The Kyma Language for Sound Design, Version 4.5

When you paste a Sound into a parameter field, you see its name enclosed within a box to indicate that it
is a control signal.
At this point, the Frequency of the FormantBankOscillator is the output of the Oscillator. The output
of a Sound is a kind of “stereo pair” that carries both the left and the right channel output. ‡ To indicate
the right channel, use an R (for right) instead. To indicate a mix of the two channels, use an M (for mix).
Sound outputs are in the range from -1 to 1, so we are requesting a frequency that ranges between MIDI
note number -1 and MIDI note number 1. This does not make much sense, so let’s add a base pitch and
use the variation between -1 and 1 as a deviation from that central pitch. To set the central pitch to second
octave C, you could use:
Oscillator1 L nn + 2 c
Double-click in a white area of the signal flow editor to force an update. Now double-click the Oscillator,
and change its frequency to a low value like 1 hz. (Note that the default wavetable for the Oscillator is
Sine).
Now select and play the FormantBankOscillator. You will hear its frequency vary in the shape of a sine
wave between a half step below 2 c and a half step above.
Draw
What if you want to draw a shape, rather than rely on the shape of the Sine for your frequency deviation?
Replace the Oscillator with a GraphicalEnvelope (from the Envelopes category of the prototypes).
Double-click on it to see its parameters. In the Envelope field, use shift-click to add several more points
and create an envelope that jogs up and down a few times. (Notice that the prototype GraphicalEnvelope
is triggered by !KeyDown).
‡ By default, the Sound name is followed by an L (for left), indicating that only the left channel should be used as a
control signal.
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