The 47th Star

2011-12-24T08:56:00.000-08:00

Daniel M. Thompson. Understanding Audio. Boston: Berklee Press, 2005.

There are quite a few books on the market that profess to help the non-professional, like myself, to become a better engineer. Understanding Audio by Daniel M. Thompson is one of those. Like other books of this type, Understanding Audio covers a fairly narrow scope of information – essentially skills and knowledge that Mr. Thompson thinks an experienced non-professional might benefit from. And, like similar books, this is not a one-stop, learn-it-all resource. But, that being said, it is a useful addition to a project studio bookshelf.

One thing that sets Understanding Audio apart is that it was written by a Berklee College of Music faculty member, who states in the introduction that this book is intended for both the “musician setting up [their] first Pro-Tools studio” and the “seasoned professional recording engineer or producer” who wants a one volume resource to fill in the gaps in their knowledge. While that is a pretty ambitious agenda for such a short book (354 pages), there is wide spectrum of information covered. In sixteen chapters and two appendices the books moves from pre-1920s recording technology, though analog tape recording, the MIDI revolution, and on through to the modern digital recording studio. Each of these topics are given sufficient space to do them minor justice, but as Thompson writes in the preface, “[t]his is not a book about recording techniques” – as the title suggests, it is a book about audio in the broadest sense of the term.

So what can you expect to learn from Understanding Audio? First, let’s put aside the first three chapters, which are a review of how signal moves through a recording studio environment, and how the signal is manipulated at each stage. Chapter 4 is a useful and fairly in-depth look at how signal moves through a recording console. The chapter begins with an overview of console architecture then moves step-by-step through the various signal paths available on a typical recording desk – either analog or digital. This chapter would be very helpful for any dedicated novice who wants to begin recording outside of the “box” (i.e., solely within a DAW like Pro Tool, Logic, etc.) by adding a stand-alone recording desk. This chapter can definitely help in unraveling the mysteries of any console, short of top-shelf pro-studio stuff (but if you’re reading this, that’s probably not you – unless you’re looking for a good chuckle).

Chapters 5-10 are a pedestrian tour of the physics of sound and psychoacoustics (the human perception and interpretation of sound). It’s not a bad place to someone start their studies in this area, but it certainly is a bad place to end them. This is a pair of topics that are best explored in a separate book, like Harry F. Olsen’s Music, Physics, and Engineering (reviewed below). But if you’re only going to read one book, this will get you started. It should be said that Understanding Audio does have a section on the differences between analog and digital signal metering, which nicely supplement Olsen’s, Music, Physics, and Engineering, which was written before the widespread use of digital audio.

Chapters 12 and 13 look at analog gain staging and the science of analog recording via magnetic tape. It also includes a cool section that describes exactly how tape machines work and how sound is captured on tape itself. For those still hankering to dabble in the tape world, this should be useful and informative.

More useful for the electronic musician are the last three chapters. Chapter 14 is an excellent mini-treatise on the science of digital audio. This is particularly important for any novice recording engineer, since in certain respects, analog and digital signals, and the conversion process between them, is an inversion of the purely analog process – for example, in contrast to analog recording, the danger of digital distortion and signal break-up exists at several stages of the recording process – including very low recording levels. Someone setting up their first digital studio could save themselves a few headaches by reading this first. Chapter 15 is a mediocre review of MIDI technology. It enough to make it clear that MIDI doesn’t transmit sound waves per se, but there is not enough information to get a would-be MIDI musician up and running. Again, MIDI is something that should be studied in separate book dedicated to the topic. The book closes with a chapter on control room acoustics, which seems particularly helpful, since most non-professional recording is done in rooms built for other purposes. There is some good advice on how to gain some control over the sound waves bouncing around a room that may interfere with a more precise listening and mixing experience.

Understanding Audio is a useful addition to a project studio bookshelf. As a single, comprehensive volume, it provides a quick reference to complex concepts in more-or-less understandable language. It is the type of book you might crack when adding a new set of monitors to the studio, so you can determine the best placement for them, or when adding a piece of outboard gear to an otherwise digital system. In that regard the book is worth the price. But don’t expect to buy this book and “understand audio” (sorry, I couldn’t help myself). This isn’t a stand-alone, one-shot deal. But, as an addition to other books of its type, it is recommended.

An Annotated Bibliography On Electronic Music

2009-05-18T10:07:00.000-07:00

This annotated bibliography is intended to be a continuously expanding resource on books, articles, etc. relating to the history, theory, and practice of experimental and electronic music. I make no claim to authority; however, I have read all items on the list. This bibliography simply reflects my own private studies, inadequate as they are.

Ross, Alex. The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century. New York: Picador, 2007.

In a nutshell, The Rest Is Noise is history of western art (or “classical”) music of the 20^th century, with a pronounced emphasis on the so-called avant-garde of continental Europe. The author, Alex Ross, studied music composition at Harvard University, and currently serves as music critic for a number of periodicals, most notably the New York Times. Given the author’s education, occupation, and his chosen subject matter, The Rest Is Noise has an unapologetic focus on elite, institutional art music styles. In addition to the narrow focus, the author mostly limits his coverage to the “big names” of 20^th-century art music – Igor Stravinsky, Arnold Schoenberg, Aaron Copeland, etc.

Structurally, the book is broken up in to three sections. Part I covers the period from the 1890s to the rise of European Fascism in the 1930s. Part II covers the World War II-era. Part III covers the Post War period from 1945 to 2000. Each section is further broken up into chapters, which tend to focus on either particular composers, and/or particular musical trends. Even though concepts like “the 20^th century” are questionable and, perhaps, inaccurate, Ross’ choice to structure the book in this way works well. Arguably, World War II was the pivotal event of the 20^th century, and by treating it this way, the author give the reader a sense of how cataclysmic the war was, and how it affected musical trends in it’s aftermath.

Part I of The Rest is Noise expends a considerable amount of energy on the lives, careers, and relationship between Richard Strauss and Gustav Mahler. For Ross, these two composers personify everything that “modern” music came to represent. One of the interesting and fun aspects of the book is the author’s focus on the gossipy aspects of composers’ lives; this really brings the composers to life as fully human beings with flaws and all. From Strauss and Mahler, the book jumps into the lives of Igor Stravinsky and Arnold Schoenberg, the two inescapable towers of 20^th-century innovation. One chapter deals with American music and gives fair coverage to Aaron Copeland and Charles Ives, but inexcusably give short shrift to Jazz – a puzzling choice. The section ends with an excellent overview of Jean Sibelius and a gripping retelling of Kurt Weill’s ordeal in pre-Nazi Germany.

World War II provides the background for Part II, where Ross dives into the heart of Soviet Russia, using Dmitri Shostakovich’s life and career as a cautionary tale of art and politics mixing at official levels. Another chapter flips the art/government coin and looks at American art music under President Roosevelt’s New Deal, and various attempts in the United States to use art both as a morale builder and economic stimulus for a nearly broken nation. The final chapter in Part II is an exploration of musical culture of Nazi Germany with all of the forks in the road of heroism and compromise that each composer had to choose. Ross avoids casting stones at composers who worked with the Nazis, choosing instead to consider the complex of options that each one grappled with.

The final section of the book is a whirlwind, looking at post-WWII developments and innovations. A good chunk of this part is dedicated to Benjamin Britten and Oliver Messiaen, with some space left to Gyorgi Ligeti and John Cage. Too little space is given to electronic music developments, which is regrettable given that much of late-20^th-century art music was focused on electronics. Similarly, rock and roll is barely touched on, despite its powerful influence on art music. Similarly, jazz is hardly mentioned. On the other had, Minimalism and its leading lights, Steve Reich, Philip Glass, John Adams, and Terry Riley, are given good coverage.

Overall, The Rest is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century is an informative and enjoyable history of modern classical music. Alex Ross is a music critic, not a historian, so the book, while accurate, tends more towards biography and critical music analysis; as a result, some of the political and economic history is a bit light. Like many books of its ilk, The Rest is Noise does a great job of chronicling the music of elite institutions, but leaves a lot to be desired in regard to non-institutional music.

Coryat, Karl. Guerilla Home Recording: How To Get Great Sound From Any Studio. Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard Books, 2008.

