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OVERVIEW

This presentation will provide a quick overview of the change in instrumentation that has been used in different styles of electronic music or have developed understanding of how sound works in order to create different sounds using synthesizers.

An image of an ADSR filter.

THEREMIN

The Theremin was created in 1928 by the Russian inventor Leon Theremin. It thought of as one of the earliest electronic musical instrument and i9t works without any physical contact required from the user. The instrument consists of two metal antennae's which sense the position of the players hands. One antennae is responsible for the alteration and control of oscillators and frequency whereas the other controls the instruments amplitude (volume). Though the Theremin is considered to be an instrument it is mostly used as a form of making strange sci-fi type sounds and takes a lot training for a person to be able to properly control the sounds that they create. Lydia

Kavina, protégée of Léon Theremin

MOOG SYNTHESIZER

The moog is an iconic analogue synthesizer that has been used since the 1950’s It uses additive synthesis and is perfect for making a variety of sounds .

The moog synthesizer has been used in a variety of music genres such as rock and progressive rock with bands such as ‘The Doors’ and ‘Genesis’ however it is most commonly known for the unique sounds used by ‘Kraftwerk’ in the 1970’s. An image of an early

commercially sold moog synth.

DIGITAL SYNTHESIZERS

The Digital synthesizer is the digital synthesizer is the digital equivalent to the analogue synthesizer and has many more positive aspects to it than analogue synthesizers. One of which is that the though the analogue synth may produce a warmer more natural tone, it has a tendency to go out of tune. This doesn’t happen with the digital synthesizer due to the fact they don’t use voltage control. Also due to the fact that digital synthesizers don’t require a great deal of hardware to function they come at a fraction of the price that an analogue synth would. The ‘Harmor’ VST Synthesizer, screenshot taken by me

DIGITAL SYNTHESIZERS

The digital synthesizer and DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) are essential in modern music production as they allow the everyday person ‘aka Bedroom producers’ to be able to create intricate sounds and experiment with audio without necessarily needing much prior education or needing to spend vast amounts of money to acquire the right equipment such as analogue synthesizers that would otherwise be needed. Also the digital synthesizer is a great tool for live performances as instead of necessarily needing to transport large analogue synthesizers everywhere an artists could simply use a laptop and DAW with the correct synthesizers installed.

Screenshot of the ‘TyrellN6’ Freeware VST Synth.