Administrative enquiries:
Please contact Helen Fagan, Postgraduate Office, for more information.
Links:
Computer Science Department Seminars
Numerical Sound Synthesis and Audio Processing using Finite Difference Time Domain Methods
Monday 27th February, 1:15pm
Speaker: Dr Stefan Bilbao (University of Edinburgh)
Location: PT005
Biography:
Stefan Bilbao, currently a Senior Lecturer in Music at the University of Edinburgh, received his BA in Physics at Harvard University ('92), then spent two years at the Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique Musicale ( IRCAM ) under a fellowship awarded by Harvard and the Ecole Normale Superieure. He then completed the MSc and PhD degrees in Electrical Engineering at Stanford University ('96 and '01, respectively), while working at the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics ( CCRMA ). He was subsequently a postdoctoral researcher at the Stanford Space Telecommunications and Radioscience Laboratory, and a Lecturer at the Sonic Arts Research Centre at the Queen's University Belfast.
Synopsis:
Physical audio synthesis and effect processing is carried out using a variety of techniques---most are developed with efficiency in mind, and especially real time performance on readily available machines. The constraint of efficient performance, however, constrains the set of systems which may be modelled, and rules out various more complex acoustic systems---and in particular, those which produce the richest, and most interesting sound output! Finite difference time domain methods are generally applicable to any system; but they are computationally more costly, and require a good deal of design work at the algorithmic level in order to ensure that they behave properly, and do not introduce audible numerical artifacts. Various systems will be discussed, including brass and woodwind models, percussion instruments, electromechanical instruments and effects such as plate and spring reverberation, and the Clavinet, full room acoustics, and modular environments for virtual musical instrument construction. There will be plenty of sound and video, so this talk is suitable for non-engineers!