This book considers signal processing and physical modeling meth­ ods for sound synthesis. Such methods are useful for example in mu­ sic synthesizers, computer sound cards, and computer games. Physical modeling synthesis has been commercialized for the first time about 10 years ago. Recently, it has been one of the most active research topics in musical acoustics and computer music. The authors of this book, Dr. Lutz Trautmann and Dr. Rudolf Rabenstein, are active researchers and inventors in the field of sound synthesis. Together they have developed a new synthesis technique, called the functional transformation method, which can be used for pro­ ducing musical sound in real time. Before this book, they have published over 20 papers on the topic in journals and conference proceedings. In this excellent textbook, the results are combined in a single volume. I believe that this will be considered an important step forward for the whole community.

Springer Book Archives

1. Introduction.- 2. Sound-Based Synthesis Methods.- 1 Wavetable synthesis.- 2 Granular synthesis.- 3 Additive synthesis.- 4 Subtractive synthesis.- 5 FM synthesis.- 6 Combinations of sound-based synthesis methods.- 3. Physical Description of Musical instruments.- 1 General notation.- 2 Subdivision of a musical instrument into vibration generators and a resonant body.- 3 Physical description of string vibrations.- 4 Physical description of membrane vibrations.- 5 Physical description of resonant bodies.- 6 Chapter summary.- 4. Classical Synthesis Methods Based on Physical Models.- 1 Finite difference method.- 2 Digital waveguide method.- 3 Modal synthesis.- 4 Chapter summary.- 5. Functional Transformation Method.- 1 Fundamental principles of the FTM.- 2 Application of the FTM to vibrating strings.- 3 Application of the FTM to vibrating membranes.- 4 Application of the FTM to resonant bodies.- 5 Chapter summary.- 6. Comparison of the Ftm with the Classical Physical Modeling Methods.- 1 Comparison of the FTM with the FDM.- 2 Comparison and combination of the FTM with the DWG.- 3 Comparison of the FTM with the MS.- 4 Chapter conclusions.- 7. Summary, Conclusions, and Outlook.