Yilma Seleshi DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF VIRTUAL STUDIO TECHNOLOGY INSTRUMENT PLUG-IN FOR KIRAR Exodus Getahun, Abykab Behailu and Menore Tekeba [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Addis Ababa Institute of Technology, AAU Key Words: DSP, Kirar, MIDI, VSTi, ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION With the rapid increase of computing resources within the last decade, several real-time Virtual Studio Technology is an interface applications such as sound editing and for integrating audio synthesis and effects processing are becoming more popular. Virtual plugins with DAW. In simple terms it is a Studio Technology (VST) was introduced by way to get all those hardware instruments Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH in 1996 effects like racks, key boards and drum which provided a platform for sound effect machines into music software such as developers to implement their own effect Cubase, FL Studio or Logic Pro and others plugins. In 1999 a standard framework for [1]. According to statement given in [2], software sequencers, so called VST instruments VST allows the integration of virtual effect (VSTi), was introduced in which music processors and instruments into your digital instruments are simulated in the virtual studio. audio environment. It also includes To design an instrument as part of the virtual software recreations of hardware effect studio, a series of steps from audio sample units and instruments or new creative effect collection and recording to integrating the components into the VST systems [2]. samples using a plug-in to the VST is required. To the best of our knowledge, there is no VSTi With VST, Steinberg founded the world‘s plugins developed for Ethiopic music leading and most widely supported instruments so far. Therefore, we have standard for plug-ins and virtual effectively used the structure of the VSTi API instruments in 1996 for the first time in and its Software Development Kit (SDK) tools Germany [2]. A few years later, in 1999, to design and implement a plugin for Kirar Steinberg updated their VST specification (Ethiopian music instrument) and effectively which also allows VST plug-ins to receive integrated and tested. Our plugin was MIDI data [3]. The current VST version is successfully recognized and operated in the VST 3.x and marks an important milestone Cubase5 and FL studio Digital Audio in audio technology with a code base Workstations (DAWs) as a VSTi instrument providing many new features with the most which initiates its own graphical user interface stable and reliable VST platform ever. (GUI) with full mouse and keyboard controls These VST modules have the sound quality having 3 level Musical Instruments Digital of the best hardware units, yet are far more Interface (MIDI) mapping. flexible [2]. Prior to 1996 DAW had been used to control keyboards and samplers via Journal of EEA, Vol. 36, July, 2018 41 Exodus Getahun and et al., MIDI and then routing all their external developer companies have a world and hardware through a traditional mixing desk ethnic category on their sound banks. to produce digital music [3]. This brings us to the conclusion that there Since the VST3 SDK is available as a free has to be a VST plugin which represents technology, open in use for any developer, Ethiopian unique traditional instruments in we have used this SDK for our plug-in the industry. development and testing [2]. The VST Therefore in this paper, we are going to technology is now a days serving as one show the development of VSTi plug-in for focal point in machine human interaction to Ethiopian traditional music instrument track finger movements in order to take known in Amharic language as Kirar. inputs from human fingers movements an Important steps of audio sample recording, instruction to a VST system [4]. different digital signal processing methods, In the musical world, there are so many development of important modules of the issues which need to be addressed in plug-in and its GUI, integration with VST order to fulfill as possible as desires of systems and testing are shown in the paper. music producers and composers. As a composer or musical producer, one needs LITERATURE REVIEW to have full pack of the required software and hardware gear. The research article given in [5] presents From the many software gears needed, the review of the impact of VST systems one of the most powerful and modern and realization of different hardware tool of the time is having adequate instruments into the VST systems in the VSTi instrument plugins at hand. This form of the plug-ins. It discusses the impact raises a question of do we really have of the existence of all those massive enough plugins in the market? instruments in music production industry. It also presents wide spread use of VST and The answer is no, and that‘s because the plug-ins. It concludes that the VST hundreds of plugins are made and improved technology has totally revolutionized the every year since the technology has been music production world and the VST created in 1996. instrument plug-ins are very important One other big factor for creating more components in the VST systems. VSTi plugins in the industry is that, the more civilized countries become and try The research work given in [6] shows the to build their musical industry, the more automatic generation of VST audio plug- they become digitalized. ins from MATLAB code using the Audio System Toolbox from Math Works. It This leads to creating a virtual studio provides MATLAB code for three technology instrument plugin for their complete examples of plug-ins, discusses cultural instruments. This approach has problems that may be encountered in been a trend in the musical industry as generating the plug-ins automatically, and many of the major musical instrument describe a workflow to generate VST plug- ins as quickly and easily as possible. Journal of EEA, Vol. 36, July, 2018 42 Design and Implementation of Virtual … The dissertation given in [7] discusses the A similar work of ours has been done in impact of using digital production Plectra series 4 for Turkish traditional technologies especially for music music instrument known as Oud as it is production and has made three approaches given in [10] by Dimitris Plagiannis. As it of the investigation on the impact from is shown in Figure 1, they have developed a multiple perspectives. It also concludes that plug-in of Turkish Oud for commercial the digital music technology has made a purpose and the web article lists the huge impact on the pedagogical and features of the plug-in developed. professional industry because it creates new directions for effectiveness and efficiency of technology implemented for music composition and pedagogy. Figure 1: GUI of the Turkish Oud VSTi [10] Journal of EEA, Vol. 36, July, 2018 43 Exodus Getahun and et al., The importance of VST technology and the Such advancements in protocol latter plug-ins of hardware instruments to be used enabled MIDI information to be used to run in VST systems is well-known and all the synthesis engines, rather than just simple literatures supports this statement. effects processors [3]. Therefore, for Ethiopic style music to play important role in the global music market, According to the web article on [8], a plug- the indigenous and traditional music in is a software unit, which does not usually instruments shall have their own plug-ins in function by itself, which comes to be the VST systems and this research project grafted as part of a more complex program has designed, implemented a VSTi plug-in and enhances the functions of this program. for Kirar and the developed plug-in has Initially plug-ins appeared on graphic been successfully integrated and tested in creation software like Photoshop in the CUBASE and FL Studio DAWs. form of filters, XPress with Xtensions, the concept of the plug-in was then transposed VST PLUG-IN in to the digital audio domain. Even in its earliest incarnation, the VST system allowed third-party developers to With the audio effects plug-ins which can produce real-time effect modules that could add audio effects like reverb to the ―plug in‖ to the host application (initially MIDI/Audio sequencers and to the digital Cubase). But later, Steinberg introduced the audio software and more recently in the second version of the VST plug-in form of instruments plug-ins which can add standard, which enables to send MIDI data a synthesizer or a virtual sampler to the to and from such effects. Midi/Audio program. This opened an opportunity to developers For the users these plug-ins have so many to add more features such as MIDI control advantages such as creation of a modular of effect parameters and locking of effect software configuration, according to the settings to tempo and integrate new needs, consequently reducing the cost of instruments into the VST systems for more configuration diverse effects and controls on the soft [8]. Figure 2 shows example of the music productions. instrument plug-ins for NI Guitar Rig 5 which works with VST as multi-effect processor Journal of EEA, Vol. 36, July, 2018 44 Design and Implementation of Virtual … Figure 2: NI Guitar Rig 5 VST – Guitar multi-effects processor [9] DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF VSTI key frequencies for the third octave only as PLUG-IN FOR KIRAR given in Table 1 below [11] and we have In the process of making VSTi for Kirar, collected the samples for the octave as we choose to implement it through four Kirar is functional for one octave only.