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Compositional Limitations of Current Electronic Music Synthesizers

Recent developments in synthesizer desgin have emphasized paino/organ keyboard type control, fixed octave division, (phony) polyphony, and live performance capability. These features militate against the compositional demands of the serious composer; in fact the classical electronic music studio of the 1950's - with all its limitations - had none of the prejudices of today's synthesizers. Types of control other than the piano/organ keyboard are described. Solutions to some compositional problems are suggested.

Author: Ceely, Robert
Affiliations: BEEP Electronic Music, Brookline, MA ; New England Conservatory of Music, Boston, MA(See document for exact affiliation information.)
AES Convention:58 (November 1977) Paper Number:1291 Import into BibTeX

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