Objectives
The objective here is to present the latest development of our keyboard Vocal Tract Organ (VTO) which is a 16 stop instrument that uniquely makes use of stops set to harmonics one to sixteen.
Methods/design
Unlike a church or concert pipe organ, this vocal tract organ has 16 stops that are set to the first 16 harmonics of the notes played to enable the selection of a tonal colour that is versatile. Each harmonic selected is itself a complex waveform containing harmonics of the underlying harmonics themselves. Being a vocal tract organ, the ‘pipes’ are 3-D printed oral tracts which can be made to different sizes in relation to the specific harmonic set that their stop is colouring acoustically and the effect of varying the sizes of the 3-D printed oral tracts in relation to the stop that they are associated with will be explored in detail. This version of the Vocal Tract Organ offers the possibility of creating a particularly rich timbral colour at the discretion of the player who can vary depending on the stop(s) selected. A key feature of this presentation will be a discussion of the effectiveness of using different vocal tract sizes set in a relationship to the stop they are colouring.
Results
This work will provide the underlying analysis and consequent design decisions in setting up this version of the Vocal Tract Organ as a musical instrument in its own right. Its sonic capabilities relate to but are not the same as a typical pipe organ since it brings a vocal dimension to the output sounds.
Conclusions
The ability of the Vocal Tract Organ to work within a vocal spectral domain offers the possibilities of a new timbral palette for tomorrow’s composers and performers. They will have the opportunity to use vocal colours as well as harmonic synthesis for the creation of output sounds in the context of a keyboard instrument.
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