Bombard Pipe

A bombard should make you sit up!

A bombard is a BIG sound. Not quite an ophicleide (how the heck does one pronounce that?) but it should be at least a little intimidating. I am trying to make it happen in Sonic Field. My sounds seem to keep coming out to nice; I need some more wollop. But here is where I am so far.

def bombardPulse(length,frequency):

    p=random.random()

    if frequency>4000:

        sig=sf.Mix(

            sf.PhasedSineWave(length,frequency,p),

            sf.NumericVolume(sf.PhasedSineWave(length,frequency*2.0,p),2.0),

            sf.NumericVolume(sf.PhasedSineWave(length,frequency*3.0,p),1.5),

            sf.NumericVolume(sf.PhasedSineWave(length,frequency*4.0,p),1.3),

            sf.NumericVolume(sf.PhasedSineWave(length,frequency*5.0,p),1.2),

            sf.NumericVolume(sf.PhasedSineWave(length,frequency*6.0,p),1.0),

            sf.NumericVolume(sf.PhasedSineWave(length,frequency*7.0,p),0.8),

            sf.NumericVolume(sf.PhasedSineWave(length,frequency*8.0,p),0.5)

            )

    else:

        sig=sf.Mix(

            sf.PhasedSineWave(length,frequency,p),

            sf.NumericVolume(sf.PhasedSineWave(length,frequency*2.0,p),2.0),

            sf.NumericVolume(sf.PhasedSineWave(length,frequency*3.0,p),1.5),

            sf.NumericVolume(sf.PhasedSineWave(length,frequency*4.0,p),1.3),

            sf.NumericVolume(sf.PhasedSineWave(length,frequency*5.0,p),1.2),

            sf.NumericVolume(sf.PhasedSineWave(length,frequency*6.0,p),1.0),

            sf.NumericVolume(sf.PhasedSineWave(length,frequency*7.0,p),0.8),

            sf.NumericVolume(sf.PhasedSineWave(length,frequency*8.0,p),0.6),

            sf.NumericVolume(sf.PhasedSineWave(length,frequency*9.0,p),0.4),

            sf.NumericVolume(sf.PhasedSineWave(length,frequency*10.0,p),0.2)

        )

    return sf.FixSize(sig)

def bombard(length,freq):

    b=sf.MixAt(

            [sf.Pcnt33(bombardPulse(length,freq)),0],

            [sf.Pcnt33(bombardPulse(length,freq)),10],

            [sf.Pcnt33(bombardPulse(length,freq)),20]

    )

    sig=sf.Mix(

        b

        ,

        sf.Pcnt10(sf.Multiply(+b,sf.WhiteNoise(length))),          

        sf.Multiply(

            cleanNoise(length,freq*0.5),

            sf.SimpleShape((0,-60),(64,-20),(128,-28),(length,-24))

        )

    )

    return pitchMove(sig)

So the first thing which is very different from anything I have tried before is the initial wave form. Rather than the more usual decreasing harmonics (each overtone being weaker than the previous and weaker than the fundamental) here I use additive synthesis to create overtones which have greater magnitude than the fundamental. 

The next trick to make a bigger sound is to use three sounds each 10 milliseconds after the previous and mix them. This gives an 'entrance' to the note.

Finally, rather than just mixing some filtered noise with the waveform I add some filtered noise multiplied by it as well. This makes a noise sound modulated by the wave form; if one imagines air rushing over the reed of a massive organ pipe the idea becomes more obvious.

Did it work? Well, it is getting there but I believe I can do even better. The bombard makes some of the bass this piece (the rest is an even richer reed sounds which I will discuss another time):

BWV 645 By JS Bach