How Has House Music

Evolved Over Time?

By: Sam Towner

 House Music started in 1977 in the south side of Chicago.

A venue that started the house scene was a club called
The Warehouse.
The owner of The Warehouse was a DJ by the name of
Frankie Knuckles.
He mixed old disco classics and new Eurobeat pop, which ended
up influencing acid house and inspired other DJs to experiment
more.

House is a direct descendant from disco, however it has a

deeper, rawer sound with a dancier beat to it.

Where Did It Originate?

(1)

 House was originally targeted for blacks and gays.

Prior to the Warehouse, there was race specific clubs.
This is because house was introduced during times where racism
and segregation was still about.

The Warehouse and New Yorks Paradise Garage broke down

the barriers of race and sexual preferences for house music
everyone was welcome.

The Warehouse

(1)

 Created in and by the African American Community.

Evolved from gospel, soul, jazz, funk, Latin Salsa, and
Disco.

Roots of House Music (1)

 Born in New York.

Nicknamed The Godfather of
House.
He experimented with new sounds
and added different dimensions to
mixing.
Took raw disco and added a drum
track with a 4/4 tempo.
Played 8-10 hours a night.
One of the reasons The Warehouse
was successful.
Produced by David Mancuso.

People Who Influenced

House Frankie Knuckles (1)

 Friends with Frankie Knuckles.

Suggested to Frankie to open
The Warehouse, but Larry ended
up DJing in New Yorks
Paradise Garage.
Produced by David Mancuso.
David put on a party called The
Loft, intended for the black and
gay crowd.
David taught them about how to
create perfect music, with both
light and sound production, as
well as DJ techniques.

People Who Influenced

House Larry Levan (1)

 Leonard Remix RRoy

Claims he created house music May 1981.
Also claims he coined the term house music in spring 1981.

Chip E. Yet
Claims he created house music in March 1985.

Farley Jackmaster Funk

There was no specific creator, as house music originated
from various different DJs and Producers.

Creators of House Music (1)

 Technology in the 70s wasnt as up to date as it is

nowadays. There was no digital market, we are going
back to the good times of the vinyl.
In the beginning, there was only two records available:
45s and 33 1/3 LPs with an A and B side, giving the
capability for a different song on each side.

The first DJs on the scene had to execute a set without a

mixer and headphones, making the life of a DJ that much
harder.
Turntables only ran at two speeds:
45 RPM and 33 1/3 RPM, and that was it, no other
capabilities

Early DJ Techniques (1)

 The first DJs were essentially people in charge of the

playlist. There were pauses between songs as the single
record was changed. This led to a break in the dancing,
and a slight decrease to the vibe.
This is when slip cueing was later invented.

Early DJ Techniques (1)

 To successfully slip cue, every record the DJ owned had to be

copied.
The one turntable increased to two turntables. The two tables
were then rigged to a switch that was hooked up to the amp.
This way, they were able to decide which table would send the
signal out to the speakers. They could now switch between
tables, eliminating the pauses in dance and music.
Some DJs decided to extend the mix. This was done by
playing the outro on the next turntable. This gave them more
time to bring in the next song.
Instead of extending the mix, other DJs built the mix by
isolating instrumental, vocal, and or drum channels
This was a difficult technique, and could only be executed by
the best.

Slip Cueing (1)

 1937: John Cage looks at the merits of sound manipulation

using the phonograph.
1948: Pierre Schaffer makes turntable based music acceptable.
1973: DJ Kool Herc originated Hip-Hop by DJing with two
turntables and extending beats by looping.
1977: Grand Wizard Theodore invented scratching.
1983: Scratching appeared in the actual songs rather than just a
live feature.
1987: First Disco Mix Club World Battle (DMC) was held.
This established worldwide DJ competitions.
1990: Beat juggling invented by Steve D.

