Virtual Music

Sound, Music, and Image in the Digital Era

Shara Rambarran

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN:
  9781501336379
• eBook ISBN:
  9781501333613
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Music

Virtuality has entered our lives making anything we desire possible. We are, as Gorillaz once sang, in an exciting age where 'the digital won't let [us] go…' Technology has revolutionized music, especially in the 21st century where the traditional rules and conventions of music creation, consumption, distribution, promotion, and performance have been erased and substituted with unthinkable and exciting methods in which absolutely anyone can explore, enjoy, and participate in creating and listening to music.

Virtual Music explores the interactive relationship of sound, music, and image, and its users (creators/musicians/performers/audience/consumers). Areas involving the historical, technological, and creative practices of virtual music are surveyed including its connection with creators, musicians, performers, audience, and consumers. Shara Rambarran looks at the fascination and innovations surrounding virtual music, and illustrates key artists (such as Grace Jones, The Weeknd), creators (such as King Tubby, Kraftwerk, MadVillain, Danger Mouse), audiovisuals in video games and performances (such as Cuphead and Gorillaz), audiences, and consumers that contribute in making this musical experience a phenomenon. Whether it is interrogating the (un)realness of performers, modified identities of artists, technological manipulation of the Internet, music industry and music production, or accessible opportunities in creativity, the book offers a fresh understanding of virtual music and appeals to readers who have an interest in this digital revolution.

1

“Blame It on the Machines”

Historical Placings of Digital Virtual Music

Without electronic technology, popular music in the twenty-first century is unthinkable.

—Paul Théberge¹

Experimenting in music making has not been tied only to the twenty-first century. The application of most technologies induces creativity and consumption in music, fostering a sense of emotional fulfillment, connection, and communication for the user and the listener. Paul Théberge’s opening epigraph of this chapter has always resonated with me and I have endlessly applied it in my research and teaching. Readers may also want to think about exchanging the word “electronic” for “digital” and omitting the word “popular.” However you read it, today’s music will always be reliant on some kind of technology, whether in the form of “instruments, recording [,] . . . playback devices,”² machines, screens, or the internet. While this chapter visits the history of technology, it should be noted that such history has frequently been documented by respected academics and writers, whose work has helped me in my own research over the last twenty years. However, rather than repeating familiar information, or documenting every technology that exists, I want to concentrate on discussing the history of devices, instruments, and machines that is most relevant for this book. After all, as noted by David Tough (2016), such history is at least 135 years old.³ While Tough refers mainly to “sound” (more on this later), this thought can be stretched to music, electronic, and, obviously slightly later, digital technologies. Visuals also have a vital role in digital virtual music, so I want to apply my own approach in exploring the relationship between technology and digital virtual music, without missing out on its key features that involve creativity and consumption. This concept ties in with Mark Katz’s argument that technology is not for one type of usage only, and that we must consider “the relationship between the technology and its users that determines the impact of the recording.”⁴

Undeniably, there is also the consumer market to consider as highlighted by Antoine Hennion (2015) who argues, “the attempt to make music into an object depends at every step on an entire social framework, ranging from the interpreters’ rehearsals to the conventions that govern the interpretation of the traces of music, and to the techniques used in the cultural industry to turn music into a product that can be sold.”⁵ Therefore, the purpose of technology is not only for creation and reproduction purposes, but it is also to transform music into some type of tangible object, and then, to sell it. Therefore, this chapter will focus on the following areas: music technology, audio players (Figure 1.1), and digital virtual technology in communications and media.

Music Technology

Recording Technology and Vinyl

When we think about how we “hear” music, we need to think about how sound is captured, stored, and manipulated.⁶ Richard James Burgess argues that “[t]here has been a fascination with the idea of capturing sound and early attempts included mechanical instruments and music notation.”⁷ In his book The History of Music Production (2014), Burgess offers a captivating insight into early technologies that acquired and released sound, with something simple, such as a tuning fork (1771), to somewhat more technical, such as the phonautograph in 1857 (the predecessor to the phonograph or if you prefer, its ancestor).⁸ When researching or discovering how technology captures sound, the phonograph is commonly the best starting point to discuss, and even though it was based on the phonautograph model, this was a groundbreaking moment where such a device could record, store, and play sound. For the listeners, this was an essential moment, as they had the opportunity to experience virtually a musical performance in their own space, at any time, without the need to physically transport themselves to a live performance or event.

