Today’s Google Doodle Is An Awesome, Playable Moog Synthesizer

While we don’t make a habit out of covering every iteration of the Google Doodle, today’s version is especially awesome. The doodle is celebrating the birth date of Dr. Robert Moog, the inventor of the electronic analog Moog Synthesizer. The what?, you may ask. The synthesizer was an instrument Moog created in the mid-1960′s, which took the music world by storm, and was picked up by artists like The Beatles, The Doors, Stevie Wonder, Kraftwerk, and others. It transformed how people thought about electronic music. Instead of producing a “synthetic” sound, as previous synthesizers did, the Moog version created a richer, organic sound. Today, some 50 years later, musicians still hold the Moog Synthesizer in high regard.

And, if you’re curious to see what all the fuss is about, you can try out the Moog yourself now on the Google homepage via a working, playable version of the instrument.

The Moog is a favorite among tech folks because it relied on the invention of the transistor. Because of the technological innovation of the transistor, researchers like Moog were able build electronic music systems that were smaller, cheaper and more reliable than earlier vacuum tube-based systems.

Now on Google.com, using your mouse or keyboard, you can interact with the playable Google logo, turning the dials, mashing the keys, and making sweet, sweet music. There’s even a built-in 4-track tape recorder which you can use to record, play back and share your amazing Moog creations. (Share on Google+!, says Google.)

Also, like many Google doodles, the Moog doodle features a lot of different examples of web technologies in action (which work best in Google Chrome, of course.) For example, the Moog’s sound is generated using the Web Audio API, which Google has never used before in their doodles. As for other browsers, sorry – you have to use Flash instead. Also in use in the doodle: JavaScript, Closure libraries, CSS3, Google Web Fonts, the Google+ API, the Google URL Shortener, and App Engine. (Whew!)

Our only request: while creating your amazing musical creations this morning, consider using your headphones.