Transcript Role of Users in Shaping Technology

STS IN PRACTICE: AN
INTERDISCIPLINARY
FIELD AS SCIENCE AND
CULTURE
Trevor Pinch
Science and Technology Studies
Cornell University
Big Questions of Technology
Studies
How do Culture/Society and Technology
Interact? As opposed to impact of
technology on society
 What leads to the acceptance of new
technological innovations?
 How do new markets arise?
 How do technologies transform our
forms-of-life?

Musical Instruments as
Technologies

“Musical instrument design is one of the
most sophisticated and specialized
technologies that we humans have
developed” - Bob Moog
1985 – Stanford Patent on FM
Synthesis

Stanford University’s second most
lucrative patent ever is for Frequency
Modulated Synthesis
Technical Grammy Winners
2002
Robert Moog for Minimoog synthesizer
 Steve Jobs for Technical Contributions to
Music Recording Industry

Robert Moog 1934-2005
Moog Modular Synthesizer 1966
Old Rockers!

"The door was open, we didn't have
air conditioning or anything like that,
it was late Spring and people would
walk by, you know, if they would
hear something, they would stand
there, they'd listen and they'd shake
their heads. You know they'd listen
again – what is this weird shit
coming out of the basement?“ – Bob
Moog
Interpretative Flexibility
Moog Modular Voltage Control Synthesizer
with keyboards for use by every musician
 Buchla Modular Voltage Control
Synthesizer for use by experimental
musicians and avant garde

The Importance of Keyboards
“The Keyboards were always there, and
whenever someone wanted to take a
picture, for some reason or other it looks
good if you’re playing a keyboard. People
understand that then you’re making
music. You know [without it] you could be
tuning in Russia” – Bob Moog
Closure
The synthesizer over time became a
keyboard instrument to be used by all
sorts of musician
 Moog became dominant design
 Buchla relegated to niche market

Example of a user-guided refinement:
Portamento control on keyboard suggested
by Wendy Carlos

Standardization and Ease of Use
Moog standardized around volt-peroctave standard
 In this way a piece of musical culture was
built into the technology
 Means easier to use than Buchla if you
want to play conventional melodic music
on keyboards

Moog Cultivated His Users
Went on the road to install synthesizers
 Brought musicians to his factory
 Employed studio musicians and offered
free tuition in his factory studio
 Produced Electronic Music Review from his
factory

“All the people I did business with in the
early days have remained collaborators
and friends and customers throughout the
years…They’ve been very valuable to me
both as personal friendships and as
guidance in refining synthesizer
components”- Bob Moog
Who will be users and what will be
use?
Academic departments? For teaching and
composition
 Individually wealthy composers? For
composition
 New use emerged for coffee, coke, and
beer commercials (later movies and TV
mood music)

BUchla Box at TRIPS 1966
MONTEREY POPS 1967
The Doors, The Byrds, The Beatles
 Psychedelic washes of sound
 e.g. “Here Comes the Sun”
