John Chowning will turn 90 in two weeks. What a blessing to keep such a clear mind at such an advanced age. Best wishes for many more years to come. Thank you, mr. Marinelli, for this interview and for all you do.
This guy changed the world of music forever. Without FM, the music we heard in the past, and we still get to hear today, would have been so different in my opinion. It's really a fantastic opportunity that you got to interview Mr Chowning!
I love how FM synthesis is applied these days. But we gotta admit this guy contributed largely to the 80s bad taste in fake instruments to avoid hiring trumpetists, violinists, recording bells, etc. Great times.
@@kinetic-cybernetic That's exactly the point - the 80s would've sounded entirely different, which would've resulted in everything coming after it sounding different. I'm very glad it happened the way it did, because the 80s sounded absolutely amazing. Gated reverb on drums, FM synthesis, simple instrumentation, strong compositions, raw vocals - chef's kiss.
I’ve posted this a few times in various places, but I can’t resist sharing again. Dr. Chowning introduced me to computer music and launched my lifelong love of synthesis- literally, and in person. I grew up close to Stanford University, and one time my junior high school class took a field trip to CCRMA. This would have been around 1983-1984. John gave us a tour of the facilities and demonstrated the amazing capabilities of their music computer. I can recall hearing the sound of a trumpet which gradually morphed into a violin. And the sound of a train racing around the room, encircling us. I was utterly captivated, and have never ceased to be enthralled with the magic which synthesis brings.
It was such a pleasure and privilege to meet John Chowning at CCRMA some years ago - one of my heroes! And he is such a kind person! When I was around 15 years old I somehow convinced my parents to offer me a DX7 - I got totally obsessed with understanding how FM synthesis worked and I remember making my father drop me a full afternoon at the the YAMAHA dealer shop, during my school summer vacations, where I basically drove the shop synth tech/demo guy mad with all my obnoxious questions about how the DX7 sound programming worked! I later pursued Electrotechnical and Computer Engineering (because at the time there was no sound engineering degrees in Portugal) - at all the signal processing courses I took, all signals were sound signals for me (even when studying radar and radio frequency modulations, where I finally understood what FM was all about - and also understood why the poor YAMAHA shop tech guy struggled so much to explain how all that worked! ;-)). So meeting John was full circle for me! I'll never forget that day! What an inspiration!
As a lifelong DX fan, this is gold for someone like me. 🙏 Anthony for getting the legend back on camera again, and thank you Dr Chowing (and Gary Leuenberger, Dave Bristow and Yamaha) for the DX7 ❤️
This interview is probably more important then most will understand now. Thanks John, thanks Anthony, everybody else who is making this possible. This video may not be removed from RUclips/the internet for a long time.
That‘s one of the most intelligible interviews I‘ve heard in my whole life. My respect for Anthony Marinelli grew exponentially. He‘s so knowledgeable of history. Of course I‘m also amazed how John Chowning reveals his motivation and experiences to FM, which I adored in the incarnation of my first synthesizer, the Yamaha DX7.
Chowning is to musical synthesis as Wozniak is to home computing. Both men are inspired geniuses with a talent for educating and an inner drive to push boundaries.
Love the production values, sound, editing, inserts. Anthony is a great interviewer, summarizing, adding context. Love how this channel is evolving. Keep it coming!
I was at NAMM when the DX7 was introduced in 1983. What an incredible experience. I got to go behind the scenes with the Yamaha rep and get a lesson in FM synthesis. The whole place was absolutly buzzing with anticipation. You know the thing I remember the most was that everyone was saying that the Fender Rhodes was now dead! The DX7 did such a good job of emulating the "Dyna My Rhodes" sound that the DX7 was the only keyboard you would ever need. The dawn of a new musical age. Thank you so much for bringing this info to a whole new generation of synthesists Anthony! Cheers
That was fantastic. I also felt emotional at the end at the humility of both of you. John's an exceptional human being, and his 'don't give up' mindset enabled the path to the DX series. Thank you for uploading & sharing 🌅
through the end, you two nearly cryed, i cant help but i cryed, of happiness and joy, its incredible, the level of sensitivity, spirituality, conciousness toward sound design.. even over melody and harmony... timbre and evolving timbres over time, thats what i live for, my love for electric (digital, mathematic, or analog) produced soundscapes... thats why i teach sound design and synth programming to young producers. Thanks Anthony and thanks John for this magical hour of enlightment 🙏
Original DX7 was marvel of design & engineering and has its place in music even today. Very expressive & capable instrument. Thank you Dr. Chowning for your music passion! Being a 7yo kid and hearing DX7 for the first time was unforgettable and “out of this world” that turned me into music and sound design…
Edwin Armstrong invented FM for broadcast in 1933, and then John Chowning invented it for music in 1967. 34 years is a while for an idea to percolate, and I'm so glad that Chowning did all of that great work. It's also so interesting that his concept of FM is small clusters of oscillators, instead of a large group. Great interview! Loved his advice at the end, "Do it!"
YAMAHA DX7 7 DX7 II and DX7 FD were the best keyboards with the incredible sound of FM SYNTHESYS !!!! Incredible sounds !!! a new ERA for Keyboards and synthetizers !!!!! Thanks to JOHN !!!! Salutes from Buenos Aires, Argentina !!!
