Behavior Modeling Explained -
8 Apr 2011, 04:23I'm working on a document explaining Behavior Modeling, and thought to share this rough draft with the Clan. This is not the official explanation as I still need to add a bit more about SuperNATURAL piano and EP, but you'll get the idea of what we're up to, minus the napkin drawing!
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What happens when a keyboardist is trying to reproduce sounds other than a traditional keyboard instrument on the synthesizer? This is where synthesizers today really fall short because the typical sound engine inside cannot truly “interpret” an expressive keyboard performance done on keys into an authentic guitar, trumpet, or violin performance – a guitarist plucks or strums strings, a trumpet player uses his breath, lips and trumpet valves, and a violinist plucks or uses a bow on strings. All the keyboardist can do is trigger a static digital sonic picture of sound he is trying to recreate, and each time a key is pressed, the same sonic picture is repeated, but at different pitches as played on the keyboard.
The Jupiter-80 solves this problem by using Roland’s newly developed Behavior Modeling technology. It takes care of the “interpretation” by constantly analyzing the keyboardist’s normal, natural keyboard performance, and instructs the ultra-realistic SuperNATURAL™ sound engines inside the Jupiter-80 to “play” and constantly “articulate” the reproduced sound just as the “real” performer would. These articulations are based on the keyboardist’s timing and interval between notes, the strength at which the various keys are struck, or if the keyboardist is pressing a pedal to sustain notes. These actions, among others available to the keyboardist, are translated by the behavior model for the selected sound being reproduced into an authentic plucked or strummed performance in the case of a guitar, aggressive or smooth bowing in the case of a violin, and the sharp or smooth pitch changes created by the valves on a trumpet and the pressure of the trumpet player’s breath. These are but a few of the articulations possible with Behavior Modeling.
Using the analogy of an orchestra - the keyboardist is the conductor, his keyboard playing is “reading the score and waving the baton”, and the Behavior Modeling technology is the player in the orchestra pit, and the SuperNATURAL™ sound engine is the actual instrument. Just as a conductor receives feedback from the orchestra depending on his baton articulations, the Jupiter-80 also gives feedback to the keyboardist. This feedback loop and exchange between keyboard player and instrument is akin to a real acoustic instrumentalist’s experience, and allows the magic of becoming “one with the instrument” for the performer, and creates complete suspension of disbelief for the audience as they look on stage for the “real” instrument.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
What happens when a keyboardist is trying to reproduce sounds other than a traditional keyboard instrument on the synthesizer? This is where synthesizers today really fall short because the typical sound engine inside cannot truly “interpret” an expressive keyboard performance done on keys into an authentic guitar, trumpet, or violin performance – a guitarist plucks or strums strings, a trumpet player uses his breath, lips and trumpet valves, and a violinist plucks or uses a bow on strings. All the keyboardist can do is trigger a static digital sonic picture of sound he is trying to recreate, and each time a key is pressed, the same sonic picture is repeated, but at different pitches as played on the keyboard.
The Jupiter-80 solves this problem by using Roland’s newly developed Behavior Modeling technology. It takes care of the “interpretation” by constantly analyzing the keyboardist’s normal, natural keyboard performance, and instructs the ultra-realistic SuperNATURAL™ sound engines inside the Jupiter-80 to “play” and constantly “articulate” the reproduced sound just as the “real” performer would. These articulations are based on the keyboardist’s timing and interval between notes, the strength at which the various keys are struck, or if the keyboardist is pressing a pedal to sustain notes. These actions, among others available to the keyboardist, are translated by the behavior model for the selected sound being reproduced into an authentic plucked or strummed performance in the case of a guitar, aggressive or smooth bowing in the case of a violin, and the sharp or smooth pitch changes created by the valves on a trumpet and the pressure of the trumpet player’s breath. These are but a few of the articulations possible with Behavior Modeling.
Using the analogy of an orchestra - the keyboardist is the conductor, his keyboard playing is “reading the score and waving the baton”, and the Behavior Modeling technology is the player in the orchestra pit, and the SuperNATURAL™ sound engine is the actual instrument. Just as a conductor receives feedback from the orchestra depending on his baton articulations, the Jupiter-80 also gives feedback to the keyboardist. This feedback loop and exchange between keyboard player and instrument is akin to a real acoustic instrumentalist’s experience, and allows the magic of becoming “one with the instrument” for the performer, and creates complete suspension of disbelief for the audience as they look on stage for the “real” instrument.