EURASIP Journal on Applied Signal Processing 
Volume 2003 (2003), Issue 8, Pages 791-805
doi:10.1155/S1110865703302100

Parameter Estimation of a Plucked String Synthesis Model Using a Genetic Algorithm with Perceptual Fitness Calculation

Janne Riionheimo1 and Vesa Välimäki1,2

 1Laboratory of Acoustics and Audio Signal Processing, Helsinki University of Technology, P.O. Box 3000, Espoo FIN-02015 HUT, Finland
2Pori School of Technology and Economics, Tampere University of Technology, P.O. Box 300, Pori FIN-28101, Finland
Received 30 June 2002; Revised 2 December 2002

Abstract

We describe a technique for estimating control parameters for a plucked string synthesis model using a genetic algorithm. The model has been intensively used for sound synthesis of various string instruments but the fine tuning of the parameters has been carried out with a semiautomatic method that requires some hand adjustment with human listening. An automated method for extracting the parameters from recorded tones is described in this paper. The calculation of the fitness function utilizes knowledge of the properties of human hearing.