Technology In The Music IndustryTechnology was one of the biggest things to impact music. From vinyl, to cassette, to CD and now, the biggest revolution in music history; online music streaming. Technology not only made a difference to the way we listen to music, but also the way we produce music. From 4 tracks, to 8 tracks, to 16 tracks. Time has seen musical instruments and recording devices develop rapidly. Starting with a stylus on wax, developing into music software used for home recording, allowing music to be produced by anybody.
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Phonautograph
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The phonautograph is the earliest known device for recording sound. It transcribed sound waves as vibrations in a line traced on soot-covered paper. it served as a laboratory instrument for studying acoustics. it could be used to measure the amplitude and waveforms of speech and other sounds, or to determine the frequency a pitch by comparison. In late 1870, French inventor Charles Cros had realized that a phonautograph recording could be converted back into sound by photoengraving the tracing into a metal surface then using a stylus and diaphragm to reverse the recording thus recreating the sound. |
Phonograph
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Phonograph - 1877
Other Inventors at this time had produced recording devices however, Thomas Edison’s Phonograph was the first to have the ability to reproduce the recorded sound. The phonograph originally recorded sound onto a sheet of tinfoil and could record and reproduce sounds, but this was not sustainable or durable enough to be played multiple times. Alexander Graham made several improvements in the 1880’s, such as the use of wax-coated cardboard cylinders, and a stylus that moved from side to side across the record. This produced a much better sound quality. Wax was a much more durable material which maintained the sound for a longer period of time. Other Inventors at this time had produced recording devices however, Thomas Edison’s Phonograph was the first to have the ability to reproduce the recorded sound. The phonograph originally recorded sound onto a sheet of tinfoil and could record and reproduce sounds, but this was not sustainable or durable enough to be played multiple times. Alexander Graham made several improvements in the 1880’s, such as the use of wax-coated cardboard cylinders, and a stylus that moved from side to side across the record. This produced a much better sound quality. Wax was a much more durable material which maintained the sound for a longer period of time. |
Magnetic tape - 8 Track
made of a thin magnetisable coating on a long, narrow strip of plastic film. When radio was live, it allowed programs to be recorded and when Gramophone Records were recorded in one take, it allowed recordings to be made in multiple parts, which were then edited to improve sound quality. In the early 1950’s Ampex, an american technology company, developed the two track tape which allowed music to be recorded on a separate track to the vocals. On July 5, 1954, at Sun Studios, Elvis Presley recorded ‘That’s alright’ originally by Arthur ‘Big Boy’ Crudup, onto an ampex tape.
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Compact Cassette
The Compact Cassette is a plastic case containing a spool of 3.81 mm magnetic tape spooled between two reels. The tape is run at a rate of 4.76 cm/second. A tape head in the tape player or deck, in contact with an exposed portion of the tape, interprets an analog signal from the tape's magnetic surface.
The Compact Cassette format initially offered fairly poor fidelity and was marketed for voice recording. Technology improved quickly, and advances in noise reduction technology, its ability to play stereo tapes, and new tape formulations soon, such as chrome and metal tape assured high-quality sound from the compact format. Playbacks only allowed a certain amount of audio. The audio playback time of a cassette depended on the type of cassette you had. This evolved over time. In 1964 Phillips produced the first compact cassette which was revolutionary because, up until this point, playback technology had been reel to reel, which is not portable. A Cassette is essentially compact reel to reel and could play up to 45 minutes of audio per side. |
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RCA Cartridges - 1958
The RCA cartridge was the first attempt to put reel-to-reel tape in cartridge form. The cartridges were reversible which meant either side could be played.The tape speed was either 3.75 IPS producing 30 minutes of audio. RCA Records made an early attempt at marketing this as a new audio format but this failed due to poor sound quality. Cartridges had prices ranging from £2 for a 20 minute tape to £5 for an hour. Despite this, Cartridges disappeared from the market by 1964.
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Mix Tapes
A Mixtape is a compilation of songs put onto a format such as tape, CD or WAV. Mixtapes developed in the 1960’s developed by music enthusiasts, mainly in America. At This time cassettes were only used for homemade Mixtapes and voice recording, but was not considered for music production until later advances were made. Before the invention of Compact Tapes professional equipment was required to produce a mix tape, such as an 8 track recorder, which was out of financial reach for most music lovers. As time went on all the public needed was blank tapes and a cassette recorder connected to a sources of prerecorded music such as a record player. 8 tracks were prefered because cassettes were originally played as mono, since they were made for recording voices.
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TC-D5
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The TC-D5 was the inspiration for the Sony Walkman. It was far from a personal stereo system, however, when it was released in 1978 it became extremely popular amongst the public because of the high quality sound that it produced. The only trouble was that it was too large to carry around and was too expensive to the everyday consumer. This was not the first portable stereo produced by sony. Other devices included a mains power supply and large speakers, which was not compatible with portability.
