sam towner house music evolution

8/20/2019 Sam Towner House Music Evolution

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How Has House MusicEvolved Over Time?By: Sam Towner


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Where Did It Originate? (1)

• House Music started in 1977 in the south side of Chicago.• A venue that started the house scene was a club called

The Warehouse.• The owner of The Warehouse was a DJ by the name of

Frankie Knuckles.• He mixed old disco classics and new Eurobeat pop, which ended

up influencing acid house and inspired other DJ’s to experimentmore.

• House is a direct descendant from disco, however it has adeeper, rawer sound with a dancier beat to it.


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The Warehouse (1)

• House was originally targeted for blacks and gays.• Prior to the Warehouse, there was race specific clubs.

• This is because house was introduced during times where racismand segregation was still about.

• The Warehouse and New York’s Paradise Garage broke downthe barriers of race and sexual preferences for house music –everyone was welcome.


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Roots of House Music (1)

• Created in and by the African American Community.• Evolved from gospel, soul, jazz, funk, Latin Salsa, and

Disco.


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People Who InfluencedHouse – Frankie Knuckles (1)

• Born in New York.• Nicknamed “The Godfather of

House”.• He experimented with new sounds

and added different dimensions tomixing.

• Took raw disco and added a drum

track with a 4/4 tempo.• Played 8-10 hours a night.• One of the reasons The Warehouse

was successful.• Produced by David Mancuso.


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People Who InfluencedHouse – Larry Levan (1)

• Friends with Frankie Knuckles.• Suggested to Frankie to open

The Warehouse, but Larry endedup DJing in New York’sParadise Garage.

• Produced by David Mancuso.• David put on a party called The

Loft, intended for the black and

gay crowd.• David taught them about how to

create perfect music, with bothlight and sound production, aswell as DJ techniques.


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Creators of House Music (1)

• Leonard Remix RRoy• Claims he created house music May 1981.• Also claims he coined the term house music in spring 1981.

• Chip E. Yet• Claims he created house music in March 1985.

• Farley “Jackmaster” Funk

• There was no specific creator, as house music originated from various different DJ’s and Producers.


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Early DJ Techniques (1)

• Technology in the 70’s wasn’t as up to date as it isnowadays. There was no digital market, we are going

back to the good times of the vinyl.• In the beginning, there was only two records available:

• 45’s and 33 1/3 LP’s with an A and B side, giving thecapability for a different song on each side.

•

The first DJ’s on the scene had to execute a set without amixer and headphones, making the life of a DJ that muchharder.

• Turntables only ran at two speeds:• 45 RPM and 33 1/3 RPM, and that was it, no other

capabilities


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• The first DJ’s were essentially people in charge of the playlist. There were pauses between songs as the single

record was changed. This led to a break in the dancing,and a slight decrease to the vibe.

• This is when slip cueing was later invented.

Early DJ Techniques (1)


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Slip Cueing (1)

• To successfully slip cue, every record the DJ owned had to becopied.

• The one turntable increased to two turntables. The two tableswere then rigged to a switch that was hooked up to the amp.This way, they were able to decide which table would send thesignal out to the speakers. They could now switch betweentables, eliminating the pauses in dance and music.

• Some DJ’s decided to extend the mix. This was done by playing the outro on the next turntable. This gave them moretime to bring in the next song.

• Instead of extending the mix, other DJ’s built the mix byisolating instrumental, vocal, and or drum channels

• This was a difficult technique, and could only be executed bythe best.


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Mixing Timeline (1)

• 1937: John Cage looks at the merits of sound manipulationusing the phonograph.

• 1948: Pierre Schaffer makes turntable based music acceptable.• 1973: DJ Kool Herc originated Hip-Hop by DJing with two

turntables and extending beats by looping.• 1977: Grand Wizard Theodore invented scratching.• 1983: Scratching appeared in the actual songs rather than just a

live feature.• 1987: First Disco Mix Club World Battle (DMC) was held.

This established worldwide DJ competitions.• 1990: Beat juggling invented by Steve D.


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Lets Get Political (1)

• As fore mentioned, house was originally meant for blacks andgays.

• This meant the rest of white American society wanted noassociation with house. However, a black DJ brought house toIbiza with him. From there, British producers brought house

back to England with them, and created Acid House.• A couple years later, Acid House made an appearance in Ibiza

as well. However, as this was produced by white people, white

Americans felt it was okay and enjoyed the House vibes.• Acid House was brought back to America and played in whitestraight clubs. People loved Acid House, and eventually,everyone enjoyed house that had been around since the late70’s.