OMG ! First Manny , now John Chowning - - That Man is a REAL DEAL Magician ,- What a great story ! ..im tearing up here .... its palpable how much you look up to this old Giant ! 😚🙏 You have a knack for finding THE Pioneers, THE Biggest names in the industry - And i simply LOVE the way that you are being you , Maestro Marinelli .
A Huge thanks for recording this because it's so important to have these conversations for future generations. Thanks Dante for you hard work and also the rest of the team. ❤
It's not every day you get to see one legend interviewing another legend. You both know your stuff, that's what makes this interview so special. Thanks and greetings from Belgium.
Thank you Anthony and thank you John for the wonderful gift you discovered, concieved the perseverence needed for so many in the world to enjoy. Gratefully.
Wonderful stuff, Dr. Chowning is a gem. We briefly shared a beer at Knobcon the year he was the guest of honor, I asked his thoughts on the Digitone, and how it felt to see a modern instrument presenting FM sounds and concepts in such a different way to what he discovered and refined.... and he hadn't heard of it hahaha
Thank you Anthony (And team) for the chance to meet this awe-inspiring pioneer. Such a humble and brilliant person. Beeing a DX type FM afficionado I have always wondered about mr Chownings story and drive. And now I heard it straight from the source. Wonderful.
John Chowning helped me when I was working on an EM piece in college. He was at the Stanford Computer Music facility, which I drove by every day, and I chanced it and walked in. He was the nicest man (although surprised!), and offered to provide some sound files for me. I've never forgotten that interaction with one of the inventors of FM. Thank you again! Live 100 years!
Anthony your interviews are totally to the point, full of curiosity, very well prepared and above all you are very respectful to your guests. John Chowning he is a legend and very humble which makes the whole interview one of a kind. Thank you
It's quite a lovely coincidence that one of my favorite things about Mr Chowning- a man eternally intrigued by the character of sounds- is the timbre of his voice. I always find it absolutely soothing to hear him talk. This is another spot on document, Anthony. We're all so thankful you've decided to do what you've done here on RUclips.
One of the best videos on FM and with John Chowning, thank you so much for making it and sharing with all. My colleague just got back from Seul where John was giving a speech.
I remember seeing John do the launch of the Dx7 in England in the 1980s, along with Dave Bristow. The DX7 changed my life and led to a long passion for electronic music. Thanks for this wonderful interview .
One of the best interviews I've ever seen on RUclips. There was so much interesting background, and John is so inspiring - and the people he's hung out with too... wow! An incredible crowd of geniuses! Thank you so much for bringing us these insights into history. I was born at the right time for the DX range of synths to be appearing when I was in my teens and starting to take an interest in electronic music, so all of this made quite a big difference to my world.
This is so nice to remember! Thanks for that. I made me an Atari program acc that could store 8 banks in memory, push the sounds around and rename them, push a sound or a whole bank to/from the DX-7, and print out the full parameter list of any sound that was loaded, which looked quite orderly for these times with crude fonts. It could run in the background of Notator. So I needed no cartridge, but anyway, I built a cartridge but it had glitches and could not store the sounds reliably. But it was very cheap, with its RAM and battery. Today, this is anecdotal, and will catch nobody's interest. But have a nice time and much success, you FM owners and users!!
19:54 To be fair, FM synthesis doesn't seem like a big deal when the guys you're working with invented the transistor, launched the Telstar, and were in the middle of creating Darpanet.
A very touching interview, full of emotion. I'm a big fan of FM. I was about to start writing a podcast for a radio about the birth of FM synthesis (I did one last month about the Fairlight). Of course I knew the big picture of John Chowning as the inventor of FM, but this interview gives me a lot of details and what led him to discover FM. The ARP2600 also gives the opportunity to easily experiment FM synthesis.
Oh, you understand who John Chowning is and his "discovery/invention" as well. This, by far, is your best interview. I could say more, but there isn't much more I can really say. Bravo!
My 1986 Yamaha FM electronic piano still works, though never knew it was FM at the time. Great keyboard, that stays brilliant white, unlike most old plastic keyboards. It even does half pedal effect, 10 sounds and even MIDI.
I love these interviews, Anthony. The reverence you have not just for your guests but also for music, history, and synthesis itself is so palpable and brings out the best in your guests and yourself. Cheers.
This is a beautiful, uplifting, and inspiring story that leaves me feeling optimistic and excited about where we're headed. It's conveyed with reminders about the importance of diverse influences, happy accidents, imperfections, and human emotions in what is ultimately achieved. Thank you Anthony, John, and the team, for making this wonderful video!
The point where his musicality goal was to change timbre rather than just intervals is very inspiring to try with my FM gear. Getting ideas from the originator that are new to me is what makes interviews like this absolutely priceless.
Thank you John, Thank you Anthony. I never seen such an Interview where both Partners have a real similar admiration firceach other and could make such an marvelous Interview. Thank you Anthony (and Team of course ) for this awesome additional inserts. I really can‘t wait for Part. 2 Anthony nerding out the ‚Basement“ 😂. Thank your the best hour of FM I ever could see.
I can’t read music but can play by ear so have a deep respect for anyone playing and discovering these marvellous instruments however I do enjoy engineering and making different sounds .❤
What a wonderful interview. Getting flashbacks to my communications theory course at university where we went through the mathematical foundations of modulation and sampling theory. I remember being blown away by the neat mathematical solutions showing how FM of a carrier generates harmonics represented as a series of sin functions. Too long ago to remember any of the details, though!
