I was reading some more granular theory today and was inspired to try and implement another form of particle synthesis known as glisson synthesis. "In glisson synthesis, each particle or glisson has an independent frequency trajectory—an ascending or descending glissando."1
While not totally compliant to the theory I found that my attempt to implement it really opened up the palette of sounds I had been hearing in previous attempts. I found Sampler's pitch envelope and FM/AM oscillator/envelope invaluable in getting both bell-like and noisy washes. Here's a long example of how expressive the technique can sound. No effects were used and I basically used the same setup as in my previous post on granular synthesis.
Glissand by matt.patey
Curtis Roads, Microsound. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2001.
