The Synthesizer

A synthesizer is an electric instrument that is capable of producing a variety of sounds by generating and combining signals of different frequencies.  Synthesizers create electrical signals as opposed to acoustic sounds.  The sounds that they produce can either be imitations of other sounds or instruments or new and unique electronically created sounds.  Before the “synthesizer”, there was no such thing as digital or electronic instruments.  Music was made with only acoustic instruments, because that was all there was. 

A man named Elisha Gray invented the first electric musical instrument in 1874.  He called his invention the “Musical telegraph”.  This device had self-vibrating electromagnetic circuits that were single note oscillators operated by a two octave piano keyboard.  The electromagnets caused steel reeds to oscillate, creating a sound.  The sound was then transmitted over a telegraph wire that was connected to a loudspeaker device, which he also invented, making the oscillations audible.  Gray patented his work as an electric telegraph for transmitting musical tones. Elisha Gray is mostly known for his telephone prototypes but is also considered to be the father of the modern music synthesizer.  Since this device didn’t actually contain any sound synthesis functions, it can’t really be labeled as the first synthesizer.  However, this invention would go on to start a musical revolution that would give birth to what we know today as the Synthesizer.

There are two types of synthesizers, Analog and Digital.  Analog synthesizers use analog circuits and computer technologies to generate sound electronically.   Most of the early electronic synthesizers were very large, often taking up entire rooms, much like early computers did.  Early analog synthesizers looked nothing like the ones we see today.  In 1929, Friedrich Trautwein invented the Trautonium at a radio lab in Berlin.  Instead of using a keyboard, the Trautonium used a resistor wire over a metal plate that would be pressed to create a sound.  It allowed the user to mix different waves together to get a certain sound, sort of like switching through presets.  Because of this, it was known as the Mixtur-Trautonium.  This unique instrument was used to create bird sounds in the Alfred Hitchcock film, The Birds. 

Audio oscillators, filters, envelope controllers, and many other effects units became more accessible in the 1930s and allowed for analog synthesizers to become commercially available.  The Hammond Novachord was the first commercially available polyphonic synthesizer.  It contained 163 vacuum tubes, over 1000 custom capacitors and weighed over 500 pounds.  The Novachord was designed by Laurens Hammond and C.N. Williams and was manufactured by the Hammond Company.  Only 1069 were ever built between 1939 and 1942 due to the start of World War II.  Hammond had previously built instruments that emulated organs, but the Novachord was their first product that was not intended to do that.  Instead, the Novachord allowed for subtractive analog synthesis, making it the first real synthesizer to be commercially available. 

From 1937 to 1958, an engineer from the USSR, named Yevgeny Murzin, made one of the earliest real time additive synthesizers, called the ANS.  The invention of the ANS was a consequence of an experimental project in which Murzin attempted to obtain a visible image of a sound wave. Murzin was trying to create a method of graphical sound recording to be used in cinematography.  The ANS was a photo-electronic musical instrument that was able to synthesize a sound from an artificially drawn sound wave.  It was fully polyphonic, able to generate all 720 pitches simultaneously.  This invention was used by several Russian composers and used to create scores for a few films.  Only 200 were ever produced.  In 1957, RCA developed the Mark II Sound Synthesizer.  It was installed into Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center.  The Mark II was the first programmable synthesizer and several composers used it extensively. 

Robert Moog developed one of the earliest modern synthesizers in 1964.  These synthesizers were Modular, meaning they consisted of separate specialized modules that were patched together using cables.  Each of the modules outputs generates a signal of electric voltage that varies in strength.  By combining signals from multiple modules, Modular Synthesis allows the user to choose from a vast amount of different sounds.  Moog released the first commercially available modern synthesizer in 1966.  These synthesizers contained oscillators, amplifiers, envelope generators, filters and mixers that were used with a keyboard.  The term “Synthesizer” was never actually used until Moog applied it to his instruments.

The development of miniaturized solid-state components allowed synthesizers to become self contained, portable instruments.  In 1970, Moog released the Minimoog in response to the use of synthesizers in Rock and Pop music.  The Minimoog was designed to be portable, so it could be used for live performances and on tours.  It contained the most important parts of one of the larger, more expensive, and delicate modular synthesizers.  It was simply smaller and less expensive, and didn’t require the use of patch cables.  This made it much more appealing to the public and became a very distinctive and popular instrument, remaining in demand even today.  The Minimoog revolutionized the synthesizer and music.  Wendy Carlos recorded her album Switched On Bach using Moog synthesizers.  Switched On Bach was the first album recorded entirely with electronic instruments.  It was also the first classical album to go platinum.  The Minimoog has been played by artists and bands such as; Björn, David Bowie, The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Wendy Carlos, Deadmau5, Daft Punk, Brian Eno, Michael Jackson, Kraftwerk, Pink Floyd, Yes, The Monkees, and Hans Zimmer.  It has been used on countless recordings and has influenced artists and bands all over the world to make music with it.  As a result, electronic music was revolutionized by the Minimoog and has had a huge impact other genres as well.  The Minimoogs’ impact on pop music is undeniable and unfathomable.  It has indefinitely changed the face of music.

The Synthesizers that we see today are Digital.  Digital Synthesizers use digital sound processing techniques to produce different sounds.  They were extensively developed in the 80s and 90s and made much more commercially available.  The Yamaha DX-7 and Roland D-50 are examples of digital synthesizers.  The technology that was developed for digital synthesizers can be credited to the development of other electronic music equipment such as drum machines and MIDI controlled software synths.  Without the Synthesizer, music would be much different than it is now.  All electronic music genres and the sub-genre of new wave can be largely credited to synthesizer technology.  The evolution of synthesizers is a great example of how music and culture adapts to technology.

As a listener and an industry professional, I can’t help but realize just how important a role the synthesizer plays in shaping modern music.  It has, without a doubt, changed how music is created, played, and listened to.  The synthesizer has inspired musicians all over the world to create electronic music and utilize the technology at their fingertips, revolutionizing nearly every aspect of music.  I couldn’t imagine what music would be like if the synthesizer never existed.  The synthesizer has had such a huge impact on the world and its music over the years and will continue to do so as technology progresses.