Music Workstation
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Music Workstation
A music workstation is an electronic musical instrument providing the facilities of: *a sound module, *a music sequencer and *(usually) a musical keyboard. It enables a musician to compose electronic music using just one piece of equipment. Origin of concept The concept of a music sequencer combined with a synthesizer originated in the late 1970s with the combination of microprocessors, mini-computers, digital synthesis, disk-based storage, and control devices such as musical keyboards becoming feasible to combine into a single piece of equipment that was affordable to high-end studios and producers, as well as being portable for performers. Prior to this, the integration between sequencing and synthesis was generally a manual function based on wiring of components in large modular synthesizers, and the storage of notes was simply based on potentiometer settings in an analog sequencer. Multitimbrality Polyphonic synthesizers such as Sequential Circuit Prophet-5 and Yamaha DX7 we ...
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Electronic Musical Instrument
An electronic musical instrument or electrophone is a musical instrument that produces sound using electronic circuitry. Such an instrument sounds by outputting an electrical, electronic or digital audio signal that ultimately is plugged into a power amplifier which drives a loudspeaker A loudspeaker (commonly referred to as a speaker or speaker driver) is an electroacoustic transducer that converts an electrical audio signal into a corresponding sound. A ''speaker system'', also often simply referred to as a "speaker" or ..., creating the sound heard by the performer and listener. An electronic instrument might include a user interface for controlling its sound, often by adjusting the pitch (music), pitch, frequency, or duration of each Musical note, note. A common user interface is the musical keyboard, which functions similarly to the keyboard on an acoustic piano, except that with an electronic keyboard, the keyboard itself does not make any sound. An electronic ...
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FM Synthesis
Frequency modulation synthesis (or FM synthesis) is a form of sound synthesis whereby the frequency of a waveform is changed by modulating its frequency with a modulator. The frequency of an oscillator is altered "in accordance with the amplitude of a modulating signal". FM synthesis can create both harmonic and inharmonic sounds. To synthesize harmonic sounds, the modulating signal must have a harmonic relationship to the original carrier signal. As the amount of frequency modulation increases, the sound grows progressively complex. Through the use of modulators with frequencies that are non-integer multiples of the carrier signal (i.e. inharmonic), inharmonic bell-like and percussive spectra can be created. FM synthesis using analog oscillators may result in pitch instability. However, FM synthesis can also be implemented digitally, which is more stable and became standard practice. Digital FM synthesis (implemented as phase modulation) was the basis of several musical instrume ...
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Chorus Effect
Chorus (or chorusing, choruser or chorused effect) is an audio effect that occurs when individual sounds with approximately the same time, and very similar pitches, converge. While similar sounds coming from multiple sources can occur naturally, as in the case of a choir or string orchestra, it can also be simulated using an electronic effects unit or signal processing device. When the effect is produced successfully, none of the constituent sounds are perceived as being out of tune. It is characteristic of sounds with a rich, shimmering quality that would be absent if the sound came from a single source. The shimmer occurs because of beating. The effect is more apparent when listening to sounds that sustain for longer periods of time. The chorus effect is especially easy to hear when listening to a choir or string ensemble. A choir has multiple people singing each part ( alto, tenor, etc.). A string ensemble has multiple violinists and possibly multiples of other stringed instr ...
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Reverberation
Reverberation (also known as reverb), in acoustics, is a persistence of sound, after a sound is produced. Reverberation is created when a sound or signal is reflected causing numerous reflections to build up and then decay as the sound is absorbed by the surfaces of objects in the space – which could include furniture, people, and air. This is most noticeable when the sound source stops but the reflections continue, their amplitude decreasing, until zero is reached. Reverberation is frequency dependent: the length of the decay, or reverberation time, receives special consideration in the architectural design of spaces which need to have specific reverberation times to achieve optimum performance for their intended activity. In comparison to a distinct echo, that is detectable at a minimum of 50 to 100  ms after the previous sound, reverberation is the occurrence of reflections that arrive in a sequence of less than approximately 50 ms. As time passes, the amplitude of t ...
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Scorewriter
A scorewriter, or music notation program is software for creating, editing and printing sheet music. A scorewriter is to music notation what a word processor is to text, in that they typically provide flexible editing and automatic layout, and produce high-quality printed results. Most scorewriters, especially those from the 2000s, can record notes played on a MIDI keyboard (or other MIDI instruments), and play music back via MIDI or virtual instruments. Playback is especially useful for novice composers and music students, and when musicians are not available or affordable. Several free programs are widely used, such as MuseScore. The three main professional-level programs are Finale, Sibelius and Dorico. Comparison with multitrack sequencer software Multitrack sequencer software and scorewriters typically employ different methods for notation input and display. Scorewriters are based on traditional music notation, using staff lines and round note heads, which originates f ...
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Roland TR-808
The Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer, commonly known as the 808, is a drum machine manufactured by the Roland Corporation between 1980 and 1983. It was one of the first drum machines to allow users to program rhythms instead of using preset patterns. Unlike its nearest competitor at the time, the more expensive Linn LM-1, the 808 generates sounds using analog synthesis rather than by playing samples (prerecorded sounds). Launched when electronic music had yet to become mainstream, the 808 received mixed reviews for its unrealistic drum sounds and was a commercial failure. After building approximately 12,000 units, Roland discontinued the 808 after its semiconductors became impossible to restock. It was succeeded by the TR-909 in 1983. Over the course of the 1980s, the 808 attracted a cult following among underground musicians for its affordability on the used market, ease of use and idiosyncratic sounds, particularly its deep, booming bass drum. It became a cornerstone of the e ...
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Apple Macintosh
The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and software engineers. The current lineup includes the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro laptops, as well as the iMac, Mac Mini, Mac Studio and Mac Pro desktops. Macs run the macOS operating system. The first Mac was released in 1984, and was advertised with the highly-acclaimed "1984" ad. After a period of initial success, the Mac languished in the 1990s, until co-founder Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997. Jobs oversaw the release of many successful products, unveiled the modern Mac OS X, completed the 2005-06 Intel transition, and brought features from the iPhone back to the Mac. During Tim Cook's tenure as CEO, the Mac underwent a period of neglect, but was later reinvigorated with the introduction of popular high-end Macs and the ongoing Apple s ...
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Korg M1
The Korg M1 is a synthesizer and music workstation manufactured by Korg from 1988 to 1995. According to ''Sound on Sound'', it is one of the bestselling synthesizers, selling an estimated 250,000 units. Development Korg's chief engineer, Junichi Ikeuchi, led the hardware engineering design of the M1. Whereas previous synthesizers had shipped with sounds chosen for different markets, the Korg chairman, Tsutomu Kato, and his son Seiki decided that their synthesizers should use the same sounds internationally. Korg assembled an international team to develop the sounds for the M1. To create a deep blown bottle sound, the team played a pan flute over a large sake bottle. Features The M1 features a 61-note velocity- and aftertouch-sensitive keyboard, 16-note polyphony with 1-oscillator Programs (or 8-note polyphony with 2-oscillator Programs), a joystick for pitch-bend and modulation control, an eight-track MIDI sequencer, separate LFOs for vibrato and filter modulation, and ADSR ...
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Ensoniq ESQ-1
Ensoniq ESQ-1 is a 61-key, velocity sensitive, eight-note polyphony (instrument), polyphonic and multitimbral synthesizer released by Ensoniq in 1985. It was marketed as a "digital wave synthesizer" but was an early Music Workstation. Although its voice generation is typically subtractive synthesis, subtractive in much the same fashion as most analog synthesizers that preceded it, its electronic oscillators, oscillators are neither voltage controlled oscillator, voltage nor "digitally controlled oscillator, digitally controlled", but true digital oscillators, provided by a custom Ensoniq Table-lookup synthesis, wavetable chip. The signal path includes analog resonant low-pass low pass filter, filters and an analog amplifier. The synth also features a fully functional, if crude by modern standards, 8-track MIDI music sequencer, sequencer that can run either its internal sounds, external MIDI equipment, or both, with a capacity of 24,000 notes (expandable via cartridges). It provide ...
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MIDI
MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and related audio devices for playing, editing, and recording music. The specification originates in the paper ''Universal Synthesizer Interface'' published by Dave Smith and Chet Wood of Sequential Circuits at the 1981 Audio Engineering Society conference in New York City. A single MIDI cable can carry up to sixteen channels of MIDI data, each of which can be routed to a separate device. Each interaction with a key, button, knob or slider is converted into a MIDI event, which specifies musical instructions, such as a note's pitch, timing and loudness. One common MIDI application is to play a MIDI keyboard or other controller and use it to trigger a digital sound module (which contains synthesized musical sounds) to generate sounds, which t ...
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E-mu Emulator
The Emulator is a series of digital sampling synthesizers using floppy disk storage, manufactured by E-mu Systems from 1981 until 2002. Though not the first commercial sampler, the Emulator was among the first to find wide use among ordinary musicians, due to its relatively low price and fairly contained size, which allowed for its use in live performances. It was also innovative in its integration of computer technology. The samplers were discontinued in 2002. Impetus E-mu Systems was founded in 1971 and began business as a manufacturer of microprocessor chips, digital scanning keyboards and components for electronic instruments. Licensing this technology gave E-mu ample funds to invest in research and development, and it began to develop boutique synthesizers for niche markets, including a series of modular synthesizers and the high-end Audity system. In 1979, founders Scott Wedge and Dave Rossum saw the Fairlight CMI and the Linn LM-1 at a convention, inspiring them to de ...
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Sequential Circuits Six-Trak
The Six-Trak was an analogue synthesizer manufactured by Sequential Circuits in San Jose, California and released in January 1984. It is notable for being one of the first multi-timbral synthesizers, equipped with MIDI and an on-board six-track digital sequencer, hence the name. It was designed as an inexpensive and easily portable 'scratch-pad' machine for trying out arrangements. You can latch the arpeggiator and play along with sequences in real time. Also available is a unison mode which renders the keyboard monophonic but allows for very rich sounding timbres. The Six-Trak is prominently featured and can be heard on the 1998 minimalist space music CD release ''The Dream Garden'', by musician/composer Dane Rochelle. More recently it has been used by composeChristopher de Grootfor the 2012 soundtrack to Australian feature film "Sororal". The Six-Trak's more famous sibling is the Prophet 5, widely used in much of the 1970s progressive rock. A number of other synthesizers ma ...
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