Tape loops are loops of prerecorded magnetic tape used to create repetitive, rhythmic musical patterns or dense layers of sound. In Electronic music, a loop is a sample which is repeated Loops may be repeated through the use of Tape loops delay effects cutting between Magnetic tape is a medium for Magnetic recording generally consisting of a thin magnetizable coating on a long and narrow strip of Plastic. Contemporary composers such as Steve Reich and Karlheinz Stockhausen used tape loops to create phase patterns and rhythms. WikipediaWikiProject Composers#Lead section --> Stephen Michael Reich (born October 3 In the early 1970s, musicians Brian Eno and Robert Fripp created Frippertronics, a system for creating tape loops during a live performance. Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (born 15 May 1948 commonly known as Brian Eno (ˈiːnoʊ is an English Musician, producer Robert Fripp (born 16 May 1946 in Wimborne Minster, Dorset, England) is a Guitarist, Composer and a Record --> Frippertronics is a system of Tape loops originally developed in the electronic music studios of the early 1960s and first used by In the mid-1980s, digital sampling overtook much tape loop use. In Music, sampling is the act of taking a portion or sample, of one Sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or element of a new recording In the 1990s and 2000s, digital looping pedals became more affordable. One man bands use looping pedals to record a groove or riff, and then they solo over the riff as it repeats. A one-man band is a musician who plays a number of Musical instruments simultaneously using their hands feet limbs and various mechanical contraptions In Music, a riff is an Ostinato figure a repeated Chord progression, pattern refrain or melodic figure, often played by the Rhythm
Contents |
Description
A measure of recorded magnetic tape is cut and spliced end-to-end, creating a circle or loop which can be played continuously, usually on a reel to reel machine. Reel-to-reel, open reel tape recording is the form of magnetic tape audio recording in which the recording medium is held on a Reel, rather than being Tape loop effects are sometimes combined with a technique wherein the playback speed of the loop is increased or decreased over time, somewhat similar to a glissando which slurs the pitch of a note up or down as used in music. " Glissando " (plural glissandi abbreviated gliss is a glide from one pitch to another
Simultaneous playing of tape loops to create phase patterns and rhythms was developed and initially used by musique concrète and tape music composers, and was most extensively utilized by Steve Reich for his "phasing" pieces such as "Come Out" and "It's Gonna Rain", and by Karlheinz Stockhausen. Musique concrète ( French; literally "concrete music" is a style of Avant-garde music that relies on recorded sounds including natural Tape Music is an experimental 10" vinyl release by Jack Dangers. WikipediaWikiProject Composers#Lead section --> Stephen Michael Reich (born October 3 In the Compositional technique phasing, popularized by composer Steve Reich, the same part (a repetitive phrase is played on two Musical instruments in
The length of the loop, of course, controlled the length of the repeated sound, combined with the desired content of the composer. On a standard reel-to-reel, one could loop, at most, a few seconds of music or sound. Some composers were satisfied with this approach, but there were other methods to allow for longer loops. For example, one could place two reel-to-reel machines side by side and string the tape between them, using one machine for playback and the other simply as a pulley for the length of tape.
Alternatively, one tape machine could be a playback machine while the second machine was a recording machine, creating not only a tape loop, but an extremely long echo. By using this or other methods, some composers could create very long loops which allowed for lengthier fragments of sound. When recording his landmark 1978 ambient album Music for Airports, Brian Eno reported that for a particular song, "One of the tape loops was seventy-nine feet long and the other eighty-three feet. Ambient music is a Musical genre in which sound is more important than notes Ambient 1 Music for Airports (1978 is an Ambient music album by Brian Eno. Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (born 15 May 1948 commonly known as Brian Eno (ˈiːnoʊ is an English Musician, producer " (Prendergrast, 123)
History
Beginning in the late 1950s the BBC Radiophonic Workshop began using tape loops to add special effects to some BBC programming. Pop musicians, most notably The Beatles, Frank Zappa, Fifty Foot Hose, Can, and Pink Floyd, have used tape loops on their albums. Popular music is Music belonging to any of a number of musical styles that are accessible to the general public and are disseminated by one or more The Beatles were a pop and rock band from Liverpool, England formed in 1960 Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21 1940 – December 4 1993 was an American Composer, Electric guitarist Record producer and Film director Fifty Foot Hose is a Psychedelic rock band that formed in San Francisco in the late 1960s and reformed in the 1990s Can was a musical group formed in West Germany in 1968 One of the most important Krautrock groups Can had a style grounded in the Experimental rock of Pink Floyd are An album or record album is a collection of related audio or Music tracks distributed to the public
