Week 4

 

Class Outline

Today's class was a lecture on drum machines and digital drums:

Drum Machines -

  • Programmable devices to simulate drummers
  • In modern times, they can be played by trigger pads
    • These are often velocity sensitive
  • Both real-time and step entry is available
  • Drums sounds are loaded together as kits

Digital Drums -

  • Reproductions of acoustic drum sets
  • Also include mallet and hand percussion models
  • Trigger pads come in a variety of permutations and materials
  • Often used as cheaper substitutes for full kits
    • Can also be used in schools for ease of use
    • Digital drums are sometimes used in marching band settings to replace instruments that cannot be exposed to harsh weather conditions

We then looked into the history of each of these technologies:

Drum Machine History -
  • "Rhythmicon," invented by Leon Theremin
    • Marketed as the world's first "rhythm machine"
  • Ace Tone Rhythm Ace
    • Manufactured by the company that would become Roland before they rebranded
    • Early drum beat playback device
    • Had presets but couldn't be used for new creations
  • Linn LM-1 Drum Computer
    • Released in 1980
    • Able to program new beats and store them
  • Roland Devices
    • TR-808
      • Most famous device, released in 1980
      • Best known for its heavy bass kick sound with a long decay
      • Several beats could be stored at once
      • Drums were fully tunable
      • We watched a trailer for a movie about this, called "808"
    • TR-909
      • 1984 successor to the 808
  • Akai MPC-60
    • Released in 1988
  • Yamaha Devices
    • Each device featured samples as well as classic drum machine sounds
      • RX7 (1983)
      • RY30 (1980)
      • RX11 (1984)
  • Modern Devices
    • LinnDrum II Analog
    • Elektron Machinedrum
    • Boss DR-670 Dr. Rhythm
    • Zoom Micro RhythmTrack
    • Ultrabeat (Logic Pro X)
    • AudioTool.com
Digital Drum Set History -
  • Graeme Edge of Moody Blues was one of the first to use an all-digital kit
  • Kraftwerk filed their patent for an Electronic Percussion Musical Instrument in 1977
  • Pollard Syndrum
    • Released in 1976
    • Designed to extend the existing acoustic set
  • Simmons SDS-V
    • Production drums released in 1981
    • Hard plastic playing surface
    • Hexagonal pad shape
  • Modern Versions:
    • Simmons SD5K
    • Alesis DM5 Pro
    • Yamaha DTXPLORER
    • Roland TD12SV
    • Untraditional Controllers
      • Alesis Pad Controller
      • Alternate Mode DrumKat
      • Alternate Mode MalletKat
      • Pearl malletSTATION
        • We watched a percussion lab video on the educational uses of this device
        • Kids can use headphones to practice silently
      • Roland Handsonic
      • Alternate Mode PanKat
      • Alesis I/O Interface and Pulse Red Hot Five Triggers
The rest of the class period was spent listening to a couple of recordings and working with the AudioTool software:

Rockit -
  • Piece by Herbie Hancock
  • The song uses synthesizers and drum machines throughout
Rapper's Delight -
  • This song samples Nile Rodgers' "Good Times"
  • Considered to be the first hip hop song
  • We watched a video on the history behind the song from Rodgers' perspective
  • My version of this song will be up on the blog sometime in the next few days
Chameleon -
  • Famous composition by Herbie Hancock
  • We recreated the drum and bass parts using AudioTool (described in more detail below)

Class Activities

After the lecture, we went to AudioTool.com and spent some time getting to know the program. The program allows users to use a sound mixer, drum machines, synthesizers, and other effects. We learned to use the program by making a simple variant of Herbie Hancock's "Chameleon." We took the digital version of the TR-808, programming a sixteen step sequence to recreate Chameleon's drum part. We then took a bass synthesizer model and made a thirty-two step sequence to create the two-measure bass line. I also took some time to manipulate the mixing board and add other effects to the song, like reverb and equalization.


Class Reflection

I really liked the AudioTool portion of the class period, as I think that program could have a ton of uses in the classroom. Students can make simple compositions while learning about how their favorite digital music has been created. I love the practical experience this program offers as well, as the user has to manually connect wires to the mixing board to get the proper effect. This program could be used to train students on sound boards or in music production techniques.

Combining AudioTool with SoundTrap or Garage Band offers more possibilities, as some of the tools in AudioTool are more advanced than what is found in SoundTrap, though some features are missing. Making a beat and bass line in AudioTool and then importing it to a DAW to layer vocals or other effects in could be a really excellent way to make high quality music in the classroom.

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