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PCM (Pulse-Code Modulation)
PCM is the standard by which analog sound waves are translated into binary data (Michael 2001). Typically, CD audio is stored with 16-bit resolution and a sampling rate of 44.1 kHz (Zager 2011). These figures quantify how accurately the digital data represents the original analog sound wave. Higher bit-depth and sampling rates result in better quality representation, but also in bigger file-sizes, with the 16-bit 44.1 kHz stereo file, taking up 10 MB (megabytes) for every minute of sampling (Edstrom 2010). There are inherent limitations to achieving true representation of analog sound waves with the PCM method. For instance, when a sampled amplitude value does not directly fall onto a bit interval along the y-axis, the sample is moved (quantized) to the nearest interval (Short and Sweet Tutorials 2015), resulting in a squaring of the waveform. This can be observed by zooming in on the wave with audio editing software.
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MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface)
Despite its primitive capabilities, MIDI is arguably the biggest innovation that propelled the IT revolution of music production. It is a system that allows digital devices like electronic keyboards, to communicate and work in tandem with others (Loy 1985). The first time two instruments were linked using the MIDI protocol was in 1983, where one keyboard was programmed to trigger notes on another in real-time (Zager 2011). MIDI was later integrated with a PC (personal computer) which lead to the creation of the sequencer (Loy 1985) - a computer program for automating MIDI notes and triggers (Rouse 2005).
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DAW (Digital Audio Workstation)
Towards the end of the 1980s, the DAW was invented (Sound On Sound magazine 2015), which applied the MIDI sequencer concept to digital audio files. Prior to DAW software, multi-track recording was laboriously time-consuming. To edit tape tracks, engineers would need to physically cut and paste the magnetic tape on which the audio was recorded (Electrical Audio 2018). DAW gives users a GUI (Graphic User Interface), where all recorded tracks are visible at a glance on a timeline, making editing audio files akin to using a word document. Early computer hardware and digital storage mediums were once major limiting factors, with 600 MB drives in the 1990s costing thousands (Sound On Sound magazine 2015). But, as hardware improved, DAWs became cheaper and more capable, where today, an entry-level system costs about $350 US (recordingrevolution 2017). Moreover, apps like Caustic and Audio Evolution, allow smartphones to be used for high-quality multi-track recording.
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The Future
Today, with IoT (Internet of Things), greater developments are occurring. Artists world-wide can create songs collaboratively, by uploading their recordings to shared project apps, like Songtree (nTrackSoftware 2015). Some argue that, despite the ease of recording high-quality audio, creation of high-quality music has not increased, as computers make it possible to hide poor musicianship through digital manipulation (Strahan 2013). There are also those that still crave the ‘warmth’ of analog sound, claiming that the huddled studio sessions of the past, captured superior musical art (Sound City 2013). Hugh Robjohns - Technical Editor of Sound on Sound magazine predicts that soon, robotic machines will control older recording hardware, merging the work-flow capabilities of computers with the desired sound and usability of traditional studios (Sound On Sound magazine 2015). This would allow DAW-like control over popular analog equipment.
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The Past ❱