Revision

• Composer

• Songwriter

• Lyricist

• Arranger

• Session Musician

• Sound Designer

• DJ

• Producer

• Technician

• Recording Engineer

• Manager

• Publicist

• Artist and Repertoire (usually just called A&R)

• Music marketing is the act and process of creating, sharing, delivering, and exchanging music offerings that have value to customers, fans, or partners.

• A song or album

• A gig, DJ set, or tour

• Licensing

• Merchandise

• Streaming

• Physical Music Distribution- getting physical albums in to shops

• Digital Music Distribution- music sent in digital form to music platforms

Here are some examples of promotional tools:

Physical promotion:

• Launch party

• Radio shows

• TV shows

• Interviews

Performances:

• gigs

• tours

• festivals

Materials:

• Posters

• Billboards

• Flyers

Digital promotion:

• Social media posts

• Videos

• Live streaming

• Websites

Analogue recording technology-

• Magnetic tape systems- multi-track recording systems 2,4,8,16,24 tracks

Digital recording technology-

• Digital audio stationary head (DASH)

• Alesis digital audio tape (ADAT)

• Hard disc system

• Digital Audio Workstation (DAW)

Synthesisers

• Digital- modern DAWS have a range of built in software synths, for example Logic has alchemy, ESP, EXS24 etc

• Analogue- hardware physical synthesisers are keyboards that have a range of programmable sound and parameters

Samplers

• Digital

• Analogue

• Drum Machines

• Sequencers

• Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI)

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• They are the standard connections for use with microphones

• They are balanced cables which means the earth doesn't interfere with the signal. This means that over long distances you get a good clear signal

• They can carry phantom power which condensor microphones need to work

• They have a locking connections on each end so don't disconnect accidentally

• These are commonly used for stereo equipment such as DJ decks.

• Stereo connectors can send different audio signal down each wire, they are often colour coded with the red channel being the right and the white channel being the left.

• The quarter inch (1/4”) version is most commonly used to connect instruments (such as a guitar) to amplifiers or other studio equipment that can accept this type of connection.

• These come in two main sizes 1/4" and  3.5mm.

•  Instrument cables are mono – they only carry one signal. This also means that they are unbalanced. Over long distances this means that you could get interference. 

• The 3.5mm are often used for personal audio equipment such as headphones. Mobile phones often have this connector (this is being phased out of some phones with the use of bluetooth headphones)

• An audio track is mainly used for recording external sound that might come from a microphone or an instrument

• The DAW captures the sound wave and converts this in to digital information using a process of sampling

• Audio file sizes tend to be large as DAWs use uncompressed audio files in projects to ensure the best recording quality

• These are the smallest audio file type. 

• They were created so that you could fit hundreds of songs onto MP3 players that had limited amounts of storage space.

•  MP3 files cut out a lot of the original information that made the file so big in the first place. When you compress a file into and MP3 you reduce its dynamic range – how loud and how quiet it will be, along with the amount of frequencies, pitches, that are heard. 

• The first things to be deleted are the lowest bass sounds and the highest treble sounds. Then it gets rid of the detail of the audio wave. It turns it from a wave into something that looks more like a graph.

• These files they contain ALL of the original information that was recorded. There is no loss of information, dynamic, or pitch range. What you put in is what you get back out. What you record  with a microphone or instrument into a DAW, this is the type of file that it creates.

• WAV files are best used for sending the full resolution audio to another producer or mixer to put the finishing touches to your song, or to a CD or record production company to create a physical album of your work.

• Because they contain all of the original information, the file size is very large so they are not good for attaching to e-mails. They often have to be physically transferred on a memory stick, CD, or external hard-drive. 

• The internet has become a lot faster though, so it is now possible to send these files using an internet cloud storage space, but the upload times may be very long and you need to make sure that you have an excellent internet connection.

• Audio interfaces convert analog electrical signal pules in to digital data. This is done by sampling the sound wave and turning it in to digital data

• Key controls on an audio interface are:

• Gain controls- this is useful for boosting or cutting the amount of volume coming in to the interface

• EQ this can adjust the bass and treble of the sound coming in to the audio interface

• Monitor level- This is so you can listen to the sound coming in to the interface and this would turn up the volume level in your headphones will not affect the level of the signal just how much you can hear.

