Music. Everyone listens to it. You probably listen to a lot of it in your phone or computer. Music is one of the most fascinating creations in our world; the idea that noises can be put together in an organized way in order to make a pleasing sound to our ears is genius, to say the least. Arguably, the most important innovation in music that has happened is the introduction of the synthesizer, also known as a digital instrument. The synthesizer forever changed the sound of music, giving producers unlimited freedom to create their own instruments, instead of using the old acoustic instruments. However, despite the immense change that the sound of synthesizers brought to music, one of the most innovative concepts, most people do not even think about it.

While synthesizers only became mainstream in the late 1970s/early 1980s, according to Apple, attempts at synthesizers date way back to the late 19th century. The man responsible for the creation of the first electric instrument was named Thaddeus Cahill. His creation was an organ which worked with the power of electricity, which he called the “Telharmonium”, and sometimes, the dynamophone. The work for the Mark I version was finished by the year 1896. The final project weighed a very heavy 7 tons. However, Cahill wanted to greatly improve the “Telharmonium”, as in his eyes, it was still not good enough. He immediately started working on the Mark II version of the invention. When it was finished, however, the “Telharmonium Mark II” weighed a staggering 200 tons. Cahill’s third revision, the Mark III, had only minor revisions, and as a result, it does not weigh more than the Mark II. Unfortunately, because of its weight, astronomical price, and size, nobody ever bought the Telharmonium, and the Mark II and III versions were torn down, with their parts sold for scrap. Cahill’s brother held on to the Mark I model, but ultimately got nobody to purchase it, ultimately scrapping the invention in 1961.

However, while there were many attempts at something similar to a synthesizer. According to Britannica, the first true electronic synthesizer was invented in the year 1955 by two acoustical engineers: Harry Olson and Herbert Belar. They sent signals to the synthesizer via hole punched paper. This synthesizer, however, was not designed for music; it was simply designed to research sound and its properties. Wikipedia states that the first synthesizer made for music was created in 1960 by Robert Moog, with the Moog Minimoog being one of the most recognizable synthesizers in the history of music. It allowed up to three oscillators (sound waves), with many effects, such as filters. Its sound is still used today by many artists. During the late 70s and 80s, synthesizers started to become much smaller than their predecessors, which made them more practical, which appealed to many music enthusiasts.

You might be wondering right now, “Okay, you’ve just told me a whole lot of information about synthesizers, but you still haven’t told me why synthesizers are so important.” The reason for this, is because you needed to know the long history, and all of the effort that went into the creation of synthesizers. Only then can you understand the importance of the synthesizers. Synthesizers are important, for one simple reason: freedom of creativity, because of their huge amount of options. Producers were finally able to create whatever sound they had in their head, which meant that the music was finally able to sound exactly as the producer wanted it to. Because a good musical mind will come up with sounds that fit perfectly with each other, the synthesizers finally allowed them to express their thoughts, thus, greatly increasing the quality of their work.

Ever since the synthesizer started being used in pop music, the sound of music changed forever. The musicians were no longer limited to only acoustic instruments; they were now able to create their own, original sound, as the synthesizers allow the musician to create whatever sound they can think of, due to the sheer amount of options they offer. This led to the creation of many new genres, as the musicians could now create whatever kind of mood they thought of, which created a new level of originality that could not be achieved with acoustic instruments.Yet, even though all of these changes have happened in a relatively short time, people don’t seem to notice this. Music is a very prominent thing in our lives; even if not all of us are enthusiasts of music, we all listen to it every single day in one way or another, be it through our phones, TVs, or places which play music, like cafes. Music is arguably one of the most helpful and widespread inventions in history, and it is a true shame that most people don’t appreciate the fact that it exists...