1951 – The First Computer Music Recording
The first known computer recording is the result of the Ferranti Mark 1 computer at the University of Manchester. Using its simple tone command, it played a simplistic version of “God Save The Queen”, “Baa Baa Black Sheep” and “In The Mood.” In addition to being the first computer that was able to record audio, it was the also world’s first commercially available electronic general-purpose computer.
In order to play audio, the computer had an integrated hoot command that was included in the Ferranti Mark 1’s instruction set. The computer had the capacity to produce an instruction called a “hoot”, which produced short burst of sound lasting a fraction of a second. This command was solely designed to allow the system to provide audible feedback to its operators. However, the command was altered to create a music program written by a math professor at Harrow named Christopher Strachey. Even though the results were fairly crude, the approximate pitch of the notes were created and the melodies were easily recognizable. Strachey was a friend of computing pioneer Alan Turing. Turing was responsible for writing the Ferranti Mark 1’s instruction manual in his role as deputy director of Manchester University’s Computing Machine Laboratory.
The specifications of the Mark 1 are almost unrecognizable when comparing them to that of modern day computers. The Mark 1 displayed a 20-bit word as a single line of dots of electric charges on the surface of a Williams tube display. Numbers were stored in two words, but Ferranti Mark 1 stored instructions in a single word. The main memory was made up of eight tubes, each of which could store one page of 64 words.
1982 – Launch of the Commodore 64
It was when Commodore launched the C64 that home computer music making really got going. It was notable for the inclusion of its SID sound chip, which enabled users to create music using three channels of synthesis. Distinctive SID sound is still popular today, which is one of the reasons why you can download C64 emulators for your Mac or PC. To visualize the widespread availability, C64 sales amounted to about 17 million units sold between 1983-1986. This made the Commodore 64 the best-selling single personal computer model of all time in 1983-1986. In January 1981, MOS Technology worked to better the C64 specs and initiated a project to design the graphic and audio chips for a next-generation video game console. This would further advance the impact of the Commodore 64 on computer audio. Additionally, the computer was also compatible with home television and provided the best gaming experience during its period.
1983 – The Birth of MIDI
Standing for Musical Instrument Digital Interface, the introduction of MIDI was of crucial importance to creating music technologically. Following their release, MIDI enabled computers, synths and other musical hardware to communicate with each other. The MIDI provided buttons and sliders to manipulate digital music in a way that could not have been accomplished previously. At the push of a button, the user could input musical notes, timings, and pitch information. As a result of this versatility, advanced versions of the original MIDI are still in widespread use today. In 1983, the first instruments were released with MIDI, the Roland Jupiter-6 and the Prophet 600. Soon after, the Yamaha Corporation released the Yamaha DX7 is a synthesizer manufactured and sold from 1983 to 1989. This was the first successful digital synthesizer and is one of the best-selling synthesizers in history, selling more than 200,000 units during that time.
1985 – Atari releases the ST
In modern day, we are all using PCs and Macs, but back in the 80s, the Atari ST was the machine that every computer musician wanted to own. The son of Atari’s CEO had the genius idea of fitting it with MIDI ports, making it the perfect platform for those looking to bring external hardware under the control of their computer. As a result, the Atari ST was highly regarded for gaming and music creation. It remains on many people’s list for one of the greatest music computers given the time period. In addition, the ST had a comparatively large amount of memory for the time, making it feasible to perform sound sampling packages.
The Atari ST offered some major improvements when compared to other computers at the time. The ST is part of a mid-1980s generation of computers with 16-bit or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of memory, and mouse-controlled graphical user interfaces. “ST” officially stands for “Sixteen/Thirty-two”, referring to the Motorola 68000’s 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals. The ST released with 1 MB of RAM, and was the first home computer with a cost-per-kilobyte of less than $1 as well as an industry leader in terms of performance.
Early 1990s – Audio Recording and Software Arrives
Having previously been used for sequencing external gear via MIDI, computers at last started to become audio recording devices in their own right. Steinberg released Cubase Audio for Mac in 1991, and an even better version for Atari’s Falcon in 1993. The original version of Cubase served solely as a digital version of a MIDI. While the version for the Atari has become irrelevant, the version for Mac continues to be updated in present day. Now, Cubase is a full-fledged music editing software that allows users to recording, rearranging, and editing music. Cubase has paved the way for many other music editing softwares which have provided even more creative potential and capabilities.
- To learn more information about how audio is recorded and stored on computers, visit the “What Makes Audio” page.
Sources used in this section:
https://www.musicradar.com/news/tech/a-brief-history-of-computer-music-177299
https://www.musicradar.com/news/tech/30-years-of-midi-a-brief-history-568009
