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A new live performance device is the Zoom ARQ Aero RhythmTrak

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A new live performance device is the Zoom ARQ Aero RhythmTrak

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The Zoom ARQ Aero RhythmTrak is a new synthesiser and MIDI controller. It comes with two parts, a base and a ring controller that can either be used connected to the base or removed for a performance, the controller offers 96 velocity pads and the base contains all the MIDI samples and 70 synthesiser sounds allowing you to develop and create your own original sounds. A great thing about this device is it contains everything needed (the software) within the base meaning there is no need to have a laptop or other device present when using it.
Whilst it looks like a great device thats new and original a downside would be that it will be complicated to use at first as you have to learn about the new synth and how it works. Previously with a new keyboard synth you would know how it basically works, by turning nobs and pressing keys.

(credit: Information taken on 19/10/2016 from https://www.zoom-na.com/products/production-recording/digital-instruments/zoom-arq-aero-rhythmtrak)
The following video is an example of the Zoom ARQ in action.

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Music is a voyage of discovery. One that now goes much further with the creation of the ZOOM ARQ Aero RhythmTrak. ARQ is a drum machine, sequencer, synthesizer, looper, and MIDI controller with a built-in accelerometer. Even more, ARQ is freedom.

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The 21st century is when synths and machines for performance really started to take off with the invention in MIDI

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The 21st century is when synths and machines for performance really started to take off with the invention in MIDI

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In 2005 the nord stage was created, this was a lot like its ancestor the nord lead but offered weighted keys, it had a better organ section and many more possible effects. The Nord Lead was extremely popular and the latest version can still be seen used in live performances today.

Another 21st century invention that really added to how synths are used in live performance and in general is the creation of digital interface synths along with MIDI and MIDI controllers to use them. A loved piece of software originally created in 2001 and still updated today is Ableton Live, this software allows you to create synths and samples to then use with a connected MIDI device and be performed live. A great device for this is a MIDI keyboard or pads, a popular example is the Novation Launchpad.
The benefits to using MIDI synths and MIDI controllers is that they are very portable compared to previous synths, now all you need is a laptop and a midi keyboard and you can create any sound from previous Synths. Something that could be seen as a negative though is that you have to buy all to synths and softwares separate to the keyboard and you require them for the MIDI keyboard to work, whereas before all you needed was the synth and you could create they sounds there and then.
The following video is of the Novation Launchpad being performed.

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Novation Launchpad & Ableton Live - Performace

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Like me on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/observ3r *Download the song: http://soundcloud.com/the0bserver/launchpad-performance-the/download More of my music: http://soundcloud.com/the0bserver Live Performance/Improv on my Novation Launchpad with Ableton Live. Love this piece of gear, extremely flexible and capable of bunch of stuff. Stay tuned for a DJ set with the Launchpad and the novation Nocturn.

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In the 90s people enjoyed Disco music and to create this analogue sounding synths were needed, as analogue synths were not popular anymore Claviadeveloped the Nord Lead which is an analogue modelling synth which means it's a digital synth that could reproduce the sounds of analogue synths. The Nord Lead has been one of the most popular synthesisers ever created. Whilst it was a great synth allowing a lot of options to what sounds you could create and how you could use the device one negative to it was it only came with 49 keys which is a lot less than that of a standard piano/ keyboard which has 88 keys.
(credit: Information taken on
19/10/2016 fromhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nord_Lead
The following video is of Federico Solazzo using the news Nord Lead, The Lead 4 showing that this synth is still popular today.

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Dave Smith Instruments Prophet12 Demo & Review

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We invited the talented Italian keyboard player and producer Federico Solazzo over to our factory in Stockholm to demo some of the powerful new features in the Nord Lead 4! Everything recorded live, with no overdubbing. For detailed product information and specifications, visit http://www.nordlead4.com

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By the end of the 1970s and during the 1980 digital synthesisers became hugely popular in the music industry, this was because the digital synths were basically computers with a piano keyboard could offer more for the same price as an analogue synth. The most popular synth and the first digital synth to become commercially successful was the DX7, the DX7 used multiple sine waste oscillators and Phase modulation which allowed it to create sounds analogue synths could not, including Struck and Plucked sounds. A negative to the DX7 though was that it didn't have a filter meaning you couldn't modify the frequencies coming through.
The below video if of the DX7 and all the traditional patches that came pre-programmed in the device, another negative was that because of this a lot of sounds were very overused by artists.

