Body

The Body object is a principal element for transferring energy throughout a system. It is a freely moving mass that will vibrate when it comes in contact with energy, which generates sound.

A Body object can quickly be placed in 3D space by pressing the "B" hotkey.

Body Properties#

• Mass: The physical mass of the Body. Increasing the mass tends to lower the pitch, and vice versa. Body objects with higher mass will be harder to move, and Body objects with lower mass will be flung around easily.
• Damping: The physical damping of the Body. This controls how fast the motion of the Body naturally dies down due to loss of energy through, e.g., air resistance. Higher damping will make the motion die down quickly. Set this low for long-ringing tones, or set it high for clicks.
• Damping: Note: Controls how much the damping should be scaled based on what note is played. When set to 0, damping will not be scaled, and thus, lower notes will ring out longer than higher notes. When set to 1, damping will be fully scaled, and low/high notes should ring out similarly.
• Damping: Mass: Controls how much the damping should be scaled based on the mass of the Body. When set to 0, damping will not be scaled, and thus, body objects with larger mass will ring out longer than those with smaller mass. When set to 1, damping will be fully scaled, and Body objects with large/small mass should ring out similarly.
• Use Dilated Time: Normally the physics simulation speed is dilated proportionally based on what MIDI note is being played, with higher notes running faster so that the correct pitch is achieved. This is called "time-dilation." If this option is disabled, the Body's physics will run at a constant rate regardless of the note, which can be useful for creating pitch-independent resonances, drones, and other effects.
• Rest Position: These X, Y, and Z coordinates determine where in 3D space the object is placed and where it should reside while in a state of rest. Modulating these parameters will make the object move.