Sonic Signatures
Sonic Signatures

Author: Geoff Lindsey

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company

Published: 2017-11-30

Total Pages: 334

ISBN-13: 9027264856

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Sonic Signatures is devoted to the representation of sound patterns and sound structures across a diverse range of typologically distinct languages with the overall aim of understanding the nature of linguistic data structures from a principled balance between representational economy and the interfaces of phonology with other domains, including acoustic and visual. The volume embraces data spanning from Nivkh vowel harmony to Maxakalí sign language, and from the representation of consonant clusters in adult Laurentian French and to those found in child Greek and child Brazilian Portuguese. The volume strives towards concrete commitments to the theoretical understanding of empirical territory both familiar but with a novel take (English stress) and novel but with immediate relevance (Hungarian suffix allomorphy). With authors contributing from five continents, the book offers a range of perspectives on the representation of sound patterns, while nonetheless retaining a tight focus on the core questions of which characteristics and signatures are specifically encoded for these patterns in the phonological component of the language faculty.

Digital Signatures
Digital Signatures

Author: Ragnhild Brøvig

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2023-10-31

Total Pages: 199

ISBN-13: 0262549638

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How sonically distinctive digital “signatures”—including reverb, glitches, and autotuning—affect the aesthetics of popular music, analyzed in works by Prince, Lady Gaga, and others. Is digital production killing the soul of music? Is Auto-Tune the nadir of creative expression? Digital technology has changed not only how music is produced, distributed, and consumed but also—equally important but not often considered—how music sounds. In this book, Ragnhild Brøvig and Anne Danielsen examine the impact of digitization on the aesthetics of popular music. They investigate sonically distinctive “digital signatures”—musical moments when the use of digital technology is revealed to the listener. The particular signatures of digital mediation they examine include digital reverb and delay, MIDI and sampling, digital silence, the virtual cut-and-paste tool, digital glitches, microrhythmic manipulation, and autotuning—all of which they analyze in specific works by popular artists. Combining technical and historical knowledge of music production with musical analyses, aesthetic interpretations, and theoretical discussions, Brøvig and Danielsen offer unique insights into how digitization has changed the sound of popular music and the listener's experience of it. For example, they show how digital reverb and delay have allowed experimentation with spatiality by analyzing Kate Bush's “Get Out of My House”; they examine the contrast between digital silence and the low-tech noises of tape hiss or vinyl crackle in Portishead's “Stranger”; and they describe the development of Auto-Tune—at first a tool for pitch correction—into an artistic effect, citing work by various hip-hop artists, Bon Iver, and Lady Gaga.

Listening to Rap
Listening to Rap

Author: Michael Berry

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2018-06-14

Total Pages: 355

ISBN-13: 1315315866

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Over the past four decades, rap and hip hop culture have taken a central place in popular music both in the United States and around the world. Listening to Rap: An Introduction enables students to understand the historical context, cultural impact, and unique musical characteristics of this essential genre. Each chapter explores a key topic in the study of rap music from the 1970s to today, covering themes such as race, gender, commercialization, politics, and authenticity. Synthesizing the approaches of scholars from a variety of disciplines—including music, cultural studies, African-American studies, gender studies, literary criticism, and philosophy—Listening to Rap tracks the evolution of rap and hip hop while illustrating its vast cultural significance. The text features more than 60 detailed listening guides that analyze the musical elements of songs by a wide array of artists, from Afrika Bambaataa and Grandmaster Flash to Nicki Minaj, Jay-Z, Kanye West, and more. A companion website showcases playlists of the music discussed in each chapter. Rooted in the understanding that cultural context, music, and lyrics combine to shape rap’s meaning, the text assumes no prior knowledge. For students of all backgrounds, Listening to Rap offers a clear and accessible introduction to this vital and influential music.

Plan Bee
Plan Bee

Author: Susan Brackney

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2010-05-04

Total Pages: 214

ISBN-13: 1101458127

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A guided tour inside the world of bees Overtaxed and underrecognized-and now disappearing in alarming numbers- bees are the unsung heroes of the food chain, essential for the pollination of more than ninety of the crops we eat. The hardworking, humble, and matriarchal bee finally gets her due in this engaging and expertly written guide that will appeal to anyone who's ever been curious about the mysterious and always-buzzing world of bees. Beekeeper Susan Brackney explains: • Why honeybees are disappearing-and what we can do about it • Who's who in the hive-the queen bee, the workers, and the drones • Bees by the numbers-the number of bees per hive, the number of wing beats per second, and other fascinating facts • Gardening tips to attract and support honeybees • The beekeeper's trade-the essential equipment and the latest tools, a day in the life, and more • Honey, pollen, wax, royal jelly, mead, and other products of the sweet life • The secrets behind making a bee beard (or bee bikini) with live bees ...and much more

Innovation in Music: Cultures and Contexts
Innovation in Music: Cultures and Contexts

Author: Jan-Olof Gullö

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2024-03-27

Total Pages: 331

ISBN-13: 1003848702

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Innovation in Music: Cultures and Contexts is a groundbreaking collection bringing together contributions from instructors, researchers, and professionals. Split into two sections, covering creative production practices and national/international perspectives, this volume offers truly global outlooks on ever-evolving practices. Including chapters on Dolby Atmos, the history of distortion, creativity in the pandemic, and remote music collaboration, this is recommended reading for professionals, students, and researchers looking for global insights into the fields of music production, music business, and music technology.

Sound Worlds from the Body to the City
Sound Worlds from the Body to the City

Author: Ariane Wilson

Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Published: 2019-03-13

Total Pages: 249

ISBN-13: 1527531244

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This volume reveals the extent to which aural perception influences our spatial awareness. Spanning various fields and practices, from psychology to geography, and from zoology to urban planning, it covers a range of environments in which sounds contribute to forming our sense of space and place. The contributions gathered here lead from the mother’s womb, through the habitats of insects and owls, to the resonating bodies of buildings and the city, to artistic endeavours that aim to consciously reveal the spatiality of sound. In this progression, the book demonstrates the profoundly constitutive role of hearing and listening at all stages of our biological and social development, as well as the epistemological, phenomenological and emotional importance of sound in relation to our construction of space. As such, it will appeal not only to architects, town-planners and artists, but also to the growing community of scientists and scholars intrigued by sonic issues. Differing from both quantitative acoustics and sound design, its approach opens new perspectives on the sonic dimension and aural understanding of our environment by tracing analogies between a diversity of spaces formed when sound interacts with listening as a mode of attention.