2009

Within the framework of these short experiments, it is of course impossible to
comprehensively cover all of Sculpture’s possibilities. You are encouraged to use the
suggested settings initially, and closely observe the results of the changes you make. In
this way you can learn a lot about the instrument, and perhaps be inspired to create new
sounds and variations.
Note: To see the settings for these tutorials in the Sculpture window, open the Settings
menu and choose Tutorial Settings.
Creating a Sustained Sound with Sculpture
First, load Sculpture’s default setting again—the very simple sound consisting of a plucked
string that vibrates and fades away. Obviously, this sound needs some drastic changes
in that you’re going for a sustained or extended sound for pads, rather than one that dies
away.
Examine the three objects. Notice that only Object 1 is active, and acts on the string with
an Impulse. As in the pick example in the bass section, the string is briefly excited when
the note is played, and then the sound decays. A sustained pad sound requires an exciting
agent that constantly acts upon the string. The appropriate object types are Bow or “Bow
wide” (the string is played with either short bow strokes or long, extended bow strokes),
Noise (excited by a random noise signal), or Blow (excited by being blown—much like a
clarinet or flute).
Test the above mentioned object types one after the other, and drag the Object 1 Pickup
slider, responsible for the exact position of the exciting agent, up and down the string
while you’re playing. You will come to two conclusions: First, the sound is now sustained
for as long as you hold the key down. Second, dragging the Object 1 slider with the Bow
type selected results in the most pronounced sonic changes. This setting promises the
most rewarding possibilities for varying the sound, and that’s why this type has been
chosen.
Recording an Envelope in Sculpture
The sonic variations created by the Bow type are very appealing when the virtual bow
stroke is moved along the string. You can control this movement by using an envelope,
thus creating the foundation of your pad sound.
It makes more sense and is more convenient to record the envelope rather than
programming it, even if it is easy to program it with the graphic display.
To record an envelope
1 Make sure you have loaded the default setting, then drag the Object 1 slider all the way
to the left. Starting from this position, where it generates only an overtone-rich scratch,
start animating it by using the envelope.
417Chapter 14 Sculpture