Credit, information taken on: 12/10/2016
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_synthesizer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamaha_DX7

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Yamaha DX7 - the 32 classic factory patches

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This is the device that helped to shape the look of synthesisers that we now know today. The form of the Prophet 5 helped to push synths into use in popular music. Whilst a great and popular device amongst artists (ABBA, Madonna, RadioHead) the Prophet 5 was an analogue synth meaning that the quality wasn't as clear as digital synths, which were becoming popular towards the end on the 1970s.

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In the 1960s the Moog synthesiser was invented

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In the 1960s the Moog synthesiser was invented

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The moog/ minimoog was another step forward in synthesiser technology as it was one of the first synths to use only self contained hardware making it portable. This meant it could be take places easily and used in live performance. The sound of the Moog became popular amongst musicians and was used by artists such as The Monkees, The Rolling Stones and The Beatles.

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In 1957 the RCA Mark II Sound Synthesizer was developed

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In 1957 the RCA Mark II Sound Synthesizer was developed

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The RCA Mark II was the first created programmable synthesiser allowing composers to create a piece and let it play, Many know composers at the time used this synthesiser for creating compositions. The RCA Mark II was a step forward in the electronic music industry towards what and how it could be used. Whilst the RCA was a great machine having twice the oscillators of the Mark I allowing more musical freedom it did take up a lot of space (a whole room), this was not great as it meant it had to remain stationary and people had to go to it to perform their music for songs.

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1950 early electronic synthesizer: 'This is music with a strictly electronic beat'

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In the 1941 the Ondioline was invented, this was an electric keyboard synthesiser.

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In the 1941 the Ondioline was invented, this was an electric keyboard synthesiser.

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The thing that made the Ondioline stand out was that it could produce realistic sounding vibrato, this was possible because the keys had special springs below them and the vibrato was created by moving the keyboard side to side. They keyboard was also pressure sensitive and had a knee volume leveler as well. The Ondioline used a different method of controlling pitch to other synths meaning that it couldn't produce theremin like pitch effects
(credit: Information taken on 28/09/2016 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ondioline

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In the 1930s the first synthesisers were created.

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In the 1930s the first synthesisers were created.

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One of the earliest polyphonic synthesisers was the Hammond Novachord which was created in 1939. It worked like as keyboard and used twelve sets of top-octave oscillators with octave dividers  to generate sound. The Novachord is great as it's know as the first synthesiser and worked well as one but a negative to having to have so many parts to create so many  sounds is that it weighed a lot (500 pounds) making it impractical to transport, it was also known as unreliable due to tolerance issues.

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In the 1920 one of the first electronic instruments was created, it was called the Theremin.

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In the 1920 one of the first electronic instruments was created, it was called the Theremin.

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The Theremin doesn't require any contact to be played as antennas are used to detect where your hand is above it, one had is used to control the volume, the other the pitch. The theremin was a great invention for its time and amazed people with the eerie and unique sounds it created, it was such a popular device that it's still used in music, TV and film today. One of the downsides of the theremin though is that the sounds you can create using it are quite limited, resulting in all tracks of the theremin sounding similar.

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Leon Theremin playing his own instrument

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In the 1910s Luigi Russolo was one of the first people to come up with and create machines for the purpose of making music, he called these machines "intonearumori" which means "noise machines

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In the 1910s Luigi Russolo was one of the first people to come up with and create machines for the purpose of making music, he called these machines "intonearumori" which means "noise machines

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Whilst they were not synth sizer and worked acoustically they still helped to push forward the industry and what could be created. These machines were destroyed during WWII but recreations were made and displayed in 2012.

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this amplified sound electronically and lead to a lot of advancements in the entertainment industry.
Things such as the radio used the audion tube.
The benefits of the invention of the audion tube was that now sound could be created electronically and effectively a downside though was that it was believed there had to be gas within the glass tube part of the device, this gas caused distortion in the audio created,

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Information taken on 21/09/2016 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthesizer

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The 1800s are when electronic instruments were discovered.

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The 1800s are when electronic instruments were discovered.

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In 1876 the electrical engineer Elisha Gray accidentally discovered the sound generation from a self-vibrating electromechanical circuit, he used this knowledge to create a single note oscillator.
In 1896/7 Thaddeus Cahill invented the Telharmoniun which was the first electronic organ, it could use sine waves to create clean tones but had nobs that could adjust the frequencies to create more complicated sounds.* The Telharmoniun was a great advancement in the electronic music industry as it could create a range of sounds (from piano sounding to flute) a unfortunate consequence to this machine though was that it required a lot of power to run properly.

*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teleharmonium