The Syntax of Sound: Praat AudioTools: An Offline Analysis–Resynthesis Toolkit for Experimental Composition

Cohen, Shai

This book presents a research-driven and practice-based framework for experimental sound composition using Praat as an analysis–resynthesis and scripting environment. Originally developed for phonetics and speech science, Praat is recontextualized in this book as a transparent, programmable instrument for contemporary computer music, sound art, and algorithmic composition. This book explores sound as a structured, linguistic-like system whose elements, spectral components, temporal behaviors, dynamics, and spatial characteristics, can be analyzed, manipulated, and recomposed through code. Moving beyond black-box digital audio workstations and preset-based tools, it emphasizes programmatic sound design, where compositional decisions emerge from explicit algorithms, signal models, and data-driven processes. Across three major parts, this book develops a systematic approach to sound creation. The first part focuses on the generation and sculpting of sonic material, including adaptive systems, spectral analysis, distortion, filtering, temporal manipulation, and synthesis. The second part addresses structural and algorithmic organization, covering probabilistic logic, batch processing, spatialization, interoperability, and production workflows. The final part investigates kinetic and dynamic environments, examining modulation, phase behavior, reverberation architectures, automation, and adaptive studio systems. Combining theoretical context, historical references, and concrete scripting strategies, this book bridges phonetics, digital signal processing, and experimental composition. It is intended for advanced students, researchers, composers, and sound designers seeking a deep, methodologically transparent approach to sound analysis and creation, and it contributes a novel perspective to the fields of music technology and computer music by positioning code itself as a primary musical instrument.

Details

Published by: Springer

Publication Date: 2026-08-25

Format: Hardcover

ISBN-13: 9789819225750

DOI:

Dimensions: 235cm x155cm

Pages: