Gesturally-controlled Digital Audio Effects

This paper presents a detailed analysis of the acoustic effects of the movements of single-reed instrument performers for specific recording conditions. These effects are shown to be mostly resulting from the difference between the time of arrival of the direct sound and that of the first reflection, creating a sort of phasing or flanging effect. Contrary to the case of commercial flangers – where delay values are set by a LFO (low frequency oscillator) waveform – the amount of delay in a recording of an acoustic instrument is a function of the position of the instrument with respect to the microphone. We show that for standard recordings of a clarinet, continuous delay variations from 2 to 5 ms are possible, producing a naturally controlled effect.