of Microprocessors

19
Some RealApplications
In previous discussions, synthesis, modification, and analysis techniques
were described as individual tools that could be used independently or
combined in myriad ways to achieve a desired acousrical result. Indeed, in
research applications of music and sound synthesis, one would probably
prefer to have just rhe individual tools available without any externally
imposed structure or limitations on how they may be used together. Whereas
such a collection of tOols really just constitutes an environment in which music
creation can take place, a saleable product must be more organized for easy
learning and less general for an acceptable cost. In fact, such a product is
usually called a synthesizer, a term that has already been used frequently
without really being defined.
Synthesizers in the Real World
In the context of this chapter, a synthesizer is essentially a selfcontained
machine designed to produce a wide variety of, hopefully, musical
sounds in response to commands received from the outside. Any technology
can be used to build a synthesizer (in the last century, pressure-actuated air
columns were used), but, of course, analog and digital electronic techniques
are of interest here. A true synthesizer already "knows" how to produce sound;
an elaborate setup or programming procedure is not necessary to get at least
simple sound out. Thus, a computer with a DAC alone is not a synthesizer,
even though with programming it could produce any sound. However, a
computer plus DAC bundled with a control interface and a ROM synthesis
program could be sold as a synthesizer. Any practical synthesizer uses only a
small subset of the many possible sound-generation techniques available.
These may be chosen with generality, ease of control, or cost in mind
according to the application ("market" in product planning terminology) the
synthesizer will be designed for.
Live Performance Synthesizers
What, then, are the markets and applications for synthesizers? Many
have been alluded to in previous chapters but were never focused upon.
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