词条 | music synthesizer |
释义 | music synthesizer also called electronic sound synthesizer machine that electronically generates and modifies sounds, frequently with the use of a digital computer. Synthesizers are used for the composition of electronic music and in live performance. The intricate apparatus of the sound synthesizer generates wave forms and then subjects them to alteration in intensity, duration, frequency, and timbre, as selected by the composer or musician. Synthesizers are capable of producing sounds far beyond the range and versatility of conventional musical instruments. The first electronic sound synthesizer, an instrument of awesome dimensions, was developed by the American acoustical engineers Harry Olson and Herbert Belar in 1955 at the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) laboratories at Princeton, N.J. The information was fed to the synthesizer encoded on a punched paper tape. It was designed for research into the properties of sound and attracted composers seeking to extend the range of available sound or to achieve total control of their music. ![]() ![]() The aforementioned synthesizers used subtractive synthesis—removing unwanted components from a signal containing a fundamental tone and all related overtones (sawtooth-wave signals). The harmonic-tone generator developed by James Beauchamp at the University of Illinois, in contrast, used additive synthesis—building tones from signals for pure tones, i.e., without overtones (sine-wave signals)—and offered certain advantages in the nuances of tone colours produced. During the late 1970s and 1980s much more compact synthesizers using microcomputers and a variety of digital synthesis techniques—such as whole-sound sampling (the digital recording of sounds), Fourier synthesis (the specification of individual harmonics), and FM (frequency modulation) synthesis using sine waves—were developed. Notable among these instruments were the Fairlight CMI, New England Digital's Synclavier II, and Yamaha's series of FM synthesizers. |
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