The Kyma Language for Sound Design, Version 4.5

Parameter Setting
Select unchecked
LoTrack !LoTrack
HiTrack 1000
FreqScale !Scale
FreqOffset !InHarm
LoAmp 0
HiAmp 0.2
AmpHysteresis 0.1
HearAll checked
In this example, Select is not checked. This indicates that the criteria describe the tracks that should be
rejected, not selected. In other words, whatever the list of conditions are for selection, you should add a
“NOT” to the end of the list. So in this case, it is saying “select only the tracks above !LoTrack, NOT!” In
other words, select only the tracks below !LoTrack.
But notice that it also has the HearAll box checked. What does it mean to select some tracks if you are
still going to let all of them through? This is where FreqScale and FreqOffset come into the picture.
The selected tracks will have their frequencies multiplied by !Scale and then have !InHarm added to
them.
In short, this is a strange kind of “filter” where the “pass band” is defined by track (or oscillator) number
rather than frequency and where the tracks within the pass band have their frequencies scaled and offset.
Reducing Background Noise
Play reduce background hiss, and experiment with different settings for !LowAmp. Open it up to examine
the parameter settings of reject amps below !LowAmp, in particular:
Parameter Setting
Select checked
LoAmp !LowAmp
HiAmp 0.2
AmpHysteresis !LowAmp * 0.5
HearAll unchecked
In this example, there is some background hiss that was present in the original recording and is faithfully
reproduced in the resynthesis. The SpectrumModifier is being used to filter out tracks based on their amplitudes.
If the noise in the original recording is consistently of lower amplitude than the desired signal,
then you can use this method to reduce or remove the noise from the resynthesis.
Probabilistic Resynthesis
Next try the Sound called spectral granulation, experimenting with different settings for the veryscientifically
named !Burbliness parameter.
The important parameter settings in this SpectrumModifier are:
Parameter Setting
Select checked
Probability 1 - !Burbliness
Seed -0.2
HearAll unchecked
Once a track has passed through all the other criteria, it still has one more test to pass before it is selected,
and, in a case of art-imitating-life, this last test is completely arbitrary, and, in fact, random. As a final
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