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Which sound properties could composers control with the RCA Electronic Music Synthesizer?
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electronic instrument
Moog electronic sound synthesizer
The RCA Electronic Music Synthesizer allowed composers to achieve precise control over their music by encoding specific sound properties onto a punched paper tape.123
For the four musical tones the instrument could produce simultaneously, composers were able to control the following sound properties:
- Pitch: The fundamental frequency of the tone.3
- Tone colours: The specific harmonic character or timbre of the sound.3
- Vibrato intensities: The degree of periodic variation in pitch.3
- Envelope shapes: The characteristics of the sound's onset and decay.3
- Portamento: The smooth gliding from one pitch to another.3
These properties were specified in binary form for every 1/30 of a second, providing a level of precision and speed in musical change that exceeded the capabilities of traditional performers.3