A History of the Technology of Physical Modeling Synthesis for Musical Instruments

Physical modeling of musical instruments is a fun and deeply technical topic, drawing on many fields including physics, acoustics, digital signal processing and music.  Modern physical modeling technology has been in development since as early as the 1930s. At the present time, it’s possible for each of us to be Jimi Hendrix, with just a small device in the palm of our hands.  In 1994 physical modeling was poised to be the “Next Big Thing,” but something happened to disrupt its evolution.   We will cover what happened, with lots of lovely sound examples, and why physical modeling is a big deal again!

The presentation will be by Pat Scandalis with special co-host Jordan Rudess.

Pat Scandalis, CTO and acting CEO, moForte Inc.  Pat has worked for a number of Silicon Valley high tech companies. He has held lead engineering positions at National Semiconductor, Teradyne, Apple and Sun. He has spent the past 26 years working in digital media. He was an Audio DSP researcher at Stanford University’s Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA). He co-founded and was the VP of engineering for Staccato Systems, a successful spinout of Stanford/CCRMA that was sold to Analog Devices in 2001. He has held VP positions at TuneTo.com, Jarrah Systems and Liquid Digital Media. He most recently ran Liquid Digital Media, which developed and operated all online digital music e-commerce properties for Walmart. He holds a BSc in Physics from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and is currently a visiting scholar at CCRMA, Stanford University.

Jordan Rudess is keyboardist for bands such as Dream Theater and the Dixie Dregs, as well as founder of the music software company Wizdom Music.

This is a free online meeting. You need to register in advance at Eventbrite.  Sign in information will be sent out to your registered email address in advance of the talk.

Please register for this free online meeting here.