Music technology (electronic and digital)

Digital music technology encompasses the use of digital instruments to produce, perform or record music. These instruments vary, including computers, electronic effects units, software, and digital audio equipment. Digital music technology is used in performance, playback, recording, composition, mixing, analysis and editing of music, by professions in all parts of the music industry.
In the late 19th century, Thaddeus Cahill introduced the Telharmonium, which is commonly considered the first electromechanical musical instrument. In the early 20th century, Leon Theremin created the Theremin, an early electronic instrument played without physical contact, creating a new form of sound creation.
In the mid-20th century, sampling emerged, with artists like Pierre Schaeffer and Karlheinz Stockhausen manipulating recorded sounds on tape to create entirely new compositions. This laid the foundation for future electronic music production techniques.
In the 1960s, the Moog synthesizer, invented by Robert Moog, popularized analog synthesis. Musician Wendy Carlos demonstrated Robert's invention with the album Switched-On Bach, which consisted of works composed by Johann Sebastian Bach interpreted with the Moog synthesizer. Meanwhile, tape-based studios, like the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, were at the forefront of electronic sound design.
The 1980s saw a major shift towards digital technology with the development of the Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) standard. This allowed electronic instruments to communicate with computers and each other, transforming music production. Digital synthesizers, such as the Yamaha DX7, became widely popular.
The 1990s and 2000s witnessed the explosive growth of electronic dance music and its various subgenres, driven by the accessibility of digital music production tools and the rise of computer-based software synthesizers.
Courses in music technology are offered at many different universities as part of degree programs focusing on performance, composition, music research at the undergraduate and graduate level. The study of music technology is usually concerned with the creative use of technology for creating new sounds, performing, recording, programming sequencers or other music-related electronic devices, and manipulating, mixing and reproducing music. Music technology programs train students for careers in "...sound engineering, computer music, audio-visual production and post-production, mastering, scoring for film and multimedia, audio for games, software development, and multimedia production." Those wishing to develop new music technologies often train to become an audio engineer working in research and development. Due to the increasing role of interdisciplinary work in music technology, individuals developing new music technologies may also have backgrounds or training in electrical engineering, computer programming, computer hardware design, acoustics, record producing or other fields.
Digital music technologies are widely used to assist in music education for training students in the home, elementary school, middle school, high school, college and university music programs. Electronic keyboard labs are used for cost-effective beginner group piano instruction in high schools, colleges, and universities. Courses in music notation software and basic manipulation of audio and MIDI can be part of a student's core requirements for a music degree. Mobile and desktop applications are available to aid the study of music theory and ear training. Some digital pianos provide interactive lessons and games using the built-in features of the instrument to teach music fundamentals.
Classic analog synthesizers include the Moog Minimoog, ARP Odyssey, Yamaha CS-80, Korg MS-20, Sequential Circuits Prophet-5, Roland TB-303, Roland Alpha Juno. One of the most iconic synthesizers is the Roland TB-303, was widely used in acid house music.
Classic digital synthesizers include the Fairlight CMI, PPG Wave, Nord Modular and Korg M1.
Computer and synthesizer technology joining together changed the way music is made and is one of the fastest-changing aspects of music technology today. Max Mathews, an acoustic researcher at Bell Telephone Laboratories' Acoustic and Behavioural Research Department, is responsible for some of the first digital music technology in the 1950s. Mathews also pioneered a cornerstone of music technology; analog-to-digital conversion.
At Bell Laboratories, Matthews conducted research to improve the telecommunications quality for long-distance phone calls. Owing to long-distance and low-bandwidth, audio quality over phone calls across the United States was poor. Thus, Matthews devised a method in which sound was synthesized via computer on the distant end rather than transmitted. Matthews was an amateur violinist, and during a conversation with his superior, John Pierce at Bell Labs, Pierce posed the idea of synthesizing music through a computer. Since Matthews had already synthesized speech, he agreed and wrote a series of programs known as MUSIC. MUSIC consisted of two files: an orchestra file containing data telling the computer how to synthesize sound, and a score file instructing the program what notes to play using the instruments defined in the orchestra file. Matthews wrote five iterations of MUSIC, calling them MUSIC I-V respectively. Subsequently, as the program was adapted and expanded to run on various platforms, its name changed to reflect its new changes. This series of programs became known as the MUSIC-N paradigm. The concept of the MUSIC now exists in the form of Csound.