It operated on batteries and had one small speaker. However, the TC-D5 was the highest quality portable product on the market. D sized batteries only allowed a voltage of 1.5 but the signal processing circuits required a higher voltage than this. Sony used a DC-DC converter to step up the 3V to 12V. The most important feature of the TC-D5 was the microphone amplifiers, which offered low noise and a wide dynamic range, making it ideal for outdoor recording.
It operated on batteries and had one small speaker. However, the TC-D5 was the highest quality portable product on the market. D sized batteries only allowed a voltage of 1.5 but the signal processing circuits required a higher voltage than this. Sony used a DC-DC converter to step up the 3V to 12V. The most important feature of the TC-D5 was the microphone amplifiers, which offered low noise and a wide dynamic range, making it ideal for outdoor recording.
Walkman - 1979
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The first contained portable music system was the TPS-L2 Walkman cassette player. Not only did it produce high quality audio but it could fit in your pocket and operated on AA batteries. It allowed the general public to consume music whilst walking to work or being at the gym. It is now one of Sony's most successful brands. The TPS-L2 had two headphone inputs, allowing two people to listen to the device. It also had a hotline button which allowed both of the listeners to talk to each other over the music.
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CD - 1982
The format was originally developed to play sound recordings but was later adapted for storage of data (CD-ROM)(Read Only Memory) Over time more formats were developed such as write-once audio and data storage (CD-R) and re-writable media (CD-RW). Audio CD's and audio CD players have been available since 1982. Standard CD's have a diameter of 120 millimeters and can hold up to roughly 80 minutes of audio.
Despite being designed for storing data it CD's have evolved over the past 20 years. You can now store Photo's, music, videos and audio. CD-MIDI is a format used to store musical data which when played back is performed by electronic instruments that synthesize the audio. These recordings are not digitally sampled audio recordings. MP3MP3 is a digital audio format. This uses Lossy data compression which is used to reduce data size for storage whilst maintaining quality. An MP3 file can be released at higher or lower bit rates, which determines the quality of file. The compression works by reducing the accuracy of the file.
Wav. is a Microsoft and IBM audio file format standard for storing an audio bitstream on PC's, L3enc was the first public software with the ability to encode Wav. files to MP3 format. WinPlay3 was the first real-time MP3 audio player for computers running Windows. It was released in September 1995. In the late 1990's MP3 files started spreading across the internet. The small, compressed size of the audio files allowed peer to peer sharing, birthing a whole new way to consume music. Companies such as Napster and Limewire were free peer to peer sites. Releasing music to the public through digital means. The simplicity of file sharing created widespread copyright infringement. Record labels accused these companies of music piracy. Claiming their sales were down due to these websites. By 1998 the first portable digital audio player, MPMan, had been released. This meant the public could not only download their music, but listen to it on the go. Much like a walkman. |
Ipod
An Ipod is a portable media player, released in 2001. With such advancements in technology, the Ipod is able to work as an external data storage device. Allowing the consumer to store photo's, videos and music. The first Ipod had 10 GB of memory . Which is amazing when you think that only 59 years ago a hard drive could only hold 5 megabytes. That's 0.005 gigabytes.
The creators of the Ipod, Apple inc., also have a media player called Itunes. It allows the consumer to organize all of their music, photo's, videos, apps and audio-books, Itunes was created as 'Mac only application'. This meant consumers had to use a Macintosh computer in order to use the application. There were ways around it by using other alternatives such as Winamp. In October 2003 apple introduced support for Windows 2000 and Windows XP. This opened up more sales opportunities for apple by allowing more consumers to buy and use their products. |
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Software
Music software is the program that supports the production of music. They are often referred to as DAW's ( Digital Audio Workstation). When it first started there was analog tape. It could be cut with a pair of scissors to edit and clip songs. This meant that the producer could attach sections from different takes. Prosoundweb.com describes a DAW as "a computer-controlled system or networked collection of components that allows all of the major digital recording, processing, editing and replay functions to be controlled from a central location". I think this is the perfect explanation. In 2015 comsumers have thousands of DAW's at their fingertips. Studios aren't necessary to record the next number 1. In fact I prefer to record in the comfort of my own home. To have the time to go back to it whenever I want. DAW's allow the public to create whatever their minds want without a time restriction. Music software is now taught in schools across the world, allowing students to immerse themselves into a world of creative freedom from such a young age. DAW's can give you all of the instruments you want to play, through a MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) keyboard. I personally use Propellerhead's Reason. This allows me to not only record, dub, edit and clip all of my tracks within minutes, but it also allows me to 'flip the rack' so I can see where all of my cables are going. From this I can learn how to plug my instruments into effects and my effects into synthesizers. Not only am I creating a song but i'm not cheating the old fashioned way of producing music. I am just in a virtual studio.
Microphones
A Microphone, simply put, is a device for transforming sound waves into electrical impulses. This allowed singers to use their voices at different levels whilst maintaining the mood of a song. It also showed off their dynamic range. This had a massive impact on the dynamics and structure of a song.
