A History of Music Styles and Music Technology

• 1950s• Styles – R’n’R• Artists – Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Little Richard• Instrument Technology – Electric Guitar (still largely used the string bass)

though bass guitar (Fender Precision Bass Used). String bass (or double bass/acoustic bass) had pickups and sometimes a small condenser mic to amplifier the sound. Use of microphone for vocals

• Music Recording Technology – Music Recorded on reel to reel tape machines – could erase previous recorded music and Les Paul designed a machine where an extra recording head was included so the machine was capable of recording more than one track – multi track recording. Music played on records were vinyl

A History of Music Styles and Music Technology

• 1960s• Styles – Rock / Soul• Artists – The Beatles, The Stones, Sam Cooke • Instrument Technology – Electric Guitar, Electric Bass, Moog synthesisers, mellotron (plays taped loops

stored on the machine based on which pitch is played – used on ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’, a wide range of effects pedals – chorus, delay, flanger, distortion, reverb

• Music Recording Technology – The 4 track recorder was invented which meant that there were now unlimited amount of tracks that could be rerecorded – however, a previous track could not be recorded once complete as new tracks would be recorded over the top. This freed up the opportunity for recordings to have a more symphonic sound with whole orchestras being recorded after the band had recorded their tracks. Orchestral arrangements became quite popular in the mid to late 60s. Use of tape looped samples

• Introduction of cassette tape – sold as blank cassettes but also already containing content with pre-recorded music.

• Production Artists – Phil Spector – Production Artist ‘The Wall of Sound’ / George Martin for his influential production of The Beatles – A Production Artist credited artist that influences all aspects of recorded music. Provides his own unique sound signature on the song/album

A History of Music Styles and Music Technology

• 1970s• Styles – Disco / Punk Rock / Reggae / Rock (Progressive) / Folk and Country • Artists – Earth Wind and Fire, Blondie, Bob Marley, Pink Floyd, Dolly Parton • Instrument Technology – The drum machine was another important addition to music technology – at first

used to play synthetic sounds that sounded like drums and then to trigger actual drum samples. The machines could be used to create a beat that would loop over and over. Use of the vocoder to synthesise the voice.

• Music Recording Technology – Multi Track Recording became the most popular method to perform with artists sometimes performing all instrumental parts as well as singing. The magnetic tape had now jumped from 8 tracks to 24 tracks. Allowing songs to be recorded one piece at a time.

• Production Artists – During this time, the role of the producer became even more important than before. The producer was now able to change a song around however they wanted. Synthesizers, drum machines, some recorded tracks by the band, and some imagination are all that was needed to produce a disco song. As the producer’s role became more important, however, the role of the artists became less important. It wasn’t uncommon for a song to be released with several different versions or remixes. Hits were often released as a short version for the radio and longer versions for DJs to use in dance clubs.

A History of Music Styles and Music Technology

• 1980s• Styles – Pop / Heavy Metal / Glam Rock / Dance Pop • Artists – Michael Jackson / AC/DC/ Metallica / House Music • Instrument Technology – Further development of synth technology with Roland D-50 as a popular model.

Sampling of sounds was becoming more sophisticated with samples sounding more and more like the real instruments. Yamaha DX7 was another highly popular synth keyboard. Modules could also be bought and linked to a mother keyboard via MIDI (MIDI was a major development of this era), the performer having access to multiple sound sources but only needing to use a few keyboards. The Linn Drum Machine, LM-1. Featuring tunable, 8-bit sampled drums, the ability to store 100 programmable patterns and eight songs, not to mention a great shuffle groove, the LM-1 finally gave professional musicians the tools they needed to produce quality backing tracks that could be taken into the studio. Development of the Sampler.

• Music Recording Technology – Compact Disc brought into the music market for playing music and also recording music – Popular medium for playing music on. Moved from turning a magnetic pattern into an electrical signal to a laser reading the data encoded on the CD

• Production Artists – Quincy Jones (for Michael Jackson) / Nile Rogers (Sister Sledge, David Bowie, Duran Duran, Prince

A History of Music Styles and Music Technology

• 1990s• Styles – Hip Hop / Rap / Electronic Music (or Electronica)• Artists – Lauryn Hill , Snoop Dogg, Moby, Ministry of Sound • Instrument Technology – Further development of synth, sampling technology plus

amplifier/electric guitar/bass guitar technology • Music Production – In 1998, British pop artist, Fatboy Slim, took a soul/funk recording of “Take

Yo’ Praise” sung by Camille Yarbrough, and constructed a song that climbed its way right up the pop charts. Parts of the original 1975 recording are heard at the beginning of Fatboy Slim’sversion titled “Praise You”. After being run through some effects and processes, the song sounds different, but is in fact just a manipulation of the original recording. A short way into the song, a thick crunchy bass line enters with a pounding drum beat. From this point on the song sounds nothing like the original 1975 version, but the main melody line of the original reappears as the “hook” several times throughout Fatboy Slim’s 1998 version (Katz, 2005). This type of sampling is very popular today in pop music.

• Music Recording Technology – Use of DAW in music studio with wide range of ‘plug-ins’ for music recording/production. Beat slicing, Hard disk recording.

A History of Music Styles and Music Technology

• 2000 onwards • Styles – Similar to all previous styles from Rock and Pop to Hip Hop and other related Dance

Styles (EDM)• Artists – Christina Aguilera, Amy Winehouse, Beyoncé • Music Recording Technology – MP3 – common format for playing music. Use of virtual

instruments on DAWs. • Streaming of music – now a really popular way of listening to music though there is also a revival

of vinyl records. Spotify is one of the most popular streaming companies. • Production Artists – Danger Mouse (or Brian Burton) known for ‘The Grey Album’ and 2004 Jay-

Z’s ‘The Black Album’. Burton’s sonic skills were in immediate demand, with his dusty, organic sound attracting Damon Albarn – Gorillaz’ ‘Demon Days’, ‘The Good, The Bad & The His highpoint has been the hip-hop soul of Gnarls Barkley, Burton has also worked with U2 and Daft Punk.

• Producers – support with the refining of musical ideas / lyrics / the development of musical arrangements / the choosing of musicians to play on the song / the mixing and final sound production of the song / album