Later Max Matthews worked as an advisor to IRCAMin the late 1980s. There, he taught Miller Puckette, a researcher. Puckette developed a program in which music could be programmed graphically. The program could transmit and receive MIDI messages to generate interactive music in real-time. Inspired by Matthews, Puckette named the program Max. Later, a researcher named David Zicarelli visited IRCAM, saw the capabilities of Max and felt it could be developed further. He took a copy of Max with him when he left and eventually added capabilities to process audio signals. Zicarelli named this new part of the program MSP after Miller Puckette. Zicarelli developed the commercial version of MaxMSP and sold it at his company, Cycling '74, beginning in 1997. The company has since been acquired by Ableton.
The first generation of professional commercially available computer music instruments, or workstations as some companies later called them, were very sophisticated elaborate systems that cost a great deal of money when they first appeared. They ranged from $25,000 to $200,000. The two most popular were the Fairlight, and the Synclavier.
It was not until the advent of MIDI that general-purpose computers started to play a role in music production. Following the widespread adoption of MIDI, computer-based MIDI editors and sequencers were developed. MIDI-to-CV/Gate converters were then used to enable analog synthesizers to be controlled by a MIDI sequencer.
At the NAMM Show of 1983 in Los Angeles, MIDI was released. A demonstration at the convention showed two previously incompatible analog synthesizers, the Prophet 600 and Roland Jupiter-6, communicating with each other, enabling a player to play one keyboard while getting the output from both of them. This development immediately allowed synths to be accurately layered in live shows and studio recordings. MIDI enables different electronic instruments and electronic music devices to communicate with each other and with computers. The advent of MIDI spurred a rapid expansion of the sales and production of electronic instruments and music software.
In 1985, several of the top keyboard manufacturers created the MIDI Manufacturers Association (MMA). This newly founded association standardized the MIDI protocol by generating and disseminating all the documents about it. With the development of the MIDI file format specification by Opcode, every music software company's MIDI sequencer software could read and write each other's files.
Since the 1980s, personal computers became the ideal system for utilizing the vast potential of MIDI. This has created a large consumer market for software such as MIDI-equipped electronic keyboards, MIDI sequencers and digital audio workstations. With universal MIDI protocols, electronic keyboards, sequencers, and drum machines can all be connected together.
Coinciding with the history of computer music is the history of vocal synthesis. Prior to Max Matthews synthesizing speech with a computer, analog devices were used to recreate speech. In the 1930s, an engineer named Holmer Dudley invented the VODER (Voice Operated Demonstrator), an electro-mechanical device which generated a sawtooth wave and white-noise. Various parts of the frequency spectrum of the waveforms could be filtered to generate the sounds of speech. Pitch was modulated via a bar on a wrist strap worn by the operator. In the 1940s Dudley, invented the VOCODER (Voice Operated Coder). Rather than synthesizing speech from scratch, this machine operated by accepting incoming speech and breaking it into its spectral components. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, bands and solo artists began using the VOCODER to blend speech with notes played on a synthesizer.
Meanwhile, at Bell Laboratories, Max Matthews worked with researchers Kelly and Lochbaum to develop a model of the vocal tract to study how its prosperities contributed to speech generation. Using the model of the vocal tract, Matthews used linear predictive coding (LPC)—a method in which a computer estimates the formants and spectral content of each word based on information about the vocal model, including various applied filters representing the vocal tract—to make a computer (an IBM 704) sing for the first time in 1962. The computer performed a rendition of "Daisy Bell".
At IRCAM in France, researchers developed software called CHANT (French for "sing"), the first version of which ran between 1979 and 1983. CHANT was based FOF (Fomant ond Formatique) synthesis, in which the peak frequencies of a sound are created and shaped using granular synthesis—as opposed to filtering frequencies to create speech.
Through the 1980s and 1990s as MIDI devices became commercially available, speech was generated by mapping MIDI data to samples of the components of speech stored in sample libraries.
In the 2010s, Singing synthesis technology has taken advantage of the recent advances in artificial intelligence—deep listening and machine learning to better represent the nuances of the human voice. New high fidelity sample libraries combined with digital audio workstations facilitate editing in fine detail, such as shifting of formats, adjustment of vibrato, and adjustments to vowels and consonants. Sample libraries for various languages and various accents are available. With today's advancements in vocal synthesis, artists sometimes use sample libraries in lieu of backing singers.
