On the evolution of controllers for sound spatialization

Abstract

Dynamic changes in spatial sound attributes have played a role in classical Western music for a long time. It is known that choreographic movements of opera singers were sometimes made for acoustic considerations. Probably the first mechanical spatial sound controller is the so-called wind swell that is found in pipe organs. Already in 1712, Renatus Harris mentions how swelling enables the player to project the sound of the pipes ad libitum to nearby or further distances. With the invention of electroacoustic music, a number of electromechanical devices were developed to control spatial aspects of sound (primarily positioning sound sources in 3-D space). Typical examples are Stockhausen’s rotational table (developed in the 1950s) and Manfred Krause’s sound mill (1960). In this presentation, the evolutionary steps in the design of spatial sound controllers will be outlined—beginning with early, purely mechanical devices up to recent approaches including the author’s participation in the development of a gestural controllable sound system based on virtual microphone control (ViMiC).