Subject: Re. A piano is a piano is... From: Steve Slade <sgslade(at)OZEMAIL.COM.AU> Date: Wed, 14 Oct 1998 16:45:40 +1100Dear Andrew >> It seems to me that the issue is not only whether one can notice the >> difference between a real and synthesized piano > >Is a piano heard on the radio in a sense a "synthesized piano"? I would submit that it depends how far down the sound production chain you want to isolate the sound as to whether the sound itself is "synthesized". At the route source - i.e. the muso thumping out the notes on the (presumably real) piano, then yes - obviously it is a "real" sound from a "real" piano being played. However, by the very nature of broadcasted/ recorded sound, any sound you hear is going to be a "synthesized" sound - whether it sounds "real" or not. Then again, the above paragraph should be interpreted in the light of the assumption that "synthesis" by definition has to incorporate a reproductive element/ process of the originating event - I'm sure there are others out there that would argue that this is not neccesarily so, and that synthesis could occur acoustically on a non- synthesized originating event. The very nature of harmonics & acoustics per se could give weight to such an argument. That being the case, (at a base level) the real issue is not between "real" and "synthesized" sounds, rather our interpretation of the level of synthesis on any given sound (correlated against our perception of what a "real" or "synthesized" sound is). Regards, Steve Email to AUDITORY should now be sent to AUDITORY(at)lists.mcgill.ca LISTSERV commands should be sent to listserv(at)lists.mcgill.ca Information is available on the WEB at http://www.mcgill.ca/cc/listserv