Mixing Timeline (1)

 As fore mentioned, house was originally meant for blacks and

gays.
This meant the rest of white American society wanted no
association with house. However, a black DJ brought house to
Ibiza with him. From there, British producers brought house
back to England with them, and created Acid House.
A couple years later, Acid House made an appearance in Ibiza
as well. However, as this was produced by white people, white
Americans felt it was okay and enjoyed the House vibes.
Acid House was brought back to America and played in white
straight clubs. People loved Acid House, and eventually,
everyone enjoyed house that had been around since the late
70s.
In turn, house helped to break down the racial and sexual
preference barrier in America.

Lets Get Political (1)

 The first way music was consumed was through the wax tube. This is
where the sound waves of the recording would move the needle in
the same pattern, and engrave the music into the wax. You can then
play it back through a phonograph.
After the wax tube came the vinyl. Here you had two sides to the
track. There was 45 RPM and 33 1/3 RPM. It later progressed to
having two sides, A and B.
Cassettes were the next way that music could be consumed. This had
an A and B side as well. The recording was recorded onto tape.
Moving on to a modern way music was consumed, the CD. On each
disc, there are little pits that store the data of the recording. When the
CD is played, a laser is used, similarly to the needle of a vinyl, and it
reads the data.
Entering the digital age of MP3, we are now able to listen and
download music on demand from any device capable. Devices are
able to have a large library of music, with it not taking up much
space.

Music Consumption Over Time (2)

 Without a doubt, production has dramatically changed over

time.
In the 60s, 4 track-tape recording was used. This limited how
much could have been recorded at once, extending the amount
of time it took to finish the recording.
Multi-channel instruments had to be recorded as a general
sound as opposed to individual components such as snare or
kick.
Vocals, guitar and bass had to have a mic placed in front of the
amp as opposed to a direct input.
Back in the day, mixing had to be executed on a hardware
mixing desk alone, whereas nowadays the mixing desk goes
hand in hand with Digital Audio Work Stations.

Music Production Over Time (3)

 The Glyn Johns technique was used to help quicken the

recording experience. To record the drums, three main
microphones were used:
One overhead
One kick
One snare positioned the same distance away from the floor
tom

Condenser microphones were the main type of

microphone used as they were more sensitive to picking
up more information in the limited channel recording
environment.

Glyn Johns Technique (3)

 Processing was done by sending the signal that you

wanted to be processed to a bus, and hooking that bus up
to an external hardware that would alter the sound.
Granted this could be done today, but with the
introduction of DAWs, many processes could be done on
the software.

Editing and Effects (3)

 In 1982, Dave Smith invented the first instrument with

MIDI capability called the Prophet-600.
1984 was the year that Cubase, the first Digital Audio
Workstation, was established. Although this was on the
Atari computer, with less operating speed than the current
phone, it still changed the production game leaps and
bounds.
MIDI instruments were abled to be connected by 5-pin.
This invented the establishment of the home studio.
People at home were able to do similar things to people in
a recording studio at their home.

Compared to Now (4)

 With the advancements in technology, music production

has dramatically changed, and dance music was born.
With access to over hundreds of software instruments and
plugins, the production possibilities are near endless and
limited to your creativity.
Synth presets and creational plugins such as Massive by
Native Instruments strongly influenced the sound of
electronic genres.
With correctional and creational plugins, the fatness of
music has increase and music is now a battle of loudness.

Production Nowadays (4)

 You could play one keyboard with your right hand and
another keyboard with your left hand. This makes
recordings quicker and easier. Whole new era of music
processing. The computers were fast enough to be able
to sequence notes, control the number of keyboards and
drum machines at the same timeit kind of opened up a
whole new industry.
- Dave Smith (4)

 With built in metronomes, songs are now more accurate. Back

in the day, the tempo used to drift a bit. However, now we can
visually hear and see each beat in the project. Additionally, you
can quantize programmed notes or recorded notes.
Music changes with society. Nowadays, there is more and
more demand for loud, energetic music. However, back in the
day, music was just stand and execute the song, rather than
performing it. Now, music is about performance as well as
execution.
An artist that changed music is Elvis. Music of the time was all
slow, and boring performance. Elvis made his music more
upbeat and performed it.

