Wednesday, July 13, 2011
"I Feel Fine" The Beatles (audio feedback)
After learning about feedback in class yesterday I found our discussion on audio feedback very interesting and decided to do some research on the topic. I found that audio feedback is a special kind of positive feedback, which occurs when a sound loop exists between an audio input, (like a microphone or a guitar pickup) and an audio output (like a loudspeaker). In this example a signal is received by the microphone, then amplified and passed out of the loudspeaker. The sound from the loudspeaker can be received by the microphone again, amplified further, and then passed out through the loudspeaker. This action is repeated an uncountable amount of times and creates a very distinct sound. While audio feedback is usually unwanted it has entered into music as a desired effect. In Musical history, audio feedback has gone back to the beginning of the 1950’s. According to Allmusic’s Richie Unterberger, the very first use of feedback on a rock record is in the song “I Feel Fine” by The Beatles. Check it out at www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlpMs_R3P6U
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Also while I was researching audio feedback I found this very interesting article by Steven Rosen. It’s a great story of this journalist who is informed he will be interviewing Pete Townshend, writer and member of the well-known band The Who. I found this quote below particularly interesting and related to what we have learned in the past few classes.
ReplyDelete“As amplifiers grew in size and power, there was the inevitable feedback that followed. Pete was not the only guitarist encountering this unavoidable by-product of semi-hollowbody instruments plugging into higher-gain amps. Unable to compete with the likes of Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton on a purely technical level, Pete felt empty and frustrated. Combine these emotions with the ongoing drama of a squealing guitar, and the outcome really isn’t too surprising. Woodstock is where these various pieces – more powerful amps, feedback (shaking his guitar to create a unique sound), and the destruction of guitars – came together. These elements would be forever associated with the band. In a way, the quartet’s image was crystallized that night.” By Steven Rosen
http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Lifestyle/Features/TrueAdventuresInRockJo_4/