Phil Spector is undoubtedly one of the most influential people regarding popular music in the 20th century. He took the music industry by storm with his unique style and method of music production; and, due to his new production process, many of his songs reached #1 on the US charts. In this essay, I will examine Phil Spector’s distinctive production process, called “The Wall of Sound,” and how it was used to create two of his more popular songs: Baby, I Love You by The Ronettes and River Deep, Mountain High by Ike & Tina Turner [1]. Phil Spector’s “Wall of Sound” did not happen by accident, it was well thought through to create a simple, efficient formula for making hit songs. It combines four key techniques: layering, reverb, spill, and the mono mix [2]. Layering requires large ensembles with several vocalists and instruments, and many of the instruments would play the same parts to give a fuller sound without distortion. Spector introduced orchestral instruments to youth pop for the first time through these large ensembles. He also liked to utilize echo chambers to create a reverb effect in his songs. An echo chamber is a small room with microphones and speakers strategically placed to create a reverberation of the sounds within the room. This recording situation additionally created spill, where you can hear an instrument’s echo over a …show more content…
Tina Turner’s strong, emotional singing proved difficult for Spector to balance with the instruments in his mix of the track. The beginning starts with a kind of surf-rock riff, and Spector’s instrumental layering occurs as it normally does throughout the song leading up to big finish from 2:46 to the end. The song sounds like Spector forced Turner to fit his style, whereas I think the song could have been more of a hit if Spector built around Turner’s prominent
My first reason why it was not worth the costs is the wall actually did not keep people out. It was not very protective. The wall affected so many things. It affected life styles, people's daily routine. It also affected families. (Doc. E). The wall was not one big long wall. It stretched three hundred miles to the west and there was a watchtower beyond the wall end. But there were still places that were not protected by the wall. The Xiongnu could just walk around the wall and them come in and invade. People may think that they are fine because the wall is protecting them but they need to be aware that there are spots that are not protected by the wall. They would spend so much money on this wall to protect people when it really does not protect them that well (Doc. D). One of the most important reasons is that they had to pay the Xiongnu to stay out and not invade them. They paid them with Silk Thread and Silk Fabric. The amount they gave them from the year 51 BCE to one BCE they almost tripled the amount! It increased a lot. If they had to pay them to stay out them that proves that the Great Wall does not work.
A number of other genres, throughout the decade, maintained a significant following. One genre that was slow to start was Hip-Hop, while it emerged in the 1970’s it didn’t become significant until the late 1980’s. Although Classical music began to lose impetus, it gave way to a new generation of composers through invention and theoretical development. The decade was also distinguished for its assistance to electronic music, which rose in reco...
Philip Auslander’s book “Performing Glam Rock” talks about a type of music that until this class, I have not heard much about. When I think Glam Rock I think of artists like Prince and Kiss, ...
One Hundred and One Albums that Changed Popular Music. (n.d.). Google Books. Retrieved March 5, 2014, from http://books.google.com/books?id=G4mP7u6mPdkC&pg=PA172#v=onepage
The Perks of a Wallflower, written by Stephen Chbosky, is a captivating novel that follows the transformation of a boy referred to as Charlie throughout his freshman year of high school. During the course of the book Charlie, his sister, and friends fall in and out of relationships. Each one of them is seeking the love and attention of another person, even without directly expressing their emotions. Love is a recurring theme in this book, even though it is shown in different ways.
The Beach Boys’ signature sound, apart from their stringy guitars, southern Californian and Hawaiian influenced instrumentals, was their complex harmonies and articulate multi part vocal tracks. In one of the first instances of Phil Spector’s ‘wall of sound’, originally pioneered by Bryan Wilson, implementing the idea of the mixing technique into Spector’s mind, the lead vocals of the Beach Boys were often double tracked onto in mono, creating that smooth yet thicker sound the Beach Boys are often known and recognized for. This is explained in Bryan Wilson’s liner notes on the remastered Pet Sounds CD. They would record the band on four track with maybe a few overdubs, but mostly live.
Popular music places a premium on accessibility, represents various meanings to boost both instant appeal and memorability - distinctive tunes, novel instrumental flourishes, danceable rhythms, repeated riffs - but its signal feature is melodic emphasis and great vocal gatherings.
Sound is an incredibly relevant part of filmmaking. Although often misunderstood, it helps to generate a more realistic episode by recreating the sonic experience the scene needs. Its main goal is to enhance the emotions that each section is trying to convey by adding music and effects alongside moving images. Psycho (Hitchcock, 1960), is one of the most popular films of the XX Century (Thomson, 2009). Commonly recognised as a masterpiece for its cinematographic, editing and musical values, it changed cinema forever by “playing with darker prospects (…) of humanity such as sex and violence (Thomson, 2009)”. This paper will analyse the sound effects used in the shower scene and its repercussions
Steven Connor delves into the mixing and creating of sound by computerisation, as well as the habits of sound; it’s immersion, pathos and objectivity.
The nineties were an exceptional decade for music which, unfortunately, has not been reprised to this day. The formerly mentioned decade witnessed the emergence of alternative rock music as an outlet for those who were saturated by the excesses that characterized the eighties and the lack of substance of some of its music. Accordingly, during the nineties, music audiences began to value talent over appearance, catchy rhythms, meaningless lyrics, and flashy choreographies. Moreover, throughout this time, music was conceived as a means to inspire and move listeners, rather than a mere tool for product placement. Thus, the nineties gave birth to a phenomenal musical genre that has yet to be surpassed since it created a deep connection with the afflicted souls of a generation, valued music’s inspirational quality over intricate musical arrangements, and introduced the world to a plethora of invaluable artists for whom music was their utmost priority.
The Use of Electronic Technology in 20th and 21st Century Music In this essay, I have examined the use of electronic technology within 20th and 21st Century music. This has involved analysis of the development and continuing refinement of the computer in today’s music industry, as well as the theory of the synthesiser and the various pioneers of electronic technology, including Dr. Robert Moog and Les Paul. Also within the essay, I have discussed the increasing use of computers in the recording studio. The computer has become an indispensable tool in ensuring that both recording and playback sound quality is kept at the maximum possible level. Many positive ideas have come from the continued onslaught of computerisation.
Ever since humans first learned how to make music with their voices and with instruments thousands of years ago, music has been changing. Some changes took place over hundreds or even thousands of years, stunted by human isolation or by guidelines set in place by religious institutions. The 20th century, in contrast, experienced several rapid, radical changes in the popular genres of music. This made the 20th century a very rich time period for musical culture. These remarkable genres--including, but not limited to jazz, rock and roll, and the music of the “British invasion”--all influenced one another, and all influenced the culture we still live in today.
Sure, there are times when we listen carefully to the music behind the songs we hear, we may focus on the rhythm or the harmonies, but we never think of what it took to make the sounds that we are hearing. In this paper, I will explain the physical musical instruments. I will describe and define sound in psychic terms and then describe how different instruments create their unique sounds. There are so many different kinds of music, and thanks to the variety of instruments, the combinations of sounds that we can make are limitless. Before we look at musical instruments, we have to look at music itself.
Development in computer technology has also made a big impression on music. Many things within these fields have enabled artists to connect with their fans in ways they couldn’t before, and on a lower budget. In this paper, the discussion will be about all of these topics, and about the factors that help transform the music industry into something altogether easier for new people to contribute to. History: Back in the early 1980’s, record labels controlled what people could hear through airplay, record distribution and manufacturing, and selective promotion of music based on their judgement of their audience.
Reeves, Alex. "A Brief History of Sound Design." Advertising Week Social Club. The Beak Street Bugle, 21 Jan. 2014. Web. 23 Feb. 2014.