Synthesizer Evolution

Synthesizer Evolution
Author: Oli Freke
Publisher:
Total Pages: 128
Release: 2021
Genre: Music
ISBN: 9781913231064

From acid house to prog rock, there is no form of modern popular music that hasn't been propelled forwards by the synthesizer. As a result they have long been objects of fascination, desire and reverence for keyboard players, music producers and fans of electronic music alike. Whether looking at an imposing modular system or posing with a DX7 on Top of the Pops, the synth has also always had an undeniable physical presence. This book celebrates their impact on music and culture by providing a comprehensive and meticulously researched directory of every major synthesizer, drum machine and sampler made between 1963 and 1995. Each featured instrument is illustrated by hand, and shown alongside its vital statistics and some fascinatingly quirky facts. In tracing the evolution of the analogue synthesizer from its invention in the early 1960's to the digital revolution of the 1980s right up until the point that analogue circuits could be modelled using software in the mid-1990's, the book tells the story of analogue to digital - and back again. Tracing that history and showing off their visual beauty with art-book quality illustrations, this a must for any self-respecting synth fan.

Analog Days

Analog Days
Author: T. J PINCH
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 385
Release: 2009-06-30
Genre: Music
ISBN: 0674042166

Tracing the development of the Moog synthesizer from its initial conception to its ascension to stardom in 'Switched-on Bach', this text conveys the consequences of a technology that would provide the soundtrack for a chapter in cultural history.

The Synthesizer

The Synthesizer
Author: Mark Vail
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 427
Release: 2014-01-22
Genre: Music
ISBN: 0199334854

Electronic music instruments weren't called synthesizers until the 1950s, but their lineage began in 1919 with Russian inventor Lev Sergeyevich Termen's development of the Etherphone, now known as the Theremin. From that point, synthesizers have undergone a remarkable evolution from prohibitively large mid-century models confined to university laboratories to the development of musical synthesis software that runs on tablet computers and portable media devices. Throughout its history, the synthesizer has always been at the forefront of technology for the arts. In The Synthesizer: A Comprehensive Guide to Understanding, Programming, Playing, and Recording the Ultimate Electronic Music Instrument, veteran music technology journalist, educator, and performer Mark Vail tells the complete story of the synthesizer: the origins of the many forms the instrument takes; crucial advancements in sound generation, musical control, and composition made with instruments that may have become best sellers or gone entirely unnoticed; and the basics and intricacies of acoustics and synthesized sound. Vail also describes how to successfully select, program, and play a synthesizer; what alternative controllers exist for creating electronic music; and how to stay focused and productive when faced with a room full of instruments. This one-stop reference guide on all things synthesizer also offers tips on encouraging creativity, layering sounds, performance, composing and recording for film and television, and much more.

Patch & Tweak with Moog

Patch & Tweak with Moog
Author: Kim Bjørn
Publisher:
Total Pages: 197
Release: 2020
Genre: Moog synthesizer
ISBN: 9788799999538

Patch & Tweak with Moog is the ultimate resource for Moog synthesizer enthusiasts and musicians of all skill levels interested in an immersive modular synthesis experience. Opening with a foreword from acclaimed film score composer Hans Zimmer, this hardcover book by Kim Bjørn features 200 pages full of synthesizer techniques, creative patch ideas, sound design tips, professional artist interviews, in-depth discussions with Moog engineers, and a glimpse into the company's remarkable history. The book's primary focus is Moog's well-loved line of semi-modular analog synthesizers: Mother-32, DFAM, Subharmonicon, Grandmother, and Matriarch. Patch & Tweak with Moog brings readers inside the creative minds of composers, producers, and performing artists like Suzanne Ciani, Trent Reznor, Lisa Bella Donna, Paris Strother, Hannes Bieger, Stranger Things composers Michael Stein and Kyle Dixon, and Moog synthesizer co-inventor Herb Deutsch in detailed interviews featuring patching tips and tricks for musicians of all skill levels.

