Whether you're a professional musician or have never held an instrument in your life, you've heard about synthesizers at some point or another. Synthesizers are very popular in the music industry because of their versatility.

Synths were invented in the 1970s and first used more popularly in psychedelic and sci-fi movies. It wasn't until the technology was improved and refined that they were used in music.

But, do you know how a synthesizer works? They look like electric pianos, but they do much more than that. Read on to learn how these complex instruments work, as well as how they're used to make some of your favorite music.

How Synthesizers Work

When sounds are made acoustically — like from someone's voice, a guitar or another instrument — it creates vibrations in the air. Our eardrums pick up those vibrations, and our brains interpret them as sound.

Synthesizers work electronically by mimicking those vibrations. A synthesizer creates electrical signals that are amplified and projected through a speaker, which changes those electrical signals into vibrations our ears can pick up.

To make this happen, there are a few main parts of a synth:

• Oscillator: This part is the first source for the sound. The oscillator uses a power source to create different types of waves. It also produces a frequency of the wave, which determines pitch.
• Filter: A note or sound you hear is made of multiple frequencies. The filter can block certain ones to differentiate sounds from one another.
• Amplifier: This part affects the timbre of the sound. Different instruments have different qualities, like whether a note played will be more staccato (short) or legato (more drawn out). A note played on a piano will diminish after a while, but a note played on a trumpet will be short and more piercing.
• Modulators: The remaining parts, the modulators, can change up different characteristics of music, like vibrato.

All of these parts work together to allow musicians to use this helpful and versatile tool.

Synthesizers' Role in Music

With the ability to emulate almost any sound, synthesizers can be used in a wide variety of ways.

If you're in a band, a synth would be great to make recordings of instruments you don't own or necessarily know how to play. If you think it would be cool to add a flute part to a track, go ahead and add it!

Synthesizers are also very popular with music producers. Synths are easy to connect with DAW (digital audio workstation) software, which is used to record, mix, edit and master tracks and albums. As a producer, your synth gives you endless possibilities to be creative. If you have a home studio or are pressed for space, you don't have to keep a bunch of different instruments on hand. You have all the sounds you need, all in one tool.

At Bananas at Large, we have a large inventory of synthesizers. Browse our selection online or stop into one of our two locations in the San Francisco area to learn more.