Sound effects generation for art

[missy_beauvois]

I am an artist who builds sound and light effects into my paintings. Crickets, birds, bees and other buzz-sounding objects are all manageable for me using the beloved 555 timer. However, I would like to branch out into sound effects that can't be created with a square wave, for example:

-- Hoot owl (distant, resonant, low-frequency, hollow sound)
-- Buddhist or other monks chanting, aka, the sound of "OM" at many different, pleasing frequencies and yes the waveform needs to be rich and complex, like the human voice.

I am especially interested in the Creational Scale, which includes the following frequencies:

396 Hz (Do)
417 Hz (Re)
528 Hz (Mi)
639 Hz (Fa)
741 Hz (Sol)
852 Hz (La)

To make my request for help even more complex, I'd love to stick with low-cost, readily available parts and even better if they are single supply (since I power everything I make with a 12V DC wall wart). For output, I use 8 ohm speakers in the less than 5 dollar range (and sometimes I tile them to create a sound map of sorts).

I do not make musical instruments per se, but regions of the circuit that will control output are always appreciated -- I like to insert elements that make the effect reactive to the viewer, such as photoresistors.

Thanks so much for your expert advice on my sound quest!

 

[ccurtis]

Web search "voice recorder chip". You'll find the chips themselves and complete record/playback modules that can drive a speaker. Find a sound of interest to you on the Internet and record it into the module/chip for later playback.

 

[missy_beauvois]

Thanks very much for your suggestion, but I am determined to create the sounds from scratch using (ideally) analog components. No recordings, even though I know that this path would be much easier.

 

[ccurtis]

I can appreciate that. There is the old 76477 Complex Sound Generator chip that is still available at some places. It's not strictly an analog part, but it does have some analog attack/decay modulation capability and can make a great variety of sounds. There are a few other "sound generator" ICs still around too.

Of course, if you are feeling really ambitious, you can program a microcontroller IC and convert the several digital outputs to analog signals that you can mix together and such.

 

[canadaelk]

How about the sound record/playback ICs from Nuvoton, like the ISD4300 available through Digikey? E

 

[missy_beauvois]

I am ambitious ... and I suppose I could follow your suggestion and use RC stages to distort the square wave out of a 555 (which is just such an easy chip to use for square wave generation). I will look for audio filters that take "envelopes" of square waves as their input... Incidentally, recombining is pretty easy using an Op amp. It's not that I'm against microprocessors (have used them in the past), but I don't have a chip set-up at the moment and I am more a physical tinkerer than a code writer.

 

[missy_beauvois]

76477 Complex Sound Generator looks pretty cool! I will order several and play with them. It would be nice to build a sound generator using discrete parts, but this chip packs a lot of complexity into a very small footprint... and for less than $10, it's hard to resist.

 

[alec_t]

You can easily modify a square-wave signal to give a triangular or even pseudo-sine-wave output. See for example https://www.electro-tech-online.com/threads/taillight-sequencer.492/

 

[Reloadron]

I would run with the 76477 and or 76488 complex sound generator chips that were mentioned. The latter chip having a small built in amplifier capable of driving a small speaker. Additionally the output of these chips can be further manipulated for more sounds. Considering the overall cost it makes for something cool to play around with. Also, once a good complex sound has been generated I guess the sound or series of sounds could be recorded on an IDS chip. Plenty of possibilities.

Ron

 

[missy_beauvois]

Thanks everyone for these suggestions! I have ordered several 76477 chips (didn't find the 76488 for sale, but think the other will drive an 8 ohm speaker with a simple external amplifier); and will also try the simple / cheap sine wave generator circuit posted by alec_t. I'll let you know how it goes...

 

[bigriq]

hello missy i know this to be related to the perfect circle of sound from the sacred geometry of yah's musical scale im interested in any of your projects an if i can be of assistance

 

[missy_beauvois]

Dear Bigriq,

Thanks for your reply! I need assistance with the actual soundwave generation. I can create a basic sinewave generator, but the sound is boring and "small." I am trying to learn how to create richer, more complex sound waves that contain these sacred harmonics. Any suggestions?

Thanks!!