Visual representation in genesis as a tool for physical modeling, sound synthesis and musical composition

The motivation of this paper is to highlight the importance of visual representations for artists when modeling and simulating massinteraction physical networks in the context of sound synthesis and musical composition. GENESIS is a musician-oriented software environment for sound synthesis and musical composition. However, despite this orientation, a substantial amount of effort has been put into building a rich variety of tools based on static or dynamic visual representations of models and of abstractions of their properties. After a quick survey of these tools, we will illustrate the significant role they play in the creative process involved when going from a musical idea and exploration to the production of a complete musical piece. To that aim, our analysis will rely on the work and practice of several artists having used GENESIS in various ways.