RefiningSound

RefiningSound

APRACTICALGUIDETOSYNTHESISANDSYNTHESIZERS

BrianK.Shepard

OxfordUniversityPressisadepartmentoftheUniversityofOxford.ItfurtherstheUniversitysobjectiveofexcellenceinresearch,scholarship,andeducationbypublishingworldwide.

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PublishedintheUnitedStatesofAmericabyOxfordUniversityPress198MadisonAvenue,NewYork,NY10016

OxfordUniversityPress2013

Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans,withoutthepriorpermissioninwritingofOxfordUniversityPress,orasexpresslypermittedbylaw,bylicense,orundertermsagreedwiththe

appropriatereproductionrightsorganization.InquiriesconcerningreproductionoutsidethescopeoftheaboveshouldbesenttotheRightsDepartment,OxfordUniversityPress,attheaddressabove.

Youmustnotcirculatethisworkinanyotherformandyoumustimposethissameconditiononanyacquirer.

LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationDataShepard,BrianK.

Refiningsound:apracticalguidetosynthesisandsynthesizers/BrianK.Shepard.p.cm.

Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.ISBN978-0-19-992294-9(alk.paper)ISBN978-0-19-992296-3(alk.paper)1.ElectronicmusicInstructionandstudy.2.Synthesizer(Musicalinstrument)3.MusicAcousticsandphysics.I.Title.

MT723.S442013786.74dc232013000232

135798642

PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmericaonacid-freepaper

ToJenny,myloveandmylife

FOREWORD

Synthesizersarewonderfulmusicalinstrumentsthatcomeinmanyshapes,sizes,andcapabilities.FrommonstrousmodularsetupstominimaliPhoneapps,theyallsoundgoodandaregreatfuntoplay.Butrightthereisabigdisconnect:Howcantherepossiblybeanyrelationshipbetweenthetwo?Thecommonelementsareoscillators,filters,andotherbasicbuildingblocks,allclearlyexplainedinBrianShepardsRefiningSound:APracticalGuidetoSynthesisandSynthesizers.

Synthesizersareeasilythemostversatilemusicalinstrumentseverinvented.Thewiderangeofsoundstheyarecapableofgeneratingissimplyamazing.Withthisabilitycomesacertainamountofcomplexity,solearningthebasicsofsynthesiswillgoalongwaywhenyouwanttoproduceasound.

Mycompany,DaveSmithInstruments,facesadilemmasharedbyothermanufacturersofsynths:wecontinuouslydesignandreleasenewinstruments,andatsomepointhavetowriteanoperationmanualforthenewproduct.Wetrytofullydescribeallthefeaturesinaclearmanner,butwesimplycannotgointodepthprovidingatutorialonthebasicsofsynthesis.Thatswherethisbookisinvaluable!Icanhighlyrecommendittoanymusicianwhowantstogobeyondplayingfactorypresets.

Softwaresynthesizershavebecomeagoodresource,providingagreatfeature-to-priceratio.RefiningSoundtakesadvantageofthisbypresentingnumerousexamplesthatthereadercantryusingfreesoftware.Youcangoasdeepasyoulike,usingtheseinstrumentstofirstunderstandthebasicconceptsandthengoinwhateverdirectionyouwouldlike.

Evenbetter,acompanionwebsitegivesthereadernumerousresourcestolearnmoreorexploreothersynthesisconcepts(soundslikeextracredit).Needlesstosay,theseareallresourcesIwouldhavelovedtohaveaccesstofortyyearsago!

Asadesignerofhardwareanaloganddigital-analogsynths,myhopeisthatyouthereaderwillwanttogobeyondsoftwareandapplyyoursynthesisskillstohardwaresynths.Therearefewthingsasfunasturningknobsonaninstrument,hearingtheresults,andlettingthesoundleadyouintonewmusicaldirections!

DaveSmithDaveSmithInstruments

PREFACE

Likemanymusicianswhogrewupinthe1960sand1970s,Ihavelongbeenfascinatedwithsynthesizersandelectronicinstruments.ThemusicalandoftenliteralpyrotechnicsofrocksynthesizervirtuosisuchasKeithEmersonandRickWakemanaswellasthegorgeousclassicalinterpretationsofartistslikeWendyCarlosandIsaoTomitawereagreatinspirationtothisyoungmusicianandcomposer.AsIwasbeginningtopurchaseandusemyowninstruments,synthesizerswereinthemidstofahugetransformationfromthelarge,modular,analoginstrumentsmadefamousbyperformerssuchasthoselistedabovetothesmaller,all-in-one,digitalinstrumentswecommonlyseetoday.

Althoughthesenewerinstrumentsoffernumerousamazingsound-makingcapabilities,theyusuallydosowithanincreasingcomplexitythattendstoobscurehowthesoundisactuallycreated.Ontheolderanaloginstruments,itwasquiteeasytoseewhatelementswerecreatingandmodifyingasound;yousimplyfollowedthepatchcables.Ifamoduledidnthaveanythingpluggedintoit,itwasntdoinganything.Iftheoutputofamodulewaspluggedintotheinputofanothermodule,thesecondmodulewasmodifyingtheoutputofthefirst.Formostofusmakingthetransitiontodigitalinstruments,wekeptthatcablepictureinmindaswedealtwiththesoftwareconnectionsinournewsynthesizers.

Now,havingtaughtsynthesisformorethantwentyyears,IfindthatmostofthepeoplewithwhomIworkdonothavethatearliermodelonwhichtobasetheirexperienceandunderstanding.Theytendtoseetheinnerstructureofasynthesizerasablackboxthatmysteriouslymakesitssound,andtheyusuallyhavenoconceptoftheindividualelementsinasynthesizerandhowtheywork,muchlesshowtheyinteractwitheachother,toproducethosewonderfulsounds.Withoutthisunderstanding,usersmighttweaksomesettingsandcontrolsinatrial-and-errorapproachuntiltheyhavesomethingtheylike,butinmostcasestheyjustsettleforthepresetsthatcomeontheinstrument.

Partoftheproblemhasbeenthedesignoftheinstrumentsthemselves.Attimesitseemsasifmanufacturershavegoneoutoftheirwaytocloudtheinternalworkingsoftheirinstrumentsbygivingnewnamestostandardelements.(IvelongsuspectedthatsomemanufacturershaveaDepartmentofSillyNamesthatcomesupwiththesemonikers.)Untilthedevelopmentofcomputer-basedsoftwaresynthesizersandtheirlargegraphicaluserinterfaces(GUIs),theinternalworkingswerefurtherobscuredbythetinyLCDdisplaysandconfusingnavigationsystemsfoundonmosthardwareinstruments.Thus,itislittlewonderthatmanyusersfoundtheirsynthesizersconfusingandintimidatingtoprogram,andgaveupontheideaofcreatingtheirownsounds.

Althougheverysynthesizermodelhasitsdifferences,inmostregardstheyareactuallyquitesimilartoeachother.Regardlessofthemanufacturerormodel,therewillbeoscillators,waystocombinetheoscillators,envelopegenerators,filters,modulators,andeffectsprocessors.Thename,number,quantity,quality,andarrangementoftheseelementsmaychangefromoneinstrumenttoanother,buttheelementsthemselves,andtheiroperation,arequiteconsistentfromdevicetodevice.

IwroteRefiningSoundasanattempttodemystifythesynthesizeranditselementsaswellastoilluminatethesound-makingprocessfromstarttofinish.Inteachingsynthesisovertheyears,Ihavefoundmanywonderfulresourcesthatcoverdifferentaspectsofsynthesisatalllevelsofknowledgeandskill.ManyoftheseresourcesarelistedanddescribedinAppendixIofthistextandonthecompanionwebsitepages.

WhatIhavenotfoundisatextthatintroducesandillustratestheentiresynthesisprocesstothecollege-levelmusicianwhomaynothaveastrongmathorengineeringbackground.Inthisbook,I

haveattemptedtoprovidedetailedinformationonsynthesisappropriateforcollegestudents,yetwithoutrequiringastrongbackgroundinmathematics.Conceptsareexplainedwithnumerousillustrationsandinteractivedemonstrationsandaminimumofmathematicalformulae.Forstudentsandinstructorswishingtodelvedeeperintothemathandscienceofsynthesis,additionalresourcesandlinksareprovidedonthecompanionwebsite.

Ithinkofsynthesisastheprocessofcreatingandrefiningsound.Muchlikethejewelerormetallurgistwhorefinesrawmaterialsthroughnumerousstagestocreateabeautifulworkofart,thesynthesizerartistbeginswithrawsoundwavesandtransformsthemthroughmultiplerefinementstagestocreatetheexcitingnewsoundsforwhichtheseinstrumentsarefamous.

Mygoalistohelpyouunderstandthestagesofthatrefinementprocessbymetaphoricallyspeakingtakingthesynthesizeraparttoexploreitsinnerworkings.Aswedoso,wewillexamineeachstageofsynthesis,itscontributiontothesound,andhowitinteractswithotherelementsandstages.Ineverychapter,therewillbeopportunitiestogethands-onwiththeindividualelementssothatyoucanseeandhearandmostimportantly,understandwhateachoftheserefinementstagesiscontributingtothefinishedproduct.Inthefinalchapter,wewillreassemblethesynthesizeraswecreatesomeofthemostcommontypesofsynthesizersoundsfromstarttofinish.

Whetheryouworkwithhardware,software,analog,ordigitalinstruments,thesynthesisprocessisimmenselyrewardingandalotoffun.Myhopeisthatworkingthroughthepagesofthistextandexploringtheinteractivedemonstrationswillclarifythatprocess,givingyouamuchkeenerunderstandingofyourownsynthesizers.Ialsohopeitwillinspireyoutocreatewonderfulnewsoundsonthoseinstruments.

Havefun!

CONTENTS

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgments

AbouttheCompanionWebsite

IntroductionUsingtheInteractiveDemonstrationsUsingtheCrystalSoftwareSynthesizerPracticingSafeSynthesis(CanYouHearMeNow?)

1SynthesisandSynthesizers:DiggingBeneaththeSurfaceofYourSynthesizer

SoundandAudioABrief(andHighlySubjective)HistoryofSynthesizersDigitalAudioandSynthesisYourTurn

2Oscillators:MiningtheRawMaterialsofYourSynthesizer

MeettheOscillatorsWaveTypeOscillatorsNoiseOscillatorsTheColorofNoiseTable-LookupOscillatorsWavetableOscillatorsWaveshapingOscillatorsHybridOscillatorsSample-PlaybackSourcesGrainSourcesYourTurn

3OscillatorCombinations:CreatingExoticCompoundsfromYourRawMaterials

CombiningSoundWavesBeatandCombinationFrequenciesMixingOscillatorSoundsControllingOneOscillatorwithAnotherOscillatorYourTurn

4AmplitudeEnvelopeGenerators:ShapingYourSounds

AmplitudeEnvelopesMayIHavetheEnvelope(Generator),Please?EnvelopeStagesEnvelopeTimesandRatesShapingSounds

AddingExtraStagesWhereDidIPutThatEnvelope?SegmentCurvesInvertedEnvelopesEnvelopeGeneratorBehaviorModesDynamicEnvelopeShapesYourTurn

5AudioFilters:RefiningtheColorofYourSounds

AudioFiltersAudioFilterTypesCascadingFiltersParallelFiltersCutofforCenterFrequencySlope,Bandwidth,andQResonanceGainDynamicFiltersSubtractiveSynthesisYourTurn

6InternalModulationSources:DynamicShapingofYourSounds

ModulationMatrixLowFrequencyOscillators(LFOs)Audio-RateOscillatorsModulationEnvelopeGeneratorsFunctionModulatorsStepSequencersArpeggiatorsModulatingtheModulatorsYourTurn

7ExternalControlSources:ShapingYourSoundswithPlayingTechniques

ElectricalVoltageControl(CV/Gate)MIDIUsingPhysicalMIDIControllerstoShapeSoundsAlternativeControllersYourTurn

8EffectsProcessors:PolishingYourSounds

Time-BasedEffectsFrequency-BasedEffectsAmplitude-BasedEffectsCompoundEffectsInternalvs.ExternalEffects

YourTurn

9PuttingItAllTogether:CreatingandRefiningYourOwnSynthesizedSounds

LeadPatchHarmonyPatchPercussivePatchOstinatoPatchPadPatchThinkingLikeYourSynthesizerYourTurn

AppendixI:FurtherReadingandInformationAppendixII:SuggestionsfortheInstructorIndex

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Aworklikethisdoesnothappeninisolation.Anumberofpeoplehavecontributedtothisbookinmanyways,andIwouldliketotakethisopportunitytoacknowledgethoseindividuals.

ThankyoutoJeanetteShepardforbeingsuchanamazingandamazinglypatientfirstreaderandeditor.Everyoneshouldbesoluckytohavesuchasmartandtalentedpartnerinlife.ThankyoualsotoSteveCunninghamandV.J.Manzofortheexpertreadingsofmyinitialdraft,andtoDaveSmithfornotonlyreadingthetextbutwritingsuchasupportiveForewordtothebook.ThefeedbackandcommentsIreceivedfromallofyouaboutthebookanditscontentwereimmeasurablyvaluable.

NormHirschyatOxfordUniversityPresshasbeenincrediblyenthusiasticandsupportiveofthisprojectfromtheoutset,andIappreciatehisassistanceonsomanylevelsinseeingthisthroughtocompletion.ImustalsothankmyOUPproductioneditor,EricaWoodsTucker,andcopyeditor,ThomasFinnegan,fortheirmasteryinclarifyingmymanuscriptandhelpingbringmyideasandwordstolife.