What a fantastic cerebral interview! It is such a shame that we don't have intelligent people interviewed by enquiring minds to share wisdom very often.. Thanks Anthony and John! I am still chuckling that a ~drummer~ found FM! Yamaha is an incredible company- they potted a GX1 using "Pulse Analog Synthesis System" with no microprocessors with bespoke LSI chips to discard it all for FM chips 6 years later. And 6 years after that memory became cheap to move to AWM initially as a hybrid. And now they are back to FM! The original HX1 system was expandable using MIDI to add tone generators (FM and AWM). 2^8 th like!
FM synthesis took electronic music in all new directions. It led to a whole new concept for designing instruments based on digital algorithms. Yamaha may have built the product, but they wouldn’t have had the product without the discovery. I love the fact that the discovery came from a musician, and not someone, putting around on a calculator in academia.
the guy, the one and only, the legend.... my 1st synth was ( yes, was...) a DX7, Thank you for letting me having so many hours of fun with my FM synth. 👍👍
In 1984, in the midst of pursuing a B.Mus., I decided to rent a synthesizer for a week spice up the classical world I was immersed in. Somehow, the guy at the rental facility knew that FM would be right for me. He sent me home with a DX7. I barely got any sleep that week. I’ve been hooked on FM ever since. There’s still a functional DX7 in my music room, though it doesn’t get used anymore because it’s so much easier to do it with plugins.
Anthony, if you haven't checked out the Yamaha Reface DX or the Korg OpSix, you might want to check out their approaches to the UI for FM. There are also external programmers available for the Reface to expand its UI.
I was at EMS in Sweden about a decade ago, which is one of the oldest institutes for computer generated music. I asked them if they had ever worked with FM, and they said they had actually worked directly with Chowning on a FM synth of their own in the 70s, but then one day he just left for Yamaha and took the patents with him so the project was cancelled. They sounded kind of slighted by the whole ordeal and how commercial ventures felt more valued than their esoteric experiments. I never managed to get this anecdote corroborated anywhere. This interview makes it sound like there was a bit of general tension regarding FM patents between the academia and business interests in those days.
I visited CCRMA as part of an AES field trip in the early 2000s, and while we didn't get to meet Dr. Chowning, we were treated to a few of his compositions in glorious 8-channel surround sound. Some of the 2op sounds were immediately familiar, but the spatiality of the sounds was a unique experience I wish I could experience again. We also got to visit an ambisonics(?) setup and I distinctly recall sitting in the "listening area" of the room in an (audio) hot-tub with fireworks going off in the distance. incredibly cool, and again, something I wish I could revisit. Tony's exposure to FM via Synclavier is rare, and his video on the subject is what got me hooked on this channel.
having owned a dx7 back in the 80s.. this was amazing look into what it took to bring that into the world. - we have so much we can do now and built upon this discovery! - Thank you for this wonderful talk.
I share your emotion Anthony. This has to be one of the best lessons on sound design I have heard since I became a keyboard musician at in 1984. The DX7 was my first synth and I never managed to master the beast because I was lacking an understanding of sound design with terrible UX design on the DX7 with no knobs. I now understand that I totally underestimated the amazing contribution that John Chowning brought to the electronic music industry. Thanks for capturing this amazing monument of the industry.
What an amazing interview. Truly inspiring. What a humble man. Both of them really. So enjoyed that. I was a teenager in the 80s. The DX7 defined the sound of the decade of my favorite music.
I adore the Synclavier in no small part due to the artists I grew up listening to, but the producers and artists behind the scenes had wildly different opinions about the NED machine. Trevor Horn has said it was the biggest waste of his own money having invested in one, and his Synclavier output pails in comparison to his more well known, pioneering use of the Fairlight CMI. Conversely, Harold Faltermeyer harnessed every last ounce of the Synclavier’s offerings, and it in part was responsible for what I still consider to be some of Pet Shop Boys’ finest recordings, namely those from their Behaviour era output. As for the DX7, it often gets a roasting from the unwilling to dig under the hood crowd, but yet again some of the most revered and hallowed electronic artists have used it to exquisite effect. Many of Richard D James’ early stuff was heavy with FM synthesis goodness. Another fab video Mr Marinelli, thanks
I *love* this Anthony, you’ve revisited my senior year of college in detail when my advisor & mentor designed my curriculum around computer music, emergent technologies and “new music”. What an awesome video to wake up to on an otherwise bland Tuesday morning! Thank you!
i sat down and made a patch on my yamaha tx81z in the middle of this video,, watching your conversation, i felt inspired to make some sounds of my own after not touching the instrument for months,, thanks for sharing your wonderful exchange with us
Anthony and John, amazing, beautiful, both hugely inspiring in your thinking. This is a very important video. So happy you took the time to do this. It’s reflective, future thinking and also slightly corrective in its reflection, which is how it should be. Excellent.
Amazing to watch a Genius Synth programmer (Anthony) interviewing another Genius (the real deal FM discovery man) their interaction for all of us !!! Thank you ... Mr. Marinelli and Mr. Chowning (The father of FM synthesis) for making this timeless video happening for the ages !
An historic interview that should become a reference piece in the world of music technology. I had always hoped that John Chowning was driven by passion and not mathematics - what a lovely inspirational man. Thank you Anthony for this soul baring interview.
This might be the best interview on RUclips I've seen and geeked out to in yrs.J.Chowning is a freaking genius .Marinelli,you knocked this one out the park.♥️🤖📼🛸
I think he is accurate, although quite generous, in calling FM a discovery. We didn’t invent the sonic boom when breaking the sound barrier. It’s just something that naturally occurs when requirements are met. We can learn to get better at meeting those requirements if we want to.
What a wonderful experience watching both of you "geek out" on your favorite themes. It was wonderful how you both gave each other room to communicate. John Chowning's work always seemed completely impossible for me to understand until I was able to see this calm and grounded discussion. It feels more approachable now. Thank you sincerely. Regards, Alan Tomlinson
This is AMAZING. What a legend! I am a career software engineer, a hobbyist mathematician, and synth nerd so this talk was just everything I love in one awesome video. Can’t believe we’re talking about Fortran, Bell Labs, Information Theory, Minksy and AI, AND FM synthesis. Suhweeeeeet!! Great interview, loved it.
This is breathtaking! I dont't understand the majority of the things you two discus, but it gives the indication of whole worlds living behind the surface. What would you both have done without the blessing of your ears? Life is fantastic!
.... thanks to Anthony... Thanks John Chowning we all know you better now because of you meeting Anthony ...what a good friend John had who told him to patent his discovery ! ..... and we'lll remember when you get discouraged for muscial problem, go for a walk , think "don't give up" days later find the solution.... Thanks Athony for passing us these rich exchanges between you two musicians and creators ...
What an amazing meeting of like souls! Thank you for the incredible interview and thank you both for expressing your depth of knowledge and understanding in such a musically relevant way.
I so much appreciate the reverence and respect of which you have andwith which you speak and conduct yourself in this conversation. It is so much like the way i felt and treated my flight simulation instructor, Bill Mason. Bill had been in simulation from the beginning and was an unparalleled wealth of knowledge and understanding. Many many hours of conversation we would have about the deep intricacies of full flight simulation. He changed my life. Thinking about it now, i think i want to be a teacher of flight simulation.
I think Marble Madness was the first video game soundtrack that used fm synthesis, and then eventually sega genesis used fm synthesis as well but a 4op Ym2612 chip with 8 algorithms all inspired by the Dx7. My favorite sound track is the streets of rage 3 yuzo and motohiro made a custom music program that auto generated fm timbres and ranodm melodies.
Wow. Absolutely blown away by this video. Thank you Anthony for sharing this, John's story. I was always aware that he was the 'Father of FM', just never knew the details. I was moved to tears at the end, just like the both of you. My first ever synth was a Yamaha V50 workstation. Only 4 operator FM, but still the heart of it. During the late 90's when they release the FS1R, it took the FM even further into "formant shaping" and up to 8 operators. This meant you could use DX7 sounds with the 6 operators and add "resonant filters" with the other 2! Really cool! Years later, I finally acquired a TG-77. FM is such an amazing discovery. Now I can see how it came to be, due to the passion of John Chowning!! Such a great interview and exchange of ideas. Thank you again, Anthony.
John Chowning will turn 90 in two weeks. What a blessing to keep such a clear mind at such an advanced age. Best wishes for many more years to come. Thank you, mr. Marinelli, for this interview and for all you do.
He ain’t no Trump, either.
PsyTrance fans appreciate your job❤
This guy changed the world of music forever. Without FM, the music we heard in the past, and we still get to hear today, would have been so different in my opinion. It's really a fantastic opportunity that you got to interview Mr Chowning!
4 op mojo
I love how FM synthesis is applied these days. But we gotta admit this guy contributed largely to the 80s bad taste in fake instruments to avoid hiring trumpetists, violinists, recording bells, etc. Great times.
😂😅.
@@kinetic-cybernetic That's exactly the point - the 80s would've sounded entirely different, which would've resulted in everything coming after it sounding different. I'm very glad it happened the way it did, because the 80s sounded absolutely amazing. Gated reverb on drums, FM synthesis, simple instrumentation, strong compositions, raw vocals - chef's kiss.
@@positronalpha yes, it was lovely. 80s bad taste as their haircuts was so dramatic, these people were from a weird planet
I’ve posted this a few times in various places, but I can’t resist sharing again. Dr. Chowning introduced me to computer music and launched my lifelong love of synthesis- literally, and in person. I grew up close to Stanford University, and one time my junior high school class took a field trip to CCRMA. This would have been around 1983-1984. John gave us a tour of the facilities and demonstrated the amazing capabilities of their music computer. I can recall hearing the sound of a trumpet which gradually morphed into a violin. And the sound of a train racing around the room, encircling us. I was utterly captivated, and have never ceased to be enthralled with the magic which synthesis brings.
It was beautiful to see Anthony almost break down into tears as he understands the profoundness of this discussion. ❤
Exactly this!
Probably the best video about FM ever made! John Chowning is an absolute legend and a gentleman. More of this, Anthony!