One of the more novel uses of tape loops were heavily utilized by French electronic pop composer Jean Jacques Perrey (sometimes working with American composer Gershon Kingsley) on a series of mid-60s albums on the Vanguard label. Jean-Jacques Perrey is a French electronic music producer and was an early pioneer in the genre Their loops often had tight, multiple splices in them to create their frantic rhythmic loop effects, to which they added conventional instruments and synthesizers playing generally familiar instrumental up-tempo tunes. Their composition, "Baroque Hoedown", from their 1967 album, "Kaleidoscopic Vibrations" was adopted by Disney for their "Starlight Parade" event at Disneyland and Disneyworld, and was used by filmmaker Mike Jittlov for the "Mouse Mania" animated short film he made for Disney's Mickey Mouse 50th anniversary TV special in 1978. Walt Disney World Resort is the most visited and largest recreational resort in the world containing four Theme parks two Water parks twenty-three themed hotels Mike Jittlov (born June 8, 1948) is an American Animator and the creator of short films and one feature length movie using forms of
In the early 1970s, musicians Brian Eno and Robert Fripp created Frippertronics, a system for creating tape loops during a live performance. Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (born 15 May 1948 commonly known as Brian Eno (ˈiːnoʊ is an English Musician, producer Robert Fripp (born 16 May 1946 in Wimborne Minster, Dorset, England) is a Guitarist, Composer and a Record --> Frippertronics is a system of Tape loops originally developed in the electronic music studios of the early 1960s and first used by A few years later, Mission of Burma began using loops on their albums, and also began feeding snippets of vocals and guitar recorded moments earlier back into their live mix, thereby introducing live loop effects to punk rock. Mission of Burma is an American Post-punk band formed in Boston Massachusetts in 1979 Experimental noise musician NON aka Boyd Rice played loops of speeches, radio broadcasts and conversations just under the threshold of comprehensibility in his live shows, starting in 1977. Experimental music is a term introduced by composer John Cage in 1955 Boyd Blake Rice (born July or December 1956 is an American experimental sound artist under the monicker of NON since the mid-1970s Archivist, Actor Since then, he's created loops to evoke a hypnotic, trance state in his audiences.
Digital Loops
Digital sampling -- which can generally provide similar results with less effort -- overtook much tape loop use, beginning in the mid 1980s. In Music, sampling is the act of taking a portion or sample, of one Sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or element of a new recording To create a loop digitally requires nothing more than highlighting a section of already-recorded music or sound and clicking on a 'repeat' or 'duplicate' icon as many times as you want the loop to repeat. Some musicians and composers, however, continue to use analog tape loops for various reasons.
Loop Pedals
An interesting direction of the evolution of the tape loop is the looping pedal - a digital sampler built into an easy-to-use footswitch-operated pedal of the kind most often used by guitarists to create looping layers of melody or texture during a live performance. A noteworthy example of this melodic layering effect is Ian Williams' dense, complex layers of guitar on Don Caballero's American Don (free MP3s available here and here). Don Caballero are a critically-acclaimed instrumental rock group from Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. Another great example is Joe Driscoll who layers both guitar riffs and oral percussion (beatboxing). Some popular digital looping pedals (which can be used on any instrument, but are primarily used by guitarists) are the Line 6 DL4 (used by, among others, Jazz guitarists Bill Frisell and John Scofield), the Boomerang Phrase Sampler (used by Phish's Trey Anastasio, and Primus' Les Claypool), the Akai E2 Headrush (best known for its extensive use by KT Tunstall), and the Boss Loop Station. Line 6 is a manufacturer of Digital modelling Electric guitars Acoustic guitars, amplifiers and William Richard "Bill" Frisell (born March 18, 1951) is an American Guitarist and Composer. John Scofield (born December 26 1951 in Dayton Ohio) is an American Jazz Guitarist and Composer, who has played and collaborated Phish is an American Jam band noted for their Musical improvisation, extended Jam sessions and cult following Trey Anastasio (born Ernest Joseph Anastasio III on Leslie Edward "Les" Claypool (born September 29, 1963 in Richmond, California, U Akai ( Japanese: AKAI in Romaji) is a consumer electronics brand founded as, a Japanese manufacturer in 1929 Kate Victoria "KT" Tunstall (born 23 June 1975 is a Scottish Singer-songwriter.
See also
Sources
- Mark Prendergrast; The Ambient Century: From Mahler to Trance, the Evolution of Sound in the Electronic Age; Bloomsbury, 2000; ISBN 1-58234-134-6
Record albums: Jean Jacques Perrey & Gershon Kingsley: The In Sound From Way Out (Vanguard Records, 1966, VSD 79222), Kaledoscopic Vibrations (Vanguard Records, 1967, VSD 79264), Moog Indigo (Vanguard Records, 1970, VSD 6549)
External links
In Electronic music, a loop is a sample which is repeated Loops may be repeated through the use of Tape loops delay effects cutting between An echo machine is the early name for a sound processing device used with electronic instruments to repeat the sound and produce a simulated echoDapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic