Although computer music has sometimes been viewed by the uninitiated as an oddball music comprised of mere bleeps and blatts, it is today a very advanced and sophisticated musical form of expression quite capable of giving the other forms of the musical art a run for their money. As is well known, the scores of todays films are to a substantial extent composed by means of synthesizers. But this music is also capable of providing a pure high quality listening experience.
One of the advantages that this form of music confers to the composer is the very high degree of control over the musical rendition. Whereas other forms of musical expression rely on the intervening influence of performing artists, in the field of pure computer music the composer is solely responsible for the final rendition. In effect the score is what you hear.
An outstanding aspect of this music is its ability to provide a greater variety of timbre than other musics, timbre that is rich in texture and novel overtones beyond or surpassing the timbre attainable by conventional acoustic or electric instrumental methods. How is this possible? It is due to the flexibility of electronic hardware when used in conjunction with computer software.
Essentially there are three main techniques for creating this music. The first, well known as the 'midi' interface, is generally used to link an instrument through a serial interface to a synthesizer. (The instrument may often be a keyboard, although any appropriately wired instrument may be used.) The second technique is called FM (frequency modulation) synthesis, and comprises the combining of sine waves using the principles of the Fourier transformation to create a preferred wave form for the rendered sound. The third, called granular synthesis, involves the use of very short appropriately shaped sine waves { less than or eaqual to 5 ms. in duration } which are combined to produce the rendered sound.
The actual implementation of these techniques is carried out through instruments, which may loosely be divided into the categories of hardware and software instruments.