Archive for Music Technology

Dec
19

Musical Soundtracks

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Musical soundtracks became very popular in the 1940s through 1960s, around the same time musicals became worldwide hits. Moviegoers flocked to see screen-based adaptations of popular stage plays, which were perceived to be more accessible than their Broadway counterparts. This trend seems to be resurging, with the success of such Hollywood musicals as Moulin Rouge and Chicago.

What’s in a musical soundtrack? First, the title song. Most musicals have titles that are based on their main song. For example, the musical “The Sound of Music” is titled after the song of the same title. The same is true for “Jesus Christ Superstar,” which also had a song with the same title.

A title song does not necessarily become a hit song, though. In the case of “Jesus Christ Superstar,” it was a minor song entitled “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” that hit the top charts.

Most musical soundtracks not only contain all the songs used in the film, but even the background or incidental music. Background music refers to the sounds used during dialogue and transition scenes. This music is, more often than not, a purely instrumental version of themes or songs that are sung by the characters in other parts of the movie. Background music is incidental, which means it is passive and runs unacknowledged by the characters.

Almost all of the feature-length animated cartoons produced by such labels as Disney are musicals (the same is not true for Pixar, though). Animated films work just like their real-actor counterparts, but their soundtracks have one distinguishing characteristic – their music is more novel, done in the same tradition as nonmusical film soundtracks.

Soundtracks of animated musicals oftentimes become very sellable. Some commercial hits are songs performed by Céline Dion for “Beauty and the Beast,” and songs performed by Elton John for the “The Lion King.”

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Nov
06

Audio Production Software – Making the Best Music

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Producing the best music can be a night mare to many producers. The different incoming audio channels prove to be a huge headache for those who do not know how to manage it. Most music producers encounter challenges in music production early on when the audio signals are first recorded, subsequently the editing stage is also a very important part. This is a very critical stage in producing audio music and at this point the good audio production software distinguish themselves from the inferior ones.

Proper choice of the latest software is required and highly recommended. Having the best audio production software can make music production troubles become minor inconveniences. The editing software enables one to edit the music, voice and other audio recordings from the different instruments. Editing the music can be done as simple as copying and pasting the recordings then the ability to add effects like amplification, echo and/or noise reduction to name a few.

As with any type of software, the top end audio production software provide a plethora of effects and functions. The effects in the software that when added to the music can drastic alter quality of the music. Editing the music correctly ensures that it gives the mood of the song without contrasting the theme. If the audio music effects added do not compliment the overall music “feel” it can alter the quality of the music in a negative light.

Audio production software also gives the flexibility of producing music in different files and greatly enables the producer to have the possibility of collaboration or increase the portability of the music to be edited at another studio and/or workstation

Some of the features that one should consider before purchasing the audio production software is how complicated is it to operate or one which doesn’t require a professional mixer to perform the basic audio editing tasks. The software should have easy to use modules that can guide anyone in editing the music. It should have compatible programming and drivers to enable one to record or pull audio from different input sources without any hitches.

The latest audio production software should have not only the essential editing tools such as cut, copy paste, recording tools but also should contain other unique tools such as mixers, preset effects, filters and analyzing tools like waveform. The interface of the software should also be a factor to consider. Although one may question as to why this is important, being an experienced user, you should know that an easy to use interface can greatly increase the speed of your workflow. It is one of those small things that you don’t have to worry about and rather just simply concentrate on your music.

Many of the latest audio editing making soft wares are available to purchase online or at your favorite music stores. To be able to decide on which version to order, one should also review the experiences of other users using the same software. One should also check the discount rates being offered, and the wide range of effects and features one will be able to add to the music from the software. In most cases the manufactures allow one to download sample software for free to test, before buying.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Will_C

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Jun
30

Paying For Copyrights on Music

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If you are going to use a piece of recorded or composed music for almost any reason, you need to check and make sure whether or not you should be paying for the copyrights on that music. It is very important to make sure that you are paying for the use of copyrighted music. Not only does it help artists that are making their living by producing music, but it also protects you from future lawsuits if you are found in violation of copyright law. Since this law is internationally recognized by all but a handful of countries, there is almost no where on earth where the intellectual property rights on a piece of music aren’t recognized.

