Approaching Real-Time Granular Synthesis Feedback

This paper considers the Xenakian origins of granular synthesis and presents a contemporary implementation and novel extension of this method - granular synthesis feedback. The aesthetic foundations of granular synthesis are reviewed and characterized by the concept of the granular paradigm as introduced by (Solomos 2006). Further, an implementation of granular synthesis in the music programming enviroment MaxMSP is presented. This implementation allows real-time update of the buffer content, thereby enabling granular feedback as a form of non-standard sound synthesis. As exemplifications of the principle, two feedback-scenarios are characterized and its inherent dynamics are explained. The aesthetic implications of these scenarios are discussed with respect to the debate about sonic emergence, initiated by (DiScipio 1997).