djb@cbosgd.UUCP (David J. Bryant) (02/11/84)
On several Windham Hill albums I have come across an instrument that is
new to me. Called a "lyricon" by the album jacket, it sounds very much
like a synthesizer, although I have reason to believe it is a woodwind.
Can anyone out there shed any light on this wonderful instrument? In
particular, what are its origins, how difficult is it to learn, are they
expensive and/or hard to find, where can I find more recorded music that
features the lyricon, etc. I am fascinated by its tone and lyric quality
(hence the name?) and would love to know more.
* *
David Bryant
AT&T Bell Laboratories
* Columbus, OH 43213
* (614) 860-4516
* .
. djb@cbosgd.UUCP
cbosgd!djb@Berkeley.ARPA
* *ericksen@unc.UUCP (James P. Ericksen) (02/16/84)
A Lyricon is a model of music synthesizer controlled not by a keyboard but by a woodwind-styled device --- note selection is controlled by fingering combinations similar to those on a recorder, and timbre and "pitch bend" are controlled by lip pressure. The Lyricon appeared about ten years ago, but never caught on --- i haven't heard of anyone using one for many years. I don't know if they're still being made, though you could check the ads in Downbeat. -- Jim Ericksen UNC Chapel Hill
keesan@bbncca.ARPA (Morris Keesan) (02/17/84)
-----------------------------
A Lyricon is a synthesizer designed for woodwind players. Unlike most
synthesizers intended for performance, the Lyricon is played with a keyboard.
You put one end of it in your mouth, blow into it, and move your fingers sort
of as if you were playing a clarinet. The mouthpiece is sensitive to the
pressure of the wind being blown through it, and to lip pressure. The
conventional way of using these sensors would be to have volume tied to the
breath, and pitch variation ("bending", vibrato, etc.) controlled by lip
pressure. I believe that you can change the configuration of the instrument so
that these controls can be used for other things. I've never played a Lyricon.
This description is all based on memory and a description I was given once by a
friend who had played one.
I believe the company that made the Lyricon is no longer making it. I
think they either went out of business or sold the manufacturing rights to
another company which hasn't made any. Again, this is hearsay. If anyone
knows if someone is making Lyricons again (or still), I'd appreciate hearing
about it.
--
Morris M. Keesan
{decvax,linus,wjh12,ima}!bbncca!keesan
keesan @ BBN-UNIX.ARPAkissell@flairvax.UUCP (Kevin D. Kissell) (02/18/84)
I played one of these five or six years ago, and wasn't terribly impressed.
The lip pressure sensing was better than I expected, but the breath sensing
for dynamics was klunky and, more importantly, the synthesizer itself (as
opposed to the controlling interface) was not very good. The filter section
(such as it was) in particular was the pits. I saw a fellow play one a few
years back with Patrick Gleeson in San Francisco, and the thing seemed to me
to be more of an impediment than a vehicle for musical expression. You can
do more interesting things these days by processing a real reed tone anyway.
Kevin D. Kissell
Fairchild Research Center
Advanced Processor Development
uucp: {ihnp4 decvax}!decwrl!\
>flairvax!kissell
{ucbvax sdcrdcf}!hplabs!/tynor@uiucuxc.UUCP (02/19/84)
#R:cbosgd:-95800:uiucuxc:30800011:000:493
uiucuxc!tynor Feb 18 08:27:00 1984
The new Yamaha DX synthesizers have a 'Breath Controller'
option. I don't think there's any mechanism for lip pressure
sensitivity though... As I remember, the BC can be used either
as an overall volume control or can control the amplitude of
any of the 6 sine wave generators (thus controlling timbre...)
A truly awesome instrument. Wish I had $2K to blow.