It was such a pleasure and privilege to meet John Chowning at CCRMA some years ago - one of my heroes! And he is such a kind person! When I was around 15 years old I somehow convinced my parents to offer me a DX7 - I got totally obsessed with understanding how FM synthesis worked and I remember making my father drop me a full afternoon at the the YAMAHA dealer shop, during my school summer vacations, where I basically drove the shop synth tech/demo guy mad with all my obnoxious questions about how the DX7 sound programming worked! I later pursued Electrotechnical and Computer Engineering (because at the time there was no sound engineering degrees in Portugal) - at all the signal processing courses I took, all signals were sound signals for me (even when studying radar and radio frequency modulations, where I finally understood what FM was all about - and also understood why the poor YAMAHA shop tech guy struggled so much to explain how all that worked! ;-)). So meeting John was full circle for me! I'll never forget that day! What an inspiration!
Altamente 😂!
As a lifelong DX fan, this is gold for someone like me. 🙏 Anthony for getting the legend back on camera again, and thank you Dr Chowing (and Gary Leuenberger, Dave Bristow and Yamaha) for the DX7 ❤️
This interview is probably more important then most will understand now. Thanks John, thanks Anthony, everybody else who is making this possible. This video may not be removed from RUclips/the internet for a long time.
Men in their 80s are the most fascinating minds on the planet. If you're a musician or artist of any stripe, be sure to befriend people in their 80's.
This is content what the www was made for. So profound, so multilayered ranging from technical to nearly spiritual, it could not be done better. ❤
I think this video will become historical! Thanks to everyone who was involved!
That‘s one of the most intelligible interviews I‘ve heard in my whole life. My respect for Anthony Marinelli grew exponentially. He‘s so knowledgeable of history. Of course I‘m also amazed how John Chowning reveals his motivation and experiences to FM, which I adored in the incarnation of my first synthesizer, the Yamaha DX7.
Chowning is to musical synthesis as Wozniak is to home computing. Both men are inspired geniuses with a talent for educating and an inner drive to push boundaries.
Love the production values, sound, editing, inserts. Anthony is a great interviewer, summarizing, adding context. Love how this channel is evolving. Keep it coming!
anthony is a great listener too. he lets the person he is talking to a very big space and makes his guests very comfortable with this.
I was at NAMM when the DX7 was introduced in 1983. What an incredible experience. I got to go behind the scenes with the Yamaha rep and get a lesson in FM synthesis. The whole place was absolutly buzzing with anticipation. You know the thing I remember the most was that everyone was saying that the Fender Rhodes was now dead! The DX7 did such a good job of emulating the "Dyna My Rhodes" sound that the DX7 was the only keyboard you would ever need. The dawn of a new musical age. Thank you so much for bringing this info to a whole new generation of synthesists Anthony! Cheers
"Don't give up" sure hits harder coming from the 90 year old man who made it possible for me to make my favourite sounds. Incredible interview.
That was fantastic. I also felt emotional at the end at the humility of both of you.
John's an exceptional human being, and his 'don't give up' mindset enabled the path to the DX series.
Thank you for uploading & sharing 🌅
Mr Chowning is a lovely man. We are so lucky to have him. Thank you for this great interview.
The finest of interviews. Beautiful.
through the end, you two nearly cryed, i cant help but i cryed, of happiness and joy, its incredible, the level of sensitivity, spirituality, conciousness toward sound design.. even over melody and harmony... timbre and evolving timbres over time, thats what i live for, my love for electric (digital, mathematic, or analog) produced soundscapes... thats why i teach sound design and synth programming to young producers.
Thanks Anthony and thanks John for this magical hour of enlightment 🙏
Original DX7 was marvel of design & engineering and has its place in music even today. Very expressive & capable instrument. Thank you Dr. Chowning for your music passion! Being a 7yo kid and hearing DX7 for the first time was unforgettable and “out of this world” that turned me into music and sound design…
No knows = not much fun
Edwin Armstrong invented FM for broadcast in 1933, and then John Chowning invented it for music in 1967. 34 years is a while for an idea to percolate, and I'm so glad that Chowning did all of that great work. It's also so interesting that his concept of FM is small clusters of oscillators, instead of a large group. Great interview! Loved his advice at the end, "Do it!"
This is a really interesting point. Armstrong likely couldn’t have dreamed of it having such applications.
The honesty and passion displayed in this film brought a tear to my eye...........wonderful !!!
it is wonderful tbh no cap
A huge thanks to Anthony. He is giving us culture and know-how. High value and completely free. Really incredible. And thanks to John too...
This guy (John) is from a time we will never see ever again. When people cared.
More like: when you could make a living as somebody who gave a shit. It’s a liability in our world.
Miley Cyrus cares about fm
@@tonystevenson26 fm radio, maybe
@@TruthSurge I got your frequency
@@tonystevenson26 broadcasting on TAKE ME BACK TO THE 80s, MAN. hahah
YAMAHA DX7 7 DX7 II and DX7 FD were the best keyboards with the incredible sound of FM SYNTHESYS !!!! Incredible sounds !!! a new ERA for Keyboards and synthetizers !!!!! Thanks to JOHN !!!! Salutes from Buenos Aires, Argentina !!!
OMG ! First Manny , now John Chowning - - That Man is a REAL DEAL Magician ,- What a great story ! ..im tearing up here .... its palpable how much you look up to this old Giant ! 😚🙏
You have a knack for finding THE Pioneers, THE Biggest names in the industry - And i simply LOVE the way that you are being you , Maestro Marinelli .
