Hi,
Something I got to thinking ahout today was ultrasound. Perhaps it was
the recent discussion of the MKH 110 mics (on NR). And having read a
Roald Dahl story about a real-time pitchshifting machine at an
impressionable age...
I'm wondering, has anyone characterized the ultrasonic timbre of symphonic
instruments? Particularly, I'm wondering if anyone's recorded them with
extended frequency equipment (say, to 40KHz) and then halved or quartered
the playback speed. I've heard plenty of conventional recordings
manipulated in this fashion, but assume that in the absence of a signal
chain maintaining high frequency content, any such manipulation would be
devoid of pitch-shifted content above say ~10Khz.
The concept of an 'ultrasound orchestra' performing a repetoire
specifically to use those characteristics appealed to me, but I've no idea
if there would be anything interesting going on 'up there.'
My roommate suspected that the energy in those upper harmonics drops off
so quickly that most instruments 'evolved' to maximize energy in the
human-audible domain would not turn out to have very interesting
ultrasonic qualities.... but steered me to very high pitched flutes used
in Japanese court music.
Ideas or resources?
Best,
aaron
http://www.quietamerican.org
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