Electronic musical instrument

A musical instrument that produces its sounds using electricity. Sometimes the term [electric instrument]? is used to mean instruments whose sound is produced mechanically, and only amplified electronically, such as an electric guitar.

Early electronic musical instruments were mostly used to make [avant garde music]?, and included the /Theremin? and [/Ondes martenot]?

The most commonly used electronic instruments are /synthesizers?, so-called becuase they use the principles of substractive? and [/additive synthesis]? to create sounds.

Early synthsizers used technology derived from laboratory test equipment and analog computers.

The first widely used electronic musical instruments was the [Moog synthesizer]? esigned by [Robert Moog]?, who set up a company to manufacture them. The first instruments were [modular synthesizers]?, and Moog broke into the mass market with the Mini-moog? an all-in-one instrument.

Other commercial synthesizer manufacturers included ARP?, who also started with modular synthesizers before producing all-in-one instruments.

Synthesizers became more usable with the addition of MIDI, a digital control interface, and later with the creation of all-digital synthesizers and /samplers?

Electronic musical instruments are now widely used in all styles of music.

Most modern synthesizers are now digital, including those which model analog synthesis using digital techniques.

One kind of synthesizer, which starts with a digital recording of an existing sound, which is then transformned digitally, in called a sampler?.

See also:

• Computer music
• Synthesizer

Resources:

• http://directory.google.com/Top/Arts/Music/Instruments/Electronic/