426 Final Review Flashcards
People/Group: (1950) John Cage
A composer, artist, theorist and writer who worked with aleatoric methods. Inspired by various world philosophies and self-discovery he explored non-traditional uses of instruments and performance concepts. Associated with Barrons, working in their New York studio, encouraged and inspired the Barrons by saying they were making music not noise. Worked with them on William’s Mix an aleatoric piece of tape music.
People/Group: (1950) Bebe & Louis Barron
Married couple credited with signficant electronic film scores and association with composer John Cage who encouraged them that there work was valid as music. Louis invented a circuits most notably the a ring modulator and Bebe worked heavily in compition tape music using effects and tape manipulation.
People/Group: (1955) Hugh Le Caine
Match: NRC (National Research Council, Ottawa, Canada), Electronic Sackbut // Short Answer: Canadian researcher, inventor and composer, LeCaine built a score of new instruments including the Electronic Sackbut and voltage control systems. Dripsody, a tape manipulated piece based on a recording of a single drop of water.
People/Goup: () Robert Moog
NYC, musician minded, used black & white keyboard to control, his first voltage controlled synthesize 1964,
People/Group: () Morton Subotnick, Don Buchla
west coast, Cal Arts, San Francisco Tape Music Center, Buchla 100, invented sequencer
People/Group: () Wendy Carlos
student of Ussachevsky, worked with Robert Moog updates and developments, Switched on Bach (Billboard Top 40, into top 10), A Clockwork Orange, The Shining, Tron
People/Group: () Charles Wuorinen
12-tone, Time’s Encomium, RCA Mark II, Pullitzer Prize, SLOPE, quadraphonic (4 channel), student of Luening & Ussachevsky
People/Group: (1951) Otto Luening, Vladimir Ussachevsky, Carlos, Wuorinen
Columbia University, tape, overdubbing, playback speed, tape manipulation, compositions were concrete first later electronic generated, performances were acousmatic – Ussachevsky: ADSR envelope, Luening: composer, 12-tone, flautist
People/Group: () Ives, Schoenberg, Korngold, John Williams
Hollywood Music
People/Group: () Radio Japan
the work of RJ included reverb modelling in spaces, Kakehashi?
People/Group: (1960) Bell Labs
Jean-Claude Risset, additive and wave-table synthesis, tried to synthesize brass sounds
People/Group: (1987) National Music Centre
Calgary AB museum with collection of instruments namely notable keyboards (organs, pianos) and synthesizers
People/Group: () Dave Smith
Sequential Circuits (SCI), conceived and design MIDI originally called “Universal Synthesizer Interface”
People/Goup: () Ikutaro Kakehashi
Kakehashi Radio 1954, Roland 1972 synths/drum machine/effects units, Boss Pedals 1977, involved in standardizing MIDI
People/Group: (1985) John Oswald
Canadian composer, Plunderphonics: Audio Piracy as a Compositional prerogative
People/Group: Lawrence Lessig
“we cannot stop technology, we can only criminalize its use”
Device/Method: () aleatoric
Music composed, produced or performed based on random chance such as a coin toss or dice roll.
Device/Method: () acousmatic
performer’s play using a sequencer and/or recording
Device/Method: () synthesis
A vibrating object creates changes in air pressure, which vibrates our ear drum, we “hear” it as sound. A synthesizer mimics this natural acoustic process. Synthesizers generate audio through various forms of analog and digital synthesis processes.
Device/Method: () capacitor/capacitance
the ability of a component or circuit to collect and store energy in the form of an electrical charge
Device/Method: () pickup
a transducer that captures or senses mechanical vibrations produced by musical instruments
Device/Method: () resistor
an electrical component that limits or regulates the flow of electrical current in an electronic circuit
Device/Method: () oscillator
a device that outputs repeating waveforms
Device/Method: () sine wave
a continous s-shaped wave that oscillates smoothly above and below zero
Device/Method: () LFO
low frequency oscillator, when applied to another signal creates pulse at rate of LFO
Device/Method: () VCA
voltage controlled amplifier (amplifier), an electronic device for increasing the amplitude of electrical signals
Device/Method: () envelope
the manner in which a tone starts and stops with rise and decay over time (attack, transient, decay)
Device/Method: () transient
the initial peak of a sound—the first spikes in the waveform
Device/Method: (1951) envelope generator
Ussachevsky, Columbia, envelope generator, controls ADSR attach decay sustain release
Device/Method: () mixer
device for controlling playback volume and effects from multiple incoming audio sources and outgoing mix
Device/Method: () patch
a bay to receive cables or pegs that direct signal or voltage control to modules
Device/Method: () signal flow
VCO generates wave forms (sine, square/pulse, sawtooth, triangle), envelope generator ADSR, noise generators add filtered noise, LFO modulating parameters (vibrato, tremolo, timbre), reverb/echo/phase
Device/Method: () filter
low-pass/hi-cut, high-pass/low-cut, band-pass, shelf or notch, allows a range of frequencies through while attenuating frequencies beyond the set cutoff, subtractive synthesis
Device/Method: () analog synthesizer
uses electronic components to create periodic sound waves
Device/Method: () subtractive synthesis
complex waveforms are generated by oscillators and then shaped with filters to remove or boost specific frequencies. Subtractive synthesis is characterized as “rich” and “warm.”
Device/Method: () additive synthesis
AKA Fourier Synthesis, a large number of waveforms, usually sine waves, are combined into a composite sound, first instance: pipe organ – combining pipes of different lengths to create different timbres called mixtures and indicated by organ stops, Risset at Bell Labs,
Device/Method: () FM synthesis, frequency modulation
John Chowning, waveforms are modulated with the frequency of other waveforms; the resulting complex waveform can, in turn, be used to modulate another, and this another, and so on. FM synthesis can imitate acoustic sounds such as piano, strings and organs. FM synthesis is characterized as “harsh”, “glassy” and “chilly.”
Device/Method: () phase modulation
Amplitude of a baseband signal modifies phase of a carrier signal keeping amplitude and frequency of a carrier constant? Used in broadcast radio, wifi, GSM & satellite.
Device/Method: () phase distortion synthesis
signal and waveform generation implemented in Casio CZ synthesizers and Yamaha DX7, is similar to FM synthesis. modified phase angles of waveforms to generate complex overtones
Device/Method: () wave-table synthesis
synthesizers modulate smoothly between digital representations of different waveforms, changing the shape and timbre. [Used in digital additive synthesis, e.g., Ensoniq ESQ 1], Risset at Bell Labs
Device/Method: () sample-based synthesis
instead of sounds being created by synthesizers, samples (digital recordings of sounds) are played back and shaped with components such as filters, envelopes and LFOs.
Device/Method: () vector synthesis
Charles Wuorinen, pioneered by the Prophet VS, users crossfade between different sound sources using controllers such as joysticks.
Device/Method: () granular synthesis
an audio sample is split into “grains,” usually between one hundredth and one tenth of a second in length, which are recombined and played back.
Device/Method: () physical modelling synthesis
a mathematical model of a physical sound source is created.