History of Music Quiz 2

Recording Tech

• tangibel 

• portable 

• (in)visibile 

• repeatable 

• time-limited 

• receptive

• manipulative 

Sampling

a form of musical borrowing in which a portion of one recording is incorporated into another

“Don’t Cry” — JDilla

created a sonic mosaic of the Escorts song and metaphorically shattered into a million pieces to then rearrange pieces into a new song with new melody,, shord progression, and bass line 

Qtip & “Move”

Self-produced every song except “Move” and told fans after its release that he wanted to prioritize the use of “real drums”

“Don’t Cry” vs “Move” Sampling

“Don’t cry”

• felt very intimate and emotional 

• sliced it into tiny pieces—vocals, drums, and instrumental hits—and rearranged them into a new, sometimes non-linear sequence.

• shifted beats slightly off the strict grid

• The sample is stretched, layered, and re-pitched in parts to create an introspective, melancholic atmosphere. “Move” 

“Move” 

• took sections of the Jackson 5 track and looped them to create a tight, steady groove.

• Unlike the fragmented approach in “Don’t Cry,” the sample is recognizable and intact.

• danceable funk

• The beat is structured to sit under Q-Tip’s vocals cleanly, giving him space to flow, rather than drawing attention to the sample itself as a main emotional driver

The Turntable Gemini

• jack for microphone and headphones 

• has a fader to pan from one turntable to the next 

How is the Turntable viewed as a musical instrument?

• invented by GrandWizzard Theodore in 1975

• Theodore and Grandmaster Flash manipulated records in real time, producing unique sounds that defined the turntable as an instrument.

• Theodore discovered scratching when his mother startled him, causing him to move a record back and forth

• treated the record in ways previously considered “wrong,”

• musical status of scratching was confirmed by its effect on listeners: when people danced to it, Theodore knew it was music.

Sampling on turntable

umbrella terms bc scratching and looping are samples of pieces of music

Scratching

• short aka tip

• long": 12 o’clock - 2 o’clock

  • get the air right b4 song starts

Looping

in time and in rhythm again and again

Compact Cassettes

invention in 1960s made recording and reproductionof audio tape cheap and easy

• but magnetic tapes degrade over time with use and age

• audio becomes poorer each use

Nostalgia

• creating cassettes was a laborious act

• they allowed you to record in a secretive way

Affective Affordances of Cassettes

• infinite play time

• affordable

• record & play

• fast forward and rewinf

• shareable

• can playy outloud and in private

• user friendliness

• personalization of j-card

• visibility into device and seeing cassette