If you are using a piece of music for anything besides personal listening, you need to obtain a license for it. This means if you are performing as a cover band at a club or making copies of an album to sell. Most of the time you’ll get a license for your cover band activities; very rarely will you be able to make copies of music if you aren’t affiliated with the original production company. To pay for copyrights on music you need to contact licensing agencies in your region. These agencies represent all the artists and labels across the country. It is to these agencies that you’ll apply for a license and it is also to them that you will pay your licensing fee.

There are instances where you can publicly perform a song without paying for copyrights on the music. If you buy the sheet music of a piece you are generally automatically granted amateur performance rights for free. This means that you can Ben Folds at your next piano recital without worrying about committing a felony. If you are a cover band playing at local clubs, most of these clubs have blanket licenses for performing non-original live music. Check with your venue before paying for copyrights on music.

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Categories : Music Technology, Sound of Music
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Jan
24

Music Production and Audio Engineering School

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Pursuing a career in music and entertainment is definitely something exciting. With the growth of all the technology today, the music being produced in the industry is something completely different from the days of old. Now everything is fresher, of higher quality, and is always aimed to be better than the last creation. Because of this, professions in this field require the most skill from any individual working as an audio engineer or in sound production, and choosing the school to get the education from is no joke. This guide provides you with insight on the top music production schools and audio recording schools around the country to further help you with that critical, life altering decision.

Nowadays, music and sound production is already a recognized field. There are tons of career opportunities for those who are naturally interested and inclined to creating and engineering music whether it be for musicians in their albums, scores in a movie, or the soundtrack of a commercial. In this profession, it is all about creating something that can outdo the others before it and that all boils down to skill. But how exactly does one gain all that needed skill and training? The answer is: the education you receive.

So what exactly are those schools that are note-worthy? Here is a few of the top music production schools open today:

1. Institute of Production and Recording
The Institute of Production and Recording started in 2002 with four founders: Terry Mhyre, Jack Robinson, Lance Sabin, and Tom Tucker, Sr. There are two core programs in the school, namely the following: Associate in Applied Science Degree Program for Music and Entertainment Business and the Associate in Applied Science Degree Program in Audio Production and Engineering. IPR also offers certification courses and programs in Digidesign which are designed to build proficiency in using Pro Tools System, and an Apple Logic Pro Certification Training to get proficient in Logic Pro.

2. Musicians Institute
The institution is a music production school that offers students programs that can help build careers in the professional recording industry. MI incorporates its comprehensive, in-depth education with state of the art labs and studios. Aside from audio and music production, they also tackle post production in film and television. Studios at MI are updated, state of the art and use equipment such as Neve, SSL, DigiDesign, and Neumann.

3. The Los Angeles Recording School
The Los Angeles Recording School began in 1985 and was at first a job training school for recording engineers. The school aims to provide its students with the best training and education on today’s industry’s constantly changing equipment and techniques through a faculty of experienced engineers and music industry professionals. The LARS program concentrates on music production, digital recording, and audio post-production for film and television. The school also allows students to attend on either a full time or part time basis, with an average of 25 or 19 hours each week, respectively.

4. Columbia Academy
Since 1967, Columbia Academy has been providing high quality education to students considering a career in the music and entertainment industry. Columbia Academy provides courses that train students in the fields of broadcasting arts, music recording, sound design, post production audio, and video and film production. The school facilities include 3 recording studios to accommodate the courses’ hand on training and practical applications. In the Columbia Academy program, students may choose between two streams, whichever suits them best – either music recording or post production for film and television. The Recording and Sound Design Program runs for 11 months (44 weeks), with supervision from instructors who have earned years of experience in sound design. The program is comprised of four modules that are made up of 80 hours of combined classroom theories, practical instruction, and supervised hand on lab/studio time. Classes run 5 times a week, 4 hours a day.

Choosing who to provide you with the best education for your future career is no easy task, especially with all the audio production schools to choose from nowadays. For the serious student looking to pursue a career as a music or audio engineer, or any track in sound production, the most important thing is to find a school that offers a comprehensive curriculum and extensive training to get you experienced in all aspects of music production. And in this constantly evolving field, it is crucial to look amongst all the audio engineering schools for an institution with programs that can keep up with the changing times.

The task of choosing your music producing school is no joke. It’s an important decision that will greatly affect your future career. Read up, ask questions, call offices and make the decision that’s right for you.

