A Timbre Analysis And Classification Toolkit For Pure Data

This paper describes example applications of a timbre analysis and classification toolkit for pure data (Pd). The timbreID collection of Pd externals enable both systematic and casual exploration of sound characteristics via objects that are streamlined and easy to use. Details surrounding signal buffering, blocking, and windowing are performed independently by the objects, so that analyses can be obtained with very little patching. A modular design allows for adaptable configurations and many possible creative ends. The applications described here include vowel classification, targetdriven concatenative synthesis, ordering sounds by timbre, and mapping of a sound set in timbre space.