Sound Technology and Media Evolution
Sound and Technology: Recording and Manipulation
Regarding the recording and reproduction of sounds, two main periods are distinguished:
- Analog Period: (From the early sound recordings). There are three forms of analog recording: mechanical (phonograph discs and vinyl), magnetic (tape), and optical (applied in film). This is almost obsolete.
- Digital Age: (Late twentieth century). In the digitalization of sound, there are two phases: sampling and quantization. Digitalization involves taking measurements periodically.
Media: Means of Communication
A means of communication is any material that connects an issuer with a receiver. The term “media” often refers to mass communication, such as radio and television, or interpersonal communication, such as the telephone. The oldest mass media are printed (newspapers, magazines, etc.). The appearance of mass media has meant a revolution for humanity. Media were used to develop multiple forms of expression.
Classification of Media
- Sound or Hearing: These pursue the recording, storage, and reproduction of sound, its diffusion, or communication. Their appearance occurred in a short time (1876, when Bell presented the telephone, and 1904, when Marconi patented the radio).
- Visual: Its function is to disseminate content that combines sound and image. The combination of film with music and images has been recognized as a twentieth-century art, also called the seventh art.
- Multimedia: Digital language development and its widespread application have resulted in the appearance of a series of media characterized by the personalized interaction of data, sound, and image. All of these are known as multimedia because they use more than one medium at the same time, enabling the handling of information, text, image, animation, video, and sound.
Recording and Playback
The first sound recording and reproducing apparatus was Thomas Alva Edison’s phonograph. The sound, picked up by a large horn, was recorded on a cylinder through a needle. Its limited storage capacity gradually led to the adoption of Emile Berliner’s gramophone, which used slate discs. Slate discs were replaced by vinyl discs, which were lighter and more flexible. This achieved an extended duration of recorded music of up to 60 minutes.
Radio, Television, and Film
Radio’s essential function is the diffusion of sound. It is based on the transmission of signals through electromagnetic sound waves. In 1888, H.R. Hertz studied the properties of these electromagnetic waves, now known as Hertzian waves. Based on these findings, the Italian Marconi patented the radio in 1904. Radio was closely linked to music. Television transmits sound and image at a distance. Since 1927, when the BBC carried out its first broadcasts, television has greatly improved.
Auditions
- “Funeral March of a Marionette” (Author: Charles Gounod / Performer: Ron Ronstees). Marches are used to standardize the pace. When it is a long and slow funeral march, it conforms to the feeling of sadness (in this case, it is fast, but…). For this tragicomic sensation, nasal instruments such as the bassoon or oboe are used.
- “Batucada” (Traditional Brazilian music / Arrangements: G. Frei, R. Alves). In these polyrhythms, the following instruments are used: agogô (double bell), cuerda (like a zambomba), tamborim (small tambourine), and ganzá (metal pot filled with seeds).
- “Lullaby” (Author: Johannes Brahms / Arrangement: A. Botschinsky). Played by a brass sextet: trumpet, flugelhorn, tuba, two trombones, and tuba. The arranger distorts the melody.