Cody and Bernie: MIDI

Midi is a communication protocol that sends control messages to computers. MIDI is capable of varying instruments, tempo, and key with a few clicks. File formats are small and universal. It is the most popular formats used to share compositions and arrangements. MIDI was introduced in 1984, and before then synthesizers couldn’t communicate with computers. MIDI was designed for connecting and controlling synthesizers, and linking computers to synthesizers. Data that computers can send to other computers, when it leaves the computer and goes into a drum module or keyboard with contained sounds in them. Dave Smith was the driving force behind the generation of MIDI in 1981. Connected the Prophet 600 to the Roland JP-6 in 1983 to demonstrate MIDI. 1991 General MIDI was created to make MIDI compatible with just about every interface and computer. MIDI software: Sibelius, Protools, Logic, Cubase, Digital Performer, and others.

Shaffer started out in 1943 collecting gear. He started recording with turntables and cutting records with a disc lathe at RTF studios. He recorded found sounds, in reverse, and using animal voices and natural sounds to give us a new perception of music. GRM was the first studio dedicated entirely to electronic music. Tape was a new medium at hand, and the audio fidelity was much improved. He experimented with variable speed tape machines.
John Cage got in with the Barrons in New York at their studio, and experimented and recorded with them, using homemade loudspeakers, oscillators, and sound wave generators.
Squarepusher is an electronic music artist, born in England in 75. He got tired of gigging and started buying DJ gear, including a sine wave generator and the Roland TB-303 - transistorized bass. He uses real tape machines with the software Reactor.

Will and Daniel: Piezo Pickups

Studied the effects of peizo electricity, led to smoke detectors, and sonar technology. Once the discovery was made it was very easy to make these, and American was secretive as compared to Japan, Piezo are used in the musical worlds’ in the 1960’s, before that instruments had to stand by a mic. Now pickups allows processing of sound right form the instruments, transducing vibrations into electrical current. Piezo pickups are good at natural sound reproduction, they are very small in size, and work by attaching to any sort of vibrating surface or instrument. They are resistant to feedback, Contact mics. Modern applications: amplifying guitarist violins, typically string instruments, and they can be alternative to mics. Piezos pick up sound differently than a mic. They respond to vibrations from contact with a surface, not by changes in atmospheric pressure. Non-musical uses, science and medicine to detect brain activity, door bells, smoke detectors.

Nick and Cynthia: Magnetic Tape

Mediums before tape: Grammophone and the phonograph. Plitzfreumer invented magnetic tape. Tape began with a plastic base with iron oxide coating to preserve recorded audio. New editing techniques and manipulation of sounds became possible. Tape changed performances and revolutionized the beginnings of broadcasting, and also led to digital recording. Wire recording was a low quality technology, and was non linear unlike tape. Tape recording allowed users to drastically manipulate sound with speed, reverse, echo, and delay. Tape thickness was eventually reduced over later developments. The Stancil Hoffman was the first magnetic tape recorder. Tape spawned developments of multi-track recorders. Ampex is the industry standard for tape and digital image processing. Tape enabled modern perspectives and processes of recording. Tape forever changed recording and editing audio. Introduction of tape made it possible to reverse and loop sounds. Ampex 4 track machine AG 440B, Line amplifiers on top correspond to a track Put tape on supply reel, and feed to take up reel. Tape effects are achieved with the use and manipulation of the playback, record, and erase head. We need to envision tape as occurring over time. Echo can be achieved by feeding the record head back into the input, and creating a distance between the playback and record head. Tape loops are possible by cutting and reconnecting the tape around a 3rd wheel. With tape, speed and pitch are linked, so slowing down a recording would result in everything detuned. Varispeed is voltage controlled. Tape is a physical medium, and cutting tape in different angles will create fades, blends, and or instantaneous entrances. Tape is subject to demagnetizing and can erode over time, losing the quality of the audio. Tape machines and their components need to be regularly cleaned, and machines would need proper calibration.