• In turn, house helped to break down the racial and sexual preference barrier in America.


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Music Consumption Over Time (2)

• The first way music was consumed was through the wax tube. This iswhere the sound waves of the recording would move the needle inthe same pattern, and engrave the music into the wax. You can then

play it back through a phonograph.• After the wax tube came the vinyl. Here you had two sides to the

track. There was 45 RPM and 33 1/3 RPM. It later progressed tohaving two sides, A and B.

• Cassettes were the next way that music could be consumed. This hadan A and B side as well. The recording was recorded onto tape.

• Moving on to a modern way music was consumed, the CD. On eachdisc, there are little pits that store the data of the recording. When theCD is played, a laser is used, similarly to the needle of a vinyl, and itreads the data.

• Entering the digital age of MP3, we are now able to listen anddownload music on demand from any device capable. Devices areable to have a large library of music, with it not taking up muchspace.


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Music Production Over Time (3)

• Without a doubt, production has dramatically changed overtime.

• In the 60’s, 4 track-tape recording was used. This limited howmuch could have been recorded at once, extending the amountof time it took to finish the recording.

• Multi-channel instruments had to be recorded as a generalsound as opposed to individual components such as snare or

kick.• Vocals, guitar and bass had to have a mic placed in front of the

amp as opposed to a direct input.• Back in the day, mixing had to be executed on a hardware

mixing desk alone, whereas nowadays the mixing desk goeshand in hand with Digital Audio Work Stations.


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• Processing was done by sending the signal that youwanted to be processed to a bus, and hooking that bus upto an external hardware that would alter the sound.

Granted this could be done today, but with theintroduction of DAW’s, many processes could be done onthe software.

Editing and Effects (3)


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Compared to Now (4)

• In 1982, Dave Smith invented the first instrument withMIDI capability called the Prophet-600.

• 1984 was the year that Cubase, the first Digital AudioWorkstation, was established. Although this was on theAtari computer, with less operating speed than the current

phone, it still changed the production game leaps and

bounds.• MIDI instruments were abled to be connected by 5-pin.• This invented the establishment of the home studio.

People at home were able to do similar things to people in

a recording studio at their home.


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Production Nowadays (4)

• With the advancements in technology, music production

has dramatically changed, and dance music was born.• With access to over hundreds of software instruments and

plugins, the production possibilities are near endless andlimited to your creativity.

•

Synth presets and creational plugins such as Massive by Native Instruments strongly influenced the sound ofelectronic genres.

• With correctional and creational plugins, the fatness of

music has increase and music is now a battle of loudness.


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• “You could play one keyboard with your right hand andanother keyboard with your left hand”. This makesrecordings quicker and easier. “Whole new era of music

processing”. “The computers were fast enough to be ableto sequence notes, control the number of keyboards anddrum machines at the same time…it kind of opened up awhole new industry”.

- Dave Smith (4)


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Quality Decrease (5)

• With built in metronomes, songs are now more accurate. Backin the day, the tempo used to drift a bit. However, now we can

visually hear and see each beat in the project. Additionally, youcan quantize programmed notes or recorded notes.

• Music changes with society. Nowadays, there is more andmore demand for loud, energetic music. However, back in theday, music was just stand and execute the song, rather than

performing it. Now, music is about performance as well asexecution.

• An artist that changed music is Elvis. Music of the time was allslow, and boring performance. Elvis made his music more

upbeat and performed it.


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Music Moves with Society

• A band that I believe perfectly demonstrates how musicchanges with society is Coldplay. If we think back tosome of their first albums, A Rush of Blood to the Headand X & Y, they are similar to most bands of the time.However, now society is more jumpy and lively, theirnew music is more upbeat, and their performances morelively and colourful.


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2003 vs. 2015

Music Moves with Society


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Digital Audio Workstations (6)

• Home studios started in the 90’s with the creation of Cubase onthe Atari.

• Before we start, a DAW is a piece of software equip forrecording, editing, and producing music.

• When downloading DAW’s, you have three options:• Digital

• Download off the company website.• Good because you can start producing straight away.

• Boxed• Shipped to the house.

• Good if you like having a physical copy.• Included

• Comes free with audio.• Saves money by combining two purchases into one, but they tend

to be limited versions of the software.


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• Free vs. Paid• Free DAW’s are bad for full production, however, they are better

than nothing if you can’t afford the paid version.• Additionally, free versions are could to test out the software to see

if you get on well with it before wasting your money.• Limited vs. Free Version

• Free versions provide a test of the software, where as limitedversions tend to contain 95% of the full features, for a fraction ofthe cost. However, when I used limited versions, I found theywere very limited, such as editing plugins and softwareinstruments, so I had to go for the paid version in the end.