Creatingallthedemonstrationsforthecompanionwebsitewasnearlyaslargeanddauntingataskaswritingthetextforthebook.MostofthequestionsandchallengesIencounteredwhilecreatingthosedemonstrationswereansweredbytheparticipantsoftenanonymouslyontheCycling74Forums(http://cycling74.com/forums/).Thankyouallforyourmanysuggestionsandcreativeideas.

BeforeIevenbeganwritingthetexttothisbook,IknewIneededasoftwaresynthesizerthatsoundedgreat,providedalotofflexibility,wasavailableforbothWindowsandMacintoshcomputerplatforms,andwasinexpensivesocostwouldnotbeanimpedimenttothelearningprocess.WhenmyresearchledmetoGlennOlander ssoftwaresynthesizer,Crystal(http://www.greenoak.com/crystal/),Iwasastounded.Notonlydiditmeet,orexceed,everyoneofmyrequirements;itwasavailablefreeofcharge.IwouldliketothankGlennformakingsuchafantasticpieceofsoftwareavailableandforhiskind,generousrepliestoallmyquestionsandinquiries.

Finally,Iwanttothankmymanysynthesisstudentsovertheyears.Yourenergy,enthusiasm,questions,anddiscussionsbothinsideandoutsidetheclassroomcontinuetokeepmeonmytoesandweretheinspirationforwritingthisbook.

ABOUTTHECOMPANIONWEBSITE

http://www.oup.com/us/refiningsound

Oxfordhascreatedapassword-protectedwebsitetoaccompanyRefiningSound,andthereaderisencouragedtotakefulladvantageofittogetthemostoutofthisbook.Throughoutthetext,iconsinthepagemargin,liketheonesatright,indicateavailablecontent(synthesisdemonstrations,animations,recordings,additionalreadings,websitelinks,etc.)thatfurtherexplainsandillustratesthespecifictopicathand.Thewebsiteisorganizedwithseparatepagesforeachofthebookschapters,andtheURLforeachpagewillbefoundatthebeginningofeachchapter.Youcanalsomovedirectlyfrompagetopagewiththelinksatthetopandbottomofeachpageonthesite.

Toaccessthecompanionwebsite,usetheusernameMusic1andthepasswordBook5983.

INTRODUCTIONGETTINGTHEMOSTOUTOFTHISBOOK

OnlineMaterialsfortheIntroduction:

http://www.oup.com/us/refiningsound/Introduction.html

RefiningSoundisnotjustabookforreading;itsabookfordoing.Asyouprogressthrougheachstageofthesynthesisprocessinthisbook,itisvitallyimportantthatyoualsoexperiencethesoundthattheprocesscreates.Tothisend,inadditiontothecompanionwebsitetherearetwosupplementaryelementstothetextthatareasimportanttotheconceptsinthisbookasisthetextitself.Theseresourcesaredesignedtohelpyougainthedeepestunderstandingpossiblebyprovidinginteractive,hands-ondemonstrationsandexamplesfornearlyeveryaspectofsynthesis.

UsingtheInteractiveDemonstrationsIconsliketheoneinthepagemarginatrightindicateaninteractivedemonstrationonthecompanionwebsitethatallowsyoutoexperiencethetopicofthatsectionandexploreitingreaterdetail.Thecorrespondingwebpageformostchaptershasasetofdemonstrationsthatmaybedownloadedasagroup,orindividuallyasdesired.Thedemonstrationiconsarenumberedtoallowyoutoeasilylocatethecorrectoneonthesite.Eachinteractivedemonstrationalsoincludesfurtherinformationaboutthetopic,aswellasstep-by-stepinstructionsforeffectivelyusingthatdemonstration.

Inordertousetheinteractivedemonstrations,youmusthavethefreeMaxRuntimesoftwarefromCycling74installedandconfiguredonyourcomputer.MaxRuntimeisavailableforbothMacintoshandWindowsplatformcomputers.IfyoualreadyownthefullversionofMax,youcanalsousethatsoftwareforthedemonstrationsinsteadoftheruntimeversion.

InstallingMaxRuntime

ToinstallMaxRuntime,gototheCycling74downloadspagebypointingyourwebbrowsertohttp://cycling74.com/downloads/runtime/,anddownloadtheappropriateversionforyourcomputer soperatingsystem.ThereisalsoalinkfromtheIntroductionpageonthecompanionwebsite.Afterdownloadinganduncompressing,followtheinstructionsintheMaxRuntimeinstaller.

OnceyouhaveMaxRuntimeinstalled,youcandownloadtheinteractivedemonstrationsascompressed.zipfiles(forconvenience,youwillhavetheoptionofdownloadingthedemonstrationsindividuallyordownloadingallthedemonstrationsfromachapterasagroup).Uncompressthedownloadedfiles,andthendouble-clickthe.mxffiletolaunchMaxRuntimeandtheindividualdemonstration.

TIPNotetoMacintoshUsersSomeMacintoshusersmayfindthatanotherprogramsuchasAvidsProToolsnotMaxRuntimeattemptstolaunchwhendouble-clickingtheseinteractivedemonstrations.Ifthishappens,usethefollowingstepstoconfigureyourMacintoshtoopenthedemonstrationsproperlywithMaxRuntime.

Figure0.1Theiconsfortheinteractivedemonstrationsshouldlookliketheiconontheleftwhendisplayedonyourcomputerdesktop.Ifyouriconslookdifferent,suchastheoneontheright,usethefollowingstepstoassignMaxRuntimeasthepreferredapplicationtoopenthesedemonstrations.

1.Highlighttheiconforoneofthe.mxffiles(donotdouble-clickoropenit).

2.SelectGetInfofromtheFilemenu3.Inthewindowthatopens,clickthelittletrianglenexttoOpenwith:toexpandthepanelsothatyouseeadropdownmenuwithalistofapplications.

4.SelectMaxRuntime.appfromthemenuandclicktheChangeAllbutton.5.AnalertwindowwillopenaskingifyouwanttochangeallsimilardocumentstoopenwithMaxRuntime.app.ClicktheContinuebuttontoconfirmthischoice.

Figure0.2Afterhighlightingtheiconofoneofyourdownloaded.mxffilesandopeningtheGetInfowindow,selectMaxRuntime.appastheOpenwith:applicationandclickChangeAlltoconfigureyourcomputertoalwaysopenthesedemonstrationswithMaxRuntime.ConfirmthatchoicebypressingtheContinuebuttoninthealertwindowthatopenswhenyoupresstheChangeAllbutton.

NowthatyouhaveMaxRuntimeinstalled,thereisonefinalbitofconfigurationyouneedtodobeforeactuallyusingthedemonstrations.DownloadandopentheAudio/MIDIConfigurationutilityfromthecompanionwebsite.Selecttheappropriateaudiodriverforyourcomputerfromthetopmenu,andtheaudiointerfaceyouwishtouseforyourinputandoutputfromthesecondandthirdmenus.Inmostcases,thedriverwillbeCoreAudioontheMacintosh,andeitherASIOorMMEonaWindowsPC.Ifyouhaveinstalledahardwareaudiointerfaceorsoundcard,besuretoselecttheappropriatedriverforthatdevice.Ifyouareunsureofthecorrectdriverforyourinstalledinterfaceorcard,consulttheinstallationinstructionsthatcamewiththedevice.

Figure0.3UsetheAudio/MIDIConfigurationutilitytoselecttheappropriateaudiodriverandinterfaceforyourcomputeraswellastochooseyourMIDIcontroller.

IfyouhaveaMIDIkeyboardconnectedtoyourcomputer(highlyrecommended),clicktheOpenMIDISetupWindowbutton,andconfirmthatthereisacheckmarkintheOncolumnforyourpreferredMIDIinput(s).Whenindoubt,checkthemall.

Figure0.4ConfirmthereisacheckmarkintheOncolumnoftheMIDISetupwindowforanyMIDIInput(s)youwishtousewiththesedemonstrations.

Yourcomputerisnowconfiguredtoletyoutakeadvantageofthemanyinteractivedemonstrationsaccompanyingthetextinthisbook.

UsingtheCrystalSoftwareSynthesizer

Attheendofeverychapter,youwillfindaYourTurnsectionthatguidesyouthroughputtingthechapter stopicsintopracticeonanactualsynthesizer.Forthesakeofuniformityforallreaders,theseactivitiesaredonewiththeCrystalSoftwareSynthesizer,availablefreeforbothMacintoshandWindowscomputersfromGreenOakSoftware.DownloadsofCrystalforbothplatforms,aswellasinstallationinstructions,areavailablefromtheGreenOakdownloadspage(http://www.greenoak.com/crystal/dwnld.html).LinkstoCrystalaswellasalltheassociatedfilesandapplicationsyouwillneedforthistextmaybefoundontheIntroductionpageoftheRefiningSoundcompanionwebsite.

RunningCrystalwiththeCrystalPlayer

AlthoughCrystalmaybeusedfromwithinanyaudio/MIDIapplicationthatsupportseitherVSTorAUvirtualinstrumentplugins(seebelow),theCrystalPlayer,availablefromtheRefiningSoundcompanionwebsite,isprobablythesimplestwaytoworkwiththissoftwaresynthesizer.TousetheCrystalPlayer,followthestepsbelow.Thesesteps,andalldownloadlinks,arealsoavailableonthecompanionwebsite.

PleasenotethattheseinstructionsarespecificallyforinstallingCrystalwiththeCrystalPlayer.IfyouwishtouseCrystalwithadifferentVSTorAUhostapplication,pleaseconsulttheinstructionsthatcamewithyoursoftwareforinstallingplugininstruments.

WindowsComputers1.DownloadandunzipCrystalforWindowsfromhttp://www.greenoak.com/crystal/dwnld.html.

2.DownloadandunziptheCrystalPlayerandtheCrystalSupportFilesfromhttp://www.oup.com/us/refiningsound/Introduction.html.

3.CopyCrystall.dllandboththeCrystalPatchBanksandCrystalSoundFontsfoldersintoyourC:\ProgramFiles\Cycling74\MaxRuntimedirectory.

4.CopytheCrystalPlayer.mxffiletoaconvenientlocationonyourcomputer.YoumaywanttocreateafolderonyourdesktopcalledRefiningSoundforalldownloadsassociatedwiththisbook.(Note:inorderforCrystalandtheCrystalPlayertoworkcorrectly,itisimportanttocompleteallofthepreviousstepsbeforecontinuing.)

5.LaunchtheCrystalPlayer.mxfandpositionboththekeyboardandCrystalwindowssothatyoucanseeboth.(Note:theCrystalPlayershouldautomaticallyloadtheCrystalsoftwaresynthesizerifyouhavefollowedtheinstructionsabove.Ifitdoesnot,youcanmanuallyforcetheplayertoloadCrystalbyclickingtheFindCrystalbuttoninthekeyboardwindowoftheCrystalPlayer.Searchfor,andselect,Crystal.dll.)

6.IfyouhavealreadyconfiguredyouraudioandMIDIforMaxRuntimewiththeAudio/MIDIConfigurationutility(above),thenyoushouldnowbereadytouseCrystal.

7.Selectwhetheryouwillusetheon-screenkeyboardoryourexternalMIDIkeyboardfromthedropdownmenuatthetopoftheCrystalPlayerKeyboardwindow.

8.TurntheAudioOnbyclickingtheSpeakerbuttonandadjusttheOutputLeveltoa

comfortablelisteninglevelasyouplaysomenotesonthekeyboard.9.YoumayalsowishtodownloadtheCrystalUserManualtoaconvenientlocationonyourcomputer,fromhttp://www.greenoak.com/crystal/Crystal24UG.pdf.

MacintoshComputers1.DownloadandruntheinstallerforCrystalforMacOSXfromhttp://www.greenoak.com/crystal/dwnld.html,

2.DownloadandunziptheCrystalPlayerandtheCrystalSupportFilesfromhttp://www.oup.com/us/refiningsound/Introduction.html.

3.CopytheCrystalPlayer.mxffiletoaconvenientlocationonyourcomputer.YoumaywanttocreateafolderonyourdesktopcalledRefiningSoundforalldownloadsassociatedwiththisbook.

4.CopyboththeCrystalPatchBanksandCrystalSoundFontsfoldersinto/Users//Library/ApplicationSupport/Crystal.(Note:iftheCrystalfolderdoesnotexistinsideApplicationSupport,createitandthenputthetwofoldersinside.SomerecentversionsofMacOSXhidethe/Librarydirectory.Ifyoucannotlocatethisfolderusingthepathabove,holddowntheOptionkeywhileclickingtheGomenuandyoushouldseeanewoptioninthemenucalledLibrary.SelectthisoptionandthecomputerwilltakeyoudirectlytoyourLibraryfolder.InorderforCrystalandtheCrystalPlayertoworkcorrectly,itisimportanttocompleteallofthepreviousstepsbeforecontinuing.)

5.LaunchtheCrystalPlayer.mxfandpositionthekeyboardandCrystalwindowssothatyoucanseeboth.(Note:theCrystalPlayershouldautomaticallyloadtheCrystalsoftwaresynthesizerifyouhavefollowedtheinstructionsabove.Ifitdoesnot,youcanmanuallyforcetheplayertoloadCrystalbyclickingtheFindCrystalbuttoninthekeyboardwindowoftheCrystalPlayer.Searchfor,andselect,Crystal.vst.TheinstallerplacesbothVSTandAUversionsonyourcomputer.However,theCrystalPlayerisdesignedtoworkwiththeVSTversionofCrystal,sobesuretoselectthatone.)

