The Musical Synthesizer

Abstract

The various aspects of formation and
development of the musical instrumentarium
disclose the main regular occurrences
of functioning of musical instruments
as synthesizers of musical sound in all
its diversity, from the sources of their
formation to the contemporary stage of the
present process. In the first lecture, “The
Architectonics of Musical Sound” there was
detailed examination of the particularities of
the structure, the diversity and the various
interpretations of the concept of “musical
sound,” as well as the connection with the
contemporary technical possibilities of
notation, preservation and elaboration of
musical sounds. In the present lecture the
author turns to the main stages of evolution of
the concept of “musical sound,” which reflects
the changes of sound material itself during
the course of development of musical practice.
The emergence of new musical instruments
or musical synthesizers, according to the
authorial conception, is stipulated by two
main reasons. The first of them is musicians’
aspirations of enriching the palette of
their musical artistry. The second reason is
connected with the historical perfections of
the musical instrumentarium, which in its
construction aspires to rely on contemporary
achievements of science and technique in the
domain of creation of sound.
The level of development of contemporary
program and machinery means of musical
computer technologies (MCT) makes it possible
to model diverse stages of development of
systems of musical sounds.