We watched the video about Scraching. It was an hour and a half of movie about Scratching as a genre of music and how it became big. Stephen mentioned that one of the first experiments on scratching is by John Cage which is interesting; to think of the scratching genre was experimented by an American Art Music composer.
The video gave a lot of insight to some important aspects of scratching. It is very interesting how many of these musicians started off as a kid playing around with some LPs and a turntable, often done without the knowledge of the mother.
An important aspect of scratching is looking for the right LP to scratch. The libraries of LPs seem like mountains and mountains of big huge piles of old LPs that would just blow your mind. I wonder how can one find great LP to scratch amongst the piles of LPs. I guess that's part of the skills required.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Week 10 - Acoustic Guitar Recording
U87 Omni 14th Fret 1 inch away
This arrangement picks up nice and warm sound. It sounds mellow to the point that it sounded dull.
U87 Omni SM57
This arrangement is slightly brighter than the previous one and gives it a less dull sound.
NT4
This arrangement sounds very reverby. The guitar sounds very sharp and clear. It's definitely sounding better than the previous arrangements.
Revoiced AKG, NT5 NT4
I decided to combine the AKG + NT5 combination with the NT4 arrangement. I think this sounds very good. The revoicing creates a full sound on top of the clear sound of NT4.
This arrangement picks up nice and warm sound. It sounds mellow to the point that it sounded dull.
U87 Omni SM57
This arrangement is slightly brighter than the previous one and gives it a less dull sound.
NT4
This arrangement sounds very reverby. The guitar sounds very sharp and clear. It's definitely sounding better than the previous arrangements.
Revoiced AKG, NT5 NT4
I decided to combine the AKG + NT5 combination with the NT4 arrangement. I think this sounds very good. The revoicing creates a full sound on top of the clear sound of NT4.
Week 9 - Forum
We had Seb, an ex student here, and he showed us what he did after completing his course in the EMU in Adelaide Uni. It was interesting, and I enjoyed the beat maker. But I particularly enjoyed the instrument he made out of the water bowl thing. It was this instrument that controls the sound through the water waves. The player would then touch certain parts of the water bowl and sound is generated depending on the waves that happens in the waater.
Next we had someone else I forgot the name. He did the "Music of the Spheres" concert in the Fringe Festival. It was an interesting idea. The audience would be sitting down, or lying down, faced to the ceiling of the building. Constant music is played/performed for a few hours with the images on top.
He also did some research on cultural music. Especially noted was an ancient American civilisation with the large building where a sound of a specific bird can be heard. He said it was the world's oldest and most ancient recording device. To think of it being the technology of the world before Christ.
Next we had someone else I forgot the name. He did the "Music of the Spheres" concert in the Fringe Festival. It was an interesting idea. The audience would be sitting down, or lying down, faced to the ceiling of the building. Constant music is played/performed for a few hours with the images on top.
He also did some research on cultural music. Especially noted was an ancient American civilisation with the large building where a sound of a specific bird can be heard. He said it was the world's oldest and most ancient recording device. To think of it being the technology of the world before Christ.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Week 9 - CC1 - Spectral Technique
This week, I used SoundHack to edit sound files with mutation, phase vocoder or convolution. I used the phase vocoder to stretch the sample first (Jacob's recording of the phrase) and then I used convolution to mix it with the flutes. I kept this sample and further mutate it with some gamelan samples.
I then put the instruments to Reason/NN19 and just automapped the samples. I the gamelan mutated one was on the higher register of the kb and the flutes one on the lower.
Here's the sample.
I then put the instruments to Reason/NN19 and just automapped the samples. I the gamelan mutated one was on the higher register of the kb and the flutes one on the lower.
Here's the sample.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Week 8 - Forum - Recording
A sound engineer from Adelaide who had worked in the States (with Britney Spears and Queen Latifah!), Peter Dawdal, came and talked about his recording experiences a few weeks ago with a Big Band in Adelaide Uni and his past recording with Britney Spears.
A few stuff that was important includes preparation and being on time. Room should be booked long before the recording session. He would have noted the numbers of players, instruments, and draw a layout of the whole recording plans layout. Whether it's gonig to be recorded live or by overdubbing.
He suggested going to the venue beforehand (a few days before) and noting how important it is so that mics, seats, stands can be settled. Hard drives are very important and making backup files is very important too. Recording everything is a good idea, never delete anything.
He also specially mentioned how mics used for the piano shouldn't be too heavy as the mic has to go deep inside the piano and the stand might not withstand the weight. Mics like NT5s should solve the problem.
Regarding work, relationship between client and engineer should be very professional. We must not talk about our client at all. On top of that kitchen is an important item too, as the producers and record staffs needs to be kept entertained.
