Video Killed The Radio Star

Video Killed The Radio Star

 Over the years tech has evolved in the music industry. The earliest known device for recording sound was the Phonautograph, it was invented by Edouard Martinville. It worked by talking into a barrel made of plaster of paris; the barrel blew sound onto a bristle of horse hair, causing it to vibrate and draw sound waves.
 Later editions (gramophone) used a wooden barrel blowing sound onto a quill that wrote down sound waves on blackened paper. This started the evolution of selling music and producing it but when it came to bigger productions it wasn't very efficent. Magnetic recording was then followed after this, its basically made of a thin magnetizable coating on a long narrow strip of plastic film. After this the cassette tape was made, this consisted of two miniature spools, between which a magnetically coated plastic tape is passed and wound. Next came the Digital Audio Recording, it was used on tapes for a long period before CD's were made. Now-a-days music is found/used on softwares such as itunes and downloading youtube files.

We can see from this that this will affect music makers and consumers. Music makers that make techno or any sort of electronic music wouldn't have existed if it wasn't for evolution of technology. Devices such as Theremin and sound synthesizers did not even exist at the start of technology. Personally i think that the evolution of music was a crucial development and contributed a substantial amount to music in general. If it weren't for the evolution of music technology, genres wouldn't exist, music production wouldn't be as good due to in advanced software and sound quality. Also devices such as MP3's also affected music makers as when these were created this is when it was more recognisable to illegally download music for free as you didn't need to buy music.

Now-a-days the business industry has hugely affected music as it has got more involved to the way music is controlled. The truth is that big business controls the types of music and artists that get exposure and become popular. The record industry is a 14 billion dollar business. The three major record labels; Sony, Universal(incorporates EMI) and Warner Music group dominate 85% of the market when it comes to sales of Compact Discs. Leaving only 15% for the hundreds of independent record labels and thousands of artists out there.  When Indies get too big or an artist starts making noise these major companies usually pick up the artist or label. This way they control artist/label, get a percentage of the sales and keep competition to a minimum. This is why artists would rather work independently rather than sign with major record and also its due to the lack of a market for the music being created. By working independently they are most likely to make more money as they wont be in debt with anyone and also they don't have to be a 'manufactured musician', they can be themselves.

Many popular artists in our time will have sponsors. This means the artist/s will get free supplies of the product however they must promote it in almost everything they do, down to gig's, videos and interviews etc. Being involved in the sponsor, they are not allowed to have any relations to other companies especially if they are competitive example if you was sponsored by Adidas you can not be seen wearing Nike. When an big artist is sponsored by a certain product it draws the fans closer to product as they'll feel quite connected to them. Recently 'Pepsi' offered Beyonce a $50 million deal, the deal involved standard advertising like commercials and print ads etc. I think Pepsi's idea was to not take over her creative control like advertise themselves in her videos as she is know to be a very smart business woman who takes control of her own visuals. However they made her do deliberate advertising.

At big festivals example Glastonbury, you will see a lot of promotion being held with banners and logos for various types of companies. Companies try and put there logo everywhere so it can be visible to the audience. This type of marketing is meant to familarise people with the product subconsciously.

An example of product placement is seen in Lady Gaga's 'Bad Romance' video of the advertisement of ninetendo wii which can be seen at 2:44

This has made the audience familiar with the product and you can see here that the music industry has become less about music sales, as they are having to find different ways of gaining the profit.

Events account assignment


The bar stock was already purchased. The beer from the previous stock was ONLY 33p but sold at £1.50 at the show and the wine that was brought cost £15.99 which is equivalent of 3 bottles when it usually cost £6.99 just for ONE bottle. This was definetely a smart way to profit.

First Show 21/05/13

10 full price tickets sold at £6= £60
17 adv tickets sold at £5= £85
33 beers sold at £.150= £49.50
13 Guestlist= Free

=£194.50

Minus £100 for band fees

=£94.50

Minus £7 for Ice & fruits

=£87.50 (PROFIT)

Second show 22/05/13

This was a free show so no expenses. However the beer and wine was sold at £1 because it was mainly students.

