[Fluxus] visualisation of strings/ plates/ hybrid musical instruments?

[Dave Griffiths]

> I just came across fluxus which I have to admit it looks awsome!

Thanks!

> I was wondering if it is possible to build simple models of strings or
> plates (and coupled combinations of them) following a plain spring-mass
> principle that you can animate due to an excitation, so a form of physical
> modelling of musical instruments, based in waveguides.
> I'm curious about the practical side of things, I was thinking of fluxus
> doing the visual part and maybe puredata doing the audio one, both
> receiving the excitation signal through midi or OSC. Do you think this is
> the easiest or optimal route?

I'm not to familiar with physical modelling, so bear with me, but I could
imagine using fluxus to design and visualise instruments - descriptions of
which are then sent to a physical modelling synth to make sounds. Is this
what you mean?

It might be fun to try some more wacky stuff, like using l systems to grow
instruments, or some of the new genetic algorithm code to learn example
sounds and converge on instruments which sounded like them.

Also, at a push it would be possible to write the synth in scheme, running
a simulation using ode or some hand written physics solution, but if one
frame = one sample, it wouldn't be realtime :)

> I don't know anything about Fluxus at the moment (but I'm keen to learn)
> so any suggestions are mostly welcome.
>
> Examples of similar applications I have in mind are the two following
> (long
> ago defunkt) projects:
> http://taopm.sourceforge.net/
>
> http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~dmh8/cymatic/main2.htm

I used to use a program called "PowerStation Instrusrializer"(!) to make
clangs a few years back:

http://web.archive.org/web/20041228073341/www.ordersofn.org/industrializer_shots.html

cheers,

dave