LECTURE 1

Question 1

Kraftwerk - Name of fourth album and year in which it was released.

Answer 1

Autobahn - 1974

Question 2

Quotes:

Answer 2

“They staked everything on the idea that the synthesiser was the future, and won”

“Kraftwerk became the godfathers of Eurodisco, New Romantic Synth-pop, Electro, Miami Bass and Techno Rave…”

Question 3

When does the story of techno begin?

Answer 3

Not in the early eighties (Detroit0 as is so often claimed, but in the early-seventies Dusseldorf, where Kraftwerk built their KlingKlang sound factory and churned out pioneering synth-and drum machine tracks (Simon Reynolds, writer)

Question 4

Relationship between Kraftwerk and ‘Krautrock’

Answer 4

Kraftwerk were initially a rock band, associated with other (German) ‘Krautrock’ bands such as Can, Faust, Tangerine Dream and Neu!

Question 5

What is ‘Krautrock’

Answer 5

A fusion of a number of influences, such as: late-sixties psychadelic rock (think Pink Floyd, late Beatles, UK; proto-punk minimalism (namely The Velvet Underground, US); ‘avant-garde’ approaches to music making, i.e. musique concrete, and the elektronische musik of Karlheinz Stockhausen.

Question 6

What did ‘krautrock’ re-invent?

Answer 6

The electric guitar, exploring it as a potential source of sound-in-itself - a quasi analog synthesizer rather than a mere instrument of harmony and rhythm.

Question 7

What was Krafter’s role? What gap did they bridge?

Answer 7

Beginning with Autobahn (1974), and then Trans-Europe Express (1977), The Man-Machine (1978) and Computer World (1981), Kraftwerk was the group that bridged the gap between rock & roll and electronic dance music.

Question 8

What made it possible for this group to write this song at this time?

Answer 8

“They staked everything on the idea that the synthesizer was the future, and won…” - Simon Reynolds (Modulations)

Question 9

Hermann von Helmholtz and the First Sound Synthesizer (1863);

Answer 9

• The first really comprehensive text to bridge the gap between science and music theory was Helmholtz’s book: ‘Sensations of Tone’.

Question 10

What was the first really comprehensive text to bridge the gap between science and music theory?

What did it deliver?

Answer 10

Helmholtz’s book: ‘Sensations of Tone’.

It deals with sound - it’s physical properties and our perception of it.

• Explains tone and timbre in terms of physical phenomena.
• Showed that differences in timbre of musical instruments and also sung/spoken vowel sounds is a result of the differences of their ‘overtones’.

Question 11

Hermann von Helmholtz designed an apparatus to demonstrate his theory; what was it?

Answer 11

the very first synthesizer.

Helmholtz’s apparatus essentially performs ‘additive synthesis’, the construction of sounds by the addition of serval tones.

Question 12

What is additive synthesis?

Answer 12

the construction of sounds by the addition of serval tones.

Question 13

What is a soundwave?

Answer 13

Soundwaves are produced by vibrating matter causing disturbances in the air; these are received by our ears as changes in air pressure.

Soundwaves can be described, very simply, in terms of two essential components:

1. Frequency - determines our sense of pitch (high or low).
2. Amplitude - determines the loudness of the sound.

The simplest sound is produced by a sinusoid (sinewave, sinetone).

Question 14

Explain the frequency of a soundwave -

Answer 14

The frequency of a soundwave depends on the rate at which a vibrating mass produces a cycle of positive, neutral and negative air pressure (a pattern). As the rate of repeated vibration increases within a given time period, the frequency and therefore the pitch, will likewise increase (Be heard as ‘higher”).

Question 15

What is one complete pattern of a soundwave known as?

Answer 15

A cycle. The number of cycles that occur within one second (the frequency) is measured in Hertz (abbreviated as Hz).