14 beers sold at £1= £14 (PROFIT)

Third show 23/05/13

36 full price tickets at £6= £216
7 adv price tickets at £5=£35
36 beer/wine at £1.50=£54
9 juices at £1=£9
8 guestlist=Free
2 students= Free

=£314

Minus £160 for band fees

=£154

Minus £64.49 for extra bar stock

=£89.51(PROFIT)

On the first night which was Tuesday the 21st of may we found that the cheaper advanced ticket worked really well as well as selling tickets at the door. It was found to be a great idea as we got an understanding of who would be attending the event which would have helped to know how many drinks to buy etc so we knew how we'd profit. On the second show which was the 21st of may it was free and there were no tickets sold it definitely would have been a great idea to maybe of sold advanced tickets so we would have known how much beverages to buy however we did sell 14 beers to students which was better than nothing. On the first night we sold many advanced tickets but on the last show which was the 23rd of May we didn't sell as much we think it is mainly due to the audience the gig attracted or it wasn't promoted enough. The fact that we had a bar at the gig really helped us to profit even though the college never had a license to sell alcohol we used tokens which had to be brought at the box office . It was a great idea as we could keep a count of how many drinks were sold. The bar was very busy before the show and during the interval.
You could tell by the amount of tickets sold that it was mainly people outside/older that came to support these bands. The kind of music of music played for the three days were mainly experimental rock and alternative rock etc and this usually isn’t the type of music Westminster Kingsway college students would listen to at it isn’t your commercial charty type of music. Many students did not attend this gig.
The ticket prices were quite fair I’d say compared to most gigs you'd go to especially for these bands as they are quite established bands for their genre of music. Especially being in London tickets for showcases can be quite expensive and to buy drinks as well which we sold very cheap.
Next time in order to do better for planning events like this would probably be promotion. We should get the bands next time to promote it more on their twitters, facebook etc. I think maybe leaflets would have helped these events even more or even giving those out in places such as Camden which mainly you can find these types of people who enjoy this music go. Posters should also be involved and next time the gap between the advanced tickets and on the door should be quite bigger example advanced being £5 then on the door being £12 so this would definitely get people to purchase the £5 tickets earlier.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Major Music project

Major Music Project

 

When putting on a live event the roles that need to be involved in order for it to be successful are roles such as;

Sound engineer

Artists/Musicians

Stage managers

Visuals/Lighting engineers

Box office workers

Bartenders

All of these roles help to contribute a better show for the artist such as a sound engineer needs to make sure the sounds levels for the bands are on point and make sure there is no feedback from microphones. Stage managers have to make sure everything is going fine backstage and on stage they have to make sure the artists know there queue to go on stage they also have to make sure artists don’t exceed the time limit for a set. Lighting engineers have to make sure everything the visuals visualised have been done, they have to make sure the right lighting is on the right que as well as colouring. Furthermore, the box office workers have to make sure tickets are sold are the right price and things such as the guest list are sorted and done properly and the bartenders have to make sure they serve customers the right drinks and do not exceed the limit. Finally, the artists and musicians have to obviously be there to make the show happen.

In our end of summer event ‘signed’ we gave classmates different roles in order to make our show successful. We had all the roles required to make a live event work. When preparing for our gig we had to make sure things such as promotion and designs were on point in order to attract people and make them attend. Roy made sure he made the event page a few weeks before the show so it gives the audience an early notice, he also made sure he kept updating the page so the people who clicked attend wouldn’t forget which was a very good idea. John was in charge of the poster design which was great as it reflected what our gig was about by having our signatures on it. Christina and Sinai was in charge of the visuals there idea was to have a lot of colours as it portrays the idea of summer but when it came to the darker and slow songs they had different visuals.

As well as performing in the summer gig I also worked at the box office and bar. When I worked at the box office I many responsibilities such as making sure I knew how the guest list worked and the price for concessions and adults. Also I had to make sure people paid at the box office for alcoholic/non-alcoholic drinks, when they paid I had to give them a token which they had to take to the bar. When doing the bar work I had to make sure customers did not pay me with money but tokens as the college doesn’t have a licence. I made sure I gave customers a limited (but money worth) of alcohol as I didn’t want anyone to be out of proportion for a college show.

I was very pleased to say that our turned out really well. I also appreciated year 2 music production with their sound engineering, there levels and the reverb they used on the microphones was successful. However, there were times that I wasn’t happy the way my bass sounded at times but they did a good job in the end as I was satisfied after. I really liked the setting of the stages this year with the whole acoustic stage being separated from the main stage as I felt like I was like in a big gig with everyone standing around. We started our set with a cover which was by Bruno mars ‘Locked out of heaven’ this was a great way to start the set as it is an up-tempo chart song which the audience knew and loved. In between we had the classes original songs which brought out everyone’s individually. We ended with Beyonce ‘Work it out’ which was very groovy and up-tempo which would get the audience to leave with a positive vibe and remember the set. To make sure we made this set work out we had to rehearse multiple times on Wednesday and Friday and even though one of our band mates didn’t make the show we managed to figure to fill it out.

