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Explore the fascinating world of electronic music instruments and their potential to revolutionize traditional music-making in this concluding lecture from Charles Taylor's 1989 Christmas Lectures series. Delve into the mechanics of keyboard instruments, starting with harpsichords and spinets, and discover how the challenge of volume control led to the engineering marvel of the modern piano. Examine the origins of musical scales and uncover the tuning problems inherent in keyboard instruments that make it impossible to play in all keys with perfect intonation. Learn how synthesizers provide an ideal demonstration tool for understanding these acoustic challenges and their solutions. Journey through the explosive development of synthesizers and computer music technology, featuring resources from the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, one of the world's most advanced electronic music studios of its time. Investigate fundamental questions about the future of music: whether synthesizers will replace conventional instruments, if computers might eventually replace composers and performers, and whether science can explain the emotional impact of music that creates that distinctive "shiver in the spine" sensation. Consider how the partnership between science and music continues to generate new questions as technology advances, while exploring the subjective nature of musical experience that extends far beyond laboratory measurements into the real world of performance and listening.