Quality Decrease (5)

 A band that I believe perfectly demonstrates how music

changes with society is Coldplay. If we think back to
some of their first albums, A Rush of Blood to the Head
and X & Y, they are similar to most bands of the time.
However, now society is more jumpy and lively, their
new music is more upbeat, and their performances more
lively and colourful.

Music Moves with Society

2003 vs. 2015

Music Moves with Society

 Home studios started in the 90s with the creation of Cubase on

the Atari.
Before we start, a DAW is a piece of software equip for
recording, editing, and producing music.
When downloading DAWs, you have three options:
Digital
Download off the company website.
Good because you can start producing straight away.

Boxed
Shipped to the house.
Good if you like having a physical copy.

Included
Comes free with audio.
Saves money by combining two purchases into one, but they tend
to be limited versions of the software.

Digital Audio Workstations (6)

 Free vs. Paid

Free DAWs are bad for full production, however, they are better
than nothing if you cant afford the paid version.
Additionally, free versions are could to test out the software to see
if you get on well with it before wasting your money.

Limited vs. Free Version

Free versions provide a test of the software, where as limited
versions tend to contain 95% of the full features, for a fraction of
the cost. However, when I used limited versions, I found they
were very limited, such as editing plugins and software
instruments, so I had to go for the paid version in the end.
A benefit of buying the limited version, is you can upgrade to the
full paid version for a discounted price.

Digital Audio Workstations (6)

 Cubase
First DAW ever made.
Original copy in 1989 for the Atari Computer, but was
MIDI only.
In 1992, it supported audio inputs and had windows
compatability.
Brought out VST instruments.

Top DAWs (6)

 Logic Pro X
Started in 2002 with the company known as E-Magic.
Apple bought Logic soon after the release, so they could see
it was a good software with potential even in the early days.
One of the best available DAWs.
Great integration with Macs, however it isnt compatible
with windows.
Digital Download from the app store or hardcore copy from
online shops or the apple shop.

Top DAWs (6)

 Ableton Live 9
Originally designed for live performances.
Now used for production as well, but live performance is a
main feature.
Lots of third party compatibility.
Lots of hardware such as MIDI keyboards and Launchpads
map really well with Ableton.

Top DAWs (6)

 FL Studio
Top choice for Hip Hop, EDM, House, and DJs because of
the plugins that the software comes with. Good software
instruments and editing possibility and capability.
Lots of automation.
Lots of third party capability.
Good piano roll. One feature I love about the piano roll in
FL Studio is ghost notes. Ghost notes allow you to see
scales while programing which are very helpful.
Offers free lifetime updates.

Top DAWs (6)

 When researching what setup you should get when

starting production, you will get many different result as
it is somewhat down to personal opinion, but there is
some fact behind your results as well.
Most people will say to get a mac for production because
of the fast operating systems and integration.
But what Mac is best?

What Computer is Best for

Production? (7)

 Mac Mini
Good for the price as it is the cheapest mac available.
However, as it is cheap, it isnt as fast.
You have to buy a separate monitor as the monitor is not
included.
However, this is more that sufficient to get you up and
running.
That being said, if you want to buy once and buy right, this
isnt the mac to buy.

What Computer is Best for

Production? (7)

 MacBook Pro
Faster than the Mac Mini, however still not the faster.
Good because its portable so you can work on the go.
Retina Display so its clear picture.

What Computer is Best for

Production? (7)

 iMac
Fast with a large screen.
One of the most expensive, but worth the investment.

What Computer is Best for

Production? (7)

 iMac Pro
Fastest Mac available.
Can have lots of tracks and plugins at once without having any
problems.
Lots of storage.
Can add more RAM and processing cards should you need it.
Multiple video outputs.
Lots of inputs and outputs.
The Mac to get.

What Computer is Best for

Production? (7)

 Audio interfaces/soundcards range from $100 $4000.

