Definition of synthesizer Synthesizer

/sɪˈnθʌsajˌzɚ/ - [sinthusayzer] - syn•the•siz•er

We found 8 definitions of synthesizer from 4 different sources.

Word comparison

British English

synthesiser

American English

synthesizer

What does synthesizer mean?

WordNet

Noun Plural: synthesizers
synthesizer - (music) an electronic instrument (usually played with a keyboard) that generates and modifies sounds electronically and can imitate a variety of other musical instruments
		synthesiser
		electronic instrument, electronic musical instrument a musical instrument that generates sounds electronically
		keyboard instrument a musical instrument that is played by means of a keyboard
		music musical activity (singing or whistling etc.); "his music was his central interest"
synthesizer - an intellectual who synthesizes or uses synthetic methods
		synthesist, synthesiser
		intellectual, intellect a person who uses the mind creatively

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Wiktionary

synthesizer (Noun)
An electronic instrument that creates its sounds with electronics and has a keyboard.
synthesizer (Noun)
An electronic instrument module that creates its sounds with electronics and does not have any keyboard.
synthesizer (Noun)
An electronic circuit that generates an electronic signal oscillation with accurate timing from a reference oscillator.
synthesizer (Noun)
An electronic device that generates electronic signal patterns to test an electronic circuit.

Wikipedia

A musical synthesizer is an instrument that uses electricity to make musical sounds. Very often synthesizers have a keyboard like that of a piano. When playing a piano keyboard, sounds are made by hitting soft hammers against strings pulled very tight. When playing a synthesizer keyboard, sounds are made by turning electrical oscillators on and off. Since "synthesizer" is such a big word, the word is usually shortened to "synth".

How synthesizers work.

An oscillator is something that "vibrates", or repeats the same pattern. The pendulum of a clock, for example, is a very slow oscillator. A piano string "oscillates" when struck by a hammer.

Electric oscillators might be made using transistors. They turn electricity into electrical patterns, or signals, that repeat over and over. When different keys are pressed, different notes are heard. This is done by making the signal from the oscillator repeat at different rates.

The signal can be boosted in strength and sent straight to a loudspeaker. But the sound of a simple signal can be boring after a while. Sounds can be made more interesting in many ways!

By combining many of these methods, synths can now sound very much like older instruments. For one example, special synths called "drum synths" are used just to make the sounds a drummer might make. Synths can also make many new sounds never heard before.

In the early 2000s, computers got fast enough so "software synths" could be made. These are computer programs designed to look a