A synthesizer is an electronic musical instrument that generates electric signals that are converted to sound through instrument amplifiers and loudspeakers or headphones. Synthesizers may either imitate existing sounds (instruments, vocal, natural sounds, etc.), or generate new electronic timbres or sounds that did not exist before. They are often played with an electronic musical keyboard, but they can be controlled via a variety of other input devices, including sequencers, instrument controllers, fingerboards, guitar synthesizers, wind controllers, and electronic drums. Synthesizers without built-in controllers are often called sound modules, and are controlled using a controller device.
Synthesizers use various methods to generate a signal. Among the most popular waveform synthesis techniques are subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis, wavetable synthesis, frequency modulation synthesis, phase distortion synthesis, physical modeling synthesis and sample-based synthesis. Other less common synthesis types include subharmonic synthesis, a form of additive synthesis via subharmonics (used by Mixtur-Trautonium), and granular synthesis, sample-based synthesis based on grains of sound, generally resulting in soundscapes or clouds. In the 2010s, synthesizers are used in many genres of pop, rock and dance music. Contemporary classical music composers from the 20th and 21st century write compositions for synthesizer.
A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums, cymbals, other percussion instruments, and often basslines. Drum machines either play back prerecorded samples of drums and cymbals or synthesized re-creations of drum/cymbal sounds in a rhythm and tempo that is programmed by a musician. Drum machines are most commonly associated with electronic dance music genres such as house music, but are also used in many other genres. They are also used when session drummers are not available or if the production cannot afford the cost of a professional drummer. In the 2010s, most modern drum machines are sequencers with a sample playback (rompler) or synthesizer component that specializes in the reproduction of drum timbres. Though features vary from model to model, many modern drum machines can also produce unique sounds, and allow the user to compose unique drum beats and patterns.
Electro-mechanical drum machines were first developed in 1949, with the invention of the Chamberlin Rhythmate. Transistorized electronic drum machines Seeburg Select-A-Rhythm appeared in 1964.
Classic drum machines include the Korg Mini Pops 120, PAiA Programmable Drum Set, Roland CR-78, LinnDrum, Roland TR-909, Oberheim DMX, E-MU SP-12, Alesis HR-16, and Elektron SPS1 Machinedrum (in chronological order).
In the late 1970s and 1980s, Japanese manufacturers, including Roland and Korg, assumed pivotal roles in the transformation of the musical landscape. Roland's TR-808 and TR-909 significantly changed the landscape of rhythm production. shaping genres like hip-hop and electronic dance music. Korg's KPR-77 and DDD-1 also made an impact. These drum machines were known for their distinctive sound and affordability. Over time, Japanese companies continued to innovate, producing increasingly sophisticated and user-friendly drum machines, such as the Roland TR-8 and Korg Volca Beats. These instruments continue to influence contemporary music production and remain integral to the electronic music landscape worldwide.Sly and the Family Stone's 1971 album There's a Riot Goin' On helped to popularize the sound of early drum machines, along with Timmy Thomas' 1972 R&B hit "Why Can't We Live Together" and George McCrae's 1974 disco hit "Rock Your Baby" which used early Roland rhythm machines.
Early drum machines sounded drastically different than the drum machines that gained their peak popularity in the 1980s and defined an entire decade of pop music. The most iconic drum machine was the Roland TR-808, widely used in hip hop and dance music.
Digital sampling technology, introduced in the 1970s, has become a staple of music production in the 2000s. Devices that use sampling, record a sound digitally (often a musical instrument, such as a piano or flute being played), and replay it when a key or pad on a controller device (e.g., an electronic keyboard, electronic drum pad, etc.) is pressed or triggered. Samplers can alter the sound using various audio effects and audio processing. Sampling has its roots in France with the sound experiments carried out by musique concrète practitioners.
In the 1980s, when the technology was still in its infancy, digital samplers cost tens of thousands of dollars and they were only used by the top recording studios and musicians. These were out of the price range of most musicians. Early samplers include the 8-bit Electronic Music Studios MUSYS-3 circa 1970, Computer Music Melodian in 1976, Fairlight CMI in 1979, Emulator I in 1981, Synclavier II Sample-to-Memory (STM) option circa 1980, Ensoniq Mirage in 1984, and Akai S612 in 1985. The latter's successor, the Emulator II (released in 1984), listed for $8,000. Samplers were released during this period with high price tags, such as the K2000 and K2500.
