Electronic Music, Unit 1

Assignment 2's Question:

What do you hope to learn and be able to do by the end of class?

At the moment, I don't know anything about the production of Electronic Music. I know that this class will further my knowledge immensely, so I will be happy with everything that I will accomplish. I don't have any expectations and I'm just here to go with the system!

Assignment 3:

 

For Example 1...

1. What are Instruments used in the recording- listen deep and carefully --- For part of the song there is a really fast scale going on in the background, a simple drum, and a voice with an echo. There are also a few slow, transcendent notes.

2. What style or genre that you think it may be? --- It reminds me of disco but with more synthesizing.

3. List any cool effects that are used... in simple terms. I.e., Sick whoosh --- As I said in #1 there is a scale going through notes in the background, and there are two distinct voices usually echoing each other.

4. Describe the drum track --- continues throughout the whole song, and isn't the loudest but not the faintest either. It is five notes and repeating, with no minor differences at all.

5. Describe the types of synth sounds you hear. --- There is a repeating pattern of high, quick notes playing alongside the drum (or is that a parallel drum?). And delayed, long transcendent notes in some parts of the song to add differences.

6. What makes this song unique and different from the others? --- It is generally high-pitched notes that play really fast. It's not ambient music but it's not really something that I would party to, although that might be different for other people in a different time period (the record says 1983 on it).

 

For Example 2...

1. What are Instruments used in the recording- listen deep and carefully --- the song has parts that go slowly with no drum over it, and then it picks up and then gets slower again. There is someone saying something but it doesn't really have any meaning to it ("ayayayayay ...")

2. What style or genre that you think it may be? --- Not sure

3. List any cool effects that are used... in simple terms. I.e., Sick whoosh --- There are slow, low key parts and parts where the song picks up. In the slower parts there is a prominent set of notes, especially evident in the very beginning!

4. Describe the drum track --- There is a drum over the fast sections but not the slow ones

5. Describe the types of synth sounds you hear. - There are some high pitched transcendent notes and really quiet, low ones that appear at a lower frequency. 

6. What makes this song unique and different from the others? It stays mostly the same throughout the whole length, but some areas have more notes and instruments added over it to make some areas go fast and some slow.

 

For Example 3...

1. What are Instruments used in the recording- listen deep and carefully --- It starts off slowly but then the drum is added (sounds like just one note playing repeatedly very fast) and that gives the song some character.

2. What style or genre that you think it may be? --- Ambient, trance (?)

3. List any cool effects that are used... in simple terms. I.e., Sick whoosh --- In the beginning there is a slow segment of really transcendent notes that is intended to be captivating or even beautiful

4. Describe the drum track --- The drum only kicks in after about a minute of slowness; it plays its pattern very fast and it sounds like only one note, with a bit longer delay between two of them. It is really prominent and loud, played over the synth that was playing since the start.

5. Describe the types of synth sounds you hear. --- There is an obvious and strong synth in the beginning segment, and continues throughout the whole song in the background even after the drum starts. There is also a really light synth that plays barely over the drums

6. What makes this song unique and different from the others? --- The part in the beginning is super ambient and none of the other songs feature a segment like that! The rest is unexceptional even compared to the first two.

 

For Example 4...

1. What are Instruments used in the recording- listen deep and carefully --- This is a composition of a few songs by the same artist. but they all share similar themes. There aren't any slow parts and it's all fast paced and powerful stuff. There is usually a huge buildup to someone saying something short (e.g. "3,2,1 GO!", "PUT YOUR HANDS UP!"). There tends to be a slower drum playing and a faster loud synth that carries the rhythm.

2. What style or genre that you think it may be? --- Dubstep/party music

3. List any cool effects that are used... in simple terms. I.e., Sick whoosh --- As I mentioned, there is a buildup and a sudden drop into someone saying something catchy and short. All the synths are loud and sound epic. :)

4. Describe the drum track - There is usually a low drum that plays slower than the surrounding synths, but it is still a major part of the song and you can pick it out easily.

5. Describe the types of synth sounds you hear. - There are powerful, loud synths that carry the rhythm of the song but there are also multiple supporting synths to create a more pronounced effect.

6. What makes this song unique and different from the others? This is dubstep, party music, generally something you can jam to. This is my favorite song composition out of the five!

 

For Example 5...

1. What are Instruments used in the recording- listen deep and carefully --- there's an instrument in this song that isn't really featured in the other four: voice! Also, it's slower than the Martin Garrix mix but I think it's more like that than the first three.

2. What style or genre that you think it may be? I've heard music like this before, it's more pop oriented than the other ones on this list, but yet its slower, it reminds me of the band Panic at the Disco, but I can't put a name to the style.

3. List any cool effects that are used... in simple terms. I.e., Sick whoosh --- There are some 'held back', scratchy areas that smooth out into ambience after the singer says "keep walking on, my friend".

