[sdiy] What's Granular Synthesis?

[Grant Richter]

As I understand it, and I may be wrong. Granular synthesis is an outgrowth
of wavetable synthesis, with more elaborate control capability.

If you consider the perception of pitch and timbre related to time.
Longer waveform segments are required for complete perception.
Shorter waveform segments begin to sound like timbre elements.

So you start with a set of short segments (1-10? waveform cycles)
called "grains" and splice them together in different ways to make new
timbres.

You can vary the order and what your starting set is dynamically. So the
algorithm that selects grains and how to play them is the "patch".

> From: "Nils Pipenbrinck" <torus at cubic.org>
> Reply-To: owner-synth-diy at node12b53.a2000.nl
> Date: Sun, 28 Jan 2001 12:25:55 +0100
> To: <synth-diy at node12b53.a2000.nl>
> Subject: [sdiy] What's Granular Synthesis?
> 
> I know.. again a little bit off-topic, but someone posted a "list" of
> several synthesis technics last week. What the f**k is granular synthesis?
> Never heared that before.. How does it work?
> 
> Thanks,
> Nils
> 
>