Guide to the John M. Chowning Papers
Daniel Hartwig
Stanford University Libraries
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
October 2010
Copyright © 2011 The Board of Trustees of
Stanford University. All rights reserved.
Note
This encoded finding aid is compliant with Stanford EAD Best Practice Guidelines,
Version 1.0.
Overview
Call Number: SC0906
Creator:
Chowning, John M.
Title: John M. Chowning papers
Dates: 1974-1997
Physical Description:
1 linear foot
Summary: Collection consists largely of correspondence between Chowning,
the Yamaha Corporation, and the Technology Licensing Office at Stanford, 1974-97; other
items include patents and related documents, 1978-87, technical writings (not all by
Chowning), 1974-87, publications and leaflets on Yamaha products, and miscellaneous
notes. The technical writings include "Excerpts from Computer Music Proposal Submitted
to National Science Foundation," July 1974; "Sine Summation Formula Synthesis," ca.
1976; and "Progress Report on the Development of the FM-type Musical Instrument for the
period of March 1979 to February 1980."
Language(s): The materials are in English.
Repository:
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
Stanford University Libraries
557 Escondido Mall
Stanford, CA 94305-6064
Email: speccollref@stanford.edu
Phone: (650) 725-1022
URL: http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/spc/spc.html
Administrative Information
Information about Access
This collection is open for research.
Ownership & Copyright
All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from, or otherwise use collection materials
must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections and University
Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, California 94304-6064. Consent is
given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not
intended to include or imply permission from the copyright owner. Such permission
must be obtained from the copyright owner, heir(s) or assigns. See:
http://library.stanford.edu/depts/spc/pubserv/permissions.html.
Restrictions also apply to digital representations of the original materials. Use of
digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes.
Cite As
John M. Chowning Papers (SC0906). Department of Special Collections and University
Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, Calif.
Biographical/Historical Sketch
John M. Chowning, professor emeritus of music at Stanford, developed the technique for
creating digital sounds in the late 1960s which was patented and then licensed to Yamaha
in 1973. He earned his bachelor of music at Wittenberg University in 1959, studied
composition with Nadia Boulanger in Paris, and earned his Ph.D. at Stanford in 1966. He
was the founding director in 1975 of Stanford's Center for Computer Research in Music
and Acoustics.
Description of the Collection
Collection consists largely of correspondence between Chowning, the Yamaha Corporation,
and the Technology Licensing Office at Stanford, 1974-97; other items include patents
and related documents, 1978-87, technical writings (not all by Chowning), 1974-87,
publications and leaflets on Yamaha products, and miscellaneous notes. The technical
writings include "Excerpts from Computer Music Proposal Submitted to National Science
Foundation," July 1974; "Sine Summation Formula Synthesis," ca. 1976; and "Progress
Report on the Development of the FM-type Musical Instrument for the period of March 1979
to February 1980."
Access Terms
Chowning, John M.
Stanford University. Office of Technology
Licensing.
Yamaha Corporation.
Synthesizer (Musical instrument).
Collection Contents
Accession ARCH-2008-177
Papers
Box 1, Folder 15
Correspondence, 1995-97 and undated
Box 2, Folder 1
Technical writings, 1974-87
Box 2, Folder 2
Technical writings, undated
Box 2, Folder 4
Publications and leaflets (Yamaha products)
Box 2, Folder 5
Patents and related documents, 1978-87
