What is granular synthesis?

Granular synthesis is a sound synthesis method that operates on the microsound time scale. It is based on the same principle as sampling. However, the samples are split into small pieces of around 1 to 100 ms in duration. These small pieces are called grains.

How does a granular delay work?

Conclusion. Grain delays slice the input audio into extremely short segments, then delay each slice by a slightly different time. Most granular delays also incorporate pitch-shifters, which allow them to change the pitch of each slice.

What is the advantage of granular synthesis?

The technique known rather grandly as granular synthesis is an extremely powerful audio manipulation system that makes it possible to adjust the speed, pitch, and formant characteristics of audio samples independently of one another, and all in real time if your computer is fast enough.

When was granular synthesis invented?

Granular synthesis was first suggested as a computer music technique for producing complex sounds by Iannis Xenakis (1971) and Curtis Roads (1978) and is based on the production of a high density of small acoustic events called ‘grains’ that are less than 50 ms in duration and typically in the range of 10-30 ms.

Who invented granular synthesis?

Iannis Xenakis
Granular synthesis was first suggested as a computer music technique for producing complex sounds by Iannis Xenakis (1971) and Curtis Roads (1978) and is based on the production of a high density of small acoustic events called ‘grains’ that are less than 50 ms in duration and typically in the range of 10-30 ms.

What is the difference between synchronous and asynchronous granular synthesis?

The inter-onset time is the duration between two adjacent grains. With asynchronous granular synthesis the grains are added to the texture without the strict linear relationship of synchronous granular synthesis. The relationship will contain random elements or there will be a very indistinct relationship.

What is grain delay?

Grain Delay performs a fairly simple process: it samples incoming audio in very small chunks, called grains, and emits each grain after a delay whose time you can set in milliseconds or sync to tempo. You control grain size, pitch-shift amount, pitch and time jitter (randomisation) and output settings.

How does a granular synth work?

How Does It Work? Granular synthesis chops an audio sample into tiny clips, aka grains. Grains are usually between 1 and 100 ms long. Once the sample has been split into grains, you can play them back in any order.

Is granular synthesis digital?

Granular synthesis is one of the most overtly digital approaches out there. In that sense, it excels at the creation of complex, otherworldly sounds that are a world away from the fuzzy warmth of analog. As a sample-focussed approach, granular synthesis is heavily influenced by the source sound used.