The Kyma Language for Sound Design, Version 4.5

To record, click the record button (the rightmost transport control button). This automatically depresses
the pause button. The recorder will begin monitoring the input signal. While monitoring, you can adjust
the recording level and choose which input channels to record. When ready to record to the disk, click the
pause button to un-pause the recording. During the recording, the time counter will display the approximate
elapsed time of the recording. To pause the recording, click on the pause button again; to stop the
recording, click on the stop button (the leftmost transport control button).
To play back your recording, click the play button. You can pause the playback at any time by pressing
the pause button. Clicking the stop button will stop the recording. To edit the recording, choose Open…
from the File menu, select Sample file as the file type, and locate the recording in using the file dialog.
Tools menu: Spectral Analysis
Use the Spectral Analysis Tool to create a spectrum file from a sample recorded at a 44.1 khz sample rate.
The spectrum file, when used in conjunction with the SumOfSines Sound, can be used for morphing and
other spectral manipulations. Spectrum files can be manipulated in a graphical editor, see Spectrum Editor
on page 487 for more information.
The Spectral Analysis Tool can create two different kinds of spectrum files: straight spectrum files that
contain the time-varying amplitude information at equally spaced frequencies (between 0 hz and one-half
of the sample rate), and quasi-harmonic files that contain spectral information for the harmonic part of
the sample only.
Both kinds of spectrum files can be used for time scaling, pitch shifting, and morphing, § however, you
can get quite different results between the two kinds of spectrum files. Additionally, the results you get
are very dependent on the source samples that you analyze: try to use recordings that have very little
background noise and that are as free of reverberation as possible.
Quasi-harmonic files generally work best for morphing between nearly harmonic sources (such as voices
or musical instruments). Because these files store only the harmonic part of the sample, non-harmonic or
noisy sounds (such as church bells, car crashes, or jet fly-bys) and polyphonic or other overlapping
sounds (such as a chorus, a conversation, or an outdoor ambiance) will work best as straight spectra.
Straight spectrum files generally have the fewest artifacts when used for time scaling and pitch shifting.
§ You should always perform morphs between the same kinds of spectrum files: either both straight spectrum files or
both quasi-harmonic files.
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