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John Chowning

February 18, 2023

John M. Chowning (/ˈtʃaʊnɪŋ/; born August 22, 1934 in Salem, New Jersey) is an American composer, musician, discoverer, and professor best known for his work at Stanford University, the founding of CCRMA - Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics in 1975 and his development of the digital implementation of FM synthesis and the digital sound spatialization while there.

John M. Chowning

Contribution

Chowning is known for having developed the FM synthesis algorithm in 1967.[1][2][3] In FM (frequency modulation) synthesis, both the carrier frequency and the modulation frequency are within the audio band. In essence, the amplitude and frequency of one waveform modulates the frequency of another waveform producing a resultant waveform that can be periodic or non-periodic depending upon the ratio of the two frequencies.

Chowning's breakthrough allowed for simple—in terms of process—yet rich sounding timbres, which synthesized 'metal striking' or 'bell like' sounds, and which seemed incredibly similar to real percussion (Chowning was also a skilled percussionist). He spent six years turning his breakthrough into a system of musical importance and eventually was able to simulate a large number of musical sounds, including the singing voice. In 1974, Stanford University licensed the discovery to Yamaha,[4] with whom Chowning worked in developing a family of synthesizers and electronic organs. This was Stanford's most lucrative patent at one time,[5] eclipsing many in electronics, computer science, and biotechnology.

The first commercial musical instrument to incorporate FM synthesis was the Synclavier I, introduced by New England Digital Corporation in 1977. Their Synclavier II, introduced in 1980, was frequently used in the production of popular music beginning that year. The first Yamaha product to incorporate the FM algorithm was the GS1, a digital synthesizer that first shipped in 1981. Some thought, including Chowning, that it was too expensive at the time. Soon after, in 1983, Yamaha made their first commercially successful digital FM synthesizer, the DX7.

Another important aspect of Chowning's work is the simulated motion of sound through physical space.[6] In 1972, in his composition Turenas, he was first able to create the illusion of a continuous 360-degree space using only four speakers.[4]

Early life

Chowning graduated from Wittenberg University with a Bachelor of Music in 1959.[7] He studied music composition for two years (1959–61) with Nadia Boulanger in Paris and received his D.M.A. in 1966 from Stanford, where he studied under Leland Smith. He was the founding director in 1975 of the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA) at Stanford University.[4]

Chowning also worked for a number of years at IRCAM, in Paris.

Private life

Chowning married Elisabeth Keller and they had two children, John and Marianne. John's second marriage is to Maureen (Doody) Tiernay and they had one child named James Scott.[citation needed]

Famous compositions

One of Chowning's most famous pieces is called Stria (1977). It was commissioned by IRCAM for the Institute's first major concert series called Perspectives of the 20th Century. His composition was noted for its inharmonic sounds due to his famous FM algorithm and his use of the golden mean (1.618...) in music.

Other famous compositions include Turenas (1972), which was one of the first electronic compositions to have the illusion of sounds moving in a 360-degree space.[8] With Phoné (1980–1981), he became the first to put FM over voice synthesis.[9]

Compositions

  • Sabelithe, 1966, revised 1971
  • Turenas, 1972
  • Stria, 1977
  • Phoné, 1980–1981
  • Voices, 2005

See also

References

  1. ^ Johnstone 1994.
  2. ^ Schottstaedt n.d.
  3. ^ Chowning 1973.
  4. ^ a b c Mattis 2001.
  5. ^ Pinch & Trocco 2004,[page needed].
  6. ^ Chowning 1970.
  7. ^ Nelson 2015, 19.
  8. ^ Tyranny n.d.
  9. ^ Anon. 2001.

Works cited

  • Anon. 2001. "", translated by Niiki Halpern. Ircam Centre Pompidou archive from 15 July 2007, accessed 26 March 2015).
  • Chowning, John M. 1973. "The Synthesis of Complex Audio Spectra by Means of Frequency Modulation". Journal of the Audio Engineering Society 7, no. 21:526–34. ISSN 0004-7554
  • Johnstone, Robert. 1994. "The Sound of One Chip Clapping: Yamaha and FM Synthesis".
  • Mattis, Olivia. 2001. "Chowning, John M(acLeod)". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. London: Macmillan Publishers.
  • Nelson, Andrew J. 2015. The Sound of Innovation: Stanford and the Computer Music Revolution. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
  • Pinch, Trevor, and Frank Trocco. 2004. Analog Days. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.[ISBN missing]
  • Schottstaedt, Bill. n.d. "An Introduction To FM – Bill Schottstaedt: "John Chowning tells me that he stumbled on FM when he sped up vibrato to the point that it was creating audible sidebands (perceived as a timbral change) rather than faster warbling (perceived as a frequency change)."
  • Tyranny, "Blue" Gene. n.d. "Review: John Chowning: Phone [sic] (1980–1981) / Turenas (1972) / Stria (1977)/ Sabelithe (1971)". Allmusic website (accessed 26 March 2015).
  • Chowning, John M. "Method and apparatus for simulating location and movement of sound" [1] (accessed 07 July 2021).

Further reading

  • John M. Chowning Papers
  • Andrew Nelson, The Sound of Innovation, Cambridge MA, MIT Press, 2015
  • Olivier Baudouin, Pionniers de la musique numérique, Sampzon, Delatour, 2012
  • John Chowning. Portraits polychromes. P.A. Castanet, É. Gayou, J.C. Risset et al. (eds). Paris: Ina – Michel de Maule, 2005.
  • Computer Music Journal (The Reconstruction of Stria), Computer Music Journal, Fall 2007, Vol. 31.
  • Roads, C., , Composers and the computer. Los Altos CA: Kaufman, pp. 18–25, 1985.
  • Zelli, Bijan. “Interview with John Chowning.” [www.bijanzelli.com/Chowning_Interview_Published.pdf] (April 2010). Montréal: CEC.
  • Zelli, Bijan. “Reale und virtuelle Räume in der Computermusik: Theorien, Systeme, Analysen.” Unpublished PhD dissertation. Kommunikations- und Geschichtswissenschaft, Technische Universität Berlin, 2001. Available on , the dissertation includes an analysis of Turenas. (in German)

External links

  • "John Chowning (biography, works, resources)" (in French and English). IRCAM.
  • Chaiken, Alison and Ann Arbor. Interview with John Chowning (audio). 13 April 2006.
  • Portraits Polychromes, , INA (Institut National Audiovisuel).
  • Interview with John Chowning (2015) charting a historical overview of the different branches of his artistic career, focusing on his interest in the human voice, the creation of new sonorities, and being a pioneer in a discipline at a time when using computers to generate music was a leap into the void between creative eccentricity and scientific adventure.
  • John Chowning talks about the importance of velocity sensitivity of the DX7 as well as the data cartridge to store voices – NAMM Oral History Library (2001)