• A benefit of buying the limited version, is you can upgrade to thefull paid version for a discounted price.

Digital Audio Workstations (6)


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• Cubase• First DAW ever made.• Original copy in 1989 for the Atari Computer, but was

MIDI only.• In 1992, it supported audio inputs and had windows

compatability.• Brought out VST instruments.

Top DAW’s(6)


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• Logic Pro X• Started in 2002 with the company known as E-Magic.• Apple bought Logic soon after the release, so they could see

it was a good software with potential even in the early days.• One of the best available DAW’s.• Great integration with Mac’s, however it isn’t compatible

with windows.• Digital Download from the app store or hardcore copy from

online shops or the apple shop.

Top DAW’s(6)


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• Ableton Live 9•

Originally designed for live performances.• Now used for production as well, but live performance is a

main feature.• Lots of third party compatibility.•

Lots of hardware such as MIDI keyboards and Launchpadsmap really well with Ableton.

Top DAW’s(6)


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• FL Studio• Top choice for Hip Hop, EDM, House, and DJ’s because of

the plugins that the software comes with. Good softwareinstruments and editing possibility and capability.

• Lots of automation.• Lots of third party capability.• Good piano roll. One feature I love about the piano roll in

FL Studio is ghost notes. Ghost notes allow you to seescales while programing which are very helpful.

• Offers free lifetime updates.

Top DAW’s(6)


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• When researching what setup you should get whenstarting production, you will get many different result asit is somewhat down to personal opinion, but there issome fact behind your results as well.

• Most people will say to get a mac for production becauseof the fast operating systems and integration.

• But what Mac is best?

What Computer is Best forProduction? (7)


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• Mac Mini• Good for the price as it is the cheapest mac available.• However, as it is cheap, it isn’t as fast.• You have to buy a separate monitor as the monitor is not

included.• However, this is more that sufficient to get you up and

running.• That being said, if you want to buy once and buy right, this

isn’t the mac to buy.



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• MacBook Pro• Faster than the Mac Mini, however still not the faster.•

Good because it’s portable so you can work on the go.• Retina Display so its clear picture.



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• iMac• Fast with a large screen.• One of the most expensive, but worth the investment.



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• iMac Pro• Fastest Mac available.• Can have lots of tracks and plugins at once without having any

problems.• Lots of storage.• Can add more RAM and processing cards should you need it.• Multiple video outputs.• Lots of inputs and outputs.• The Mac to get.



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Interfaces (8)

• Audio interfaces/soundcards range from $100 – $4000.• Nine out of ten times, the soundcard will be compatible

with your digital audio workstation, but you still need to be 100% sure before spending the money.• However, compatibility could change when you set up

changes, so you can never be too sure.


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• There are four different types of connectors, and you have tohave the corresponding ports in your set up.

• USB• Used for cheaper, at home studios.• Slowest data transfer rate, however it is fast enough.

• Firewire• Used for more expensive, at home studios.• Faster data transfer rate, but not the fastest.

• Thunderbolt• Newer semi-pro interface.• A leap in speed from USB and Firewire.

• PCIE• Standard professional soundcard.•

Additional processing power available, and fastest data transferrate.

Interface Connections (8)


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Interface Connections (8)

USB

FireWire

Thunderbolt PCIE

Thunderbolt


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• On a simple home studio interface, there is generally oneto two. But on professional interfaces, there can be asmuch as twenty, if not more.

• The amount of inputs you need depends on the amount oftracks you plan on recording at once.

• If you are a solo artist, you would only need about two tofour.

• If you were on a song writing team, you would needabout 4 to 10.

• Engineers who record bands would need as many as possible.

Interface Inputs and Outputs (8)


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• Interfaces come in different forms, shapes and sizes.• There are desktop interfaces, which are smaller, and can

sit on the desk next to your computer screen.• The bigger interfaces are rack mounted, and sit on a

standard rack unit.

