1970s

Introduction to Composition & Production

Introduction

The inventions in the 1970s marked the beginning of the digital age to come. The decade featured inventions include: cell phones, the bomb disposal robot Post It Note, hybrid cars, and digital cameras.The 1970s marked a period of significant innovation in music production. The introduction of synthesisers and other electronic instruments opened up new possibilities for musicians, allowing them to experiment with sounds that had never been heard before.

Technology

A type of synth that was popular in the 70s was the ARP Odyssey that was released in 1972. It produced brass ensembles, pipe and electric organs, plus a few piano‑like, and other percussive sounds. Arists such as Elton John incorportaed this synth in one of his top hits 'Rocketman' that was released in 1972.

Synthesisers

One of the defining characteristics of synth-pop in the 70s was its use of synthesizers as the primary instrument. Unlike traditional bands with guitars, bass, and drums, synth-pop artists relied heavily on electronic keyboards and synthesizers to create their sound.The synthesizer began gaining popularity in the late '60s with brief appearances on records by The Monkees, Byrds, Beatles, and Beach Boys. But by the '70s the synth went from a novelty act to a mainstream instrument, sometimes replacing guitars completely.

Anohter aspect of synth-pop in the 70s was its emphasis on catchy melodies and its signifiicnat impact on the fashion and visual aesthetics of the era. Artists such as David Bowie and Roxy music who embraced flamboyant and androgynous style.

http://www.arpsynth.com/en/experience/sounds/2015/06/music/

https://www.yellowbrick.co/blog/music/discover-the-electrifying-sounds-synth-pop-in-the-70s#:~:text=The%201970s%20marked%20a%20period,had%20never%20been%20heard%20before.

Fender Rhodes Stage Piano

Inventor Harold Rhodes introduced his Fender Rhodes electric piano in the 1960s and was first used by The Doors in their song 'Light My Fire'.But it wasn’t until 1970 that musicians could buy the more easily transportable Stage Piano model. From there, the bright Rhodes tone became universal during the decade, heard all over records by Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock, the Doors, and Steely Dan. Later artists in the ’90s, such as neo-soul artists like D’Angelo and Erykah Badu revived the instrument’s signature warm sound, which still looms large on recent records by artists including Floating Points and BADBADNOTGOOD.

https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/9940-music-technology-of-the-1970s-a-timeline/

After the war, Harold Rhodes would start working together with Leo Fender, and together they developed the piano to the one we know today. Most Rhodes pianos have 73 keys and an easily identifiable bell-like sound. Inside the piano is a large tuning form, rather than the strings which are found in a traditional piano.

Production Techniques

Limitations

The 8-tracks had major disadvantages such as the inability to rewind, and strong likelihood of jamming or getting dirty. The cassette tape became the standard audio format from the late 1970s to the early 90s. After the first portable cassette tape players were made available to the general public to record, share, and play music conveniently

Once consumers realised the benefits of cassettes for both recording and playing music, it was difficult for even the biggest 8-track fans to stay loyal to such a flawed device. In addition, even the “portability” perk of an 8-track was quickly undermined when cassettes were smaller and thinner in size.

Eight-Track Recorder

Until about 1960 two-track machines were ordinarily used; by 1970 eight-track recorders were in use, allowing much more subtle mixing of channels during the editing sessions subsequent to the actual recording.

Inside each 8 track tape is a long loop of ¼-inch magnetic tape that is coiled around a single hub (often referred to as the reel holder). The motor inside each device pulls the tape across an audio head which reads the tape and translates it into sound. Each tape had eight tracks (hence the name eight track player), as well as a metal sensing strip that notifies a solenoid coil when a program (two songs or tracks) has ended and it’s time to switch to the next program.

The 8-tracks have four “programs” on each tape. The programs include different songs or recordings that can be skipped or fast-forwarded by choosing the program you want to listen to. The programs have two tracks each for the left and right side, which means eight tracks in total.Both Pete Townshend and John Lennon had 3M eight-track machines in their home project studios c. 1969–1970. Ampex began mass production of their competing 1-inch eight-track MM1000 in 1967.

https://everpresent.com/when-did-the-8-track-come-out/#:~:text=The%20first%20to%20achieve%20this,Pioneer%2C%20Panasonic%2C%20and%20RCA.