The condenser microphone and the electronic vacuum tube amplifier pushed forward the development for sound on film recording. In order to fulfill the requirements of the radio broadcast and recording industries, Western Electric introduced the 394 condenser microphone. It had a high impedance, meaning it resisted alternating currents. Condenser microphones have been used in studios for years because they much greater frequency response and transient response. They are generally used only in studios because of their sensitivity to loud sounds however, on stage they can be used to mic up drums. Condenser Microphones require Phantom power which is 48V. Dynamic microphones have a limited frequency response, which makes them perfect for live performance, along with their durability and high sound pressure levels for loud guitar amps, vocals, and drums. |
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Guitar
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Guitars were generally an accompaniment, but when Gibson released the ES-150 in 1936, Commercial music was changed. The 150 included a bar pick-up with a volume control and tone control. It was amplification striped down to the basics and It had a clear sound that allowed you to focus on the guitar style. The downside to this is that it leaves no room for mistakes.
The ES-250 was the upgraded version. It had a larger body and a bar pickup with individual mini-blades acting as separate pole pieces for each string for a great tone. Most notable for playing this guitar is T-Bone Walker. Distortion When Blues guitarists, such as Muddy Waters and Buddy Guy came over to the UK and the U.S, It gave influence to bands such as The Rolling Stones, Led-Zeppelin and The Who to start using distortion to make their songs grittier. Artists like Jimi Hendrix started using fuzz boxes to recreate damaged valve amps. Effects such as Wah Wah pedals also gave the essence needed for genres like psychedelic rock. |
Conclusion
To Conclude, Technology over the past 100 years has dramatically changed the way in which we listen and produce music. Before music playback was invented the only way to listen to music was by going to see a performance. The introduction of the phonograph, which used a stylus against a sheet of tin foil to reproduce sound, paved the way for new audio playbacks. Although this is far different to how we listen to music in the modern day, without the phonograph, we might not have the audio playback devices we have today. In the 1950's. when the 8 track was released, it allowed musicians to sing on one track and record their vocals on another. This left more room for mistakes as they didn't have to record the whole band again. Just the vocals. It meant vocalists could get the most out of their voice by having more of an opportunity to re-take tracks. In 1964, when Philips developed the Compact Cassette, the world of music was revolutionized. Before this time music playback had been reel to reel, which is much too large to carry around. This enabled consumers to listen to their music on the go. Portability was, in my opinion, one of the most important milestones in music history. No longer did people have to go to gigs to listen to music, or have the money to afford a giant machine that played music. They didn't even have to leave their bedroom.
In the 1960's music lovers could record a mixtape of their favourite songs, or even record their own songs. All they needed was a recorder and a blank cassette tape. There was no need to spend all of their money on an 8 track player. Although the quality of the mixtape wasn't great at this time, it was more than capable to keep the public happy as they listened to all of their favourite tracks and shared them with friends. This was the first form of peer to peer sharing. In 1979 the first Walkman was made commercially available in Japan. It was no bigger than the box a cassette came in. Not only was it small but it had excellent sound quality as well. The Walkman is still around today, but as a brand, not a cassette. The Cassette was discontinued in 2010. In 1982 the first CD was introduced. This didn't change much in the beginning. In fact, when Sony brought out the Walkman in CD format, it was bigger and had less ease of use. It was only a new audio format. But as time went on the CD could be used things such as data storage. This opened up a much wider market that just music listeners. Cassettes were overtaken by the CD in the 1990's because of it's many advantages. As we entered the digital age of music technology, we saw the invention of MP3 files. When L3nec was released it allowed the public to change WAV.files into MP3.files. This started a new generation of digital peer to peer sharing. In 1998 portable digital audio players were commercially available. Forwarding to 2001, the Ipod was released by Apple. Notice how products are create, then developed to make them smaller? This is because the public want portable products to have the ability to do what they want whilst on the go. Software, for me, is the biggest improvement in music technology. It has allowed any member of the public to create music. Whether they're musically talented or musically inept, they can create music with a click of a button. It doesn't mean it'll be the next big House tune but it'll still make recorded sound. On one level, it is one of the greatest achievements in history to able to give the gift of playing music to everybody but on another, it means people such as 'Slim Jesus' and Rebecca Black are able to create music so easily. Peer to peer file sharing means that all of this music can be released and seen by anyone across the world. When Microphones and guitars were amplified, back in the 1930's, It allowed singers to show off their dynamic range whilst keeping the mood of the song, and it allowed guitarists to finger pick gently and use different timbres. This shows that, with time, the way we listen to and produce music has developed significantly. We can listen to music by tapping a button. We can record music by simply downloading software for free, and we can share our songs with our friends. This is all revolutionary, however, I personally enjoy the act of opening up a vinyl and placing the stylus into the grooves. I like reading through the cover art of a CD and reading about the artists without the use of Google. I don't get equal satisfaction from swiping a screen. But saying that, I can listen to my music anytime I want with an Iphone, and I can record music onto my laptop anytime I want. |
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