The sequencer is used to capture and play back drum beats, triggering the associated sound generator. The sound generator portion is similar to those described above, a synthesizer tailored to making drum and percussion sounds. The Roland TR-808 drum machine (Image courtesy wikimedia commons) They can take many forms, the two most common might be the tabletop module Standalone MIDI sound generators, also known as sound modules, are instruments that generate sound, but have no on-board provision for playing. The controller and sound generator functions don't need to be bundled in the same unit, though. A soft touch could result in a glass harmonica sound, while a harder hit might elicit a pyrophone. A velocity split changes sounds depending on how hard the keyboard is struck.One example is a string bass on the left side of the keyboard, and a piano on the right side. A keyboard split assigns different voices to different regions of the keyboard.Layering simply lets the performer play the multiple sounds at the same time, in unison.Multitimbral instruments often have different modes for using these sounds: Multitimbral - a polyphonic synthesizer that is capable of playing different sounds simultaneously.The number of simultaneous sounds is often limited, specified as the number of voices it can generate. Polyphonic - capable of playing multiple notes simultaneously, like a guitar, piano or organ.Monophonic - capable on playing a single note at a time, like woodwind or brass instruments.The player presses a key, and the synth produces a sound in response.ĭepending on the underlying technology, a synthesizer can be: The keyboard synthesizer typically has a piano keyboard (called the controller), and an internal tone generator, which could be analog, digital, or even mechanical. Kurzweil K2000 Synthesizer (Image courtesy wikimedia commons)

Turn computer keyboard into synthesizer