In order to understand the technology and approaches to recording that you'll be covering in this class, it's important to know where to look!
A simple history of a technology might rely on a lot of facts that can be found in books or encyclopedias, while more involved topics will require that you find articles. You might also take advantage of our large streaming audio collections to do your own acoustic analyses and comparisons of commonly performed works!
All of this is a little different from what you might doin later classes, but this is a great way to get started with music research!
Some topics will require you to find simple facts and details that will help you put together the 'big picture'. For instance, the origins of the microphone, or the invention of the MP3. It will be your job to put these facts together in order to provide a historical context for your topic.
What to look for?
Details, dates, and terminology
Where are you likely to find this information?
The more focused your topic, the deeper you might have to go to find what you're looking for. For instance, simply studying acoustics provides you with an understanding of the concepts and considerations... But, studying the acoustics of a live recording session will take a little more effort.
What to look for?
Resources that connect all of your ideas in one place (for instance, jazz recording instead of just jazz or just recording)
Where are you likely to find this information?
Listening to different recordings is another great way to understand the recording process. This could be done by listening to a specific recording, type of recording (live jazz sessions, for instance), or comparing the same work in multiple settings (studio recording vs. stage recording).
What to look for?
Find recordings through the Library or other music streaming options. But, this is just part of the picture! Reviews of specific recordings and articles or books about the type of recording can help to flesh out your analysis!
Where are you likely to find this information?
