Google Doodle: A guide on how to play the Moog synthesizer - Vancouver Sun

The mad minds behind the Google Doodle have outdone themselves this time. On May 23, 2012, a Google Doodle was unveiled to honour the birthday of music pioneer Robert Moog. The image, which appears on Google's homepage, features a fully functioning Moog synthesizer, the electronic keyboard Moog developed in the 1950s.

The Google Moog synthesizer comes complete with a keyboard, 19 knobs, a wheel, a switch and four tracks that allow users to create whatever soundscape they please. Users can also record their creations and share them online via a hyperlink or Google +.

The Moog synthesizer is the most complex Google Doodle ever created. Here's a quick guide on how to get the most of your Moog Synthesizer:

Click on the doodle to activate "keyboard" mode

You can play individual keys by clicking on them with your mouse. You can also play keys by using the upper row of letters on your keyboard act (the one that begins with QWERTY) as the white keys while the row numbers act as black keys.

Click buttons to create different sound effects

Click and adjust knobs

Record your creation by hitting the red record button on the right of the synthesizer

The panel on the synthesizer features plenty of knobs and whistles. Here's a rough guide to what they do:

The Mixer panel allows you to change volume

The Oscillator panel lets you adjust range, frequency and waveform

The Filter buttons adjust attack, decay and sustain

The modulation wheel on the left of the keyboard can also alter sounds. You can turn it on by flipping the switch above the wheel