Learning with a Synthesizer

One of the most revolutionary instruments ever conceived and brought to life, the synthesizer. This musical technology changed the way we hear, record, and create idea musical ideas. It has the capacity to replicate the sounds of numerous instruments at the touch of a key. The idea was first conceived in 1876 with the musical telegraph, that was actually accidentally discovered from a self-vibrating electromagnetic current. Over the years there were adaptations made and in 1897 the Tonewheel Organ was created, however still not our modern day synthesizer. The term “synthesizer” was coined sometime between 1951-52 and RCA called it the Electronic Music Synthesizer, this invention explored the idea of a portable modular synthesizer using transistor technology. After another thirty years of research and technology, in the 1980’s companies were selling the first synthesizers to the general public.

What does this mean for music education?

Well to begin, we can now create the sounds of any instrument at any time we want. If a very young student wants to hear what a clarinet sounds like, we can immediately have them listen to a clarinet sound. This also can help in music lessons. Say a student can’t physically play a note written in their music, you can play the sound on the synthesizer so the student can hear it in his/her head before playing it. Hearing the pitch or “audiation” before playing separates the professionals from the mediocre musicians. It’s a skill that needs to be internalized for musicians and through the synthesizer we can simply assist students. This is an affordable option for any music classroom to spark the curiosity in their students and hopefully allow them to engage in music making.

Want to learn about all the different types of synthesizers? Here is a wonderful extensive list along with excellent historical information about the birth of the synthesizer:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthesizer