Spatial Modulation Synthesis

In 1962 Karlheinz Stockhausen’s “Concept of Unity in Electronic Music” introduced a connection between the parameters of intensity, duration, pitch, and timbre using an accelerating pulse train. In 1973 John Chowning discovered that complex audio spectra could be synthesized by increasing vibrato rates past 20Hz. In both cases the notion of increased speed to produce timbre was critical to discovery. Although both composers also utilized sound spatialization in their works, spatial parameters were not unified with their synthesis techniques. Spatial Modulation Synthesis is introduced as a novel, physically-based control paradigm for audiovisual synthesis, providing unified control of spatialization, timbre, and visual form using high-speed sound trajectories.