Experiments with a New Customisable Interactive Evolution Framework

Collins, Nick

2002

Organised Sound 7(3): 267-273.

Language: English

This article collates results from a number of applications of interactive evolution as a sound designer's tool for exploring the parameter spaces of synthesis algorithms. Experiments consider reverberation algorithms, wavetable synthesis, synthesis of percussive sounds and an analytical solution of the stiff string. These projects share the property of being difficult to probe by trial and error sampling of the parameter space. Interactive evolution formed the guidance principle for what quickly proved a more effective search through the multitude of parameter settings. Whilst there is nothing new in the use of genetic algorithms in sound synthesis tasks, the experiments conducted here investigate new applications such as reverb design and an analytical stiff string model not previously encountered in the literature.