Robert Moog

Lore & Background

He was raised in Flushing, Queens, and as a boy was forced by his mother to study the piano. He became fascinated by the theremin, building one at age 14 from plans in Electronics World. He developed his synthesizer in response to demand for more practical and affordable electronic-music equipment, guided by suggestions from composers. His principal innovation was the voltage-controlled oscillator, which uses voltage to control pitch. He also introduced modularity, envelope generation, and the pitch wheel. The first Moog synthesisers were brought to India from New York City by David Tudor when Billy Klüver suggested that the National Institute of Design should collaborate with the international arts collaboration organisation Experiments in Art and Technology. In the 1970s, Lowell Cross, a close collaborator of Tudor and Cage, worked at NID as a professor and technical advisor for electronic music.

Reader's Guide

Robert Moog is credited with introducing synthesizers to a wider audience and influencing the development of popular music. The Minimoog, released in 1970, is described as the most famous and influential synthesizer in history. Moog's only patent was on his transistor ladder filter design; commentators have speculated that he would have become extremely wealthy had he patented his other innovations, but that their availability in the public domain helped the synthesizer industry flourish. Moog pursued his work as a hobby and is regarded as a poor businessman, but his innovations—voltage-controlled oscillators, modularity, envelope generation, and the pitch wheel—became fundamental to analog synthesizers.

Did You Know?

• The first Moog synthesisers were brought to India from New York City by David Tudor when Billy Klüver suggested that the National Institute of Design should collaborate with Experiments in Art and Technology.
• In the 1970s, Lowell Cross, a close collaborator of Tudor and Cage, worked at the National Institute of Design as a professor and technical advisor for electronic music.
• Moog's only patent was on his transistor ladder filter design; commentators have speculated that he would have become extremely wealthy had he patented his other innovations.
• Moog built his first theremin at age 14 from plans in Electronics World.