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A musical synthesizer is a device that creates sounds by direct manipulation of electrical currents which are then used to cause vibrations in the diaphragms of loudspeakers, headphones, etc. This synthesized sound is contrasted with recording of natural sound, where the mechanical energy of a sound wave is transformed into a signal which will then be converted back to mechanical energy on playback (though sampling? significantly blurs this distinction). |
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#REDIRECT Electronic musical instrument |
Synthesizer basicsThere two major kinds of synthesizers, analog? and digital. There are also many different kinds of synthesizer methods, both applicable to both analog and digital synthesizers, but commonly most easily achieved with the digital dito: *Subtractive synthesis *Additive synthesis *Granular synthesis *Frequency modulation synthesis *[Physical modelling synthesis]? *Sampling? Synthesizer historyThe earliest electronic musical instrument was the Theremin, invented by Leon Theremin in 1917, which used a vaccum tube oscillator to make sounds that depended on the interactions of the user with an RF field. This was followed in 1928 by the Ondes-Martenot? which had a keyboard as well as several auxiliary controllers. The sound of the Ondes-Martenot is used extensively in the [Turangalila Symphony]? by [Olivier Messiaen]?. However, these were not true synthesizers in the modern sense, as they were not configurable to produce a range of complex sounds by additive or subtractive synthesis, instead generating single pure tones with controllable pitch?, amplitude? and vibrato?. In the 1950s, RCA produced experimental devices to synthesize both voice and music. The Mark II Music Synthesizer (1958) was capable of producing music once it had been completely programmed; that is, the system had to be completely re-set for each new piece. In 1958 [Daphne Oram]? at the [BBC Radiophonic Workshop]? produced a novel synthesizer using her "Oramics" technique, driven by drawings on a 35mm film strip. This was used for a number of years at the BBC. In the mid-1960s, synthesizers were developed which could be played in real time but were confined to studios because of their size. A variety of signal processors were connected to a common controller. The first playable modern configurable music synthesizer was created by [Robert Moog]? in 1964. It took hours to set up the machine for a new sound. Among the first music performed on this synthesizer are the record "The well-tempered synthesizer" and "Switched-on Bach" by [Walter Carlos]? ([Wendy Carlos]? since a sex change operation). Miniaturization of the components made it possible, in the 1970s, for synthesizers to become self-contained and movable. They began to be used in live performances. (this page is of course incomplete. please fill out) Commercial synthesizer manufacturersSynthesizer manufacturers past and present include: * ARP? * [Electronic Music Studios]? * Moog? * Oberheim? * Yamaha See also: * Vocoder * Speech coding External links: * [synthmuseum.com] * [Using the Moog modular synthesizer] /Talk? |
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