Tutorial for Frequency Modulation
Synthesis
Note: this tutorial with the appropriate sound examples is available on the
Handbook for Acoustic Ecology which is also included in the 2nd edition of
Acoustic Communication
Frequency Modulation (or FM) synthesis is a simple and powerful method for
creating and controlling complex spectra, introduced by John Chowning of
Stanford University around 1973. In its simplest form it involves a sine wave
carrier whose instantaneous frequency is varied, i.e. modulated, according to
the waveform (assumed here to be another sine wave) of the so-called
modulator. This model then is often called simple FM or sine-wave FM. Other
forms of FM are extensions of the basic model. The systematic properties of
FM were used to compose Barry Truax's tape solo works Arras, Androgyny,
Wave Edge, Solar Ellipse, Sonic Landscape No. 3, and Tape VII from
Gilgamesh, as well as those involving live performers or graphics (Aerial, Love
Songs, Divan, Sonic Landscape No. 4 ).
When the frequency of the modulator (which we'll call M) is in the sub-audio
range (1-20 Hz), we can hear siren-like changes in pitch of the carrier.
However, when we raise M to the audio range (above 30 Hz) then we hear a
new timbre composed of frequencies called SIDEBANDS. To determine which
sidebands are present, we have to control the ratio between the carrier
frequency (C) and the modulating frequency (M). Instead of dealing with these
frequencies in Hz, we'll refer to this relationship as the C : M RATIO, keeping
C and M as integers.
Properties of C:M Ratios
First, about the properties of ratios, and some conventions we're using:
We will only deal with ratios that are called non-reducible, that is, those
involving integers evenly divisible only by 1, and not by any other integer. For
example, the ratio 2:2 is the same as 1:1 and can be reduced to it for all
practical purposes. Likewise, 10:4 is the same as 5:2, and 9:6 is the same as
3:2, and so on.
Secondly, we're going to divide all possible ratios into some subgroups for ease
of handling. One group will be those described as the 1:N ratios. This means
ratios like 1:1, 1:2, 1:3, 1:4 etc. They will be found to have particular
properties.
Another group will be those described as N:M where N,M are less than 10. In
thise case, the restriction to single digit numbers is purely for ease of arithmetic
calculation. The last group is called 'large number ratios', and this involves
numbers 10 and up. Again, the division is arbitrary. We won't deal with ratios
like 100:1 or 100:99. Those are legitimate ones and you can discover their
properties through POD synthesis. C:M ratios are sometimes expressed with
real numbers, e.g. the ratio 1:1.4, but these can be approximated by integers, in
this case 5:7. In FM, a set of sidebands is produced around the carrier C,
equally spaced at a distance equal to the modulating frequency M. Therefore,
we often refer to the sidebands in pairs: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and so on.
Calculating Sidebands
The so-called upper sidebands are those lying above the carrier. Their
frequencies are:
C+M C+2M C+3M C+4M C+5M ....
For example, if C:M is 1:2, that is, the modulator is twice the frequency of the
carrier, then the first upper sideband is: C+M = 1+2 = 3. The second upper
sideband is: C+2M = 1+(2x2) = 1+4 = 5. Another way to get the second
sideband is to add M=2 to the value of the first sideband which is 3; i.e. (C+M)
+ M = 3+2 = 5. It quickly becomes clear that the upper sidebands in this
example are all the odd numbers, and since the carrier is 1, the upper sidebands
are all the odd harmonics, with the carrier as the fundamental (i.e. the lowest
frequency in the spectrum).
However, if our C:M were 2:5, the first upper sideband would be 2+5 = 7.
Since 7 is not a multiple of 2, it would be termed inharmonic. But the second
upper sideband would be 7+5 = 12, and that is the 6th harmonic. Therefore, we
can see that sidebands can be harmonic or inharmonic.
The lower sidebands are: C-M C-2M C-3M C-4M C-5M ...
When the sideband is a positive number it will lie below the carrier, but at some
point, its value will become negative. It is then said to be reflected because we
simply drop the minus sign and treat it as a positive number, e.g. the sideband
-3 appears in the spectrum as 3. Acoustically, however, this reflected process
involves a phase inversion, i.e. the spectral component is 180 degrees out of
phase. Mathematically, we express this reflection by using absolute value signs
around the expression: /C-M/ to indicate that we drop the minus and treat the
number as positive.
For example, for 1:2, the 1st lower sideband is: /C-M/ = /1-2/ = /-1/ =1.
The second lower sideband is: /C-2M/ = /1-(2x2)/ = /1-4/ = /-3/ = 3. However,
to make things easier, we could have added 2 to the first lower sideband (1),
which is already reflected, and have obtained 3.
For the ratio 1:1, the 1st lower sideband is 0 (inaudible) and the 2nd, 3rd and
4th lower sidebands are 1, 2, 3, respectively.
