Founded in 1917, Paramount Records incongruously was one of several homegrown record labels of a Wisconsin chair-making company. The company pinned no outsized hopes on Paramount. Its founders knew nothing of the music business, and they had arrived at the scheme of producing records only to drive sales of the expensive phonograph cabinets they had recently begun manufacturing. Lacking the resources and the interest to compete for top talent, Paramount's earliest recordings gained little foothold with the listening public. On the threshold of bankruptcy, the label embarked on a new business plan: selling the music of Black artists to Black audiences. It was a wildly successful move, with Paramount eventually garnering many of the biggest-selling titles in the "race records" era. Inadvertently, the label accomplished what others could not, making blues, jazz, and folk music performed by Black artists a popular and profitable genre. Paramount featured a deep roster of legendary performers, including Louis Armstrong, Charley Patton, Ethel Waters, Son House, Fletcher Henderson, Skip James, Alberta Hunter, Blind Blake, King Oliver, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Ma Rainey, Johnny Dodds, Papa Charlie Jackson, and Jelly Roll Morton. Scott Blackwood's The Rise and Fall of Paramount Records is the story of happenstance. But it is also a tale about the sheer force of the Great Migration and the legacy of the music etched into the shellacked grooves of a 78 rpm record. With Paramount Records, Black America found its voice. Through creative nonfiction, Blackwood brings to life the gifted artists and record producers who used Paramount to revolutionize American music. Felled by the Great Depression, the label stopped recording in 1932, leaving a legacy of sound pressed into cheap 78s that is among the most treasured and influential in American history.

Computational approaches to music composition and style imitation have engaged musicians, music scholars, and computer scientists since the early days of computing. Music generation research has generally employed one of two strategies: knowledge-based methods that model style through explicitly formalized rules, and data mining methods that apply machine learning to induce statistical models of musical style. The five chapters in this book illustrate the range of tasks and design choices in current music generation research applying machine learning techniques and highlighting recurring research issues such as training data, music representation, candidate generation, and evaluation. The contributions focus on different aspects of modeling and generating music, including melody, chord sequences, ornamentation, and dynamics. Models are induced from audio data or symbolic data. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Mathematics and Music.

Major Label Mastering: Professional Mastering Process distills 25 years of mastering experience at Capitol Records into practical understandings and reliable systems. Containing unparalleled insights, this book reveals the mastering tricks and techniques used by Evren Goeknar at one of the world's most notable record labels. Beginning with the requisite competencies every Mastering Engineer must develop, Major Label Mastering delves into the particulars of the mastering studio, as well as fundamental mastering tools. Included among these tools is The Five Step Mastering Process, a rigorously tested system that equips the practitioner to successfully and confidently master a project to exacting standards of audio fidelity. Covering all bases, the book discusses both macro and micro considerations: from mindset approach and connecting with clients down to detailed guidelines for processing audio, advanced methods, and audio restoration. Each chapter ends with exercises intended to deepen understanding and skill, or to supplement course study. Suitable for all levels, this is a unique resource for students, artists, and recording and Mastering Engineers alike. Major Label Mastering is supplemented by digital resources including audio examples and video tutorials.

Practical, concise, and approachable, Audio Engineering 101, Second Edition covers everything aspiring audio engineers need to know to make it in the recording industry, from the characteristics of sound to microphones, analog versus digital recording, EQ/compression, mixing, mastering, and career skills. Filled with hand-ons, step-by-step technique breakdowns and all-new interviews with active professionals, this updated edition includes instruction in using digital consoles, iPads for mixing, audio apps, plug-ins, home studios, and audio for podcasts. An extensive companion website features fifteen new video tutorials, audio clips, equipment lists, quizzes, and student exercises.

Making music for the movies is a complicated, involved, and challenging process. Music Editing for Film and Television covers the practical skills needed to successfully hone your craft. Through an overview of the music editing process, this book will equip you with detailed techniques to solve musical problems encountered during editing. An abundance of interviews with well-known professionals provide a wide range of perspectives on music editing for film, while special features address an array of projects, from a low-budget documentary, to a Hollywood blockbuster, to indie projects.

