The hills are alive … with the synthesis of music: Digital synthesizers are outpacing their older analog counterparts, particularly in the area of commercial music

Computers — you can't seem to get away from them these days. They are found in homes, schools, factories, cars — and now, even in music. Michael Jackson's top song “Beat It,” the soundtrack for the hit movie Flashdance, and even last year's Super Bowl all used a special kind of computer known as a digital synthesizer. The next time you hear “Beat It,” or the title song from Flashdance, listen to the introductory music — what you hear is the Synclavier II, probably the most popular digital synthesizer today. The Synclavier (made by the New England Digital Corp., White River Junction, Vt.) was also used in the soundtracks for the movies Chariots of Fire and Blue Thunder, in the television program “The Powers of Matthew Starr,” in NBC-TV station breaks, and in Genesis's album “Abacab.”