• 48v button- this is for phantom power which might be required if you are using a condensor mic

• A DI box is used to convert and unbalanced to balanced signals. This is commonly used when plugging guitars in to PA systems to avoid interference or noisy signals.

• They use a jack input for the guitar and an XLR output to go to the mixing desk

CUT - out unwanted material from a recording – cutting out the sound of a singer talking or coughing in between verses.

COPY - a chorus to save the singer performing it more than once, it may contain some difficult to reach notes for them, or maybe once performance of the chorus was better than the others. It would also save time to only record what you needed and then copy them.

PASTE– Once you have cut or copied the material you want to move, you can paste it in to the project wherever you like. Audio and MIDI information can only exist on their own type of track. You CAN NOT paste audio information on to a MIDI track. 

• A software instrument track works by using MIDI data to create sound. This can be inputted using a MIDI controller or using the draw tool in a DAW

• You can load default synth sounds using the menu system or you can load up synth and then customise the sound.

• You could also load a sampler on to a software instrument track

• MIDI data is not sound just data so files are small in size

• Note on and off- how long was the note held down

• Pitch- what notes has been triggered, for example C1, G2

• Velocity-How hard was the note pressed down, this is represented by 0-127

• Channel message- what instrument is assigned to the note piano sounds have numbers starting with 00, strings sounds have numbers starting with 035 etc

• Allows you to put MIDI information in perfect time with the beat of the music.

• Is useful for correction the timing of whole sections of music with one click. This needs to be used with caution though of if the note is not close enough to the beat you intend to move it to it might snap to the wrong beat.  

• In the DAW software, when you double click on a MIDI / software instrument track that has a performance recorded on it, you will see the MIDI editor appear. It will have a grid system that shows you each beat of the bar and all of its subdivisions. This is how you can put a performance in perfect time by aligning it with the correct beat division so that the sound plays at exactly the right moment.

• Midi velocity is essentially how soft or hard a midi key is pressed down on a controller.

• As well as volume it can change the tonal quality of the sound too. For example a trumpet sound played with a high velocity can sound harsh but with a low velocity could sound mellow.

• Allows midi compatible equipment to be plugged in to a computer. So when you trigger a MIDI sound by pressing a key data is sent to the computer

• MIDI data is made up of PITCH, DURATION, VELOCITY, CHANNEL number (so the computer knows what sound to use e.g channel 1 is always a piano sound, channel 40 is usually a violin sound etc.

• Usual connections are MIDI in, MIDI out, MIDI thru

• MIDI out- sends information out of the controller (usually a keyboard) to the computer

• MIDI in- allows information back in to the MIDI device 

• MIDI thru- copies any information that is sent in to the device and outputs the same copy. This is useful if you want to connect MIDI devices together.

• Controller keyboard

• Electronic drum kit

• Launchpad

• Wind controller

• Guitar controllers

• All of these devices are capable of sending MIDI information to a computer, or to a sound module (a box that contains recorded sounds or synthesisers, that are triggered when the MIDI instrument plays). 

• Keys to trigger notes

• A pitch wheel that can bend the pitch of notes

• A modulation wheel that adds a 'wavey' character to the sound

• Rotary controls. These can be assigned to different parameters in the DAW. You can use them to write automation

• Rugged and not easily damaged so good for live sound work

• This is how it works:

Dynamic microphones use a metal coil wrapped around a magnet. When the coil moves, it creates and electrical signal. The coil is attached to a diaphragm, as the sound waves hit the diaphragm, the coil moves and creates the electrical signal. The resulting electrical signal is an exact replica of the sound wave signal that caused the diaphragm to move.

• Can handle very loud sounds without being damages, so a bass drum or guitar amplifier for example.

• Don't feedback easily as not as sensitive as condensor mics, so good for live sound work

• Condensor mics are very sensitive. They are NOT suitable for being dragged around form gig to gig as they will get easily damaged. 

• They provide very high quality recordings because of their sensitivity, but this also makes them far more expensive than their Dynamic cousins. 

• Condenser microphones need power (phantom power, +48volts) to work. 

• This is how they work:

Condenser microphones work by passing an electrical signal between two plates. When a sound hits the front plate, the distance between the two plates changes and this changes the current between those plates. That translates to an electrical signal that is a replica of the sound wave that moved the front plate.

• They are very sensitive and mainly used in studio environments to record vocals and instruments that don’t produce high sound levels – violins, acoustic guitars, pianos. They are also used as room mics, picking up the sounds that reflect off the walls (reverb) and giving the recording a sense of space. 

• The cardioid pick up pattern is the most common polar pattern and is found on the majority of dynamic mics. 

• It picks up sound from the front and not the back.

• This is a very useful for recording vocals and single instruments as it records what is right in front of it.

• Omni-directional pick up patterns picks up sound from all directions.

• This pick pattern is found on condensor microphones.

• This polar pattern is often used to record orchestras, choirs, full bands… Because it picks up sound from every direction it means you can record a lot of people or instruments at the same time. 

• This microphone is often used for micing cymbals too as it picks up high frequencies well.

• Microphones can pick up a range of frequencies, if they pick up all the bass and treble frequencies evenly this is called a flat frequency response. Some microphones will boost certain frequencies and these are shaped responses.

• An advantage of the flat frequency response is it will sound quite natural as it picks up all of the frequencies evenly

• A shaped frequency response tends to boost middle frequencies which are where most sounds are produced such as voices, pianos, guitars etc.

• Equalisation is the process of adjusting frequencies of live, or recorded sounds. You would do this to either make the sound closer to the way you would hear it in real life, or for artistic reasons to boost or cut frequencies for creative reasons. 

• EQ can also be used to remove or reduce any problem frequencies that have been recorded – the rattle of a guitar string against the frets or a low rumbling sound etc.

As the name suggests a high pass filter lets the high frequencies through and rejects the low frequencies. For more info look on the EQ page.

As the name suggests a low pass filter lets the low frequencies through and rejects the high frequencies. For more info look on the EQ page.

• Movies

• Theatre

• Radio Broadcast

• Podcast

• Computer Game

Diagetic sounds are sounds that characters can hear in movies. This could be a a song played on a radio in the movie, A plane flying over in a scene etc.

Non- Diagetic sounds are sounds that the audience can hear but that the characters can't hear. The main example of this is a narrator doing a voice over or music created by the film composer to add impact to a scene.

• Foley effects are sound effects that are specifically recorded (by a Foley artist) for an event in a film.

• There are loads of examples of this, such as the sound of a dog barking, a door closing etc. 

• These are created because it might not be easily captured during filming as the sound people are concentrating on getting good quality dialogue audio

Ambient effects are the recording of background sounds that make a scene feel more real. An example of this might be a busy café scene, the ambience might be cups clinking, chatter, chairs scrapping. These would be all general sounds not tied down to a particular event in the scene

Underscore is the music that is composed to go with the scene in a movie. It is called underscore because it has to be under the volume of dialogue and sound effects.

Spot/Special effects are sound effects that emphasise something important to the plot of the movie. This means they might be louder they would be in reality to make sure the audience notices.

• You can hear panning easily as you have one speaker in each ear

• This isolates the sounds, so other people can't hear them

When recording:

• Having headphones means your can hear what you are playing

• Using headphones is better than having speakers as speakers would cause feedback when near a microphone

• If musicians are in different rooms for recording they still need to hear each other, headphones can solve this problem

• Each musician could have a different mix of sound if they have headphones. They might want to hear more of themselves than the other musicians, they could do this if they all have heaphones on

• Monitors are another word for speakers

• Speakers are a good way of sharing sound and multiple people can listen at the same time.

• There main use in a studio for speakers is to hear and mix the recording.

When recording:

• It isn't usual to use speakers when recording as if microphones are being used it would cause feedback, this could damage equipment and your ears!

