorations TEXTURE MOTIFS Create a texture with motifs TEXTURE MOTIFSIN Create a texture with motifs forced onto a harmonic field TEXTURE ORNATE Create a texture with ornaments TEXTURE POSTDECOR Create a texture with decorations following events TEXTURE POSTORNATE Create a texture with ornaments following events TEXTURE PREDECOR Create a texture with decorations preceding events TEXTURE PREORNATE Create a texture with ornaments preceding events TEXTURE TIMED Create a texture with timed single events TEXTURE TGROUPED Create a texture with timed event groups TEXTURE TMOTIFS Create a texture with timed motifs TEXTURE TMOTIFSIN Create a texture with timed motifs forced onto a harmonic field
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