Steve Tynor
ihnp4!uiucdcs!uiucuxc!tynor
University of Illinois Champaign-Urbanabrandx@ihtnt.UUCP (Howard D. Weisberg) (02/20/84)
Lyricons still enjoy some usage. Chuck Greenberg, the woodwinds player for Shadowfax, makes heavy usage of one. The nice thing about the lyricon is that it has a very human sound to it. It doesn't sound mechanical at all. I've recently heard an instrument called a Steinerphone, named after it's inventor, Nils Steiner (or something like that). It was played on a jazz album by the incredible Indian violinist, Dr. L. Subramaniam. Supposedly, it's got full breath control. It has a very wide range and is used on Mani's album for trumpet and saxophone. I wasn't too impressed by it's sound, but final judgement should be withheld until we hear more of it.
rgh@inmet.UUCP (02/24/84)
#R:cbosgd:-95800:inmet:6600088:000:1182
inmet!rgh Feb 23 20:09:00 1984
Re breath-controlled synthesizers:
The Yamaha BC-1 Breath Controller can be used as a
control input to Yamaha's DX-7, DX-9, and CS-01 synthesizers.
It generates a single control signal based on how hard you blow
into it.
It's probably more useful with the CS-01, since the DX-7 has so
many other control inputs (touch velocity, touch pressure, foot
pedal, modulation wheel). The CS-01 is a portable battery-operated
monophonic analog synthesizer; there are two pots on it which determine
how much of the BC signal is routed to the VCF and VCA. Since the
CS-01 only has a single ADSR envelope generator (which can also
control the VCA and VCF to varying degrees), the BC is a significant
addition to the instrument. (The BC-1 is about $30 and the CS-01
is about $150-200.)
It's not such a great controller, though. Unless you have a free
hand (or one of those dinguses folk guitarists use to double on
harmonica), you have to clamp the thing between your teeth. It
makes an annoying amount of acoustic noise -- there's a little
hole of the top to vent your breath out which acts a bit like
a whistle.
Randy Hudson
{harpo,decvax!cca!ima}!inmet!rghcak@CS-Arthur (Christopher A Kent) (04/01/84)
The description of a Lyricon was essentially correct, as far as it
went.
As I recall (it's been about 6 years), there were two versions of the
Lyricon, Lyricon I & II. Both were marketed by Selmer; I think that
there did actually exist a separate Lyricon corporation for a while. I
don't know if the instruments are still on the market.
The instrument is essentially shaped like a soprano sax or clarinet;
silver metal with a sax key layout, plus a few extra modifier keys
(these are kinda neat -- flat or sharp any fingered note). A sax player
would be immediately at home on it; the left thumb key is an octave
key, like a sax, not a twelfth key, like a clarinet; there are also
none of the stupid "break" keys found on a clarinet (spoken like a true
sax player who was forced to double on clarinet...). The mouthpiece
looks like any standard mouthpiece; you fasten a real reed to it with a
ligature, and play normally. (Reed quality doesn't matter; the reed has
nothing to do with sound production. The supplied fibrecane reed could
be used indefinitely.) There is a wind pressure transducer inside the
barrel of the instrument which is used to trigger sound production and
volume; there is also a small metal "finger" that presses against the
reed and senses embouchure pressure (used for bends). I don't recall
that you can patch these to vary any other parameters.
The keys are electrical switches; it's necessary to occasionally clean
them by rubbing a dollar bill or a piece of rolling paper between the
key and the contact. There is a small tube that allows the air you blow
to pass through the instrument and out the bottom; it's small enough
that there is a realistic feeling of resistance. It blows quite freely,
but it's not like there's nothing there at all.
The control panel pretty much dates the instrument; it has controls
very similar to the Mini-Moog, the foremost performance synthesizer of
the era. I recall a single oscillator, for which you could select
waveshape, filtering, etc; you can also select octave, range, degree of
bend, tuning, volume, etc. You could do neat things like switch the
range by perfect fifths, so you can simulate both the Bb and Eb
families; I think you can also adjust to play the F and C families if
you want.
I found the instrument a lot of fun to play; quite versatile. I played
both jazz and rock dates with it; it was a lot easier to deal with than
switching between alto/tenor/bari/soprano on short notice, but sound
quality was not as true. I wouldn't use it for a ballad written for
alto, but it was fun for occasional ensemble work. You could also
produce some pretty strange sounds with it, needless to say.
Does anyone recall using the trumpet transducer that was popular around
the same period? I always wanted to tinker with one, but never had the
opportunity.
Not playing as much as I used to, but wishing I had the time,
Chris Kent
Purdue CS Dept
{decvax,decwrl,pur-ee,ucbvax}!purdue!cak