Supporting Composers to Retrieve Synthesizers by Exploring Network for DAW-based Music

Composers for Digital Audio Workstation (DAW)-based music must choose synthesizers for their music from a wide range of options. Existing DAW editors provide only text-based retrieval, where users have to retrieve synthesizers only by the tone’s name. Thus, users must be knowledgeable about the relationships between instruments’ names and acoustic features. This paper visualizes the synthesizer network based on the characteristics of the acoustic features. The visualized network lets users compare synthesizers relatively and helps them retrieve intended tones. The proposed system has functions for enlarging nodes by clicking and listening to sample sounds, bookmarking favorite tones, and search refinements. We believe that these functions enhance the discovery and efficient retrieval of synthesizers.