Dave Smith

He purchased a Minimoog in 1972 and later built his own analog sequencer, founding Sequential Circuits in 1974 and advertising his product for sale in Rolling Stone. He had more of an infleuence win the 80s, but its improatnt to acnowledge his early creaations in the 70s and his development of MIDI that was later eveloved.

MIDI

MIDI stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI). It is a standard to transmit and store music, originally designed for digital music synthesizers. MIDI does not transmit recorded sounds. Instead, it includes musical notes, timings and pitch information, which the receiving device uses to play music from its own sound library.In 1981 Dave Smith, regarded as the 'Father of MIDI', set out to create a universal interface and communications protocol, so that any keyboard from any manufacturer would be able to 'talk' to each other.

Limitations

The effect that MIDI made for a huge, era-defining sound. But despite the awesome creativity of the music, the sound betrays a major limitation to the way electronic musical instruments were controlled at the time. One limitaions would be that it depends on the quality and compatibility of the sound source and the playback device. Respectfully with anyequipment, the care is crucial, the owner should provide a safe area or else it will get damaged.

"You could play one keyboard with your right hand and another keyboard with your left hand," says Dave Smith, a synthesiser manufacturer from California who was working on the issue back then.

"But [musicians] couldn't play more than one at the same time because there was no way of electrically interconnecting them," he remembers.

What Smith did next would transform the way recording studios worked, and create a revolution in music and recording production.

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-20425376

Composition

Reggae in the UK

In the 1970s reggae, like ska before it, spread to the United Kingdom, where a mixture of Jamaican immigrants and native-born Britons forged a reggae movement that produced artists such as Aswad, Steel Pulse, UB40, and performance poet Linton Kwesi Johnson. Roots reggae was increasingly popular with the UK's black working-class youth from the 1970s onwards, its message of Rastafari and overcoming injustice striking a chord with those on the receiving end of racism and poverty

Bob Marley's lyrics

Within his 1974 hit 'No Woman, No Cry' The lyrics has been misunderstood. Some people have wrongly assumed that the lyrics have a different meaning entirely, referring to keeping women out of your life to avoid crying, but this is not the case at all. "if there is no woman, there is no reason to cry", or having secret feelings towards women. "They have to be like a she lion! Woman strong, you know, not depending on the man. Of course the man is there to help you, then for every successful man, there is a good woman."

Wailers bassist Aston 'Family Man' Barrett told NME in 2012: "The song is about the strength in the mama of course, strength in the ladies. And we love a woman with a backbone. Something like a wishbone!

https://www.smoothradio.com/features/the-story-of/bob-marley-no-woman-no-cry-lyrics-meaning-video/

Reggae Music

During the 1970s, the population of international music was expanding in the UK. Society was becoming more ethnically diverse. The development of Reggae music was acknowledged in the UK in the 1960s. Reggae has been the primary popular style of music in Jamaica.Its origins reflect the cultural hybridity for which the Caribbean is known. Reggae is noted for its tradition of social criticism and religion in its lyrics, although many reggae songs discuss lighter, more personal subjects, such as love and socializing.

What was culturally happening within Jamaica in the 1970s?

Jamaica in the 1970s was filled with gangs, drugs, and unspeakable violence. Bob Marley in the middle of it all tugged and claimed by both sides of political upheaval. Within the United States, Bob Marley popularised the genre. One of his top hits in the 70s was “One Love/People Get Ready”. It became a rallying cry to unite but also address the oppression and violence in Jamaica around the elections of December 1976 and the divisiveness between Michael Manley’s People’s National Party and the Jamaican Labour Party within the country.

https://americansongwriter.com/behind-the-song-lyrics-one-love-people-get-ready-by-bob-marley/

Future Inspirations

In the early 1980s, The DJ Don Letts would play reggae and punk tracks at clubs such as The Roxy. Donovan Letts is a British film director, disc jockey and musician. Letts first came to prominence as the videographer for the Clash, directing several of their music videos . Letts included many dub and reggae records in his sets and is credited with introducing those sounds to the London punk scene, which was to influence the Clash and other bands. Punk bands such as the Clash, the Ruts, the Members and the Slits played many reggae-influenced songs.

Songwriting Approaches

Paul Simon's songwriting technique involves showing rather than telling, using vivid imagery to convey emotions, and using life experiences. Instead of simply telling the audience how he feels, Paul Simon shows his emotions through his lyrics, adding depth to his songs.

In an interview with Paul Simon on the CBS Mornings show, he was asked about his songwriting process and what comes to his mind to write a song. He addresses that "Some songs take on a life and they're still relevant in their form". Expressing how everyday ideas and experiences can be turned into songs.

https://americansongwriter.com/5-songs-you-didnt-know-paul-simon-wrote-for-other-artists/#:~:text=Of%20the%20songwriting%20process%2C%20Simon,the%20lyric%2Dmaking%20as%20well.

Paul Simon

Paul Simon is an American singer and songwriter and was popularly known to be a part of the famous duo, 'Simon and Garfunkel'. In the wake of the tremendous run of hit records with Art Garfunkel, Simon decided to strike out on his own, updating his 1960s approach and releasing Paul Simon (1972). The album contained "Mother and Child Reunion" (1972), a song that featured Jamaican musicians before reggae as well known. He often employed studio musicians to play on his tracks and expanded the singers' songwriter style. Simon increasingly incorporated jazz elements in his music with a series of albums and singles.

Notable Music Producers of the 1970s

Glyn Johns

Glyn Thomas Johns is an English recording engineer and record producer. He has worked with many of the most famous rock recording acts from both the UK and abroad, such as the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, etc. Glyn Johns produced and engineered the Eagles' first three albums in the early- to mid-1970s. At the request of producer Bob Johnston, Johns engineered the live recordings of Bob Dylan's performance backed by the Band at the Isle of Wight Festival in 1969, some of which appeared on his 1970 Self Portrait album.

John's methods of producing consist of employing two overhead microphones, with one placed over the snare drum and the other slightly over and to the right of the floor tom (both pointed towards and equidistant from the snare drum), as well as a third microphone set in front of the bass drum.

As his reputation grew, Johns found himself in increasing demand, engineering and producing for the likes of Eric Clapton, Joe Cocker, Neil Young, the Eagles and the Steve Miller Band, whose first four albums he worked on. More contentiously, his shelved mix of The Beatles’ Let It Be album has finally seen the light of day as part of the new deluxe box set.

More recently, he has collaborated with Ryan Adams, Band Of Horses and Benmont Tench, but it’s the two studio albums he produced for Joan Armatrading that merit five-star approval. On Joan Armatrading (1976) and Show Some Emotion (1977) Johns succeeds in encapsulating the musicality of the singer and her songs without any of the technical gimcrackery employed today.

https://recordcollectormag.com/articles/the-engine-room-glyn-johns

Brian Eno

Brian Eno – musician, producer, visual artist and activist first came to international prominence in the early seventies as a founding member of the British band, Roxy Music, followed by a series of solo albums and collaborations.

His work as producer includes albums with Talking Heads, Devo, U2, Laurie Anderson, James, Jane Siberry and Coldplay, while his long list of collaborations include recordings with David Bowie, Jon Hassell, Harold Budd, John Cale, David Byrne, Grace Jones, Karl Hyde, James Blake and most recently with his brother, Roger.

One of the techniques Eno applies in the studio is to encourage the participants to move outside their usual modes of behaviour, by drawing Oblique Strategy cards, playing games, and adopting new roles. This may be as simple as swapping instruments (bassist becomes drummer, lead guitarist takes over vocals etc.), or as involved as a game of charades.

In this video, Brian Eno showcases what it takes to edit a piece of music and the use of new technology that has allowed new sounds to be created.

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse