Download Chapter 11 - Routledge

Chapter 11
The Microprocessor
Revolution (1975-90)
Contents
•From Transistors to Microprocessors
•Music Software for Microcomputers
•A Brief History of Soldering and Composing
Chapter 11 The Microprocessor Revolution (1975-90)
• The availability of the microprocessor in 1971
ushered in a paradigm shift from large,
mainframe computer music systems to the
personal computer.
• One of the first “oscillators on a chip” used by
musicians was the inexpensive and widely
available Signetics NE/SE566, designed for
use in touch-tone telephones.
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Chapter 11 The Microprocessor Revolution (1975-90)
• A breakthrough in microcomputers came with the
arrival of the KIM-1, a predecessor of the Apple
computer that used the same chip set. Composers
began to adopt the KIM-1 for musical applications
during the early 1970s.
• By the early 1980s, the affordability of integrated
circuits and microprocessors was directing
development toward the production of sophisticated,
multifunction sound chips and digital signal
processing components for electronic music.
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Chapter 11 The Microprocessor Revolution (1975-90)
• The availability of MIDI in 1984 incentivized
microcomputer makers to develop more
robust methods of producing computer music.
• One result of this activity was the sound
card, or expansion card, which could be
added to a personal computer to expand its
synthesizing capabilities and provide analog
audio output of the sound signal.
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Chapter 11 The Microprocessor Revolution (1975-90)
• Software instruments and digital audio
workstation programs provide software tools
for the electronic music composer on a
microcomputer.
• There is a tradition of instrument-making in
the field of electronic music involving
composers who construct electronic musical
instruments from inexpensive components for
the purpose of realizing works for media or
live performance.
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