Wednesday, July 9, 2025
How Frank Sinatra managed to record in 30th street church studio
Sound engineer Frank Laico narates his discussion with producer Don Costa:
There should be OR not AND on the All Rights Reserved notice of sound carriers
For example, below the second sentence is possible correct as the logic operator OR covers all cases. Is the 3rd version the correct?
For example in a room are musicians and somebody asks: "Please come forward those who play flute and piano" 2 musicians only come. If the proposal is: "Please come forward those who play piano or flute", 7 musicians come. Those 2 who play both, those who play the piano only, those who play the flute only.
I was very lucky to learn this by my teacher of Mathematics Babis Pantazatos. He would thoroughly explain the Aristotelian Symbolic Logic, logic, operators, truthy tables, set theory. On few books such as the book of BBC producer Alec Nisbet on microphones the OR operator is used.
All rights of the producer and of the owner of the work reproduced reserved. Unauthorised copying, hiring, lending, public performance and broadcasting of this recording prohibited.
All rights of the producer and of the owner of the work reproduced reserved. Unauthorised copying, hiring, lending, public performance or broadcasting of this recording prohibited.
All rights of the producer or of the owner of the work reproduced reserved. Unauthorised copying, hiring, lending, public performance and broadcasting of this recording prohibited.
Updates on the Pleiades 3 DC90 battery powered electron tube RIAA MM or MC vinyl disc reading cartridge preamplifier
At your risk. Take all safety precautions. There may be smoke or fire in case of short circuit until a suitable fuse is used in series with a battery.
Va is 1.3V. A 100mA safety fuse is now used.
Vb is 48V.
1st stage operates with grid at space potential, ie with just a coupling capacitor connected to control grid. 2nd and 3rd stages would not turn on in this way due to the initial transient voltage at turn on from the previous stages. S0 a 10Mohm resistor was connected between grid and ground.
It works and the preamplifier sounds very nice. It is directly feeding the Sennheiser HD580 headphones through the output transformer at a low volume.
It makes sense to use an input transformer even for MM cartridges and and additional input transformer for MC cartridges. So thing to having one transformer inside a ribbon microphone, and then the input transformer of the preamplifier.
Promising results.
There is hiss from the second stage, due possibly from bad electron tube contacts or RF pickup.
Could it be the sound leakage to the other instrument mics that can make a piano sound recording so good?
If more than one microphone is used even in mono, this can help the listener's brain recognize which is the direct signal and which is the reverberant signal.
If just one microphone is used, the mic has no brain, it picks up the sum of 2 signals. Direct and reverberant. So the information of what is the direct signal is lost forever.
But there are 2 microphones at different distance from the source, hidden in the 2 sums are 2 almost exactly the same direct signals with the only difference a time delay. The extra time direct sound takes to travel to the more distant microphone.
Is it possible that the brain uses this information to recreate the original direct signal from the musical instrument? So thereby making the distinction between sound of instrument and sound or the room?
Could it be that solo piano recordings with just 2 microphones will have an inferior piano sound to a piano concerto where mics are used for the orchestra section. And these microphones pick up the piano too with a meaningful delay?
Apart from the soft playing is this one reason why Largo from concerto in F minor - Bach, pianist: Glen Gould sound so nice and atmospheric but with definition?
Information for this thought was provided by Al Schmitt on Vocal and Instrumental Recording Techniques book explaining the importance of leakage of good acoustics to very good quality microphones to the end sonic soundscape.
For example the guitar microphones picks up also the singer, or the singer's microphone picks up also the guitar>
On he above example the orchestra microphones pick up also the piano which is also captured with the closser to it piano microphones.
Tuesday, July 1, 2025
Recording the upright piano with 2 microphones one behind the other
At your risk
This happened almost by chance trying in almost in vain to record a nice sound.
So by instinct this unorthodox way came by.
Stand at the right of the piano by its side.
First mic a Unidyne B Mexico pointing at a angle to the cetre of the piano at 24in distance. Then on the same stand another Shure Unidyne B USA behind the other mic by 24in again. Both at the same line pointing towards the center of the piano. The 1st mic feeding the right channel, the 2nd mic feeding the left channel of Sony TC-D5M.
Interesting and promising result. Maybe the best recording i have done so far of a piano in a small living room.
So far my best piano recording may be one at Napier College church in Edinburg. A large church helps so much doing away the early reflections.
A similar one mic behind the other setup in a bedroom with mics pointing at right angle sounded amazing with a Pleiades oscillator and glockenspiel recording, see previous post. Instruments were on top of of bed with Tempur matresse.
Pleiades BD139 Oscillator Schematic
At your risk. Take all safety precautions. A suitable fuse must be in series with any battery.
Another variable resistor can be added in the feedback path instead of the wire link.
This schematic naturally derived from the Pleiades 2N3053 single transistor audio power amplifier operating in class A (electrons flowing all the time).
Most of this plus the original schematic (above) is derived from the electronic construction game with springs Polycyclomatic 1002. Here is how it looks like:
https://www.radioerasitexnisam.gr/articles/15-%CF%80%CE%BF%CE%BB%CF%85%CE%BA%CF%85%CE%BA%CE%BB%CF%89%CE%BC%CE%B1%CF%84%CE%B9%CF%83%CF%84%CE%AE%CF%82-%CF%84%CE%BF-%CF%80%CE%B1%CE%B9%CF%87%CE%BD%CE%AF%CE%B4%CE%B9-%CF%84%CF%89%CE%BD-70s
Thank to a discussion on the beach with John and his Xenophon, both studying engineering there was encouragement to just convert one of the Pleiades single transistor prototypes. In just a few seconds a nice oscillator came up. Wago connectors made the modification possible so quickly. The 12V battery powered oscillator was feeding a Philips 8 in woofer. By adjusting the 2 variable resistors a bass sound repeated in tempo was created. The tempo can be changed by touching the cone of the speaker for current unknown reason. So there is much more flexibility as the pitch can also be affected.
2 Shure Unidyne B microphones, one behind the other at 24in were used to record in stereo the oscillator together with a glockenspiel. The result has some kind of magic from the natural reverberation of the glockenspiel together with the antithesis of the electron generated bass with harmonics sound. It was recorded on SONY TC-D5M.
