AG1064A:
Professional Practice – Project Proposal
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Project Title:
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An
investigation of electronic dance music's evolutionary history and its impact on new genre
creation
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Proposer:
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Ross
Watson
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Student Number:
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1000618
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Programme:
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Creative
Sound Production
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Specialism(s):
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Electronic
Music Production, Synthesis, DJing, Dance Music, Adobe Flash
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Project Description
The
total project proposal, including the Abstract, should not exceed 2,500 words.
Please read the Project Proposal Guidelines and Project Proposal Example in the
Learning Resources before writing your own proposal.
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1.
Abstract (Approx 250 words)
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This
project attempts to exemplify how the historical development of house music can
be used to gain an insight into creativity and the development of new musical
concepts. Music is presently one of the United Kingdom's top exports. The
recording, live and music tourism industries play an important role in
today's economy. An estimated 7.7 million music tourists travel from national
and international destinations to attend music concerts, festivals and
attractions across the United Kingdom, spending a total of £1.4 Billion in
the process. Electronic dance music now occupies a significant stronghold within
modern music, with an increasing amount of dance tracks now appearing in the
top 40 sales and large volumes of consumers travelling to specialist dance
festivals such as Glade, Global Gathering, Rockness, Creamfields and so
forth. The proposer concludes that it is therefore important to aid the
continual development of electronic music. One of the fundamental
philosophies of techno production is conceptual progression, the idea that
producers should constantly be pushing the boundaries, creating the music of
the future. Techno is a derivative of house music, which similarly demands
innovation, although not quite so aggressively. The latest sounds from the
two genres often intertwine, generating new hybrids. However, there can at
times appear to be a lack of originality in dance music, as similar sounding
tracks are mass produced by bedroom producers attempting to recreate the
successes of talented professional artists. By exploring key areas of genre
development from the past, it is hoped that a methodology can be devised to
aid producers in the development of new concepts in dance music.
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2.
Project Aim and Objectives
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The aim
of this research is to investigate the evolutionary history of electronic
dance music, particularly house music and how this information can be used to
enhance creativity.
The
objectives are as follows:
1.0
Review and discuss the evolutionary development house music and the key
elements which brought about change.
2.0
Examine the links between genres and identify the technological and performance techniques which were
fundamental to each genre.
3.0
Conduct practice based research in to the creation of new genres by applying
knowledge gained from research in objectives 1.0 & 2.0 to devise new
musical concepts.
4.0
Develop an interactive evolutionary timeline which illustrates the
transformation of genres over a period of time.
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3.
Rationale
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With
the advent of computer music, anybody can now become an amateur producer for
a low cost. The amateur producer can easily output his or her work on to the
internet on music streaming websites or online record distributers such as
Beatport or iTunes. This has lead to the market being overwhelmed with music
produced without the necessary skills to accomplish creative mastery. This
can often lead to a lack of originality as bedroom producers attempt to
emulate the sounds of their favourite artists rather than create their own
ideas, using online tutorials which teach specific production techniques
relevant to the chosen genre.
The
proposer attempts to address the issue of creativity by focusing on genre
creation in the past. By taking a close look at music which is representative
of its genre, including technical, technological and societal considerations;
it is expected that, by pulling all this information together and
articulating it, an insight into creativity can be acquired. The output from
this project could be used by academics as research into creativity, perhaps
for lesson plans. This information would also be useful for those bedroom
producers hoping to further the creative aspect of their production skills.
However, as Newton did not did not quantify what we should do with the laws
of gravity, the proposer will not be developing lesson plans or tutorials as
part of the honours project.
The
history of house music has been chosen because house music was the original
form of popular dance music. Tracing it back to funk and even blues, the
evolution is clearly audible. House music still uses structural techniques
borrowed from funk, including the snare on the back backbeat and emphasis on
the downbeat. Funk records are often samples, as are disco records which is a
direct descendant of funk. In order to provide contrast, techno and electro
house will also be analyzed. Both genres have some roots in house music but
retain different aesthetic philosophies. Perhaps there are parallels which
exist between house, techno and electro which may be useful to
understand.
The
most logical approach to achieve these gain is by first gathering material
which points to the revolutionary songs of each genre leading up to modern
day house music. Following this, information about how these songs were
created, what the inspirations were and how much did technological
advancements and society have to do with these songs. Essentially, the
hypothesis is that, by understanding how these ideas come about, this
understanding can be applied to one's own creative approach. This hypothesis
comes from the idea that lessons can be learned from the past. Otherwise,
there would be no need for schools to teach history.
