Week 6: Live vs Soft Instruments

Sound Studio 1
This Week
Today:
1. Show homework from last time
2. Terms to know
3. Lecture topic: Recording/using
Live Instruments
4. Practical Lesson: Repurposed
Instruments
5. In-class project: Sampler
6. Assignment
7. Show project results
useful terms

Mic - microphone.
converts sound
(vibrations in the air)
into an electrical signal.
useful terms

a pickup - (in music gear

terms)a very short range
microphone designed to
be sensitive to vibrations
in solids (usually strings)
more so than in the air.
Audio Signal types
● Analog Audio signal
○ electric voltage pulses through wires
Audio Signal types
● Analog Audio signal
○ electric voltage pulses through wires
Audio Signal types
● Analog Audio signal
○ electric voltage pulses through wires
Audio Signal types
Analog to Digital Interface:
converts between Analog
and Digital audio data (and
often passes along MIDI
● Analog Audio signal data); often called “I/O
○ electric voltage pulses through wires Interface”

● Digital Audio signal

○ sound characteristics converted into data sequences
converted by computer to produce sound to hardware
(speakers)
Audio Signal types
Analog to Digital Interface:
converts between Analog
and Digital audio data (and
often passes along MIDI
data); often called “I/O
Interface”
Recording Actual Instruments
Recording Actual Instruments
● questions about this?
○ headphones?
○ microphone placement?
○ conductor?
○ how do the musicians know
how loudly to play at any
time?
Recording Actual Instruments
● live musicians, the scoring stage
■ stacking takes
■ combining the two
● synths on the scoring stage
● sprinkle in live musicians
Recording Actual Instruments
● live musicians, the scoring stage
■ stacking takes
■ combining the two
● synths on the scoring stage
● sprinkle in live musicians

○ minimal scoring vs. big, live scores

■ a single instrument?
■ a symphony orchestra?
■ often something in between
○ dream score and practicality
Recording Actual Instruments
○ Short, Simple ideas go a LONG way
■ Themes
■ Leitmotifs
■ reuse and develop musical material
throughout the work
○ unusual sounds/instruments are
memorable
■ idiosyncratic
■ attach very well to characters and
ideas
 What is an instrument?
What is a musical instrument?
Is your voice an instrument?
 Repurposed Instruments

● some object that is used as musical

instrument that was not originally
made to be one
Repurposed Instruments

● some object that is used as musical

instrument that was not originally made to
be one
Let’s setup Bandlab and make one
1. Use Sampler
2. sample some drum sounds
3. crop samples
4. tweak samples
5. make pattern in MIDI
6. EQ & Reverb, etc.
7. add bassline, etc.
8. done
Let’s setup Bandlab and make one
 Assignment:
#6: Repurposed Instrument
Video
Repurposed Instruments
● you don’t
have to do
this, but it
might give
you ideas
conserving tracks
● Bandlab has 16 track limit 1. bounce down groups of tracks to one
● how can we work around this? a. solo them
● (show Charlotte’s Attic) b. Mixdown as WAV
c. import WAV into Project
d. delete source tracks
2. Merge MIDI regions on a track (for same
patch)
3. Use Sampler
 Next week:

● Melody, Themes
and MIDI
Sound Studio 1