In this article, the author discusses the effect that digital sound synthesis and electronic technology, in particular the means of recording, storing, and recalling pre-recorded sounds (samples) during performance, has had on the notion of timbre. He makes a distinction between fixed timbre (such as a sample that is triggered by a MIDI keyboard where there is no real-time control over its timbral evolution), and dynamic timbre (where the performer has control over the sound quality at any moment during its production).