For 7:5, the lower sidebands are: 2 3 8 13 where 3 is the 1st reflected one. One
concern we have in using a given C:M ratio is whether the carrier frequency is
the lowest frequency in the spectrum, i.e. is it the fundamental? If it is, we can
treat the carrier frequency as the principal pitch that will be heard in the
resulting timbre.
First we have the case of the 1:1 ratio whose upper sidebands are 2,3,4,... and
whose lower sidebands are 0,1,2,3,... Clearly the carrier is the lowest non-zero
component, and all the sidebands are harmonics, i.e. multiples. Because 1:1 is
the only ratio with a zero lower sideband, it is a special case. It is also the only
ratio producing the entire harmonic series. For other ratios, we could work out
their sidebands and decide if any of them were lower than the carrier. That is
fine, but tedious, and we'd like to know in advance what to expect. First, we
might note that in the 1:2 case the 1st lower sideband is /-1/ = 1; therefore it fell
against the carrier. Further, if M is larger than twice C, e.g. 2:5, then the 1st
reflected sideband will always be greater than the carrier.
Work out a few examples and you'll find that the rule is:
FOR THE CARRIER TO BE THE FUNDAMENTAL: M MUST BE
GREATER THAN OR EQUAL TO TWICE C, OR ELSE BE THE 1:1
RATIO.
Another useful property to be familiar with is the occurrence, as you may have
noticed already, of lower sidebands coinciding with the upper set. They are said
to 'fall against' them.
What this means acoustically is that the amplitudes of the two sidebands will
add together, influenced as well by the phase inversion of the reflected
sideband. Since the amplitude of each sideband varies according to the strength
of the modulation, as expressed by the Modulation Index, the sum of the
contributions of each sideband becomes quite complex!
You've probably noticed that the sidebands of the 1:1 ratio have this property of
falling against each other. You'll find a very similar pattern with all of the N:1
ratios, i.e. 2:1, 3:1, 4:1, 5:1 ...
The second type of ratio showing the same property is that like 1:2. The odd
harmonics are found in both the upper and lower sidebands. Therefore we can
extrapolate the second case, namely odd N:2, that is, the ratios 1:2, 3:2, 5:2, 7:2
...
No other ratios except N:1 and odd N:2 have this property. All ratios other than
N:1 and odd N:2 have an asymmetrical spacing of their sidebands. That is, the
distance in frequency between adjacent sidebands is unequal. For instance, the
ratio 2:5 with its sidebands 2 3 7 8 12 .... However, there is still a pattern to the
spacing.
We want the distance between the first upper sideband (C + M) and the first
reflected lower sideband (C - M) which is negative by definition and therefore
can be made positive to give the expression (M - C). Subtract these two
frequencies to get: (C + M) - (M - C) = 2C We find that the answer is 2C. Since
the spacing of all upper or lower sidebands is M, then the remaining spacing is
M - 2C.
Therefore the rule is:
WHEN C IS THE LOWEST FREQUENCY IN THE SPECTRUM, THE
SPACING OF SIDEBANDS ABOVE IT (EXCEPT FOR 1:1) WILL BE:
M - 2.C & 2.C
For the above example (2:5), the spacing is 2x2=4 and 5-4=1. Note that we
have to start with C as the fundamental. This will be referred to in the next
section as the Normal Form of the Ratio.
Normal Form of the C:M Ratio
Definition: a C:M ratio is in Normal Form (N.F.) when the carrier is the
fundamental in the spectrum it produces.
Rule: for a ratio to be in Normal Form, M must be greater than or equal to
twice C, or else be the ratio 1:1
What we are doing with the concept of Normal Form is providing the basis of a
classification scheme for all ratios, and at the same time codifying our rule of
thumb about the conditions for the carrier to be the fundamental. If we consider
only ratios involving integers up to 9, we can list all those in Normal Form:
1:1 1:2 4:9 3:7 2:5 3:8 1:3 2:7 1:4 2:9 1:5 1:6 1:7 1:8 1:9
These have been listed in an order related to what's called the Farey Series
where the value of M/C is increasing, or C/M is decreasing. Each N.F. ratio
will have associated with it a family of ratios, as shown below.
Reducing a Non Normal Form Ratio to its Normal Form
When the M value in a ratio is less than twice the C value, it is not in Normal
Form, but can be reduced to it by applying the operation:
C = /C - M/
What this means is that you subtract M from C (ignoring any minus sign) and
treat the result as the new C value. You keep doing this until the ratio satisfies
the Normal Form criterion.
Consider, for example, the ratio 3:1. We first take 3-1=2 and get the ratio 2:1,
which is still not in Normal Form. Another application of the operation gives us
2-1=1 and the ratio 1:1 which is in Normal Form by definition.
A trickier example is 8:5. First we reduce 8-5=3 and get 3:5 (not N.F.)
