9. Working with Software Instruments

One of the most exciting developments in the world of computer music, without a doubt, is the software synthesizer. Knowing a bit about the development of software synthesis will help you understand the philosophy, uses, and limitations of software instruments, so the next few paragraphs will explain how software instruments came to be and what they are.

From the late 1960s through the 1980s, synthesizers were electronic devices that used physical oscillators and filters to make sound. These devices sounded spectacular (at least to synthesizer enthusiasts!) but were incredibly bulky and expensive. Starting at the end of the 1970s and into the 1980s, the first steps in digital synthesizers were being made—in effect, a dedicated computer chip that had specially written software to control sound production, including the development of “virtual” oscillators and filters. Digital synthesizers took over in the 1980s and 1990s, and even though these synthesizers were housed in rackmount boxes or in keyboards, it was in fact the software that was doing the synthesis.