Question 16

Explain the amplitude of a soundwave

Answer 16

The amplitude of a soundwave is the amount of positive and/or negative air pressure (displacement) from neutral. The greater the displacement from neutral air pressure, the greater the amplitude and perceived loudness of a given soundwave will be.

Question 17

Timbre/Tone-Colour

Answer 17

Sinetones/Sinewaves are artificial, they are produced electronically; they never occur in nature. All other sounds, whether natural or artificial, are made up from several frequency components added together: a fundamental frequency, and several overtones at other frequencies above the fundamental.

Question 18

In most cases, we perceive the fundamental frequency as what?

What is the fundamental frequency?

Answer 18

The pitch of a sound.

The overtones, their frequencies and relative amplitudes are what determine a sound’s distinct timbre, otherwise referred to as tone-colour (this is how a note played on for instance, a guitar, will sound different from the same note played on piano).

Question 19

Sounds with a clear sense of pitch have what type of waveform?

Answer 19

A waveform with a clear repeating pattern. In these sounds, we will find successive overtones at whole number multiples of the fundamental.

Question 20

Final: Helmholtz’s Theory: By combining sinetones together at equally spaced frequencies, we can then do what?

Answer 20

Adjust each of their amplitudes independently to create an infinite variety of timbres/tone-colours; i.e. we can electronically synthesize ‘any’ sound.

Question 21

Key definition and related info on ‘The Telharmonium’ -

Answer 21

Developed by Thaddeus Cahil (USA) from 1897 - 1912.

Attempted to generate realistic musical (instrumental) timbres from oscillator generated sine-tones.

Later versions of the instrument weighed over 200 tons and required an entire room to house the machine.

Music could be transmitted (broadcasted) over telegraphic wires to multiple locations at once.

Attracted huge commercial interest and investment.

Question 22

The Theremin: who was it developed by, when and where.

How does the device work?

When and where was it patented?

Answer 22

Developed by Leon Theremin in the early 1920s (Russia)

Project began as a Russian government funded research project into proximity sensors (musical capabilities a happy accident).

Two antennae: one to control pitch, the other to control volume.

Patented in 1928 (USA)

Question 23

Pierre Schaeffer:

Who was he?

What was his contribution?

In what year did he compose and broadcast “Cinq Etudes de Bruit” at Radio France?

Answer 23

Paris 1948: composes and broadcasts “Cinq Etudes de Bruit” at Radio France - among the first works composed on, and for fixed media (phonograph record).

Coined the term ‘Musique Concrete’ to describe the use of ‘every day’ sounds to create music.

Was the first to manipulate recorded sounds to be used as music.

Noise etudes are the earliest examples of ‘sound collage’.

Earliest example of the ‘loop’ in electronic music, using locked grooves on phonograph record discs.

Question 24

Noise etudes are the earliest examples of what?

Answer 24

‘Sound collage’

Question 25

What is ‘sound collage’ an example of?

Answer 25

Noise etudes.

Question 26

What was his significant contribution that was considered the earlier example of the creation?

Answer 26

The ‘loop’ - using locked grooves on phonograph record discs.

Question 27

What experiments did Pierre Schaeffer conduct in 1951 -

Answer 27

He conducted some of the first experiments with tape for musical purposes, such as ‘looping’ and splicing.

Question 28

In what year did Pierre Schaeffer conduct tape experiments (for purposes such as ‘looping’ and splicing)?

Answer 28

1951

Question 29

Tape Studios

Answer 29

In the early 1950s, studios like those at Radio France (Paris) and WDR (Cologne) studios moved primarily to tape.

Question 30

The advent of tape technology opened up many new creative possibilities for electronic musicians;

Answer 30

• Cutting and splicing
• Speed changes
• Reversing
• Over-dubbing (layering)
• Looping (and other experiments)

Question 31

The first drum loops used by DJs in the late-seventies and early eighties were put together and played back live where?

Answer 31

In clubs on reel-to-reel tape

Question 32

Karlheinz Stockhausen

Answer 32

Paris, 1952: Stockhausen composes Konkrete Etude in Schaeffer’s studio.

• Cologne, 1952: Studio established at West German Radio by Herbert Eimert for ‘Elektronische Musik’: creating music exclusively from electronically synthesized sounds, via Additive Synthesis, composed onto magnetic tape.
• Stockhausen composes Studie I (1953) and Studie II (1954) at Eimert’s studio, both early examples of Elektronische Musik.
• Stockhausen’s Gesang der Junglinge (1956) combines the Concrete and Eletronische approaches.

With Kontakte (1958-60) Stockhausen wrote one of the first large-scale electronic works lasting over 35 minutes.

Stockhausen and his work gained great public motoriety, the composer later influencing popular music in the UK (The Beatles, The Who, Pink Floyd) and the United States (Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead) and German Krautrock bands of the 60s & 70s (Can, Faust, Neu!, Tangerine Dream and Kraftwerk).

Question 33

What is additive synthesis?

Answer 33

• Where soundwaves are formed from multiple components of differing frequency, amplitude (and also phase).

Recapping Helmholtz’s Theory: By combining sinetones together at equally spaced frequencies, we can then adjust each of their amplitudes independently to create an infinite variety of timbres/tone colours; i.e. we can electronically synthesize ‘any’ sound.

The lowest frequency component is referred to as the fundamental. Components above the fundamental are referred to as upper partials, harmonics or overtones.

Adding sinewaves together in different combinations produced different composite waveforms, and therefore different timbres.

Adding consecutive partials (overtones/harmonics) together produces something like an inverse sawtooth wave.

Adding only odd partials together (partials 1,3,5) produce something closer to a squarewave.

Question 34

What is the lowest frequency component referred to as?

Answer 34

The fundamental. Components above the fundamental are referred to as upper partials, harmonics or overtones.

Question 35

What are components above the fundamental referred to?

Answer 35

Upper partials, harmonics or overtones.

Question 36

What does adding consecutive partials (overtones/harmonics) together produce?

Answer 36

something like an inverse sawtooth wave.

Question 37

What does adding only odd partials together achieve?

Answer 37

produces something closer to a squarewave.

Question 38

Forbidden Planet - film (1956)

Answer 38

‘Electronic tonalities’ composed by Bebe and Louis Barron

First completely electronic film score

Constructed their own electronic circuits

Most sounds produced with either ‘additive synthesis’ and a technique called ‘ring modulation’

After creating sounds, further effects were applied such as tape delay and reverb, reversing and speech changes.

All of the soundtrack of the film, aside from dialogue, was constructed this way.

Question 39

Modular Synthesizers

Answer 39

• First commercial ‘modular’ synthesizers developed and realised in the early 1960s by Don Buchla and Robert Moog
• Buchla and Moog responded to the needs of musicians desiring flexibility and real-time performance capability.
• Buchla and Moog differed in their approaches and overall philosophy:Buchla: keyboardless,
  desiring a new approach
  to music-making with
  maximum flexibility.

  Moog: characterized by 
  the famous Ladder Filter; 
  with keyboard, providing 
  access to regular 
  musicians.  

The ‘Buchla 100 Electronic Music System’ (1963) the first ‘Moog Modular’ (1963) and most modulars that followed have at least the following:

• oscillators
• envelope generators
• filter
• voltage controlled
  amplification
• noise generator

These modules can be patched together in various combinations that produce an enormous, some say infinite variety of sounds.

Question 40

Oscillators and ‘Modulation’

Answer 40

Oscillators divide into two main categories depending on their function: 1) those to be used as the basis for the sound, and 2) those to be used as sources for ‘modulation’.

Oscillators will generally have any of the following waveforms:

• sinewave
• square wave
• triangle wave
• sawtooth wave
• …in the case of the first form of oscillator (1) above, each of these waves have a distinct timbre.

Standard to most analog modular synthesizers are Low Frequency Oscillators (LFOs), modules most commonly used to effect, or ‘modulate’ other oscillators or processes.