 

 

 

Future assignment Mix

Future assignment mix (blog entry)

As the channels on the logic track were cleaned up and re-named. Firstly, I turned down all the levels so i could focus on the most important parts such as the lead vocal and guitar in this piece. I started with the lead vocal where i added 'platinum reverb' on it, i did this so it created more room and space for the vocals. For the backing vocals i put a little bit of 'gold verb' on it to support the lead vocals, i made sure the backing vocals wasn't louder than the lead vocal. I didn't put any effects on the guitar as i still wanted it to have a natural element even though its supposed to be a future space-like sound. However, i added the echo effect to synth 1 and 3 to give it that weird type 'Future- Alien' effect.

Furthermore, I put the bass amp effect on the bass so it sounds more bassy and brings you more down to Earth. I did experiment with panning but because there is a lot going on in the tracks it sounded like everything was clashing in to one ear. So i decided to use more reverb in everything as it still creates that space and that panning feeling.

I put all the drum tracks into one bus (Bus 9) which made it easier to control all the levels at the same time.  Reason for this is that there a lot of channels for just the same instrument;  Its easier and quicker doing this way as i can control the volumes together. To create a bus i changed the stereo output to a bus channel. I then put compression and EQ on the bus 9 so it wouldn't peak.

I did take a break whilst halfway creating the mix so i could listen back to what i really done and to see if it still had the same impact as when i started it. Finally i gave the track a listen a few times just to make sure nothing was peaking and it did sound well and the levels looked good and made sense for track.

We Three Kings

We Three Kings Assignment

We three kings- Christmas carol

Villancico's arrangement of 'we three kings' differs from other versions of this song. In the introduction there is a use of a brass section. I personally think the arranger chose this as it adds to the traditional concept of Christmas. Most of the song is an a-ccapella sung in Unison with a three part harmony using bass, tenor and male alto tones. These three part harmonies give the vocal lines more texture and it feels like there's not much space as its all filled out. As its an all male choir the texture is deep and thick which is expressed by the natural reverb caused by recording in a hall or church. Furthermore, the arranger has an organ playing a bass line which can be heard in the chorus and last verse. This has been done to add more depth in to the arrangement and make it more interesting to the listener.

We three kings – Ella Fitzgerald

The main changes in arrangement in this particular version is the change in the key. The recording is swung which is mainly Ella Fitzgerald's style and obviously suits her. This is many of the reasons why the arranger has swung the tempo as its made to suit her preferred style. There is a piano in this version playing 7ths and 9ths in a swung time. There are many techniques the arranger has used to make this version contrast to the others. There is a lot of space in this arrangement which keeps it quite basic but interesting as it allows the music to not get too confusing.

We three kings – Kamelot (recording)

In this arrangement, Kamelot changes the genre to fit his particular style of music. There is a distorted guitar that plays the lead melody of 'We three kings' and has a solo. The distortion of the guitar,solo and the drumming pattern turns this into a rock genre as that is rock stylistics. Although it favors a rock genre it also has elements of classical in it such as the use of strings. In the verse 'God rest ye Children' it is in unison which is very different to the other versions. At the end of the arrangement there is a tempo marking of 'Rit and Rall' which means to slow down gently. Even though it goes back to its normal tempo then finishes the arranger purposely does this to alert the listener that the song is coming to an end.

At the end of this arrangement, there is a Ritardando or Rallantando, towards the end, but this does not continue to the very end. A Ritardando or Rallantando (Rit. And Rall.) is the Italian tempo marking, meaning to slow down gently. The length of a ritardando is extended by a dashed, horizontal line. This line does not continue to the end of the arrangement, for it soon picks up its normal tempo, and then finishes. The arranger has done this to signify to the listener that the end of the arrangement is near, so this is very much a marker that the listener recognises.

What the world needs now (Choir and Lead sheet)

On the lead sheet the arrangement is not swung but is very static. There are no notations or any tempo markings. This helps the player play correctly and the given tempo correlates to this expression in the performance. The arrangement of the lead sheet is also very simple as its only written for left hand. The chords are put above the stave but these are block chords which can not be exciting.

The choir sheet is in SATB which gives the arrangement different textures and easier harmonies.

 

Greatest love of all

The key signature of this piece is in E flat major in the lead sheet. The lead sheet only provides the melody. However the rhythm is very tricky. There is also a repeated section in this arrangement this makes it easier to read and play as they'll be less pages to play through. The greatest love of all piano sheet looks much nicer as it has things such as 'slowly with feeling' as a tempo marking giving more flavor to the piece and giving the player more of a challenge and knowledge of the piece. There are many dynamics in this piece which rise and fall from pianissimo to fortissimo with help from the crescendos and diminuendos along the way. The arrangement has done this to provide interest and diversity in this piece.

 

Elements of a Score; Philip Arranging

Stevie Wonder- Sir Duke

a) G#M(G sharp Major) is the second chord in Sir Duke to play this chord you have to play G#, B and D# together.

b) Bar 14, there is a minum and a quaver both pitched at G# with a slup on top; this makes the performer play the notes together more smoothly. Which means holding the note for 2 1/2 beats.

c) The notation on Bar 21 means 'No Chord' so that means you play what is written and do not improvise over chords because there are no chords to improvise over.

