148 CHAPTER 3: Making Sounds with Analogue Electronics

FIGURE 3.4.1 Relative

level
(i) A triangle 1
waveform constructed 1
from six sine wave
harmonics is very
1/ 1/
different from a sine 9 25 1/ 1/
49 81 1/
wave, even though 121
the fundamental is 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Harmonic
by far the strongest number
component. (ii) Fundamental

A combination of
equal amounts of the
first 12 harmonics
produces a waveform
which looks (and
sounds) like a type of
pulse waveshape.
(i)

Relative
level
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Harmonic
number
Fundamental

(ii)

a few harmonics can produce waveforms that have enough of the harmonic
content to produce the correct type of timbre, even though the shape of the
waveform may not be exactly as expected.

3.4.3 Harmonic analysis

In order to produce useful timbres, an additive synthesizer user really needs to
know about the harmonic content of real instruments, rather than mathemati-
cally derived waveforms. The main method of determining this information
is Fourier analysis, which reverses the concept of making any waveform out
 3.4 Additive synthesis 149

Relative FIGURE 3.4.2

level
1 (i) A square waveform
1
constructed from six
sine wave harmonics
1/
3 1/ has a close
5 1/ 1/
7 9 1/ approximation to the
11
ideal waveshape.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Harmonic (ii) Changing the
number phase of the third
Fundamental
harmonic radically
alters the shape of the
waveform.

(i)

Relative
level
1 Third harmonic
1 shifted in phase

1/
3 1/
5 1/ 1/
7 9 1/
11

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Harmonic
number
Fundamental

(ii)

of sine waves and uses the idea that any waveform can be split into a series of
sine waves.
The basic concept behind Fourier analysis is quite simple, although the
practical implementation is usually very complicated. If an audio signal is
passed through a very narrow band-pass filter that sweeps through the audio
range, then the output of the filter will indicate the level of each band of fre-
quencies which are present in the signal (Figure 3.4.4). The width of this band-
pass filter determines how accurate the analysis of the frequency content will
150 CHAPTER 3: Making Sounds with Analogue Electronics

FIGURE 3.4.3 Relative

level
(i) A sawtooth
1 1
waveform constructed
from 12 sine wave 1/
2
harmonics has a close 1/
3 1/ 1
approximation to the 4 / 5 1/6 1/7 1/ 1/ 1
8 9 / 1
ideal waveshape. 10 /11 1/12

(ii) Changing the 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Harmonic

phase of the second number
Fundamental
harmonic radically
alters the shape of the
waveform.

(i)

Relative
level
1 Second harmonic
1 shifted in phase
1/
2
1/
3 1/ 1
4 / 5 1/6 1/7 1/ 1/ 1
8 9 / 1
10 /11 1/12

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Harmonic
number
Fundamental

(ii)

be: if it is 100 Hz wide, then the output can only be used to a resolution of
100 Hz, whereas if the band-pass filter has a 1-Hz bandwidth, then it will be
able to indicate individual frequencies to a resolution of 1 Hz.
For simple musical sounds that contain mostly harmonics of the fundamen-
tal frequency, the resolution required for Fourier analysis is not very high. The
more complex the sound, the higher the required resolution. For sounds that
have a simple structure consisting of a fundamental and harmonics, a rough
‘rule of thumb’ is to make the bandwidth of the filter less than the fundamental
 3.4 Additive synthesis 151

FIGURE 3.4.4
Audio signal Spectrum Sweeping the center
frequency of a
narrow band-pass
filter can convert an
audio signal into a
spectrum: from the
time domain to the
frequency domain.
Variable
frequency
narrow
band-pass
Time filter Frequency

Time domain Frequency domain

frequency, since the harmonics will be spaced at frequency intervals of the fun-
damental frequency. Having 1-Hz resolution in order to discover that there are
five harmonics spaced at 1-kHz intervals is extravagant. Smaller bandwidths
require more complicated filters, and this can increase the cost, size and pro-
cessing time, depending on how the filters are implemented. Fourier analysis
can be achieved using analogue filters, but it is frequently carried out by using
digital technology (see Section 5.8).

Numbers of harmonics
How many separate sine waves are needed in an additive synthesizer?
Supposing that the lowest fundamental frequency which will be required to be
produced is a low A at 55 Hz, then the harmonics will be at 110, 165, 220,
275, 330, 385, 440 Hz,… The 32nd harmonic will be at 1760 Hz and the 64th
harmonic at 3520 Hz.
An A at 440 Hz has a 45th harmonic of 19,800 Hz. Most additive synthe-
sizers seem to use between 32 and 64 harmonics (Table 3.4.2).

Harmonic and inharmonic content

Real-world sounds are not usually deterministic: they do not contain just sim-
ple harmonics of the fundamental frequency. Instead, they also have additional
frequencies that are not simple integer multiples of the fundamental frequency.
The following are several types of these unpredictable ‘inharmonic’ frequencies:

■ noise
■ beat frequencies
■ sidebands
■ inharmonics.
152 CHAPTER 3: Making Sounds with Analogue Electronics

Noise has, by definition, no harmonic structure, although it may be pres-

ent only in specific parts of the spectrum: colored noise. So any noise which is
present in a sound will appear as random additional frequencies within those
bands, and whose level and phase are also random.

Table 3.4.2 Additive Frequencies and Harmonics

Frequency Harmonic
fundamental

55 110 220 440

110 220 440 880 2
165 330 660 1,320 3
220 440 880 1,760 4
275 550 1,100 2,200 5
330 660 1,320 2,640 6
385 770 1,540 3,080 7
440 880 1,760 3,520 8
495 990 1,980 3,960 9
550 1,100 2,200 4,400 10
605 1,210 2,420 4,840 11
660 1,320 2,640 5,280 12
715 1,430 2,860 5,720 13
770 1,540 3,080 6,160 14
825 1,650 3,300 6,600 15
880 1,760 3,520 7,040 16
935 1,870 3,740 7,480 17
990 1,980 3,960 7,920 18
1,045 2,090 4,180 8,360 19
1,100 2,200 4,400 8,800 20
1,155 2,310 4,620 9,240 21
1,210 2,420 4,840 9,680 22
1,265 2,530 5,060 10,120 23
1,320 2,640 5,280 10,560 24
1,375 2,750 5,500 11,000 25
1,430 2,860 5,720 11,440 26
1,485 2,970 5,940 11,880 27
1,540 3,080 6,160 12,320 28
1,595 3,190 6,380 12,760 29
1,650 3,300 6,600 13,200 30
1,705 3,410 6,820 13,640 31
1,760 3,520 7,040 14,080 32
1,815 3,630 7,260 14,520 33
1,870 3,740 7,480 14,960 34
1,925 3,850 7,700 15,400 35
 3.4 Additive synthesis 153

Table 3.4.2 (Continued)

Frequency Harmonic
fundamental

1,980 3,960 7,920 15,840 36

2,035 4,070 8,140 16,280 37
2,090 4,180 8,360 16,720 38
2,145 4,290 8,580 17,160 39
2,200 4,400 8,800 17,600 40
2,255 4,510 9,020 18,040 41
2,310 4,620 9,240 18,480 42
2,365 4,730 9,460 18,920 43
2,420 4,840 9,680 19,360 44
2,475 4,950 9,900 19,800 45
2,530 5,060 10,120 20,240 46
2,585 5,170 10,340 20,680 47
2,640 5,280 10,560 21,120 48
2,695 5,390 10,780 21,560 49
2,750 5,500 11,000 22,000 50
2,805 5,610 11,220 22,440 51
2,860 5,720 11,440 22,880 52
2,915 5,830 11,660 23,320 53
2,970 5,940 11,880 23,760 54
3,025 6,050 12,100 24,200 55
3,080 6,160 12,320 24,640 56
3,135 6,270 12,540 25,080 57
3,190 6,380 12,760 25,520 58
3,245 6,490 12,980 25,960 59
3,300 6,600 13,200 26,400 60
3,355 6,710 13,420 26,840 61
3,410 6,820 13,640 27,280 62
3,465 6,930 13,860 27,720 63
3,520 7,040 14,080 28,160 64

