The result seems to me to be more like Reverb in my perception/use. Where the lower it is (like R= 0.5), the more restricted the space is so it bounces around more/intimate and the higher values are more like the room is expanding so its not as bouncy.
What does R refer to or what is it a spectrum from->to? What does the absence and abundance of resonance reify as observably?
So, this won’t be the most scientifically accurate description of what’s going on, and my own understanding and word usage may be imperfect, but hopefully it gives you at least some idea of what’s happening.
With your low-pass filter you’re making your signal reject frequencies any higher than the cutoff point that you have set. All it does is eliminate those higher frequencies without modifying anything about the frequencies lower than, or at your cutoff point.
When you begin to add resonance, what you’re doing is accentuating the frequency that your cutoff point is set to. So not only are you rejecting the frequencies higher than your cutoff point, you are making the frequency at the cutoff more prominent in your remaining signal. The frequencies below the cutoff point will remain unaltered other than at a lower resonance value you will see a bit of emphasis at frequencies immediately below the cutoff frequency as the signal is drawing those frequencies up sympathetically with the boosted resonance frequency. As you increase the resonance you are further accentuating the frequency at the cutoff point to where the signal will show more of a spike at the cutoff frequency rather than the slight rise seen at lower resonance values. This narrows the band of any sympathetic frequencies that may have been previously affected at lower resonance values. While the lower frequencies are still present and unaltered in your signal since they are below the cutoff, the prominence of the frequency at the cutoff point is being amplified so drastically in comparison that your signal is dominated by the resonated frequency.
I hope this makes sense. I found it difficult to know if I was saying things in as clear a way as needed.
And to amend something above. The band of frequencies doesn’t narrow per se as you increase the resonance, but the band of frequencies affected by increased resonance can be adjusted (narrowed or widened) in many filters. You’ll typically see this referred to as the Q factor of the resonated signal.
Is there a song that exemplifies what you’ve described so I can contextualize/see it in action in a palpable way?
A lot of times when learning about synthesis it can be more useful to have a visual guide as to what’s happening to your signal. Instead of a song have a look at this video. The first 5 minutes goes over what I’d gone over in my first post, and he goes on a bit about a few other things after that. Give it a look.
https://youtu.be/2_Yba9S2moA?si=quwPy5ckYBGr-xFu
Any techno track from the 90s that used a Roland TB303 synth used this effect to the maximum
The 303 is famous for it
Are you into audio production at all? You could get any soft synth and experience it for yourself. Vital is free on desktop or various options on mobile.