Virtual ANS (ANS – the abbreviation for Aleksandr Nikolaevic Skrjabin) by Alex Zolotov is the software version of the Russian ANS synthesizer, which uses the unique optical method of synthesis developed by a scientist E. Mursin between 1937 and 1957.
Virtual ANSVirtual ANS creates unique sounds by converting JPG-images to sound and vice versa.
Features
- Several tools for visual transformations
- Three methods of synthesis during conversion (FFT and ADDITIVE)
- Option to generate multichannel sounds (mono, stereo, 6 channels)
A fully functional demo with only Save to WAV disabled is availble for download. The registered version can be ordered through Share*it for $19.99 USD.
Visit the Virtual ANS page for more information and some sound examples.
Dear Mr. Zolotov,
“Virtual ANS creates unique sounds by converting JPG-images to sound and vice versa.”
That’s very good and also very nice!
But the name ANS, based on initials of Skryabin is a wrong choice because Skryabin did never convert images to sound; he allways converted sounds to colors or sound to images!
Sincerely yours,
Rolf Knap, secretary Dutch Skryabin Society
http://www.componisten.net/SkrjabinGenootschap
Thanks for you comment Rolf. In defense of Mr. Zolotov I read on Wikipedia: The ANS synthesizer is a photoelectronic musical instrument created by Russian engineer Evgeny Murzin from 1937 to 1957. The technological basis of his invention was the method of photo-optic sound recording used in cinematography (developed in Russia concurrently with America), which made it possible to obtain a visible image of a sound wave, as well as to realize the opposite goal – synthesizing a sound from an artificially drawn sound wave. The Virtual ANS by Alex seems to do exactly the same. Evgeny Murzin is the… Read more »
In defense of Skryabin: Skryabin was a Synaesthete! We should never forget, I guess, the lesson of the Russian composer Aleksandr N. Skrjabin. Is the tonality C red or white ? Is F sharp blue or green ? In the neverending history of music, these and similar questions did not seem to be as meaningless as we could think today. Between the 19th and the 20th century, in Russia, the most different answers came from famous artists and freethinkers: Skrjabin and Rimskij-Korsakov among the musicians, Kandinskij among the painters, Florenskij among the philosophers. The climax of a series of experiments… Read more »
Heres another option if you want to convert an image to sound for free using metasynth’s free demo. Here’s a tutorial. Enjoy!
http://thehowtomac.blogspot.com/2011/05/how-to-convert-image-to-sound-waves.html