The Musical Synthesizer

The various aspects of formation and development of the musical instrumentarium disclose the main regular occurrences of functioning of musical instruments as synthesizers of musical sound in all its diversity, from the sources of their formation to the contemporary stage of the present process. In the fi rst lecture, “The Architectonics of Musical Sound” there was detailed examination of the particularities of the structure, the diversity and the various interpretations of the concept of “musical sound,” as well as the connection with the contemporary technical possibilities of notation, preservation and elaboration of musical sounds. In the present lecture the author turns to the main stages of evolution of the concept of “musical sound,” which refl ects the changes of sound material itself during the course of development of musical practice. The emergence of new musical instruments or musical synthesizers, according to the authorial conception, is stipulated by two main reasons. The fi rst of them is musicians’ aspirations of enriching the palette of their musical artistry. The second reason is connected with the historical perfections of the musical instrumentarium, which in its construction aspires to rely on contemporary achievements of science and technique in the domain of creation of sound. The level of development of contemporary program and machinery means of musical computer technologies (MCT) makes it possible to model diverse stages of development of systems of musical sounds.