So Much Synth

So Much Synth
Author: Brenda Shaughnessy
Publisher: Copper Canyon Press
Total Pages: 114
Release: 2016-04-11
Genre: Poetry
ISBN: 1619321556

"Shaughnessy's particular genius . . . is utterly poetic, but essayistic in scope."—The New Yorker "Brenda Shaughnessy's work is a good place to start for any passionate woman feeling daunted by poetry." —Cosmopolitan "Shaughnessy's voice is smart, sexy, self-aware, hip . . . consistently wry, and ever savvy."—Harvard Review Subversions of idiom and cliché punctuate Shaughnessy's fourth collection as she approaches middle age and revisits the memories, romances, and music of adolescence. So Much Synth is a brave and ferocious collection composed of equal parts femininity, pain, pleasure, and synthesizer. While Shaughnessy tenderly winces at her youthful excesses, we humbly catch glimpses of our own. From "Never Ever": Late is a synonym for dead which is a euphemism for ever. Ever is a double-edged word, at once itself and its own opposite: always and always some other time. In the category of cleave, then. To cut and to cling to, somewhat mournfully… Brenda Shaughnessy was born in Okinawa, Japan and grew up in Southern California. She is the author of three books of poetry, including Human Dark with Sugar, winner of the James Laughlin Award and finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, and Our Andromeda, which was a New York Times Book Review "100 Notable Books of 2013." She is an assistant professor of English at Rutgers University, Newark, and lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Synthesizer Basics

Synthesizer Basics
Author: Brent Hurtig
Publisher: Hal Leonard Corporation
Total Pages: 140
Release: 1988
Genre: Music
ISBN: 9780881887143

Here is the fundamental knowledge and information that a beginning or intermediate electronic musician must have to understand and play today's keyboard synthesizers. This basic primer, newly updated from the classic original edition, offers step-by-step explanations and practical advice on what a synthesizer is, the basic concepts and components, and the latest technical developments and applications. Written by Bob Moog, Roger Powell, Steve Porcaro (of Toto), Tom Rhea, and other well-known experts, Synthesizer Basics is the first, and still the best, introduction available today.

The Complete Synthesizer

The Complete Synthesizer
Author: David Crombie
Publisher: Omnibus Press& Schirmer Trade Books
Total Pages: 104
Release: 1982
Genre: Music
ISBN: 9780711900561

Discusses the fundamental principles of electronic music, supplies clear instructions on how to operate an electronic synthesizer, and surveys the various types of synthesizers and accessory equipment

The Evolution of Electronic Music

The Evolution of Electronic Music
Author: David Ernst
Publisher: New York : Schirmer Books
Total Pages: 324
Release: 1977
Genre: Music
ISBN:

"This is the first comprehensive historical study of electronic music from World War II to the present. Giving an overall perspective of the electronic medium, David Ernst correlates historical developments with structural procedures. To aid the reader in understanding the evolution and compositional aesthetics of electronic music the author divides it into three categories: solo tape, performer with tape, and live electronics. In discussing each category Ernst concentrates upon small groups of pieces so that the structural relations between them become apparent. The Evolution of Electronic Music has a number of important features: A chronological list of pre-1948 events related to electronic music provides an historical background; It is the first non-technical examination of specific categories of electronic music based on sound sources and compositional techniques; Ernst analyzes major compositions of Stockhausen, Berio, Ligeti, Reich, and the Paris school of musique concrète composers; Graphic illustrations of selected works aid the reader in listening to those compositions; The appearance of voice in electronic works is documented; The use of electronics in jazz and rock is fully explored; Over ninety percent of all electronic compositions that are available as recordings are discussed; The detailed coverage of compositional techniques includes suggestions for original compositions; Each chapter has a discography; The bibliography includes general readings, works on computers and acoustics, and musical scores. The Evolution of Electronic Music covers both 'serious' and popular music, both notated and improvised uses of electronic sounds. It is the most complete and up-to-date book on the subject." --Back cover.