Early Computer Music (1953-85)

1
Chapter 10 Early Computer Music (1953-85)

• Contents
• Foundations of Computer Music
• The Role of Computers in Music
• Computer Composition and Scoring
• Computer Synthesis
• Computer Control over External Synthesizers
• Computer Sampling of Audio Input
• A Concise History of Computer Music

2
Chapter 10 Early Computer Music (1953-85)

• The new field of information science inspired
  composers to explore the use of computers to
  compose and synthesize music, beginning in the
  1950s.
• The development of computer technology
  historically paralleled the development of the
  modern electronic music studio and synthesizer,
  leading to a cross-fertilization of the two
  fields that greatly benefited electronic music.

Chapter 10
3
Chapter 10 Early Computer Music (1953-85)

• The development of computer music requires a
  musical programming language and a method for the
  direct synthesis of digital signals into audible
  sound.
• The first music programming language was
  developed by Max Mathews at Bell Labs in 1957.

Chapter 10
4
Chapter 10 Early Computer Music (1953-85)

• Lejaren Hiller and Iannis Xenakis explored the
  use of computers for musical composition during
  the late 1950s and 1960s.
• The direct synthesis of music by computers became
  feasible during the 1970s and resulted in the
  creation of large-scale digital synthesizers at
  Bell Labs, Stanford University, the Institute of
  Sonology in The Netherlands, IRCAM, and other
  computer centers.

Chapter 10
5
Chapter 10 Early Computer Music (1953-85)

• John Chownings work in FM synthesis led to an
  economical way to harness computing power to
  create a wide palette of easily shaped sounds
  that could be accomplished with a minimum of
  processing power.

Chapter 10
6
Chapter 10 Early Computer Music (1953-85)

• The four roles of computers in music include
• Composition and scoring
• Computer synthesis
• Computer control over audio processing functions
  and performance
• Computer sampling of audio input.

Chapter 10
7
Chapter 10
8
Chapter 10
9
Chapter 10