Recorded
Sound
Individual Projects In Computer Music - Terry
Pender
G6630,
call # 97748
email: tmp17@columbia.edu
3
Credits
Mondays
1 to 4
Room
317, Prentis Hall
Office
Hours: Tuesday 1 to 3.
Course
Description
As
music moves into the next millennium, we are continually confronted by the
pervasive use of new music technologies. The world of music is changing rapidly
as these technologies open and close doorways of possibility. An appreciation
of this shifting technological environment is necessary for active listeners
seeking a profound understanding of how music functions in our society.
Furthermore, understanding how these technologies function is now almost
essential for contemporary composers and theorists working to build an
intellectual context for the creation of new musical art. This class will make
use of the Columbia University Digital Recording Facility for all of the course
work.
Class attendance is mandatory
- you must attend class; there will be no make up sessions if you miss a day.
Missing three classes will lower your final grade by one grade level. Assignments will be due when noted in
this syllabus. Late assignments will be lowered by one grade. Lecture
notes will be available on the Web.
You
will be responsible for one final
project due on 05/12/14.
TENTATIVE
SYLLABUS
Week 1
- 01/27/14 – Introduction to the studio, signing up for studio time
online, backing up files. Introduction to recording, digital sound fundamentals. The
early days of recording – Thomas Edison, Bill Putnam, Les Paul and the
art of innovation. Dynamic
Microphones.
Discussion:
Final Projects.
Aural historical references:
Early Cylinder
Recordings:
Phonographic Letter – A. H. Mendenhall
I
Pagliacci (1907) - Enrico
Caruso – 1st million selling record
Early Electric
Recordings:
Dippermouth
Blues (1923) –
Sidney Bechet –early disc-to-disc overdubbing
Trickaufnahme (1930) – Paul Hindemith –
records and live instruments
Peg O My Heart (1947) – Bill Putnam –
The Harmonicats – 1st artistic use
of reverb
Lover (1948), How High The
Moon (1951/52) – Les Paul – creating and imaginary soundfield
Assignment 1:
Download
the free Audacity Audio Editor: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
Watch
the following Youtube videos:
Watch Record Making with Duke Ellington and his Orchestra (1937)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJ0Vn7ul42s
RCA
Victor Presents: Making Vinyl Records - The Sound and The Story (1956)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKbAksbvUqQ
Vinyl
Record Manufacturing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ua7Cn2f6I9E
Record
Manufacturing Command Performance (1942)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdhNNaQhgv8
Week 2
– 02/03/14- Early studio manipulation
techniques.
Formal Principles: Recording audio. Reverse, pitch
shift, time stretch, layering techniques, looping, overdubbing. Basic mixing automation – volume and panorama. Audio editing using Audacity and Logic. Exploring Musique Concrte. Condenser Microphones.
Aural/Historical References:
Dippermouth Blues (1923) – Joe King Oliver - first known disc-to-disc
overdubbing
Trickaufnahme (1930) – Paul Hindmith- instruments with records
King Kong (1933) – early special effects by
sound designer Murray Spivak.
I Confess (1947) – Patti Page - disc-to-disc
overdubbing of two vocal tracks
tude aux chemins de fer (Study of the Railroads) (1948) –
Pierre Schaeffer – one of first examples Musique
Concrte
Timbres-Dures (1952) – Olivier Messiaen
Sonic Contours (1952) – Vladimir Ussachevsky - early tape manipulation
Low Speed (1952) – Otto Luening
- octave transpositions, using tape as an accompaniment
Pome
lectronique
(1958) – Edgard Varse
- early sound collage
Jazz Et Jazz (1960) – Andre Hodeir
- tape techniques plus jazz band
Collage #1
– "Blue Suede" (1961) – James Tenney - early
sound art collage/Remix
Porte et
Soupir 5, 6, & 8 (1963) – Pierre Henri
(Door and a Sigh) Ballet
Assignment 2 due 02/10/14. Follow the instructions exactly.
1)
Record
several audio samples using an interesting sound source from around your
apartment or the studio.
2)
Edit
the samples, create fade-ins and fade-outs
3)
Assemble
the samples in Logic using it as a canvas for your sonic painting. The mix
should be mono.
4)
Apply
basic audio volume automation in Logic.
5)
Create
a two-minute Musique
Concrte study.
6)
No MIDI, no pre-recorded samples, no musical instruments allowed.
Week 3 – 02/10/14 – Signal
Processing part 1
Formal Principles:
Panorama, ambience, reverb. Defining an aural sense of space and
creating a virtual sonic world. Ribbon Microphones.
Aural/Historical References:
My Blue Heaven (1927) – Gene Austin
Peg O My Heart (1948) – The Harmonicats
(Bill Putnam) - first artistic use of reverb.
Juke (1952) – Bill Putnam and Little Walter
– the birth of rock and roll
Telstar (1962) – The Tornados
– Joe Meeks strange new sounds,
Be My Baby (1964) – The Ronettes
(Phil Spector, Gold Star Studio – 2 Echo
chambers).
Running Scared (1961) – Roy Orbison (EMT 140
Plate Reverb)
Are You Experienced? & Third Stone From The Sun (1967)– Jimi
Hendrix – innovative panning, backwards tracks, flanging.
Baby Love – The Supremes – Attic
reverb
I Got You – James Brown - Spring Reverb
Baby I Love You So Dub – King Tubby - Spring Reverb
The Boxer (1968) – Simon and Garfunkel
– using reverb & volume to help define structure.
Snatch It Back and Hold It (1973) – Junior Wells –
interesting panning.
Assignment
3 due 2/24/14.
1)
Record
and edit a new set of samples. You
may now record instruments. No MIDI.
This mix should be stereo.
2)
Process
samples with various levels and types of reverb.
3) Create a composition that incorporates a
creative use of panorama and then uses reverb and ambience to articulate
structure and form.
4) The composition should be 2 minutes and 30 seconds long.
5) Analyze your composition. What kinds of problems arise from
layering multiple iterations of the same sounds, and what tools could you use
to correct them?
Week
4 – 02/17/14
– Applying Equalization, using comb filters.
Formal Principles: Types of EQs
and how theyre used, determining the frequency content of a signal, common EQ
settings, frequency charts. The ear, psychoacoustics and
equalization – creating a sense of depth and motion with EQ. Multiband EQs, and comb filtering.
Aural/Historical References:
Imagine (1971) – John Lennon - creating a smooth transition
between sounds recorded in radically different places
Wish You Were Here (1975) – Pink Floyd - extreme EQ
on acoustic guitar introduction
A Plateaux
of Mirrors (1980)
– Brian Eno and Harold Budd - creative
multiband EQ
Theres More To Life Than This (1993) – Bjrk
- creating a narrative with EQ
Around The World (1997) – Daft Punk - extreme EQ on
introduction
Halo – Porcupine Tree
Assignment
3 – Proposal for Final Project - Proposal due on 02/24/14.
Week 5 – 02/24/14 – Basic mixing
techniques. Using Logics Ultrabeat drum machine and
Drummer plug-in. Drum machine tricks and tips.
Formal Principles: Recording the voice and the
guitar. Should I record in mono or stereo? X/Y crossed pair and Blumlein Technique for stereo recording.
Discussion
– How to strike a realistic balance between your recorded tracks and
sampled instruments and loops.
Aural/Historical References:
Its A Family Affair
(1971) – first hit with a drum machine - Sly & The Family Stone
Sexual Healing
(1982) - 1st Pop hit with the 808 drum machine
Looking For The Perfect Beat (1982) – Afrika
Bambaataa (Mini Moog, drum machine, early use of
turntables)
Kiss (1986) Price – Drum machine and effects
Man In The Mirror (1988) – Bruce Swedien
and Michael Jackson – gorgeous choral vocals using Blumlein
technique
Assignment
3 due 3/24/14.
1)
Record
or import a single instrument composition (such as a work for solo piano or
acoustic guitar);
2)
Create
three loops of differing lengths edited out of your recording, one on each
track;
3)
Duplicate
each of the three loops on 3 additional tracks each;
4)
Equalize
each of the duplicates so that one has only the upper frequencies (using a high
pass filter), the second with only the low frequencies (using a low pass
filter), the third should contain just the middle frequencies of the sound
(band pass filter). As the composition progresses use volume automation to mix
between the three tracks so the timbre varies over time based on your
selection;
5)
For
the fourth duplicate track of each loop use a band pass filter with a narrow
width or Q and automate the center frequency so it moves over time;
6)
Automate
this band pass filter on the fourth copy of each loop in different ways and let
the automation progress slowly over the entire length of the composition. An
example would be to start one at the upper register and have it slowly move to
the lower register and do the reverse on the second loop. For the third loop create a more varied
automation that moves up and down several times over the length of the piece;
7)
The
goal is to create a sense of subtle variations of the timbre within the rather
fixed frequency range of your source sound. The shifts in timbre can gradually be made more abrupt and
could occur at points where the loops sync up to create a formal contrast with
previous sections, using the changes of equalization to help delineate the form
of your composition;
8)
Experiment
with adding reverb to help fuse the tracks together. The reverb processing could be on auxiliary sends or on the
main output bus. Remember to equalize your reverb;
9)
As a
final step, use a frequency chart and determine the lowest frequency of the
lowest note of your source material.
Add a single band, high pass equalizer to the main output bus and set
the cut off frequency slightly below the frequency of the instruments lowest
note. This will help reduce any
unnecessary low frequencies. This
same strategy can be used on every individual track if needed.
Week 6 – 03/03/14 - Microphone technique.
Formal Principles:
Different types of microphones, pickup patterns, microphone placement,
finding the sweet spot, transients, proximity effect. Understanding your room and equipment,
learning to get a variety of sounds from your setup.
Exercise
1)
Record
yourself or your instrument through as many different microphones as possible
and analyze the results. Record the same piece of music using the same setup,
distance from mic, same room, same position, etc.
Decide which mics make you sound best and how you can
use each microphone to best effect.
2)
With
your favorite microphone, record yourself varying the distance from the mic, from extremely close – 1 to 2 inches, then 6
inches, 12 inches, 3 feet, and finally 6 feet away. Adjust the recording level appropriately each time you move
the microphone further from the sound source. Examine the various timbres you get from your room. Now you can decide if you want more or
less room sound in your recording.
3) Extend this experiment to the room where
you record. Record in different
places around the room, in the middle, in the corner facing the wall, etc. Listen carefully to the results and
decide where in the room various instruments sound best.
4) Use this exercise to record source
material for the assignment due on 3/31/14.
Week 7
– 03/17/14 No Class – Winter Break
Week 8 – 03/24/14 – This lecture
will focus on double tracking and half speed recording.
Formal Principles:
Discussion
of double tracking
o Creating a fuller sound through double
tracking
o Creating stereo width by panning double
tracks
o Applying additional effects to doubled
tracks for variety
Discussion
of George Martin and The Beatles and how double tracking became a feature of
their production style
o Double tracking for fullness
o Half-speed recording to change the timbre
of a sound
o Half-speed recording to make recording
difficult passages easier
o Automatic double tracking
Delaying double tracks to create a
signature sound
o Ken Scott and Elton John – Elderberry Wine (1973)
o Ken Scott and David Bowie – Quicksand (1971)
Ideas
for equalizing and panning double tracks
First
look at chorus and phase shifting
Aural/Historical References:
Mystery Train (1955) – Elvis Presley - slap-back
echo.
Great Balls of Fire – Jerry Lee Lewis - slap-back
echo.
The Big Hurt (1959) – Miss Toni Fisher - early
flanging.
She Loves You (1963) – The Beatles – 1st
Beatles vocal doubling
Tomorrow Never Knows (1966) – The Beatles - flanging
and pitch shifted tape loops, backwards guitar solo, lead vocal sung through
the rotating speaker of a Hammond organs Leslie Cabinet, heavily compressed
drums.
Itchycoo
Park (1967) – The
Small Faces - flanging.
A Day In The Life – The Beatles – using tape
echo on lead vocal
One Of These Days – Pink Floyd (1971) - echo builds
and re-enforces the rhythm.
He Loved Him Madly – Miles Davis (1972) - interesting
panned echo supports development and structure – early ambient jazz.
Shes Not There – Santana (1977) – modern
panned, slap back echo on guitar solo.
Superstition – Stevie Wonder – 8 tracks
of Clavinet
Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody – extreme
doubling/overdubbing
Assignment 4 due 04/07/14
1)
Record
a piece for voice and acoustic guitar;
2)
Record
five exact duplications of both the guitar and the vocal track;
3)
Start
your arrangement with a single tracked voice and guitar;
4)
With
each new section (verse or chorus), add one of the doubled tracks, slowly
building up the texture until all of the doubled tracks are playing;
5)
Make
sure to pan each new double track to a new position slowly increasing the
stereo width of the track;
6)
If
the track starts to get too muddy, equalize the lower end of each new double
track with a low shelf EQ, gradually EQ-ing out more
and more of the low end on each newly added double track;
7)
Experiment
with processing the doubles with some light reverb, chorusing or phase shifting
to create modulations within the sound;
8)
Experiment
with withdrawing all of the doubles at some point to create a sudden change of
density and texture;
9)
Use
these shifts in density and texture to help delineate the formal aspects of the
composition.
Week 9 – 03/31/14 – Introduction to
synthesizers
Formal Principles: Common types of synthesis, AM, FM,
additive, subtractive, Wavetable, and Granular. Automating synthesizer parameters.
Aural/Historical References:
Occasional Variations – RCA MkII,
Milton Babbitt
Brandenburg Concerto – Wendy Carlos – Moog
Kolyosa
(1970) – Pril Smiley (Buchla Synthesizer)
Stria
(1977) – John Chowning (FM)
Riverrun (1986) – Barry Truax
(Granular)
Looking For The Perfect Beat (1982) – Afrika
Bambaataa (Mini Moog, drum machine, early use of
turntables)
Blue Monday (1983) – New Order – Mini
Moog Bass Line.
Supreme Balloon – Matmos
Altibzz – Autechre
Thats It For The Other One – Grateful Dead – ring
Modulation
On The Way Home – Mahavishnu
Orchestra – ring modulation
Assignment 5 due 04/14/14
1)
Create
a slow ambient composition that uses four synthesizer tracks.
2)
Design
four motifs, one for each track.
Each motif should have a different, odd number of beats so that when
looped their loop points are out of sync with each other but are otherwise
playing in the same tempo.
3)
Setup
and automate some filter effects so that they change very slowly over the
course of the composition.
4) Pan, process and set your four loops in
motion to create an interesting generative composition.
Week 10 – 04/07/14 – Creating Movie
Soundtracks
Formal
Principles: Importing
movies into Logic, using Logic to compose music, mix foley,
dialogue, special effects and music together. Important
criteria for composing background music for movies, radio, or TV. This
week will focus on creating movement within the stereo field. It will explore how the previously
covered techniques for reverb, equalization and panning can be used together to
create stereo width, depth of field and movement within that field based on
psychoacoustics.
Stereo
width – panorama
Depth
of field using equalization
o Making sounds move forward and backwards
with equalization
o Emphasizing high frequencies to make a
sound seem closer to the listener
o Emphasizing the lower frequencies to make
a sound seem further away from the listener
Reverb
– creating depth with reverb
o Altering the volume and equalization of
the reverb to create movement and a sense of distance
Visual/ Historical References:
M (1931) – Fritz Lang - How sound is integral to
the storyline in this early sound film.
The Conversation – Francis Ford Coppola (1974),
Walter Murch sound design.
The
videos of Stan Brackhage, Robert Breer,
and The Open Ended Group.
77 Million Paintings – Brian Eno
Assignment 6 due -
04/28/14.
1)
Create a new one-minute film
score/composition that is all background music, foley
(natural everyday sounds), and special effects, but dont use a movie. The sound will have to fully convey the
action of this imaginary film. Pay
particular attention to simple volume, panning, and EQ for movement and depth.
How much auditory information can you include in the soundtrack to portray a
sense of place, time, season, historical epoch, mood, temperament, etc.
2)
Be
creative and apply effects processing to some foley
sounds as well as transposing and layering them. For example record the wind,
transpose it up a third and a fifth and layer them together to create a major
chord of harmonized wind.
3)
Open
the composition with a natural repetitive rhythm like a faucet dripping or a
clock ticking and have it slowly evolve into the rhythm of the background music. Try to find a natural element that can
become a musical element so the foreground and background meld together
momentarily.
Week 11 – 04/21/14 – This chapter
will focus on audio compression, gating and limiting.
Discussion
of how a compressor works
Types
of compression and general uses
o Optical (Teletronix
LA-2A)
o FET (Urei 1176)
o Vari-mu (Fairchild 670)
o VCA style (SSL G-series and API 2500)
Understanding
modern compression controls
o Threshold
o Compression ratio
o Attack and release time
o Make-up gain
o Knee settings
Discussion
of limiting and gating
Using
a sidechain with compressors and gates
Using
a sidechained gate to create a tight groove between
the bass and drums
Using
a sidechain compressor to pump an entire mix or
section
Listening:
New Orleans (1960) and Quarter To Three (1961) – Gary U.S. Bonds - early
double-tracked vocals with heavy vocal compression, and one of the first
heavily compressed lead vocals
Tomorrow Never Knows (1966) – The Beatles - first
heavily compressed drums on a Beatles record – kick drum deadened with a
sweater inside of it and microphone moved much closer to both kick and snare
and a more aggressive use of compression to create a unique drum sound
Heroes (1977) – David Bowie - multi-latched gates on three
vocal microphones that were 9 inches, 20 feet and 50 feet from the singer,
Eventide Harmonizer effects on drums
Intruder (1980) – Peter Gabriel - gated reverb on drums
In The Air Tonight (1981) – Phil Collins - gated
reverb on drums
Youre Not Alone (1996) – Olive - gated synthesizer
pads
One More Time (2000) – Daft Punk - side-chain
compression pumping
the entire mix
Ready, Steady Go (2002) and Faster Kill Pussycat (2006) – Oakenfield
- gated synthesizer pads
Exercise 1:
Create a sidechained bass using a gate.
1)
Create
a drum pattern on track one;
2)
Using
MIDI, draw in a bass line of long sustained notes with a synthesized bass
sound. These notes should be the
root notes of the chords you are implying;
3)
Put
a gate on the bass track and use the drum track as a sidechain
to the gate;
4)
Experiment
with the threshold setting on the gate, lowering it until the bass only plays
when the kick drum is sounding.
This creates a very tight groove between the bass and drums and is an
effective way to create bass parts.
5)
Once
youve established that groove, go back and refine the bass part by adding or
changing the sustained notes to create more movement in the bass line.
Exercise 2: Use sidechain compression to rhythmically pump an entire mix in
the manner of Daft Punk.
1)
Start
with a multi-track composition that you have already mixed. Bounce the mixed track to a new sound
file and use it in a new project.
You will also need to copy the kick drum track to use as the sidechain input;
2)
Place
the stereo Master on track one and the kick drum track on track two;
3)
Instantiate
a compressor on track one and select the kick drum as a sidechain
input;
4)
Use
a high compression ratio and set the attack time to be very fast. Adjust the release time much slower and
work with the timing of the release so that the compressor reinforces the
rhythm of the track by pulling the volume down on the beat. Let it gradually come back to a
non-compressed state before the next kick drum attack. The timing of the release is the
important aspect of this technique.
The volume should pump up and down from beat to beat, re-enforcing and
animating it so that you can actually feel the volume pumping in time to the
rhythm of the track.
Week 12 – 04/28/14 – Overview of
distortion techniques and vocoding
Formal Principles:
Distortion
Discussion
of the history of distortion
Common
types of distortion
o Over driving guitar amps
o Over driving the mixing console
o Distortion pedals
o Tape saturation
o Bit crushing
Using
distortion to add upper partials to a dull sound
Amplifier
simulators
Aural/Historical References:
Rocket 88 (1951) – Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats - early guitar distortion
Moanin
At Midnight (1951)
– Howling Wolf - early tape saturated distortion recorded at Sun and
released by Chess
Down Home Special (1956) – Bo Diddley
Dont Worry (1960) – Marty Robbins/Grady
Martin - first fuzz tone created by a faulty channel on the mixing console
Satisfaction (1965) – Rolling Stones - Maestro
Fuzz Tone
Yer Blues (1968) – The Beatles - mixing desk
distortion
21st Century Schizoid Man (1969) – King Crimson - evil
distortion
Formal Principles:
Vocoding
Discussion
of the history of the vocoder (voice encoder)
o Channel vocoder
invented by Homer Dudley in the 1930s
o Vocoders were used to encrypt secret messages in
WWII
Using
modern vocoding software
o Vocoding is an analysis/synthesis technique using
multiband filters
Ideas
for using vocoding on voices and drums
Listening:
The Robots (1977) – Kraftwerk
Mr. Blue Sky (1977) – Electric Light Orchestra
O Superman (1981) - Laurie Anderson
I Believe – Cher
Hide and Seek (2005) - Imogen
Heap
Get Lucky (2013) - Daft Punk
Assignment 7 due 05/05/14: Create a vocoded
vocal sound.
1)
Record
a vocal on one track;
2)
Place
a vocoder instrument on track two;
3)
On
the vocoder, use the sidechain
input and select the vocal patch.
The amplitude envelope of the vocal will be used to trigger the
synthesizer patch in the vocoder;
4)
On
the vocoder, choose a synthesis patch that the voice
will trigger. Some timbres will work better than others and experimentation
will be required to find an appropriate match to the vocal. Vocoding is a
three-step process. The voice
supplies the amplitude envelope, the vocoder supplies
the timbre based on the patch you choose.
The harmonic content will be based on whatever notes or chords are
played on the vocoder track;
5)
Blend
in a bit of the straight vocal track from a copy of the vocal to increase the
intelligibility of the text, if desired, although this technique can also be
used with instruments or other sound sources;
6)
Use
doubling techniques, echo, pan and reverb to create more interest and to refine
your vocoded sound;
7)
When
working with resonant-frequencies, its always a good idea to compress the
sound as described in the next chapter.
Week 13
– 05/05/14 –
This chapter will focus on transforming sounds through spectral manipulation.
Using
FFTs to determine the strongest harmonic partials
and how they evolve over the course of a sound
Synthesizing
new sounds using additive synthesis, based on the partial tracking analysis
Discussion
of frequential or spectral composition
Discussion
of how to use the analysis data to create harmonic structures
Discussion
of how to create transformations between two sets of spectral data
Embedding
the spectral data in other compositional parameters
Converting
the spectral data to standard music notation for use in orchestration
Strategies
for working with microtonal frequencies
Listening:
Les espaces acoustiques
– V – Transitoires
– Grard Grisey – for
large orchestra (1980)
Dsintgrations (1982-83) – Tristan Murail
Mortuos
Plango, Vivos Voco
– Jonathan Harvey
Winter Fragments (2000) – Tristan Murail
Exercise:
Use spectral data to create tuned chords from a noise-based source like a
tam-tam, white noise or wind.
1)
Choose
a sound with a high-frequency content, like a tam-tam;
2)
Record
the tam-tam (you only need one hit);
3)
Using
your spectral editor, create an FFT of the tam-tam sound and analyze the
frequency content;
4)
Using
a chart of the frequencies of musical notes and the analysis data, choose a set
of three- or four-note chords you could extract from the tam-tam spectrum
(limit yourself to two or three chords);
5)
Using
the spectral editor, erase all of the frequencies not related to your chord and
re-synthesize the sound with the new spectrum.
6)
Create
a few versions of the chords, one with several iterations of the notes you need
in different octaves to create very open chord voicing and a second with just
four or five frequencies relating to the notes of your chord;
7)
In
your sequencer, create four tracks – one for the tam-tam sample, the
second the third for the re-synthesized chords you created in the spectral
editor, and the fourth for a sampler or synthesizer;
8)
Begin
with the tam-tam sound. About
halfway through it, place your re-synthesized chord on track two and slowly
raise the volume so that the tam-tam sound gradually transforms into the chordal texture.
Create a few passages like this with your different chords;
9)
On
the fourth track, improvise a melodic passage based on the chords you have
synthesized;
Experiment
with having the chords emerge from the tam-tam sound and the reverse, where the
chord cross-fades into the tam-tam sound.
This is a very basic exercise exploring just the surface of spectral
music. For a more detailed explanation
of spectral or frequential techniques, I suggest
reading Contemporary Compositional Techniques and Openmusic
by Rozalie Hirs and Bob
Gilmore, which provides an in-depth exploration of the music of Tristan Murail.
Final Exam
– 05/21/14 - Final projects due.
We will listen to all final projects in class.