Pittsburg State University - Kanza Yearbook (Pittsburg, KS)

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MOOG SYNTHESIZERS PLAY an Important rota In today's modern music and Richard Cook, associate professor of music, experiments with new sounds on PSU's moog synthesizer.(photo by Alan Ford) Cook handles the Moog from skill born of practice, and maybe a little love. He knows which lead to plug into which socket to produce a desired effect. “The machine cost $4,700 when we bought it 10 years ago, Cook said. “Everyone was shocked by the price. At the time, it was one of only 100 synthesizers in the world and was quite a boon to the music department. The synthesizer is connected to a custom-made four channel reel-to-reel tape recorder, which allows students to record their performances. It also allows the tracks of live instruments, including voice, to be mixed with the synthesizer. 27

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fin Authentic ffloog by Max McCoy The machine stands against one wall of Richard Cook's office in McCray Hall, row upon row of terminals gleaming, dials waiting to be tuned. Loops of audio cable sweep toward the floor, like a switchboard operator's nightmare. The only thing that hints that it's a musical instrument is the single keyboard at its base. It's as much an instrument as any guitar or piano. Even more, it has as much heritage as a Stradivarius. This synthesizer was built by Dr. Moog himself. Each module has the Initials of its engineer scratched upon it. Attesting to the quality of hand craftsmanship. Cook, an associate professor of music, said that in the 10 years the music .department has owned it, the total cost of repairs has been about 35 cents. Before Moog brought it to Pittsburg State, he let it play for a full week to make sure nothing would break down. “The first synthesizer was really built around 1906, Cook said. It ran on dynamos, weighed 200 tons, and was moved by railroad cars. For a time it was wired into the telephone system. In contrast, in the 10 years since Moog started building synthesizers, integrated circuits have reduced the size of syn- thesizers to chord organs, and the cost has come down to $400. The reliability, however, sometimes does not equal some of the older models. Cook teaches a course on the syn- thesizer, which essentially lets students explore the machine’s capabilities. Synthesizers are an integral part of most modern bands, first popularized by Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side of the Moon.” Synthesizers have the ability to mimic other instruments, such as horns or strings, or create their own effects, such as laser sounds, Mark Huffman, Olathe senior and a student in the synthesizer class, said, “For an upper level music course, the enrollment is really diversified. In my class, there are biology and electronics majors. “We start by getting orientated to the instrument. You can’t play chords, unless you hook up more than one oscillator at a time. One note cuts off all. the other notes above it, (f you don’t, Huffman said. I’ve learned a lot more in this class than I have in any other music class. OPERATING A MOOG synthesizer requires a great deal of technical know-how. Richard Cook, associate professor of music, prepares the syn- thesizer for a demonstrationi.[photo by Alan Ford)

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Toeing JK Little Different by Olive Sullivan Most foreign students at PSU come from Iran, The second largest group is from Taiwan, the Republic of China. Ail told, there are students from 22 foreign countries attending school at PSU, in- cluding Venezuela, Denmark, Ireland, and the West Indies, for a total of 236 foreign students including those in the American Language Program. They come to Pittsburg for a wide variety of reasons, said Dr. James AuBuchon, Associate Director of Student Affairs. He said he asks students why they chose Pitt State, and there are a lot of answers. He told of one Taiwanese girl who chose MANY NQN-TRADITIQNAL foreign students can be found working on campus in such areas as food service at Gibson Dining Hall.(photo by Fred McGary) the school because she thought the cover of the Pitt State catalog, showing the campus In the fall, was pretty, and that she would like to live here. She applied, and we had the program she was in- terested in, so she is now a student here.