If you've ever handled live sound, you know the recipe for creating quality live sound requires many steps. Your list of ingredients, shall we say, requires an understanding of sound and how it behaves, the know-how to effectively use a sound system), and the knowledge to choose and use your gear well. Add a dash of miking ability, stir in a pinch of thinking on your feet for when your system starts to hum or the vocals start to feed back, and mix. In practice, there really is no "recipe" for creating a quality performance. Instead, musicians and engineers who effectively use sound systems have a wealth of knowledge that informs their every move before and during a live performance. You can slowly gather that knowledge over years of live performance, or you can speed up the process with The SOS Guide to Live Sound. With these pages, you get practical advice that will allow you to accomplish your live-sound goals in every performance. Learn how to choose, set up, and use a live-performance sound system. Get the basics of live-sound mixing, save money by treating your gear well with a crash course in maintenance, and fix issues as they happen with a section on problem-solving, full of real-world situations. You'll also get information on stage-monitoring, both conventional and in-ear, along with the fundamentals of radio microphones and wireless mixing solutions. Finally, a comprehensive glossary of terminology rounds out this must-have reference.

Presents the first comprehensive book on electronics for vinyl High-level, practical information with minimal mathematics Includes topics such as low-noise amplification, proper cartridge loading, equalisation for archival recordings, and more Includes tricks and innovations from an expert author

In the contemporary world, the role of the commercial composer has grown to include a wide range of new responsibilities. Modern composers not only write music, but also often need to perform, record, and market their own works. The Craft of Contemporary Commercial Music prepares today's music students for their careers by teaching them to compose their own music, produce it professionally, and sell it successfully. The textbook integrates three areas of concentration-music theory and composition, audio engineering, and music business-allowing students to understand and practice how to successfully navigate each stage of a score's life cycle from concept to contract. Students will learn how to: Translate musical ideas into scores utilizing music theory and composition techniques Transform scores into professional audio through the production stages of tracking, sequencing, editing, mixing, mastering, and bouncing Market works to prospective clients The textbook assumes no prior knowledge of music theory or audio topics, and its modular organization allows instructors to use the book flexibly. Exercises at the end of each chapter provide practice with key skills, and a companion website supports the book with video walkthroughs, streaming audio, a glossary, and printable exercise pages. Combining a grounding in music notation and theory concepts with a foundation in essential technologies, The Craft of Contemporary Commercial Music offers an innovative approach that addresses the needs of students preparing for music careers.

This highly original and accessible book draws on the author's personal experience as a musician, producer and teacher of popular music to discuss the ways in which audio technology and musical creativity in pop music are inextricably bound together. This relationship, the book argues, is exemplified by the work of Trevor Horn, who is widely acknowledged as the most important, innovative and successful British pop record producer of the early 1980s. In the first part of the book, Timothy Warner presents a definition of pop as distinct from rock music, and goes on to consider the ways technological developments, such as the transition from analogue to digital, transform working practices and, as a result, impact on the creative process of producing pop. Part two analyses seven influential recordings produced by Trevor Horn between 1979 and 1985: 'Video Killed the Radio Star' (The Buggles), 'Buffalo Gals' (Malcolm McClaren),'Owner of a Lonely Heart' (Yes), 'Relax' (Frankie Goes to Hollywood), 'Slave to the Rhythm' (Grace Jones), and albums by The Art of Noise and Propaganda. These records reveal how the creative use of technology in the modern pop recording studio has informed Horn's work, a theme that is then explored in an extensive interview with Horn himself.

Eargle's Microphone Book is the only guide you will ever need for the latest in microphone technology, application and technique. This new edition features more on microphone arrays and wireless microphones, new material on digital models; the latest developments in surround; expanded advice on studio set up, recording and mic selection. Ray A. Rayburn provides detailed analysis of the different types of microphones available and addresses their application through practical examples of actual recording sessions and studio operations. The book takes you into the studio or concert hall to see how performers are positioned and how the best microphone array is determined. Problem areas such as reflections, studio leakage and isolation are analyzed from practical viewpoints. Creative solutions to stereo sound staging, perspective, and balance are covered in detail. Eargle's Microphone Book is an invaluable resource for learning the 'why' as well as the 'how' of choosing and placing a microphone for any situation.

