| A music synthesizer makes sounds by using an | | | | Synthesizers are able to only mimic the |
| electrical circuit as an oscillator to create | | | | sounds of non-synthetic instruments, but also |
| and vary the frequency of sounds in order to | | | | to create sounds that absolutely cannot be |
| produce different pitches. As long as the | | | | played by anything but a music synthesizer. |
| pitch is within the range of frequency that | | | | That is because a music synthesizer is |
| can be heard by a human ear, it's known as a | | | | well-suited to delicate manipulations of its |
| "musical pitch" (so a dog whistle wouldn't | | | | oscillators. Nevertheless, it's a lot easier |
| count) as a musical pitch. You can use a | | | | for a synthesizer to create entirely new |
| keyboard to vary these pitches at discrete | | | | sounds than to mimic the sounds of acoustic |
| intervals that correspond to the notes on the | | | | instruments because the waveforms of acoustic |
| musical scale. If you put several oscillators | | | | instruments are so complex. Interestingly, |
| together, you can combine several pitches to | | | | once complex sound that synthesizers so far |
| create a "chord". | | | | have been very bad at reproducing is the |
| | | | human voice (although improvements are being |
| OK, we've got pitch down (at least in a very | | | | made in this technology). |
| simple sense). How do you vary the tone of a | | | | |
| particular pitch? That is done by playing a | | | | The entire electronic music scene would be |
| given pitch with waveforms of different | | | | virtually impossible without the use of |
| shapes (common waveforms include sine, | | | | synthesizers (no doubt some wish it were). |
| square, sawtooth, and triangle waveforms). | | | | Nevertheless, the number of sounds that a |
| Since the harmonic structure of these | | | | musician has to work with has been |
| waveforms differ, our ears interpret them as | | | | exponentially increasing in recent decades, |
| different tones. The sound you will hear can | | | | and we have only scratched the surface of the |
| also be modified by voltage-controlled | | | | creative possibilities. Imagine the |
| amplifiers (VCA) and voltage-controlled | | | | consequences if a machine was invented that |
| filters (VCF). | | | | could generate 100,000 hitherto unknown |
| | | | colors? |