A definition of granular synthesis

Here is a definition of granular synthesis in relation to what Ellie and myself were speaking about in our presentation , in relation to Laurie Anderson's Tape bow violin.

granular synthesis is the technique of breaking sound into tiny segments, called grains, and then playing them back in different ways. The computer rearranges the sound fragments into continuous strings or random clusters which are played back in overlapping sequences to create new textures. The grains are very short, a few hundredths of a second. Granular synthesis can sound smooth or choppy depending on the size of the grain and the rate at which they’re played. The grains are like film frames. If you slow them down enough you begin to hear them separately."