Following
the gathering and review of historical data, the proposer will attempt to
apply the knowledge gained into a series of experimental productions, each
relating to specific ideas and objectives formed from the data. The final
productions will then be played back to an audience in order to test for
perceived originality or freshness of concept. The tests shall be
co-organised by the proposer and a third year psychology student who has a
good record of achievement. This should indicate whether or not the knowledge
gained has been useful in providing inspiration for creativity. Following
success, it would be fair to expect that other producers should also be able
to pick up this knowledge and use it as inspiration, provided they have a
rudimentary knowledge of their tools for production.
Another
approach would be to develop a plan for other producers to work through and
test the efficacy of their experimentation but this would require reliance on
other producers to write music for the project and so appears an unrealistic
goal.
The
interactive timeline will be used to illustrate the development of house
music from funk until the present day. The proposers work will be the final
destination in the timeline and would be an effective way to present the work
as it audibly illustrates where the work has developed from.
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4.
Project Methodology
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The
proposer intends to achieve the above objectives by taking a practice based
approach followed by scientific method/s in order to provide conclusive
evidence of the success or failure of the practical output in relation to the
original hypothesis.
Initially,
all information gathered will be inputted into an electronic blog and
publically hosted online. This stage of research will focus on identifying
key moments in the musical progression of each genre. Initial research
suggests house is derived from disco which is a direct descendant of funk.
Using this knowledge, a systematic approach will taken in gathering
information, beginning with literature focused on the history of funk
followed by the history of disco and then house. Contemporary house, techno
and electro will be studied along with the music theory and production
techniques behind each genre. Once all this information has been gathered, a
literature review will take place.
Using
the information gathered in stage one and two, practice-based studio experiments
shall be conducted, tested and reviewed as part of an iterative process. The
proposer will experiment with a wide variety of production techniques in order
to devise new musical concepts. A series of science based tests shall be run
in order to assess the strength of the proposer's hypothesis. The results
shall be analysed and evaluation will take place.
In
order to add context to the project, an evolutionary timeline will be
developed to showcase how music has developed over time and where the
proposers work fits in the bigger picture.
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5.
Outcomes and Deliverables
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The
following deliverables shall be provided as evidence of having achieved the
four objectives:
1.1
Research Diary
§ Diary in the form
of an electronic blog, detailing research activities engaged in
1.2
Review and Discuss
§ Literature review
documenting the evolutionary history of EDM
2.1
Links and Techniques
§ Digital
Interactive document audibly illustrating the links between genres and
highlighting techniques used
3.1
Experimentation
§ Concept mind maps
§ Documentation of
concept development
§ Audio examples of
experimentation
§ Run tests in order
to help determine experimentation efficacy
§ Evaluative report
detailing results of experimentation
4.1
Practice
§ Completed
Interactive Evolutionary timeline
§ Final musical
compositions
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6.
Expertise and Experience of Project Proposer
The
project proposer has approximately 5 years experience working with Ableton
Live and over 10 years as a DJ. The proposer is particularly adept at
maintaining energy on a dance floor and understands the principles behind
good dance music. Previously, the proposer worked as a sound engineer for a
successful club night and completed several electronic music tracks as part
of university coursework.
However,
it has been identified that the proposer requires further skills in advanced
production techniques in order to develop cutting edge music. the proposer
must also acquire an in depth knowledge of Adobe Flash. Taking this in to
consideration, the proposer shall attempt to develop his skills in these
areas. This skill development will occur mainly in semester 1.
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7.
Timetable
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To
assist in completion of the project artefact and dissertation, the following
timetable shall be used as a guideline and shall be followed from
approximately late October 2011 until May 2012.
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8.
Ethics and Risk Assessment
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There
may be participants used in this study for evaluation purposes. The
participants will operate primarily in the recording studio and will be
subjected to electronic music played back at a safe listening volume. The
proposer and the participants will not encounter any substantial risks to
health and safety during the evaluation process.
Failure
to grasp Adobe Flash would result in non completion of task objective 4. A
backup plan will be implemented which would involve using publically
available flash assets or enlisting the help of an expert in this field.
There
may be a lack of information in certain research areas where evidence is
required. As such, a plan will be set in motion to come at the
project from a slightly different angle without fundamentally changing what
the project hopes to achieve.
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9.
Resources
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The
following resources will be required in order to complete the project
proposed:
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Ableton Live
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Appropriate VST instruments and effects
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Adobe Flash
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Adobe Illustrator
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