Like many of the titles published by Hal Leonard, Guerilla Home Recording is how-to book aimed at the non-professional, yet moderately serious, hobbyist. Broken down into 10 chapters and 4 appendices, it is an informative manual on some of the very important basics of making clean “professional” recordings in the average project studio. The title of the book is reference to the author’s core philosophy on project studios, namely, that, “Guerilla Home Recording is the pursuit of professional sound in ways that don’t require you to spend a lot of money” (p. 5). The book has a very informal tone – in fact, it borders on a kind of friendly condescension; however, it does contain a fair amount of useful information for the non-expert recordist, explained in such a way as to make it immediately practical. Despite the title of this book, the author makes the not unreasonable assumption that his readers are working with a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) of some sort (Pro-Tools, Logic, Live, etc.).

Chapter 1 lays out some basic principles of the so-called Guerilla Home recordist, which center on maximizing whatever equipment a project studio might have. One example is the author’s suggestion to “Mix As You Go”, a call to keep a running mix down during the entire recording process, presumably making it easier to make a final mix. Chapters 2-7 are the meat and potatoes of the book, taking the reader through an interesting and informative step-by-step tour of the technical side of recording – the signal chain, frequency, etc – of course, all written with the non-expert in mind. Each of these chapters deal with a particular aspect of recording, from pre-production, to mic choice and placement, to levels, to signal processing, to mixing, an so on. In particular, the author does an excellent job of explaining gain staging and its importance for the overall quality of any recording.

Chapters 9, 10, and Appendix A, treat, respectively, mixing, mastering, miscellaneous techniques, and analog recording. These chapters, while moderately interesting, are too brief to be of much use to any but the most inexperienced recordist. These sections of the book are more long form definitions and explanations of each topic than “how-to” manual. The appendix on analog recording dwells on cassette 4-track and some of the lower-end “home” 8-track recorders, but, surprisingly, leaves out some of the more serious “project studio” 16-track 1/2” machines, like the Fostex B-16 – arguably a more accurate analog counterpart to the current DAWs than a 4-track. But, for those who need explanations of this type, this can be great information.

Chapter 8 and Appendix B and C, are examples of the weakness of this book. Like many titles aimed at the non-expert, the author assumes that his readers are all recording American pop music, and that they are dedicated to reproducing the so-called “professional” standards as set by the mainstream corporate entertainment industry. To this end, there is an irritating amount of advice on how to “fake” professional results – part of the “Guerilla Recording” ethos. For those recordists who are seeking to find their own voice and their own standards, this will be a bit annoying. More irritating is the “Hey, I’m your buddy” tone that saturates the book – the author is your buddy; it’s just that you’re dumb, but he’s here to help. That being said, the strong point of the book is in Chapters 1-7, the how-to part. The information is accurate and easy to follow. If the reader can swallow the smarmy “we’re buddies” bullshit, the book can be a useful resource.

One last note: This book will work best for someone who already understands the basics of recording, and who is currently working on a recording project of some sort. Those individuals who do not understand the terms “track”, “levels”, or “master” should look elsewhere. This book is not “how to record,” but rather, “how to make the most of your equipment.” Maybe it should be pointed out that if the reader doesn’t have a working knowledge of their DAW, this book would be of little use.

Clifford, Martin. Microphones: How They Work & How To Use Them. Blue Ridge Summit, PA: Tab Books, 1981.

This book, though written in 1977, is an excellent introduction to the technical side of microphones of all types. Those who recoil at the idea of a book of this type being over 30 years old would do well to remember that, for the most part, microphones have not fundamentally changed (for example, Shure introduced the SM57 and SM58 mics in 1968 – you can purchase them brand new still, and they remain largely the same). Even when it comes to digital audio, a microphone is still designed to respond to and transmit waveforms. This is not to say that improvements and innovations in materials and design have not occurred. But, you can take a working RCA 44-BX from 1941 and plug it into a mixer and it will work – pretty darn well.

The book is split into two major sections. Chapters 1-4 are an introduction to the basic physics of sound and the physics and engineering of the basic types of microphones (ribbon, unidirectional, omni directional, etc.). Essentially, these chapters explain in a fair amount of detail exactly what a microphone is and how exactly each type works. Chapters 5-9 serve as a practical manual on the application and use of various types of mics. There are individual chapters on recording the human voice, musical instruments, and what the author calls “Special Applications” – basically everything else (field recordings, special effects, etc.). Also, there is an interesting chapter on microphone placement, and some helpful dos and don’ts.