Is There Space for an Interface? (8)


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Types of Microphones (9)

It is essential that correct mic is selected. Many things have to be taken into consideration such asthe diaphragm size, whether the mic is a condenser or dynamic, and the polar pattern. With regardsto the diaphragm, you need to consider the instrument it is being associated with. For example, aninstrument that disperses a lot of air will need to have a mic with a larger diaphragm associated with

it. This will avoid any damage to the microphone diaphragm. Additionally, the type of microphonealso has to be considered. There are two types of microphones – dynamic and condenser. A dynamicmicrophone is more used for live performance, as they are sturdy and don’t require phantom powerto work. A dynamic microphone uses a wire coil and a magnet to create the audio signal. Thediaphragm attaches to the coil, and when the diaphragm vibrates according to the sound wave, thecoil moves in the same pattern, past the magnet, creating electromagnetic waves, which move down

the mic and through the XLR cable. Because of this, they have low sensitivity, which is another benefit for live performance. Condensers, on the other hand, are less sturdy in comparison todynamic microphones, and this is one of the reasons they are used for studio applications. Theserequire phantom power to work, meaning they are more sensitive to picking up lower signals.However, due to their sensitivity, they cannot be associated with instruments that have high airdispersion. Inside the microphone, there are two electric plates that act as the diaphragm. When thediaphragm vibrates with sound waves, it pushes one of the plates closer to the other plate, and thenreturns to resting position. This pattern created by the plate movement is recreated through the XLRcable into the software. There are many types of polar patterns as well.


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Types of Headphones (10)

• There are two types of headphones, each for differentapplications:

• Closed back headphones for recording.• Open back headphones for mixing.


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“The Bomb” (11)

• Kenny Dope Gonzalez claims that “The Bomb” in 1994changed house forever:

• “I never meant for it to be 15 minutes. When I recordedthe track, I kept flipping through the sequences on mydrum machine and it sounded ok so I just left the introlike that,” says Gonzalez.

• “The long intro created a huge amount of suspense, as itkept building up and building up, and when you thoughtit was going to drop, it never did. Eventually when themain song kicked in, people just went crazy.”

• Catchy vocals and samples were also introduced.


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What Makes a House TrackSuccessful? (12)

• Has to work on the dance floor.•

Good rhythm.• No rigid beats, be funky and soulful.• While producing, if you want to nod your head to it or you

can vibe to it then you should be sorted.• Play the beat on the keyboard as opposed to programing it

as it will have more natural feel to it, then you can adjust itin the piano roll.

• Samples are good to include.


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• Tempo needs to be right.• Anything ranging from 125 – 128 BPM is good for dancing to.• House started at 130 BPM, but nowadays that is too fast for

house.• Space percussion and high hats around the track rather than

having them run throughout.• Breaks and pauses help to maintain the funk vibe to it.• It doesn’t need to be heavy all the time.

• Length• Generally speaking, a track should be between 3:30 and 4:00• An extended mix for a DJ tends to be about 5:00



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• Arrangement• Pop tends to have a verse, chorus verse structure, whereas

house is more free flowing and less strict on the structure.• In fact, having a random arrangement tends to catch people

off guard and keeps people paying attention and to the trackand on their feet.

•

Intro and outro beats are good for DJ’s to mix with. If thetrack is easy to mix, the more chance it has at being played.• Test the track and see how people react – it sounds different

live to in a studio.



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• Hook• A good hook is an essential part to the track, especially if

you have vocals.• The hook sets up the vibe you are trying to achieve.• Good melodies helps your track be more memorable.



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• Vocal Importance• Vocals help reach anthem status, however, they aren’t

essential.• Vocals help get the crowds attention and connect with each

other when they start singing along.• Make them relatable and understandable.



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• Mixdown• Tracks are getting louder and louder. Music has become a

war of fatness and loudness.• Bass and kick need to sound good together and can’t be in

phase.• The more basic and energetic the track is, the more

successful it tends to be. If people can dance and rememberit, it will be good.

•

However, don’t try too hard during production. Don’t opena blank file and be like: “This is gunna be a banger”, because nine times out of ten, it won’t be because you’dhave tried too hard.



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Festivals Change with Music (13)

• The first T in the Park took place in 1994, when there were only ahandful of other UK festivals, such as Glastonbury, Reading, andWOMAD.

• Now, hundreds of festivals and raves are available throughout theyear.

• In the first T in the park, there was 2,000 campers and 17,000 peoplein total. Compared to today, this is a small turnout. Nowadays, T inthe park has 70,000 campers, and 85,000 people in total daily.

• This could be because the acts and entertainment outside of performances have improved, or the facilities are a higher quality.

• With the increase in number of acts, and a higher quality, bookingfees increased, as did ticket prices.

• Additional additives to festivals are more stages, bars, campsites,

police and security, medics, power, lighting, transport, wastemanagement, and toilets.


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• People enjoy music, food, drink, and entertainment atfestivals. I did a questionnaire for people of all ages to

partake in to see what frequent responses were:

Festivals Change with Music (13)

•

It is clear that people enjoy the atmosphere of the peopleand music over other features found at festivals.