D) The notation on Bar 28 of 'D.C al Coda' which means 'Go back to the beginning' in Italian, it basically means repeat from the beginning to an indicated place and then play the tail.

E) The mark 'X3' at the end of bar 32, this means to the player to repeat everything between the colons. 'X3' also means to repeat every 3 times over.

F) On Bar 37 shows a breath after the first crotchet of the bar. even though after a crotchet it is a semi quaver rest this means that the breath should be held for only a quarter beat as the score is in 4/4.

Is She Not Passing Fair?

A) The tempo marking on the first bar of the score 'Allegro Molto' means the scores tempo should be very quick and played brightly .

B) The 'brace' and the 'bracket' on bar 5 connects two staves to each other. This is done to show the player that they have to play both staves by themselves simultaneously. A brace connects a treble clef to a bass clef, whilst a bracket connects single staves of multiple instruments together.

C) The notation saying 'Dim' on bar 9 is short for diminuendo which means to gradually decrease in volume.

D) The notation 'Ped' on bar 22 means to press the pedal on the extreme right so it sustains the note.

E)The notation 'Colla Parte' on bar 33 means to tell the player to follow the rhythm and tempo of the soloist or vocal.

F) It says 'a tempo' on bar 44 this means to tell the player to return to the original tempo that was stated at the beginning of the score

Censorship In the Middle East

Censorship in the middle east

Music and society have always been intimately related. Music reflects and creates social conditions which could be controversial or an impede social change. Even the development of recording techniques in the latter half of the 20th century has revolutionized the extend to which the majority of people have access to music besides the Middle East. It is very easy for someone like myself in the UK to access the internet and listen to all kinds of music, 24 hours a day, at the touch of a switch. This is all refers to Globalization which is able to exchange world-wide cultural resources around the world and includes advances in transportation and telecommunications.

The Middle East are not yet globalized and the government intend on keeping it like that. They are also not technologically advanced as the rest of the world. The government has censored the internet which simply means they have limited the internet access. This is very unfortunate to the musicians in the Middle east countries who have a huge passion for music and want to seek different music as there is no access to the latest music, news and trends. Even watching a music video on the internet is very difficult and the downloading speed is poor. 
But why do the Middle East countries have censorship laws? Is it simply for the fact that they are afraid of musical expression? and therefore oppresses it. The government also fear they will loose control and power of their people so by limiting the internet they are not able to stand up to the government or protest as its very difficult to communicate because things are usually handled my social websites. Some of this is also due to religious beliefs 'religious/social/cultural censorship'. A decade ago many artist were threatened and sometimes killed by extremist religious forces. A lot of threatening is still happening in the Middle East now-a-days mainly through the Taliban and the Iranian state. Furthermore, censorship by the Islamic government prevents Islamic citizens from finding out or learning about the past current failures and abuses of the government that could start up a protest or riot against them. Many users saw the Internet as an easy way to get around Iran's strict press laws. 

Musical instruments and computers for music soft wares had to smuggled in to the country. Citizens had to use these equipment in sound-proofed rehearsals rooms at certain hours of the day. The government also banned use if instruments in the country which caused an underground music scene to be formed, this is where artist hosted there own illegal gigs and sold tickets on the black market. Even though this was risky and dangerous the Iranian citizens did pay a lot of money to purchase instruments and musical soft wares. With technology becoming a neccesity to create music, the people in Iran would find it extremely different to keep up to date with the new programmes and soft wares.

Most musicians from Iran tried to escape to somewhere where music was not banned. The band 'Take It Easy Hospital' had to find refuge in the UK after being caught by the police for creating music. Going back to there had there lives at danger especially when there film 'No one knows about the Persian Cats' was played at the Cannes festival. The film represented the country in a negative light so the idea of going back to Iran was IMPOSSIBLE.

Even though censoring music shouldn't be allowed it did help them develop their cultural sides and help them appreciate music more. Whilst us  people in the UK do not understand the worth of having music there at your disposal as we are saturated in it. Music now being very easy to access and also very cheap it is hard to think of a life where music could be censored. Politics is definitely one of the main reasons for the underexposure of music in the middle east. The education curriculum makes sure music lessons are very limited, they insist on the classical/cultural route so the children do not habe a creative mind to try anything different, they do not have the chance to explore the different genres and styles that music has to offer.

The idea of censoring music in Iran doesnt not allow citizens to develop their own beliefs and thoughts, it is basically controlling people. This defintely should be stopped and given the light it needs to show people the different ways people are living due to dictatorship.


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