Course Description
Then we visited Rob Ridgell at
Trinity Parish Music Program, to hear
and see about the rich history of the Organ.
One example of this will be surveying the history of the violin and other
bowed instruments. Initially the technology was that of the crafts of
woodworking, making strings, making bows, etc. These are all still studied
and argued about today. Amplification brought us new twists on the violin,
but how new were they in actual use and practice? Were the "new" electric
violin players mostly just frustrated electric guitarists? Digital sensor
and synthesis technology has given us even more to deal with in the
continuing evolution of the violin.
Even though the timeline officially cuts off at the year 1999, we will do
some discussion on the present and future of music and technology. Those
topics might include Napster, Web and Satellite Radio, PC-based retro
synthesizer emulation programs, etc.
Readings and discussions will be the main focus of the course, but there
will be some writing as well. Three papers, two short and one long, along
with some concert reviews will be required.
Syllabus
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10
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12
Syllabus As It Develops:
Introductions, Definitions, Percussion: Shakers
Definitions to think about:
technology music expression art aesthetics science compose conduct perform improvise engineering listen study enjoy/absorb amateur/professional
For a given "thing" (technology)
Blades, "Percussion Instruments and Their History"
Various Afro/Cuban drum groups
More Percussion, Drums, visit to Sound Lab where
Ajay Kapur
demonstrated drums dating over a few thousand years.
Also looked at Perry's Drum
which dates back one year
The Roland TR 606 Drum
Machine (circa 1981)
And the Roland
HandSonic Electronic Drum Controller
Back to Wilson to view Harry Partch Video
Blades, Drums, from last time, and
Harry Partch Bio, His notes on "Music Studio"
Harry Partch "Music Studio," "US Highball"
both from "Episode One," films by Madeline Tourtelot
The Voice: Technology applied to the human voice.
Amplification (hands, megaphone)
Echo and reverb, pitch shifting, chorusing, etc.
Vocoders and vocoding
(natural versions of all of these, related to artificial)
Cook, "Music, Cognition and Computerized Sound"
Chapters 9 and 11, Voice...
Sundberg, "The Science of the Singing Voice," excerpt
Gillian G. Garr, Liner notes/bio from Laurie Anderson's
"Talk Normal" CD compilation (Rhino Records)
Bobby McFerrin, ("The Voice", Electra) voice as imitation of
the musical world
Caruso, "Vesta La Giubba" (horn recording)
Shiela Chandra, voice as
percussion notation (vocal "tablature"), from "Weaving my Ancestor's Voices," (RealWorld)
Heinrich Shutz (1585-1672), "Jauchzet Dem Hern...", SWV36,
(Berlin Classics) Antiphonal Choral
Music (natural and compositional echo)
Ursula Dudziak, "Future Talk," Echo and Pitch Shifting
Laurie Anderson: Pitch
shifting, Vocoding
"Do you feel like i do?, from Frampton Comes Alive" (Universal)
Walter/Wendy Carlos realization of Beethoven Ninth Symphony, from
Kubrick's Clockwork Orange (Warner)
Farinelli,
Il Castrato," extreme surgery as voice technology
Discussion: The Voice: Voice synthesis
Listening
Assignment for Oct. 10: Find two examples of profound
combinations of voice and technology (enhancement,
synthesis, processing, whatever). Write a paragraph
each about them. Be ready to discuss in class. If
possible to bring an example (audio file or CD, video
clip, etc.), please do.
More Voice:
Readings:
Two articles on Greek Avlos (ancient flute/oboe), Cook etal.
Pitch, Temperament, Scales, Pythagoras, Commas (errors in
"perfect" tuning systems.
The violin throughout history
Dan Trueman's
Thesis on
violin history
List the ten most important technological things
(throughout all of speculated musical history) that
influenced music. "Technology" can have a fairly
broad definition. Try to date them, or guess if you
don't know. Give a 1 or two sentence description of
why. If you can order the list, in David Letterman
style, that would be cool too. Don't talk to others
in the class. You may talk to friends and others though.
I also asked some friends that i trust a lot,
like Mickey, Paul, and Dan
Lip driven instruments. Seashells, animal horns, hollow logs, brass,
slides, valves
Steve Turre, Sanctified Shells (Antilles)
Pick one of the topics we've discussed so far. Write three
pages on it, doing some of your own research and listening. "Research"
means that you must read (thoroughly) one (or more, preferably many)
of the readings we've had so far. Further, you must look up, retrieve,
read, understand, and use at least two of the articles/books/whatever
to which those references refer. Listening means that you should
critically select sounds/songs/works that illustrate what you're
trying to say with your three pages and references. The actual
thing for which you formulate an argument, do research, write up,
and provide supporting references and listening examples is totally up to
you. I would be most delighted if you teach me many new things
that i don't know, but i know a lot of the secondary (and tertiary)
references, so don't make it up. Do the research :-). I
would also like it if you avoid your personal "instrument" for this
assignment. For one, I'd like you to branch out and look objectively
at something that you don't feel that you're already familiar. For
another, I'll might giving an assignment related to your own instrument
later on.
Stay Tuned, Maybe Won't Meet (Thanksgiving)
Course Description
This seminar will survey the influence that technology has had on music
throughout history. It might seem at first glance that the invention of
technologies such as the turntable, the guitar amplifier, or electronic
(analog or digital) synthesizer have had the most profound effects on
music and music making. But the use of a stone tool to chip a hole into a
bone could have been an even more important event in the musical life of
that ancient flute maker and others. The piano, the violin, percussion
instruments, and even the voice have all felt the influence of technology
in more or less influential ways. We will, of course, look at what the
turntable, amplification, and computers have done to change music (and
vice versa), but we will also look critically at other "technologies."