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Genres of House (14)

• House has adapted over time, and numerous subgenres have been created, that can be identified by certain characteristics that other subgenres of house don’t have.

• Classic House/Chicago House• Started in Chicago in the early 1980’s• 4/4 beat• Percussion driven by rhythm produced by drum machines• Synthesized baselines (classic deep house bass)• Original Producers

• Frankie Knuckles•

Marshal Jefferson• Robert Owens

• Present producers• Gorgon City• Pete Tong• MK• Friend Within• Disclosure


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• Deep house• Similar to Classic house, however it has a slower BPM of

around 120. It also has a more chill vibe to it and isn’t as poppy.



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• Tech house• Fusion between house and techno.• Soul and funk of house, but more rigid in structure and

sound.• Has a more consistent rhythm than the last two subgenres.• Glitchier synths and more unpredictable structure.• Intricate and more layers in the project.• Shorter and darker kicks, smaller & quicker hi-hats, and

noisier snares.



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• Acid House• Squelching bass and moving baseline.• Synths and bass and minimalistic with lots of energy

and groove.• Big part of the house scene in the 80’s and 90’s and

started in the UK.• Very easy to classify due to its distinct sound.



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• Progressive/Electro House• Around 128 BPM• Took elements from trance in the 90’s, and changed

over the years.• Typical build and break down, followed by another

build and a drop.• Vocals have been introduced now too rather than just

melodies.• Jumpy, fun, and wild.• Most disliked by musicians



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• Big Room/Mainstage House• Progressive-house like builds into abrasive and hard-

hitting hollow drops consisting of a hook with a quickattack and quick decay.

• Simple melody and big synths and kicks.• Created in 2010.• Relies on the drop.• Takes over mainstages and massive at festivals.



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• Electro House• Bright synths• Minimal percussion to allow the synths and bass to

punch through and make an appearance• Electro House – Melbourne Bounce

• ^ with a bouncy baseline between kicks



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• Ghetto House (G-House)• About to be big•

Hip hop and laidback melodies into dance• Minimalistic yet packs a punch



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• UK Garage House• 4/4 percussive rhythm with shuffling hi hats.• Lots of bass.



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• Future House• Groove and rhythm of classic house, but boots electro house

the the leads.• Tchami coined the term future house, and essentially made

the genre.• Synths are raw with lots of reverb and bass to them.• Percussive beats.



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• Tropical House• Bright and cheery synths with reverb and short envelope

settings.• Percussive drums like bongos and congas, snaps and claps.• Summer vibe.• Slower BPM of around 105.



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• House had started with just Chicago House in the 1980’s,and there is so many more genres than just the originalnow. Whether this is a good or bad thing, it is up to you!

• I like how there is different subgenres because you havethe dance and groove of house, but with differentcharacteristics.

• My favourite subgenres of house are:• Future house• Tropical house• Deep house

Genres of House Recap (14)


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Genres People Like

• I took a survey what genres people liked.

• We can see that house and pop havethey highest rating, and it isinteresting how that is what theyradio plays. So clearly people likemainstream music. My favouritegenre is house.


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Genres People Like

• I took a survey what genres people disliked.

• Most people dislike country, rap,and jazz. I notice that this are veryspecific genres and you tend toonly like them if you are broughtaround them.


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Deck Improvements

CDJ

Turntables

Controller


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References

1. http://www.univie.ac.at/Anglistik/webprojects/LiveMiss/Chicago-House/house-text.htm

2. http://uk.complex.com/pop-culture/2013/07/10-ways-tech-has-changed-how-we-consume-music/

3. http://www.jamcast.co.uk/early-recording-techniques/ 4. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20425376 5. http://gizmodo.com/how-music-has-evolved-in-the-past-70-

years-1485770090

6. http://ehomerecordingstudio.com/best-daw-software/ 7. http://ehomerecordingstudio.com/best-computer-for-recording-music/ 8. http://ehomerecordingstudio.com/best-audio-interfaces/ 9. http://ehomerecordingstudio.com/best-cheap-mics/ 10. http://ehomerecordingstudio.com/best-recording-studio-headphones/ 11. https://news.beatport.com/the-bomb-that-changed-house-music/


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References

12. https://news.beatport.com/how-to-write-a-hit-house-track-10-top-tips/

13. http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/geoff-ellis/t-in-the- park-music-festivals-have-changed_b_2711164.html

14. http://electroniccurrent.com/2015/01/14/a-complete-guide-to-house-music/

sam towner house music evolution

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