February 18, 2023
john, chowning, this, biography, living, person, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, adding, reliable, sources, contentious, material, about, living, persons, that, unsourced, poorly, sourced, must, removed, immediately, especially, poten. This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification Please help by adding reliable sources Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately especially if potentially libelous or harmful Find sources John Chowning news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message John M Chowning ˈ tʃ aʊ n ɪ ŋ born August 22 1934 in Salem New Jersey is an American composer musician discoverer and professor best known for his work at Stanford University the founding of CCRMA Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics in 1975 and his development of the digital implementation of FM synthesis and the digital sound spatialization while there John M Chowning Contents 1 Contribution 2 Early life 3 Private life 4 Famous compositions 5 Compositions 6 See also 7 References 7 1 Works cited 8 Further reading 9 External linksContribution EditChowning is known for having developed the FM synthesis algorithm in 1967 1 2 3 In FM frequency modulation synthesis both the carrier frequency and the modulation frequency are within the audio band In essence the amplitude and frequency of one waveform modulates the frequency of another waveform producing a resultant waveform that can be periodic or non periodic depending upon the ratio of the two frequencies Chowning s breakthrough allowed for simple in terms of process yet rich sounding timbres which synthesized metal striking or bell like sounds and which seemed incredibly similar to real percussion Chowning was also a skilled percussionist He spent six years turning his breakthrough into a system of musical importance and eventually was able to simulate a large number of musical sounds including the singing voice In 1974 Stanford University licensed the discovery to Yamaha 4 with whom Chowning worked in developing a family of synthesizers and electronic organs This was Stanford s most lucrative patent at one time 5 eclipsing many in electronics computer science and biotechnology The first commercial musical instrument to incorporate FM synthesis was the Synclavier I introduced by New England Digital Corporation in 1977 Their Synclavier II introduced in 1980 was frequently used in the production of popular music beginning that year The first Yamaha product to incorporate the FM algorithm was the GS1 a digital synthesizer that first shipped in 1981 Some thought including Chowning that it was too expensive at the time Soon after in 1983 Yamaha made their first commercially successful digital FM synthesizer the DX7 Another important aspect of Chowning s work is the simulated motion of sound through physical space 6 In 1972 in his composition Turenas he was first able to create the illusion of a continuous 360 degree space using only four speakers 4 Early life EditChowning graduated from Wittenberg University with a Bachelor of Music in 1959 7 He studied music composition for two years 1959 61 with Nadia Boulanger in Paris and received his D M A in 1966 from Stanford where he studied under Leland Smith He was the founding director in 1975 of the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics CCRMA at Stanford University 4 Chowning also worked for a number of years at IRCAM in Paris Private life EditChowning married Elisabeth Keller and they had two children John and Marianne John s second marriage is to Maureen Doody Tiernay and they had one child named James Scott citation needed Famous compositions EditOne of Chowning s most famous pieces is called Stria 1977 It was commissioned by IRCAM for the Institute s first major concert series called Perspectives of the 20th Century His composition was noted for its inharmonic sounds due to his famous FM algorithm and his use of the golden mean 1 618 in music Other famous compositions include Turenas 1972 which was one of the first electronic compositions to have the illusion of sounds moving in a 360 degree space 8 With Phone 1980 1981 he became the first to put FM over voice synthesis 9 Compositions EditSabelithe 1966 revised 1971 Turenas 1972 Stria 1977 Phone 1980 1981 Voices 2005See also EditCCRMA Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics Frequency modulation synthesisReferences Edit Johnstone 1994 Schottstaedt n d Chowning 1973 a b c Mattis 2001 Pinch amp Trocco 2004 page needed Chowning 1970 Nelson 2015 19 Tyranny n d Anon 2001 Works cited Edit Anon 2001 Artificial Voice translated by Niiki Halpern Ircam Centre Pompidou archive from 15 July 2007 accessed 26 March 2015 Chowning John M 1973 The Synthesis of Complex Audio Spectra by Means of Frequency Modulation Journal of the Audio Engineering Society 7 no 21 526 34 ISSN 0004 7554 Johnstone Robert 1994 The Sound of One Chip Clapping Yamaha and FM Synthesis Mattis Olivia 2001 Chowning John M acLeod The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians second edition edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell London Macmillan Publishers Nelson Andrew J 2015 The Sound of Innovation Stanford and the Computer Music Revolution Cambridge MA MIT Press Pinch Trevor and Frank Trocco 2004 Analog Days Cambridge Massachusetts Harvard University Press ISBN missing Schottstaedt Bill n d An Introduction To FM Bill Schottstaedt John Chowning tells me that he stumbled on FM when he sped up vibrato to the point that it was creating audible sidebands perceived as a timbral change rather than faster warbling perceived as a frequency change Tyranny Blue Gene n d Review John Chowning Phone sic 1980 1981 Turenas 1972 Stria 1977 Sabelithe 1971 Allmusic website accessed 26 March 2015 Chowning John M Method and apparatus for simulating location and movement of sound 1 accessed 07 July 2021 Further reading EditJohn M Chowning Papers Andrew Nelson The Sound of Innovation Cambridge MA MIT Press 2015 Olivier Baudouin Pionniers de la musique numerique Sampzon Delatour 2012 John Chowning Portraits polychromes P A Castanet E Gayou J C Risset et al eds Paris Ina Michel de Maule 2005 Computer Music Journal The Reconstruction of Stria Computer Music Journal Fall 2007 Vol 31 Roads C John Chowning on composition Composers and the computer Los Altos CA Kaufman pp 18 25 1985 Zelli Bijan Interview with John Chowning www bijanzelli com Chowning Interview Published pdf April 2010 Montreal CEC Zelli Bijan Reale und virtuelle Raume in der Computermusik Theorien Systeme Analysen Unpublished PhD dissertation Kommunikations und Geschichtswissenschaft Technische Universitat Berlin 2001 Available on the author s website the dissertation includes an analysis of Turenas in German External links Edit John Chowning biography works resources in French and English IRCAM Chaiken Alison and Ann Arbor Interview with John Chowning audio 13 April 2006 Portraits Polychromes John Chowning INA Institut National Audiovisuel Interview with John Chowning 2015 charting a historical overview of the different branches of his artistic career focusing on his interest in the human voice the creation of new sonorities and being a pioneer in a discipline at a time when using computers to generate music was a leap into the void between creative eccentricity and scientific adventure John Chowning talks about the importance of velocity sensitivity of the DX7 as well as the data cartridge to store voices NAMM Oral History Library 2001 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John Chowning amp oldid 1088547121, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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