MATRIXSYNTH: RIP Max Matthews


Thursday, April 21, 2011

RIP Max Matthews


via Wikipedia:

"Max Vernon Mathews (November 13, 1926 - April 21, 2011) was a pioneer in the world of computer music.

He studied electrical engineering at the California Institute of Technology and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, receiving a Sc.D. in 1954. Working at Bell Labs, Mathews wrote MUSIC, the first widely-used program for sound generation, in 1957. For the rest of the century, he continued as a leader in digital audio research, synthesis, and human-computer interaction as it pertains to music performance.

Although he was not the first to generate sound with a computer (an Australian CSIRAC computer played tunes as early as 1951),[1] Mathews fathered generations of digital music tools. He described his work in parental terms in this excerpt from "Horizons in Computer Music," March 8–9, 1997, Indiana University..."

Max Matthews, presiding over Bicycle Built for Two

YouTube Uploaded by davidjmerrill on Apr 29, 2007

"From the Computer History Museum, MaxFest2007: http://ccrma.stanford.edu/maxfest/"

Computer Music (Synthesizers, Synclavier) 1986 Pt. 1/3

First computer to sing - Daisy Bell

YouTube Uploaded by slavenr88 on Dec 9, 2008

"'Daisy Bell' was composed by Harry Dacre in 1892. In 1961, the IBM 7094 became the first computer to sing, singing the song Daisy Bell. Vocals were programmed by John Kelly and Carol Lockbaum and the accompaniment was programmed by Max Mathews. This performance was the inspiration for a similar scene in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do

I'm half crazy all for the love of you

It won't be a stylish marriage

I can't afford a carriage

But you'll look sweet upon the seat

Of a bicycle built for two."

Also see: Computer Music (Synthesizers, Synclavier) 1986 Pt. 1/3

via Keith

3 comments:

  1. I named my dog Daisy after the scene in 2001. I had a vague notion that the song had another meaning, but didn't realize it was the first computer synthesized singing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Someone should name a computer program after him.

    ReplyDelete

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