Nine out of ten times, the soundcard will be compatible
with your digital audio workstation, but you still need to
be 100% sure before spending the money.
However, compatibility could change when you set up
changes, so you can never be too sure.

Interfaces (8)

 There are four different types of connectors, and you have to

have the corresponding ports in your set up.
USB
Used for cheaper, at home studios.
Slowest data transfer rate, however it is fast enough.

Firewire
Used for more expensive, at home studios.
Faster data transfer rate, but not the fastest.

Thunderbolt
Newer semi-pro interface.
A leap in speed from USB and Firewire.

PCIE
Standard professional soundcard.
Additional processing power available, and fastest data transfer
rate.

Interface Connections (8)

FireWire
USB

PCIE
Thunderbolt
Thunderbolt

Interface Connections (8)

 On a simple home studio interface, there is generally one

to two. But on professional interfaces, there can be as
much as twenty, if not more.
The amount of inputs you need depends on the amount of
tracks you plan on recording at once.
If you are a solo artist, you would only need about two to
four.
If you were on a song writing team, you would need
about 4 to 10.
Engineers who record bands would need as many as
possible.

Interface Inputs and Outputs(8)

 Interfaces come in different forms, shapes and sizes.

There are desktop interfaces, which are smaller, and can
sit on the desk next to your computer screen.
The bigger interfaces are rack mounted, and sit on a
standard rack unit.

Is There Space for an Interface? (8)

It is essential that correct mic is selected. Many things have to be taken into consideration such as
the diaphragm size, whether the mic is a condenser or dynamic, and the polar pattern. With regards
to the diaphragm, you need to consider the instrument it is being associated with. For example, an
instrument that disperses a lot of air will need to have a mic with a larger diaphragm associated with
it. This will avoid any damage to the microphone diaphragm. Additionally, the type of microphone
also has to be considered. There are two types of microphones dynamic and condenser. A dynamic
microphone is more used for live performance, as they are sturdy and dont require phantom power
to work. A dynamic microphone uses a wire coil and a magnet to create the audio signal. The
diaphragm attaches to the coil, and when the diaphragm vibrates according to the sound wave, the
coil moves in the same pattern, past the magnet, creating electromagnetic waves, which move down
the mic and through the XLR cable. Because of this, they have low sensitivity, which is another
benefit for live performance. Condensers, on the other hand, are less sturdy in comparison to
dynamic microphones, and this is one of the reasons they are used for studio applications. These
require phantom power to work, meaning they are more sensitive to picking up lower signals.
However, due to their sensitivity, they cannot be associated with instruments that have high air
dispersion. Inside the microphone, there are two electric plates that act as the diaphragm. When the
diaphragm vibrates with sound waves, it pushes one of the plates closer to the other plate, and then
returns to resting position. This pattern created by the plate movement is recreated through the XLR
cable into the software. There are many types of polar patterns as well.

Types of Microphones (9)

 There are two types of headphones, each for different

applications:
Closed back headphones for recording.
Open back headphones for mixing.

Types of Headphones (10)

 Kenny Dope Gonzalez claims that The Bomb in 1994

changed house forever:
I never meant for it to be 15 minutes. When I recorded
the track, I kept flipping through the sequences on my
drum machine and it sounded ok so I just left the intro
like that, says Gonzalez.
The long intro created a huge amount of suspense, as it
kept building up and building up, and when you thought
it was going to drop, it never did. Eventually when the
main song kicked in, people just went crazy.
Catchy vocals and samples were also introduced.

The Bomb (11)

 Has to work on the dance floor.

Good rhythm.
No rigid beats, be funky and soulful.
While producing, if you want to nod your head to it or you
can vibe to it then you should be sorted.
Play the beat on the keyboard as opposed to programing it
as it will have more natural feel to it, then you can adjust it
in the piano roll.
Samples are good to include.

What Makes a House Track

Successful? (12)

 Tempo needs to be right.

