Week 6: “Synthesis” Part I: Any Sound You Can Imagine PDF

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Notes from class by Ph.D. student (now post-doc) Ted Gordon...

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Week$6:$“Synthesis”$Part$I:$Any$Sound$You$Can$Imagine$ $ This$week$looks$at$American$experiments$in$“sound$synthesis”$on$the$East$Coast,$ focusing$on$instruments$that$attempt$to$synthesize$any$and$all$known$sounds$from$pure$ electricity.$We$will$examine$both$institutional$instruments,$such$as$the$RCA$Mk.$I$ Synthesizer$installed$at$the$Columbia-Princeton$Electronic$Music$Center,$as$well$as$ commercial$and$amateur$instruments,$such$as$Robert$Moog’s$first$modular$synthesizer$ and$Raymond$Scott’s$unfinished$pet$project,$the$“Electronium”.$ $$ Instruments$ RCA$Mk.$II$Synthesizer,$Moog$Modular$Synthesizer,$Raymond$Scott’s$ “Electronium”$ $$ Music$ Mario$Davidovsky:$“Electronic$Study$No.$1”$(1964)$ Raymond$Scott:$“The$Bass-Line$Generator”$from$Manhattan$Research,$Inc.$(1966)$ Wendy$Carlos:$Brandenburg$Concerto$No.$3,$from$“Switched$on$Bach”$(1968)$ ----Jim$Timmons$RCA$Synth$Obelin$B/W$dota$-$unreleased$45$ $$ Readings$ Rodgers,$Tara.$“Tinkering$with$Cultural$Memory:$Gender$and$the$Politics$of$Synthesizer$ Historiography,”$Feminist$Media$Histories,$1:4$(Fall$2015),$special$issue:$Women$ and$Soundwork,$edited$by$Michele$Hilmes$and$Kate$Lacey,$pp.$5-20$ Pinch,$Trevor.$(2001).$Why$you$go$to$a$piano$store$to$buy$a$synthesizer:$Path$ dependence$ and$the$social$construction$of$technology.$Path$dependence$and$creation,$381-400$ (2001).$ Irwin$Chusid.$“Beethoven-in-a-box:$Raymond$Scott's$electronium”.$Contemporary$Music$ Review,$18:3$(1999),$9-14.$ $$ Notes$ • RCA(Mk.(II(Synthesizer$ o MK$I$was$used$for$speech$synthesis$ • Comes$from$telecommunications$technology$ o 1st$fully$controllable$synthesizer$ • Frequency$ • Envelope$ • Spectrum$ • Volume$ • Duration$ o Mostly$avant-garde/academic$music,$not$commercial$ o Invented$in$1950,$broke$in$1960s,$dormant$until$1997$ o Doesn't$have$a$keyboard$ o RCA$vs.$Oramics$machine:$more$precision,$more$polyphony$

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How$to$get$to$Columbia-Princeton(Electronic(Music(Center?$ o Women$not$able$to$make$it$to$prestige$ o Be$someone$desirable$to$institution$ o Access$(physical$and$cultural)$ Moog(modular(synthesizer((+1970s$Minimoog)$ o "Theme"$is$basic$unit$of$music,$not$sound,$tone,$etc.$ o Can't$press$a$key$to$get$a$note$ o Completely$implicated$in$post-war$capitalism$-$money-making$machine$ o Masculine$narrative$of$"humble$tinkerer"$ "Home$tinkerer"$narrative$ o White$collar$workers$felt$the$need$to$do$physical$labor$ o Vs.$"patchbay$nun"$ Irwin(Chusid:$outsider$music$historian$ Raymond(Scott:(created$Electronium$ o Berry$Gordy$from$Motown$invested$in$it$ o "Not$a$synthesizer"$ o Recent$resurgence$with$Gotye$ $...