ADSR Envelope

• The duration of the attack and decay greatly influence the quality of a tone:
  • wind instruments tend to have long attacks, while percussion instruments tend to have short attacks.

• Another envelope, called ADSR, has a fourth segment inserted between the attack and the sustain.
  • A: Attack
  • D: Decay
  • S: Sustain
  • R: Release

  
  
  
  

  

• The ADSR attempts to mimic envelopes found in musical instrument tones.