• You could use speakers in a recording session if you weren't using a microphone, so just recording a guitar, or keyboard etc 

Overdubbing is the process of re-recording part of a track that has already been recorded. In most recording scenarios, a guide track is recorded first, this is used for the musicians to play to, it helps with the structure and tempo of the song, it won’t end up in the final mix.

Then, in turn, each performer can record their part individually so they get really good quality recordings, this is overdubbing. 

The advantages of overdubs:

• Allows you to correct mistakes on individual tracks and improve the recording.

• Instruments can be recorded separately without affecting other musicians.

• The quality of the recording can be improved with a cleaner sound and tighter rhythm because instruments would be recorded in isolation away from other sounds that would bleed through.

• Allows for the layering of more parts to thicken the texture of the song.

• You can keep as many versions of each take as you like. They can then be cut up and put together to make the final recording, this is called Comping.

Multi-tracking is the ability to record on to more than one track at once. Either at the same time or recording one track at a time.

• Reverb replicates the reflections of sound in a room

• Reverb brings some sustain to a sound and makes it stick around for longer—often referred to as reverb tails.

• Reverb makes things sound further away in the mix  

Delay is an effect that copies the original signal (sound) and plays it back at a time interval after the original sound.

Delay can be played back in different ways to achieve sounds such as echoes that decay over time, or a pronounced repeated doubling effect that adds new layers to a recording. 

• Chorus is an effect where the sound is copied, the copied version is then detuned slightly so it sounds like there is more than one instrument sound playing.

• This replicates what might happen if you had 2 instruments or singers playing as they wouldn't be perfectly in tune with one another.

• Distortion is an overloading of the audio circuit that causes the signal to clip. It might sound like something you wanna stay away from—but when used right it’s very effective as a creative tool. 

• Bit-crushing is the lo-fi digital equivalent of the distortion effect. 

• Distortion is commonly used with electric guitars and increasingly on synths. 

• Compression is the reduction of dynamic range—the difference between the loudest and quietest parts of an audio signal. When compression is applied, the quieter parts of the signal are boosted and the louder ones are reduced in volume.

• If compression is added then this allows you to turn the overall volume of the track up without causing distortion.

• Sidechain compression is a classic sound in dance music: it sounds like it’s pulsing. This effect is achieved by using the bass drum to trigger the compressor so that everytime the bass drum hits the volume of the other tracks momentarily dips down.

• A noise gate is an effect that operates on the volume of the sound. If a sound reaches a certain volume (threshold) the gate opens and lets the sound be heard. If a sound doesn't reach the threshold, the gate closes and the sound is muted

• The main uses for a noise gate is to get rid of unwanted sounds on a track. This could be low rumbling noises or a high hiss. This only works if there is a reasonable big difference in volume between the sound that you want to hear and the sound you want to get rid of.

• A software sampler is a plugin in that allows you to trigger small audio files pressing down MIDI keys on a keyboard.

• A launchpad works in the same way but you would trigger the sounds by pressing down small pad buttons. These are often used by DJ's to add to their mixes.

Using a sampler

• You can get exactly the sound you want which could sound more realistic than a synthesised sound

• Making a sampled sound might take quite a bit of time because you would need microphones, cables, audio interface etc and would have to set up all of this equipment

• You need to have a good knowledge of how a sampler works (key range, layering etc)

• Using a sampler might not give you as much editing possibilities for the sound

• Would suit a style that required more natural sounding instruments

Using a synthesiser

• The sound might be more original as it is not a real sound

• Could have more control over editing such as ADSR, sound source (LFO- square-sine-saw tooth). You would need to know how to do all of this though

• Could take less time as you don't need microphones etc

• Would fit a style that required more of an electronic sounding style

The attack begins the moment a key is pressed. Attack time determines how quickly a sound reaches full volume before entering the decay phase. 

• Decay determines the length of the drop from the peak attack level to the sustain level of a sound. 

• The decay time can often be altered to change the overall sound. For instance, a short attack and a long decay will produce a sound that reaches maximum volume quickly and falls slowly to the sustain level. 

