end of the semester

so we've come to an end. the semester started out a little rough but i made the most of it later on in the semester and it turned out to be a fun class. my favorite part of the class was the found sound project. i was kinda nervous about it at first but it was really fun. organizing sounds that are produced by natural elements and making it into a rhythm. my partner and i gathered the sounds we made and categorized them by elements. wood, glass, metal and water. from there we formed and organized it as if were building a house. we took something that was dead and destroyed and brought it to life. good fun experience!

moog dvd

in the opening credits they showed what i thought a very close up look of the inside on a synthesizer. you can see really close the wires the transistors a lot of the small components that would be needed in the making of a synthesizer. they also showed a cartoon version of moog playing a synthesizer and they showed sine waves going along with the music. i thought that was pretty cool. moog said a lot of interesting things. one thing that he said was the media focused on how rock music was making musicians deaf. it kinda made me laugh how people can be really ignorant sometimes. the media thought that something that was digital was considered harmful and that acoustic instruments were considered normal. some people thought moog was destroying music and human culture with his synthesizers. moog designed his instruments an open mind and a wide range for many possibilities. he felt that when a musician played with his instruments that they made contact with it. "not physical as if they had it under their arm pit" he said but an emotional spiritual connection. i can understand that because when i play guitar i feel like i can express myself in ways unimaginable. it feels good just let loose your emotions through music. moog was also a gardener. he grew up doing it along his father. all the food him and his wife ate were organic. they grew all their veggies themselves.  when he was talking about how he got into designing synthesizers he said he felt like it was meant to happen. he just felt right about it. it just came to easy for him. it was one easy thing after another that lead into his business. moog synthesizers made sounds that traditional instruments could not make. there were also a lot of ways of switching the sound of the instrument and that piano was just one idea. "it just made sense". some however thought it was to traditional. a major sound that his synthesizers can make are alien sounds.  one person said he perfected that sound and that everyone knows it. its true every time someone hears one of those eerie sounds you just cant help but think of aliens. he mainly built his equipment for experimental musicians and for new york city people with crazy sound ideas. everyone wanted to play melodies however because it was part of popular music. i honestly dont think there is anything wrong with melodies. especially if a moog synthesizer is going to make them sound better. his concept for creating synthesizers was to put together something whole. it didnt make synthetic sounds. he didnt think the sounds were fake. which the meaning of synthesis means combining parts into a whole which is what he wanted to do. he just made synthesizer sounds. the mini moog changed the phase of music. bernie warrel described his playing of the mini moog as a woman. he felt a sexual experience when he touched the mini moog. he felt like he could control it how ever he wanted. which comes to the point where he said musicians have a deep connection with his instruments. which was true. instruments that he designed are meant to be played for performers. he said liver performances are very important. live performances are important in ways that it allows the artist and the fans interact into a deeper meaning. it makes an experience so much better than just listening to it. certain feelings go through your body that just makes you feel like your having the time of your life. bob moog (1934-2005)invented a great instrument that changed music deeply. he created synthesizers with new sounds by manipulating music, and sound waves into patterns by changing the frequency and duration. his instruments just brought out the best in musicians.

rest of the presentations

• history of film sound: early film sound 1890-1920, film was played along with live music. the only type of music that would be played was popular music at that time. kinetoscope 1910, thomas edison was the first to successfully sync sound in to video. the kinetescope was a machine that would let you watch short films for 25 cents. lee de forest 1873-1931, he invented the audion tubes, sunrise 1927, around this time they needed a person standing by the projection machine to explain what was going on in the film because it was so new to people that it was just insane. sunrise was the last silent film ever made and it lead to the first film with sound. jazz singer 1927, vitaphone sound on disc. the fidelity of it was better than the phonofilm. it was very successful for how bad it worked. fantasia 1940, it was a the first time a movie had multi track recording. it had 30 speakers around the theater for surround system.
• amon adonai santos de arujo tobin 1970. brazilian electronic producer, sampler and performer. works on albums indie movie sound tracks and video game sound tracks. sample based music comprised of jazz instruments. was commended for his use of meldy and texture, adding sounds with the clarity of a classical orchestrator. all sounds recorded by himself with an omnidirectional mic.
• korg: founders are tsutomu katoh and tadashi osanai. first product was keio gijyutu kenkyujo da20 doncamatic disk rotary electric auto rhythm machine released in 1963, featured pre programmed drum patterns and had built in speakers. mini korg 700 was the first synth released in 1973. a monophonic synth. 900ps preset synth released in 1975 it was monophonic with 29 presets. korgs most successful product was released 1988 and introduced the concept o the music workstation.
• drum machines: wurlitzer sideman released 1959. first elec. dru machine produced without tape loops. r1 rythm ace/ fri rhythm ace was made by ace tone (roland 1972) in 1964 the worlds first fully transistorized rhythm machine. wasnt successful because it had no preprogramed patterns. sounds were very revolutionary however. roger linn. 1955.  created lm1 drum computer first to use digital samples. linn9000 released 1984 combined a sampling drum macine with a multi track midi sequencer. very large. the firm ware on this machine was upgradeable.
• ray kurzweil born 1948. in 1965 invented a computer that could recognize notes and then create a new melody in  a similar fashion. he founded kurzweil computer products in 1974. he developed the first computer that used omni-font character recognition, it could recognize any text. 1983 introduced the k250 performance synth. "the age of spiritual machines". written in 1999, kurzweil predicts that within the next hundred years computers will become intelligent and indistinguishable from human beings. he is known for his crazy predictions but 90% of them come true

some of the presentations

• magnetic tape presentation: plastic tape was used more than metal because of its flexibility. tape is linear. in 1930 megnnetaphone was invented and it was presented in 1935. stancill hoffman created the first tape magnetic recorder the problem with tape is that it was very destroyable. the tape player had 3 heads: erase, record and play back. the effects it had were tape echo, tape delay, reverberation and tape loops. the tape speed and the pitch are linked to duration.the higher the speed the higher the quality with more footage. the standard speed for a tape player is 7.5, 15 and 30 ips. when angled lines are shown on the tape they are better than straight lines. digital media took over tape because of its free editing. and tape is still around because some people just prefer the quality of it.
• equipment available by studio: rtf (1943-47) it had 4 turntables 4 channel mixer. microphones audio filters, revereration chamber, portable recording unit, sound FX from RTF's library and a disc cutting lathe. stockhausen used audio oscillators, variable speed tape recorders, ring modulators, four-track tape recorders, audio filters, and white noise generator. GRM 1951 used mainly for electronic music. contained. 3 track tape recorder, 10 head tape machine for play back of loops and echo FX, keyboard operated tape machine with 24preset speeds, changed by keys, variable speed tape machines, play back controller that distributes sound to 4 loudspeakers. the barron studio used tape recorders, home made loudspeaker, home made oscillators which produced sine, square and sawtooth waves, filter, spring reverberator and sound FX
• piezo pickup: pierre and jacques curie discover piezoelectrical phenomenon using crystals in 1880. applied mechanical stress on crystals. development, 20 classes of natural cyrstals which allow for piezo electricity effects to occur. despite the discovery of piezo electrical phenomenon, the growing popularity and simplicity of electro magnetism stopped further development. 1920-1940 with newer developments in piezo technology scientist were able to measure explosives and internal combustion engines, along with a host of other previously unmeasurable vibrations, accelerations and impacts. world war2 the improved capacitors made piezo electrics viable again. the improvement of capacitors lead to small, sensitive microphones. becoming the rule rather than the exception. japan vs america (1965-1980). american approach: secretive due to possible commercial gains hard to formulate, but once formulated it is easy to reproduce. japanese: very open about their research, institutions competed cooperatively with one another in the ultimate goal of discovering new knowledge.1890 to the present day. do to successful commercial success in japan in regard to improvements and inventions involving piezo electrical devices, this sparked the whole worlds enthusiasm toward the piezo electrical phenomenon once more. benefits. it includes natural sound reproduction small size and the ability to amplify and instrument with a vibrating surface. multiple piezos are easily linked togehter to amplify larger instruments such as pianos and harps. they do not pick up other instruments that they are not in contact with. common microphones work off of changes in atmospheric pressure, causing more than one sound source being picked up. they are also used in fields including science and medicine. they can detect seismic activity, human body impulses.