6.IfyouhavealreadyconfiguredyouraudioandMIDIforMaxRuntimewiththeAudio/MIDIConfigurationutility(above),thenyoushouldnowbereadytouseCrystal.

7.Selectwhetheryouwillusetheon-screenkeyboardoryourexternalMIDIkeyboardfromthedropdownmenuatthetopoftheCrystalPlayerKeyboardwindow.

8.TurntheAudioOnbyclickingtheSpeakerbutton,andadjusttheOutputLeveltoacomfortablelisteninglevelasyouplaysomenotesonthekeyboard.

9.YoumayalsowishtodownloadtheCrystalUserManualtoaconvenientlocationonyourcomputer,fromhttp://www.greenoak.com/crystal/Crystal24UG.pdf.

Figure0.5TheCrystalPlayerprovidesasimpleVSThostandinterfacetotheCrystalsoftwaresynthesizer.Onceopened,youcancontrolCrystaleitherfromanexternalMIDIhardwarecontrollerorwiththeon-screencontroller.(CrystalandtheCrystallogocopyright2010GlennOlander,usedthroughoutthisbookwithpermission)

PracticingSafeSynthesis(CanYouHearMeNow?)TheNationalInstitutesofHealthintheUnitedStatesestimatethatnearly15percentofAmericansbetweentheageoftwentyandsixty-nine(thatsnearlytwenty-sixmillionpeople!)havehigh-frequencyhearinglossasaresultofexposuretoloudsoundsornoise.1Mostresearchersexpectthosenumberstoriseinthecomingyearsasaresultoftheuseofearbudheadphoneswithportablemusicplayers.Exposuretoloudsounds,especiallyforlongperiodsoftime,willdamageyourhearing.Asamusician,yourabilitytohearaccuratelyisoneofyourmostimportantassets.

Synthesizershavethepotentialforcreatingextremelyloudsoundsthatcandamageyourhearing.Pleasebecarefulwhenplayingtheseinstrumentsandalwaysfollowthestepsbelow,especiallywhenusingheadphones.

Beforemakinganysoundwithasynthesizer,turnthevolumeallthewaydown.Startplayingtheinstrumentandthenslowlyturnthevolumeuptoacomfortablelevel.Alwaysturnthevolumedownbeforemakinganyconfigurationorcablingchanges,astheseoftenproduceloudpopsandclicks.

Giveyourearsabreak.Foreveryhouroflistening,giveyourselftentofifteenminutesaway

fromthesound.Notonlywillyouavoidearfatigue,butevenatmoderatevolumelevels,longexposuretosoundcancausehearingdamage.

Inthespiritofthesesteps,alloftheinteractivedemonstrationsinthistextlaunchwithaudioprocessingturnedoff,andtheaudiolevelsetat0.Onceyouopenademonstration,clickthespeakericontoturnaudioprocessingonandthenslowlyraisetheoutputleveltoacomfortablelisteninglevel.

Ourhearingdeclinesnaturallywithage.Dontacceleratetheprocess!Formoreinformationonhowyoucanpreventhearingloss,seetheNationalInstitutesofHealthsNoise-InducedHearingLosswebsiteathttps://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/pages/noise.aspx.

Figure0.6Beforeusinganyoftheinteractivedemonstrations,turnaudioprocessingonbyclickingthespeakerbutton,andthenslowlyraisetheoutputleveltoacomfortablelisteninglevel.

RefiningSound

1SynthesisandSynthesizersDiggingBeneaththeSurfaceofYourSynthesizer

Onlinematerialsforthischapter:

http://www.oup.com/us/refiningsound/Chapter1.html

synthesis|sinsis|noun:thecombiningoftheconstituentelementsofseparatematerialorabstractentitiesintoasingleorunifiedentity.

Derivatives:synthesize|synsz|verb;synthesizer|synszr|noun

Quick:whatsthefirstthingthatcomestomindwhenyouhearthewordsynthesis?Asareaderofthisbook,itisprobablysafetosayyouimaginedtheprocessofcreatingsound.However,formanypeople,theconceptofmakingsoundisnotwhatcomestomind.Instead,thewordmightbringbackmemoriesofchemicalreactionssuchasphotosynthesis,orthephilosophicalresolutionoftwoconflictingideas(followingthesisandantithesis),orsomeotherlogical,mathematical,orgrammaticalprocess.Regardlessoftheparticularrecalledmemory,mostpeoplethinkofthewordsynthesisfromthemoreabstractperspectiveofcombiningideasormaterials,andnotfromtheviewpointofcreatingsound.Infact,mostdictionariesdonotevenincludesoundcreationasoneofthealternatedefinitionsfortheword.

Now,whatcomestomindwiththewordsynthesizer?Myguessisthatfornearlyeveryreaderofthisbookandprobablyformostnonreadersaswellthetermsynthesizercreatesamentalimageofsometypeofelectronicmusicalinstrumentmostlikelyonewithapiano-stylekeyboard.Thus,eventhoughnearlyallofusthinkofasynthesizerinamusicalsense,onlyafewofusthinkaboutmusicandsoundcreationwhenwehearthewordsynthesis.

Figure1.1Tomanypeople,thewordsynthesizerbringstomindsomesortofelectronickeyboardinstrumentliketheRolandGAIASH-01.(photoprintedwithpermissionofRolandCorp.)

Why,then,istheresuchadisconnectinouruseandunderstandingofthetwoterms?Ifsynthesisisaboutcombiningelementstogether,andasynthesizerisadevicethatdoessynthesis,thentheprocessofcreatingsoundwithasynthesizermust,somehow,beaboutthecombiningofseparateelectronicandsonicelementsintoasingleorunifiedentity,i.e.,thefinished,synthesizedsound.

Perhapsthisdisconnectisduetoourlackofunderstandingabouthowasynthesizersynthesizes.Peopleoftenthinkoftheseinstrumentsasmagicalblackboxes.Theypressakey,turnaknob,moveaslider,andacoolsoundcomesout,buttheyhavenoideahowthesoundismade.Askmanysynthesizerusershowtheycreatetheirsounds,andyouwillfrequentlyhearsomethinglike,Idontreallyunderstandhowitallworks,Ijusttweakthingsuntilitsoundsright.Unfortunately,manyofthenewer,morepowerfulinstrumentsmakethingsevenmoredifficulttounderstand,asthemultiplelayersofthesynthesisprocessareoftendifficulttonavigateandshroudedincomplexity.

TIPSynthesizerorSampler:WhatsinaName?Manyusersofelectronicinstrumentslumpthesynthesizerandthesamplerintothesamecategory.Andwhynot?Theyoftenlookalike,andbothareelectronicinstrumentsthatplaysoundswhenyoutriggerthem.Inreality,though,theyaretwodifferentanimals.Asynthesizergenerates(synthesizes)rawsoundwavesthatarethenmanipulatedthroughtherestofthesynthesisprocess.Asamplerrecords(samples)othersoundsandplaysthembackwhentriggered.Althoughsomesynthesizersuseprerecordedwaveforms,orsamples,asasoundsource,thosewavesarestilltreatedasrawmaterialtobefurtherdevelopedintherestofthesynthesisprocess.Manysamplersalsohavetheabilitytoprocesstheirsampleswithsynthesizer-liketools.However,theendresultisoftenmeanttostillberecognizableastheoriginalsound.Astheseinstrumentscontinuetoevolve,theboundariesbetweensynthesizerandsamplerbecomemoreandmoreblurred.Forthepurposesofthistext,wewillfocusonthesynthesisprocess,andnottherecordingandeditingofsamples.

Itisthegoalofthistext,then,todigbeneaththesurfaceofthesynthesizerandpeelbackallofthosemysteriouslayers.Indoingso,wewillnotonlyrevealtheconstituentelementsofthesound-makingprocess,wewillexplorethemindepth.And,aswejourneythroughthedifferentlayers,wewillexaminethemanywaysthoseelementscombineandinteracttocreatetherefined,unifiedsoundthatexitstheinstrumentinallitssonicglory.

Beforewebeginourjourney,itwillbehelpfultohavealittlefamiliaritywithsoundandaudio,thehistoryanddevelopmentof

synthesizers,aswellasabitofunderstandingofthedesignandoperationaldifferencesinhardwarevs.softwareandanalogvs.digitalsynthesizers.Nosinglechaptercanbegintodojusticetothesetopics,butabriefoverviewwillhelpsetthestageforourjourneythroughthesynthesisprocessandtherefiningoftheindividualelementsintothefinal,polishedproduct.1

SoundandAudioThewordsoundreferstothenaturalacousticphenomenonofvibrationsmovingusuallythroughairtoourears.Audio,bycontrast,referstothecapture,storage,andreproductionofsoundthroughelectronicmeans.Ingeneral,audioequipmentrepresentsthechangingairpressureofsoundwithachangingelectricalvoltageinsidethecomponents.Sincethisisabookaboutmakingsoundwithanaudiodevice(asynthesizer),abriefreviewofsoundandaudiopropertieswillbehelpful.Afterall,beforeyoucantrulyunderstandhowtocreateasound,youneedtounderstandthepropertiesofsound.

Atsomepoint,perhapsinascienceclass,someoneprobablydrewashapeliketheillustrationinFigure1.2andtoldyouthisiswhatasoundwavelookslike.Theylied!Firstoff,youcannotseeasoundwave;butevenifyoucould,itwouldnotlookliketheup-and-downundulationsthatyouseeonthesurfaceofabodyofwater.

Ifyoucouldactuallyseeasoundwave,itwouldlookmorelikewhathappenswhenyoublowupalargebeachball.Imaginethatyoublowintothebeachballanditexpandsoutwardinasphericalshape.However,whenyoutakeyourmouthoffthenozzletotakeanotherbreath,theballslightlydeflates.Asyoublowthenextbreathintoit,theballexpandsfurther,andthenslightlydeflatesagainasyoutakethenextbreath,andsoon,untiltheballiscompletelyinflated.Inasimilarmanner,soundradiatesawayfromthesoundsourceinasphere,movingoutwardandthenrecoilinginward,thenoutward,andinward,andsoon.

Demo1.1

Figure1.2Atwo-dimensionalrepresentationofasinusoidal(sine)waveisoftenusedtorepresentthethree-dimensionalmotionofasoundwave.

Figure1.3Ifyoucouldactuallyseeasoundwave,itwouldlookmuchlikeabeachballbeingblownupasitalternatelyexpandsandcontractswitheachbreath.

ThesinewavedrawinginFigure1.2,then,isanillustrationofthatoutward-inwardmovementshowninFigure1.3.Thinkoftheupwardcurveofthesinewaveaswhenyouareblowingintothebeachball,andthedownwardcurveaswhenyouaretakingabreathandtheballcontracts.Inreality,soundsinthephysicalworldaremuchmorecomplexthanthesimpleshapeindicatedbythesinewave,buttheillustrationprovidesagoodreferencefordescribingtheelementsofasoundwave.

Figure1.4Soundwavebasics:thewaveperiodconsistsofthecompletecycleofthecompressionandrarefactionphases.Thewavesamplitudeistheamountofchangeinairpressure,eitherhighorlow,awayfromambientpressure.

Demo1.2

Figure1.5Largechangesinpressureequalhighamplitude,andsmallchanges,lowamplitude.

Everysoundwaveconsistsoftwoparts,orphases:compression(whentheairpressureisgreaterthanambientairpressure)andrarefaction(whenairpressureislessthanambientairpressure).Acompletecycle,orwaveperiod,consistsofbothcompressionandrarefactionphases.Theamountofchangeinpressureanincreaseordecreasefromambientairpressureisthesoundwavesamplitude.Ingeneral,thelargertheamplitude,thelouderthesound.

Forbothphysicalandpsychoacousticreasons,humanstendtohearcertainfrequencyrangesaslouderthanotherfrequencyranges,eveniftheyhavethesameamplitude.Ifwearehearingtwosimultaneousfrequenciesonetowhichourhearingissensitiveandanothertowhichitisnotitispossiblethatthefrequencytowhichwearesensitivewillsoundlouderevenifithasaloweramplitude.So,whileamplitudecanbemeasuredwithaprecisevalue,oftenindecibels;loudnesstendstobemuchmoresubjective.

Demo1.3

TIPTheDecibelWhenwedescribeamplitudeinsoundandaudio,thestandardunitofmeasurementisthedecibel(abbreviateddB),alogarithmicmeasurementofthepowerratiobetweentwoenergysourcesinourcase,soundwaves.NamedinhonorofAlexanderGrahamBell(18471922),thedecibelisequaltoone-tenth(deci-)ofabel,ararelyusedunitthatincreasesbyafactoroftenforeveryunitofmeasurement.Forexample,aforcemeasuredat2belshastentimesthepowerofaforceat1bel,3belshastentimesthepowerof2bels(ahundredtimesthepowerof1bel),and4belshastentimesthepowerof3bels(athousandtimesthepowerof1bel),etc.(Bytheway,thebelistheunitusedintheRichterMagnitudeScaletomeasuretheintensityofshakinginearthquakes.)Sincethedecibelisone-tenthofabel,itincreasesbyafactoroftenforeverytenunitsofmeasurement(i.e.,20dBistentimesthepowerof10dB,30dBistentimesthepowerof20dB,40dBistentimesthepowerof30dB,etc.).