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Jan
06

Career Opportunities in Music Recording

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A countless number of music schools have spawned in recent years due to a renewed interest in recording music. There are many career opportunities in the field of music. Whether you’re aspiring to be a music engineer or a legitimate recording artist, music recording training has become one of the best career training options available in the world today.

Career Opportunities In Music Recording

Music is not all about a microphone and a piano. A top class music recording involves many sophisticated equipments in addition to a qualified professional music engineer. The demand for music engineers today is very high. Countless music recordings are released each and every month and a good music engineer can earn a significant amount of money in a short amount of time. Music engineers will be in higher demand the more their name and reputation is established. This means they can command a higher asking price for their services. Fame can indeed accompany money for many music engineers.

The Role Of A Music Engineer

Some people have this misconception that a music engineer is dealing with wires and circuits all day. The fact is a career as a music engineer is something entirely different than that misconception. A music engineer is usually referred to as the recording engineer in the recording studio. The digital audio workstations that you find in a recording studio are the music engineer’s instruments. The role of the music engineer is to fine-tune the music that is being recorded. This job requires enormous skill and proper training.

The Music Career Training

While there are many music career-training programs available today, if you truly wish to shine in your music career, it’s important to find the absolute best training programs.

One of the best music career training programs available is the ‘Conservatory’s Master Recording Program II’.

Unlike other conventional music recording training programs, the Conservatory’s Master Recording Program II concentrates totally on the art and science of sound. Starting from the basic principles of sound, this unique program extends for 42 weeks and finishes with the most sophisticated concepts of audio engineering. One of the main features of this training program is that the training program covers eight main aspects. The eight main areas of this training program are:

1. Audio Recording and Production – This part covers all of the basic principles of sound and educates students about the basic fundamentals of music recording.

2. Music Business – Here the student learns about the various methods of making money in a music related business. This session includes classes about audio copyrights and record labels.

3. Digital Recording – This is the doorway to digital recording. Lessons are available for digital recording and other digital techniques in the form of computer based applications.

4. Pro Tools – This is the most important part of the program. This session familiarizes students with the sophisticated tools used in digital audio processing and recording.

5. Sound Reinforcement – This session includes studies related to audio signal distribution.

6. Troubleshooting/Maintenance – Basic electronic engineering skills and test equipment skills will be taught to the aspiring music engineer.

7. Career Management – This is an opportunity to gain knowledge about the music industry.

8. Internship- This final session provides students with an opportunity to demonstrate skills learned and acquired throughout training.

The program concludes with students hopefully becoming successful music engineers and realizing their dreams of having a lucrative career in music.

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Nov
22

Best FLAC Player For Windows

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FLAC is a lossless audio codec that provides good audio quality and average compression (compared to lossy codecs like MP3). Windows doesn’t recognize this format by default, so you will need an audio player that supports FLAC. Here’s how you can play .flac files.

Winamp
Winamp 5 comes with built-in FLAC support. The only thing you need to do is tick the appropriate checkbox during installation. You can also use the “Pro” version (which costs money) to rip CDs to FLAC. Overall, Winamp is a decent audio player that suffers from the “kitchen sink” syndrome and a confused licensing scheme in the recent releases. It’s a fine choice if you want a general music player. However, if you only need the player for opening Flac files, consider looking for something a bit more lightweight.

Foobar2000
Foobar2000 is a freeware audio player that has out-of-the-box support for FLAC. The player is highly customizable and offers many advanced features. Yet that power comes with a cost — the only downside of Foobar2000 is the rather steep learning curve. It’s definitely more complex than the other .flac players mentioned here. That said, if you don’t mind spending a few hours to learn the ins and outs of this player, it’s definitely the best alternative.

Windows Media Player
If you have a choice, choose something else. Still, many users don’t have the desire (or the option) to switch to a different media player, so lets see how we can get .flac support in Windows Media Player. WMP doesn’t support FLAC playback by default, so you will need to go out and find a DirectShow filter for FLAC. The most popular variant is currently maintained by the Xiph.org Open Source Community (look in the “Downloads” section). After installing the filter, Windows Media Player should be able to open and play .flac files.

In conclusion, Winamp is the best FLAC player for those who want a fast and easy solution. In case you need advanced customization options, set up Foobar2000.