*All my Moog notes were not recovered when my computer died. I am having notes emailed to me so I can write on him...

Alex Vittum is a music composer, drummer of many styles, and an electro-acoustic enthusiast. He even teaches woodshop to elementary level kids. He studied free jazz, afrocuban percussion and handdrums. His most current project is called Prism, which is his solo electro-acoustic project for percussion. He uses the software MAX MSP to create software synth presets. These presets are triggered by the audio that is received from the microphones set up on the drum kit. On the drum kit on top of the bass drum, he had a board with FSR’s, force sense resistors. These pads are velocity sensitive, and send MIDI information to MAX MSP. He links his custom presets to these pads and triggers them throughout He has been studying this idea for a few years. In his ideas he sought 3 components to process from percussive elements: timbre, amplitude, and frequency or pitch. Today he used some small condenser mics. The two inputs split into 4 channels, allowing him to set any parameter to be affected by a delay or other modulation and record to those four channels. A certain section of the audio would loop on each track, and with a designated loop time. He works very closely with Don Buchla in creating and inventing hybrid modular synths. Being close to a city with a happening music environment really gave Alex perspective and relativity on what he wanted to do when he went to grad school at Mills. It is also important as a musician to surround yourself in a community of people with a wide range of backgrounds. The 3 pieces that he performed were amazing, and I am inspired to take my electro-acoustic interests and approach to the next level of processing.

Tape echo, reverb, tape loops, tape speed.

The song Rain by the Beatles was recorded with a fast tape speed, a higher tempo, and a higher key. They did this with the bass, drums, and guitar. Then they rewound and slowed down the tape and recorded to vocals over the slower version.

In the song When I’m 64, they recorded it slower, and in a lower key. The sped up John’s voice so he sounded younger.

Transistors:

These take the place of vacuum tubes, and they are about the size of a tictac. People have developed miniaturized electronic devices with very little weight. The process of making them is highly automated, and this makes them cheaper to buy because everything is done by computers and merchandise isn’t hand made. There’s no arm up period for transistors, they have a lower power dissipation, and put out less energy (heat) than say tubes. They are highly reliable, and have an extremely long life. Some transistors can last over 50 years and they are insensitive to mechanical shock and vibrations. They can be called microphonic tubes.

The RCA electronic music synthesizer: This synth was used to compose music. Then Olson and Belar began to use it for sound generating and modifications. It was used as a means for preprogramming basic properties of tone, pitch, timbre, amplitude, envelope, glide, frequency filtering and reverb. All these parameters were preprogrammed on a punch card. The synthesizer was called Mark I. The output was direct to loudspeaker or turntable lathe. The Mark II had 1700 vacuum tubes, weighed 3 tons, was 7 feet tall, and 20 feet long. Waveforms to choose from were saw tooth, triangle waves, envelope shapers, frequency filters and reverb.

The Buchla synth replaced the RCA in 65.

Timbre distinguishes sound from different instruments. The same note sounds different on a bass versus a trombone because of the harmonic overtone series.

Cage strived to extract the emotion out of the music and emancipate it from western theory concepts.

Cage determined 5 components of sound:
1. Frequency – how often vibrations repeat throughout the process of compression and rarefaction.
2. Amplitude – is measured in dB, and refers to loudness.
3. Timbre – how we perceive a waveforms complexity, and color.
4. Duration – instruments have a limited ability to sustain sound, but electric instruments have an infinite durations and their duration can be used as a key element in composition and arranging.
5. Envelope – the attack, decay, sustain, and release of any sound

Synths generate different types of waves: Sine waves contain no harmonics. They are a smooth waveform and produce one tone. Square waves and Triangle waves contain only odd harmonics, giving them a more buzz like tone. White noise is random signal, what sounds like static on your TV.

Electro acoustic music – music that integrates sound from the natural world, with audio processing as well as synthesized sounds. People put much research into acoustic electro music and some devote their whole lives to the study.

The multiple vibration phenomenon consists of partials overtones and harmonics.