The amazing Largo from F minor concerto by Bach
Here it's Glen Gould recording it in the famous orthodox church of 30th street used as a recording studio by CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System) engineers:
A Forest Recording?
Malte Marten
A major 7th chord is nicely used. Key is F sharp minor. So D major 7th is beautifully used.
Wicked Game (cover) - London Grammar Using Shure SM7 Moving Coil Inside Magnetic Field Microphone
Notes originally written to my friend Markos:
When we talk about dynamic microphones we really mean a moving coil inside a magnetic field microphone.
A similar mic to the SM57 (God Only Knows - Brian Wilson vocal, possibly uses the Shure Unidyne III which is really the same to SM57) is the SM7. SM stands for Studio Microphone.
Here is London Grammar on a cover using the SM7. Listen for what we were discussing on how humans sing the first few milliseconds of the note flat, and then good singers immediately raise pitch so that it sounds correct to listener's brain.
The singer is very close so the mic will receive spherical waves instead of plane wave fronts so there will be proximity effect, boost of bass and mid. They probably correct bass using a external electrical filter or they might use the filter inside the mic activated by a switch on the side.
Tuesday, June 17, 2025
Do Great Singers Increase the Musical Pitch of a Note Just After the Attack?
At your risk.
It seems we all tend to sing flat as some of us may hear flat (below true pitch, see chapter 6 The Mind Influence, Sound and Hearing - Stevens, Warshofsky).
Do great singers increase the frequency just other attack?
Is this iterative process creating the vibrato itself?
Hello _ Lionel Ritchie
I Will Always Love You - Whitney Houston
Recording the upright piano with lid removed
At your risk.
Currently trying microphones at a distance of 3 to 6 feet away from the right side of the piano. Microphones such as Shure Unidyne B, Fostex M55RP.
Recordings are so far in mono, just one microphone directly connected to the right channel of SONY TC-D5M.
Sound is improving but reflections still almost ruin the result.
Removing the lid clears up the sound.
Tuning well the piano is very important.
A Recording Studio Without a Record Producer is Like a Ship Without Captain
A song without a record producer is like a ship without sea.
The Failure of Euroelectron
At your risk.
Too much time was spend on choosing microphones, whether digital or analog and so on when there are much more important areas.
For example whether the singer sings out of tune. Most singers seem to sing flat except the exceptional ones. I am humbly currently training myself to increase pitch just after the attack of each note. As I do more of this it seems to me by listening that the great singers also do the same. So recordings of my voice sound so much better no matter which microphone is chosen.
Acoustics or lack of pay a tremendous role. For example recording outdoors where there are very much less early reflections can make almost any microphone sound exceptional. Bass muddiness, prominence, mid confusion, treble hardness, sibilance almost gone. Microphone distance can be increased and still the vocal sounds close and coming out of the speakers. Windshield should be used to protect the microphone.
In general microphones sound so much better at a distance, for example 24in. Most microphones, directional ones are to pick up parallel acoustic waves, not spherical ones. Spherical waves create the bass, mid boost proximity effect. And the closer to the microphone, the worst. The further the best as we increasingly depart from spherical wave front towards straight line wave front. Then frequency response becomes straight, that is even for most frequency bands. High frequency detail shines as there is no masking effect from other frequency bands.
Monitoring is very important, good commercial recordings should sound great.
Experience so far demonstrates that we are not to mic the mouth. Pointing the microphone towards head, or nose produces much better and more natural result.
Repertoire is extremely important. The good song, composition is what drives it all.
Some aspects of good music with commercial capability are covered on a book currently being written or euroelectron titled A Letter to Clive Davies.
https://euroelectron.blogspot.com/2025/04/a-letter-to-clive-davis.html
Monday, June 9, 2025
Pleiades DK91 electron tube battery powered microphone booster amplifier continued
At your risk.
A suitable fuse must be used in series with any battery.
On previous posts it can be seen that only the 2nd grid, the nearest one to the direct heated cathode after the control 1st grid, was used as anode.
Yesterday all grids that can be connected together were joined in order to create the anode. Anode current still increased as more electrons could be collected.
For Va=1.3V and Vb=9.3V...
When control grid is at space potential. Ia=20uA to 30uA.
When grid is connected through 8.2M to (-) terminal of Va, Ia=100uA.
When grid is connected through 8.2M to (+) terminal of Va. Ia+140uA!
In this last case if an anode load resistor, Rl=24K is connected Ia=70uA!, Va=7.7V.
This is amazing considering that anode supply comes from just a 9V battery.
Today input and output transformers were connected through coupling capacitors.
The Shure Unidyne B microphone was feeding the input transformer, and the output transformer was feeding the SONY TC-D5M.
Soft singing male voice was at 24in from microphone, microphone higher than head, pointing head at 30 degrees.
The sound quality was very nice, and the preamplifier worked even when grid was at space potential.
Microphony was high and interesting, a loud glass metal sound when the electron tube was gently hit by a finger nail.
Hiss was higher than expected. RF pickup was suspected, as all was constructed with long cables on a table without a chassis. So to prove this the input transformer circuit was removed, and a link cable was connected between minus supply and input capacitor. Hiss almost disappeared!, while the SONY TC-D5 was at full REC level volume.
It all looks promising as a very low noise input amplifier and a diecast aluminum orange box will be used to make the 1st prototype.
Friday, June 6, 2025
On Recording Outdoors
At your risk.
Today at about 7am the stand supporting the Shure Unidyne B microphone was bravely placed outside on the balcony.
Acoustic guitar (with thinner strings at tuned higher than 440Hz in order to create slightly higher than times 2 overtones which are more euphonic than x2, that is second harmonic octaves) and male voice were recorded by direct connection of the microphone to the right channel of the SONY TC-D5M.
The microphone was about 24in away from the mouth, 1 foot or so higher than the head.
The recording has some of the amazing sound for example of the 40's to 60's era.
Crisp sound, with detail and no offending bass.
Since every recording sounds more reverberant than real life, a microphone has no brain [reference]. recording outdoors sounds somehow magic.
The birds was a problem! In fact the bird sounded so loud and crispy clear with amazing overtones that it was mistakenly thought not to be in the recording!