chapter 6 and 7

• we listened to two beatles songs. the first one was "rain" it was recorded with a faster tape speed, higher tempo and in a higher key. they rewound it and slowed it down. it turned out to be a first instance of something being played backwards in a pop song. the second song we listened to was "1m64", this one was recorded in a slower tape speed and in a lower key. they then sped it up so the voice would sound higher. because pual wanted it to sound like a younger voice.
• then we talked about transistors, which replaced vacuum tubes. they are about the size of tic tacs. very small and they are very light in weight. the process of making them is automated...very cheap!
• they dont need a warm up period as vacuum tubes do. they have a lower power decipation. they are highly reliable and they have an extremely long life of up to 50 years. compared to 1-2 years for a tube.
• RCA electronic music synth was used to compose music. olsen and belar began to use them for sound generating. also for programming basic properties of tone, pitch, amplitude, envelop, timbre, glide, frequency filtering and reverb
• punch cards- were a pre-programming stage. 
• mark I output was directly to the lathe
• markII weighed 3tons and was 7ft tall and 20 ft long and it contained 1700 vacuum tubes
• don buchla- people preferred his synths over bob moogs synths.
• helmholtz determined single music note consists of fundamental
• the trombone, flute, clarinet all had different overtones. harmonics is responsible for playing the tone
• cage tried to emancipate music from western concepts of theory. he tried to remove the emotion behind music. his approach was scientific. he treated music as expirements.
• cage had 5 components of sound.1.frequency-how often vibration repeats. movement of the string measured in hz.2.amplitude-volume measured in db(high/low).3.timbre-how we perceive a waveforms complexity. multiple vibrations playing one note but hearing harmonics of that note through vibrations.4.duration-acoustic instruments have limited ability to sustain sound. electric instruments duration until electricity is cut off.5. envelope-ADSR
• we listened to a sine wave, square wave, triangle wave, saw tooth wave and white noise. sine wave have no harmonics. sq and tri have only odd harmonics and saw tooth has all even and odd harmonics.
• electro acoustic music. early 70s refers to music that integrates from natural world with audio processing as well as synthesized sounds.
•  micro processors changed culture. it enables composer from funding
• electro acoustic techniques covers past 100 years
• there are 2kinds of microphones; condenser and dynamic. plus contact mics as well
• we also a listened to the song "i feel fine" by the Beatles which used feed back in the intro from the amp to the pickups.
• feedback was a type of art. they would manipulate it. jimi hendrix mastered this art. he exploited the weakness of the design of the equipment being used.
• signal processing: echo, reverb and delay
• echo-reflection of sound arriving at the listener after the sound
• reverb-persistence of sound after original sound is removed
• delay-audio effect which records out put signal then it is released