A few stuff that was important includes preparation and being on time. Room should be booked long before the recording session. He would have noted the numbers of players, instruments, and draw a layout of the whole recording plans layout. Whether it's gonig to be recorded live or by overdubbing.
He suggested going to the venue beforehand (a few days before) and noting how important it is so that mics, seats, stands can be settled. Hard drives are very important and making backup files is very important too. Recording everything is a good idea, never delete anything.
He also specially mentioned how mics used for the piano shouldn't be too heavy as the mic has to go deep inside the piano and the stand might not withstand the weight. Mics like NT5s should solve the problem.
Regarding work, relationship between client and engineer should be very professional. We must not talk about our client at all. On top of that kitchen is an important item too, as the producers and record staffs needs to be kept entertained.
Week 8 - CC1 - Sampling Techniques
I used a recording of Jacob's voice saying the "We become what we behold..." quote because I don't like to hear my own voice. I then used Peak to separate them into new regions. After that I changed the Root keys of each samples to suit the name of the sample.
Using Reason's NN19, I put the samples I did to the keyboard and automapped the samples. Then I recorded some random stuff.
Here's the screenshot on NN19 + Reason.
Using Reason's NN19, I put the samples I did to the keyboard and automapped the samples. Then I recorded some random stuff.
Here's the screenshot on NN19 + Reason.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Week 8 - AA1 - Drum Set Miking
Miking a drum set is an exciting one to do. You get to use a lot of mics. The first setting we used basically used quite a lot of mics.
2 U87s as overhead stereo mics, SM57 for top and bottom snare, NT5 for hi-hat, beta52s inside and outside the kick drum, MD421 for hi and mid tom and beta56 on low tom. On top of that, we used the AKG as the room mic.
The overall sound of it it pretty rich. The bass sounds powerful and the close miking is effective. One notable thing is the room mic. Even the room mic is played by itself produces quite a powerful sound. And when the room mic is not added, the recording sounds really dry. A little touch of room mic made quite a big difference.
Here's the file.
The second setting only uses three mics. One U87 on omni above the drum set, one SM57 slightly away from the snare, one beta 52 slightly away from the kick drum and an AKG behind a gobo as a room mic.
The setting is pretty amazing for what 4 mics can do. If not much time is available, I reckon this setting is pretty great. However, the mix does sound slightly mixed up. The concentration on each parts of the drums set is not that great and it's less bright than the first setting. It still does sound great though.
Here's the second file.
2 U87s as overhead stereo mics, SM57 for top and bottom snare, NT5 for hi-hat, beta52s inside and outside the kick drum, MD421 for hi and mid tom and beta56 on low tom. On top of that, we used the AKG as the room mic.
The overall sound of it it pretty rich. The bass sounds powerful and the close miking is effective. One notable thing is the room mic. Even the room mic is played by itself produces quite a powerful sound. And when the room mic is not added, the recording sounds really dry. A little touch of room mic made quite a big difference.
Here's the file.
The second setting only uses three mics. One U87 on omni above the drum set, one SM57 slightly away from the snare, one beta 52 slightly away from the kick drum and an AKG behind a gobo as a room mic.
The setting is pretty amazing for what 4 mics can do. If not much time is available, I reckon this setting is pretty great. However, the mix does sound slightly mixed up. The concentration on each parts of the drums set is not that great and it's less bright than the first setting. It still does sound great though.
Here's the second file.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Week 7 - Forum - Tristam Carey
Tristram Cary was born in in 1923, Oxford, England. His father was the writer of several books like "Mr. Johnson" and "The Horse's Mouth." His mother was an amateur musician and cellist. Tristram Cary left secondary school to study music at the age of 17 in 1942. He then joined the navy as a radar operator. That is where he first larnt the basic electronic skills. At that time, it was the pioneering stage of radar where it has just been developed and considered top secret. That is also where Tristram first realised the potential of creating music through electronic means.
After troops were demobilised, electronic equipments became junk and Tristram obtained quite a few of them to be experimented with. He also returned to study music.
In 1950, Tristram bought his own studio and wrote the first radio show with electronic soundtrack. He was also occasionally commissioned by the BBC. By 1960 he already had his studio equipped with tape technologies established in an institution: Royal College of Music. He met Peter Zinovieff and David Cockrell and together, they founded the Electronic Music Studio (EMS). They were the first people who developed portable synths and they are called the Synthi and VCS3. The Synthi and VCS3 was a consumer product as they were easy to use. Bands like Pink Floyd, The Moody Blues, Tangerine Dream, Hawkland and Roxy Music bought them.
Tristram was also renowned as a composer of incidental music to the show Dr. Who. He wrote for few other films. As he was classically trained, he could incorporate symphonic music and electronic music together.