That seems a little weird being mentioned in the same sentence with THE Dr. John Chowning.
A Huge thanks for recording this because it's so important to have these conversations for future generations. Thanks Dante for you hard work and also the rest of the team. ❤
It's not every day you get to see one legend interviewing another legend.
You both know your stuff, that's what makes this interview so special.
Thanks and greetings from Belgium.
Thank you Anthony and thank you John for the wonderful gift you discovered, concieved the perseverence needed for so many in the world to enjoy. Gratefully.
Wonderful stuff, Dr. Chowning is a gem. We briefly shared a beer at Knobcon the year he was the guest of honor, I asked his thoughts on the Digitone, and how it felt to see a modern instrument presenting FM sounds and concepts in such a different way to what he discovered and refined.... and he hadn't heard of it hahaha
Awesome
Too funny. I wonder if he’s aware of the Opsix, and if he is what his thoughts are.
Thank you Anthony (And team) for the chance to meet this awe-inspiring pioneer. Such a humble and brilliant person. Beeing a DX type FM afficionado I have always wondered about mr Chownings story and drive. And now I heard it straight from the source. Wonderful.
John Chowning’s philosophy and work ethic is an important reminder and a lesson to us all.
This channel is of utmost importance. Thank you
John Chowning helped me when I was working on an EM piece in college. He was at the Stanford Computer Music facility, which I drove by every day, and I chanced it and walked in. He was the nicest man (although surprised!), and offered to provide some sound files for me. I've never forgotten that interaction with one of the inventors of FM. Thank you again! Live 100 years!
This will be historic footage. Anthony’s interviewing / demonstration skills are out of this world!
Two legends in one video...! Can I just bow to the both of you and leave at that?
I wrote a paper on John and the discover of FM for one of my math classes in undergrad. Its great to learn more about him!
Anthony your interviews are totally to the point, full of curiosity, very well prepared and above all you are very respectful to your guests.
John Chowning he is a legend and very humble which makes the whole interview one of a kind.
Thank you
It's quite a lovely coincidence that one of my favorite things about Mr Chowning- a man eternally intrigued by the character of sounds- is the timbre of his voice. I always find it absolutely soothing to hear him talk. This is another spot on document, Anthony. We're all so thankful you've decided to do what you've done here on RUclips.
OMG, just amazed by his memory...the benefits of sound to the human soul. This interview is a gem to the human species. Period!!!
One of the best videos on FM and with John Chowning, thank you so much for making it and sharing with all. My colleague just got back from Seul where John was giving a speech.
So beautiful ! What a moment ! The sound of DX7 is a part of my childhood. 🙏🏻
I remember seeing John do the launch of the Dx7 in England in the 1980s, along with Dave Bristow.
The DX7 changed my life and led to a long passion for electronic music.
Thanks for this wonderful interview .
One of the best interviews I've ever seen on RUclips. There was so much interesting background, and John is so inspiring - and the people he's hung out with too... wow! An incredible crowd of geniuses! Thank you so much for bringing us these insights into history. I was born at the right time for the DX range of synths to be appearing when I was in my teens and starting to take an interest in electronic music, so all of this made quite a big difference to my world.
This is so nice to remember! Thanks for that.
I made me an Atari program acc that could store 8 banks in memory, push the sounds around and rename them, push a sound or a whole bank to/from the DX-7, and print out the full parameter list of any sound that was loaded, which looked quite orderly for these times with crude fonts.
It could run in the background of Notator.
So I needed no cartridge, but anyway, I built a cartridge but it had glitches and could not store the sounds reliably. But it was very cheap, with its RAM and battery.
Today, this is anecdotal, and will catch nobody's interest.
But have a nice time and much success, you FM owners and users!!
19:54 To be fair, FM synthesis doesn't seem like a big deal when the guys you're working with invented the transistor, launched the Telstar, and were in the middle of creating Darpanet.
A very touching interview, full of emotion. I'm a big fan of FM. I was about to start writing a podcast for a radio about the birth of FM synthesis (I did one last month about the Fairlight). Of course I knew the big picture of John Chowning as the inventor of FM, but this interview gives me a lot of details and what led him to discover FM. The ARP2600 also gives the opportunity to easily experiment FM synthesis.
Oh, you understand who John Chowning is and his "discovery/invention" as well. This, by far, is your best interview. I could say more, but there isn't much more I can really say. Bravo!
My dad got a Dx7 in 1984, I was 11 then, and thus is learned to program fm-synths before subtractive synths :)
What an unexpected and welcome surprise thank you Anthony! And John!
My 1986 Yamaha FM electronic piano still works, though never knew it was FM at the time. Great keyboard, that stays brilliant white, unlike most old plastic keyboards. It even does half pedal effect, 10 sounds and even MIDI.
I love these interviews, Anthony. The reverence you have not just for your guests but also for music, history, and synthesis itself is so palpable and brings out the best in your guests and yourself. Cheers.
This is a beautiful, uplifting, and inspiring story that leaves me feeling optimistic and excited about where we're headed. It's conveyed with reminders about the importance of diverse influences, happy accidents, imperfections, and human emotions in what is ultimately achieved. Thank you Anthony, John, and the team, for making this wonderful video!
