Electronic Music, Unit 4

I got 1 of the 10 questions right on the quiz, for a 10% grade. I wasn't really expecting any better because to be honest, I did not know anything on the quiz and tried to make an educated guess on every one instead of saying "No clue". So there were 10 questions, same choice of answers for each one so 10 possibilities, 1 in 10 chance of getting each one right if I was choosing at random, so 10% is pretty standard. ;)

 

The "Belleville Three" on the front page of Unit 4 got me curious, so I looked them up on the internet. They were Juan Atkins, Kevin Saunderson and Derrick May, three high school friends from Detroit who bought a synthesizer and created the genre of Techno music in their basement. Juan Atkins and another friend formed the electro duo Cybotron and released a few songs including their most famous song, "Clear" which I wrote about in Unit 1.

 

 

Assignment 1, notes:

Elisha Gray - 1876 Musical Telegraph

A parallel inventor of the telephone creates an early synthesizer based off of the same technology, but instead of voice it is musical sounds created on a piano-like instrument.

 

Thaddeus Cahill - 1897 Telharmonium 

An experienced electrical engineer has the dream to spread sounds throughout the world, based on a giant prototype synthesizer powered by electricity and with telephone cables sending the sounds everywhere. He wanted to take over the jobs of bar and club musicians. It never went anywhere.

 

Lee De Forest - 1906 Audion Tube

A man hailed as the "father of radio" and the "grandfather of television" created a gas-based electric transmitter tube which could be hooked up to headphones or speakers to create various sounds.

 

Leon Theremin - 1920 Theremin/Etherphone/Termenvox

A genius early electrical instrument that played a constant sound if nothing happened but if you move your hands, it creates a whole arsenal of notes with various pitches and volumes. Left hand moving horizontally controls the volume, right hand moving vertically controls the pitch. It is used to create the cliche "UFO sound".

 

Maurice Martenot - 1928 Ondes Martenot

One of the first successful piano-based synthesizers was created by a French professor. It made a sound like the Theremin but was more predictable and easier to control. The machine functions in a logical manner and it is still used today.

 

Laurens Hammond - 1934 Hammond Organ

With similar dreams to Thaddeus Cahill, a man set out to replace all expensive church and sports-field organs with a cheap electrical alternative. Unlike the Telharmonium, however, it was a huge success everywhere, especially with pop rock music bands even though that was not the original purpose.

 

Harry Chamberlin - 1948 Mellotron

Instead of playing a single note with each key (although that was possible), a pressed key would play an 8-second long preset of notes for the time it was held down. This allows pop music groups to easily change between a few different beats and rhythms with barely any effort.

 

Radio Corporation America (Herbert Belar and Harry Olsen) - 1957 RCA Mk.II Synth

The most complex synthesizer for its time. It unlocked a whole new set of sounds that previous instruments could not match. 

 

Bob Moog - 1962 Moog Synthesizer

Another very complex but this time more cost-effective synthesizer that used a myriad of dials in addition to the usual piano-based key system. It was adaptable and dependable and was the backbone instrument for many pop groups including Kraftwerk, the pioneers of electronic music. Electronic synthesis was brought to the main stage for the first time as a challenge to conventional instruments.

 

Bruce Haack / Peter Grogono, David Cockerell, and Peter Zinovieff - 1969 The Sampler

A digital rather than analog based musical machine that played back presets when a button was pressed. Unlike the Melllotron, however, it was much easier, faster, and cost effective.

 

 

Assignment 2, modern instrument research:

 

Max Mathews - MUSIC-N programming language

Max Mathews, a scientist working for Bell Labs, created an audio programming language called MUSIC-N in 1957. He followed up with upgraded versions of his software, MUSIC I through V along with some special variants. MUSIC was used not for translating code into sounds, like MIDI, but it allowed contemporary computers to play custom, instrument-like sounds for the first time. Audio playback was now also possible.

 

John M. Chowning - Frequency Modulation Synthesis

http://i.imgur.com/1B5prBi.gif

FM is used on radio and television waves because, compared to AM (amplitude modulation), it collects less background noises and just sounds clearer. FM has a constant amplitude but a changing frequency. The opposite is in AM. In 1967, Stanford researcher John Chowning built on Max Mathew's work and discovered the algorithm to allow computers to play music with FM synthesis. The computers produced a sound that was clearer and richer but also through a simpler process. A whole range of new sounds were now available too, most importantly bell and drum sounds. Percussion was very hard to accurately produce using AM and MUSIC-N.

 

Dave Smith - 1978 Sequential Circuits Prophet 5

http://i.imgur.com/Eys6IHS.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08TmfKdeFf0

Dave Smith is an engineer and musician that is famous for his 1983 invention of MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface). But this is not his only important contribution to the world of electronic music!

Smith was responsible for the first polyphonic and microprocessor-controlled synthesizer, the Prophet 5, which was produced by his short-lived but heavily innovative company Sequential Circuits. The Prophet 5 was the last true analog synthesizer in a world dominated by them. The synth was polyphonic, which means that more than one note can be played simultaneously, in this case, 5 notes. The Prophet 5 also was the first synth the implement patch memory on a basic microprocessor, which stored user settings.

 

The Yamaha Corporation, Japan - 1981 Yamaha GS-1

http://i.imgur.com/ig9FHI6.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/x2P5ojX.gif

In 1974, Stanford allowed Yamaha access to its FM synthesis patent, written by John Chowning. After some study, improvement, and innovation, the Yamaha GS-1 was announced in 1981. The GS-1 was advertised as the greatest synthesizer the world had ever seen, and indeed it was. It had an entirely digital interface that created digital electronic sounds via computer technology located inside. It had a modulation unit to adjust the frequency and waveforms, as seen in the second picture. Unfortunately, it was not very commercially successful because of its high price, which was criticized by many, including John Chowning himself. Still, Yamaha was now far ahead of its competition in the synthesizer market and it was not about to lose that advantage.  

 

The Yamaha Corporation, Japan - 1983 Yamaha DX-7

http://i.imgur.com/fzuhL4e.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0uWxB0JkFo&t=2m35s

In 1983, in time with the release of MIDI, Yamaha released their DX-7 model synthesizer. It was a remade version of the GS-1 that was cheaper and simpler. Also unlike the GS-1, the DX-7 was a complete commercial success. The DX-7 was the one and only capable synth on the market and so all music groups and enthusiasts wanted to have one. It was 16-note polyphonic, full digital, full FM synthesis technology, MIDI compatibility, and had internal memory. From its original production run of 1983 to 1989, over 200,000 units were sold worldwide, making it one of the best-selling synths to this day. Nearly all of the famous mid-80's pop songs included a lead DX-7 and most modern synthesizers bear resemblance to the revolutionary design of the DX-7.

Yamaha was earning so much money that other, smaller companies began to go bankrupt, including Sequential Circuits, Dave Smith's company that built the Prophet 5. Yamaha bought it in 1987.

 

Korg Inc. - 1988 Korg M1

http://i.imgur.com/EwKbC2t.jpg

The DX-7 was unchallenged in the synth market until the Roland Corporation released its D-50 model in 1987. But, to Roland's dismay, it was not enough to steal the throne from the most successful electronic instrument on the planet at that time. Then, in 1988, Korg Inc. released the Korg M1. Just as the D-50, it was a slightly improved version of the DX-7, but the M1 featured a powerful MIDI sequencer and thus a wider array of sounds to play (because MIDI was added so late in the DX-7's development, it only had a basic MIDI sequencer, and Roland did not improve on it greatly). It quickly surpassed the sales of the D-50 and the DX-7. Now, all three companies had their taste of success and still continue to battle for the strongest synth 27 years later, along with newer contenders. 

 

Clavia DMI AB - 1995 Nord Lead 

http://i.imgur.com/x4RnfSd.jpg 

Due to a new era of modern dance music, the late 90s and early 2000s saw a slight revival of basic, analog synthesizers. I guess people were getting tired of the same continuous ideas of sound. The Nord Synth was part-digital, part-analog and was a decent commercial success. One other notable synth built under the same mindset was the Doepfer A-100.

 

Toshio Iwai / Yu Nishibori - 2005 Yamaha Tenori-on

http://i.imgur.com/LujuuFj.jpg

An unconventional synth that is not built around a keyboard. Instead, it is a small 16x16 grid of  LED lights, each connected to a corresponding note, that can be configured to light up in any number of ways using buttons along the edges.  It was created by the Japanese inventor Toshio Iwai in coordination with Yu Nishibori of  the Yamaha Corporation, makers of the GS-1 and DX-7. I found it interesting that despite the Tenori-On's success and originality, it was the inventor's first and only design for a musical instrument. He previously worked as a video game designer and making graphics for TV shows.

In inventor Toshio Iwai's words:

"In days gone by, a musical instrument had to have a beauty, of shape as well as of sound, and had to fit the player almost organically. [...] Modern electronic instruments don't have this inevitable relationship between the shape, the sound, and the player. What I have done is to try to bring back these [...] elements and build them in to a true musical instrument for the digital age."

 

Sergi Jordà, Marcos Alonso, Martin Kaltenbrunner and Günter Geiger - 2007 Reactable

http://i.imgur.com/FOooqQJ.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vm_FzLya8y4

This instrument was created by four students at the University of Barcelona, Spain (who have since formed a band that exclusively plays their invention). It is another non-keyboard based synthesizer but yet is still different from the Tenori-on. The Reactable is a circular table that lights up blue from the inside. There are blocks called tangibles that can be stored along the edges that, when placed on the tabletop, display some lighting effects and make a sound. Each tangible has a special symbol on it. The way it works is by a video projector and recorder located inside the table. The video recorder streams video to a computer with special software, which recognizes the tangibles' symbols and plays the appropriate sound. The computer sends information pertaining to the placement and angle of the tangibles to the video projector which then displays the lighting tricks. I think this machine is very interesting! I looked into it in Unit 1.

 

 

Assignment 3 - Electronic music genres

 

Avant-Garde period - the word has to do with experimental ideas. This was the time in history from the invention of the Musical telegraph (first electronic instrument) all the way up to the 1970s. Electronic music was not mainstream yet, there was no MIDI, and the sounds were analog, not digital.

 

Ambient - Ambient is slower, quieter than most other electronic genres. It is atmospheric and there are not many solid notes. There is no drum track. There usually isn't any words or if there is, there isn't much or there isn't anything complicated.

 

Breakbeat - One of the first electronic dance music genres. The word is a portmanteau of "breakdown" (a disco term) and "beat". The beat (drum) is very prominent. The most popular beat hands-down is called the Amen break and it is used in the majority of breakbeat music. It is very recognizable.

 

Techno - Repetitive instrumental music with that distinctive electronic feel, helped by drum machines like the TR-808. The tempo is moderate to fast at 120-150 bpm. It can be super fast and complicated or more simple.

 

House - Distinctive 4/4 beats (the same few notes repeat over and over again). It's meant to pump people up at parties, dances, concerts etc. so usually the sounds are solid and powerful. It's usually minimalistic despite its intensity, so the 4/4 drum beats are more prominent than any synths that are used. The repetitive rhythm is more important than the bassline.

 

Drum and Bass/Jungle - It is what it sounds like. Really just a drum track (usually the TR-808) and a bassline and that's it. It is really fast, at 150-180 bpm. 

 

Trance - Moderate to fast speed (125-150 bpm) and kinda a cross between ambient or downtempo and techno. Or just simplified techno. There is less percussion than techno but the percussion is the most prominent instrument. Transitions between parts of a track are usually covered by "snare rolls" which are a quick sequence of snare drum hits that rise in volume.

 

Downtempo - Also called "chillout" - the most accurate word for what this music is for. It is very similar to ambient and trance, and can be described as ambient but with a beat. 

 

Dubstep - Distinctive bass-like sound that is at a tempo of about 140 bpm. It is characterized by long bass notes that are manipulated by an oscillator, called "wub" or wobble bass. There is often a strong drum track, too, but the bass is always the most prominent.

 

Trap - Like breakbeat but with EDM influences. "Trap" refers to where drug deals are made and so the people who are involved in those deals would listen to this kind of music. Trap can be like "electro rap" but sometimes there are no words at all.

The test:

I got 7 answers correct, 3 answers incorrect for a score of... 67%.

http://i.imgur.com/taW0QJv.jpg

I was confident with my answers and I thought that I would do a better. My errors probably had to do with ambient-downtempo-trance because they are so similar, especially the latter two. I didn't recognize any dubstep in there and so I marked two songs down as downtempo. That might have been an error as well.

 

Assignment 4 - Genre replication and vintage synth replication

 

 

Assignment 5 - final quiz

100%. Very easy, mostly because, after I got the first few, I realized all the answers were in order..!

http://i.imgur.com/UPVwNcZ.jpg