Tristram moved to Adelaide and established the Electronic Music Unit in Adelaide University. He spent his late years archiving his own work of scores, converting his analog music to digital, remastering his 1980s digital materials and wrote his autobiography.
Tristram died not so long ago and his work in the development in electronic music is very much appreciated.
After troops were demobilised, electronic equipments became junk and Tristram obtained quite a few of them to be experimented with. He also returned to study music.
In 1950, Tristram bought his own studio and wrote the first radio show with electronic soundtrack. He was also occasionally commissioned by the BBC. By 1960 he already had his studio equipped with tape technologies established in an institution: Royal College of Music. He met Peter Zinovieff and David Cockrell and together, they founded the Electronic Music Studio (EMS). They were the first people who developed portable synths and they are called the Synthi and VCS3. The Synthi and VCS3 was a consumer product as they were easy to use. Bands like Pink Floyd, The Moody Blues, Tangerine Dream, Hawkland and Roxy Music bought them.
Tristram was also renowned as a composer of incidental music to the show Dr. Who. He wrote for few other films. As he was classically trained, he could incorporate symphonic music and electronic music together.
Tristram moved to Adelaide and established the Electronic Music Unit in Adelaide University. He spent his late years archiving his own work of scores, converting his analog music to digital, remastering his 1980s digital materials and wrote his autobiography.
Tristram died not so long ago and his work in the development in electronic music is very much appreciated.
Week 7 - CC1 - Tape Techniques
For this week's project, I used three audio files and edited them.
The first was a time stretched part of a shutter pitch shifted 2 octaves higher. The second one is a white noise with fade into a tom that fades out. Panning from left to right is added too. The third one is tom with time expansion added to it. It's also reversed. The fourth one is the same but time expanded twice as much. The next one is a part of a shutter noise that is time stretched, it's also pitch shifted down 4 octaves. The next one is a reversed tom with fade in and then a shutter noise with it pitch shifted 4 octaves higher. The next one is a white noise with fade in and panning from left to right followed by a sine wave of 440Hz with fade out and panning from right to the left. The next one is a short shutter noise with reverbs added. The one after that is the same but reversed. Then another shutter one is pitch shifted down 4 octaves and time shifted and a reverb is also added. The next one is a reversed tom that is time stretched followed straight by a white noise and fade out. The last one is a long build up of white noise followed by a thinned out tom panned from right to the left and to the middle.
Click here to listen.
The first was a time stretched part of a shutter pitch shifted 2 octaves higher. The second one is a white noise with fade into a tom that fades out. Panning from left to right is added too. The third one is tom with time expansion added to it. It's also reversed. The fourth one is the same but time expanded twice as much. The next one is a part of a shutter noise that is time stretched, it's also pitch shifted down 4 octaves. The next one is a reversed tom with fade in and then a shutter noise with it pitch shifted 4 octaves higher. The next one is a white noise with fade in and panning from left to right followed by a sine wave of 440Hz with fade out and panning from right to the left. The next one is a short shutter noise with reverbs added. The one after that is the same but reversed. Then another shutter one is pitch shifted down 4 octaves and time shifted and a reverb is also added. The next one is a reversed tom that is time stretched followed straight by a white noise and fade out. The last one is a long build up of white noise followed by a thinned out tom panned from right to the left and to the middle.
Click here to listen.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Week 7 - AA1 - Bass Recording
So we recorded Jamie playing the bass last Friday and it turned out okay. We miked the amplifier on top of a chair with an SM57 and a SM52Beta. On top of that we also DI-ed the Bass through Avalon and the DI box.
SM52Beta
This miking is definitely very thin and clanky in sound. On top of that, there are noise generated by the mic that is recorded into it too. The bass register is not heard as much as the higher register and it sounds very raw.
DI to Avalon
The DI sounds very clean as room or other noise cannot be recorded. The bass is definitely more prominent than the higher register and that gives a good bass quality. It also sounds fuller and powerful.
SM52Beta + Avalon DI
The quality is okay although the room noise and the amplifier-generated noise can also be clearly heard. Out of phase problems may be solved with adjusting and aligning the sound signals.
SM52Beta
This miking is definitely very thin and clanky in sound. On top of that, there are noise generated by the mic that is recorded into it too. The bass register is not heard as much as the higher register and it sounds very raw.
DI to Avalon
The DI sounds very clean as room or other noise cannot be recorded. The bass is definitely more prominent than the higher register and that gives a good bass quality. It also sounds fuller and powerful.
SM52Beta + Avalon DI
The quality is okay although the room noise and the amplifier-generated noise can also be clearly heard. Out of phase problems may be solved with adjusting and aligning the sound signals.
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