Synthesizer in Popular Culture Music

The perfect solution came around the late 1970s in a format known as MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface). In a simple explanation, a MIDI file is a blueprint, which is sent to a reading machine. This machine has various spectrum data programmed corresponding to different instruments. The rather small MIDI file is then read, and interpreted to match the desired synthesized sound. The quality of the sound produced depends on the

Often music is consisted not only by sounds made from musical instruments, but also by voice and verbal messages. The structure of the voice, or as Roland Barthes describes it ‘the grain of voice’ is the element in a certain piece of music which is responsible for creating the emotions when listening. The grain and the lyrics make the signified and carry out the message. The vocal part of music is formed of words, text, which communicate and make the representation and expression of what it is sung - talked about. According to Barthes the emotive modes of the voice and the changes of the tones from low to high is what delivers the final message and makes us feel the music. (Barthes, R. 1977 [1972]).

To understand why music is a product of human intention and perception, we start by defining or understanding the nature of music. Music is defined as the sounds or combination of vocals and instruments in a way that it produces a form of beauty, expression, or harmony of emotions. Arguably, people compose or make music through many ways (Resnicow, Joel E., 20-29). While some people might compose music without incorporating instruments, others use instruments to produce beats that match with their sounds. However, to argue that the

Electronic music is in most of the music that we hear today, and it’s good. We hear it in cafes, restaurants, clubs and even elevators. It’s all over us and it surrounds us even if we don’t realize it.

For as long as mankind has walked on this earth, music has been an important part of our culture and lifestyles. Each walk of life beats to a different drum. Different cultures use music for many aspects of their lives; for religious purposes, for celebrations, for comfort, for sorrow, for relaxation, for sports, for dances, for energy, for learning, for sleeping, and for sexual experiences. Everyone uses music for something. Music connects with people and reaches them in ways that words simply cannot. Music is a representation of what feelings sound like. It expresses emotion and brings that characteristic out from within us; it tells us a story. Every generation has its’ own sound and different music styles have emerged and become

Menard, V. (1996). The man behind the music. In Ebsco (Vol. 9, p. 18). Retrieved from MAS Ultra - School Edition database. (Accession No. 9603203863)

Technology and music have always been interlinked. As technology improves ways of recording and distributing music improves. Over history we have gone from scratchy records to clear and portable MP3s. New and innovative technology have helped to shape America’s culture as a nation.

The notion of technology has become a ubiquitous force is modern day society, where its rapid advancement has revolutionised all aspects of life. Undoubtedly, the progression of technology has had a profound influence on the art of music. The way music is now transmitted, performed, and composed has evolved in accordance with the physical and stylistic components of particular musical instruments. Radical technological developments throughout time has provided the piano with a long and diverse history, featuring variations of its physical figure as well its tone colour and texture(?).

Vaporwave is a microgenre of music started in the early 2010s focused on deconstructing elements of 90s culture, consumerism, and nostalgia. It’s name is a pun on the term “vaporware,” which refers to software advertised by companies in the 90s which turn out to be nonexistent and nothing but vapor. Vaporwave works remix pop songs, Muzak, advertisements, startup sounds, and other cultural material from the 80s and 90s, to produce hypnotic, almost dreamy music. Blank Banshee 1, the second self titled album from artist Blank Banshee, fuses both vaporwave and trap, a genre of dance music characterized by deep bass drums and rapid hi hats, and compares the technological utopia predicted by the 90s to our actual reality.

When I was eleven years old, my parents bought our family’s first household computer – a Compaq with a fresh installation of Windows ’95, four megabytes of RAM, a five-hundred-megabyte hard drive, and a blazing fast 28k modem. A very crude MIDI composition program resided deep within the start menu options on this machine. The interface was a counterintuitive nightmare with only a record button, eight instrument tracks, a series of blue boxes to indicate four measures of music entry, and the keyboard as the piano input. Nonetheless, having only recently established an interest in music, I spent a substantial amount of time each day learning how to enter music into this software.

Music has played a vital role in human culture and evidence based on archaeological sites can date it back to prehistoric times. It can be traced through almost all civilizations in one form or another. As time has progressed so has the music and the influences it has on people. Music is an important part of popular culture throughout the world, but it is especially popular in the United States. The music industry here is, and has been, a multi-million dollar business that continues to play an important role in American popular culture. This is also a art form and business that is forever changing as the times and more importantly, technology changes. Technology has changed the way music is made as well as how it is produced,

The popular culture of music has changed dramatically over the course of sixty five years. Since this time, new genres of music have been introduced, existing genres have changed, and fixed stereotypes have been associated with certain genres of music. Music has become a major part of popular culture, and is portrayed almost everywhere in first world societies, including on television, radio, at shopping centers, sporting events and in every area of popular culture. Music has become a major part of popular culture, and continues to strive and develop into more and diverse areas of culture.

There is an increasing mutual exchange as the synthetic and the human-made equally invades what we once thought of as natural. In electronic music, the human element that people input in their work is crucial to say the least. People provide the unpredictable pieces in their work to make it stand out from the rest. Most robotic or technologic generated music often is in the form of a pattern. Without human interface, electronic music, for the most part, is predictable. When electronic music is played without the human element, a sense of something that is missing usually occurs. Today, technological advances allow electronics to replace most of the human interactions. Now technology can mimic the sounds of non-electronic instruments. Instruments such as the flute, violin, and guitar are just some of these mimicked sounds that could be replaced. In this “genre” the human body is often held as a relatable tool. The audience notices the human element and realizes that they can create such works as well. Electronic music to some may feel that it is missing the human component in the normalized concept of seeing the artist. However, when developing the art itself, electronic music, whether it be in live performances, editing the material, or commercializing the music for use, the human element is still very prominent. The human component is implicated in music directly or indirectly.

The creation of musical works has always been culminated by several different processes and usually involves many people. The process takes a lot of time delaying the release of music. Advancement in technology has played a significant role in the music production by lowering the length of time it takes to produce recorded material. Artists usually sign a contract with a recording company that markets their music products. The internet and low-cost recording technologies have created a “do-it-yourself” music movement. New artists have gained worldwide recognition without landing a recording contract with a major record label.

Technology and music have always had a connection; a marriage. As one progresses, the other