Electronic Music Machines

Since 1960, with the advent of musical electronics, composers and musicians have been using ever more sophisticated machines to create sonic material that presents innovation, color and new styles: electro-acoustic, electro, house, techno, etc. music. The music of Pierre Henry, Kraftwerk, Pink Floyd, Daft Punk and many others has introduced new sounds, improbable rhythms and a unique approach to composition and notation. Electronic machines have become essential: they have built and influenced the music of the most recent decades and set the trend for future productions. This book explores the theory and practice related to the different machines which constitute the universe of musical electronics, omitting synthesizers which are treated in other works. Sequencers, drum machines, samplers, groove machines and vocoders from 1960 to today are studied in their historical, physical and theoretical context. More detailed approaches to the Elektron Octatrack sequencer-sampler and the Korg Electribe 2 groove machine are also included.

Auteur

Jean-Michel Réveillac has been a specialist in sound processing for more than 30 years. He is Associate Professor at the University of Burgundy in France and a consultant for major companies related to the media, and manages in parallel a studio for restoration, mixing and transcoding sound.

Contenu

Foreword xi

Preface xiii

Introduction xvii

Chapter 1. Electronic Music 1

1.1. Musique concrète 1

1.2. The beginnings of electronic music 3

1.3. Electroacoustic music 3

1.4. Acousmatic music 4

1.5. And much, much more 6

1.6. Maturity 6

1.7. Different paths to music 6

1.8. Today and tomorrow 10

1.9. Electronic music and counter-culturalism 11

1.10. Final remarks 14

Chapter 2. When Revolution Holds Us in Its Grasp 15

2.1. From analog to digital 15

2.2. Popular music and electronic music 23

2.2.1. New wave 25

2.2.2. House music 26

2.2.3. Techno 28

2.2.4. New beat 29

2.2.5. Acid house 30

2.2.6. Acid jazz 32

2.2.7. Ambient 33

2.2.8. Hip-hop and rap 35

2.2.9. Trance 35

2.2.10. Electro or contemporary electro 36

2.3. Final remarks 37

Chapter 3. The MIDI Standard 41

3.1. History 41

3.2. How MIDI works 42

3.2.1. The hardware level 42

3.2.2. The software level 45

3.3. Examples of MIDI transmission 49

3.3.1. Note-on/note-off messages 49

3.3.2. Program change message 50

3.4. The MIDI implementation chart 51

3.5. The General MIDI standard 52

3.5.1. Specifications 52

3.6. The General MIDI 2 standard 54

3.7. The GS format 54

3.8. The XG format 55

3.9. The structure of a MIDI file 56

3.9.1. Header chunks 56

3.9.2. Track chunks 57

3.9.3. Example of a MIDI file 64

3.10. MIDI devices 67

3.10.1. MIDI boxes, mergers, and patchers 67

3.10.2. Musical instruments 69

3.10.3. Studio hardware 70

3.10.4. MIDI to computer 71

3.11. Conclusion 73

Chapter 4. Sequencers 75

4.1. Mechanical and electrical machines 75

4.1.1. Music boxes 76

4.1.2. Mechanical pianos 77

4.1.3. Barrel organs 80

4.1.4. Fairground organs 82

4.2. Analog sequencers 83

4.3. Digital sequencers 86

4.4. Software sequencers 88

4.5. Final remarks 91

Chapter 5. Drum Machines 93

5.1. On the subject of electromechanical rhythm 93

5.2. Drum machines with presets 97

5.3. Programmable drum machines 103

5.4. The MIDI age 106

5.5. Drum machines with sampled sounds 107

5.6. Rhythms, software, and computers 111

5.7. Final remarks 115

Chapter 6. Samplers 117

6.1. History of samplers 117

6.1.1. Basic principles 118

6.1.2. The arrival of the Mellotron 119

6.1.3. Samplers 123

6.1.4. Software samplers 133

6.2. History of musical styles 139

6.3. Architecture and principles 142

6.4. Final remarks 144

Chapter 7. Groove Machines 147

7.1. Structure 147

7.2. Famous groove machines 148

7.2.1. E-mu SP12 (1985) 149

7.2.2. AKAI MPC-60 (1988) 150

7.2.3. Roland MC-303 (1996) 151

7.2.4. AKAI MPC 2000XL (1999) 152

7.2.5. Roland MC-909 (2003) 153

7.2.6. Elektron Octatrack DPS 1 (2011) 155

7.2.7. Korg Electribe 2 (2014) and Korg Electribe Sampler (2015) 156

7.2.8. Novation Circuit (2015) 158

7.2.9. Teenage Electronics Pocket Operator PO-32 (2017) 159

7.3. Software groove machines 160

7.3.1. Image Line Groove Machine 162

7.3.2. Propellerhead Reason 163

7.3.3. Ableton Live 169

7.4. Controllers and software 172 7.4.1. Native In...