Common types of modulation are:
- amplitude (or 'ring') 
  modulation (AM)
- frequency modulation 
  (FM)

Question 41

Amplitude Modulation (AM) & Frequency Modulation (FM)

Answer 41

• In both AM and FM, there are two principal signals;
  
  1. The original ‘carrier’ signal - the one to be modulated (what we hear is the carrier as effected by the modulation).
     2. The modulating signal - that which produces the effect on the original (we never hear the modulating signal, only its effect on the ‘carrier’).

In amplitude (or ‘ring’) modulation, the amplitude of the original is modulated.

In frequency modulation the frequency of the original is modulated.

Question 42

Analog Sequencers - Moog 960 Sequential Controller Module (1973)

Answer 42

Both the Buchla and Moog systems featured sequencers from the mid-sixties onward.

The analog sequencer steps through a bank of ‘potentiometers’ and then cycles back to the beginning.

The rate at which the sequence runs in controlled by a ‘clock’.

The output of the sequencer is fed to the synthesizer where voltages are used to vary synthesis parameters such as pitch, amplitude, filtering and modulation.

Question 43

Experimental Approaches to Modular Synthesizer Music - 1960s and 1970s

Answer 43

Pauline Oliveros -
Once Again/Buchla Piece (1966)

Morton Subotnick -
Silver Apples of the Moon (1967)

Pink Floyd - On the Run (1972)

Wendy Carlos - Switched on Bach (1968)

Question 44

The Minimoog (1970-1981)

Answer 44

The Minimoog was created in response to the use of modular synthesizers in mainstream rock (The Byrds, The Doors, The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, ELP, etc.)

Integrated keyboard synths, such as the Minimoog, rapidly became a standard instrument within mainstream rock from the early 1970s, superceding the earlier modular synths.

The panel of the Minimoog can be broken up into three sections: 1) the oscillator bank, 2) the amplifier and, 3) the filter; these three aspects can all be modified by modulating oscillators and an envelope generator.

Question 45

The decade preceding 1974

Answer 45

• Rapid development of synthesizer technology (Buchla and Moog), 1963 onward.
• 1960s Pop/Rock explosion in mainstream culture.
• 1968, Wendy Carlos popularises the synthesizer with Switched on Bach.

Adoption of the integrated keyboard synthesizer (mainly Minimoog) into various experimental and ‘prog-rock’ musicians and bands (Sun Ra, Emerson Lake and Palmer, The Who, Yes, Spirit, and others).

‘Krautrock’ bands’ fascination with musical experimentation, in particular the electronic work of compatriot Karlheinz Stockhausen.

Mindset of German youth culture: embrace the future in order to escape the past; embrace Anglo mainstream culture (UK, USA).

Question 46

What year did Kraftwerk appear on BBC’s “Tomorrow’s World”

Answer 46

1975

Question 47

Kraftwerk’s Legacy

Answer 47

Autobahn, an almost completely electronic album, was a worldwide smash, peaking at no. 5 on the US charts.

Success of album led to a worldwide tour in 1975

Appearance on BBC’s documentary series Tomorrow’s World in 1975 is a key event in the birth of dance music (newspaper Guardian notes it as the number one key event)

Trans-Europe Express (1977), though not as commercially successful as Autobahn, has an even greater impact, though its effect on early Detroit techno artists the “Belleville Three” (Derrick May, Juan Atkins and Kevin Saunderson); Is later sampled on Afrika Bambaata’s Planet Rock, a 1982 album seminal in the development of hip hop.

Kraftwerk’s Computer World of 1981 has enormous influence on production methods of early techno, house, electro and hip hop through its use of sampling, electronic drums and synthesized sequences (compare the title track ‘Computer World’ to, for instance, Cybotron’s Alleys of Your Mind’ (proto Detroit techno), and also Jesse Saunders ‘On and on’ (early Chicago house).