Re: Sustain

[Pat Missin <pat@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Ted wrote:
>
>This must be one of those translation problems.
>
>The way I've understood the term: the continuation of
>a tone after the removal of exitation. 

Guitarists often use the word "sustain" that sense, but I think
strictly speaking it should be "decay" or "release".

I was using "sustain" in the very basic sense that on a harmonica you
can sustain a chord for a long time by continuing to blow or draw it,
as contrasted with the guitar or the piano, where the sound begins to
decay almost immediately after you have plucked or hammered the
strings.

This usage would be consistent with the way synthesiser users talk
about a sound envelope in terms of its ADSR - Attack, Decay, Sustain
and Release.

 -- Pat.