The strong point of this book is the first four chapters. The information is still mostly relevant. For the individual looking for an in-depth introduction to the physics and engineering of the most common types of mics, this book would be a good place to start. The book defines many concepts (i.e. high vs. low impedance; sound pressure; polar pattern, etc.) that the recordist/musician will encounter when working with mics. The non-expert will learn quite a bit of useful information that, given the effort, can be translated into more realized recordings/performances.

Less strong is the second half of the book. The author seems to assume that the reader is either recording rock bands, or is working in radio or television. As such, the suggestions about mic placement read a little like a list of rights and wrongs. Of course mic placement is a complex process of experimentation in relation to circumstance and taste. But this is a forgivable flaw; there is more than enough useful information for the non-expert.

Overall, Microphones: How They Work & How To Use Them is a great resource for the non-expert recordist/musician. The book will provide an in-depth education in the physics, engineering, and use of most types of microphones. An understanding of basic physics and algebra is helpful, but not absolutely necessary. Some of the advice is a bit pedantic and dated, but on the whole, a useful reference.

Holmes, Thom. Electronic and Experimental Music: Pioneers in Technology and Composition. New York and London: Routledge, 2002.

This is a fantastic book about the origins and development of electronic music, covering both artists and engineers. The author begins with a brief survey of late-19th/early-20th century modernist and avant-garde European and American composers. He then follows the long lineage of artists, engineers, and tinkerers who, over the course of a century, contributed to the development and artistic use of such technologies as the telephone, the phonograph, the tape recorder, and the synthesizer - to name just a few. The book is well written, well researched, and informative. That being said, this book is essentially a history of elite, institutional music, meaning that it focuses on university professors, classically-trained rebels (Cage, Stockhausen, Carlos, etc.), engineers (Bob Moog, etc.), mathematicians, and large entertainment corporations (RCA, MGM, Warner Bros., etc.). Those individuals looking for information on so-called rock pioneers such as Kraftwerk, Neu!, Brian Eno, Bowie, Devo, and the many, many others will be disappointed. This is the one shortcoming of the book: it fails to acknowledge the fact that by the 1960s electronic and experimental music was embraced and advanced by the rock community. How could you leave out Kraftwerk or Bowie? The author makes no significant mention of Krautrock, Disco, New Wave, Synthpop, Hip Hop, or the various types of electronic dance music - much less Throbbing Gristle/Psychic TV, Coil, NIN, KMFDM, et al! In addition, the author does not even mention technologies such as Pro Tools, Reason, Logic, Live, etc. - all of which have their roots in the productions of "rock" oriented music. Nevertheless, the book is useful and informative, and despite these limitations, it stands highly recommended.

Olson, Harry F. Music, Physics, and Engineering. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1967.

The author is a relatively unknown giant in the world of electronic music - though he was not a musician. For many years, Dr. Olson was the head of research at RCA Laboratories where he made significant contributions to the development of the field of Acoustic Research. While Olson also made significant contributions to the development of the modern microphone and magnetic tape recording (among other things), he is best known, perhaps, as being a key member of the team that researched and developed the RCA Mark II Sound Synthesizer - the first synthesizer used to create and market music for mass consumption. The book, originally published in 1952, hearkens back to the days when sound studio engineers wore white lab coats and carried clipboards. It takes the reader, chapter by chapter, from the basic physical nature of sound waves up to the production of electronic music. Most of the important topics are treated, like how different musical instruments produce and manipulate sound (the section on trumpets is very cool), how sound waves behave in the physical world, the physical and psychological aspects of sound and music perception (how your ears and brain work), the design of sound stages, studios, etc, and ends with an introduction to the basics of recording technology and electronic instruments (electric guitar, synthesizers, etc.), such as they were in the 1950s. The book is aimed at the non-specialist, but has enough information to give a solid foundation in the basic physics of sound and how it applies to the production of music. While it is true that much of the technology discussed in the book is no longer in common use (i.e. magnetic tape, massive synths, etc.), the basic concepts of sound still hold true and thus make this book a still-useful reference. It should also be noted that this book is very often cited in musical texts of many types.

Welcome

2008-11-30T14:30:00.000-08:00

Welcome to The 47th Star blog. The 47th Star is an experimental electronic music project operated by Chris Vigil.