A Perspective on Computer Music

Abstract

It is a pleasure to be part of this 20th anniversary celebration of Computer Music Journal. The Journal has great significance to me and to many readers because it was our first introduction to the field of computer music. I saw a copy of Volume 1, No. 1 at an activities fair at Rice University where I was an undergraduate. I wrote for a subscription and back issues, and received a handwritten note from none other than founding editor, John Snell, explaining that my subscription would start with No. 1, as No. 2 was not yet in print. This was an exciting time. Microprocessors were just becoming available and digital synthesizers were beginning to appear, although nothing had reached the consumer market. Julius Smith was also at Rice, and we played in a band together. As a freshman, I met a graduate student who had invented Karplus-Strong plucked-string synthesis years before the well-known publication (Karplus and Strong 1983). He used a Digital Equipment Corp. PDP-11 minicomputer attached to a vector graphics display. The x and y deflection signals were diverted to a stereo amplifier to form a makeshift computer music system. The grad student had it playing two-part inventions in real time with very nice harpsichord-like timbres. This was perhaps the first physical model synthesis system. Computer Music Journal played a critical role in disseminating ideas from research, in fighting the isolation that comes from working in a small interdisciplinary area, and in defining the emerging field of computer music. While many of the early practitioners received their introduction to computer music through courses and residencies, many of us learned the ropes from the Journal's pages. Computer Music Journal is still a major resource in the field, even with the advent of new journals and conference proceedings. Where Were We?