The point where his musicality goal was to change timbre rather than just intervals is very inspiring to try with my FM gear. Getting ideas from the originator that are new to me is what makes interviews like this absolutely priceless.
Thank you John, Thank you Anthony. I never seen such an Interview where both Partners have a real similar admiration firceach other and could make such an marvelous Interview. Thank you Anthony (and Team of course ) for this awesome additional inserts. I really can‘t wait for Part. 2 Anthony nerding out the ‚Basement“ 😂. Thank your the best hour of FM I ever could see.
So influential and a truly genius person!!! 🎶 🎵 ❤️
This interview is genuinely amazing. Even forgetting the FM history, this is an amazing snapshot into a unique time and place. Wonderful.
I can’t read music but can play by ear so have a deep respect for anyone playing and discovering these marvellous instruments however I do enjoy engineering and making different sounds .❤
What a wonderful interview. Getting flashbacks to my communications theory course at university where we went through the mathematical foundations of modulation and sampling theory. I remember being blown away by the neat mathematical solutions showing how FM of a carrier generates harmonics represented as a series of sin functions. Too long ago to remember any of the details, though!
What a fantastic cerebral interview! It is such a shame that we don't have intelligent people interviewed by enquiring minds to share wisdom very often.. Thanks Anthony and John! I am still chuckling that a ~drummer~ found FM! Yamaha is an incredible company- they potted a GX1 using "Pulse Analog Synthesis System" with no microprocessors with bespoke LSI chips to discard it all for FM chips 6 years later. And 6 years after that memory became cheap to move to AWM initially as a hybrid. And now they are back to FM! The original HX1 system was expandable using MIDI to add tone generators (FM and AWM). 2^8 th like!
Thank you Anthony and thank you John !!
Such an amazing person, changed the future of synthesis.
Thank you for sharing Chowning's story and his ethos. It is a great thing to recognize the quest to understand this world that we have been given.
FM synthesis took electronic music in all new directions. It led to a whole new concept for designing instruments based on digital algorithms. Yamaha may have built the product, but they wouldn’t have had the product without the discovery. I love the fact that the discovery came from a musician, and not someone, putting around on a calculator in academia.
the guy, the one and only, the legend.... my 1st synth was ( yes, was...) a DX7, Thank you for letting me having so many hours of fun with my FM synth. 👍👍
Excellent my friend... he is a Legend... and not only in FM synth... many fields.. and musicians..! Great , I have learned a lot of you Guys..!!
In 1984, in the midst of pursuing a B.Mus., I decided to rent a synthesizer for a week spice up the classical world I was immersed in. Somehow, the guy at the rental facility knew that FM would be right for me. He sent me home with a DX7. I barely got any sleep that week. I’ve been hooked on FM ever since. There’s still a functional DX7 in my music room, though it doesn’t get used anymore because it’s so much easier to do it with plugins.
Anthony, if you haven't checked out the Yamaha Reface DX or the Korg OpSix, you might want to check out their approaches to the UI for FM. There are also external programmers available for the Reface to expand its UI.
I am wondering how the Reface DX relates to this FM story, and is it a way for people to explore FM today?
Very special interview and greatly appreciate you both! Thank you!
I was at EMS in Sweden about a decade ago, which is one of the oldest institutes for computer generated music. I asked them if they had ever worked with FM, and they said they had actually worked directly with Chowning on a FM synth of their own in the 70s, but then one day he just left for Yamaha and took the patents with him so the project was cancelled. They sounded kind of slighted by the whole ordeal and how commercial ventures felt more valued than their esoteric experiments. I never managed to get this anecdote corroborated anywhere. This interview makes it sound like there was a bit of general tension regarding FM patents between the academia and business interests in those days.
Im from stockholm, thank you for that story, ive been to EMS for several years!
I visited CCRMA as part of an AES field trip in the early 2000s, and while we didn't get to meet Dr. Chowning, we were treated to a few of his compositions in glorious 8-channel surround sound. Some of the 2op sounds were immediately familiar, but the spatiality of the sounds was a unique experience I wish I could experience again.
We also got to visit an ambisonics(?) setup and I distinctly recall sitting in the "listening area" of the room in an (audio) hot-tub with fireworks going off in the distance. incredibly cool, and again, something I wish I could revisit.
Tony's exposure to FM via Synclavier is rare, and his video on the subject is what got me hooked on this channel.
having owned a dx7 back in the 80s.. this was amazing look into what it took to bring that into the world. - we have so much we can do now and built upon this discovery! - Thank you for this wonderful talk.
I share your emotion Anthony. This has to be one of the best lessons on sound design I have heard since I became a keyboard musician at in 1984. The DX7 was my first synth and I never managed to master the beast because I was lacking an understanding of sound design with terrible UX design on the DX7 with no knobs. I now understand that I totally underestimated the amazing contribution that John Chowning brought to the electronic music industry. Thanks for capturing this amazing monument of the industry.
What an amazing interview. Truly inspiring. What a humble man. Both of them really. So enjoyed that. I was a teenager in the 80s. The DX7 defined the sound of the decade of my favorite music.