Some important hardware samplers include the Kurzweil K250, Akai MPC60, Ensoniq Mirage, Ensoniq ASR-10, Akai S1000, E-mu Emulator, and Fairlight CMI.
One of the biggest uses of sampling technology was by hip-hop music DJs and performers in the 1980s. Before affordable sampling technology was readily available, DJs would use a technique pioneered by Grandmaster Flash to manually repeat certain parts in a song by juggling between two separate turntables. This can be considered as an early precursor of sampling. In turn, this turntablism technique originates from Jamaican dub music in the 1960s and was introduced to American hip hop in the 1970s.
In the 2000s, most professional recording studios use digital technologies. In recent years, many samplers have only included digital technology. This new generation of digital samplers are capable of reproducing and manipulating sounds. Digital sampling plays an integral part in some genres of music, such as hip-hop and trap. Advanced sample libraries have made complete performances of orchestral compositions possible that sound similar to a live performance. Modern sound libraries allow musicians to have the ability to use the sounds of almost any instrument in their productions.
Early samplers include the 12-bit Toshiba LMD-649 [ja] in 1981.
The first affordable sampler in Japan was the Ensoniq Mirage in 1984. Also the AKAI S612 became available in 1985, retailed for US$895. Other companies soon released affordable samplers, including Oberheim DPX-1 in 1987, and more by Korg, Casio, Yamaha, and Roland. Some important hardware samplers in Japan include the Akai Z4/Z8, Roland V-Synth, Casio FZ-1.
MIDI has been the musical instrument industry standard interface since the 1980s through to the present day. It dates back to June 1981, when Roland Corporation founder Ikutaro Kakehashi proposed the concept of standardization between different manufacturers' instruments as well as computers, to Oberheim Electronics founder Tom Oberheim and Sequential Circuits president Dave Smith. In October 1981, Kakehashi, Oberheim and Smith discussed the concept with representatives from Yamaha, Korg and Kawai. In 1983, the MIDI standard was unveiled by Kakehashi and Smith.
Some universally accepted varieties of MIDI software applications include music instruction software, MIDI sequencing software, music notation software, hard disk recording/editing software, patch editor/sound library software, computer-assisted composition software, and virtual instruments. Current developments in computer hardware and specialized software continue to expand MIDI applications.
Following the widespread adoption of MIDI, computer-based MIDI editors and sequencers were developed. MIDI-to-CV/Gate converters were then used to enable analogue synthesizers to be controlled by a MIDI sequencer.
Reduced prices in personal computers caused the masses to turn away from the more expensive workstations. Advancements in technology have increased the speed of hardware processing and the capacity of memory units. Software developers write new, more powerful programs for sequencing, recording, notating, and mastering music.
Digital audio workstation software, such as Pro Tools, Logic, and many others, have gained popularity among the vast array of contemporary music technology in recent years. Such programs allow the user to record acoustic sounds with a microphone or software instrument, which may then be layered and organized along a timeline and edited on a flat-panel display of a computer. Recorded segments can be copied and duplicated ad infinitum, without any loss of fidelity or added noise (a major contrast from analog recording, in which every copy leads to a loss of fidelity and added noise). Digital music can be edited and processed using a multitude of audio effects. Contemporary classical music sometimes uses computer-generated sounds—either pre-recorded or generated and manipulated live—in conjunction or juxtaposed on classical acoustic instruments like the cello or violin. Music is scored with commercially available notation software.
In addition to the digital audio workstations and music notation software, which facilitate the creation of fixed media (material that does not change each time it is performed), software facilitating interactive or generative music continues to emerge. Composition based on conditions or rules (algorithmic composition) has given rise to software which can automatically generate music based on input conditions or rules. Thus, the resulting music evolves each time conditions change. Examples of this technology include software designed for writing music for video games—where music evolves as a player advances through a level or when certain characters appear—or music generated from artificial intelligence trained to convert biometrics like EEG or ECG readings into music. Because this music is based on user interaction, it will be different each time it is heard. Other examples of generative music technology include the use of sensors connected to computer and artificial intelligence to generate music based on captured data, such as environmental factors, the movements of dancers, or physical inputs from a digital device such as a mouse or game controller. Software applications offering capabilities for generative and interactive music include SuperCollider, MaxMSP/Jitter, and Processing. Interactive music is made possible through physical computing, where the data from the physical world affects a computer's output and vice versa.