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Oct
05

Best iPhone Music Apps

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Why let other musicians clog-up your iPhone with their music when you’ve got a catalog of your own killer tunes just waiting to be made. The best iPhone apps for musicians put all the power in your hands and transform your iPhone from a music playing device to a music making device. Practicing, recording and editing your own tracks couldn’t be simpler and whether you’re a budding Elvis or Michael Jackson, these iPhone music apps will get you closer to a hit record than you ever thought possible. Here are the Best iPhone Apps for Musicians:

Musician’s Practice Journal
Practice, track and save the progress of all the songs you’re trying to learn with this iPhone music app. This application allows you to get a piece-by-piece breakdown of each song and the graphing feature is great for keeping you motivated in your quest to emulate your musical idols.

4 Tracks Audio Recorder
4 Tracks Audio Recorder is the perfect iPhone music app if you’re a budding singer, songwriter or producer. It doesn’t matter whether you’re jamming in the park or tucked away in your room dreaming up your next musical masterpiece, this iPhone music app is like having a recording studio in your pocket. The software allows you to burn four simultaneous beats on one track and the inbuilt metronome and tracking features help turn that rough tune into a smooth beat.

Metronome TS
Click, click…click click click. Whatever tempo you need, this handy metronome app will keep you in time. Metronome TS has the ability to keep tempos from 30 to 250 bpm and the swinging pendulum animation creates an authentic looking application. Users can also input their own beats by tapping the screen which makes this the perfect digital music aid.

Chord Play
Having trouble with that tricky guitar chord sequence but don’t want to keep disturbing your musician friends? Well, Chord Play is an iPhone music app that accurately mimics the set-up of a standard 6 string guitar and helps you to improve your hand positioning without ever needing to pick up your axe. Multiple guitar sounds (including acoustic and electric) are available and you are able to have 12 simultaneous chords on display at any one time. You’d better get your hands on this app if you want to play awesome chords.

Johnny Jams Piano
Take any notion you have of a traditional instrument and throw it out of the window because Johnny Jams Piano is unlike anything you’ve seen before. The unique application turns your iPhone into a full scale melody maker that you can play with both hands. The iPhone’s tilt technology makes it possible to slide up and down the full musical scale and the simple user interface makes mastering this instrument far easier than the piano or guitar. This app hits all the right notes for beginning musicians.

RelativePitch
“An interval is the gap between two notes” is all you need to know to start learning relative pitch. This iPhone application makes music theory easy and teaches you everything you need to know about the range of musical pitches. Start off in basic mode and work through the levels of complexity, testing yourself at each point, until you have the harmonic ear of a concert composer. You will be performing and appreciating music even more with this perfectly pitched app.

Play on Cue
Your waiting in the sound booth, just as the grand finale of the theatre’s biggest production is about to start and disaster strikes: you can’t find the right song. If only you had an iPhone music app that made it so simple to play the right track on cue, you’d be saved. Play on Cue is a nifty little application that allows you to pre-load a track order and start playing the tune with one touch of the screen. Each song stops playing after the last note, which leaves you free to prepare yourself for the next cue. Even if you’re a sound technician with ADHD, this iPhone app for musicians couldn’t make your job any simpler.

Local Concerts
The iPhone has a vast array of great apps for helping to improve your own musical talents but sometimes you just want to be able to listen to the best do their thing. Local Concerts is a great free iPhone music app that tells you exactly where and when your favorite artists are in your area. This is one of the best iPhone apps for musicians because it uses the contents of your music library and quickly and effortlessly directs you towards the best places to buy tickets for all the gigs near you. Neither you nor you friends need miss a concert again with this amazing application.

Blue Note Music Flash Cards
If you know your alphabet you can easily learn the notes of the musical scale and with Blue Note Music Flash Cards the job is easy. The intelligent system randomly plays a note and asks you to identify (by touching the screen) which note: A, B, C, D, E F or G it is. The software recognizes which notes you are having difficulty with and will provide you with more practice on them until you can nail them every time.

LyricPad
Sometimes the perfect lyrics strike when you least expect them and if you don’t have a pen and paper handy, that killer line could be lost for eternity. LyricPad turns your iPhone into a pen, notepad and MP3 player in one. With one of the best iPhone apps for musicians, pen a new song or edit an existing masterpiece over the top of your favorite tune; whenever inspiration strikes, never be at a loss for words with LyricPad.

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