Theotherthingtorememberaboutdecibelsisthatthemeasurementisalwaysacomparisonbetweentwovalues.Inotherwords,thereisnofixedscalethathasavalueof,say,50dB.Thevalue50dBisalwaysacomparison,asin50dBgreaterorlessthansomeotherlevel.Using50dBbyitselfwouldbelikeacashierinastoretellingyouthatthepriceofanitemis$50more.Morethanwhat?Doyoumean$50morethanfree,orthatmuchmorethanitwaslastweek,ormorethansomeotheritem,ormorethanwhatyouhaveinyourbillfold?Withoutareferenceleveltocompare,thetermdecibelisambiguous,ifnotmeaningless.

Unfortunately,thereareseveralformsofthedecibel(eachwithitsownmeaning,referencelevel,andidentifyingsuffix),andthiscanleadtoabitofconfusion,especiallysincemanypeoplearenotsoprecisewiththetermandoftenjustsaydecibel,orsimplydeebee,withoutaddingtheappropriatesuffix.Here,then,arebriefdescriptionsofthetypesofdecibelsfrequentlyencounteredwhendiscussingsoundandaudio.

dBm(decibelsinmilliwatts)isreferencedto1milliwatt.ThedBmunitistypicallyusedwhendescribingasignalspoweror

flowthroughacircuit.

dBu(decibelsinvolts)isreferencedto volts.ThedBuwasoriginallydBv,butthevwaschangedtouforunloadedinordertoavoidconfusionwithanothertypeofdecibel,dBV(below).Thisunitisoftenfoundonmixerfadersandothervolumeknobs.Thesecontrolstypicallyhaveareferencelevelof0dB(oftenlabeledunity,orsimplyU)thatindicatestheincomingsignalisbeingneitherboostednorattenuated,butpassedthroughwithnochangeinstrength.Valuesabove0dBareindicatedaspositive(+3dB,+7dB,etc.),whilethosebelow0havenegativevalues.Sincedecibelsusealogarithmicscale,thereisnotheoreticallimittohowfaracontrolcanbeturnedupordown.MostamplifiersbegintodistortthesignalratherseverelyifboostedmorethanafewdBaboveunity,butyoucouldtheoreticallykeepturningthesignaldownforever.Forobviousreasons,faderscanmoveonlysofar.Thusmanydeviceshaveaninfinitysign()atthebottomoftheirtravelindicatingthatthesignalhasbeenattenuatedsofarthat,forallpracticalpurposes,itisnonexistent,orsilent.

dBV(decibelsinvolts)isreferencedto1volt.ThedBVisoftenused,alongwithdBu,todescribethelinelevelvoltageofaudiosignals.Alevelof10dBViscommonlyusedforconsumeraudioequipment,while+4dBuisusedforprofessionalequipment.

dBSPL(decibelsinsoundpressurelevel)isreferencedtotheso-calledthresholdofhearing.Technically,thisreferencevalueof0dBis20Pa(micropascals)andisfrequentlydescribedasthequietestsoundanaveragepersonwithgoodhearingiscapableofdetecting.ThedBSPLisusedtodescribehowloudasoundisintheacousticworld.Providingafurtherdistinction,dBSPLvaluesarefrequentlyindicatedwithA,B,orC,toindicatingaparticularweightingscalethatmoreaccuratelyreflectstheasymmetricalnatureofhumanhearing.

dBFS(decibelsfullscale)isreferencedtothemaximumallowableamplitudeindigitalaudio,thepointatwhichclippingoccurs.ThedBFSisusedtodescribetheamplitudeofadigitalaudiosignal.Because0dBFSrepresentsthepointofclipping,dBFSvalueswillalmostalwaysbebelowzeroandnegative.

Tocomplicatemattersevenmore,dependingonthetypeofforcebeingmeasured,therearetwoformulaeusedwhencalculatingdecibels.

Powerquantities(dBm)aretheoriginaldecibelsandareusedtomeasuretheintensityofaforce,ortheamountofpowerflowingthroughacircuit.

Fieldquantities(dBu,dBV,dBSPL,dBFS)aretheactualmanifestationsoftheforcespower.Sincepowerquantitiesaredirectlyproportionaltothesquareoffieldquantities,wehavetosquaretheratioofthemeasurementsinthefieldquantityformula.

Thankstothepowerpropertyoflogarithms,wecantakeaformulalikelog(a2)andsimplifyitto2log(a).Thustheformula

isusuallysimplifiedto

BecausethedBuformulamultipliesbytwentyratherthanbyten,asinthedBmformula,thedBuscalemovestwiceasquicklyasthedBmscale.Inotherwords,adoublingofasignalsvoltageisachangeof+6dBu,whileadoublingofasignalspowerisachangeof+3dBm.

Thegoodnewsisthatunlessyoudecidetogointoacousticsorelectricalengineering,youwillmostlikelyneverhavetocalculatedecibels.Thebadnewsisthatbecausesomeaudioengineersrefertopowerwhenusingdecibelsandothersrefertomarkingsontheaudiomixersfader,therecanbesomeconfusion.Ifsomeoneasksyoutoturnitup3dB(nosuffix)youhavetoaskyourselfwhethertheymeantoturnthesignalpowerup100percent(+3dBm),ortoincreasethefaderlevelby3dBu(a41percentincreaseinvoltage).

Thenumberoftimesthesoundwavecompletesacycle(bothcompressionandrarefactionphases)inaseconddeterminesthesoundsfrequency.Inmusicalterms,ahigherfrequencyproducesahigherpitch.Muchlikewithamplitudeandloudness,though,frequencyisaprecisemeasurementwhilepitchisasubjectivevaluation.Ifyouareamusician,youmaybefamiliarwiththetermA-440.ThisdesignationreferstoaspecifictuninglevelwherethepitchA4(AabovemiddleC)istunedtoafrequencyof440cyclespersecond.However,musicianscommonlyuseothertuningsaswell,bothhigherandlower.Thuseventhoughawavefrequencyof440cyclespersecondisaprecisevalue,thepitchAisrathersubjective.Withsynthesizers,wewillbeworkingwithbothfrequencyandpitch,soitwillbehelpfultorememberthedistinctionbetweenthetwoterms.

Whenwedescribethefrequencyofasound,weusetheunitHertz(Hz)tomeasurethenumberofcyclesthewavecompletespersecond.2Thereforeasoundwavethatcompletes100cyclesinasecondhasafrequencyof100Hz.Whenfrequenciesriseintothethousandsofcyclespersecond,wecommonlyusethekilo(k)prefix(i.e.,10,000Hz=10kHz).3

Figure1.6Morecyclespersecondequalhighfrequency(left),andfewercyclesequallowfrequency(right).Notethatbothwaveshavethesameamplitude,though.

Nowthatwehavereviewedbasicelementsofsoundandaudio,thereisaconceptthatisoftendifficulttocomprehendbutvitallyimportanttoourunderstandingofsoundandthesynthesisprocess.Neitherourearsnorouraudioequipmentcapturesasoundsfrequency.Theycaptureasoundschangesinamplitude.Ourbraininterpretsthosechangesinamplitude(largechanges=loud,smallchanges=quiet,frequentchanges=highfrequency,infrequentchanges=lowfrequency),butitisamplitudechangetowhichwephysicallyrespondandthatwecapturewithaudioequipment.Itisextremelyimportanttoremember,then,thatwhenwediscussthewaysoundwavesbehaveinthecomingchapters,wewillbetalkingabouthowtheiramplitudevaluesaddto,subtractfrom,andinteractwitheachother.

ABrief(andHighlySubjective)HistoryofSynthesizersYoumightthinkofsynthesizersasbeingafairlynewentryintothesound-makingarena,buttheuseofelectricitytocreatesoundactuallydatesbacktotheeighteenthcentury,whenscientistswerefirstbeginningtounderstandhowtoharnessitspower.ACzechtheologian,VclavProkopDivi(16981765),iscreditedwithcreatingthefirstelectricmusicalinstrument,theDenisdor(goldenDionysus)inthe1740s.4Thisinstrument,likenearlyallthatfollowedforthenext150years,didnotuseelectricitytodirectlycreatesound,buttomanipulatethemechanicaldevicesthatphysicallymadethesound.ThefirstknownaccountofusingelectricitytodirectlycreatemusicalsoundsiswithaninstrumentknownastheSingingArc,inventedbytheBritishphysicistandengineerWilliamDuBoisDuddell(18721917)in1899.5Duddellwasattemptingtoreducethenoisecreatedbythecarbonarclampsfrequentlyusedasstreetlightsatthetime,andfoundhecouldcontrolandchangetheaudiblefrequencyoftheirelectricarcbyadjustingthecurrentflowthroughthecarbonelectrodes.Inademonstrationtofellowengineersin1900,heconnectedapiano-stylekeyboardtohiscontrolmechanismandplayedGodSavetheQueeninwhatisthoughttobethefirstpublicmusical

performancewithaninstrumentcreatingitssoundentirelywithelectricity.

Telharmonium

Thedawnofthetwentiethcenturybroughtnumerousadvancesintheuseofelectricity,andwithitanumberofmusicaldevelopments.Perhapsthefinestexample,andcertainlythelargest,fromthiserawastheTelharmoniumofThaddeusCahill(18671934).AlthoughCahillreceivedapatentforitin1897,thefirstworkingmodeldidnotappearuntil1906.

TheTelharmoniumwasamassive(thefinalversionweighedalmost200tons!)instrumentusinghugerotatingtonewheelscalleddynamostocreatemusicalsounds.Theinstrumentwasplayedwithatraditionalorgan-stylekeyboardandpedalboardandhadarangeofmorethansevenoctaves,aswellastheabilitytochangetimbrethroughcombinationsofdynamooutputs.6Unfortunately,norecordingsoftheTelharmoniumexist,yetlistenersatthetimedescribetheinstrumentashavingasoundthatwasveryclearandpure.Becauseitcouldaddharmonicstosounds,itwasalsonotedforitsabilitytoreproducethesoundsofcommonorchestralinstrumentssuchastheflute,bassoon,clarinet,andcello.

Figure1.7(fromlefttoright)ThaddeusCahill,inventoroftheTelharmonium;twomusiciansoperatingtheTelharmoniumskeyboard;thelargedynamoroombeneaththekeyboard;oneofthemassiverotatingdynamos,capableofproducingasinglenoteplussevenharmonics.(McCluresMagazine,July1906)

CahillimaginedhisinstrumentasanearlyformofMuzak,wherebysubscriberscouldreceivemusicthroughtheirtelephonelinesvialargepaperconesconnectedtothetelephonehandset(aforerunnerofthemodernpaperconeloudspeaker).Theamplifierhadnotyetbeeninvented,sotheonlywaytotransmitthesesignalsatsuchagreatdistancewastogeneratethemwithanincrediblypowerfulcurrent.Thishadtheunfortunateby-productofcreatingcrosstalk,whichoverpowerednormaltelephoneconversations,andthepublicquicklygrewtiredofhearingmusicontheirtelephonesratherthanthepersontheywerecalling.

Inspiteofitsall-too-shortcareeritwaslastheardin1918theTelharmoniumwasarevolutionaryinstrumentinnumerousregardsandcanrightfullybeconsideredthefirstmodernsynthesizer.Throughitsmassivetonewheelsordynamos,itcouldcreatecomplextimbresbycombiningmultipleharmonicsinaprocesswenowcalladditivesynthesis.Infact,aftertheinventionofthevacuumtubeamplifier,LaurensHammondusedthissametonewheelsystemin1934,onlyonamuchsmallerscale,forhisfamousHammondElectricOrgan.TheTelharmoniumwasbothpolyphonicandtouchsensitive,featuresthatwouldnotappearagainonsynthesizersuntilthe1980s.And,inperhapsitsmostrevolutionaryaspect,theTelharmoniumforeshadowedthedistributionof

musicalperformancesthroughanetwork.AsrevolutionaryastheTelharmoniumwas,though,themaindrawbackwasitsmassivesizeand

powerrequirements,whichwereduetothetwoprimarylimitationsofelectricalsoundcreationatthetime.First,inordertocreatemultiplepitches,theinstrumentneededalargenumberofdynamosspinningatdifferentspeedstogeneratealternatingcurrentsatspecificfrequencies.Second,becausetherewasnomethodforamplification,thecurrenthadtobegeneratedonalargeenoughscaletotransmitthesoundlongdistancesthroughtelephonelines.LittledidCahillknowthat,bythetimethelastversionoftheTelharmoniumwasdismantled,thebeginningsofasolutiontobothproblemshadalreadybeendiscoveredinanodd-lookinglightbulb.

TheVacuumTubeAmplifier

AlthoughfirstreportedbytheBritishscientistFrederickGuthrie(18331886)in1873,ThomasEdison(18471931)discoveredthethermioniceffectwherecertainmetals,whenheatedinavacuumtube,emitelectronsin1880,whileworkingtoimprovethedesignoftheincandescentlightbulb.Althoughhedidnotunderstandthesignificanceofhisfindatthetime,henonethelessappliedforapatentontheeffectin1884.However,itfelltolaterengineerstorealizethepotentialoftheEdisoneffectinvacuumtubesforcontrollingelectricity.

Theinitialvacuumtubeslookedmuchlikethelightbulbsoftheday.Insidetheglasstube,theyhadanegative-chargedfilamentcalledthecathodethat,whenheated,releasedelectronsintothevacuum,wheretheywerecapturedbyapositive-chargedmetalplateknownastheanode.Sinceelectronswouldonlyflowinonedirection(negativetopositive),theseearlytwo-elementtubes,knownasdiodes,weretypicallyusedtoconvertalternatingcurrentintodirectcurrent.

In1907,theAmericaninventorLeedeForest(18731961)discoveredthatchangingthevoltageappliedtoasmallmetalgridplacedbetweentheanodeandcathodeallowedhimtocontroltheflowofelectronsbetweenthetwooriginalelements.Withthisnewthree-elementvacuumtube,knownasatriode,hediscoveredthatraisingorloweringthegridsvoltagebyasmallamountproducedadisproportionatelylargechangeintheflowofelectronstotheanode.Thus,asmall,fluctuatingvoltagecouldcausealargefluctuationintheflowofelectrons,therebyproducinganamplificationofthegridsoriginalsignal.

Figure1.8Whenthecathodeisheatedinatriode,itreleaseselectronsintothevacuumoftheglasstube.Applyingasmallpositivechargetothegridcausesalargeflowofelectronstotheanode,producingastrongcurrentfromtheanodesterminal(left).Anegativechargeonthegriddisruptstheflowofelectronstotheanode(center).Asmall,oscillatingsignalappliedtothegridcausestheelectronflowtooscillateaswell,butonamuchlargerscale(amplification)thantheoriginalgridsignal(right).

Numerousrefinementsofthetriodeoccurredovertheyearstoimproveitsefficiencyandlifespan.However,thebasicconceptofsignalamplificationthroughsuperimposingthevoltagefluctuationsofaweaksignalontoamuchstrongersignalremainedthesameandspawnedtherapidgrowthoftheelectronicsageinthetwentiethcentury.

Inadditiontotheabilitytoproduceamplification,itwasalsodiscoveredthatsendingatubesoutputbacktoitsinputcreatedafeedbackloopthatproducedahigh-frequencysinewave,muchlikewhatoccurswhenholdingamicrophonedirectlyinfrontofaloudspeakerinapublicaddresssystem.Byfirstpassingtheamplifier soutputsignalthroughafewbasicelectricalcomponentstypically,aresistorandacapacitorbeforesendingitbackintothetube,onecouldcontrolandadjustthefrequencyofthatsinewave.Vacuumtubestherebynotonlycreatedtheamplificationneededinacircuitbutalsoformedtheverycoreofthesynthesisprocessitselfastheoriginalsound-makingelementsknownasoscillators.

Bythemiddleofthetwentiethcentury,solid-statedevicessuchastransistors,andeventuallyintegratedcircuits(ICs),beganreplacingthevenerablevacuumtube.Thesenewcomponentsexhibitmanyofthesamecharacteristicsastubes,buttheyhaveanumberofadvantages.TransistorsandICsareconsiderablysmallerandlessfragilethanglassvacuumtubes,andtheydonotgenerateheatastubesdo.However,vacuumtubeshavesomeuniquecharacteristicsintheirbehaviorthatcontinuetomakethempopularforavarietyofamplificationuses,andyoustilloftenfindthemglowinginsideanumberofelectronicdevicestoday.

Figure1.9Bypassingtheoutputofatubeamplifierthroughanadjustablefrequencyfilterandfeedingthesignalbacktothetubesinput,avariable-frequencyoscillatoriscreated.

Figure1.10ModernvacuumtubessuchastheElectro-Harmonix5751GoldPinPreamparestillusedinanumberofelectronicdevices.(photocourtesyofElectro-Harmonix,usedwithpermission)

Whenyouconsiderthatnearlyeveryaspectofsoundproductiononasynthesizeriseithercontrollingandamplifyingasignalorcreatinganelectricaloscillation,youquicklyrealizehowimportantvacuumtubes(andtheirsolid-statecousins)aretothehistoryanddevelopmentoftheelectronicsynthesizer.Followingthecommercializationofvacuumtubes,synthesizersinallshapes,sizes,anddesignsbegantospringuparoundtheworld.Althoughitiswellbeyondthescopeofthischaptertoexaminethemanysynthesizermodelsofthetwentiethcentury,afewmadesuchasignificantimpactonourperceptionanduseofthesenewinstrumentsthataquickoverviewofthemwillhelppositionthemodernsynthesizerinitshistoricalwindow.

Theremin

Perhapsnoelectronicsynthesizerfromtheearlytwentiethcenturyhadagreaterimpactthan,andinspiredsomanyotherinstrumentsas,thatinventedbytheRussianengineerLevSergeyevichTermen,or,ashewasknownintheUnitedStatesandWesternEurope,LonTheremin(18961993).Althoughheinitiallycalledhis1920inventionanetherphone,hechangedthenametoThereminwhenhepatentedtheinstrumentintheUnitedStatesin1928.

ThereminwasworkingonamotiondetectorandproximityalarmfortheSovietgovernmentwhenhenoticedthatapersonsdistancefromthedevicessensorcausedthefrequencyofthealarmsoundtoriseandfall.Bygentlymovinghishandinrelationtothesensorantenna,hecouldproducedifferentnotes;beinganamateurcellist,hebegantryingtoplaysomeofhisfavoritecellorepertoire.Initially,theloudnessoftheinstrumentwascontrolledwithafootpedal,butTheremindecidedtomakethataspectcontrollablewithaproximityantennaaswell.Thus,theclassicTheremindesignofawoodenboxwithaverticalantennaonitsrightsideandahorizontal-loopantennaextendingfromitsleftsidewasborn.

TheThereminremainsuniqueamonginstrumentsinthattheperformerdoesnotusuallytouchtheinstrument.Astheplayer srighthandmovesclosertotheverticalantennathepitchoftheinstrumentrises.Thelefthandhoversabovethehorizontal-loopantennatocontrolthevolume.Movingthelefthandclosertothelooplowersthevolume(silencingtheinstrumentifittouchestheantenna),andmovingawayraisesthevolume.Withagreatdealofpractice,amusiciancanperformwithwonderfulexpressivenessandlyricsensitivity.AnumberofThereminvirtuosihaverecordedandtouredextensivelywiththisinstrument,includingtwoofThereminsownprotges:ClaraRockmoreandhisgrand-nieceLydiaKavina.

Figure1.11AyoungLonTheremin(ca.1928)performingontheinstrumentthatcametobearhisname.MovingtherighthandclosertotheverticalantennacausestheThereminpitchtorise,whilemovingthelefthandclosertothehorizontalloopantennacausesthevolumetodrop.

AlthoughtheoriginalcommercialmodeloftheTheremin,producedbytheRCACompany,wasnotahugesuccess,theinstrumentssoundhascontinuedtofascinateperformersandaudiencesalike.Inrecentyears,severalcompanies(mostnotablyMoogMusic)haveproducedTheremininstruments,aswellasassemblykitsforhomehobbyists,spurringaresurgenceofinterestinthiswonderfulinstrument.Today,morethanninetyyearsafteritsinvention,theThereminstillmakesoccasionalappearancesonstageandinrecordingsandfilmsoundtracks.

OndesMartenot

AtaboutthesametimeThereminwaspatentinghisinstrumentintheUnitedStates,theFrenchmusicianandinventorMauriceMartenot(18981980)wasdevelopinganinstrumentcapableofproducingmanyofthesametypesofsoundsastheTheremin,butwiththeaidofapiano-stylekeyboard.TheondesMartenot(Martenotwaves),likenearlyallsynthesizersatthetime,wasmonophonic,capableofplayingonlyonenoteatatime.AswiththeTheremin,pitchwascontrolledwiththerighthandandvolumewiththeleft,althoughtheprocessesforbothwerecompletelydifferent.Intheyearsafteritsinventionin1928,theondesMartenotunderwentanumberofimportantrefinementsinbothsound-makingcapabilitiesandabilitytorespondtoplayerexpressiveness,beforeceasingproductionin1988.

Inadditiontoplayingonthekeyboard(auclavier)forfixed-pitchintervals,theperformerworeametalringontherighthandthatcouldslidealongametalribbon(auruban)positionedatthefront

edgeofthekeyboardtoproducecontinuousglissandibetweennotes.Theringspositionontheribbonproducedthepitchofthecorrespondingadjacentkey,butwiththeabilitytoslidebetweennotes.Pressingakey,orplacingtheringontheribbon,producednosound,though,untilalargevolumebutton(touchedintensit)locatedinthecontroldrawer(tiroir)waspressedwiththelefthand.Thedepthtowhichthebuttonwaspressedincreasedthevolumelevelfromsofttoloud.

Severalotherrefinementstotheinstrumentfurtherheighteneditsexpressiveness.Whileplayinganoteonthekeyboard,theplayercouldwigglethekeyslightlyleftandrighttoproduceavibratoeffect.LaterversionsoftheondesMartenotintroducedasetoffourdifferentloudspeakers(diffuseurs)thatchangedthetimbreoftheinstrument.Fromthesamedrawerthatcontainedthevolumebutton,theplayercouldselectthePrincipal(astandardloudspeaker),theRsonance(aloudspeakerwithmetalspringsattachedtoproduceareverberationeffect),theMtallique(aloudspeakerthatusedasmallmetalgongasitsdiaphragmtoproducearichsetofharmonics),orthePalme(alyre-shapedloudspeakerwithguitarlikestringsstretchedacrossthefacetoproduceresonance).

Figure1.12TheondesMartenotwiththreeofitsspeaker(diffuseur)types:Palme(topleft),Principal(bottomleft),andMtallique(right).Thedrawer(tiroir)isopenattheleftendofthekeyboard.(photocourtesyofunidentifiedWikipediauser,WikimediaCommons:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ondes_martenot.jpg)

AlthoughtheondesMartenotceasedproductionmorethantwentyyearsago,manyoftheoriginalinstrumentsstillexist,andafewcompaniesproducemodernreplicas.AswiththeTheremin,ondesMartenotareoccasionallyusedinperformances,recordings,andmoviesoundtracks.

MoogSynthesizer

NohistoryofthesynthesizerevenoneasbriefandsubjectiveasthiswouldbecompletewithoutdiscussingthenumerouscontributionsofRobertBobMoog(19342005).ThereisnooneMoog(pronouncedmohg)synthesizerbutmorethantwentymodelsthatrevolutionizedsynthesisinthesecondhalfofthetwentiethcentury.

BobMoogsinterestinelectronicsynthesizersbeganatanearlyage.Whilestillinhisteens,hebeganmanufacturingandsellingvacuumtubeThereminkitsforhobbyistsandenthusiaststobuild.Hewentontoreceivemultipledegreesinelectricalengineeringandphysics,includingaPh.D.fromCornell.

Withthedevelopmentofthetransistorinthe1950s,Moogrealizedhecouldmakesynthesizersthatweresmaller,cheaper,andmoresophisticated.Healsobeganteamingupwithsomeofthemostprominentsynthesizerdesignersofthetime,includingHerbertDeutsch(b.1932)andVladimirUssachevsky(19111990),todevelopanumberofrefinementsandimprovementstothesynthesisprocess.Alongtheway,Mooghadahandinthedevelopmentofvoltage-controlledoscillators(VCOs),amplifiers(VCAs),filters(VCFs),envelopegenerators(ADSRs),stepsequencers,andeffectsprocessorsallfundamentalelementsinthemodernsynthesisprocess.7

Moogalsorecognizedthatthesynthesisprocessitselfworkedthroughanumberofstepsorstages,andhebegantodesigninstrumentswithseparatesections,ormodules,forthesevariousstages.Intheearlyversionsofhismodularsynthesizers,themoduleswereconnectedwiththesametypeofcablesthattelephoneandradioengineersusedtomaketemporaryconnections,orpatches,intheirequipment.Theconnectionsandconfigurationsofthesepatchcordscreatedthevarioussoundsonthesynthesizer,andsothesounditselfbegantobeknownasapatch.Andeventhoughsynthesizersnolongerusethesecables,thetermisstillcommonlyusedtodescribeanindividualsoundorpresetonasynthesizer.

Figure1.13Dr.RobertA.BobMoog,surroundedbyanumberofhislegendarycreations,eachconfiguredforapatch.(photousedwithkindpermissionofIleanaGrams-Moog/EstateofRobertA.Moog)

Inthe1960s,thesoundofthesynthesizerwasstillconsideredanovelty,andnottakenseriouslybymosttraditionalmusicians.However,themusician,composer,andengineerWendyCarlos(b.1939)becamefascinatedwiththeMoogsynthesizerandbegancomposingfor,andperformingwith,theinstrumentinthe1960s.In1968,shereleasedSwitched-OnBach,analbumofworksbyJ.S.Bach,performedentirelyontheMoogsynthesizer.ThealbumwonthreeGrammyAwardsandeventuallywentplatinum,becomingthehighest-sellingclassicalLPatthetime.Notonlywasthealbumahugesuccess,ithelpedestablishtheelectronicsynthesizerasalegitimatemusicalinstrument,introducingitssoundtomillionsofnewlisteners.

EventhoughSwitched-OnBachwasaclassicalrecording,italsohadaprofoundinfluenceonmanyofthepopularandrockmusiciansofthetimewhowerelookingfornewsoundsourcestoexplore.ThesoundofaMoogsynthesizer,inallitsmanyvariants,becamesoubiquitoustopopandrockmusicthatyoucouldfindone(orseveral)innearlyeverymajorstageorrecordingstudiointhelatetwentiethcentury.OthercompaniessuchasSequentialCircuits,ARP,Buchla,andmanymorecreatedgreatsynthesizersatthesametime,althougharguablynonehavegarneredthesamecachetasthosedesignedbyBobMoogandthecompanyhefounded,MoogMusic.

RCAMarkIISoundSynthesizer

OneofthebiggestlimitationsofsynthesizersincludingthosefromMoogthroughthemiddleof

thetwentiethcenturywasthefactthattheywereallmonophonicandmonotimbral;theycouldplayjustonenotewithonesoundatatime.Theonlywaytogetpolyphony,orsimultaneoussounds,wasbyrecordingoverdubsontomultitrackaudiotape,anincrediblydifficultandtime-consumingprocess.8Becausevacuumtubes,whichrequiredalotofphysicalspace,wereneededfornearlyeverystageofasynthesizer,manufacturerswerefacedwithadilemma:maketheirinstrumentsmallenoughtomovearound,butwithonlysingle-voicecapability,orgiveittheabilitytoplaymultiplenotesandsounds,butatthecostofbeingbothhugeandhugelyexpensive.Evenwithsolid-stateinstruments,mostmanufacturerstookthefirstapproachofkeepingtheelectronicssimple(monophonicandmonotimbral)andrelativelyinexpensive.

Incontrast,theRCAMarkIISoundSynthesizertookthelatterapproach.ItwasinstalledattheColumbia-PrincetonElectronicMusicCenterin1957andfeaturedawhoppingfour-notepolyphonyusingasmanyastwelveoscillators!Becauseofthecomplexityofsettingupandcontrollingtheinstrument,italsofeaturedabinarysequencerthatreaddatapunchedintoapaperrollsimilartothatusedbyplayerpianostosendinstructionstothesynthesizer.Infact,onedidnotplaytheMarkIIsomuchasoneprogrammedit.SincetheMarkIIusedvacuumtubesforallitsprocessing,itrequiredalargeroomwithsubstantialairconditioningtopreventoverheating.Inanironictwist,thefirstpolyphonicandmultitimbralsynthesizersinceCahillsTelharmoniumsharedlargespacerequirementssimilartothoseofitsearlycousin.

Becauseofitssize,cost,complexity,andlimitedavailability,theMarkIISoundSynthesizerneverbecamethecommercialsuccessforwhichRCAhadhoped.Thecompany,whoseprimarybusinesswaselectronicscontractsforthemilitary(theMarkIIhadadecidedlymilitarylooktoit),droppedoutofthesynthesizermanufacturingbusinesssoonthereafter.However,forasmallgroupofcomposersandelectronicsengineers,itpioneeredtheideaofpolyphonic,multitimbralsynthesizersandtheuseofcomputer-basedsequencerstocontroltheseinstruments.

Figure1.14TheRCAMarkIISynthesizerattheColumbia-PrincetonElectronicMusicCenterin1958.Pictured(lefttoright),threeofthepioneersofcomputer-basedelectronicmusic:MiltonBabbitt,PeterMauzey,andVladimirUssachevsky.(photocourtesyofTheColumbiaUniversityComputerMusicCenter)

SequentialCircuitsProphet-5

WhileRCAoptedforthelarge-computerapproachtocontrollingasynthesizer,SequentialCircuits,aCaliforniacompanyfoundedbyanotherlegendarysynthesizerdesigner,DaveSmith,wentintheoppositedirectionandbeganproducingasmall,affordableanalogsynthesizercalledtheProphet-5.9WhatmadetheProphet-5revolutionarywasthefactthatitincorporatedadigitalmicroprocessorallowingtheusertoquicklyprogram,store,andrecallpresets(patches)ontheinstrument.Inadditiontoitscomputerizedoperatingsystem,theProphet-5hadafive-voicepolyphonyandfeaturedacomplexsound-makingstructurecapableofproducingincrediblyrichsounds.Withitslushandexoticsounds,patchmanagementsystem,smallsize,andaffordableprice,theProphet-5becameoneofthemostsuccessfulearlysynthesizers,sellingapproximatelyeightthousandunitsduringitsproductionfrom1978to1984.Itsdesignandstructurealsobecamethemodelonwhichmostlaterinstrumentswerebased.

Figure1.15TheSequentialCircuitsProphet-5synthesizercombinedafive-voiceanalogsynthesizerwithadigitalmicroprocessor,allowingtheusertoprogram,store,andrecallpresets.(photocourtesyofDaveSmith,www.davesmithinstruments.com,usedwithpermission)

DigitalSynthesizers

Wheneverwearepresentedwithsomesortofhistoricaltimeline,thereisatemptationforustothinkthatalloftheeventsonthetimelineoccurredoneaftertheother:firstAhappened,thenB,thenC,etc.Inreality,historicaleventsfrequentlyoverlaponeanotherquiteabit,andsuchisthecasewithourbriefsynthesizerhistory.

Allofthesynthesizersmentionedthusfarhavebeenanaloginstrumentsthatcreateandmodifysoundsviacontinuouselectricalcurrents.Evenasanaloginstrumentscontinuedtoflourish,bythemiddleofthetwentiethcentury,newtypesofso-calleddigitaldeviceshadalreadybeguntoemerge.10Initially,mostsynthesizerdesignersfeltthetechnologytobetooimpracticalandexpensiveforsynthesispurposes,butbythelatterdecadesofthetwentiethcentury,thesizeandcostofdigitalcomponentshaddroppeddramatically,leadingtoanumberofdigitalsynthesizerdesigns.

Theseearlydigitalsynthesizersofthe1970sand1980swereessentiallymusicalcomputersthatusedmomentarystatesofeitheronoroff(binary)voltagesfortheircomputationalandsoundmakingpurposes.Infact,thefirstdigitalsynthesizers,liketheSynclavierbyNewEnglandDigitalandtheCMI(ComputerMusicalInstrument)byFairlight,lookedmuchlikeanearlycomputer,butwiththeadditionofapiano-stylekeyboard.

Figure1.16EarlydigitalsynthesizerssuchastheSynclavierII(1981)fromNewEnglandDigitallookedmorelikecomputers,butwiththeadditionofapiano-stylekeyboard.(photocourtesyofCameronJones,usedwithpermission)

Digitalsynthesizersofferedthedistinctadvantagethat,sinceeverysoundvalueandsettingonthesynthesizerwasanindividualnumber,thedatacouldbeeasilycaptured,recorded,andedited.Althoughthecomputationalpoweroftheseinstrumentsgavethemanamazingsound-makingpowerforthetime,theywereincrediblyexpensive.Dependingonthemodelanditsvariousoptions,thecostoftheseinstrumentscouldeasilyexceed$200,000,placingthemwellbeyondthereachofmostmusicians.

YamahaDX7

Thefirstdigitalsynthesizertomakeitintothestudiosofeveryoneelse,theYamahaDX7,becameoneofthemostcommerciallysuccessfulsynthesizersofalltime.Atapriceofaround$2,000(oraboutahundredthofthecostofaprofessionalSynclavier),Yamahaisestimatedtohavesoldmorethan150,000DX7sduringtheinstrumentsproductionfrom1983to1989.

Thisall-in-oneinstrumentpackagedtheentiretyofitsprocessingpowerintothesamecasethatheldthesixty-one-notekeyboard.AlthoughtheDX7wasmonotimbral,itcouldplayasmanyassixteensimultaneousnotesandfeaturedMIDI(MusicalInstrumentDigitalInterface),thenetworkingprotocolthatallowedsynthesizerstobeconnectedtoincreasetheirtimbralandpolyphoniccapabilities.TheDX7wasalsothefirstcommercialsynthesizertousearevolutionarynewsound-makingprocesscalledFMSynthesis,whichgaveitanincrediblyrichandsophisticatedsound.11

Figure1.17ThevenerableYamahaDX7DigitalSynthesizerfeaturedanewprocessknownasfrequencymodulationsynthesistocreateitsamazinglyrichsounds.(photocourtesyofYamahaCorporationofAmerica,usedwithpermission)

EventhoughtheDX7wasproducedforonlysixyears,ithadahugeimpactonthedevelopmentofsynthesizersandspawnedanexplosivegrowthindigitalinstrumentdesignonthepartofnearlyalltheprominentsynthesizermanufacturers.Morethantwodecadesafterproductionstopped,theDX7remainsapopularinstrumentforitssoniccapabilities.Itisfrequentlyseeninonlineauctions,andmultiplewebsitesdedicatedtothisvenerableinstrumentcanbefoundwithaquickInternetsearch.

KorgM1

PerhapstheonlyhardwaresynthesizertoachieveawiderreachthantheDX7wastheKorgM1,thefirstcommerciallysuccessfulmusicworkstation.KorgsoldmorethanaquarterofamillionM1sduringthesixyears(19881994)inwhichitwasproduced.Theinstrumentwasknownasaworkstationbecause,inadditiontoitssound-makingcapabilities,itofferedratherimpressiveeffectsprocessing,andabuilt-insequencerthatalloweduserstorecord,edit,andplaybackMIDIdatafromtheinstrumentitself.LiketheearlierDX7,theM1couldplaysixteensimultaneousnotes,buttheM1wasalsomultitimbral,capableofplayingasmanyaseightsimultaneoussounds.

Insteadofusingcombinationsofbasicwaveformsforitssoundengine,theM1usedanapproachfirstimplementedbytheRolandCorporationontheirD-50synthesizerthatlayeredshort,prerecordedsamplesofrich,complexsoundstogetherastherawsoundmaterialforthesynthesizer.Thisprocessofusingsampledsoundwaves,sometimescalledwavetablesynthesis,becameoneoftheprimaryformsofsynthesisinusetoday.

Figure1.18TheKorgM1musicworkstationwasbothpolyphonicandmultitimbral.Usingitson-boardsequencer,performersandcomposerscoulddoalltheirproductionworkdirectlywithintheM1.(photocourtesyofKorgUSA,usedwithpermission)

SoftwareSynthesizers

Withtheproliferationofthepersonalcomputerbeginninginthe1980s,synthesizerdesignersrecognizedanotherhugeopportunityforgrowth:softwaresynthesizers.Sincemostcomputersalreadyhadmorecomputationalpowerthanthetypicalhardwaresynthesizer,allthatwasneededwastheabilitytoconnectakeyboard,orsomeothercontroller,tothecomputertobeabletoplaythesynthesizer.WiththedevelopmentofMIDIinterfacesforcomputers,thateasilybecameareality,andthenumberofavailablesoftwaresynthesizersgrewexponentially.

Softwaresynthesizersofferanumberofadvantagesovertheirhardwarecounterparts.Forexample,softwaresynthesizers(orsoftsynths,astheyareoftencalled)canusuallybeupdatedtoanewerversionwithasimpleInternetdownload.Althoughafewhardwaresynthesizershavetheabilitytobeupdatedviaadiscormemorycard,mostcanbeupdatedonlywithahardwaremodificationiftheycanbeupdatedatall.

Inadditiontotakingadvantageofthecomputer slargeprocessingpower,softsynthscanalsousethecomputer sfilestoragecapabilities,allowingtheusertocreatelargelibrariesofsoundsthatcanbeinstantlyloadedintothesynthesizer.ThetypicalhardwaresynthesizerprovidesaccesstotheinstrumentsdatathroughasmallLCDscreenthatisoftencumbersomeanddifficulttoread.Computers,withtheirlargemonitorsandgraphicaluserinterfaces(GUIs),makeitquiteeasytoaccesseventhemostcomplexofasynthesizer scapabilities.

Anothermajoradvantageofsoftsynthsovertheirhardwarecounterpartsisthefactthatmostofthemnowrunasso-calledplug-inswithinotheraudioandMIDIprogramsknownasdigitalaudioworkstations(DAWs).ThisallowstheinstrumentssoundtoberecordedandediteddirectlyinsidetheDAWalongwithothersoftsynth,audio,andMIDItracks.

Althoughsoftwaresynthesizersofferanumberofsound-makingadvantages,theyalsosufferfromwhatmanyconsideracriticaldisadvantage,theirlackofphysicalandtactilecontrols.Oneofthejoysofplayingasynthesizerliveistheabilitytomodifythesoundoftheinstrumentasyouplayitviathemanyknobs,wheels,andslidersfoundonmosthardwareinstruments.Withasoftsynth,youusuallymodifythesoundbyclickinganddraggingamouseonvariousmenusandothercontrolfunctionsonthecomputerscreen,ataskthatisnearlyimpossibletoperformwhileplayingtheinstrument.Toworkaroundthisproblem,anumberofmanufacturerscreatehardwarecontrollersthatconnecttothesoftsynththroughacomputerinterface.Thesehardware,orexternal,controllersusuallygivetheuseravarietyofphysicalknobsandothersuchcontrolstotweakwhileplaying.Unfortunately,mostexternalcontrollersarenotdesignedforaspecificsoftwaresynthesizer,requiringtheusertoassign,ormap,alltheknobs,wheels,andslidersonthehardwarecontrollertothevariousfunctionswithinthesoftwareinstrument.12

Figure1.19NativeInstrumentsMassivesoftsynthprovidesahugearrayofsoundcreationandshapingtoolsandcanrunonitsownasastandaloneinstrumentorasaplug-ininsideofmostDAWs.MassivecanalsomapthevariousknobsandotherphysicalcontrolsfromanexternalhardwarecontrollertotheinstrumentsmanyfunctionsviatheMacroControlpanellocatedatthebottom-rightofthesoftsynthswindow.

