URL:

files/proceedings/2010/71.pdf

Abstract:

Finite Difference (FD) methods can be the basis for phys- ics-based music instrument models that generate realistic audio output. However, such methods are compute- intensive; large simulations cannot run in real time on current CPUs. Many current systems now include power- ful Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), which are a good fit for FD methods. We describe an implementation of an FD-based simulation of a two-dimensional membrane that runs efficiently on mid-range GPUs; this will form a framework for constructing a variety of realistic software percussion instruments. For selected problem sizes, real- time sound generation was demonstrated on a mid-range test system, with speedups of up to 2.9 over pure CPU execution.