History of Digital Sound Synthesis and Computer Music Software
Sound synthesis is the technique of generating sound, using electronic hardware or software, from scratch. The most common use of synthesis is musical, where electronic instruments called synthesizers are used in the performance and recording of music. Sound synthesis has many applications both academic and artistic, and we commonly use synthesizers and synthesis methods to: 1) Generate interesting and unique sounds or timbres incapable of being produced acoustically. 2) Recreate or model the sounds of real-world acoustic instruments or sounds. 3) Facilitate the automation of systems and processes (text-to-speech software, train station P.A.s) Digital synthesis is different from Analog in that: 1) It made numerical experiments possible with various degrees of precision and discreteness. Analog circuitry meant sonic instability and chance encounters.
Max Mathews develops MUSIC
MUSIC was the first computer program for generating digital audio waveforms through direct synthesis. It was developed by Max Mathews on an IBM 704 at Bell Labs in 1957. [](mediaid=f21ab19b-b4a9-4bce-ac06-ad38481036a2) | YEAR | VERSION | PLACE | AUTHOR | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1957 | Music I | Bell Labs (New York) | Max Mathews | | 1958 | Music II | Bell Labs (New York) | Max Mathews | | 1960 | Music III | Bell Labs (New York) | Max Mathews | | 1963 | Music IV | Bell Labs (New York) | Max Mathews, Joan Miller | | 1963 | Music IVB | Princeton University | Hubert Howe, Godfrey Winham | | 1965 | Music IVF | Argonne Laboratories (Chicago) | Arthur Roberts | | 1966 | Music IVBF | Princeton University | Hubert Howe, Godfrey Winham | | 1966 | Music 6 | Stanford University | Dave Poole | | 1968 | Music V | Bell Labs (New York) | Max Mathews | | 1969 | Music 360 | Princeton University | Barry Vercoe | | 1969 | Music 10 | Stanford University | John Chowning, James Moorer | | 1970 | Music 7 | Queen’s College (New York) | Hubert Howe, Godfrey Winham | | 1973 | Music 11 | M.I.T. | Barry Vercoe | | 1977 | Mus10 | Stanford University | Leland Smith, John Tovar | | 1980 | Cmusic | University of California | Richard Moore | | 1985 | Cmix | Princeton University | Paul Lansky | | 1985 | Music 4C | University of Illinois | James Beauchamp, Scott Aurenz | | 1986 | Csound | M.I.T. | Barry Vercoe |
Miller Puckette starts developing Max
Miller Puckette began work on what is now known as Max in 1985, at the Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique (IRCAM) in Paris. Originally called The Patcher, this first version provided composers with a graphical interface for creating interactive computer music scores on the Macintosh. At this point in its development Max couldn't perform its own real-time sound synthesis in software, but instead sent control messages to external hardware synthesizers and samplers using MIDI or a similar protocol. Max is named after Max Mathews.
Pure Data is released
Miller Puckette released a fully redesigned open-source composition tool named Pure Data (Pd) in 1996.
Commodore 64 launch
Lots of great development work was done in the 1960s and 70s, but it was when Commodore launched the C64 that home computer music making really got going. It was notable for the inclusion of its SID sound chip, which enabled users to create music using a whopping three channels of synthesis. In fact, the distinctive SID sound is still popular today, which is one of the reasons why you can download C64 emulators for your Mac or PC. 
SuperCollider released
James McCartney releases SuperCollider.
Open Sound Control (OSC)
The first specification for the Open Sound Control protocol is released. OpenSoundControl (OSC) is a data transport specification (an encoding) for realtime message communication among applications and hardware. OSC was developed by researchers Matt Wright and Adrian Freed during their time at the Center for New Music & Audio Technologies (CNMAT). OSC was originally designed as a highly accurate, low latency, lightweight, and flexible method of communication for use in realtime musical performance. They proposed OSC in 1997 as “a new protocol for communication among computers, sound synthesizers, and other multimedia devices that is optimized for modern networking technology”.
MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface)
Robert Moog, the president of Moog Music, announced MIDI in the October 1982 issue of Keyboard. 
MIDI 2.0
MIDI 2.0 updates MIDI with new DAW integrations, increased expressive control, tighter timing, and more. Happily, MIDI 1.0 and 2.0 will be effectively interoperable, and MIDI 1.0 will not be thrown to the curb as a result of 2.0's development.
Yamaha DX7
The first affordable commercial synthesizer of its kind, the DX7 provided a new means of combining synthetic waveforms to create unique timbres never heard before by the average musician. "It became the soundtrack of the 80s."  John Chowning with a DX7. --- [The Yamaha DX7 in Synthesizer History](https://meganlavengood.com/the-yamaha-dx7-in-synthesizer-history/) ## After the DX7 " This quickly diminished the appeal of the instrument, and I hypothesize that perhaps the DX7 sounds particularly dated today because of the existence of the factory presets; perhaps an analog instrument that was more easily customizable wouldn’t have had such an easily recognizable sound. The DX7 became less and less popular as a synthesizer toward the end of the 1980s and into the 1990s, until finally the DX7 had a truly bad reputation and was essentially synonymous with cheesiness. " ---
FM Synthesis Algorithms Finalized
The introduction of 1960s digital signal processing allowed John Chowning to experiment with a continuation of ring modulation synthesis through the combination of three unique oscillators’ functions, known as the **modulator**, **carrier**, and **operator**, which allowed for incredibly complex and unique waveforms to be generated through the combination of simple sinewaves. Through these early experiments in frequency modulation, Chowning was able to determine specific ratios between the three oscillators that emulated familiar acoustic instruments, such as brass, mallet percussion, and strings. This algorithm of recalling specific modulator, carrier, and operator settings would be finalized in 1967 through the support of Stanford, who would not allow the patent to be used for commercial purposes for a standard 8 years after its development.  In 1974, Stanford allowed Chowning to sell the rights of the FM algorithm to Yamaha corporation and to begin working directly for the company, proving to be one of the most lucrative patent sales of the 20th century for Stanford. In 1977, Chowning composed one of his most famous compositions to demonstrate the timbrel capabilities of FM synthesis through a series of colliding longtone combinations titled Stria. [](mediaid=5ed251ce-e33e-436f-b5fc-bd7b10f2d356) While Yamaha’s first commercial use of FM synthesis was demonstrated through the GS1 in 1981, it proved to be a commercial failure due to its steep price. In 1983, Yamaha reintroduced Chowning’s FM algorithms in a sleek, smaller, and more affordable keyboard controlled synthesizer: the DX7. Chowning’s algorithms were used to create easily accessible instrument presets on the DX7, allowing smaller studio operations to create fully orchestrated ensemble productions of familiar sounds for a fraction of the cost and time it would take to record it with live musicians.