Cecilia is an audio signal processing environment allowing you to mangle sounds in a visual and hands on way. There are some interesting modules built in, different resonators, granulators and more.

The first module I tested out was the pelletizer module, which is a type of granulator. I’m in a band with some friends, I recorded them talking and joking around in between songs which I then added into the pelletizer. I played around with the parameters until I found certain sounds I liked. Cecilia is useful because it’s quick and easy to edit and change the modulation of the parameters due to the interface. The automation allows for a level of control not available in other software. The create waveform option means you can create quick modulation that doesn’t inhibit or slow down your creativity. Once I found a balance of sounds I liked I added some reverb in the post processing section.

The next module I tried out was the Beatmaker module. It is a four voice algorithmic beat generator where sounds are extracted from the sound file you add in. I thought I’d add a recording of cutlery being put away because percussive sounds are created of varying tone and timbre. I played around with the different parameters like with the pelletizer until I found something I liked. I then used the post processing section to add phasing, reverb and compression. You can automate the parameters in this section as well which I found very useful. There was also built in panning, jumping between the ears in a very stimulating way which I appreciated, creating a livelier feeling to the sound.

Overall I think Cecilia is an inspiring and easy to use piece of software. I enjoyed how intuitive and easy to use the interface is, as well as its ability to allow the fine tuning of all the parameters available with the pencil tool. I will be using it to create sounds and also as a source of inspiration from now on.