Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 22
Contemporary Performing Arts Testbed
22.1 Historical Introduction to the Issue
Since the 1970s, the field of performance arts has quickly evolved thanks to the
development of, and innovation in computers, software and electronic devices that
have transformed stage practices. Whereas performers used hardware devices for all
signal processing required on stage, they progressively moved to software environ-
ments enabling them to develop personal interactive modules. This initially applied
to music, but quickly expanded to dance, theatre and installations.
22.1.1 The 1950s: The Pioneers
The idea of using computers in order to generate music emerged in the 50s, but
was mainly reserved to laboratories. Max Mathews, a pioneer in the domain, writes
for instance: “Computer performance of music was born in 1957 when an IBM
704 in NYC played a 17s composition on the Music I program which I wrote.
The timbres and notes were not inspiring, but the technical breakthrough is still
reverberating.”
22.1.2 The 1970s: The Popularization
One major step was the invention of sound synthesis by using frequency modu-
lation in the 1970s. This invention, patented in 1975, was discovered at Stanford
University by John Chowning, another pioneer. The technique which consists in
applying a frequency modulation in the audio range to a waveform also in the
audio range, results in complex sounds that cannot be generated by other means,
such as “boings”, “clang”, “twang” and other complex sounds that everyone can
now easily recognize as “sounds from the 1970s or 1980s”. This invention was
the basis of some of the early generation digital synthesizers like the famous
Yamaha DX7.
