RPM Phrase Database

The Phrase Database contains musical phrases for each instrument. These are not recordings of isolated notes but complete musical passages that represent all kinds of articulation and phrasing.

Searching and Splicing

When Synful Orchestra receives MIDI input it looks at the pitch, velocity, amount of separation or overlap between notes, note duration, volume, pitch wheel, and mod wheel to determine what kind of phrase is being played. Synful Orchestra searches the RPM Phrase Database for fragments that can be spliced together to form this phrase. These fragments represent transitions between notes, slurs with portamento, lightly tongued transitions, aggressive fast bowing, rapid runs, long sustain regions with graceful vibrato, and noise elements like flute chiffs and bow scratches. Synful Orchestra stretches and shifts these fragments in time and pitch so that they combine to form the final output.

Synful RPM Additive Synthesis

A single note in Synful Orchestra may be built from three or more rapidly spliced phrase fragments. Splicing ordinary PCM sampled sounds in this way would create unacceptable warbles and clicks. Synful Orchestra uses a patented form of additive synthesis in which sounds are generated from combinations of pure sine waves and noise elements. This gives Synful Orchestra the ability to rapidly stretch, shift, and splice phrase fragments while preserving perfect phrase continuity.

For further RPM details see Synful_Orchestra_Users_Guide.pdf

Get the technical paper Music Synthesis with Reconstructive Phrase Modeling published in IEEE Signal Processing Magazine, March 2007