Sincemostrecenthardwaresynthesizersareessentiallymusic-specificcomputers,thismakesitquiteeasytoemulatemanyoftheseinstrumentsassoftsynths,andalargeindustryhassprungupcreatingsoftsynthversionsofallthepopularhardwaredigitalsynthesizers.Recently,withonlyatwistofirony,companiessuchasArturiahavebeguncreatingemulationsofmanyoftheoldanalogsynthesizerssuchastheMoog,ARP,andProphetmodelsofthesixties,seventies,andeighties.Byitsnature,adigitalinstrumenttendstobeextremelypreciseandaccurateinallofitscomputationalandsound-makingcharacteristics.Becausemostofthoseolderinstrumentsusedvacuumtubesintheirdesigns,thesemodernemulatorsattempttoputbackmanyoftheimperfectionsthatgavethoseinstrumentstheirfamoussound.

Today,eventhoughnearlyallsynthesizermanufacturersarecreatingdigitalinstruments,afewcompaniescontinuetodesignandbuildanaloginstruments.ManyofthesecompaniesbasetheirproductsonearlierinstrumentsliketheMoogsynthesizers,butafewcompanies,amongthemDaveSmithInstruments(thesameDaveSmithofProphet-5fame),continuetodevelophardwaresynthesizersbuiltwithanalogcomponents.

Figure1.20TheModularVsoftsynthbyArturiaisanamazinglyrealisticrecreationcompletewithswingingpatchcablesoftheoriginalMoogModularhardwaresynthesizer,butwiththeadditionofextensivefilehandlingandstoragecapabilities.ComparethisimagetothephotoofthehardwareversionsshowninFigure1.13.

Figure1.21TheMophox4fromDaveSmithInstrumentsisacurrentproductionanalogsynthesizerwithfour-voicepolyphonyandmicroprocessorcontrolforpatchcreationandstorage.(photocourtesyofDaveSmithInstruments,www.davesmithinstruments.com,usedwithpermission)

SinceThaddeusCahillsworkatthedawnofthetwentiethcentury,therehavebeenhundreds,ifnotthousands,ofhardwareandsoftwaresynthesizersdesigned.Thisbriefoverviewofsynthesizerhistoryisgivennottobedefinitivebutasaquicksnapshotofsomeofthemoreimportantlandmarksinsynthesizerdevelopment.Manyoftheelementsofsynthesisthatwewilldiscussintheremainderofthistextmaybetracedtooneoftheseimportantmilestones.

Forthoseinterestedinexploringthisfascinatingsubjectfurther,thereareanumberofbothprintandonlineresourcesexploringaspectsofthehistoryofsynthesizersandsynthesisinmuchgreaterdetail.Onewebsiteinparticular,VintageSynthExplorer(http://www.vintagesynth.com/),providesaniceoverviewofsynthesizerhistory,alongwithnumerousphotosandaudioexamplesoftheinstruments,andisagreatplacetobegin.

DigitalAudioandSynthesisAswiththeothertopicsinthischapter,therearemanyexcellentsourcesofinformationondigitalaudio,nottomentionnumerousonlineandprintdiscussionsabouttheprosandconsofanalogaudioversusdigitalaudio.Itiswellbeyondourscopetowadeintothatbattlehere,butnoonecandenythehugeimpactcomputersanddigitalaudiohavehadonthesynthesisprocess.Forourcurrentdiscussion,then,wewillfocusprimarilyontheaspectsofdigitizationthataffectsynthesisandsynthesizers.

TIPAnalogcomesfromthesamerootasthewordanalogy.Incommonuse,ananalogisacontinuous,uninterruptedrepresentationofsomethingelse.Forexample,ananalogclockrepresentsthepassageoftimewithcontinuouslymovinghandsinterconnectedbygearssothat,asthesecondhandsweepsaroundthefaceoftheclock,theminuteandhourhandsslowlyadvanceaswell.Withanalogaudio,thecompressionandrarefactionsofairpressurearerepresentedbycontinuouspositiveandnegativechangesinvoltage.Thesechangescanberecordedasgroovesonarecord,oraschangingdensitiesofmagneticfluxonaudiotape.

Figure1.22Justasthesweepinghandsonthefaceofaclockcreateananalogofthecontinuouspassageoftime(left),thesinglespiralgrooveonthesurfaceofavinylrecord(magnified1,000timesatright)createsacontinuousanalogoftheoriginaloscillatingsoundwave.(analogclockphoto:limpido/Photos.com,recordgroovephoto:ChrisSupranowitz/courtesyofUniversityofRochester-URnano)

Digitalrepresentstheconceptthat,insteadofacontinuousstream,thedataareindividual,momentarymeasurements.Forexample,adigitalclockmayshowonlythehourandminute,andremaininthisstateforsixtysecondsuntiltheclockupdatesatthenextminute.Withdigitalaudio,thecompressionandrarefactionsofairpressurearemeasuredthousandsoftimeseverysecondtocaptureamomentaryvalue.Thesemeasurementsarerecordedasgroupsofbitsthatcanbestoredasalternatinghighandlowvoltageonadigitaltape,orasalternatingpits(smallindentations)andlands(flatspaces)onthesurfaceofaplasticdisclikeaCDorDVD.

Figure1.23Adigitalclockdisplaysamomentarymeasurementofthecurrenttime(left).Thepitsandlandsonthesurfaceofacompactdisc(magnified20,000timesatright)indicatetheindividualbits(zeroesandones)thatformthemomentarymeasurementofthedigitizedsoundwave.(digitalclockphoto:ArturSynenko/Photos.com,CDpitsphoto:ChrisSupranowitz/courtesyofUniversityofRochester-URnano)

Aswithanalogaudiodevices,digitaldevicesfirstconverttheacousticenergyofsoundintoelectricalenergyviatransducers.Next,theelectricalsignalispassedthroughaprocessknownastheanalog-to-digitalconverter(ADC),wherethesignalsamplitudeismeasuredthousandsoftimespersecond.Eachindividualmeasurementisrecordedindigitalwords,orbytes,consistingofgroupsofeightbits(anelisionofthewordsbinaryanddigits),representingasingleamplitudevalueatadiscretepointintime.13Sincecomputersandotherdigitaldevicescannotreadbetweenthelines,theyquantizethesamplemeasurementbyusingtheclosestamplitudevalueontheirinternalscalewhenmeasuringthevoltage.

Figure1.24Inthedigitizationofasoundwave,soundisfirstconvertedtoanalogvoltage(left),whichpassesthroughtheanalog-to-digitalconverter.AteachclockpulseintheADC,theamplitudeofthevoltageismeasured,andquantized,tothenearestamplitudescalevalue(center).Thediscretevalueofeachindividualmeasurement,orsample,isthenrecordedindigitalbits(right).

Onplayback,theindividualsamplesarereadintothedigital-to-analogconverter(DAC)andturnedbackintovoltagelevelstobetransducedintosoundbytheloudspeakers.AlthoughyouandImightconnectthedotswithdirect,diagonallines,acomputercannotseethenextvalueuntilithappens,sothevoltageremainsatthecurrentsamplevalueuntilthenextsample,atwhichpointitimmediatelyjumpstothatvalue.Theresultingdifferencesbetweentheoriginalsoundwaveanditsdigitizedversionareknownasthequantizationerror.

Figure1.25Althoughhumanstendtoconnectthedotswithdirectlines(left),computerswaituntilthenextvaluebeforeimmediatelyjumpingtothatlevel(center).Thedifferencebetweentheoriginalsoundwaveanditsdigitizedversionisknownasthequantizationerror(right).

Onewaytoreducethequantizationerroristoincreasethebitdepth,orbitresolution(thenumberofzeroesandonesusedintheamplitudemeasurements).14Thetypicaldigitalaudiodeviceusesabitdepthofsixteen(sixteenzeroesandones)tomeasuretheamplitude,yieldingatotalof65,536measurementincrementsbetweenthebottomandtopoftheamplituderange.However,increasingtotwenty-fourbitsprovides16,777,216measurementincrements.Imagineyouhavetwotapemeasures,withonebeingmarkedonlyininches,andtheothermarkedinsixteenthsofaninch.Whichtapewillgiveyouthemoreaccuratemeasurement?Soitiswithhigherbitdepths:themorebits,themoreaccuratetheamplitudemeasurement.

Anotherwaytoreducethequantizationerrorindigitalaudioistoincreasethesamplerate,orthenumberofsamplescapturedpersecond.Thehigherthesamplerate,theclosertogetherthemeasurements,andthemoreaccuratethedigitizedversionofthewave.

Sincesoundwaveshavebothapositiveandanegativephase(compressionandrarefaction),ameasurementmustbemade,ataminimum,inbothphases.Thusoneofthefundamentaltenetsofdigitalaudio,knownastheNyquisttheorem,statesthatthedigitalsamplingratemustbeatleasttwice

ashighasthehighestanalogfrequencytoberecorded.Inotherwords,sincemosthumanscanhearsounduptoabout20kHz,theNyquisttheoremsaysoursamplingratemustbeatleast40kHzinordertocapturethefrequencyrange.Thathighestanalogfrequencytoberecorded(halfthesamplingrate)issimilarlyknownastheNyquistfrequency.Thankstoafewhistoricalanddesignquirks,mostdigitaldeviceshavesettledonasamplingrateofeither44.1kHzor48kHz,yieldingNyquistfrequenciesof22.05kHzand24kHzrespectively.Today,manydevicesprovideevenhighersamplingratestoimprovetheaudioquality.Generally,thesehigherratesareeithertwoorfourtimesthetwobasicsamplingrates,producingratesof88.2kHzand96kHz(2),or176.4kHzand192kHz(4).

Evenwithhighersamplingrates,itisimportanttorememberthathigh-frequencysoundshavefewermeasurementstakenperwavecyclethandolow-frequencysounds.Sohighfrequenciesarenotrecordedorreproducedasaccuratelyaslowfrequencies.Thisissuebecomesextremelyimportantindigitalsynthesisasagreatdealofthesound-makingprocessisaboutcombiningpartialsandharmonicstocreatecomplextonesthathavealotofhigh-frequencycontent.Withanalogsynthesizers,thecombinationoftheseharmonicsisnotaproblem.However,withdigitalsynthesizers,thesameprocessthatsoundsfantasticonananaloginstrumentcansoundquitedifferentonadigitalinstrumentbecauseofhowtheseinaccuratelyrenderedhighfrequenciesinteractwitheachother.

Figure1.26Giventhesamesamplingrate,alow-frequencysound(top)ismeasuredmanymoretimespercycle,thanisahigh-frequencysound(bottom).Thusdigitalaudiotendstoproducemoreaccuraterepresentationsoflowfrequenciesthanofhighfrequencies.

Demo1.4

Aliasing

Wementionedearlierthathumanhearinggoesuptoabout20kHzinfrequencyresponse.Butaretheresoundsabove20kHz?Ofcoursethereare;justaskyourdog!Whathappensifadigitalaudiodevicetriestorecordorrenderafrequencyhigherthan20kHz?Remember,accordingtotheNyquisttheorem,oursamplingratemustbeatleasttwiceashighasthehighestfrequencywearecapturing.Ifitisnot,thenanartificiallowerfrequencycalledanaliasisheard.AliasfrequenciesfolddownsymmetricallyfromtheNyquistfrequency.Forexample,ifyoursamplingrateis48kHz(Nyquistfrequencyis24kHz)andyouattempttorecordafrequencyof30kHz(6kHzabove24kHz),youwillhearanaliasat18kHz(6kHzbelow24kHz).

Figure1.27Whenthesamplingrateisnothighenoughtocapturetwoormoresamplesperwaveperiod,artificiallowerfrequenciescalledaliasesareproducedinsteadoftheoriginalhighfrequencies.

DigitalrecordingdevicesavoidaliasingbyusingalowpassfiltertopreventsoundshigherthantheNyquistfrequencyfromenteringtheaudiochain.However,withdigitalsynthesizers,itisrelativelyeasytocreatealiasing.Manysynthesizersoundslikesawtoothwavesandpulsewavesproduceagreatnumberofveryhighharmonicsandpartials.EventhoughthefundamentalfrequencyofawavemightstaywellbelowtheNyquistfrequency,quiteoftenthoseharmonicswillexceedtheNyquistfrequency,producingartificiallowertonesthatinterferewiththedesiredsound.

Again,aliasingisnotaproblemwithanalogsynthesizers,onlywithdigitalones.Tocombataliasing,mostmoderndigitalsynthesizersuseoneofseveralcomplexalgorithmstofilteroutthealiasfrequenciesfromtheiroscillators.Althoughthesetechniquesreducetheeffectofoscillatoraliasing,theyalsotendtoslightlyalterthesoundofdigitaloscillatorsascomparedtotheiranalogcounterparts.

Inspiteofissuessuchasbitresolution,quantizationerror,high-frequencyinaccuracy,andaliasing,digitalsynthesizershavebecomethestandardinstrument.Nodoubttheanalogversusdigitaldebatewillcontinue,butwecannotescapethefactthatnearlyallsynthesizerstodayaredigitalinstruments.Mostmusicianshavecometoacceptthatthebenefitsofprogrammingeaseandtheamountofavailablecomputationalandsound-makingpoweroutweightheissuesassociatedwithdigitaloscillators.Infact,astheamountofcomputationalpowerincreases,moreofitisbeingappliedtothequalityoftheoscillators,thusmakingtheissueeversmaller.

