jack oughton - music tech 101

Music + Technology:§˙

An Introduction

Jack Oughton

Technology

• Simply put I define technology as the tools we use to help us achieve an aim

• The level of complexity determines the ‘height’; Low Tech -> High Tech

Jack Oughton - www.xijindustries.com - twitter.com/xij

Music

• Organized Sound/Pattern -> • Example: Listened to the tracks.• What do they have in common?• Which did you prefer?• What is music to you?• Why do we have music?


Formal Elements of Music

• Melody: – “A succession of notes forming a distinctive sequence..”

• Harmony: – “The science of the structure, relations, and practical combination of notes..”

• Rhythm: – “A specific kind of such a pattern, formed by a series of notes differing in duration and stress..”

Music can be said to be comprised of the 3 following parts:


Exercise: Got rhythm?


So Music + Technology = ?

• Tools (tech) applied to the creation and dissemination of music.

• Areas of music technology:• Recording Music: Microphone• Synthesizing Music: Synthesizer• Storing Music: Vinyl, CD• Representing Music: Musical stave, tablature.• Broadcasting Music: Radio, Internet


Exercise: Getting Technical

• Of the resources immediately available to you now, which can you use to make music from?

• Try not to focus to rhythmic/percussive instruments

• 1 minute!• Can you find anything that is pitched?


Some Examples?

• Pitched ruler• Pitched rubber bands• Blown paper• Blown bottle• Things you can do with your voice• Ways you can use your fingers• Constructing drum kits from available material

in your bag?


• Music technology is about “organizing sound” from the resources available to you

• Doesn’t have to be electronic, or even a ‘official’ musical instrument

• New instruments are invented every other day.

• So be resourceful!


What can you do with music technology?

• Mastering Engineer• Film Composer• Performer/Musician• Sound Designer• Studio Recording Engineer• Dialogue Replacement• Foley, field recording


Genuine badass

Advanced Music Technology

• The field of Music Technology is usually associated with more advanced technology.

• We study how to manipulate software and hardware

• We use it in the studio• We use it live recording• Multimedia Entertainment depends on our

understanding (music, film, television, computer games, theatre, art installations, etc..)


Introduction To REAPER

• Reaper is a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW)• This is the kind of software used in the

industry to create and produce music.• Though simpler than many other industry

standard DAWS, Reaper is actively used by thousands of recording studios and music professionals for its simplicity and open format.

(Rapid Environment for Audio Production, Engineering, and Recording)


Demo : Reaper

• Example: Synthesis vs. Recording: We can either generate new sound or rearrange existing sounds to create music.

• Hardware vs. Software: How much studio equipment do we actually need for the purpose at hand?

• Applying Effects: How we can make a pre-existing sound more interesting.

• Applying Presets: How we can use the expertise of others to improve and program our sounds.

Some things we can do with Reaper


Music Tech: Musician Empowerment• Music technology is more powerful and more cost

effective than ever.• This is thanks to the falling prices and increasing

capabilities of the personal computer and digital hardware.

• Thanks to the internet, learning how to use these tools is as simple as searching for Youtube tutorials.

• So, the boundaries to making and recording music are lower than they have ever been!

• If you have ever wanted to explore music making with minimal cost outlay, now is your time.

• www.reaper.fm/download.php - start here and try Reaper for free.


http://www.reaper.fm/download.php

About Jack

• Jack is a musician and composer from the UK.• He got started properly recording music when

a friend showed him to use Reaper.• He makes music under many musical aliases. • At the moment he writes as Xij, composing

electronic and orchestral music: www.music.xijindustries.com - or Google “xij music”

• Send him your tracks. He wants to hear them!Jack Oughton - www.xijindustries.com -

twitter.com/xij

http://www.music.xijindustries.com/

jack oughton - music tech 101

Documents