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The instruments discussed thus far were all designed to be played in real time. Relatively
early, however, people began to develop instruments that combined electronic sound
generators and sequencers. The first instrument of this kind was presented by the French
duo Edouard Coupleux and Joseph Givelet in 1929—the inspirationally named
Automatically Operating Musical Instrument of the Electric Oscillation Type. This hybrid
married electronic sound generation to a mechanically punched tape control. Generally
acknowledged to be a mouthful, its unofficial name was shortened to Coupleux-Givelet
Synthesizer by its builders; this was, incidentally, the first time a musical instrument was
called a “synthesizer.”
The term was officially introduced in 1956 with the debut of the RCA Electronic Music
Synthesizer Mark I, developed by American engineers Harry F. Olson and Herbert Belar.
Its dual-voice sound generation system consisted of 12 tuning forks, which were stimulated
electromagnetically. For its time, the instrument offered relatively sophisticated
signal-processing options. The output signal of the sound generator could be monitored
by loudspeakers and, amazingly, recorded directly onto two records! A single motor
powered both turntables and the control unit of the Mark 1. The synthesizer was controlled
by information punched onto a roll of paper tape, which actually enabled continuous
automation of pitch, volume, timbre, and envelopes. It was as complicated as it
sounds-handling was anything but a dream, and spontaneous playing was impossible.
The First Voltage-Controlled Synthesizers
With the exception of the Telharmonium, which was conceived prior to the advent of
the thermionic valve, these precursors to the modern-day synthesizer were all based on
tube circuitry. This made these instruments relatively unwieldy and certainly volatile. After
the transistor became available in 1947/48, more rugged, smaller, and thus portable,
instruments were soon to come.
At the end of 1963, American innovator R. A. (Bob) Moog met the composer Herbert
Deutsch, who inspired Moog to combine a voltage-controlled oscillator and amplifier
module with a keyboard in 1964—the first prototype of a voltage-controlled synthesizer.
This collaboration with the German musician prompted Moog to extend his range of
modules and to combine them into entire systems. It wasn’t until 1967, however, that
Moog actually called his diverse mix-and-match systems synthesizers.
557Appendix Synthesizer Basics