Anything ranging from 125 128 BPM is good for dancing to.
House started at 130 BPM, but nowadays that is too fast for
house.
Space percussion and high hats around the track rather than
having them run throughout.
Breaks and pauses help to maintain the funk vibe to it.
It doesnt need to be heavy all the time.

Length
Generally speaking, a track should be between 3:30 and 4:00
An extended mix for a DJ tends to be about 5:00

What Makes a House Track

Successful? (12)

 Arrangement
Pop tends to have a verse, chorus verse structure, whereas
house is more free flowing and less strict on the structure.
In fact, having a random arrangement tends to catch people
off guard and keeps people paying attention and to the track
and on their feet.
Intro and outro beats are good for DJs to mix with. If the
track is easy to mix, the more chance it has at being played.
Test the track and see how people react it sounds different
live to in a studio.

What Makes a House Track

Successful? (12)

 Hook
A good hook is an essential part to the track, especially if
you have vocals.
The hook sets up the vibe you are trying to achieve.
Good melodies helps your track be more memorable.

What Makes a House Track

Successful? (12)

 Vocal Importance
Vocals help reach anthem status, however, they arent
essential.
Vocals help get the crowds attention and connect with each
other when they start singing along.
Make them relatable and understandable.

What Makes a House Track

Successful? (12)

 Mixdown
Tracks are getting louder and louder. Music has become a
war of fatness and loudness.
Bass and kick need to sound good together and cant be in
phase.
The more basic and energetic the track is, the more
successful it tends to be. If people can dance and remember
it, it will be good.
However, dont try too hard during production. Dont open
a blank file and be like: This is gunna be a banger,
because nine times out of ten, it wont be because youd
have tried too hard.

What Makes a House Track

Successful? (12)

 The first T in the Park took place in 1994, when there were only a
handful of other UK festivals, such as Glastonbury, Reading, and
WOMAD.
Now, hundreds of festivals and raves are available throughout the
year.
In the first T in the park, there was 2,000 campers and 17,000 people
in total. Compared to today, this is a small turnout. Nowadays, T in
the park has 70,000 campers, and 85,000 people in total daily.
This could be because the acts and entertainment outside of
performances have improved, or the facilities are a higher quality.
With the increase in number of acts, and a higher quality, booking
fees increased, as did ticket prices.
Additional additives to festivals are more stages, bars, campsites,
police and security, medics, power, lighting, transport, waste
management, and toilets.

Festivals Change with Music (13)

 People enjoy music, food, drink, and entertainment at

festivals. I did a questionnaire for people of all ages to
partake in to see what frequent responses were:

It is clear that people enjoy the atmosphere of the people

and music over other features found at festivals.

Festivals Change with Music (13)

 House has adapted over time, and numerous subgenres have been created, that can
be identified by certain characteristics that other subgenres of house dont have.
Classic House/Chicago House
Started in Chicago in the early 1980s
4/4 beat
Percussion driven by rhythm produced by drum machines
Synthesized baselines (classic deep house bass)
Original Producers
Frankie Knuckles
Marshal Jefferson
Robert Owens
Present producers
Gorgon City
Pete Tong
MK
Friend Within
Disclosure

Genres of House (14)

 Deep house
Similar to Classic house, however it has a slower BPM of
around 120. It also has a more chill vibe to it and isnt as
poppy.

Genres of House (14)

 Tech house
Fusion between house and techno.
Soul and funk of house, but more rigid in structure and
sound.
Has a more consistent rhythm than the last two subgenres.
Glitchier synths and more unpredictable structure.
Intricate and more layers in the project.
Shorter and darker kicks, smaller & quicker hi-hats, and
noisier snares.

Genres of House (14)

 Acid House
Squelching bass and moving baseline.
Synths and bass and minimalistic with lots of energy
and groove.
Big part of the house scene in the 80s and 90s and
started in the UK.
Very easy to classify due to its distinct sound.

