History of Music and Technology with Professor Wallin-Huff

In our final segment of this course, we talk about the evolution of music being used in utilitarian ways (versus artistic ways), holograms performing on stage, Vocaloids and voice synthesis, virtual concerts held in cyberspace, and the artifical intelligence boom in the field of music creation. To view the videos this audio is taken from, as well as related links and slides, visit: https://is.gd/Y...

In this segment, we summarize the overall effects of the Internet (including developments during the Covid-19 pandemic) on music: how we make it, how we consume it, how we take what has come before and remix it in new ways. To view the videos this audio is taken from, as well as related links and slides, visit: https://is.gd/YaVxR2 If you’re interested in purchasing the online textbook for this co...

First discussed is how technology is reshaping the film music industry, before diving into a timeline of video game music milestones. To view the videos this audio is taken from, as well as related links and slides, visit: https://is.gd/X3Lbav If you’re interested in purchasing the online textbook for this course, find instructions on how to do that at https://sarahwallinhuff.com/history-of-techno...

An overview of the histortical timeline of technology’s evolution for synchronizing sound and music with film. To view the videos this audio is taken from, as well as related links and slides, visit: If you’re interested in purchasing the online textbook for this course, find instructions on how to do that at https://sarahwallinhuff.com/history-of-technology-in-music New episode each Thursday!

Starting with a deeper discussion on the philosophies behind sampling, we then touch on the controversies of fair compensation to artists whose work is used as a sample as well as the issue of diminishing creativity in an economy where digital samples can be easily found and legally used by anyone. And, of course, we discuss the origins of hip-hop in the 1970s, and how the underground genre was tr...

In this segment we go over the two historical roots that are the foundations of what we now call sampling: the history of “found sound” and the history of “musical borrowing”. We especially take note of how the evolving technology of the times contributed to the development of these art forms. To view the videos this audio is taken from, as well as related links and slides, visit: https://is.gd/ig...

Thanks to the appearance of both the mp3 format and the public Internet in the 1990s, illegal file sharing exploded onto the scene, prompting the soon-after emergence of the streaming economy. We are still wrestling with the implications of this “digitally post-scarce” world and finding our way through the trials of making a living in this new economy. To view the videos this audio is taken from,...

In this segment, we’ll examine the reasons why RCA chose to release the new tech of vinyl as a 45 format rather than an LP (as Columbia did), and we’ll see how the public responded to these two options for recorded music. Then we’ll study the reasons why—even though Moog and Buchla invented the same voltage-controlled modular synthesizer technology at the same time on opposite coasts—Moog remains...

This segment opens with an overview of what the music industry is and the web of stakeholders that make it up; then it finishes with the story of Western music entering Japan and influencing Yamaha to create what would become an instrument and music education empire. To view the videos this audio is taken from, as well as related links and slides, visit: https://is.gd/LbqkFA If you’re interested i...

Thanks to the universality of the cassette and then digital editing technologies, the door was openend for underground genres and unsigned artists to create and spread music without the backing of a label. To view the videos this audio is taken from, as well as related links and slides, visit: https://is.gd/9R2cr8 If you’re interested in purchasing the online textbook for this course, find instruc...

From the adoption of electric microphones starting in 1925, through the evolution of the disc, to the tape revolution in the 1950s, the industry of music recording took a huge leap formward ion this short matter of decades. Because of these technological advancements, recording became (not just an archival practice) but a whole new artform in itself. To view the videos this audio is taken from, as...

This episode starts with a “bird’s eye view” of the developmental timeline for important aspects of sound reproduciton technology and then explores the beginnings of how recording technology quickly and dramatically transformed sometimes-centuries-old music technique to compensate for technoloigical shortcomings, resulting in a redefinition of what “beauty” in music should or can be. To view the v...

While underground music genres were flourishing on radio, the advertising dollars on TV had more say of what kind of music would be programmed for the general audience. Plus, where did the music video first come from, and how did platforms like MTV influence which artists would succeed in the music industry? To view the videos this audio is taken from, as well as related links and slides, visit: h...

A look at the factors that determined what kind of programming would be broadcast on radio, from its inception in the 1920s, through the era of the Great Depression, and through the 1950s and later, with a look at the development of "portable music", rock n' roll, and experimental synthesis. To view the videos this audio is taken from, as well as related links and slides, visit: https://is.gd/Atnj...

An introduction to the early history of radio broadcasting and sound capture. To view the videos this audio is taken from, as well as related links and slides, visit: https://is.gd/Atnjbl If you’re interested in purchasing the online textbook for this course, find instructions on how to do that at https://sarahwallinhuff.com/history-of-technology-in-music New episode each Thursday!

A history of electronic instruments, with emphasis on the synthesizer. To view the videos this audio is taken from, as well as related links and slides, visit: https://is.gd/pYkCbG If you’re interested in purchasing the online textbook for this course, find instructions on how to do that at https://sarahwallinhuff.com/history-of-technology-in-music New episode each Thursday!

The history of a few important electroacoustic instruments, with a deep dive into the societal importance of the electric guitar. To view the videos this audio is taken from, as well as related links and slides, visit: https://is.gd/pYkCbG If you’re interested in purchasing the online textbook for this course, find instructions on how to do that at https://sarahwallinhuff.com/history-of-technology...

The history of a few important electromechanical instruments. To view the videos this audio is taken from, as well as related links and slides, visit: https://is.gd/pYkCbG If you’re interested in purchasing the online textbook for this course, find instructions on how to do that at https://sarahwallinhuff.com/history-of-technology-in-music New episode each Thursday!

While humankind has been fascinated with self-playing instruments since antiquity, the machines of the 19th and early 20th centuries, and the music written for them, caused society to begin questioning… what is music after all? To view the videos this audio is taken from, as well as related links and slides, visit: https://is.gd/qkCmRu If you’re interested in purchasing the online textbook for thi...

How the explosion of opera's popularity changed society's views of music, causing singers, instruments, and the orchestra to evolve in response. To view the videos this audio is taken from, as well as related links and slides, visit: https://is.gd/uYuw15 If you’re interested in purchasing the online textbook for this course, find instructions on how to do that at https://sarahwallinhuff.com/histor...

Introducing the ancient origins of combining music with drama, set designs, story, and machinery. To view the videos this audio is taken from, as well as related links and slides, visit: https://is.gd/uYuw15 If you’re interested in purchasing the online textbook for this course, find instructions on how to do that at https://sarahwallinhuff.com/history-of-technology-in-music New episode each Thurs...

An overview of all the methods used to print and publish music, starting in the 15th century to today. To view the videos this audio is taken from, as well as related links and slides, visit: https://is.gd/mRl07X If you’re interested in purchasing the online textbook for this course, find instructions on how to do that at https://sarahwallinhuff.com/history-of-technology-in-music New episode each...

How gatekeepers of the age used print technologies to select whose music would be shared and remembered. To view the videos this audio is taken from, as well as related links and slides, visit: https://is.gd/mRl07X If you’re interested in purchasing the online textbook for this course, find instructions on how to do that at https://sarahwallinhuff.com/history-of-technology-in-music New episode eac...

Here we discuss the six basic ways that print culture utterly transformed western civilization, including within the field of music and art. To view the videos this audio is taken from, as well as related links and slides, visit: https://is.gd/mRl07X If you’re interested in purchasing the online textbook for this course, find instructions on how to do that at https://sarahwallinhuff.com/history-of...

Where we are today and how we got here. To view the videos this audio is taken from, as well as related links and slides, visit: https://is.gd/CdU5h3 If you’re interested in purchasing the online textbook for this course, find instructions on how to do that at https://sarahwallinhuff.com/history-of-technology-in-music New episode each Thursday!