Synthesizer Fundamentals – Bass Drum
Posted on 15. Jul, 2011 by Ejiro.
One of the most overlooked and powerful tools for creating percussion sounds in this modern age of soft samplers, emulators, and other sophisticated tools is the humble subtractive analog synthesizer. Learning how to generate exciting drum sounds also takes a lot of the mystery out of creating other percussive sounds, such as basses and plucked-string type sounds, as well as providing an exciting way to personalize your music.
First, let’s make a basic kick drum type sound. Most any analog or virtual/soft analog synth with one or more of the following will suffice: An oscillator,preferably with a sine wave generator, a resonant filter, a white noise generator, and an envelope (that preferably can be routed to the filter as well as the amplifier). With these simple parameters a wide range of percussion can be achieved. [...]
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The History of the Gibson Guitar
Posted on 14. Jul, 2011 by Ejiro.
Gibson is one of the best and longest lasting guitar companies in the world. Orville Gibson himself, the founder of Gibson Corporation, was a musician and woodcrafter who enjoyed making mandolins and other instruments back in Kalamazoo Michigan. He would work on them continually until he found the perfect shape and eventually patented the mandolin design in 1898 that we see as the single piece carved sides with a single piece neck.
It was in 1902 that he started his own company to market the mandolin and eventually the guitar. He did well for himself, but it was really in the 1920′s that the Gibson company started innovations for both the guitar and mandolin design. Soon they became the leading manufacturer of arch top guitars known at the time as the Gibson L5 model. Just a few years later in 1936 they came out with an electric version of a guitar called the ES-150 which is considered by some to be the first commercially successful electric guitar, although it was not technically the first one made. [...]
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Pop Music – History and Facts Revealed
Posted on 13. Jul, 2011 by Ejiro.
One genre that appeals to most everyone is pop music owing to its light and catchy qualities. Pop music is so aptly called because it is a categorization that is largely based on the popularity of a song. There is no clear and distinct parameters to classify a song as pop music. For the most part, its popularity should translate to records sold and radio air times.
Pop music is a combination of various styles influenced by the evolving music forms. The development of pop music is one that is progressive, rolling over from generation to generation to snowball into its current form. As this is so, pop music has taken so many forms through each decade to reflect the musical preference of a particular generation. [...]
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A Brief History of Rock and Pop Music
Posted on 12. Jul, 2011 by Ejiro.
You may be wondering when exactly did rock/pop music begin? There’s no clear answer to this. Some might say that it started with the advent of rock n roll with Bill Haley and the Comets in 1952. Others would say Elvis, although not the first but surely the original truly global superstar. Yet none of these were really the first. Rock n roll has its roots in blues which has its roots back to the 19th century with black immigrants trying to escape from their slave driven lives. Fast forward to the early 20th. century and some of the earliest recordings on 78 began to appear. Players from this time such as Bobby Jo and Robert Johnson helped to form the structure of early blues
Robert Johnson had recorded only thirty songs during his short life as he was prevented from achieving true fame while alive by being poisoned by a jealous husband. He died shortly before he was being sought to appear at the ‘Spirituals To Swing’ concert in 1938 by record producer John Hammond. [...]
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Evolution of Different Types of Music Gear
Posted on 11. Jul, 2011 by Ejiro.
Music is a form of expression consisting of sound, rhythm, harmony, etc. The definition of music varies according to culture and social backgrounds. It can be divided into various categories. Music gear is the whole set of equipment like sound equipment, stage speakers, recording equipment, DJ equipment, microphones, speakers, etc. Here we try to explore the evolution of different types of music gear.
Amplifier is a device that converts a signal with a small amount of energy into a similar signal with a larger amount of energy. Popularly we call it electronic amplifier particularly in audio applications. An audio amplifier is usually used to amplify signals such as music and speech. Instrument amplifier is a kind of audio amplifier that is designed to be used with an electric guitar, an electric bass, or an electronic keyboard. [...]