How DJ Equipment (piano music podcast) Changed And Stayed The Same
No commentsBy Dominic Donaldson
The market for all things retro seems to get bigger every day; who would have thought that sweet wrappers from the 1970’s would one day become incredibly collectible and turn up on ebay! Dj equipment and sound recording equipment from the last century has seen a surge in popularity in recent years as a new generation have discovered the history behind MP3 players and music downloads.
Most DJ equipment and recording devices that are made today use digital technology. There are many benefits to this, cleaner sound, less chance of anything being lost or damaged and of course the technology has added to the user friendliness of equipment. But many people believe there are things that have been lost as well.
Twenty five years ago when DJ equipment consisted of a bag of 12 inches and a turntable and recording equipment had chunky buttons and weighed more than a small car there was always something physical about the whole process of recording and listening to music. Analogue recordings had to be stored on something you could hold in your hand; vinyl or tape. When digital took over and converted sound into something resembling mathematics that connection was lost
With the introduction of CDs many predicted the death of vinyl, tape and pretty much anything else that relied on some form of technology that wasn’t processor and chip driven. It was also believed, and strongly promoted by the music industry, that the new technology would improve the listening experience and signal a new era in sound recording. And it did to a large degree.
It was only after the honeymoon period with the new devices and techniques was over that people began to question whether the new sound was in fact better than the older sound. DJ equipment and sound recording had undoubtedly improved but did something get lost with the change?
In the same way that years before there was a debate between the merits of mono and stereo a debate between the merits of analogue and digital began. As with any area where there are two opposing groups of devotees both have their merits and while DJ equipment and recording devices have moved forward the debate highlighted areas where the old was better which led to a marriage of the old and new technologies and the popularity of certain items like USB turntables.
The turntable is not the only item of DJ equipment or sound recording equipment that has not been superseded by something completely different but has taken on the new technology and received a new lease of life.
Multitrack Recorders - The multitrack recorder was invented by Les Paul in the 1940’s. It enabled, for the first time, separate sounds to be recorded onto the same piece of tape at different times. Before the multitrack process everything was recorded at the same time. The technique became hugely popular in pop music and is still used today. It enabled groundbreaking records like The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and The Beach Boy’s Pet Sounds to be made.
Microphones - Microphones convert sound into an electric signal that can then either be recorded and stored or amplified. The principle has remained largely unchanged although the means to record and amplify has had an impact.
Amplifiers - The ability to replicate sound with no loss of quality and in many cases an improvement in quality has come on leaps and bounds since the first electronic amplifiers. Companies like Fender, Orange and Roland have all improved the technology that has been driven in no small part by popular music and live performance.
Dominic Donaldson is an expert in the DJ equipment industry.
Find out more about DJ equipment and sound & recording equipment.
The Network For Piano Lessons On Podcasts
Learning to Play the Harmonica-Should you Consult a Harmonica Teacher
By Constantine Lekendiros
The harmonica has almost become a trademark of blues music. Harmonicas where initially brought to the United States in the 1800’s and have over 100 years of history in North America.
Initially the harmonica was the instrument of the poor but just as blues music began to come into the mainstream the harmonica gained mainstream recognition.
Another reason why the harmonica became popular because it is relatively easy to play. Anyone can learn to play the harmonica as long as they are willing to learn a few basic concepts regarding the instrument.
The best way to learn to play an instrument to pick one up and start experimenting with the sounds. Although it wouldnt be a bad idea to get formal instructions by someone who understands the harmonica at some point, you can start learning how to use the harmonica on your own.
Some harmonicas are even sold with introductory instructions on how to play them. Even certain Hohner harmonicas come with small booklets that will allow you to learn how to play.
The most important thing you will need to learn about harmonicas are the chords. Understanding melodies is one thing that will really help you when learning the harmonica. If you have previous experience with other instruments then learning how to play the harmonica will be easy.
After you acquire the basic knowledge about the harmonic, you can easily improve your skills by regularly practicing playing this beautiful instrument. Practice makes perfect is a saying that applies perfectly to harmonica playing.
Most musicians find that there are two ways to learn to play an instrument even the harmonica. The first way is to consult a teacher to learn the basics. Another way of learning how to play the harmonica is to listen to the harmonica masters, harmonica tunes played by other musicians.
The fist thing you will learn about playing the harmonica is holding the instrument. Holding is the most important and basic concept. To start you need to hold the harmonica with the numbers on top. When you play the harmonica, the lower notes should be on
the left, so that as you play from left to right the notes play from low to high.
After you practice holding the harmonic for a while then you will need to practice playing single notes. The best way to get a feel of how single notes sound on the harmonica is to block off the holes to the left and right of the instrument with your fingers, and then start blowing in the hole in between your fingers. This way you should get a feel of how a single note on the harmonica sounds like.
Overall, the harmonic is not a difficult instrument to learn. What is difficult is how to learn how to play well. That will come with practice. The more your practice playing the harmonica the better you will be. If you don’t own a harmonica you can acquire a good harmonica designed for beginners.
Hohner makes a few good quality simple harmonicas for you to choose one. Always remember to check online for harmonicas and other musical instruments.
Get your self a new Hohner Harmonica on Sale. A good beginners set of harmonicas is the Hohner Piedmont Blues harmonicas with brass reeds. If you are looking for a good chromatic harmonica consider the Honer Super Chromonica harmonica
Thursday, November 20th, 2008 at 11:50 pm and is filed under music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