Beat frequencies arise when the harmonics in a sound are not perfectly in
tune with each other. ‘Perfect’ waveshapes are always assumed to have harmon-
ics at exact multiples of the fundamental, whereas this is not always the case
in real-world sounds. If a harmonic is slightly detuned from its mathematically
‘correct’ position, then additional harmonics may be produced at the beat fre-
quency, so if a harmonic is 1 Hz too high in pitch relative to the fundamental,
then a frequency of 1 Hz will be present in the spectrum.
Sidebands occur when the frequency stability of a harmonic is imperfect,
or when the sound itself is frequency modulated. Both cases result in pairs of
frequencies which mirror around the ‘ideal’ frequency. So a 1-kHz sine wave
which is frequency modulated with a few hertz will have a spectrum that
154 CHAPTER 3: Making Sounds with Analogue Electronics

contains frequencies on either side of 1 kHz, and the exact content will depend
on the depth of modulation and its frequency. See Section 3.5.1 for more
details.
Inharmonics are additional frequencies that are structured in some way,
and so are not noise, but which do not have the simple integer multiple rela-
tionship with the fundamental frequency. Timbres that contain inharmonics
typically sound like a ‘bell’ or ‘gong’.
Many additive synthesizers only attempt to produce the harmonic fre-
quencies, with perhaps a simple noise generator, as well. This deterministic
approach limits the range of sounds which are possible, since it ignores many
stochastic, probabilistic or random elements which make up real-world sounds.

3.4.4 Envelopes
The control of the level of each harmonic over time uses EGs and VCAs.
Ideally, one EG and one VCA should be provided for each harmonic. This
would mean that the overall envelope of the final sound was the result of add-
ing together the individual envelopes for each of the harmonics, and so there
would be no overall control over the envelope of the complete sound. Adding
an overall EG and VCA to the sum of the individual harmonics allows quick
modifications to be made to the final output (Figure 3.4.5).
In order to minimize the number of controls and the complexity, the EGs
need to be as simple as possible without compromising the flexibility. Delayed
ADR (DADR) envelopes are amongst the easiest of EGs to implement in dis-
crete analogue circuitry, since the gate signal can be used to control a simple
capacitor charge and discharge circuit to produce the ADR envelope voltage.
DADR envelopes also require only four controls (delay time, attack time, decay

f1
f2
f3
Harmonic f4
f5 VCA
generator f6
f7
f8 VCA
f9

Envelope
Envelope
generator
Envelope
generator
Envelope
generator Envelope
Envelope
generator
Envelope
generator generator
Envelope
generator
Envelope
generator
Envelope
generator Overall envelope
generator

Individual harmonic
envelopes

FIGURE 3.4.5 Individual envelopes are used to control the harmonics, but an overall envelope allows
easy control over the whole sound which is produced.
 3.4 Additive synthesis 155

time and release time), whereas a DADSR would require five controls and
more complex circuitry. If integrated circuit (IC) EGs are used, then the ADSR
envelope would probably be used, since most custom synthesizer chips provide
ADSR functionality.

Control grouping and ganging

With large numbers of harmonics, having separate envelopes for each harmonic
can become very unwieldy and awkward to control. The ability to assign a
smaller number of envelopes to harmonics can reduce the complexity of an addi-
tive synthesizer considerably. This is only effective if the envelopes of groups of
harmonics are similar enough to allow a ‘common’ envelope to be determined.
Similarly, ganging together controls for the level of groups of harmonics can
make it easy to make rapid changes to timbres – altering individual harmonics
can be very time consuming. Simple groupings such as ‘all of the odd’ or ‘all of
the even’ harmonics, can be useful starting points for this technique.
A more advanced use for grouping involves using keyboard voltages to give
pitch-dependent envelope controls. This can be used to create the effect of fixed
resonances or ‘formants’ at specific frequencies.

Filter simulation/emulation
Filters modify the harmonic content of a sound. In the case of an additive syn-
thesizer, there are two ways that this can be carried out: with a filter or with a
filter emulation. As with the overall envelope control mentioned earlier, there
are advantages to having a single control for the combined harmonics, and a
VCF could be added just before the VCA. Such a filter would only provide crude
filtering of the sound, in exactly the same way as in subtractive synthesis.
Filter emulation uses the individual EGs for the harmonics to ‘synthesize’
a filter by altering the envelopes. For example, if the envelopes of higher har-
monics are set to have progressively shorter decay times, then when a note is
played, the high harmonics will decay the first (Figure 3.4.6). This has an audi-
ble effect which is very similar to a low-pass filter being controlled by a decay-
ing envelope. The difference is that the ‘filter’ is the result of the action of all
the envelopes, rather than one envelope. Consequently, individual envelopes
can be changed, which then allow control over harmonics that would not be
possible using a single VCF.
As with the envelope control ganging and grouping, similar facilities can be
used to make filter emulation easier to use, although the implementation of
this is much easier in a fully digital additive instrument.

3.4.5 Practical problems

Analogue additive synthesis suffers from a number of design difficulties.
Generating a large number of stable, high-purity sine waves simultaneously can
be very complex, especially if they are not harmonically related. Providing suf-
ficient controls for the large number of available parameters is also a problem.
156 CHAPTER 3: Making Sounds with Analogue Electronics

1st
Low harmonics
decay slowest

2nd

3rd

4th

5th
High harmonics
decay fastest

Harmonic Envelope

FIGURE 3.4.6 By using different envelopes for each harmonic, a filter can be ‘synthesized’. This example
shows the equivalent of a low-pass filter being produced by a number of different decaying envelopes.

Depending on the complexity of the design, an additive synthesizer might have

the following parameters repeated for each harmonic:
■ frequency (fixed harmonic or variable inharmonic)
■ phase
■ level
■ envelope (DADR, DADSR or multi-segment – four or more controls).
For a 32-harmonic additive synthesizer, these eight parameters give a total
of just over 250 separate controls, ignoring any additional controls for ganging
and filter emulation. Although it is possible to assemble an additive synthesizer
using analogue design techniques, practical realizations of additive synthesizers
have tended to be digital in nature, where the generation and control problems
are much more easily solved.

Spectrum plots
The subtractive and additive sections in this chapter have both shown plots of
the harmonic content of waveforms, showing a frequency axis plotted against
level. This ‘harmonic content’ graph is called a spectrum, and it shows the rel-
ative levels of the frequencies in an audio signal. Whereas a waveform is a way
of showing the shape of a waveform as its value changes with time, a spectrum
is a way of showing the harmonic content of a sound. The shape of a waveform
 3.4 Additive synthesis 157

is not a very good indication of the harmonic content of a sound, whereas a

spectrum is – by definition.
Spectra (the plural of the Latin-derived word ‘spectrum’) are not very good
at showing any changes in the harmonic content of a sound – in much the
same way that a single cycle of a PWM waveform does not convey the way that
the width of the pulse is changing over time. To show changes in spectra, a
‘waterfall’ or ‘mountain’ graph is used, which effectively ‘stacks’ several spectra
together. The resulting 3D-like representation can be used to show how the fre-
quency content changes with time (Figure 3.4.7).

Relative The fundamental

level or first harmonic
1
1
1/ The eighth harmonic
2
The level of a 1/
4
harmonic is
shown vertically
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Harmonic
number

The frequency axis

Relative
A 55-Hz sine wave
level
1
1

55 165 275 385 495

110 220 330 440 Frequency
(Hz)

Relative
level A ‘mountain’ graph

Time

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Frequency

FIGURE 3.4.7 A spectrum is a plot of frequency against level. It thus shows the harmonic content of
an audio signal. In most of the examples in this book, the horizontal axis is normally shown with harmonic
numbers instead of frequencies – the 55-Hz sine wave spectrum shows the correspondence with frequency.
When a spectrum changes with time, then a ‘mountain’ graph may be used to show the changes in the shape.