The Routledge Companion to Screen Music and Sound provides a detailed and comprehensive overview of screen music and sound studies, addressing the ways in which music and sound interact with forms of narrative media such as television, videogames, and film. The inclusive framework of "screen music and sound" allows readers to explore the intersections and connections between various types of media and music and sound, reflecting the current state of scholarship and the future of the field. A diverse range of international scholars have contributed an impressive set of forty-six chapters that move from foundational knowledge to cutting edge topics that highlight new key areas. The companion is thematically organized into five cohesive areas of study: Issues in the Study of Screen Music and Sound-discusses the essential topics of the discipline Historical Approaches-examines periods of historical change or transition Production and Process-focuses on issues of collaboration, institutional politics, and the impact of technology and industrial practices Cultural and Aesthetic Perspectives-contextualizes an aesthetic approach within a wider framework of cultural knowledge Analyses and Methodologies-explores potential methodologies for interrogating screen music and sound Covering a wide range of topic areas drawn from musicology, sound studies, and media studies, The Routledge Companion to Screen Music and Sound provides researchers and students with an effective overview of music's role in narrative media, as well as new methodological and aesthetic insights.

Scoring the Score is the first scholarly examination of the orchestrator's role in the contemporary film industry. Orchestrators are crucial to the production of a film's score, yet they have not received significant consideration in film-music research. This book sheds light on this often-overlooked yet vital profession. It considers the key processes of orchestrating and arranging and how they relate, musical and filmic training, the wide-ranging responsibilities of the orchestrator on a film-scoring project, issues related to working practices, the impact of technology, and the differences between the UK and US production processes as they affect orchestrators. Drawing on interviews with American and British orchestrators and composers, Scoring the Score aims to expose this often hidden profession through a rigorous examination of the creative process and working practices, and analysis of the skills, training and background common to orchestrators. It will appeal to scholars, students, and practitioners of film music.

By the late 1960s, popular British prog-rock outfit Pink Floyd were experiencing a creative voltage drop, so they turned to composer Ron Geesin for help in writing their next album.The Flaming Cow offers a rare insight into the brilliant but often fraught collaboration between the band and Geesin, the result of which became known as Atom Heart Mother - the title track from the Floyd's first UK number one album. From the time drummer Nick Mason visited Geesin's damp basement flat in Notting Hill, to the last game of golf between bassist Roger Waters and Geesin, this book is an unflinching account about how one of Pink Floyd's most celebrated compositions came to life. Alongside unpublished photographs from the Abbey Road recording sessions (the only ones taken) and the subsequent performances in London and Paris, Geesin goes on to describe how the title was chosen, why he was not credited on the record, how he left Hyde Park in tears, and why the group did not much like the work. The Flaming Cow rose again, firstly in France, then in London in 2008. After 40 years Atom Heart Mother remains a much-loved record, and The Flaming Cow explores its new-found cult status that has led to it being studied for the French Baccalaureat.

This book examines music stores as sites of cultural production in contemporary India. Analyzing social practices of selling music in a variety of retail contexts, it focuses upon the economic and social values that are produced and circulated by music retailers in the marketplace. Based upon research conducted over a volatile ten-year period of the Indian music industry, Beaster-Jones discusses the cultural histories of the recording industry, the social changes that have accompanied India's economic liberalization reforms, and the economic realities of selling music in India as digital circulation of music recordings gradually displaced physical distribution. The volume considers the mobilization of musical, economic, and social values as a component of branding discourses in neoliberal India, as a justification for new regimes of legitimate use and intellectual property, as a scene for the performance of cosmopolitanism by shopping, and as a site of anxiety about transformations in the marketplace. It relies upon ethnographic observation and interviews from a variety of sources within the Indian music industry, including perspectives of executives at music labels, family-run and corporate music stores, and hawkers in street markets selling counterfeit recordings. This ethnography of the practices, spaces, and anxieties of selling music in urban India will be an important resource for scholars in a wide range of fields, including ethnomusicology, anthropology, popular music studies, and South Asian studies.

