A new way to play…
Morphonium Home Page
We believe in order to give synthesizers ‘soul’ one needs to continuously alter the harmonic spectrum or timbre the way acoustic instruments do naturally.
Morphonium is a new way to play synthesized sounds with real time expressive control. (See our in-depth video and more detailed discussion at morphonium.org)
We want to give synthesizers the same potential for subtlety and nuance as acoustic instruments. Our gestural controllers allow musicians to sculpt sound in truly endless ways for deep emotional impact.
Over years of gigging with synths we have learned a few things, and we would love to share these ideas through open-source designs.
Most acoustic instruments allow subtle changes in the harmonic spectrum (timbre) of sound, between notes and also during sustained notes. These variations can be used impart emotion in performance, and mirror the way we naturally use the human voice.
The designers of early electronic instruments understood this, and we find that subtle vibrato is possible on the Theremin (1922), Ondes-Martenot (1928), Trautonium (1930), Ondioline (1940) to name a few. The release of the MiniMoog synthesizer (1970) set the standard where a single pitch wheel and modulation wheel are provided for the left hand to articulate the sound.
The advent of digital synthesizers in the 1980s saw the introduction of patch memories, and simultaneously the removal of front-panel knobs so that the actual sound design became hidden behind layers of menus.
At the same time, musicians lost the ability to adjust the sonic timbre during performance.
The use of complex envelopes and internal modulation means that synthesized sounds can still evolve in pleasing ways, but more often than not they will be the same for each note played.
While acceptable in some genres, there are still many situations where such sounds are considered sterile, and lacking depth and emotion.
The design of the Morphonium aims to expose nearly all the synthesis parameters to real-time control, and to provide pitch control for vibrato, note bends and glissando. (See morphonium.org for more detail)
We find that 100 parameters are generally enough for an analog modelling synthesizer with added effects and layered sounds.
