Perceptual Synthesis Engine: An Audio-Driven Timbre Generator

A real-time synthesis engine which models and predicts the timbre of acoustic instruments based on perceptual features extracted from an audio stream is presented. The thesis describes the modeling sequence including the analysis of natural sounds, the inference step that finds the mapping between control and output parameters, the timbre prediction step, and the sound synthesis. The system enables applications such as cross-synthesis, pitch shifting or compression of acoustic instruments, and timbre morphing between instrument families. It is fully implemented in the Max/MSP environment. The Perceptual Synthesis Engine was developed for the Hyperviolin as a novel, generic and perceptually meaningful synthesis technique for non-discretely pitched instruments. Advisor: Tod Machover Title: Professor of Music and Media Perceptual Synthesis Engine: An Audio-Driven Timbre Generator