Spectral Processing and the Phase Vocoder

This post is an overview of my experience creating a spectral processing plugin, the challenges involved, and a general overview of some of the processes I learned about, with specific reference to th Phase Vocoder.

During my Master’s program, one of my required courses, Musical Signal Processing, served as my introduction to advaced DSP concepts like filter design and the fourier transform. I found this class fascinating, as I knew there was a depth of theory underlying tools such as pitch shifters, and harmonizers, but had never had the concepts fully expressed to me, and knew this class was providing the information I was looking for. Because of this, it quickly became one of my favorite classes. I used the final project for this class as an opportunity to apply some of the concepts I learned in this class, and the result is on-going plugin project aptly titled the “Spectral Processor”.

When I first began conceptualizing this project, my main motivation was to apply the FFT process for some type of spectral processing. The most accessible and straightforward process I could think of was pitch shifting, so I decide to set that as my primary goal.

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