a lefty’s log

for fans of the price is right’s classic music cues (and probably many of the current), or of stevie wonder, or herbie hancock or any number of pop music pieces, the theremin or synthesizers in general, a moment of silence, please, for the passing of bob moog, the inventor of the moog synthesizers.

(pause)

for those who’ve never heard of him, here are a couple of links from the wikipedia:

A picture of Bob Moog of Moog Synthesizers.

Image obtained from: http://www.moogmusic.com/history.php?cat_id=1

and a link to the wiki entry for moog himself:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moog

i used to rail against synth music back when i played viola in various orchestras. i believed that synth music existed purely to supplant the (potentially) astronomical costs of live players with a much cheaper, but passable (to the undiscerning customer) substitute. to me it was like giving pink packets of saccharine to people who wanted real cane sugar, but weren’t with-it enough to notice the switch.

for example, compare tracks of bach’s brandenburg concerto no. 4 from the well-tempered synthesizer (you’ll have to scroll down a bit to find the links) with those from a real orchestra. if someone tries to pass one off as the other, there is no comparison to someone with a decent ear.

while i still hold vestiges of this snobbery, especially when the choice is made purely for a cost-saving measure, if a composer or music director chooses synth because of the qualities of synth, that’s more than okay in my book. i didn’t make this change overnight. it was a gradual progression.

for my birthday a few years back, i received a copy of ohm: the early gurus of electronic music
. well, actually, i bought it myself with an amazon gift card i got for my birthday, but, same diff, right? anyhow, i bought it upon the recommendation of a series of programs i heard on npr called american mavericks, hosted by suzanne vega. it follows the development of music from the strictures of the european classical masters to the footloose modern ways of jazz, dissonance and early electronica.

it is true that my musical tastes are grounded in the richness of orchestral music–mostly baroque, some classical and symphonic, very little operatic, i’m afraid. these days, lacking access to reliable, quality “classical” music, i get just as much enjoyment for my money from a good trance or electronica disc as i do the classics. the good ones layer themes, exposition and complexity in tracks that require way more than 3-5 minutes to play out. sorry pop music; you don’t make the cut.

so. personal prejudices aside, now i’ve realised the folly of my ways, and tip my hat to inventor for the masters. the music world lost someone very important. and now i’ve said my peace.

peace.