Genres of House (14)

 Progressive/Electro House
Around 128 BPM

Took elements from trance in the 90s, and changed

over the years.
Typical build and break down, followed by another
build and a drop.
Vocals have been introduced now too rather than just
melodies.
Jumpy, fun, and wild.
Most disliked by musicians

Genres of House (14)

 Big Room/Mainstage House

Progressive-house like builds into abrasive and hardhitting hollow drops consisting of a hook with a quick
attack and quick decay.
Simple melody and big synths and kicks.
Created in 2010.
Relies on the drop.
Takes over mainstages and massive at festivals.

Genres of House (14)

 Electro House
Bright synths
Minimal percussion to allow the synths and bass to
punch through and make an appearance
Electro House Melbourne Bounce
^ with a bouncy baseline between kicks

Genres of House (14)

 Ghetto House (G-House)

About to be big
Hip hop and laidback melodies into dance
Minimalistic yet packs a punch

Genres of House (14)

 UK Garage House
4/4 percussive rhythm with shuffling hi hats.
Lots of bass.

Genres of House (14)

 Future House
Groove and rhythm of classic house, but boots electro house
the the leads.
Tchami coined the term future house, and essentially made
the genre.
Synths are raw with lots of reverb and bass to them.
Percussive beats.

Genres of House (14)

 Tropical House
Bright and cheery synths with reverb and short envelope
settings.
Percussive drums like bongos and congas, snaps and claps.
Summer vibe.
Slower BPM of around 105.

Genres of House (14)

 House had started with just Chicago House in the 1980s,

and there is so many more genres than just the original
now. Whether this is a good or bad thing, it is up to you!
I like how there is different subgenres because you have
the dance and groove of house, but with different
characteristics.
My favourite subgenres of house are:
Future house
Tropical house
Deep house

Genres of House Recap (14)

 I took a survey what genres people liked.

We can see that house and pop have

they highest rating, and it is
interesting how that is what they
radio plays. So clearly people like
mainstream music. My favourite
genre is house.

Genres People Like

 I took a survey what genres people disliked.

Most people dislike country, rap,

and jazz. I notice that this are very
specific genres and you tend to
only like them if you are brought
around them.

Genres People Like

 As mentioned previously, it was very hard to DJ in the start.

It started off with one turntable, followed by a break in the
music, dancing, and vibe.
Then a second turntable was introduced with a signal switch
for which turntable was being used for the output. DJs were
then able to slip que and extend the mix into the next track.
Then mixers were introduced to control the volume of the
tracks and from which turntable was being used for the master
output.
Moving onto more current times, CDJs were released where
you were able to DJ through a USB stick and or CDs. This
made DJing much easier.
Controllers were also made that control DJ software and you
can DJ through an app that links with your iTunes library.
I personally prefer to DJ with controllers because you can see
the waveforms and perfect integration with iTunes.

Deck Improvements

Turntables

CDJ

Controller

Deck Improvements

1.

http://www.univie.ac.at/Anglistik/webprojects/LiveMiss/ChicagoHouse/house-text.htm
2. http://uk.complex.com/pop-culture/2013/07/10-ways-tech-haschanged-how-we-consume-music/
3. http://www.jamcast.co.uk/early-recording-techniques/
4. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20425376
5. http://gizmodo.com/how-music-has-evolved-in-the-past-70years-1485770090
6. http://ehomerecordingstudio.com/best-daw-software/
7. http://ehomerecordingstudio.com/best-computer-for-recording-music/
8. http://ehomerecordingstudio.com/best-audio-interfaces/
9. http://ehomerecordingstudio.com/best-cheap-mics/
10. http://ehomerecordingstudio.com/best-recording-studio-headphones/
11. https://news.beatport.com/the-bomb-that-changed-house-music/

References

12. https://news.beatport.com/how-to-write-a-hit-housetrack-10-top-tips/
13. http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/geoff-ellis/t-in-thepark-music-festivals-have-changed_b_2711164.html
14. http://electroniccurrent.com/2015/01/14/a-completeguide-to-house-music/

References