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Published VersionCC BY V4.0, Open Access
Conference paper
A Synthetic Cicada Soundscape Controlled by Breath
Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression, pp.422-423
International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME), 2025 (Canberra, Australia, 24-Jun-2025–27-Jun-2025)
International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression
2025
Abstract
This paper describes an interactive installation featuring a generative soundscape with breath control, that aims to capture the feeling of being in a forest full of cicadas. Inspired by a period of deep listening to cicada stridulations – in which I found the spatio-temporal pulsation of the sound mass reminiscent of breathing – this installation uses breath control to give a sense of breathing with a forest. The sound mass consists of multiple generative sources, each loosely modelled on an individual cicada stridulating. Each ‘cicada’ comprises a temporal hierarchy of pulse trains modulating a carrier frequency, with a simple sonic spatialization algorithm applied to give the sense of immersion in the sound mass. The algorithm is implemented in the Extempore audiovisual programming language, and utilizes an architecture in which each sonic parameter is inherently stochastic, much as the sound production mechanisms of actual cicadas exhibit natural variation.
Details
- Title
- A Synthetic Cicada Soundscape Controlled by Breath
- Authors
- Toby Gifford (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Business and Creative Industries
- Contributors
- Doga Cavdir (Editor)Florent Berthaut (Editor)
- Publication details
- Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression, pp.422-423
- Conference details
- International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME), 2025 (Canberra, Australia, 24-Jun-2025–27-Jun-2025)
- Publisher
- International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression
- Date published
- 2025
- DOI
- 10.5281/zenodo.15698914
- ISSN
- 2220-4806
- Copyright note
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
- Organisation Unit
- School of Business and Creative Industries
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991144235602621
- Output Type
- Conference paper
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