John M. Chowning (; born August 22, 1934, in Salem, New Jersey) is an American composer, musician, discoverer, and professor best known for his work at Stanford University, the founding of CCRMA – Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics in 1975 and his development of the digital implementation of FM synthesis and the digital sound spatialization while there.
Contribution
Chowning is known for having developed the FM synthesis algorithm in 1967. In FM (frequency modulation) synthesis, both the carrier frequency and the
modulation frequency are within the audio band. In essence, the
amplitude and
frequency of one waveform modulates the frequency of another waveform producing a resultant waveform that can be periodic or non-periodic depending upon the ratio of the two frequencies.
Chowning's breakthrough allowed for simple—in terms of process—yet rich sounding , which synthesized 'metal striking' or 'bell like' sounds, and which seemed incredibly similar to real percussion (Chowning was also a skilled percussionist). He spent six years turning his breakthrough into a system of musical importance and eventually was able to simulate a large number of musical sounds, including the singing voice. In 1974, Stanford University licensed the discovery to Yamaha, with whom Chowning worked in developing a family of and . This was Stanford's most lucrative patent at one time, eclipsing many in electronics, computer science, and biotechnology.
The first commercial musical instrument to incorporate FM synthesis was the Synclavier I, introduced by New England Digital Corporation in 1977. Their Synclavier II, introduced in 1980, was frequently used in the production of popular music beginning that year. The first Yamaha product to incorporate the FM algorithm was the GS1, a digital synthesizer that first shipped in 1981. Some thought, including Chowning, that it was too expensive at the time. Soon after, in 1983, Yamaha made their first commercially successful digital FM synthesizer, the DX7. The DX7 was used on a host of popular songs throughout the 1980s, including Prince's When Doves Cry, A-ha's Take on Me, George Michael’s Careless Whisper, Tina Turner's The Best, Sade’s Smooth Operator, as well as many of Brian Eno's productions, and numerous other hits.
Another important aspect of Chowning's work is the simulated motion of sound through physical space, whose algorithm was developed during the decade between 1962 and 1972.[Zattra – Féron 2024b, pp.357–390.] This period coincides with his initial years at Stanford University, first as a graduate student and later as assistant professor, an exceptional historical period during which he built a series of important collaborations with Leland Smith, Max Mathews, Manfred R. Schroeder, Karlheinz Stockhausen, David Poole, Andy Moorer, who all had influence in different ways in the development of his spatialisation algorithm.[Ibidem.] In 1972, in his composition Turenas, he was first able to create the illusion of a continuous 360-degree space using only four speakers.
Early life
The first instrument Chowning learned was violin, which he picked up after finding an old one in the attic of his family home. He then later got drum lessons in high school.
Korean War had begun by the time he graduated, and instead of enlisting, Chowning auditioned for the Navy School of Music in Washington DC, which led to him performing in an 18-piece band on a Mediterranean aircraft carrier.
After the war, Chowning graduated from Wittenberg University with a Bachelor of Music in 1959. He studied music composition for two years (1959–61) with
Nadia Boulanger in Paris and received his D.M.A. in 1966 from Stanford, where he studied under
Leland Smith. He was the founding director in 1975 of the
CCRMA at Stanford University.
Chowning also worked for a number of years at IRCAM, in Paris and was an influential reference point in the founding of the French centre, with repeated meetings and exchanges with Pierre Boulez in the 1970s, and subsequently with Chowning's presence in musical projects in the late 1970s and 1980s.[Féron – Zattra 2023, pp.123–132.][Féron – Zattra 2024a, pp.173–187.]
Private life
Chowning married Elisabeth Keller and they had two children, John and Marianne. John's second marriage is to Maureen (Doody) Tiernay and they had one child named James Scott.
Famous compositions
One of Chowning's most famous pieces is called
Stria (1977). It was commissioned by
IRCAM for the Institute's first major concert series called
Perspectives of the 20th Century. His composition was noted for its inharmonic sounds due to his famous FM algorithm and his use of the
golden ratio (1.618...) in music.
Other famous compositions include Turenas (1972), which was one of the first electronic compositions to have the illusion of sounds moving in a 360-degree space. With Phoné (1980–1981), he became the first to put FM over voice synthesis.
Compositions
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Sabelithe, 1966, revised 1971
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Turenas, 1972
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Stria, 1977
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Phoné, 1980–1981
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Voices, 2005
See also
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CCRMA – Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics
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Frequency modulation synthesis
Works cited
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François-Xavier Féron, Laura Zattra, "L’empreinte de John Chowning dans la construction de l’Ircam: de sa rencontre avec Pierre Boulez en 1973 à la création de Stria en 1977", Les journées d'Informatique Musicale, pp.123–132, 2023, ⟨halshs-04140906v2⟩.
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François-Xavier Féron, Laura Zattra (2024a), "John Chowning à l'Ircam: de la création de Stria en 1977 à ses recherches dans le studio MIDI en 1985", Les journées d'Informatique Musicale, PRISM, May 2024, Marseille, France. pp.173–187, ⟨halshs-04622447⟩.
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Laura Zattra, François-Xavier Féron (2024b), “A history of the first computer sound spatialization system: John Chowning’s investigations at Stanford University (1962–1972)”, in Sound, Music and Architecture, Roberto Illiano ed., series “Music, Science and Technology”, Brepols, pp. 357–390.
Further reading
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John M. Chowning Papers
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Andrew Nelson, The Sound of Innovation, Cambridge MA, MIT Press, 2015
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Olivier Baudouin, Pionniers de la musique numérique, Sampzon, Delatour, 2012
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John Chowning. Portraits polychromes. P.A. Castanet, É. Gayou, J.C. Risset et al. (eds). Paris: Ina – Michel de Maule, 2005.
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Computer Music Journal (The Reconstruction of Stria), Computer Music Journal, Fall 2007, Vol. 31.
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Roads, C., “John Chowning on composition”, Composers and the computer. Los Altos CA: Kaufman, pp. 18–25, 1985.
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Zelli, Bijan. “Interview with John Chowning.” www.bijanzelli.com/Chowning_Interview_Published.pdf (April 2010). Montréal: CEC.
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Zelli, Bijan. “Reale und virtuelle Räume in der Computermusik: Theorien, Systeme, Analysen.” Unpublished PhD dissertation. Kommunikations- und Geschichtswissenschaft, Technische Universität Berlin, 2001. Available on the author’s website, the dissertation includes an analysis of Turenas.
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