Sustain controls the volume of the sound after the attack has happened. The sustain stage will carry on while the key is pressed down. Once the key is not pressed down this is then controlled by the release time.

• The release time is how long it takes for the sound to disappear once the key on the keyboard has ben let go.

• If the release dial is turned down then as soon as you let go of the key the sound will disappear. If the release time dial is turned up when you let go of the key it will take a long time for the sound to gradually disappear. 

• Timbre means the tonal colour of the synth

• This questions is part of what you have to do for the practical exam. Other than ADSR any other control that changes the sound the synth makes would change the timbre.

Controls that change the tonal colour could be:

• Different sound waves (sawtooth, triangle etc)

• White noise

• Effects on the synth itself such as chorus, distortion

• Low cut/high pass filter

• High cut/Low pass filter

• Resonance/Frequency control (this can make the sound brighter or duller)

You could look at the synth controls page for more details

Envelope means the ADSR setting on the synth

An oscillator is the part of the synth that generates the sound it does this electronically in the same way a string vibrates when you pluck it. Oscillations in the circuit produce the sound.

• Instruments includes – main (often male) vocals, backing vocals, electric guitars, double bass or bass guitar, drums, piano, harmonica, saxophone and other brass.

• Fast Tempo – 140bpm or faster. (it was a dance style of music)

• Energetic delivery of vocals (screaming and shouting)

• Often based on 12-bar chord structure.

• Guitar or piano improvised solos

• Elvis

• Chuck Berry

• Buddy Holly

• Rolling Stones

• Little Richard

• Many more...

• Instruments: piano, drums, and the guitar. The use of horns, like the trumpet and saxophone, plays a huge role in distinguishing soul music from other music genres.

• 12 bar, 3 line lyric style used in blues of the 40's and 50's

• Call and response with backing vocalist 

• Aretha Franklin

• Al Green

• Smokey Robinson

• Marvin Gaye

• Temptations

• Many more...

• MCing/rapping/ad lib

• Record scratching

• Programmed drum beats

• Use of samples from other songs

• Simple accompaniment with bass being prominent

• Jay Z

• Drake

• Cardi B

• Kendrick Lamar

• Many more...

• Fast tempo

• 4 on the floor bass drum

• Use of DAW to produce

• Exclusively electronic instruments such as drums and synths

• Beat drop/build up/break down structural elements

• Processed vocals 

• Sometimes with no vocals

• Calvin Harris

• David Guetta

• Marshmello

• Martin Garrix

• Many more...

• Instruments include, electric guitar, electric organ, conga drums, drum kit

• Slow tempo

• Emphasis on the back beat (beats 2 and 4)

• Slow tempo

• Instruments: Guitar, bass, conga, organ

• Jamaican vocalists common

• Bob Marley

• Jimmy Cliff

• UB40

• Many more....

Real instruments:

The instruments could sound more authentic

The results could sound more musical because musicain has put more expression in to the performance

It could talk longer to record and you would need more equipment such as instruments, cables, mics etc

Audio instrument tracks are harder to correct in terms of pitch and rhythm

Synth instruments:

Don't have to have the instrumental skills of that instrument

Synth instruments often don't sound quite like the real thing

You don't need as much equipment and could do it with just a laptop

Can edit the sound more easily if they are MIDI 

Issue: Strain your eyes by looking at a display screen for too long

Solution: Take regular breaks

Issue: Trailing cables can be a tripping hazard.

Solution: Make sure the cables are long enough so the can run along the floor and not in the air. Group cables together to minimise the amount of cable runs, pass cables though a cable floor mat to avoid tripping.

Chorus:

• This usually contains the hook of the song

• Often has more going on in terms of texture/layers than the verse. 

• Also contains the main message of the song in the lyrics

Verse:

• Tells the story of the song

• Gives some contrast to the chorus can sometimes by quieter and less busy

• Builds up to the chorus 

Often in the written exam in the listening section at the end you will be asked to identify the chord patter. This is usually a 12 bar blues based pattern as outlined below. It would be worth memorising when the chords change across the 12 bars