VOLTAGE-CONTROLLED SYNTHESIZERS

SYNTHESIZER HISTORY (REVIEW)

1897 Telharmonium (Thaddeus Cahill)

1919 Theremin (Leon Theremin)

1928 Ondes Martenot (Maurice Martenot)

1930 Trautonium (Trautwein)

1945 Electronic Sackbut (Hugh Le Caine)

1956 RCA Mark I & II (Olson and Belar)

 Donald Buchla West Coast
In 1964, Buchla, an engineer with a musical background, was
approached by the San Francisco Tape Music Center to build
a customized synthesizer for their studio.
The Buchla 100 used voltage control and featured the first
sequencer. Instead of a keyboard, it had programmable metal
plates.
Robert Moog East Coast
Moog studied physics and electrical engineering, putting
himself through school by selling theremins he built.
In 1964, Moog began experimenting with voltage-controlled
oscillators, eventually completing an early synthesizer with
keyboard control; his first synthesizer was sold in 1965.
Moog and Buchla created the first commercially available voltage-controlled synthesizers.

The modular design allowed each unit to be custom made and reconfigurable.
Voltage Controlled Synthesizers

Voltage control allows for the automation of

synthesis parameters. Instead of changing a
parameter by hand, one signal is used to
control another.

An oscillator producing a sine wave, for

example, could be used to control the cut-off
of a filter, the volume, or the frequency of
another oscillator.

Transistors were important to the development

of voltage controlled systems.

Buchla 200
Modular Synthesizers

Independent modules connected by patch cables

Moog developed general standards for synthesizer

voltages including logarithmic 1-volt-per-octave
pitch control and a separate pulse triggering
signals

Modules typically run on 5 volts, so that an

oscillators lowest pitch would be at 0 and
highest at 5V, the lowest volume 0 and
the loudest 5, etc.

Generally (at least initially) monophonic

MOOG MODULAR
 EMS

Moog
4 Companies

Arp Buchla
Synthesizer Functions

1. Sources: produce or generate a signal

Oscillators, noise generators, recorded sounds, live sounds

2. Processors: modify a signal

Filters, envelope generators (ADSR), effects.

3. Controllers: control the behavior of another function (module)

Physical input devices: keyboard, joystick, pedal

Automated controls: sequencer, LFO
 SOURCES
OSCILLATORS (VCO)

sine

pulse

triangle

sawtooth

NOISE GENERATORS

Often the simplest module on the machine. There may be a choice of white or pink
noise, or even a species of low frequency noise for random control voltages.
FILTERS
signal processing module, Voltage-controlled filter (VCF)
much of the timbral flexibility of a synthesizer comes from the filters
Boost or cut the amplitude of spectral components
Common varieties: low pass (LPF), high pass (HPF), band pass (BP), notch
Multi-mode

Q characterizes a resonator's bandwidth

relative to its center frequency. Higher the Q,
narrower the filter
ENVELOPES
An envelope generator produces a control voltage that rises and falls once,
according to a voltage command. When a command is applied, the output rises
to full on (ATTACK) and then falls to some intermediate value (DECAY) remains
there for some time (SUSTAIN) and then continues to zero (RELEASE).

ADSR design built by Moog at request of Ussachavesky

Modulate the modulators!
The San Francisco Tape Music Center was formed as a cooperative
studio in 1962, pooling together tape-composition resources of
composers from the San Francisco Conservatory: Morton Subotnick,
Pauline Oliveros, Ramon Sender, & Terry Riley (who would use tape
loops as an inspiration for minimalism) among others
Morton Subotnick

Silver Apples of the Moon (1967)

created entirely with the Buchla 100 Synthesizer that he

helped develop with Donald Buchla.
 A Sky of Cloudless Sulfur (1978)

http://www.vice.com/motherboard/mbd-vbs-electric-independence-morton-subotnick-v2?Article_page=7
SWITCHED-ON BACH
Performed by Wendy Carlos on a Monophonic Synthesizer!
Recorded on an 8-track tape recorder custom-built by Carlos.
One of the first classical albums to go platinum
Won Three Grammy awards
Brought the sound of the Moog synthesizer to the masses.
WENDY CARLOS

From Pawtucket, Rhode Island.

Studied Music and Physics at Brown University! 62

Masters in Music Composition at Columbia, with Ussachevsky

Met Robert Moog in New York and became one of his first customers,
providing feedback for the development of the Moog Synthesizer.

Sonic Seasonings is a double album of original music dedicated to

the four seasons, with each season taking one entire side.

It blended recorded sounds with the synthesizer.

The long, atmospheric tracks were predecessors of ambient music.

Winter
FILM SCORES BY WENDY CARLOS
The In Sound from Way Out (1966)

Jean Jacques Perrey and Gershon Kingsley

1965 - Vanguard Records set up a laboratory in New York for the

Perrey-Kingsley experiments. Kingsley was a staff arranger there,
and Perrey had been experimenting with tape loops, which he had
been introduced to by Pierre Schaeffer.
They used several synchronized tape recorders, with an 18-track
mixing board to combine early electronic musical instruments
(Ondioline, Martenot Waves, etc.), and electronic sounds from
oscillator with sounds from natural and acoustic instruments, and
a Moog Modular.

Their philosophy:

The future is upon us, and the future is fun.

"To take the mystery out of the legend that says electronic
music is an art that is esoteric, exclusively-reserved for a
few initiates, an elite of avant-garde intellectuals and
artists."

One Note Samba - exploration of timbre as main compositional element.

Notes from In Sound from Way Out (1966)

Here are a dozen electronic pop tunes. They are the electrifying good-time music of the coming age, the
switched-on dance music that will soon be it. This is the lively answer to the question that puzzlesand who
knows, even frightenspeople who have heard the serious electronic compositions of recent years and wonder,
is this the music of the future? As for that avant-garde wing, we say more power to it. But there are other
things in the future, such as pleasure. And so presented here is the electronic "Au Go Go" that might be heard
soon from the juke boxes at the interplanetary way stations where space ships make their rest stops. The idiom
is strange and yet familiar; here a touch of rock, there a touch of bosa nova, a whiff of the blues in one piece
and a whiff of Tchaikowsky in another. But these atoms of pop music are exploded into fresh patterns. They
outline a strange new sound world.

Computer in Love
ISAO TOMITA

Like Carlos, built a career on covering classical works on

monophonic synthesizers.

Pioneer of Space Synth Music

4 Grammy nominations for his album Snowflakes are Dancing,

1974

Played a Moog III modular synthesizer

His sounds are often emulated in synth presets

ARP 2600

Fixed arrangement of modules... a transition towards

portable forms.

had more stable oscillators that solved the pitch-drifting

problem plaguing earlier synths.

Dominated the synth market in 1970

ARPS were made popular by Herbie Hancock, Kraftwerk,

Brian Eno, Nine Inch Nails, Orbital, Joe Zawinul, Depeche
Mode, David Bowie, 808 State and many others. Movie
director Steven Spielberg used the ARP 2500 in his film
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), while the ARP
2600 was the voice of R2-D2 in the Star Wars movies.
Minimoog (1970)

The first pre-patched, portable performance synthesizer.

Featured pitch bend and vibrato wheels (modulation

wheels), which are now standard on all digital
synthesizers.

popular and affordable ($1500) - sold 13,000 units.

the analog circuits were largely the same, but switches

replaced patch points in a simplified arrangement called
"normalization"

Made famous by Keith Emerson of Emerson, Lake and

Palmer (ELP), first to tour with the instrument. Later used
by groups such as Yes, Kraftwerk, Devo, Bob Marley,
George Clinton, Chuck Corea and Pink Floyd.
Keith Emerson

In designing the minimoog, Bob Moog worked with virtuoso keyboardist Keith Emerson.

Emerson played in the band Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP) and gladly swapped his modular
touring rig for the portability of the Minimoog.

ELP also covered a few classical tunes...

Progressive Rock
 Characteristics

Timbre Exploration with Synthesizers and Orchestration

Expansion of Pop Song Structure into Classical and Jazz forms

Virtuosic Performances and Musical Complexity

Maturation of the Studio as a Compositional Tool

 Mellotron (1962)
An early polyphonic sampler

The Mellotron MKI and MKII models were designed so that the right
hand had the lead instruments (strings, flutes, brass) while the left
hand played prerecorded rhythm tracks in various styles.

Each key played a continuous tape loop.

The M400, released in 1970, sold over 1800 units and was used in
many progressive rock bands.

The tape bank could be removed and loaded with different sounds.

Brought orchestral sounds into rock music.

Mike Plunder of the Moody Blues introduced the Mellotron to The Beatles,
who used it prominently in Strawberry Fields Forever (1967).
 Moody Blues
Days of Future Passed (1967)

Pioneers of Progressive Rock

One of the first concept albums, released the same year as Sgt.
Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band.

The Day Begins; Dawn; The Morning; Lunch Break; The

Afternoon; Evening; The Night (Nights in White Satin).

First to combine orchestral sounds with rock

Prominently features the Mellotron.

Nights in White Satin was not popular at first because of its 7 minute
length, eventually went to #2 on the charts, selling over 1 million copies.
PINK FLOYD
bridged rock, synth, experimental, conceptual trends.

Their first album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967),

contained a nearly ten-minute improvisational psychedelic
instrumental Interstellar Overdrive.

Recorded at Abbey Road Studios at the same time as The

Beatles were recording Sgt. Pepper; reached #6 on the
British Pop Charts.

Syd Barrett, David Gilmour, Nick Mason, Roger Waters,

Richard Wright

Excerpt from Interstellar Overdrive

Ummagumma (1969) Meddle (1971)

Several Species of Small Furry Animals... from Ummagumma Echoes takes up the whole of side 1
(1969) featured experiments with tape loops and speed changes.
Dark Side of the Moon (1973)

The Dark Side of the Moon is one of the top selling albums
worldwide, over forty million sold as of 2004.

Concept album: a unified statement with philosophical

lyrics exploring conflict, greed, paranoia, aging, time &
madness.

Speak to Me includes samples of breath, a heart beat

(heard throughout the album, the sound was created with a
specially treated bass drum), a cycling cash register, a
crazy person, and a helicopter-like sound flying in stereo.

Dark Side was produced at Abbey Road Studios.

One of the first quadraphonic works, using new 24-track

tape recorders.
Dark Side of the Moon (1973)

The Dark Side of the Moon is one of the top selling albums
worldwide, over forty million sold as of 2004.

Concept album: a unified statement with philosophical

lyrics exploring conflict, greed, paranoia, aging, time &
madness.

Dark Side was produced at Abbey Road Studios.

One of the first quadraphonic works, using new 24-track

tape recorders.

On the run shows off some of their synth parts

King Crimson (1969)
Original band members included Robert Fripp and Greg Lake

Excerpt from In the Court of the Crimson King

Emerson, Lake and Palmer (ELP)

Keith Emerson was the first synthesizer superstar.

ELP was the first band to tour with the Minimoog; Emerson developed pitch-
bend techniques that were widely imitated.

Lucky Man (1970) was their first hit on their debut album.

Tarkus (1971), their second LP, was a popular concept album about reverse
evolution, and featured virtuosic playing and complex rhythms often with
changing meters (such as bars of 5 or 7 instead of the rock standard 4/4.

ELP is credited with both the rise and fall of progressive rock.

Solo from Lucky Man

YES

Formed in 1968

The early 70s saw the release of the three classic

Yes albums: The Yes Album (1970), Fragile (1971)
and Close to the Edge (1972).

Bassist Chris Squire was the first bass player to add

electronic guitar effects to his playing. Jon
Anderons, vocal; Steve Howe, guitar.

Yes incorporated classical and jazz influences,

multi-part suites that lasted 20 minutes or longer,
extended solos with virtuosic musicianship and
instrumental interludes.
YES

Formed in 1968

Classically trained keyboardist Rick Wakeman,

joined the group in 1971, whose credits included
playing with David Bowie and Lou Reed.

For the first time you could go on stage and give

the guitarist a run for his money ... a guitarist
would say Oh shit, hes got a Minimoog, so theyre
looking for eleven on their volume control - its the
only way they can compete.
 GENESIS
Formed 1967

Their sixth album, Lamb Lies Down on Broadway

(1974), was a double-disc concept album.

Brian Eno worked on several tracks, adding synth

sounds and strange vocal processing.

The extended tour, a multimedia show with theatrical

performances, costumes, three-screen projections,
smoke machines and a light show, produced 102
performances.

Peter Gabriel left the band at the end of the tour to

pursue a successful solo career.

Original members included Peter Gabriel (vocals), Mike Rutheford (bass), Tony Banks Excerpt from The Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging
(keyboards). Phil Colins (drums/vocals) joined the band in 1970.
ARP 2500