1 Sound synthesis and musical timbre: a new user interface

Sound creation and editing in hardware and software synthesizers presents usability problems and a challenge for HCI researchers. Synthesis parameters vary considerably in their degree of usability, and musical timbre itself is a complex and multidimensional attribute of sound. This paper presents a user-driven search-based interaction style where the user engages directly with sound rather than with a mediating interface layer. Timbre, timbre space, HCI, search, sound synthesis