Sound Systems: Design and Optimization provides an accessible and unique perspective on the behavior of sound systems in the practical world. The third edition reflects current trends in the audio field thereby providing readers with the newest methodologies and techniques. In this greatly expanded new edition, you'll find clearer explanations, a more streamlined organization, increased coverage of current technologies and comprehensive case studies of the author's award-winning work in the field. As the only book devoted exclusively to modern tools and techniques in this emerging field, Sound Systems: Design and Optimization provides the specialized guidance needed to perfect your design skills. This book helps you: Improve your design and optimization decisions by understanding how audiences perceive reinforced sound Use modern analyzers and prediction programs to select speaker placement, equalization, delay and level settings based on how loudspeakers interact in the space Define speaker array configurations and design strategies that maximize the potential for spatial uniformity Gain a comprehensive understanding of the tools and techniques required to generate a design that will create a successful transmission/reception model

A discography and bibliography of music written for the modern harpsichord, this volume features more than 800 mass-marketed recordings of some 600 compositions written after the revival of the harpsichord (ca. 1889). Also included is information pertaining to performances of compositions arranged for harpsichord. Although the modern harpsichord is a much greater part of 20th-century music than one might imagine, it is about to become a relic because of its historical incorrectness. This will leave sound recordings as the prime medium of information for contemporary compositions, most of which cannot be adequately performed on any other instrument. The modern harpsichord consists of two manuals with at least four stops—one 4-foot, two 8-foot, and one 16-foot—operated by pedals. This type of harpsichord (except for the 16-foot stop) has been in existence since 1889. The new design, popular for many years, has fallen on hard times due to its lack of resonance and its historically inaccurate disposition of stops. Because it may well become an instrument of the past, this volume, which documents music composed specifically for the modern harpsichord, is especially valuable.

Recent years have seen not just a revival, but a rebirth of the analogue record. More than merely a nostalgic craze, vinyl has become a cultural icon. As music consumption migrated to digital and online, this seemingly obsolete medium became the fastest-growing format in music sales. Whilst vinyl never ceased to be the favorite amongst many music lovers and DJs, from the late 1980s the recording industry regarded it as an outdated relic, consigned to dusty domestic corners and obscure record shops. So why is vinyl now experiencing a 'rebirth of its cool'?Dominik Bartmanski and Ian Woodward explore this question by combining a cultural sociological approach with insights from material culture studies. Presenting vinyl as a multifaceted cultural object, they investigate the reasons behind its persistence within our technologically accelerated culture. Informed by media analysis, urban ethnography and the authors' interviews with musicians, DJs, sound engineers, record store owners, collectors and cutting-edge label chiefs from a range of metropolitan centres renowned for thriving music scenes including London, New York, Tokyo, Melbourne, and especially Berlin, what emerges is a story of a modern icon.

A beyond-cool look at the world of high-end audio design for passionate collectors, obsessive audiophiles, and design fans

At a time when sales of vinyl records have hit a 25-year high, and analog technologies are providing the kind of extraordinary audio experiences that our increasingly digital world has started to remove, Hi-Fi is essential reading. This unique book explores just how, when, and why the world fell in love with the look, feel, and sound of top-of-the-line audio equipment. Hi-Fi traces this fascinating evolution from the 1950s to today (and tomorrow), taking readers right up to the current renaissance of all things analog and the emergence of cutting-edge designs for die-hard audiophiles.

(Book). What really went on behind the doors of the world's top studios while recording the Beatles, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan and R.E.M.? How did producers deal with the legendary egos of the Bee Gees, Madonna and the Police? Or the haunted perfectionism of Michael Jackson, Phil Spector and Whitney Houston? And how between the drugs, the sex, the tiffs and the tantrums did some of the most iconic tracks of our times ever get recorded in the first place? In Classic Tracks, New York Times best-selling author Richard Buskin unearths the real stories behind 75 seminal recordings, including: * How John Lennon put his 15-month drink-and-drugs-fueled "lost weekend" on hold to nail his only number 1 hit * Why the Sex Pistols were allowed to sleep in the studio as police investigated complaints about them during a session for God Save the Queen * How Donna Summer's "Love to Love You Baby" was extended to enhance the sex life of the record company's president * How hard-boiled Southern musicians coped with Bob Dylan's unconventional work methods * Why the Police required a referee as well as a producer during the volatile sessions for "Every Breath You Take" * How the Rolling Stones recorded their smash hit "Start Me Up" without spending any time together in the studio From rock to rap, pop to hip-hop, soul to metal, punk to disco, and jazz to electronica, each chapter draws on the recollections of engineers, producers and artists to tell the inside story of an era-defining recording, with detailed information about the equipment and recording techniques used. From Les Paul (1951) to the xx (2009), and with tracks from Elton John, the Doors, Public Enemy, the Who, Fleetwood Mac and many, many more, Classic Tracks offers a rare insight into the mindsets and creative processes of the finest musical artists of the past six decades, and reveals how often against the odds some of the all-time biggest-selling recordings came into being.

