The Innovative Birth of The Synthesizer
Brief Explanation of Topic and Underlying Content Discussed.
I am going to be exploring and reporting on the birth of the synthesizer, this will include what instrument was it's earliest representation as well as the improvements made to create what we know today as techno music using this instrument. The first piece I am going to show you is a current example of the synthesizer, this is a sound most of you should recognize, this example is from the film Beverly Hills Cop released in 1984.
Axle F by Harold Faltermeyer:
Diving Into The History
The first representation of synthetic sound presents itself as early as 1922 as with the Theremin as reported by Philharmonie De Paris, a publisher in Google Arts and History, it is a musical device that takes extreme control in ones physical body in order to play the instrument correctly. According to Carolina Eyck who is a knowledgeable guide on the subject, it usually consists of a box with two antennas as to which the user moves their hands within the bounds of the antennas creating sound, the electromagnetic frequency the instrument produces is allowed to be manipulated this way. As one can assume manipulating magnetic frequency with your hands as well as keeping yourself eerily steady sounds like an impossible task. Yet here is an example of the brilliant musician Peter Pringle creating a cover of the song "Over the Rainbow".
(1990) Over The Rainbow By: Israel Kamakawiwo'ole and Composed By Harold Arlen
(Origin: MGM Soundstage California)
(2009) Theremin Cover By: Peter Pringle
(Origin: Unknown)
(Origin: Unknown)
After the instrument was created it opened up the musical world to innovate upon synthetic sound, with instruments furthering the evolution like the Ondes Martenot in 1937. It was able to produce electrical oscillation amplification with large speakers, electrical oscillation is the repeat of electrical current or voltage. The result was electronic sound, the specific sound created can be referred to as "analog". This is because the sound comes after the electrical input as to which a sound wave is created. So the electrical amplification is the rise and diffusion then occurs which is the stopping point of the electricity.
Where Do Electronics Meet Basic Instruments?
Basic instruments that are conventionally non electrical are now being made into a hybrid, thus by adding electrical components into basic instruments. A great example would be the electronic organ, with a conventional keyboard system. In the year of 1965, considering the experimentation of electric and non electrical instruments as well as the technological advancements with resynthesizing instruments created the first Synthesizer.
Creation of The First Synthesizer
The first Synthesizer was created by Harry Olsen and Herbert Belar, the synthesizer was fully able to create artificial sound, in combination or mimicking original sounds of an instrument wanting to be replicated almost perfectly. Hence the term synthesize which means to produce a sound electronically, in addition it can mean to combine.
Musical Analysis of Songs Provided
To start off with, we will begin with Axle F, the melody was very simple using the Jupiter 8 synthesizer. jupiter 8 was named after its eight voice polyphonic analog subtractive synthesizer, voices are just sounds and it holds the ability to make 8 different sounds at the same time. The melody is so satisfying and simple which makes this so catchy and easy to replicate with humming, due to its repetitive nature and slight change in pitch between notes. The range was decently high and then there would be a rest and then a low range to contrast the previous note, this fast paced beat and change in the range created the result of a very exciting piece of music.
The Theremin cover of "over the rainbow" used extreme high and low changes in it's range, the timbre is a lot more eerie than the original and poorer quality with a gothic energy rather than joyous. It has fewer intervals than the last song we reviewed and is more consistent and dramatic, which with less intervals I expected to not be the case. Although it is not very fast paced in its tempo, the notes are more lengthy as well, causing it to draw out in the perfect dramatic format.
Personal Aesthetic Reaction
I believe that not only are these two instruments made for completely different tasks, but they are so different that I can't believe due to a technological advancement something creating such simple sounds could revolutionize into a sound completely unrecognizable in basic instrument standards. The techno era is one of my favorites, it is so simple and catchy and when it is intricate it produces sounds that are far different from any sound a basic non electrical instrument could produce. The amount of advancements and creations as a result is truly amazing, it made the music world capable to do things that would have been seemingly impossible in the beginning of this time line we have gone over.
Bibliography
Paris, PhilHarmonie De. “Instrument History: The Synthesizer - Google Arts & Culture.” Google, Google, artsandculture.google.com/story/instrument-history-the-synthesizer-philharmonie-de-paris/NAWhuXju46u1pg?hl=en. Accessed 19 Oct. 2023.
Car
Eyck, Carolina. “Theremin.” Carolina Eyck, www.carolinaeyck.com/theremin#:~:text=How%20does%20the%20theremin%20work,his%20hands%20and%20the%20antennas. Accessed 19 Oct. 2023.
Hello, thank you for all of the great information on this musical instrument! I also really loved the techno era, I still listen to some techno music today too. It's very interesting how far back these instruments were created like 1965, I wonder how this instrument will continue to revolutionize in the future!
ReplyDeleteHello Taylor, you picked a really cool topic. The Beverly Hills Cop theme song is for sure recognizable by all. I love it. I was not familiar with manipulating magnetic frequency with your hands technique for making music, so it was really neat to learn about it and to listen to Peter Pringle’s Over the Rainbow. I also appreciated how you included the information about hybrid instruments. Techno was a really fun time in music history. Hopefully, it will become popular again.
ReplyDeleteMy comment.
ReplyDeleteThe whole time I read this I was thinking of Daft Punk’s “Around the World.” Course, I couldn’t remember the name of the song, or the group, I had to google “song where instrument says the world around them.”
Over the Rainbow, the version from the movie, is hopeful. The tempo is slow, and Dorothy sings and behaves sadly, and this sadness comes through in the song because that is where she is standing is in sadness. But the strongest emotion I get from it is hope. But most of her sadness comes from ignorance, and wrong headedness. After her head trauma induced hallucination she takes a 180 degree approach to her life and is much much happier. Only she has changed. I reckon there’s a lesson in there somewhere.
Sadness and hope ain’t what I get from that theremin. It’s eary. It’s spooky. Perfect for this time of year. It kind of sounds like the theme from the original Star Trek series. One could easily take sadness from it, but I’m having trouble putting into words what it elicits from me.
I had to google it. Start Trek TOS’ them was sung by a soprano names Louli Jean Norman.