Members Rimshot500 Posted January 12, 2006 Members Share Posted January 12, 2006 Whats up guys, I have a music technology course at the University of Dayton this semester and I have to come up with a 1/2 hour group presentation on a music topic. I am a drummer at heart but also play guitar. Just looking for suggestions for ideas that might be cool to present and research. I have thought about doing the mathmatics behind the accoustic guitar including the engineering involved. I also thought about doing a study on Louis Armstrong and his impact. I am a engineering major, but the Prof said anything goes. It is a music technology class so he would like someting technical. Just looking for that great mind blowing topic. Thanks for the suggestions! Ryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ulank Posted January 12, 2006 Members Share Posted January 12, 2006 Sounds like a fun class! It would seem analyzing an acoustic guitar, while cool, wouldn't quite be as "technical" as expected. You could wow him with the latest and greatest technology in the rock world. Tube amps. As far as drums, perhaps you could research and present info on a trigger system, or an electronic kit. Or Line6 POD's and other digital modelling amps *shudders* Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RobWild Posted January 12, 2006 Members Share Posted January 12, 2006 You could do a presentation on the rhythms and timings of a Dream Theater song, but that could take decades. I personally like ulank's idea of doing it about tube amps. I don't know squat about them myself, but they seem like an interesting topic. P.S. I'm pretty new to drumming, and have been wondering this for a while. Forgive my ignorance, but what exactly are triggers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Old Steve Posted January 12, 2006 Members Share Posted January 12, 2006 As a drummer, I'd love to see a study of different shell materials and thicknesses. While it's pretty easy to correlate the difference between a 10" tom and a 14" tom, it would be interesting to see from a scientific perspective what the different densities of different woods does to drums, and how shell thickness comes into play....fundimental pitch of each wood, sustain, reflectivity...all that kinda stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ulank Posted January 12, 2006 Members Share Posted January 12, 2006 Originally posted by DTportnoyDT I personally like ulank's idea of doing it about tube amps. I don't know squat about them myself, but they seem like an interesting topic. The nice thing is, they're not really that complicated of a circuit. Anyone with a little technical knowledge in circuits and electronics should be able to walk through a simple tube signal path. They can explain how distortion/clipping occurs, signal rectification, ohm's law, yadda yadda. Regarding Steve's idea, I also think it might be neat to study, compare and contrast the evolution of tom mounts to facilitate greater sustain. Things like split lugs, the RIMS mounts, Yamaha's nouveau lugs, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members john clarity Posted January 13, 2006 Members Share Posted January 13, 2006 i'm studying for a postgrad in music tech, my degree was mechanical engineering.. is this a module? so you probably don't want anything insanely hard... for musical instrument research, check out "fundamentals of musical acoustics" by arthur benade. EVERYTHING is more complicated than you think ... the acoustic guitar, from physic and construction would be interesting. you have how the sound is created, standing waves in strings, the effect of string lengths and tension, the resonance of the body cavity.. there's a lot there. and then you could go into how it's constructed, and tie into the physics with why its constructed the way it is (sound hole shape, cavity shape, neck through the body etc). i don't think louis armstrong had much impact on musical technology. leon theremin, luigi russolo, pierre schaeffer, karlheinz stockhausen, robert moog, yamaha with their DX-7.. these would be a few names to check out. for one other possible idea.. one of the modules i took had an assignment where you had to design an instrument. there are plenty of experimental instrument websites that give details on how to make instruments. it's not too difficult, and can be impressive! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Old Steve Posted January 13, 2006 Members Share Posted January 13, 2006 Originally posted by john clarity ..... leon theremin, ..... YES! That guy was a trip. Making music with his hands out of air (oh yeah and a crazy machine with some kind of electromagnetic field). I heard a story once about him performing for Lenin or something and just amazing everybody with his invention. Check out the big brain on Brother Clarity...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members john clarity Posted January 13, 2006 Members Share Posted January 13, 2006 yes, lenin was impressed... by leon, i mean. theremin was actually living in new york for years, and then was kidnapped and brought back to russia. it was a case of missing, presumed dead until just a couple of years before he died. if you check out the story, and also in relation to clara rockmore, it's a blockbuster.. you can build your own theremin also without incredible difficulty... instructions abound, final year electronic engineers in this college have that as an option for their thesis project. coooo-oool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Old Steve Posted January 13, 2006 Members Share Posted January 13, 2006 Originally posted by john clarity yes, lenin was impressed... by leon, i mean. theremin was actually living in new york for years, and then was kidnapped and brought back to russia. it was a case of missing, presumed dead until just a couple of years before he died. if you check out the story, and also in relation to clara rockmore, it's a blockbuster.. you can build your own theremin also without incredible difficulty... instructions abound, final year electronic engineers in this college have that as an option for their thesis project. coooo-oool. Yeah, I remember seeing a documentary about him, but I was probably "beer tasting" at the time, so the details are foggy. I just remember thinking how interesting the guy's life was, especially when you mix in the fact that he was doing all of this stuff right around the same time as the russian revolution and all of the crap that went with that. Anyway, I'm changing my vote...do the project on Theremin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members john clarity Posted January 13, 2006 Members Share Posted January 13, 2006 if it's the film i saw, brian wilson is also in that film... much more interesting for a project/tv movie! one of our lecturers said he'd started playing music so that he could emulate brian wilson, and that he kept that dream right up til he saw this film.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rimshot500 Posted January 13, 2006 Author Members Share Posted January 13, 2006 I think I dig the Theremin idea. If I do it I want to be able to present one in class so I need to build one. I only have about 8 weeks so if anyone sees any good (simple) specs let me know. Or even a kit would be nice. Thanks again guys. Ryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ulank Posted January 13, 2006 Members Share Posted January 13, 2006 Originally posted by Rimshot500 I think I dig the Theremin idea. If I do it I want to be able to present one in class so I need to build one. I only have about 8 weeks so if anyone sees any good (simple) specs let me know. Or even a kit would be nice.Thanks again guys.Ryan car battery + coat hanger + jumper cables hooked up to your big toes = theramin. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members john clarity Posted January 13, 2006 Members Share Posted January 13, 2006 i'd say there's lots of kits available to buy on the internet, such as this one.. http://www.thereminworld.com/EPEArticle.asp you could check out stuff like this to see what components you need, then "borrow" them along with a soldering iron from an electronic engineering friend... http://www.bongo.net/papers/theremin.htmhttp://www.oldtemecula.com/theremin/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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