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From: Michael Will
Date: Sun, 01 Sep 1996 18:19:58 -0700
Subject: Re: Antw: RE: MIDI Harmonica

dijk~orldaccess.nl wrote:

> The MIDI harmonica I have in mind, does not make any sound at all. There are no
> reeds, no reedplates and the slide is only a switch (on & off). Each channel of the
> chromatic harmonica has its own air pressure sensor. Al sensors do generate an
> analog signal constantly. When you don't play a certain sensor, it will still be
> generating a signal, but it will be a constant. When you blow or draw, the signal
> changes. These changes are interpreted by the external interface. The interface
> recognises which sensors are played and wether the slide is used yes or no.
> The interface calculates the desired pitch and generates the MIDI data. This MIDI
> data is send to a MIDI sound module. This sound module does generate the actual
> pitch.
>
> It will be a great tool to learn more about tuning systems.
>
> I hope this dream is realisable.

But will it sound like a harmonica? I have doubts. I suppose one could
sample lots of harmonica sounds at many different volumes and customize
an algorithm to simulate it. A great deal of work has been done to
synthesize piano sound, with remarkably good results I'd say, but the
initial research and development effort had to have been very
substantial.

I think that harmonica is like piano in terms of difficulties
synthesizing realistic sound. At different volumes, not only the
loudness of the note changes, but also its character. These different
harmonics and complexities at different volumes require a lot of work to
capture and model. And the interaction between reeds in the same
chamber would add complexity, I believe.

Synthesized harmonica sounds that I have heard I have not considered to
be acceptable. Yet. I hope this will change soon.

Mic'l