SPORCH For Linux

SPORCH is a spectral orchestrator tool.

SPORCH is a computer music software package that analyzes recorded sound and translates it into orchestrated harmony. It receives a digital sound file as input and outputs a set of instruments, pitches and dynamic levels that approximate the original sound when played. SPORCH's algorithm performs an iterative search through a database of instrument spectra and subtracts selections one by one from the spectrum of the source sound until it has been eliminated. The aim is for this package to be as flexible as possible, allowing the user to have as much control as possible over the search process.

Over time different search strategies will be added. I've implemented the current strategy (testing and combining matches in a linear fashion) first for several reasons:

� It's fast. I use it to do many calculations over large collections of source sound files.

� It's simple. It's easy for the user to directly affect the search process using SPORCH's callback functions.

� The output list of instrument/pitches is naturally ordered from most important (the first match in the list) to least important.

� The first one or two (most important) matches are essentially the defining pitches/instruments for the source sound. They tend to capture the pitch of the source if one is prominent. The remaining selections tend to modify the result by adding brightness, density, color and perhaps dissonance.