Week of 10.25.10:

We began class this week by presenting our research topic proposals to the class. Mine is as follows:

We would like to present our research topic on magnetic tape as a recording medium, both physically and philosophically. Tape is after all, the recording medium that the modern recording industry is based off of both in production style, process, and concept. Tape one of the best representations of linear time that man has invented, and the flexibility of the medium has been the ground work for editing, mixing, playback, and recording concepts since its introduction to the world in 1928.
We will begin by discussing the history of the medium, going over inventor Fritz Plfeumer and how in invented the medium and the incorporation of iron oxide based off of the magnetic wire recording medium of his time, and what tape offered that no other medium of the time could. From here we will move forward in time through significant technological developments of the medium, including the different sizes and styles, the playback machines, and touch on it’s competitors as they arise later in the 20th century. This includes 1/4in, 1/2in, 1in, and 2in tape types, as well as different players and heads including 4-track, 8-track, 16-track, and 24-track heads and tape, and how they are incorporated into studios as time and techniques and technology develops.
We will also discuss what tape did for music. Besides being a high quality recording medium, tape offered editing abilities beyond anything that had yet been invented for audio recording. This physical manipulation of the medium in order to achieve different editing styles, manipulated sound based on speed, and multi-track overdubbing are all production concepts birthed by the tape medium that have all surpassed the tape era into the modern age of recording. We will discusses different early works that pioneered these techniques and are in the curriculum such as Cage’s William’s Mix and as well as Stockhausen’s Studie I and Studie II. We will talk about how these early mixes demonstrate the capabilities of tape as a medium, and how they have changed the editing process.
As with all technologies, there are downsides to tape, which we will also discuss. Such downsides include the longevity of the material, the continuous maintenance required for tape machines, and the real time aspects of all the processes tape related. This will lead us into a discussion about digital recording and how it is a technological advancement of the same production concept, only without the physical element of the tape. While tape v. digital is an entire discussion unto itself, we will talk about comparisons between the two mediums and why one could be preferred over the other for personal, tonal, and technological reasons.
While tape is no longer the popular recording medium of today, it is the foundation for all recording both in concept and in practice. A better knowledge of tapes gives us as engineers a better understanding of what recording is as an art rather than as a trade, and how this art came to be and why we record the way we do.

We moved on to continue to discuss Electronic Music as the defined Third Stage of Aesthetic for Music. HH Stackenschmit has seven traits that define electronic music. First, that Electronic Music has unlimited available sound sources. A composer can invent sounds or use and manipulate natural sounds util they no longer sound natural. Second, that Electronic Music can expand the perception of tonality. Electronic Music often explores micro tonality and all sounds and tones are given equal importance. Third, that Electronic Music exists in a state of actualization. Since Electronic Music is composed for the recording, and only exists once it is made, it can only be in actualized form, rather in an abstract state such as a written score. Fourth, that Electronic Music has a special relationship with the temporal state of music, meaning that all aspects of the sound can be captured over time. Fifth, that in Electronic Music the sound itself becomes the material of the composition, and is what is written and created rather than interpreted and performed. Sixth, that Electronic Music does not breathe, there is no human element in Electronic Music and it is exact and precise every time it is played. Finally Seventh, that Electronic Music lack a comparison to the natural world in the sense that the sounds heard are not organic, and require an active listening intellect and imagination in order to interpret the sound and derive meaning.
We also discussed al lot of the information we will be going over in my research topic; tape composition and impact. Recording techniques are to this day based in the linear tape model. Even the transport bar in ProTools is a model of a tape interface. This is because tape is a perfect interpretation and representation of time and linear function, which makes it very easy to understand and manipulate. Tape embodies the relationship between space and time. Tape enables specific time edits, as well as playback option such as reverse, speed adjustment, and depth. Duration, pitch, and color all become interchangeable variables manipulate-able in a tape studio.