Experimental Music

The MOOG 55

I spent most of my Graduate Career at Chicago Music College in a early Computer Music Project as part of my Music Compostion Major.  At Chicago Musical Collge in 1980, we had a MOOG 55, full TEAC/TASCAM Mixing panels and REEL-TO-REEL TAPE, Ring Modulators and all the bells and whistles but Computer Music was a challenge and the realm of Computer Music Journal.

Since this was 1979, the very idea of Music for Computers was confined to those of the BIG BUDGETS. Large Univertities (and Roosevelt is not one), well funded Research labs and a handful of corpoations could afford the vast expenditures of time and money that computing Music in real Time required.

RU had 2 APPLE II+ Computers in 1980 - and we had one. With a handful of Electronic Kits from PAIA we tried to get it done.

In the Interim, I heard of the Mountain Computer 16 Channel Digital Music System for the APPLE II+ so added one to my Home Apple II+ 64K System with two 360K Floppy Disk Drive System.

My Masters Composition at RU in 1982 was played by that APPLE II+ wth the MCI Digital Music System.

Mags like Popular Electronics, Dr. Dobb's and BYTE and Contemporary Keyboard were filled with new articles and ideas - both hardware and sofware innovation combined nation and world wide.

Since the WINDOWS Revolution of the mid 1990's that sort of INNOVATION and EXPERIMENTATION in Computer Music has been absent.

The PORTING of the MIDI API to the CHROME OS Offers us all such an a oppotrunity once more.

It's an exciting time to be a MUSICIAN!

We also host Chicago Social Media Music and  the MIDICHROME WIKI.