An Interactive Real-Time System for the Control of Sound Localization

Abstract

One of the most significant parameters in the perception of music is related to the spatial characteristics of sound. Aside from the use of directionality in the reproduction of music in sound systems of homes, movies theatres, and concert halls, composers have shown interest in exploitation of the spatial dimension of sound since as early as the sixteenth century. We have precedents in works by composers such as Gabrieli, Berlioz, and, after the turn of the century, by Varese in Deserts, and by Stockhausen in Gesang der Jiinglinge (Stockhausen 1961). The landmark after the advent of the electroacoustic music is probably Chowning's Turenas, in which the composer uses graphic techniques to control the path and speed of sound sources as well as reverberation in the surrounding space. In this paper I will discuss the implementation of a tool that allows the composer to take advantage of the spatial control of sound through a portable, interactive real-time system having adequate graphics and computational ability.