I adore the Synclavier in no small part due to the artists I grew up listening to, but the producers and artists behind the scenes had wildly different opinions about the NED machine. Trevor Horn has said it was the biggest waste of his own money having invested in one, and his Synclavier output pails in comparison to his more well known, pioneering use of the Fairlight CMI. Conversely, Harold Faltermeyer harnessed every last ounce of the Synclavier’s offerings, and it in part was responsible for what I still consider to be some of Pet Shop Boys’ finest recordings, namely those from their Behaviour era output. As for the DX7, it often gets a roasting from the unwilling to dig under the hood crowd, but yet again some of the most revered and hallowed electronic artists have used it to exquisite effect. Many of Richard D James’ early stuff was heavy with FM synthesis goodness. Another fab video Mr Marinelli, thanks
I *love* this Anthony, you’ve revisited my senior year of college in detail when my advisor & mentor designed my curriculum around computer music, emergent technologies and “new music”. What an awesome video to wake up to on an otherwise bland Tuesday morning! Thank you!
i sat down and made a patch on my yamaha tx81z in the middle of this video,, watching your conversation, i felt inspired to make some sounds of my own after not touching the instrument for months,, thanks for sharing your wonderful exchange with us
Anthony and John, amazing, beautiful, both hugely inspiring in your thinking. This is a very important video. So happy you took the time to do this. It’s reflective, future thinking and also slightly corrective in its reflection, which is how it should be. Excellent.
Wow. What a fantastic interview. Thank you!
Amazing to watch a Genius Synth programmer (Anthony) interviewing another Genius (the real deal FM discovery man) their interaction for all of us !!!
Thank you ... Mr. Marinelli and Mr. Chowning (The father of FM synthesis) for making this timeless video happening for the ages !
I. Am. Touched. Much thanks John and thanks Anthony. 🫡🫡🫡
It's a privilege to witness your journey. It's helping me along too.
An historic interview that should become a reference piece in the world of music technology. I had always hoped that John Chowning was driven by passion and not mathematics - what a lovely inspirational man. Thank you Anthony for this soul baring interview.
Thank you booth for your inspiration to the people on the 🌍
This might be the best interview on RUclips I've seen and geeked out to in yrs.J.Chowning is a freaking genius .Marinelli,you knocked this one out the park.♥️🤖📼🛸
I think he is accurate, although quite generous, in calling FM a discovery. We didn’t invent the sonic boom when breaking the sound barrier. It’s just something that naturally occurs when requirements are met. We can learn to get better at meeting those requirements if we want to.
What a wonderful experience watching both of you "geek out" on your favorite themes. It was wonderful how you both gave each other room to communicate. John Chowning's work always seemed completely impossible for me to understand until I was able to see this calm and grounded discussion. It feels more approachable now. Thank you sincerely.
Regards,
Alan Tomlinson
This is AMAZING. What a legend! I am a career software engineer, a hobbyist mathematician, and synth nerd so this talk was just everything I love in one awesome video. Can’t believe we’re talking about Fortran, Bell Labs, Information Theory, Minksy and AI, AND FM synthesis. Suhweeeeeet!! Great interview, loved it.
This is breathtaking! I dont't understand the majority of the things you two discus, but it gives the indication of whole worlds living behind the surface. What would you both have done without the blessing of your ears? Life is fantastic!
.... thanks to Anthony... Thanks John Chowning we all know you better now because of you meeting Anthony ...what a good friend John had who told him to patent his discovery ! ..... and we'lll remember when you get discouraged for muscial problem, go for a walk , think "don't give up" days later find the solution.... Thanks Athony for passing us these rich exchanges between you two musicians and creators ...
this interview is SO priceless and important to the transmission of FM pedagogy... thank you you both so much for your contributions!!
What an amazing meeting of like souls! Thank you for the incredible interview and thank you both for expressing your depth of knowledge and understanding in such a musically relevant way.
Can't believe I got to watch this for free! The Father of FM ❤
I so much appreciate the reverence and respect of which you have andwith which you speak and conduct yourself in this conversation. It is so much like the way i felt and treated my flight simulation instructor, Bill Mason. Bill had been in simulation from the beginning and was an unparalleled wealth of knowledge and understanding. Many many hours of conversation we would have about the deep intricacies of full flight simulation. He changed my life. Thinking about it now, i think i want to be a teacher of flight simulation.
One of the most fascinating interviews I´ve ever seen. Even emotional at times. This man´s work literally changed the world. Thank you Tony!
Thank you Anthony for bringing this history for us to learn.
I think Marble Madness was the first video game soundtrack that used fm synthesis, and then eventually sega genesis used fm synthesis as well but a 4op Ym2612 chip with 8 algorithms all inspired by the Dx7. My favorite sound track is the streets of rage 3 yuzo and motohiro made a custom music program that auto generated fm timbres and ranodm melodies.
Wow. Absolutely blown away by this video. Thank you Anthony for sharing this, John's story. I was always aware that he was the 'Father of FM', just never knew the details. I was moved to tears at the end, just like the both of you. My first ever synth was a Yamaha V50 workstation. Only 4 operator FM, but still the heart of it. During the late 90's when they release the FS1R, it took the FM even further into "formant shaping" and up to 8 operators. This meant you could use DX7 sounds with the 6 operators and add "resonant filters" with the other 2! Really cool! Years later, I finally acquired a TG-77. FM is such an amazing discovery. Now I can see how it came to be, due to the passion of John Chowning!! Such a great interview and exchange of ideas. Thank you again, Anthony.
I really love how in depth this FM series is. Seriously. This is so awesome.