Music Dynamics.

It had been a long time since my hibernation. Time for something new!

It has been a great opportunity for me here in UK too access to various data and info about music and art. At least, the internet speed is really fast, streaming is no longer a problem for me to learn new thing.

To be honest, I used to think that Classical music is something dead. But, now i could certainly say that, no it isn't.

Take one example: Chopin Ballade No.1 in G minor. I took the same piece performed by different players (Arthur Rubinstein, Horowitz, Zimerman, Michiavelli, etc). I noticed that,

1. All of them perform flawless. This is the basic requirement for classical pianist i suppose.

2. All of the performances have different video time length. It means that each of them is performed at different speed.

3. Each of them performs with different physical facial expression. As well as their dynamics, loudness, quietness, where to pause, where to emphasis, etc..

4. All blend in to: each of them has a very special interpretation into that particular piece.

This makes the piece alive. What was Chopin thinking? The song is just named "Ballade in G minor", this title doesn't show any clue. For instance, "pop song no.12 in E major", what's that suppose to mean? no title, only music score with expression signs.

In exact same notes, same timing/beat, same kind of piano; each of them brings you into a different realm.

In that case, emotion & dynamics is really something that makes song/music different & unique. isn't it?

Do jazz interpret music as such? Or just pure theory? Pure feel? Improvisation from the original song? No feel of the title at all?? What's happening?

Hi Fi confusion.

People get messed up in this term "Hi Fi". Hifi actually means high fidelity, that's it, regeneration of sound as close to original as possible.

So, the equipments will be:
1. Source- CD players, LP players (long play), tuners, hard disk streaming, cassettes etc.

2. Pre Amp-this amp controls the power amp with varying voltage different. For your info, power amplifier has only one fixed gain (signal amplification factor).

3. Power Amp- This amp drives the speakers. It amplifies signals, making it very large and could move the speaker diaphragm.

Integrated amp is where the pre and power amps both joined together in a "thing", sharing the main power source. It's more convenient to be used, but it can't give as much power output as the mono blocks (aka power amps). Separated power sources of the pre-power combination gives a better control of the power source, hence eliminated the possibility of left & right channel power being unequally distributed (especially when driving fast paced loud).

Other stuff:
a. Amp can be further divided into tube amp and solid state.

b. Amp can also be divided into class A, A/B & D.

c. CD player can be further divided into 2 compartments: Transport>DAC (digital analogue converter).

d. etc etc....

e. Hardest thing in hi-fi.. Room tune.

That's it!

Cables, for Hi Fi.

(Purposely do not write out all of my thoughts, to reduce complaint!! I think it's short enough =D)

Once i think that the interior and exterior properties of speaker/interconnect cables do make sonic difference in Hi Fi. (I'm talking about high fidelity sound). This is because the inductive, capacitive and conductivity of the cables do change the sound characteristic.

But, scientists say it doesn't cause any difference in your ear, or our mind. Is this true?

I do still believe hifi cables do make a different in the sonic element!!

"The human mind is such a suggestible, inaccurate device, why do we bother to listen at all? We should just measure music and go home. " -Michael Fremer, stereophile reviewer.

What he said is so true, you opinion?? As when i played my guitar solo..........

I'm liking this band-Radiohead

Somehow, personally, i think that this is a band who emphasis on creativity, no boundary, and sometimes too "over"..

They are too creative, at least too creative for a newbie in music like me.. Playing with all modulation of keys and chords, from rock to jazz to electronics, multiple beats, sound, effects.. Creative!

But i hardly understand the lyrics, too bad.

@ their 3rd album "ok computer", they started to use a lot of pre amp effects and makes the overall sound very "euphoric".

@ their 4th album "kid A" and 5th "Amnesiac", they use ondes martenot and lots of electronics effects, irregular beat (geng!)..

@ their 7th album "in rainbow", hmm.... don't know what to say already lar..

Anyway, they become famous because the main vocal-thom yorke's voice, and his impressive lyrics (although i dun really understand it. And the band's "creative"ness in music arranging, plus the 6th member, Sound Engineer-Nigel Godrich. Those effects... one day i'll test it on audiophile equiptments!!

They may sound a bit "depressing" for some one.. Listen and see.

Try search in youtube: Pyramid song, Paranoid Android, Subterranean Homesick Alien, 15 step, etc... I m too lazy to post.

Oh my God!

I started to read some cognitive speech stuff recently, there was this chapter talking about human's ear mechanics. It was OMG!

I thought it was just a sound wave (change in air pressure) on the outer ear, then the wave is being transferred to the ear drum, then to the oracle bones thingy and at last it reaches the cochlea. Through the nerves, the signal was brought to the brain. Then finished!

But now that i read something on that, only i know that the oracle bones serves as a signal normalizer, then the cochlea will somehow "filter" out the super sonic frequencies. Dog has different cochlea size, hence they hear a wider bandwidth. Then at the end of the cochlea, there is a hair thingy. There are up to 2000 hairs (if i'm not mistaken), that will convert the mechanical signal to electrical signal so that it can be send up to the brain.

