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Module 7 - Electronic Music

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Electronic Music  ::  Electric Organs  ::  Synthesizers  ::  Digital Recording  ::  Digital Computers

Digital Computers

People laughed at the notion of one day there would be more computers than people. Of course back then computers filled entire rooms. Today there are computers in phones, lamps, garage doors, cars, vending machines, musical instruments, and microwaves, to name a few.

In the field of music, computers are used to record, emulate, play, and even compose music. They can be used to take a musical score and change the key it was written in.

In this chapter we will look at the role the digital computer plays with musical sound.

To successfully complete this chapter you should...

  • Read chapter 29 in your text book (pages 555-597).
  • Carefully study the important concepts about digital computers.
  • Be able to list the parts of a computer as described in the book.
  • Be able to discuss the role of the computer in digital music.

Important Concepts

Algorithm
Analog computer
Digital computer
Binary number
Bit
Byte
Central processing unit (CPU)
Clock pulse
Compiler
Drum synthesizer
FM synthesis
Hybrid synthesizer
MIDI
MUSIC V
Random-access memory (RAM)
Read only memory (ROM)
Sequencer
Word

Copyright 2008, by the Contributing Authors. Cite/attribute Resource. admin. (2005, January 25). Module 7 - Electronic Music. Retrieved November 22, 2009, from Free Online Course Materials — USU OpenCourseWare Web site: http://ocw.usu.edu/Electrical_and_Computer_Engineering/Science_of_Sound/Module_7_-_Electronic_Music_4.htm. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. Creative Commons License
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