Reducing again, we get 3-5=-2, which becomes 2:5 (ignoring the minus!) and
because 5 is greater than twice 2, we have a Normal Form ratio. Notice that the
reduction operation is the reverse of generating sidebands.
To generate sidebands we add M to C; to reduce the ratio, we subtract.
Families of C:M Ratios
For each Normal Form ratio there exists a set of ratios which produce the same
set of sidebands. We'll call this set of ratios a 'family', and identify the family
by its Normal Form ratio.
Consider the ratios 2:5, 3:5 and 7:5. Here are their sidebands:
2:5 2 3 7 8 12 13 17 18 22 23 27 28
3:5 3 2 8 7 13 12 18 17 23 22 28 27
7:5 7 2 12 3 17 8 22 13 27 18 32 23
We can see that all 3 ratios produce the same sidebands but in a different order.
2:5 is the Normal Form ratio and so this is the 2:5 family. How can we generate
the entire set of family members? The rule is:
For a C:M ratio in Normal Form, the set of family members is:
C + N.M : M & /C - N.M/ : M for N=1,2,3,4,...
We simply take each sideband in turn and use it as the C value of the ratio,
keeping M constant. The 2:5 family is 3:5,7:5,8:5,12:5,13:5,17:5,18:5,...
Harmonic & Inharmonic C:M Ratios
When we showed how to generate sidebands, we noted that some were
harmonic and some were inharmonic (i.e. not multiples of the fundamental).
Acoustically, this is an important distinction because each ratio produces an
inharmonic or inharmonic timbre - a property usable compositionally.
The rule for determining harmonic/inharmonic is easy for Normal Form Ratios:
Harmonic N.F. ratios are always of the form 1:N, and inharmonic ones
aren't.
Harmonic Ratios: 1:1 1:2 1:3 1:4 1:5 1:6 1:7 1:8 1:9
Inharmonic Ratios: 2:9 2:7 3:8 2:5 2:7 4:9
When a ratio is not in Normal Form, and you want to know if it is harmonic or
not, you can reduce it to Normal Form & find out. However, ratios with M =
1,2,3,4,6 are always harmonic; for M=5,7,8,9 check if C is a multiple of M plus
or minus 1; if so, it's harmonic. For instance, 9:5, 11:5, 14:5 and 16:5 are
members of the 1:5 family whose C values are 10-1,10+1,15-1,15+1.
Calculating The Fundamental Frequency
On the other hand, 2:5 family members are 7:5, 8:5, 12:5, 13:5 & are
inharmonic. Once we are thinking along the lines of families of ratios
producing the same set of sidebands, we may want to know how to calculate
the right carrier frequency for a family member ratio that produces the same
spectrum as the Normal Form ratio on a given fundamental-carrier, e.g. 100 Hz
for ease of calculation. In the PODX system this can be done for you
automatically when you ask for the frequencies to be treated as modulators
(note: M is constant for a family. To do the calculation yourself, take a Normal
Form ratio NFC:M with a given carrier frequency. Then for a given family
member ratio C:M, what should its carrier frequency (FC) be to keep the
fundamental the same?
The equation is:
FC = (C ratio) x (N.F. Carrier freq.) / (N.F. C ratio)
For example, if the N.F. carrier frequency is 100 Hz. for 1:1, then the
corresponding carrier for 3:1 is (3x100/1) = 300 Hz. For any 1:N ratio we can
get the answer by taking C x 100. For a NFC:M ratio, we take C x 100 / NFC,
e.g. for 7:5 and 2:5, the carrier for 7:5 is 7x100/2 = 350 Hz. Acoustically we
hear a non N.F. family member on a high carrier as having its energy
distributed around high partials, rather than centred on the fundamental, at least
for a low modulation index.
When we use a non Normal Form ratio with a specific carrier frequency, we
often want to know what is its fundamental frequency, or we wish a specific
fundamental and want to know how to calculate the appropriate carrier. This is
done for you in PODX when you request that the frequency be treated as the
fundamental. The program calculates the right carrier to produce the
fundamental that is required.
To calculate the fundamental (FF) for a non Normal Form ratio C:M whose
carrier is known, we need to know the Normal Form of the ratio NFC:M, and
then we can use the equation:
FF = (Carrier frequency) x (N.F. C ratio) / (C ratio)
For example, with 5:2 and a carrier of 500 Hz, the Normal Form ratio is 1:2 and
therefore the fundamental is (500 x 1 / 5) = 100 Hz. Similarly, for 7:5 and a
carrier of 700 Hz., the Normal Form ratio is 2:5, and therefore the fundamental
is (700 x 2 / 7) = 200 Hz.
If we know the fundamental and need the carrier, we can use the equation:
Carrier = (Fundamental) / (C ratio) / (N.F. C ratio)
