Synthsis Flashcards
what is additive synthesis
a sound synthesis technique that creates timbres by adding sine waves together. this concept led to the invention of the hammond organ
what is subtractive synthesis
a method of sound synthesis in which particles of an audio signal are attenuated by a filter to alter the timbre of the sound
what is the telharmonium and when was it made
1986 - mechanical synth based on the concept of cogs and magnets
what was the audion piano and when was it made
1915 - amplified sound using audio tubes
when was the theremin made
1920
what was the ondes martenot and when was it made
1928 - combined the ideas of keyboard and the theremin, similar in sound to theremin with switchable loudspeaker
when was the hammond organ made and what was it
1933 - electronic organ that used sliding drawer bars. combined with lesley speaker
what was the novachord and when was it made
1939 - electronic keyboard, used subtracitve synthesis to generate tones
when was the electronic sackbut made
1945
when was the clavivox made
1952 - the unit allowed the use of pornamento, vibrato and amplitude effects
when was the rca mark 2 made
1957
when was the moog modular made
1964
when was the buchla modular synthesiser made
1963
when was the ems vcs3 made
1969, popular with progressive pop bands like brian eno and roxy music
when was the minimoog model d made
1970
what is FM synthesis
frequency modulated synthesis, is a form of audio synthesis where the timbre of a simple waveform, is changed by modulating its frequency with a modulator frequency that is also in the audio range, resulting in a more complex waveform
what is a popular fm synth
dx7
what is the bas fm algorithm
modulator wave - carrier wave -output
what does an fm modulator wave do
we do not hear this operator directly, but we hear the tonal effect it has on the carrier wave
what does the carrier wave do
this wave we hear at the output, modulated by the modulator. the amount of tonal change we hear is based on the fm modulation depth
what happens at the output of an fm algorithm
a more complex, frequency modulated signal is heard
what is granular synthesis
a method by which sounds are broken down into tiny grains which are then redistributed to form other sounds.
based on same concept as a sampling, but much smaller pieces.
these pieces are called grains, and may play at different speeds, phases, volumes and frequencies, and can be layered on top of one another
what was the upic system and when was it made
1977 - a graphical instrument where the user could draw sound waves and organise them into a musical score.
what is wavetable synthesis
a sound synthesis technique that employs arbitrary periodic waveforms in the production of musical tones or notes. the technique was developed by wolfgang palm of PPG in the late 1970s and published in 1979
