Nov28,2012

TheHistoryoftheElectricGuitarExam
Question
Describethecomponentsofanelectricguitarandhowtheelectricguitarhasdevelopedandmatured
sincethe1950s
(Writea500wordessay).
MarkScheme:
TalkedaboutRelevantDevelopmentsforthesubjectofTheElectricGuitar(0.5marksfor
eachdevelopment,max2.5marks)
TalkedaboutRelevantcomponentsandhowtheymakeanElectricGuitarwork(0.5marksfor
eachdevelopment,max2.5marks)
References:dates,guitartypes,innerworkings,pioneeringpeople,pioneeringsongs,makes
andmodels(0.5marksforeachmax5marks)
Haveyouwrittenyouressayinalogicalorder,approximately500wordsinlength(3marks)
Isyourgrammarandspellingandterminologywellpresented(3marks)
(16marksintotal)

Resources:
Thehistoryoftheelectricguitar
Thehistoryandcomponentsofanelectricguitarwikihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guitar
Abriefhistoryoftheguitarhttp://www.guitaristsource.com/guitars/electric_Guitar.shtml
Briefhistorydocumentaryhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wZ2AAHHlOA
Howanelectricguitarworksvideohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=lBAZepM5F_0&feature=related

A2MusicTechExam|unit4Essay
Question|TheHistoryofMusic
technology
MusictechnologyQuestion4isworth16marks(20%oftheexam)andisbasedonthehistoryof
musictechnology.InmyopinionisthehardestpartoftheA2MusicTechnologyexam,asitisso
broad.Thebestwaytoapproachthisquestionistostudythevariousmusictechnologies(startwiththe
bigones)e.g.Samplers,Synthesizers,ProductionEffects,ElectricGuitars,Drummachines,DAWs/
MultitrackingandMicrophones.Listthe10keypointsofeachtopic,thenpracticewritingawell
structuredessaybasedonthesepoints.
Forsomeextrapracticetryansweringsomeoftheexampleblow:
Describethehistoryandeffectofsynthesizersonmodernpopularmusicsince1970
Describethecomponentsofasynthesizerandtheinfluencethattheyhaveonshapinga
sound/waveform?
SomeMusicianshavebuilttheirstyleusingitandithasalsoperhapsdefinedawholegenreof
JamaicanMusic.Describethedevelopmentofdelayanditsinfluenceonpopularmusicsince
itsintroduction.
DiscussthedevelopmentofsamplersandhowtheyshapedthedirectionofpopularMusicin
the80s.
Discussthedevelopmentsofmusictechnologyduringthe21stcentury
Explainwhatismeantbymodellingsynthesisanddescribeitseffectonmodernmusicsince
1990
Describetheinfluenceofmultitrackrecordingfromthe1950s
Describethedevelopmentofelectricguitareffectsfromthe1960s
Describetheinfluenceandimportanceofmidiandvirtualinstrumentsinmodernstudios?
Canhomestudioscreatethesamestandardofrecordingasaprofessionalone?Citeexamples
inthedevelopmentofMusicTechnologytosupportyouranswer.
Describehowsocialmediahaschangedthefaceofthemusicindustry?
DescribehowthedevelopmentsoftheGuitarandFXPedalshaveallowedperformersto
soundliketheirGuitarHeroes.
Describethecomponentsofanelectricguitarandhowtheelectricguitarhasdevelopedand
maturedsincethe1950s.
DiscusshowthedevelopmentoftheSynthesiserpavedthewayfornewgenresofmusic.
HowhasthedevelopmentofComputerTechnologyaffectedthewaywerecordandproduce
music?
DiscusshowthedevelopmentsofFXandprocessorshaveaffectedRecordingstoday.
Describethedevelopmentofreverb.Giveexamplesofthevariouskindsofreverbunitsand
howtheywork.
Describethehistoryanddevelopmentofthemicrophone
Describethedevelopmentofthedrummachineanditsinfluenceonmodernmusicgenres.

Nov16,2012

Describetheinfluenceofmultitrack
recordingfromthe1950s
A2MusicTechnology:ThehistoryanddevelopmentofmusicTechnology.Writea500wordessay:
Describetheinfluenceofmultitrackrecordingfromthe1950s.Thisshouldinclude
techniques,practitioners,equipment/technology,artistsandproducersthat
use/innovated,datesofdevelopments.
ThedevelopmentofMultitrackingTimeline:
Early1950sEngineerTomDowdwasamongthefirsttoutilize4trackrecordingforpopularmusic
productionwhileworkingforAtlanticRecords
1956LesPaulusesthefirst8tracktaperecordertocreatemultitrackrecordings(Although4track
taperecorderswerestillincommonusethroughthe1960s).ThefirstoftheAmpex8trackrecorders
wassoldtoLesPaulfor$10,000in1957andwasinstalledinhishomerecordingstudiobyDavid
Sarser.ItbecameknownastheOctopus.
1957Theearliestmultitrackrecorderswereanalogmagnetictapemachineswithtwoorthree
tracks.ElvisPresleywasfirstrecordedonmultitrackduring1957,asRCAsengineersweretesting
theirnewmachines.
1958ThesecondAmpexmodel52588track3wassoldtoAtlanticRecordsatTom
Dowdsinsistenceinearly1958.Atlanticwasthefirstrecordcompanytouseamultitrackrecorderin
theirstudio.
1961PhilSpectorCoinedthephraseWallofsound.Whichishisextensiveuseoflayeringmostly
percussionandotherorchestralinstrumentsontoamonorecording.exampleofthiscanbefound
on:TheCrystalsDaDooRonRonandTheRonettesBeMyBaby.
1966BrianWilsonutilisedtherecordingstudioasacreativetoolthataloudhimtocreateunique
soundtexturesforthebeachboysalbumPetSounds.Thetechniquesthatheutilisedincluded:Tape
splicingsections,tapedelay,speedinguptape,slowingdownandreversingtape,overdubbing,
duplicatingparts.
1966GeorgeMartinproducedtheBeatlesRevolveralbumwhichmakesuseof8trackrecording
techniquesatAbbieRoadstudiosLondonEngland
1968Thefirst16tracktaperecorderisintroduced
Early1970s4tracktapealsoledtoarelateddevelopment,quadraphonicsound,inwhicheachofthe
fourtrackswasusedtosimulateacomplete360degreesurroundsound.Anumberofalbumsincluding
PinkFloydsTheDarkSideoftheMoonandMikeOldfieldsTubularBellswerereleasedbothin
stereoandquadrophonicformatinthe1970s,butquadfailedtogainwidecommercialacceptance.
Althoughitisnowconsideredagimmick,itwasthedirectprecursorofthesurroundsoundtechnology
thathasbecomestandardinmanymodernhometheatersystems.
1975Digitaltaperecordingbeginstotakeholdinprofessionalaudiostudios.
1981PhilipsdemonstratestheCompactDisc(CD)
1983TheintroductionofMIDI
1984SteinbergsCubasebeginslifewithitsprecursorPro16in.Itwasamusicprogramforthe
Commodore64andAppleIIcreatedbyprogramsKarlSteinbergandManfredRrupinHamburg
Germany.
1991AlesisunveilstheADAT,thefirstaffordabledigitalmultitrackrecorder.
1991ThefirstversionofProToolswaslaunchedoffering4tracksandsellingforUS$6,000,
1996Thisyearseesadevelopmentthatcanonlybedescribedasrevolutionary.VirtualStudio
Technology(VST)
1998MP3playersfordownloadedInternetaudioappear.
2001TheintroductionofWindowsXPsawPCcomputersbecomeextensivelymorepowerfulwhich
aloudforaudioandmidisequencerstoutilisemorefunctionale.gmoreaudiotracks,betteruser
interface,bettereffectsprocessing

ComputerComponentsandhowtheyhaveimproved:
ComputerMemory:Ram/Rom56bits,256mb,512mb,1gb,16gb
Computerharddrivecapacity:2mb,256mb,100gb,1tb
Computerprocessing:8bit,16bit,32bit,64bit
Computerprocessingpower:Singlecore3ghz,Dualcore2ghz,Quadcore3ghz
Graphicprocessor:512ghz,1gb,2gb
Diskstorage:Floppydisk2mb,CDstorage700mb,16gbflashdrive
Theinternet
Otherresourcesthatshouldhelpwiththisessay:
http://blog.digitalstudent.co.uk/musictechnology/thehistoryofmusictechnologyrecording
anddistribution/
http://blog.digitalstudent.co.uk/musictechhistory/musicandtechnologyhistory/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_multitrack_recording

Nov9,2012

Describethehistoryanddevelopmentof
themicrophone
A2MusicTechnologyExamQuestion4,Peermarking.Basedonthemarkingcriteriabelow,giveeach
ofthe5essaysamarkoutof16(usethecommentsboxforthis):

MarkScheme:
TalkedaboutRelevantDevelopmentsforthesubjectofMicrophones(0.5marksforeach
development,max5marks)
References:DATE,Microphonetype,innerworkings,pioneeringpeople,modelsandmakes
(0.5marksforeachmax5marks)
Haveyouwrittenyouressayinalogicalorder,approximately500wordsinlength(3marks)
Isyourgrammarandspellingandterminologywellpresented(3marks)

http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http%3A%2F

%2Fblog.digitalstudent.co.uk%2Fmicrophones%2Fdescribethe-history-and-development-of-the-microphone
%2F&description=Describe the history and development of
the microphone&media=http%3A%2F
%2Fblog.digitalstudent.co.uk%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads
%2F2012%2F11%2F1193868714_microphones_600150x150.jpeg
Relatedposts:
1. TheHistoryanddevelopmentoftheMicrophone
2. A2MusicTechExam|unit4EssayQuestion|TheHistoryofMusictechnology
3. Describethehistoryandeffectofsynthesizersonmodernpopularmusicsincethe1970s
4. MicrophoneTypes
5. ABriefhistoryandDevelopmentofTheDigitalAudioWorkstation(DAW)

Oct15,2012

Describethehistoryandeffectof
synthesizersonmodernpopularmusic
sincethe1970s
A2MusicTechnologyExamQuestion4,Peermarking.Basedonthemarkingcriteriabelow,giveeach
ofthe5essaysamarkoutof16(usethecommentsboxforthis):

MarkScheme:
TalkedaboutRelevantTechnologyforthesubjectofsynthesizers(0.5marksforeach
technology,max5marks)
Referenced,DATE,GENRA,SONGSANDARTISTS(0.5marksforeachmax5marks)
Haveyouwrittenyouressayinalogicalorder,approximately500wordsinlength(3marks)
Isyourgrammarandspellingandterminologywellpresented(3marks)