How Music Production Has Changed Since The 70’s
- Differences in Software and Music Production
- Auto Tune and Effects
- Vocal Style and Genre Evolution
Music production from the 70’s to the 2000’s has changed significantly. The software, and musical composition has evolved to fit the newer generations.
Vocal effects and auto tune have become more prevalent.
Style and technique have changed and branched out to create a vast amount of genres for people to develop and create.
The best way to keep yourself aware is to increase the amount of music you listen to.
Differences in Software and Musical Production
In the 70’s, computers were just starting to become more prominent. Technology wasn’t the same as it is today.
A DAW(Digital audio workstation) was created to make recording music more portable.
Vinyls and discs were used to record music, and to record, most would need to use a 24 track recording device.
Today, we use software to record. You simply download an app(FruityLoops, Garageband, Ableton, etc) and begin adding tracks to curate a song.
Musical composition and instruments were also different.
The blossoming of the internet created an interface where people could share content online.
This sprouted a growth in the music community and helped to record better quality and unique melodies.
Copyright also became important as to protect the art from those of which it was created.
Back in the day, alot of technology such as looping pedals, cassette tapes, and synthesizers were just being created, so it’s easy to imagine 50 years later that music has evolved in such a short time.
Auto Tune and Effects
When you listen to music in the 70’s vs today. You will hear a lot more auto tune, or electronic accompaniment.
Since there is a lot of new tech, there are a lot of new sounds. Different artists used more auto tune, this inspired other artists to do the same.
Over time the technology became more consistent and has been updated.
Today, you can record a song and drag the notes that are off key to the right key.
Sound itself has become more malleable and this made music possible for anyone to do.
Reverb is something that is used a lot more today, you can add reverb/vocal effects to live performances.
Anything you listen to can be doctored up by a producer. Mixing and mastering became more of a job and the use of vocal add ons became the norm.
Vocal Style and Genre Evolution
The 70’s had a lot of rock and roll, this was also the era in which disco music was most of the scene.
Disco, jazz, and Rnb opened up new genres like hip hop. Hip hop today has now branched off into Alternative R&B, Trap, Neo Soul.
These genres will continue to change over the years. It’s important we know where they came from so we have a general direction to take our music.
Singers today sing way different then the singers of the past.
This is because the adaptation of different singers influenced others to follow similar paths.
The genres of music work like a family tree, there is always a starting position. By the end of it, you have something very unique and different but still along the same lines.