4. Describe the drum track --- the drum track is just two notes and its really slow and in the background. Not a prominent drum at all like Ex.3 or 4.

5. Describe the types of synth sounds you hear. --- There is a synth with a "mystical"-kind of sound that appears at the beginning and continues for a while, then stops. Stronger synths replace it after "You've shot yourself in the foot again" is said for the first time, and a lighter one after "keep walking on, my friend".

6. What makes this song unique and different from the others? There is a singer rather than only a DJ. The Martin Garrix song and #2 both had some words, but they were either short or incomprehensible. This song has a complete set of lyrics, and so might be more appealing to a wider audience.

 

 

Assignment 4:

 

Video 1...

The song was simple and repetitive but at the same time catchy and cool. There were lyrics but like I said they were very simple ("Man" "Machine machine machine...." "Semi Human Being" "Super Human Being"). I researched this group -- Kraftwerk -- on the internet because I thought I had heard the name before. Turns out that they pioneered the field of electronic music and were some of the first to make it mainstream. The video was OK, but if it wasn't for the presentation they had going on in the background, they aren't really good performers. And, why does it take four of them each operating their own synth? It seems like a lot of it repeats perfectly and that would indicate a computer being used. None of them can be doing that much except the guy who says the lyrics!

Video 2...

The song was OK. It sounded low key compared to the Kraftwerk Man-machine but the video demonstrates the complex process of having all the instruments being used and layered. Unlike Kraftwerk, Pierce Fulton is actively playing a myriad of instruments even if they were recorded and combined to make the final song (because he can't be playing everything at the same time). It's also cool that he probably studied Electronic Music in this same room that I am right now!

Video 3...

Fastest song so far. I have heard and deadmau5 before and listen to his music. He is one of the more well known modern electronic artists. The song featured was OK, but I know that he has better songs; the part with flashing white lights didn't sound too good in my opinion. Also, I need to say that there were a lot of special effects used (lights, lasers, words floating around on the walls) and the people at the concert were really getting into the song and partying, unlike the Kraftwerk Man-machine, where everyone just stood there and barely did anything.

Video 4...

The way that this guy creates his song is incredible! And the song sounds really cool as well. That is a really innovative synth that he is using, where he just places objects on the surface and sounds come out. But, each of the objects look the same externally besides the marking on the top, even though they react differently. Some of them carry the rhythm, there are two that create drum sounds. The engineers and programmers who created this instrument must have been really talented because in my mind, it is just amazing. 

...

OK, after some research I found out that the instrument, the glowing table, is called a Reactable. It was developed by a University in Barcelona, Spain and first sold in 2007. Rolling Stone magazine said that this Reactable was the "hot instrument of 2007". The objects placed on top of the table are called "tangibles" and each of them have a marking on the underside as well that distinguishes what they do. There is a video camera and a video projector inside the machine. The camera records from the underside of the table and is connected to a computer, which recognizes the markings on the tangibles and gives info to where they are, so that the projector can project the "electricity" special effects. Multiple bands and groups have used Reactables in their performances but none use it as a primary instrument besides the official Reactable team, who plays and advertises the instrument in various performances around the world. Another cool fact, for me: one of my favorite bands, Coldplay, used a Reactable to play one of their songs at concert in 2014.

Video 5...

The Tenori-On looks like another example of an innovative synth. It looks less complex than the Reactable. Originally I was underwhelmed by the short song in the video, but, after all, it was just a demonstration of some basic actions that the thing can do and wasn't supposed to be a real song. Then, I listened to the recording, as linked in the description. I was amazed that such a simple machine at first glance can make a song so complex and sophisticated. Now I'm impressed.

...

Overall, my favorite video was number four, featuring the incredible Reactable. I like deadmau5's music but the song wasn't one of his best. The songs in videos one and two were OK, and the last video was a lot simpler compared to the rest.

For the research part of this assignment, I went to this forum website:

https://www.gearslutz.com/board/electronic-music-instruments-electronic-music-production/574396-most-innovative-cutting-edge-new-synth.html

And searched the second instrument listed there, which brought me to this video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFSLXeuW-jc

The sounds this thing could make are pretty cool, and I can imagine some of the electronic songs that I listen to could be featuring this instrument or something similar to it, for example, deadmau5. It has a whole lot of buttons and dials on it and doesn't look as externally cool as the Reactable, but it makes a better sound, in my opinion. One thing I noticed was, when wearing headphones, the sound would be strong in my left ear and nonexistent in the right ear, before rapidly switching a few times. You also need to be knowledgeable of the instrument to know what everything does, unlike the Reactable where really anyone can put a tangible on the top of it and have it play some kind of music. And finally, in the comments of the Buchla 300e video, people were saying that it cost $25,000! As nice as this is I don't think I would invest in something worth the same amount as a new car! 

Assignment 5:

(link) https://soundation.com/user/jgsaunders/track/u1a5-first-project