chapter 5

• electronic music was the 3rd stage of aesthetic music. the 1st stage is vocals. the 2nd is instrumenal
• vocals- H.H. stucken schmidt
• there are 7traits of electronic music.1. sound resources to electronic music are unlimited-you can sample then create. you can capture previously made sounds and you can invent sounds that dont exist in nature.2.electronic music can expand perception of tonality-microtonality means unlimited steps. all sounds carry equal importance. tones for sake of tones.3.electronic music exists in state of actualization-igor stravinsky: potential music and actual music. potential=score, actual=whats being played. there is no actual way of scoring the music. alvin lucier(b.1931) "i am sitting in a room" he recorded his voice several different times. all the rooms have there own certain tuning. "formats"=records pitches from room bouncing back and forth from walls. we saw a you tube video where a guy does the same but with the video image along with the audio. the artifacts inherent in the video codec. worst things of conversion are being amplified! scores can be used for future performances.4.electronic music has special relationship with temporal nature of music- you can record the aspects of time. pitch, timbre and envelope that can be rearranged in time.(elastic music).5.sound itself becomes material of composition-ability to get inside physics of sound and manipulate characteristics. allowing composer to treat sounds as equals.6. electronic music does not breath: not affected by limitations of human performance-contrast rhythm and speed is not important.7. electronic music lacks point of comparison with natural world of sounds, providing mental imaginative experience-listening requires intellect (cant accept phase value) and imagination to interpret what is being heard. engages meaning of unnatural sounds.
• tape composition methods and techniques were most modern recording practices and techniques are rooted in the classic tape studio
• transport in the pro tools soft ware is the same as a tape deck.
• schaeffer, cage, henry, varese: this type of composition liberated them
• tape embodies space and time. you can see amount of tape for sound to be produced and unfold. it resonates with perception of time
• technology levels all characteristics of levels of sound. (slow down and speed up) chords become rhythm and rhythm becomes drums.
• duration pitch and color are now interchangeable as pitch changes color changes.

mellotron

mechanically, how did the mellotron work? mellotron is a sample play back keyboard. it was an invention stolen from the chamberlin which was the original sample play back keyboard. the way it worked was it had a bunch of sample tapes and you would be a able to play them just by holding a key down. each key has a tape which different sounds are recorded onto and each note can be held down for 8seconds.

why were the master tapes so important and why was the acquisition of them crucial? master tapes were important because it would give you the variety of picking the sounds you wanted. with out master tapes you would b limited to just a few sounds.

who were the key players? the inventor? the significant users of the instrument? the inventor was Harry Chamberlin. he introduced the very first chamberlin in 1949. the instrument would replicate sounds from another instrument. it would be able to play orchestral sounds. with the chamberlin a sound would be able to be reproduced and played again. it was originally an invention for himself and his family. he would record himself and then send it to his family. it was conceived as a "parlor instrument". it was mainly for home entertainment. bill franson offered his  services as a sales man to try and sale and make it a big thing. soon after franson stole two chamberlins and fled to england to find someone who would build more as his own idea. in the 1960s the bradley brothers (Bradmatic) started producing them. they named it the mellotron. some of the significant players included: the beatles. king crimson. moody blues. rolling stones. the zombies. pink floyd. david bowie. stevie wonder. it was presented as a "rich mans toys." the mellotron started to fall as it there wasnt much reliability for it. in the late 80s mitchell droom brought it back but soon enough it started becoming a generic sound so he stopped using it.

theories as to why the instrument didnt receive wide-spread use. and how is this similar to the theremin? it just wasn't selling enough.  they weren't making a profit from the instrument. they didn't expand there market enough. no investors.  they owed money to a lot of companies. the mellotron was similar to the theremin as where it was used as a sampler but it wasn't concerned with pitch and it would make there own loops.


this instrument introduced/preceded what significant recording technology?
this instrument introduced a way of making music with out having a instrumental talent what so ever. just by striking a key on the keyboard you would have the ability to sound like an orchestra or a band.


general time line, geography and business drama?
1948:chamberlin 100 1951:chamberlin 200 1957:chamberlin 300 1960:chamberlin400 1961:chamberlin500. 1963:MK1 is made. 1964:MK2 is made.1968:M300 is made. 1970:M400 1990-91: 1993: 1997: 1999: new version of M400 is made(MKVI).


thoughts with the goal of synthesis.
it just makes playing music a lot easier. it is a way for musicians to get really creative with there music and obtain new levels of experimental music. or its an easy way for amateurs to compose there sounds. making music has just gotten a lot easier with the improvements of synthesizers and all other modern electronic technology.

discuss mellotron vs the chamberlin...differences.
mellotron was the precursor of the chamberlin. the mellortron weighed a ton as where the chamberlin was lightweight. although the mellotron was more hi tech with a lot more tapes and changeable tapes as well. it was also built better. the chamberlin however sounded the best. it was a "beautiful source." chamberlin wanted to make an instrument whereas the mellotron wanted to sell an instrument.