A state is a sequence of segments that is iterated until the desired duration for the sound is reached.
Preferred sequences can be specified containing the repetition of segments within a state. In an example shown below with ciggles, four segments are defined (c0, c1, c2, c3), then eight are used to create the state (c0 c1 c2 c3 c1 c0 c2 c1).
The purpose of this flexibility is to test the consequences of parallel movements of segments within a state. The hypothesis is that such parallel movement could create a second ``fundamental'' frequency, with the possibility of independent control from the first fundamental, i.e., the possibility of generating a multi-voiced texture from a single waveform transformation. Further experimentation along this line needs to be pursued.
The length of a specified state is the sum of lengths of its constituent segments. There are practical limits on the total length of a state, e.g., it cannot be shorter than 0 samples. The maximum length is theoretically infinite. Given that human hearing has a range of about 20-20000 Hz., the practical limits for the length of a state are 2 and 2205 samples, at a sampling rate of 44100 samples per second. At 48000 samples per second, the upper limit would be 2400 samples, but the lower limit would remain the same.
One set of investigations will be to explore the consequences of using sub-audio lengths of states on the resulting sounds, given a fixed set of changes in the segments.