Whetheryouareworkingwithahardware,software,analog,ordigitalinstrument,youwillfindthatnearlyallofthebasicfunctionsofasynthesizerarethesamefrominstrumenttoinstrument.Theymayhavedifferingnames,butingeneralallsynthesizershaveoscillatorsandwaystocombinethose

oscillatorstocreatecomplextones.Theyhavewaysofshapingboththeamplitudeandthefrequencycontentofthosetonesandaddingeffectsprocessingalongtheway.Inadditiontotheirwonderfulsound-making,andsound-shaping,capabilities,todayssynthesizersusuallyprovidealargearrayofmethodsfordynamicallyalteringandmodifyingthosesoundsasyouplaythem.Inthecomingchapters,wewilldigbeneaththesurfaceofourinstrumentsasweexamineeveryelementofthesynthesisprocess,andexploreitsroleinsoundcreatingandshaping.However,nowthatwehavereviewedabitofsound,audio,andthedevelopmentofthemodernsynthesizer,itstimeforyoutostartmakingsomesoundofyourown.

YourTurnWorkingwithCrystal

LaunchtheCrystalfileyoucreatedfollowingtheinstructionsintheintroductiontothisbook.15OnceCrystalisopen,takeafewminutestoexplorethewindow.Notethefivetabsacrossthetop,whichtakeyoutodifferentwindows.EachwindowhasanumberofpanelsforcontrollingthevarioussynthesisaspectsinCrystal.

Figure1.28WhenCrystalopens,youseefivetabsacrossthetopofthewindow:Modulation,Voice1,Voice2,Voice3,andMixer.Clickingatabtakesyoutoawindowwithitsownsetofindividualpanes.

IntheModulationwindow,locatethePatchespaneljusttotherightofthelogo,andclicktheBrowsebuttontobringupthepatchbrowserforCrystal.SelecttheFactoryPresets.fxbbankfromtheBanksmenu,andthenchoosethefirstpatch,SweptAway,fromthePatchesmenu.16Press,andhold,anoteinthemiddleofyourMIDIkeyboard.Youshouldhearasoundthatbeginslowintherightspeakerandthenslowlyevolvesacrossbothspeakersoveraperiodofaboutfifteenseconds.Ifyoudonothearanything,confirmthatyouhaveallyouraudioandMIDIconnectionsproperly

configuredasdescribedintheIntroductioninthesectionentitledUsingtheCrystalSoftwareSynthesizer.

Figure1.29Toselectasoundpreset,orpatchinCrystal,clicktheModulationtab,andthentheBrowsebuttoninthePatchespanel.SelecttheBankfromwhichyouwishtochooseasound(ifyoufollowedtheinstructionsintheIntroduction,youshouldhavetwobanksinthemenu:FactoryPresets.fxbandRefiningSound.fxb).Next,selectthePatchyouwishtohear.Youcanusetheleft-rightarrowbuttonstomovebackandforthinthepatchlist.BecarefulwiththeWritemenu!Itoverwritespatcheswiththecurrentsettings.Wewillusethisfeatureextensivelyincomingchapters.

YoucantryoutothersoundsbyselectingthemfromthePatchesmenu,orbyclickingtheleft-rightarrowsimmediatelybelowthePatchesmenu.Note:theWritemenuwilloverwritethecurrentlyselectedpatchwithanymodificationsyoumayhavemadeinthevariouswindows.Wewillusethisfunctionagreatdealthroughoutthisbook,butfornowleavethismenualone.

TakesometimetolistentoeachoftheFactoryPresetssounds.Inmostcases,thesesoundsaremonophonic,soyouwillnotbeabletoplaychordsjustyet.Somesoundsrespondquickly,whileothersneedtobehelddownforsometimetocompletelydevelop.Tryplayingnotesindifferentregistersofyourkeyboardandnotehowthisaffectseachofthesounds.

Onceyouhavelistenedtoallthesounds,selectoneandclickoneachoftheremainingtabsatthetopoftheCrystalwindow.Thethreevoicetabsallowyoutoconfigurethethreesourcesavailableinasound.Asyouswitchbetweenthethreevoicetabs,youwillnoticethatthecontrolsareidenticalforeachvoice.

Figure1.30ThethreeVoicetabsareidenticalandallowyoutosettheparametersforeachofCrystalssoundsources.

SelecttheVoice1tabandturnoffvoices2and3byclickingtheiractivationbuttonsdirectlyunderneaththeCrystallogointheupper-leftpanelofthewindow(whenavoiceisactive,itsbuttonisilluminated).Withvoices2and3turnedoff,youwillbeabletoeasilyhearanychangesyoumaketovoice1.Feelfreetoexperimentwiththecontrolsforvoice1intheFilters,Oscillator,andAmplitudepanels.17Iwillexplainallofthesefunctionsingreatdetaillaterinthebook,butfornowjustexperimentandlistentotheresults.Ifyouwanttosetvoice1backtoitsoriginalsettings,simplychooseRevertfromtheCopymenuinthesamepanelyouusedtodeactivatetheothervoices.

Afterspendingsometimechangingvoice1ssettings,selecttheMixertabandyouwillseeawindowfullofhorizontalsliders.Thesecontrolsallowyoutocombinethevoicesaswellasnumerouseffectsanddelaylinesinmyriadconfigurations.Alltheslidersinthiswindowmayseemintimidatingatfirst,butasweprogressthroughthebookwewillgettoallofthem.Onceyoubeginusingthem,youwillseethatthiswindowisnotverycomplicatedatall,butactuallyratherstraightforward.

Figure1.31TheMixertaballowsyoutocombineallthevoicesandeffectsinCrystaltocreatethefinished,compositesound.

UsingYourOwnSynthesizer(s)

AlthoughthesynthesizersoundswecreateintheYourTurnsectionsofthistextwillbedonewithCrystal,readersareencouragedtoexploreandusetheirownsynthesizersaswell.Itisimpossibletowriteatextthatfitseverysynthesizermodel,butmostsynthesizersworkinquitesimilarways.Infact,someofthemostconfusingdifferencesbetweensynthesizersarenottheirfunctionsbutsimplythenamesofthosefunctions.Wheneverappropriate,Iwillstrivetoclarifythetermscommonlyusedtodescribeaparticularsynthesizerelementorfunction.

Ifyoudonotalreadyhaveit,getacopyoftheusermanualforyoursynthesizer.MostmanufacturersmaketheseavailableasafreePDFfromtheirwebsite.YouwilloftenfindthemanualsintheSupportorDownloadssectionofthesite.Ifyourinstrumentisnolongermanufactured,doanInternetsearchforit.Chancesareausergroupexistsandwillhavelinksandreferencesandperhapsadownloadablemanualforyoursynthesizer.

Lookatyoursynthesizeranditsmanual.Howisyourinstrumentorganized?WithCrystal,wesawthattheOscillator,Filter,andAmplitudeEnvelopeGeneratorarealllocatedinthesameVoicewindow.Manyinstrumentsplacethesefunctionsindifferentwindows,requiringtheusertoswitchbackandforthbetweenthem.Beforelearningtocreateandeditsoundsonyourowninstrument,youwillneedtolearnhowtonavigatebetweenthesevariousfunctions,aswellashowtoselectandstorepatchesontheinstrument.SwitchingbetweenthesefunctionsonasoftwaresynthesizerisusuallysimplyamatterofselectingatabasinCrystal,orbyselectingafunctionfromtheinstrumentsmenuitems.Hardwareinstruments,though,canoftenbemoredifficulttonavigate.TheytypicallyhaveonlyasmallLCDdisplayshowingjustoneelementatatime.Tonavigatethroughthemanyfunctions,then,oftenrequiresnumerousbuttonpressesandselections.Regardlessoftheytypeofsynthesizeryouuse,besureyouknowhowtonavigatethroughitsvariouswindowsandfunctionsandknowhowtosaveandrecallpatchesontheinstrumentbeforeproceeding.

2OscillatorsMiningtheRawMaterialsofYourSynthesizer

Onlinematerialsforthischapter:

http://www.oup.com/refiningsound/Chapter2.html

oscillate|Slt|verb[intrans.]:moveorswingbackandforthataregularspeed

Derivatives:oscillation|SlSHn|noun;oscillator|sltr|noun

TIPThewordhertz(abbr.Hz)isthestandardunitformeasuringfrequencyandindicatesthenumberofoscillations,orcyclespersecondinawave.Whenthenumberofoscillationsgetsintothethousands,itisoftenindicatedwiththewordkilohertz(abbr.kHz).Therefore20cyclespersecondwillbenotatedas20Hz,and20,000cyclespersecondwillusuallybenotatedas20kHz.

Withoutoscillation,thereisnosound.Strikeatuningfork,pluckaguitarstring,blowthroughaclarinet,sing,clapyourhands,orevenslamadoor,andyoucreateoscillations.Theseoscillations,alsocalledvibrations,happenfirstinthedevice(thetuningfork,string,clarinet,throat,hands,door)andthentransferintothesurroundingair,creatingoscillatingchangesinairpressure.Asthatoscillatingairpressuretravelsoutwardfromthesoundssource,itreachesourearswheretherapidchangesinairpressurecauseoureardrumstooscillate,sendingnerveimpulsestothebrain.Iftheoscillationshappenmorethanabouttwentytimespersecond(20hertz),weperceivethemassound.

Figure2.1Theoscillatingtinesofthetuningforkcreateoscillatingchangesinairpressurethattraveltotheear.Theseinturncausethetympanicmembrane,oreardrum,tooscillate,sendingnerveimpulsestothebrainthatweinterpretassound.Oneoscillation,orcycle,ofawaveismeasuredfromonepointinthewaveformsfeaturestothenextoccurrenceofthatsamefeature.

TIPAtransducerconvertsoneformofenergyintoanotherform.Amicrophoneisatypeoftransducerthatconvertstheoscillatingairpressureofasoundwaveintooscillatingelectricalenergy,andaloudspeakerconvertstheelectricalenergybackintosound.

Intheaudioandrecordingworld,oscillationsgothroughseveralintermediatestepswheretheyareconvertedtooscillationsofelectricalvoltagebyamicrophone,orothertypeoftransducer.Oncethewaveisconvertedtoanelectricalsignal,itcanbestoredonelectromagneticmediasuchasaudiotapeoracomputerdrive.Whentheaudioisplayedback,theoscillationsinvoltageareconvertedbackintochangesinairpressurebyanothertypeoftransducercalledaloudspeaker.

Figure2.2Airpressureoscillationscausethediaphragminthemicrophonetooscillateinsideanelectromagneticfield,thuscreatingrisingandfallingelectricalvoltageoscillationsthatcorrespondwiththeincreasinganddecreasingpressurechangesoftheoriginalsound.

Sinceasynthesizercreatesasound,insteadofcapturingit,thesynthesisprocessbeginsbycreatingoscillatingchangesinelectricalvoltage.Anelectricaldeviceknown,appropriatelyenough,asanoscillatorcreatesthesevoltagechanges.Thesynthesisprocessbeginswithoscillators,andinthischapterwefocusontheserawmaterialresourcesthatarefoundineverysynthesizer.

Figure2.3Thesynthesisprocessbeginswithoscillators.

Animportantthingtorememberaboutanoscillatoristhatitcanmakeonlyonesoundatatime.Ifyouwanttoplayfournotes,youneedfouroscillators.Ifyouwanttoproducethreetypesofsounds,youneedthreeoscillators.Wanttoplayfour-notechordswiththreedifferentsoundtypes?Youllneedaminimumoftwelveoscillators.Aswewillseeinsubsequentchapters,producingsomesoundsandnotesrequiresmorethanoneoscillator,andtheneedfornumerousoscillatorsinasynthesizerquicklybecomesapparent.

Intheearliestsynthesizers,oscillatorswereoftenaseparatepieceofhardwarewithaswitchfordeterminingthetypeofoscillation(moreaboutoscillatorwavetypesbelow)andalargeknobfor

controllingthefrequencyoftheoscillation.Theseoscillatorstendedtoberatherlargeandexpensiveandwereconnectedtotherestofthesynthesizerviacables.Becauseoftheirsizeandexpense,mostearlysynthesizershadasmallnumberofoscillatorsthatwereusedincombinationstocreatemorecomplexsounds,ratherthanforplayingmultiplesimultaneousnotes.Evenassynthesizersevolvedandoscillatorsbecameinternalcircuitsinsteadofexternaldevices,manufacturersstilltendedtofocusonusingtheoscillatorsforcomplexsoundsmorethanforincreasedpolyphony.Itwasnotuntilthemid-1980sthatoscillatorcircuitsgotsmallenough,powerfulenough,andmostimportantlycheapenoughthatmanufacturersbegan,inearnest,toaddpolyphonytotheirsynthesizers.

Todaysmodernsynthesizertypicallyhastheoscillatorcapacitytobothmakemultiple,incrediblyrich,complexsoundsandplaydozensifnothundredsofsimultaneousnoteswiththesesounds.Onmostinstruments,youwillseeonlyasmallnumberofoscillators,perhapsjusttwoorthree.Itisassumed,however,thateachoscillatoryouseeactuallyrepresentsnumerousindividualoscillators,allconfiguredidentically,allowingyoutoplaymultiplenoteswiththesamesound.Therefore,theoscillatorsfoundonacontemporarysynthesizerusuallyhavenothingtodowithpolyphony.Theyaretheretocreatesoniccomplexity.

Figure2.4Alarge,externaloscillatorsuchastheMk1AfromMacBethSynthesizersoffersnumerouscontrolsforshapingandmanipulatingtheoscillatorwaveform.However,likeallanaloghardwareoscillators,itiscapableofproducingonlyonenotewithonesoundatatime.(photousedwithpermissionofKenMacBeth)

Figure2.5MOTUssoftwaresynthesizerModulofeaturestwooscil