And, one of the most interesting thing is, the speed of the electrical charge moving in the nerves is a lot slower than the speed of electron in a normal copper wire. But, how? How we manage to transmit a complex and up to micro-second signal? Scientist say that the 2000 hairs, each will take a different signal and reach the brain. When the brain reads it, it'll regroup them and that you can understand... OMG! Now i know!

How they did that? It's like 2000 cables running into a mixer and expect the mixer to automatically (programmed to be) put up nicely + "loseless" signal.

[Nerve system's limitation eg. For a normal person with height around 1.6m, there is a fraction of a second needed for the signal sent by the brain to reach his feet, so that the feet can react. Means, a lag. Hence, usually an organ player have to memorize the feet movement, because they have to move their feet to the right pedal and step on it before they can "hear" the sound. When they know they "hear" the sound and only after that they react, everything'll be too late! Interesting!]

"God CREATES that."

Ref: Music, Cognition and Computerized sound: An Intro to psychoacoustic-MIT press

It was a "chance"? or miracle?

After a very very very long thought, referring to a lot of data, I found that "Acoustic" involves a series of very complex waves interactions. It may involve sound decay, sound delay, reverberation, echo, effects of human neuron's limitations, etc, whether linearly or non-linearly.

A far voice may sounds "soft", but the "soft" is very different from the "soft" when we turn down the volume of the hi-fi system. Sound of far distance decay over distance, but the high frequency will decay faster than the low frequencies, due to the environment's nature. A far sound will sound "soft" in treble but "not-too-soft" in bass. Non-linearity! Room's acoustics changing the wave pattern, it become slightly more reverberant for a far voice. Etc, etc...

My church (before renovation) have a so-called "warm" sound. I tried very hard to mix the bass so that it'll be clearer those days, but i failed to. Until now, when i look back to what i was trying to solve, only i realize the whole picture! (i hope i'm right).

Different materials absorbs different frequencies, usually the hardest/most costly to be tamed is the bass freq. My church was having some partitions, carpets, cushions plus some ceiling which seem to absorb sound pretty well, but just the HIGH frequencies.

My church was having an under-powered amps driving the FOH speakers and for bass guitar. Yet, it was so warm. The answer could be, the room attenuated the mid and high range, leaving the bass untouched/build up its energy. Hence, while the midrange and treble (which is most sensitive to our ear) being normal (no energy build up acoustically), the bass was being build up causing an illusion of deep bass. It explains the "muddy" effects of the bass, which is much undesired. But, we like bass, bass gives energy. Try to listen to music by laptop speaker, the louder u make it, the noisier it'll become. It have to be balanced by bass.

Anyway, just wanna stress that the acoustic of the room is kinda... just nice to suit the under-powered amps, yet still sound so nice. We once removed a partition, the bass became a lot muddier, and it was since then i wanna get the bass sound right, nailed to its position, not floating around and kacau other instruments.. HAHA!. Quite a luck to get this kind of "just fine" or "it wasn't tuned!!?" environment, or i should say "Thank God" for knowing our budget..

The newly renovated church acoustic is a very challenging one, indeed! The prob now is how to equalise the system to suit our ears via room acoustics! Perhaps it'll not be a chance play this time (serious, lol!!).

Mixing. EQ

Equalizer (EQ)? You may find it on some mini hi-fi. The most basic one can be "tone" or "bass, treble, mid" adjustments. Hence, an equalizer serves as a device that changes the characteristic of a sound.

There are quite a number of them, from the smallest basic treble-bass that kind, to the 32 bands frequencies wide range graphic EQ, and to the most sophisticated parametric EQ.

Why change the sound characteristic? Isn't that original sound is the most important? The most expensive amplifier gets the most original sound, right?

Actually, in my personal view, original sound is important, but when playing in a band/orchestration, some frequencies can be eliminated to ensures the clarity of every instrument. For example, when u boost 100Hz for the kick drum, you may as well want to decrease the 100Hz of the bass guitar while boosting it at maybe 250Hz (its very own place in the wide frequency spectrum) . This is to ensure that they don't overshadow each other. Ensures clarity!

People usually likes to make a "smile" face on the graphic EQ on their home system, this is due to a psychoacoustic effect on human's brain. Our ear tends to accept and translate sound level in a non-linear scale. Meaning, while you hear the midrange frequency doubled its "loudness", it doesn't mean that your brain takes bass (same power of boost) as doubled loudness. Usually we are weaker at the bass and treble response at low volume, hence we tends to boost them up in everyday consumer hi-fi. But in live music where the SPL raise till a significant loudness, things become different. EQ is then used for the clarity and the feedback control. If used wrongly (if overboost), it may cause distortion. Distortion destroys speakers.

Still, original sound will be the most important thing.

Yet, how come... Perhaps a room having weak acoustic don't meant to be mixed nicely? But, when i play CD on it, it sounds just fine, just a little bit muddy/draggy.. How to mix in a semi mic in room? How to mix if there is some instrument that just doesn't need nor can be mic in? How to compensate? Any idea?