While the phonograph was a game changer in terms of music recording and consumption, the format of the device gradually transitioned into what we know as the “turntable.” The phonograph was invented in 1877 by Thomas Edison,⁹ with the original purpose of being a dictation device; however, it w as known to record, reproduce, and play music too, with “Mary has a little lamb” being its first musical recording. The device itself consisted of a tinfoil sheet and a cylinder,¹⁰ and became the basis for analog recording, where the soundwaves were fluctuated “in sound pressure through the air, [and much later] into electric signals.”¹¹ These fluctuations are recorded directly into the cylinder, and much later on, on the surface of a record. Unfortunately, the sound quality of phonograph recordings was not considered to be “pleasing” to the ear for all involved—including the musician, producer, and listener—but this was the young, developmental stage of recording technology. Despite its inaudible features, the phonograph was a major step forward for the future of music and the music industry. Additionally, the device was portable and it became a fashionable home accessory for the consumer. Further adaptations and rival models of the phonograph led to a gradual improvement in sound quality, such as the Graphophone invented by Alexander Bell in 1886; but it was the Gramophone, in 1888, that proved the true successor to Edison’s invention of the phonograph.

The Gramophone was invented by Emile Berliner, and it used discs instead of cylinders to produce and transmit sound. Its one-sided shellac record discs were significant in that they had etched grooves, from which the sound was reproduced by a stylus.¹² A further improvement in sound technology was made with the introduction of stereo in 1933. This audio feature was invented by the British engineer, Alan Blumlein, who had become frustrated with the mono (one-sided) sound delivered via one speaker.¹³ His idea was to create a binaural (stereo) system, where a sound source is transmitted into two signals and speakers, promoting a more natural sonic and soundscape experience for the human ear—with mono, the sound comes across as bleak, dry, and one-directional. The invention of stereo was another breathtaking moment for the music, film, and radio industries, a major technological advancement in music¹⁴ in terms of both creation and consumption. For the consumer, in particular, the virtual experience of a simulated music performance is further enhanced because of stereo. Here, we can draw in Evan Eisenberg’s thoughts on this concept, as he argues that “Stereo . . . arrays the musicians before you in empty space. You can almost pinpoint them, but they’re not there. Instead of projecting, they are projected—but invisible.”¹⁵ The additional feature of stereo then, enables the consumers (listeners) to create a virtual temporary place in their own space, and indulge in a simulated music performance while soaking up all the sounds in which they are immersed.

As recording technology developed, the Gramophone gradually became replaced by electric turntables. Pivotal events marked distinctive stages in the story of the record disc. Shellac was omitted and replaced with vinyl, sparking a rivalry between record labels, known as “battle of the speeds.” Originally, a vinyl disc would groove at 78 rpm (revolutions per minute)¹⁶ but as vinyl developed, so did the speed formats. In 1948, Columbia Records produced the 33 1/3 rpm (12" long play (LP) vinyl), and RCA Victor developed the 45 rpm (7" vinyl). The original intention of Columbia was to replace the 78 rpm with the 33 1/3 rpm, 12" disc. However, when RCA responded by developing the 45 rpm, 7" disc, it resulted in rivalry between the two labels.¹⁷ By 1952, through government mediation, the battle of the speeds was resolved when the labels agreed to have separate purposes for the discs.¹⁸ The 12" LP catered for albums, and the 7" vinyl accommodated singles (later this was followed by the 45 rpm 12" single).¹⁹ Both disc formats carried different intentions in the industry, music creation, and consumer markets.

The LP was a convincing way for creators to showcase their work as an album, and, in turn, to serve as a collector’s item for the consumer (a trend that continues t oday). The 7" disc had its own appeal: it was accessible, cheap, and portable. It was also a direct way to sell and promote songs as singles to consumers. As the 7" disc could accommodate only three to four minutes of music per side, it did not have the longevity of a 12" album. A single (and its B-side) was easily replaceable—or forgettable—by the masses. Those consumers who were not record collectors, or committed to a certain artist, had changeable tastes and were easily influenced or manipulated by the industry and the media. This meant that the 7" disc was often considered disposable and changeable, just like fashion.

Vinyl culture continued to develop from the mid-1960s onward, as the use of the turntable led to further opportunities. Other than consumer use, the turntable started to become more recognized as a musical instrument, with its visible features of the stylus (needle), tone arm, cartridge, platter, and motor.²⁰ The role of the DJ would explore these features (especially the stylus and platter) and became more prominent in terms of creativity and collaboration. This was especially true in the Jamaican sound system culture, disco, hip-hop, and dance.²¹

Today, there is still a demand for turntables, despite their inability to compete with digital formats such as streaming. Turntables have kept up in the digital virtual era by serving as digital models: the USB version makes it easier to transfer music from vinyl into digital files; and the Bluetooth version can stream music wirelessly to speakers, thus making both devices portable (albeit not as easily portable as a smartphone or laptop, due to their weight). The development of records and their devices has served the user in many ways: for the creator, to record sound and later produce music; and, for the consumer, to listen to and replay music at his/her own leisure, in the place or space of his/her choosing. The following quote by Thomas Edison sums up the significance of the record player, “The phonograph will undoubtedly be liberally devoted to music.”²² Even though Edison was writing only about his invention, his thoughts can be applied warmly to all future turntables and records, too.

Tape

After the emergence of vinyl, other formats of technology started to materialize, including the tape. There are different variations of the tape, which proved useful for the creator and consumer, based on their recording, production, audio, and portability needs. There have been different developmental stages of the tape and its respective devices: (1) recording sound, (2) playback of recorded sounds, and (3) portable use. The tape proved to be another innovative shift in recording music, yet with a difference. Notable developers and manufacturers were responsible for magnetic tape that led to an era of multitrack tape recorders (such as the German company AEG in 1935 and America’s AMPEX in 1948).²³ This machine enables the recording of individual sounds, bouncing them together to finalize the music, rather than recording a group of sounds (e.g., a band) in one session. To this, the creator—musician, producer, or recording/sound engineer—can cut, splice, edit, and re-record sounds. To put this into perspective, researchers use the classic Les Paul example, where he recorded an electric guitar. The listener will hear multiple guitars in the recording, yet, in fact, only one guitar was used to create the music, on an AMPEX 200 recorder.²⁴ As multitrack recording advanced and expanded, it revolutionized the creation and production of music, particularly from the 1960s onward, with the works of the Beatles and Rolling Stones being prime examples, but, of course, there are many, many others as well.²⁵ Where possible, the magnetic tape was replaced by DAT (Digital Audio Tape) in the 1980s. DAT became a preferred recording medium for creators because of “the lack of signal degradation and miniaturized size . . .”²⁶ Despite its high sound quality, and the fact that it could accommodate a healthy amount of recordings, there were reservations about whether DAT could be archived and preserved for as long as the traditional magnetic tape (if you think about it in terms of a digital format, if the contents are erased or destroyed, once it’s gone, it has gone forever).²⁷ Furthermore, the music industry also had reservations about whether to release it as a playback device for consumers. Due to the attractive sound and audio qualities of the recordings, there was a concern that this might encourage piracy activity (such as digital tape to tape recording), which would have the consequence of decreasing physical music sales.²⁸ It became transparent that, despite these concerns, DAT still continued to be a preferred recording format for the creator and that DAT, as a playback device, was not realistically affordable for the consumer. Consumers would later invest in muc...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-Title
• Title
• Contents
• List of Figures
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction: The Future of Music Has Arrived
• 1 “Blame It on the Machines”: Historical Placings of Digital Virtual Music
• 2 “Technology Gives You Everything Immediately . . .”: A Brief Critical Discussion on the Digital Virtual
• 3 “We Are Musical Makers”: The Experimental and Digital Virtual Trademarks of Genre and Style
• 4 “Give Life Back to Music”: Remixing Music
• 5 “The Game Has Changed”: Video Game Music
• 6 “Living in a Fantasy”: Performers and Identity
• 7 “Showroom Dummies”: Live and Simulated Performers, Performances, and Audiences
• 8 “Take Control”: Creators, Fans, and the Internet
• 9 “Digital Witness”: Online Communities, Networking, and Virality
• Conclusion: Rewind or after the Future?
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index
• Copyright