Can you turn a soulful ballad into a hit dance track, or make any Billboard hit your own? With this all-in-one guide to remixing, you can! Whether you're a professional DJ or producer, or are just beginning to mix tracks, this step-by-step guide will bring you through the entire process of making your own professional-quality remixes. Author Simon Langford, a renowned producer/remixer with over 300 remixes and chart-toppers under his belt, shares his years of experience and expertise in the most in-depth guide on the market. The Remix Manual covers creative processes, technical, legal, and contractual issues, and includes a unique remix "walk-through," and useful contacts and links. The companion website, www.TheRemixManual.com, provides source files that illustrate all stages of the remix, as well as additional interviews, additional "walk-throughs", a "Buyer's Guide", video tutorials and demo versions of the hottest mixing software. A working musician and remixer, Simon Langford provides up-to-the-minute information on all aspects of the remix process, from the latest software tips and tricks to timeless artistic advice. While technical aspects are explained in detail, you also get a pro's advice on how to produce outstanding tracks by being aware of the originals message, style, and emotion. The creative side of remixing is explored from all angles, as a wide variety of industry insiders weigh in on key issues in exclusive interviews and quotes.

Learn the studio building secrets that only the pros know with The Studio Builder's Handbook. You might think it takes thousands of dollars and the services of an acoustic designer to improve your studio, but this book strips away the mystery of what makes a great-sounding studio and shows how you can make a huge difference even on a budget. Featuring interviews with contractors, studio designers, producers, and engineers, this book and DVD kit will give you an insider look at studio building. The DVD shows you how to construct acoustic panels and bass traps, and features several guided tours by professional studio builders.

As a record producer and administrator, Peter Andry has worked with many of the 20th century's greatest classical music artists and performers. Through his work with Decca, his years as president of EMI Classics, and his creation and direction of Warner Classics, he has collaborated with high-caliber artists such as Maria Callas, Yehudi Menuhin, and Herbert von Karajan. He associated with them in close quarters through times of work, play, stress, and relaxation. He has admired their talent, dedication, and charisma, as well as coped with their foibles, idiosyncrasies, and egos. In Inside the Recording Studio: Working with Callas, Rostropovich, Domingo, and the Classical Elite, Andry recounts his experiences with these exceptional talents, with whom he worked as a musician, a record producer, and a company executive. Andry presents intimate portraits of brilliant artists-such as Luciano Pavarotti, Joan Sutherland, Sir Thomas Beecham, Otto Klemperer, Sir Simon Rattle, Mstislav Rostropovich, Jacqueline du Pre, and Maxim Vengerov-juxtaposed with the dramatic changes occurring in the recording business during this time, a period that began with 78s and saw successively the advent of LPs, stereo sound, quadraphonic sound, audio cassettes, video, CDs, DVDs, and the growing importance of the internet. A foreword by Placido Domingo and more than 30 photos of the artists are included along with a discography of Andry's recordings with the three labels. These memoirs will be fascinating and exciting to anyone interested in the classical music and recording industries.

Everyone wants to be a DJ. Playing records and MP3s isn't rocket science, but there's a universe of difference between doing it and doing it well. DJing is like modelling: most people could have a stab at it, some can earn money doing it, but only a very few can become supermodels. This book both forms the perfect introduction for the novice who wants a pair of Technics turntables for Christmas and contains enough spot-on advice and advanced instruction to be valuable to more experienced DJs. Written in an opinionated and entertaining no-bullshit style, with a healthy dose of realism, it shatters some illusions about the dance industry and offers in return some powerfully inspiring visions as it explains the true rewards of the DJ's craft. Includes everything you will ever need to know, from illustrated tutorials on mixing techniques and styles, digital mixing, tips on buying the right equipment and records, advice from superstar DJs aplenty, plus how to make your own tracks and how to throw the best party. Now all you need is to get out of your bedroom and do it . . .