Reference: Cinema Engineering (this book was found as reference on Elements of Sound Recording - Frayne, Wolfe)
Recording an Upright Piano
At your risk.
See also previous post on increasing the distance between soundboard and back wall.
For the time being the upright Pleyel model 9 piano (made in approximately 1921) was very carefully (see previous post on avoiding health or other injury) was separated from back wall at least one more foot from a usual position in a house and placed in a non parallel position.
This has already created some openness to the sound.
The piano was tried in a recording by having the front wooden panel removed which again should create standing waves. This had a very good effect on recording by direct comparison with recording with the piano closed. By comparing the playback the sound was more real, more open, more loud, more easy, less fatiguing.
The front lower wooden panel could also be tried to be removed while recording.
Recording took place by having just one Shure Unidyne B (made in Mexico) at about 60in distance, a bit higher from the piano, at about 30 to 40 degrees in reference to piano line, on the right hand side of the piano. The microphone was connected to the right channel only on the SONY TC-D5M.
Increasing the Upright Piano Distance from the Back Wall
At your risk.
The back wall and the soundboard, 2 material surfaces of high area should produce standing waves in air.
Same thing with a grand piano between soundboard and floor. But the distance here is greater, creating a more open sound.
But it this respect the upright piano is more advantageous since the back of soundboard to wall distance can be made much greater than on a grand by for example placing the piano at about 90m degrees to said wall. (An assistance of many people should be used for moving safely the piano and avoiding injury. If there is skill the mechanism and other wooden parts lids etc could be removed in order to make the piano less heavy. using its wheels should help too.
Is it nonsense to have an upright piano close tro the back wall since half of its sound at least is radiated from the back of the huge vibrating soundboard?
Tuning again the Pleyel piano model 9
At your risk.
See previous posts on how this piano was repaired.
As it settled at around A 446Hz, it was decided to use this reference as octaves plus 3rds sounded very euphonic together with the corresponding low note. For example playing E flat together with a high G. There was corresponding cacophony when the piano had been tuned to higher than 450Hz.
So it seems the 5th overtone of a low note mates almost perfectly with no beats with the corresponding high note fundamental when this piano with apparently the original? Ferminy factory strings was tuned on reference A 446Hz.
Octaves correspond greatly too giving what the human brain wants which is slightly higher than times 2.
The upright piano distance from the back wall has been increased to better effect see nearby post.
For explanation on overtones see Piano Tuning - Reblitz, Musical Acoustics - Hall.
Thursday, May 29, 2025
Μαζεύουμε, Ταχτοποιούμε - Κατερίνα, Tactopoetry, demo
Playing back from SONY TC-D5M. Recording made with Shure Unidyne B and Pleiades K177 1.3V mic booster preamplifier, see previous post. Live singing is taking place with playback while mobile phone records, so voice is really double tracked.
Wednesday, May 28, 2025
A Book on The Principle of Least Change in Music
It started as a letter to Clive Davis. But somehow it evolves naturally to a humble small thesis.
Here is the link:
https://euroelectron.blogspot.com/2025/04/a-letter-to-clive-davis.html
We Chace Beauty Not Money
For example the music industry at its best practice.
The best paradigm is Clive Davis.
Testing Pleiades K117 1.3V JFET AA battery microphone booster in real recording conditions
At your risk.
Schematic is:
It was used yesterday to record a rough demo of Tactopoetry, see previous post.
The Shure Unidyne B microphone was at 24in or more, and singing was almost breath whispering. So in order to fully modulate the SONY TC-D5M recorder, this mic booster was used. Very nice edge timbre and very low noise level performance. Piano was gently played at the same time.
It would be nice to have a small box of 2 of these preamplifiers for stereo recording.
Children's song Tactopoetry, παιδικο τραγουδι Μαζευουμε, Τακτοποιουμε, μουσικη απο την Κατερινα
Going down the street in Varkiza, a city by the sea near Athens, there is a kindergarten.
Yesterday morning a young teacher could be heard singing to the little kids in the garden, μαζευουμε, μαζευουμε, κακτοποιουμε. It means we pick our things, we pick up our thinks, we tidy up.
I realized it was a good idea, came back, played on a Yamaha PS-3, finding that the key is C sharp major, not C.
Below are the interesting notes she used (most black keyboard keys), and the harmony I humbly realized they imply. Her permission was asked to publish this.
It works well as it helps me tidying up better.
(La,Si,Do,Re,Mi,Fa,Sol) is (A,B,C,D,E,F,G)
Bass Melody Harmony Lyrics
#C - #C #G #G #E+#G+#C μα-ζευ-ου
#E #C #G #G με-μα-ζευ-ου
#C #D - - - #F+#G=#C με
#G - #C #G #G #F+#G+#B τα-κτο-ποι
#C #G - E - #E+#G+#C ου - με
Tactopoetry comes etymologically from ταξις=order, ποιω=to make, create, hence ποιηση=poetry.
Τακτοποιω in Hellenic means to tidy up.
Pleiades K117 1.3V Schematic
At your risk. Please take all safety precautions, including protecting your ears from high sound pressure level. Any battery should be in series with a suitable protective fuse to avoid skin burns or fire hazard. For this reason it is out of the question to wear metal jewellery, for example a ring, when working near a voltage.
Sunday, May 25, 2025
Anastasia (instrumental), basic parts
bass harmony
F - A C G - - D - (melody sung by 3 young women to be played later on)
F oct - A C G - E - -
F - A C G - - D -
F oct - A C G - C - -
G - A B G similarly...
G oct - A B G
G - A B G
G oct - A B G
repeat
F - A C G
F oct - A D G
E - G C G
E oct - G D G
bE - G C G
bE oct - G C G
D - F C G
D oct - F C G
G - G C G
G oct - G C G
G - G B G
G oct - A B G
GOTO beginning
Friday, May 23, 2025
Michael B. Tretow
Sadly no longer with us.
Best known for engineering the ABBA records.
A pioneer of varispeed (recording at different tape speed than playback) and speaking about it in interviews.
I have a Dream - ABBA
Batteryphobia
At your risk. There should be a fuse in series with a battery for fire protection. Batteries as any electric potential source can be lethal too.
For so many years there might have been some kind of battery phobia.
Endless ink for cathode resistor, capacitor in parallel, sometimes complicated biasing procedures.
With just 3 batteries for Va, Vb, Vc, as seen on one of the first amplifier patents by Arnold and 2 transformers an amplifier can be made which sounds so amazing, words can not describe.
In more modern times the Pleiades DL94 sounds very nice, see previous euroelectron posts.
Tuesday, May 13, 2025
The Correct Note Is Higher Than Our Mind Perceives
At your risk.
It is only at the threshold of hearing (very small sound intensity) that (objective) frequency and (subjective) pitch become one. At higher intensity the same frequency creates a lower pitch perception [1}. So my recent listening observation is that good musicians, vocalists, violin, flute players,.., may play the first few milliseconds of a note flat but almost immediately raise pitch to make, what they just started to play, match with the backing track. It works even when singing a cappella. In fact it is the first time I can feel myself singing in tune and not flat.
This is how it works for me at the moment. I immediately have in mind, counter to intuition, to raise my pitch just after starting any note. Singing for example a A h, where 'A' is at a higher frequency than 'a' the flat nonsense I thought I should sing. Once you start increasing the note frequency a feedback mechanism tells you when note is perfect. Then you are happy and audience is possibly happy too.
When I was transferred to the military headquarters of Hellenic Airforce while doing my military service someone told me about this and I kind of thought it sounds crazy. I never saw him again but now after many years I would like to thank him.
Here are a few examples:
Reference [1]:
Sound and Hearing - Time Life Encyclopedia - Chapter 4: Mind's Influence - S.S. Stevens (Harvard University), F. Warshofsky
Sunday, May 11, 2025
Se Mia Neraida, music George Chakiris
Σε Μια νεραιδα
roughly
Dm
Verse
Τι γλωσα μιλας Dm A F F E C/Dm F
Απο ποιον κοσμο D E E bBmaj7 F F
Ηρθες πλασμα φωτεινο (μαγικο) Cmaj E F E D Am E
Α.... pedal A ADF, ACDF, AbBDF, GbBDF, GCE, ACE, A C F
Bridge
C D Cm D bE bE bE bE bE bE D F D C C C C C repeat
Chorus
Και τωρα τι κανω F bB C D bBmaj C bB bEmaj7
Πως μιλανε... F D Cm bE bE D bE D bE D Fmaj C repeat
Και τωρα τι κανω
Πως μιλανε
Σε μια Νεραιδα
Τι γλωσα μιλας
Απο ποιον κοσμο
Ηρθες πλασμα μαγικο
A...
verse 2
Μια Ηλιαχτιδα Dm A A A bBmaj7 bB F
Τρεχει στα μαλια σου Gm7 G G, G F Cmaj G G
Να κρυφτει G A Cmaj E (Am)
Κρυβομαι κι εγω μοναχος
Και καθε φορα
Με ξυπναει μια φωνη
Το χαδι στη χρεια σου
Το σωμα σου
Νερο στην αμουδια
Και τωρα τι κανω
Πως μιλανε...
Και τωρα τι κανω
Πως μιλανε
Σε μια Νεραιδα
Friday, May 9, 2025
Se Mia Neraida, lyrics
Se Mia Neraida, lyrics: George Chakiris
Σε Μια νεραιδα
Τι γλωσα μιλας
Απο ποιον κοσμο
Ηρθες πλασμα φωτεινο (μαγικο)
Α....
Και τωρα τι κανω
Πως μιλανε...
Και τωρα τι κανω
Πως μιλανε
Σε μια Νεραιδα
Τι γλωσα μιλας
Απο ποιον κοσμο
Ηρθες πλασμα μαγικο
A...
Μια Ηλιαχτιδα
Τρεχει στα μαλια σου
Να κρυφτει
Κρυβομαι κι εγω μοναχος
Και καθε φορα
Με ξυπναει μια φωνη
Το χαδι στη χρεια σου
Το σωμα σου
Νερο στην αμουδια
Και τωρα τι κανω
Πως μιλανε...
Και τωρα τι κανω
Πως μιλανε
Σε μια Νεραιδα
επιπροσθετα
Εχεις τη γλυκα
Της Ανοιξης
Τη χαρα (το φως) του Δειλινου
Αστερια πευτουν
Χαρα μου
Πως μπορω
Να σ'αρνηθω (ν'αντισταθω)
The Secret of Lionel Richie For Songwriting
Don't think. Just et it come through.
Thank you Richie. I just let a cute song come through yesterday.
Thursday, May 8, 2025
The Principle of Least Change in Music on Hello - Lionel Richie
Recorded on mobile at the SNFCC Public Piano.
Bebis' Radio Theme
This is the simple theme inspired by Bebis, the loved cat of Vicky.
Recorded at SNFCC public Piano.
Wednesday, May 7, 2025
Tolis Voskopoulos a cappella
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/weDHWkP1z6k
This must had been recorded at Columbia Studios EMI in Athens.
There seem to be varispeed between the video shorts.
So they are also didactic to hear the difference that a change in tape recorder speed does to the vocal timbre.
This is at slower, perhaps original speed, and without reverb. The original reverb, perhaps this too must have been either the EMT plate, or the Columbia Studios Echo Chamber with Leak power amplifier with electronic valves (electron tubes).
https://youtube.com/shorts/2TPtuUSDxvc?feature=shared
Higher speed plus reverberation. The original reverb, perhaps this too must have been either the EMT plate, or the Columbia Studios Echo Chamber with Leak power amplifier with electronic valves (electron tubes).
https://youtube.com/shorts/weDHWkP1z6k?feature=shared
Monday, May 5, 2025
Friday, May 2, 2025
The very nice Shure Unidyne B, 515SD, 515SB microphone
At your risk.
This microphone sounds very nice connected directly to the preamplifier! The bass sounds correct as this microphone is engineered to start cutting below 200Hz thereby correcting the bass emphasis proximity effect.
Signal Path:
male voice singing When I Fall in Love - Nat King Cole (same key) - Shure 515SD made in Mexico at 24in, 30 degrees above head - Sony TC-D5M - TDK SAX - Sony TC-D5M (reproducing) - Pleiades 2N3053 power amplifier - Celestion Ditton 150 - small room with some panel bass absorbers
Same experiment was repeated outdoors at a noisy environment. Impressive results, voice sounds closer to reproduction speaker/ High frequency definition increases.
This is possibly the first microphone I have bought. And one of the 1st I had is the original Shure 515SB made in U.S.A. which was used for lectures in my family's central branch of Homer schools of English. It sounds amazing.
Foe further tests windshields will be needed.
Shure SM58 directly connected to Altec 9014-A passive EQ
At your risk.
Signal Path:
male voice singing When I Fall in Love - Nat King Cole (same key) - Shure SM58 made in Mexico at 24in, 30 degrees above head - Altec 9014-A EQ - Sony TC-D5M - TDK SAX - Sony TC-D5M (reproducing) - Pleiades 2N3053 power amplifier - Celestion Ditton 150 - small room with some panel bass absorbers
Very promising results were obtained by cutting 7dB at 250Hz and 315Hz. All other controls at 0 dB (no reduction).
A simple vocal recording filter for SM58
At your risk.
It happened almost by chance.
An inductor of 100mH was connected in series with a capacitor of 100nF. So both in series between SM58 and preamplifier recorder Sony TC-D5M.
Signal path: male voice singing When I Fall in Love - Nat King Cole in the same key as Nat - Shure SM58 at 24in, 30 degrees above head - 100mH in series with 100nF - Sony TC-D5M - TDK SAX cassette - TC-D5M (reproducing) - Pleiades 2N3053 power amplifier - Celestion Ditton 150
It sounded very nice with no bass emphasis, the capacitor corrects bass emphasis by low cut. The inductor may possibly remove some mid emphasis? and does not seem to cut high frequency content. This is possibly because the core may be a mu-metal one spare from a Coles 4038 internal mic transformer. As frequency increases the permeability decreases. So inductive reactance may not be proportional to frequency.
Other combination that worked fine is 100mH in parallel with 220nF and total in series between microphone and recorder.
Thursday, April 24, 2025
It is very difficult to write a great song but sometimes it may happen in a few minutes
Everybody's got to Learn Sometime - The Korgis
Miserere - Allegri
Miserere mei, deus - Allegri - Tenebrae conducted by Nigel Short
And this is the first version I heard on a lovely 7'' vinyl record.:
Allegri "Miserere", Roy Goodman, Willcocks
Roy Goodman is the boy hitting effortlessly the high C on this recording just after a rugby match. He describes his experience along others like conducting as a kid along records on this interview:
https://amiconthepodium.podbean.com/e/episode-108-roy-goodman/
Is it possible to create music by adding 2 or more YouTube videos together?
At your risk.
For example playing Vocalise - Rachmaninoff (orchestra version) at some interval of time together with Nothing Else Matters - Metalica, both written in E minor.
For example hitting play on Nothing Else Matters when Vocalise is at 5:49 and leaving both videos to play together and interact.
Like an online music mush up game.
Playing music with YouTube videos.
Using YouTube as a musical instrument...
For example having 7 videos each with one of the seven notes sung by a choir. And playing notes just by hitting play on a video while say other 2 are already playing. Or creating clusters like the song I'm Not in Love - 10CC, where they played the mixing desk as a musical instrument, each fader adjusting one recorded multiple tracked vocal note [1]:
Or if YouTube video would allow vari-speed for change of pitch, or change of tempo of a drum loop, or quick repeat of selected intervals of a video, so that the video sound can be sampled and used as grain for Granular Synthesis as I think is described by Yiannis Xenakis.
Or looping say 3 videos each with different duration for creating something that repeats after very long time, as described by Brian Eno.
Or if directly recording eg a vocal or sampling on YouTube.
Or if 2 remote users interact by jamming.
Would some part of future music involve listeners being active participants on music creation. For example given the opportunity to mix online.
But having written this, there is nothing like humans interacting or playing music in the same room, beach, square, forest, space etc.
Dreams - Fleetwood Mac
Reference: Good vibrations - Mark Cunningham
Wednesday, April 23, 2025
Coming Around Again - Carly Simon
So beautiful song, beautiful singing in tune. Lyrics relating to everyone. According to the executive producer of this master song, Clive Davis, hits have to have instantly memorable melody and lyrics that people relate to. [1]
The musical interval of major 9t appears so often. For example 1st word of verse. "Baby" note is D while bass is C. C (1) D(2) E(3) F(4) G(5) A(6) B(7) C(8) D(9).
For a reason in music was call this C to D interval a ninth rather than a second. C(8) of course is the Pythagoras octave coming from the Hellenic word οκτω meaning eight.
Also at 1:38 "scream" the backing vocalist sings G and bass is F. Also by the chord change from C major to F major the major ninth is implied as the 1st chord contains G. Then Carly confirms the major 9th "I know..", i.e. "G F". Exactly as Bach states in his manual that the 9ths must be prepared to the listener's brain. [2]
The is also Pedal Bass taking place on this song but on melody rather than bass. this was explained to me 10 years ago by pop music composer Mimis Plessas. Carly in verse keeps repeating the notes D C B C for every different bass. So for example when bass drops to F the interval is a so euphonic major 6th.
But perhaps we don't even need to know. It is great song. I could not believe what my ears were hearing when I fist heard it as a teenager. I went straight to the piano trying to play it.
Is this nice microphone doing justice to her lovely voice a Beyer ribbon in a magnetic field? Model M160 or M260?
The very big acoustic space helps also to avoid early reflections.
But there seems to be a very euphonic artificial reflection. Just one made by a short delay. So possibly artificial double tracking. Or is the vocal microphone picking up a PA speaker? Sound delays to arrive back from speaker to microphone as sound travels about 343 meters per second in air.
What is the 1st chord? On the album version at least, D with F# with G?
references:
[1] The Soundtrack of My Life - Clive Davis - page 427
[2] General Bass Rules - Bach - ed. Norman Schmidt
A Letter to Clive Davis
Dear Mr. Davis
In the eighties I was a teenager. In New Smyrna city, near the center of Athens, fondly remembering sitting at the upright piano on the 3rd floor. We would listen with my dear grandmother Eleni to Unbreak My heart - Toni Braxton on CD.
Just playing gently along and suddenly by the unexpected sweet change of musical key to D minor at the chorus, her little yellow canary would get crazy and join singing along ecstatically. Each time at the chorus.
It is a wonderful surprise to find out that there is a Clive Davis behind my favorite songs, For example Coming Around Again - Carly Simon, one of the first songs I tried to play by ear trying to figure out what that unexpected beautiful chord change is.
Also Eye in The Sky - The Alan Parsons Project, repeatedly played on cassette in the family car, while my father would say "this song fits you".
Endless quality song list and seeing the ARISTA label on the Whitney Houston LP proudly bought after listening to Saving All My Love For You, I could not imagine whom this well know Hellenic word "arista" would hide behind it. It just never crossed my mind.
So how did I learn in 2025 about you? It is through love of music and electronic engineering.
It was amazing to find out that Michael Jackson's recording engineer Bruce Swedien was using from a list of expensive microphones, a least expensive. This was SM7 (moving coil inside in a magnetic field) by Shure. Similar to the even less expensive SM57 pair used by all USA presidents behind the lectern of the White House.
When wandering about Whitney Houston, I found on YouTube record producer Narada holding the SM7 saying that this is the one used for Whitney and the reason why, it would not distort.
In his interviews he talks about intelligent Clive Davis.
Then I got it immediately, visited your website, printed the executive quotes about you and got as soon as possible your 2nd book, which feels like being in a masterclass.
So here is a humble thank you for making choices that helped me learning and discovering some of the magical world of music.
Assuming that we may have some common taste I am enclosing a list of some of my favorite songs. Trying over the years to play them accurately at the piano I wandered what could be a reason so many people like them on radio. Some elements came up erroneously called hit song ingredients. Maybe not as important as I initially thought, as lyrics for example are not taken into account.
And besides there is something inexplicably ethereal about what we like. But it still puzzles me why Interlude - Morrissey & Siouxsie seems not as well known as I think it should be.
Yours Faithfully,
George Chakiris
This is the URL of the older hit song ingredients list with examples::
https://euroelectron.blogspot.com/2014/11/hit-song-ingredients-with-examples.html
It seems unlikely that the great music industry executive will read this or get the original hand written letter in his hands, sent to the Sony Music Entertainment address in Ney York. But you never know! Life is full of extraordinary surprises when you love what you do.
For example yesterday 1st of May 2025, a public holiday in Hellas full of strikes even in mass media transport. I decided to go to some open on holidays second hand record shops under Acropolis in order to find the song We All Fall in Love Sometimes - Elton John
Although released in 1975 I heard it possibly for the 1st time 2 days ago on the Hellenic Radio and Television program 1 broadcast by Giannis Petridis with Dimitris Zougris which runs from 1975 and teaches musically.
https://www.greeknewsagenda.gr/giannis-petridis/
It is such nice song written in G minor. I luckily found the CD album that contains it. Then I went to the LP section in order to find the 1st Album by Leonard Cohen. No luck there but just after exiting the LP section I heard the vinyl manager talking negatively about our country. I started overhearing but at once said to myself "we carry on" and immediately the edge of my eyesight noticed down below at a corner just outside the LP shop a pack of Billboard back issues. They were apparently waiting for me as I have been searching for Billboard back issues or even the current one since I had started reading Clive Davis' book The Soundtrack of My Life. It proved very difficult and it seems it is not imported in Hellas anymore.
So I once bought all 14 issues published around 2002. When I tried to gently clean them I jumped by noticing on one of them Clive Davis headlined with his photo as "Clive Greatted As New RCA Chief".
I was moved as he had become again in control of ARISTA that he had founded. At such a difficult part of his life he had won by very hard work and his great love of music.
Here is the story from Vanity:
https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2000/02/clive-david-bmg-entertainment-ceo-strauss-zelnick?srsltid=AfmBOoreoVj1XvasqiKwi5aj6o_pAsYdXqSMKsOQPgrSdxwXHnv0Vnmz
Below I will attempt from time to time to include some songs I like and why. I am neither a musician or a music industry executive. I just love music.
The Principle of Least Change in Music
Prologue
I have always thought that pop (popular) music is a continuation of classical music. Only musical instrumentation and production technique change dictated by change in technology. The harmony, that is which notes played simultaneously together and when or how, is basically the same. If listeners have similar brain then and now, that may explain it.
In fact a good song by Madonna such as You'll See in E minor, Madonna, David Foster, produced by David Foster is close enough in harmony to a euphonic prelude or other classical composition in E minor without the enhancement of record producing technique..
This can be demonstrated by just listening. Proved by comparing the scores. Even if a score may not be available to compare, the note combinations are there as audio vibratory music signal. This music signal is recorded on tape, transferred to disc, digitized, streamed or whatever.
Those with perfect pitch musical ears recognize, (hear) the notes, may even imagine they could 'see' the "score" in their mind while music is playing even in a cafeteria or other public place. Those who do not, feel the same music anyway.
The author hears, by self training since a very young age usually by comparison to a piano, the seven notes and lets them guide you to this exploration of why we may like a song, hopefully without loosing any of the magic.
(Proceeds if published to charity. Public domain)
The Principle of Least Change in Music
Could there be a universal principle embodying many elements that makes music likeable? Something similar to the 4 Maxwell's equations that summarize Electricity and Magnetism in Physics unifying them as electromagnetism and predicting the existence of electromagnetic waves that travel at the speed of light. E/M waves are light too. And such light travels through the microphone cable, but it conveys the music signal. In fact it is electrons dancing to the music passing on the similar dance to electrons nearby. But the wave travels at the speed of light. But they dance slowly to the music signal.
Let's digress just for a moment to hear the Nobel laureate Richard Feynman talking in his unique way about light without the use of any mathematics:
So getting back to our subject what is the Principle of Least Change in Music?
Less is more. If we strip down music to its elements, melody and bass. They are both one musical note at a time. For example you can cannot have 2 different bass notes at the same time, it sounds unbearably wrong. Now if both melody and bass increase in parallel, for example left hand playing bass and right hand playing melody at the piano, it sounds almost nonsense. But if one of them remains the same and the other moves then we have relative motion and is sounds much more interesting to the listener's brain. And really small changes have a very profound effect. For example just a semitone out can drive you mad. And just the right semitone change can make you feel so happy.
But let's hear some examples where melody stays the same while bass is moving. On this example bass is moving down some steps at the time. At the verse of the so beautiful song Coming Around Again - Carly Simon, released by ARISTA records founded by Clive Davis.
On this example our brain notices the increase of note intervals as bass goes down. The letters of music are the intervals rather than the notes themselves. See What is Melody - Leonard Bernstein
Repetition is an important element of music and the principle of Least Change contains repetition.
Now let's hear an example where bass says the same and other parts or melodies change. Us and Them - Pink Floyd. From beginning till 2:49 the bass is the same note, D or RE.
It sounds like the mind is fooled to think something great and unexpected is happening therefore bass is being change whereas on the contrary it just stays the same (Least Change).
And a famous Motown example of changing one note at a time or as few especially in the introduction, hello - Lionel Richie. Instead of the nonsense common, A C E, G B D, F A C we have A B C E, G B C E, F A C E, G B E, F B E, and repeat from A B C E:
To the Moon and Back - Savage Garden, in C minor:
C sharp minor
Suzanne - Leonard Cohen in E major:
Now back to Coming Around Again - Carly Simon when melody stays constant on verse we may generalize and perhaps call it pedal melody. Here is another example of pedal melody, the introduction of Tubular Bells - Mike Oldfield, the first release of Richard Branson's Virgin Records. Before 1:48 bass subtly moves from note A to G, back to A to G (just one step down from tonic bass A). After 1;48 bass moves down step by step A to G to F to E (Step Bass) in this majestic moment of music.
So really here we are introducing Pedal Bass in general form including pedal melody as a hit song element, and Step Bass another hit song element, both special cases of the Principle of Least Change in Music. For some strange reason in Music the less we do the more impact it has to our mind perception. If we play on the piano bass A and A C E (right hand), the bass G and G B D it sound trivial and wrong. Bass A and A C E and then Bass G and A C E sounds much better, far more interesting as does the simple chord progression A C E to G B E, it it the subtlest changes that make the bigger emotional change.
Some more examples. Pedal Bass, Time - Alan Parsons Project, released by Clive Davis' ARISTA records. It uses intelligently both elements of Least Change. Pedal Bass in the introduction and at 0;41 STEP BASS begins, each time bass going down step by step the musical scale E flat which was used for composing this particular so beautiful song:
Intro Mass in B minor - Bach (bass mostly goes up in one note steps then goes down in one note steps. Also in 1:05:52 Crucifixus, Bass going down step by step but in semitone, or halftone, the smallest step in western music:
Step Bass in halftone interval on Stairway to Heaven - Led Zeppelin, A to G# to G to F# to F to A and repeat:
Step Bass in halftone increments at verse and normal scale steps (in a musical scale some steps are tones, some are halftones) at chorus, the amazing Seven Seconds Away - Youssou N'Dour, Dido (here instead of co-composer Neneh Cherry), this song is written in F sharp minor scale, so bass goes down from F#:
Step Bass down its Key or scale B flat minor, The Captain of Her Heart - Double:
Here Captain of Her Heart played on Vicky's Bechstein piano. Many thanks to Vicky for making me think about is done when we play music, below you can see on the piano keyboard some of the Lest Change in Music elements we have already discussed:
And for now we conclude the Step Bass description with the masterpiece Adagio in G minor - Albinoni, Giazotto:
Oops I forgot this, again from Italy, Pedal Bass at intro and 2nd part of chorus, Step Bass at steps of 2 mainly, on chorus. Ti Sento - Matia Bazar:
oops forgot this too. As a summary so far we have seen that the game is played by subtle changes (objectively) which create a great change (subjectively. In fewer words changing from one chord to another we don't change all notes. We keep some the same and change some others. And in many time as few as possible, just one note at a time. For example Vocalise - Rachmaninov, step bass down at the verse while the right hand makes as few changes as possible as time goes by:
California Dreaming - The Mamas and the Papas, Bass going for most part of the song in scale steps down D minor as D to C to bB to C to A and repeat.
Prelude in C minor - Chopin. At the chorus, i.e. after bar 5 or at 0:37, bass moves down chromatically (in halftones) for most part and then in scale steps:
And here the beautiful song inspired, Could it Be Magic - Barry Manilow, released by Clive Davis' ARISTA:
And we conclude the step bass section with the master Bach's Air on G String, in D major. It is mostly step by step but Bach alternates each note with its (same name) octave, something that latter was also used extensively in disco music. It is didactic here to note least changes in many parts (the 4 voices seen on the pentagram which hopefully will make it easier to listen and distinguish each of the 4 melodies. It is amazing that such a masterpiece as it sounds like too consists of at most just 4 notes at the same time. You may also like to note how he applies the principle of least change by preparing the "dissonant" intervals of 7th or 9th above the bass to the listeners brain, by playing them in advance sustaining them and then adding with them on another voice the 3rd to create the magic consonance out of dissonance as described in his hopefully famous by now manual to his students. Bach bass rules pdf: [ ]. It looks very hard to find a hit song or other hit composition that does not use many of the principles in this manual.
I was extremely lucky to have though taking a photocopy of this score with me while doing my military service in Air Force. At the crest of the higher mountain of the Hellenic island of Lemnos, while good H&R men would assign me the 3am to 6am watch shift. I spent countless of happy hours just reading this, imagining the beauty of it and mankind. Bathed by the light of stars coming from endless time far from the majestic universe.
Here is Whiter Shade of Pale based on it, the organ part conceived by Mathew Fisher playing it all night: This song looks like it broke by a pirate radio station broadcasting from a ship.
And here the Jazz version of .Bach's Air. By the great Jacques Lousier trio. Life was very kind to me again. Before the military service I was studying engineering electronics at Warwick University in the city of Coventry in UK. The university campus has a great arts center. Then one day it seems I greatted our chorus conductor Colin Touchin, in a choir I really enjoyed being part of. With his nice bright with sense of humor face he told me something like "we have a great concert today, don't miss it". I went in and there were just three French men, I did not know. The Jacques Lousier trio. And they started playing in the concert hall the Bach's Air. I could not believe what I was hearing. Such a lovely sound from just 3 men with no microphones. Just a grand piano, drums and upright bass. Unforgettable. They begin with pedal bass played on the upright bass, and then walking bass!
You may notice that apart from the difference of Rock or Jazz optical angle, the last 2 examples have another sound or feel difference. The musical key or scale used is different. The Bach's piece is in D major where as the other 2 are on C major. Just a tone difference yet it creates a great change in atmosphere. Obviously the best way to prove this is to play on the piano exactly the same but first on C, then on D. The difference is to hard to describe in words. Like a new world. But that's what it is . It is called KEY and surely enough it opens the door to the world of sound color at least. So our next section will be conveniently dedicated to key on Hit Song music as a basic ingredient.
This song by David Bowe will help proceed are it includes step by step bass down and up the scale at verse and a sudden modulation to a different key at the second verse. This is Not America - David Bowe in G minor:
Key
My parents provided teachers for piano at some periods of age between 6 and 17 but I could not cope much with them, and most certainly they could not cope with me. Maybe an obstacle was that I did not like notes represented by black dots. I had been trying since almost 5 to train myself from distinguishing notes by ear. But in truth I may not have liked the repertoire too.
My new teacher while finishing high school was a young girl called Ginna who lived in Palaio Faliro town who would come to teach me. Her last studies were in Germany.
This interesting young lady taught me some seemingly basic things that I had never heard before in my life. And here is one. Almost any musical composition is written in a particular key like C major, E minor etc. But how do we very quickly know what is the key of a symphony, prelude or a song? Easy, it is just at the beginning of the piece the 1st note of the bass or at the end the last note of the bass. It is a tonic world and now being 53 most music I have come across follow this simple rule almost 99 per cent. Except Moonlight Sonata - Beethoven, Italian concerto - Bach, and some Shubert that I found really difficult to play, she also got me into Let it Be - Beatles. This last got me into playing more and more by ear and certainly enjoying the freedom from the black dots.
Let it Be is written on the key of C major. I could check this as the first bass is C. It is the simplest key as it uses the natural notes or white notes on the keyboard.
Fast forward, at Warwick University's bookshop I bough a lovely book called Musical Acoustics - Donald Hall. I could read that each key gives a distint color or atmosphere.
Fast forward to 2025. Below are hit song examples for every key. The notes are 7 since everything is refernced in music to the white keys of the keyboard or natural notes. But the keys including the black ones are 12. If the 3rd note of the scale in reference from the 1st note (which is the name of the scale) defines a major 3rd interval the key is called a major, if the interval is a halftone smaller the scale is called a minor. So almost all we ever listen to on western music is written on any of those 24 scales or keys. So here are examples for each. Deliberately they will not be presented in a sequence of 5ths ...,F,C,G...Rather in steps of half tones. The smallest interval in western music. Hopefuly it will show much more dramaticaly how a change from a white note to the next black creates a vast amount in subjective perception. After all this may be considered too a part of the Principle of Least Change in Music.
C
It is very commonly used of course as it is only white keys. And really if you would start to experiment with piano composing, it is a good starting point just to use white keys. Anything you might play will sound good and at lucky breaks you may create something extraordinary. Something important to remember as Ginna told me composers do not use close notes together at the bass for the simple reason it sound cacophonic. Do not take our word. Kust try it and you will hear. Is nt it that music itself or nature teaches us? So empirically bass is just one note at a time. the key of C major sounds a bit happy go like but this is precicly the point, most children toys of tunes themselves amy be in C major, just the white keys. But good composeres have created extra ordinary music with it. Let's begin with coming Around Again - Carly Simon in C major. This is one of the 1st songs I attempted to play by ear after possibly finding it in a vinyl compilation of hit songs. I was still at school and the extraordinary chord or rather key changes inside this song blew my mind. So this song provides an opportunity like good symphonies to hear how modulation (change in key) inside the composition itself wakes up our brain to new world. All in 2 or 3 minutes while the song lasts. But what we feel remains inside us for ever. So here it is. I am so pleased that Clive Davis and ARISTA is behind it:
Change of key on this lovely song is in F major at the chorus. The F major scale has all white keys except that all B are flat, the black key just to the left of B. Then verse is back to the key of C. This song is really helpful for our example as at 2:35 we have the rare chance to hear the verse chord progresion but taking place this itme at the key of F major. In other waords instead of bass going From C to A to F it goes from F to D tobB (B flat). So we can hear how the change of key at same conditions clearly creates a change in atmosphere. I believe in love.
The album Coming Around Again with executive producer Clive Davis provides another oportunity to hear the same song on the key of G major to compare the change in sonic color. The scale of g major has all whites keys except F with is F sharp, the nearest black keyboard note at the right of keyboard note F. So bass here travels from G to E to C at the verse. Let us hear the last track of the album. Itsy Bitsy Spider:
C sharp major
Here you can note the dramatic difference between C major and just one half tone above C sharp major. All notes of the scale are shifted to the next rightmost position of the piano keyboard. And it so happens most are black keynotes. The particular music which won an Oscar that we are going to hear sounds much different almost trivial if transposed in C major. This key is not at all common due to its unfamiliarity and hence difficulty in playing. But this unfamiliarity is exactly what trigers our brain. It is unusual, it sounds unusual, its darker than C major and has a more sweet feel to it. On this live performance pedal melody C sharp can be readily seen taken seriously:
C minor
The C minor key or scale starts at C just like the C scale but the 3rd note of the scale is E flat instead of E, hence the interval from tonic C is a minor third. This is where minor scale take their name from. To generalize in minor scales the 3rd note creates an interval of minor 3rd with respect to the tonic, the first note of the scale. Some other notes of the scale are different too. But the point is that this minor 3rd creates a whole world of difference. Whereas in general a major 3rd sounds happy and open, a minor 3rd in general sounds sadder. Just a whole world change just by a change of one note to the nearest semitone to the left.
To Megalo Mistiko Mou - Xomata, in C minor:
Could it be Magic - Barry Manilow in C minor
This is didactic for hearing the difference between a key in major and same key in minor as introduction and chorus are at C minor, while verse is at C major). The C minor key change at chorus gives a more dramatic effect in antithesis to the lighter go along feel of the verse.
As we can feel the C minor key implies some seriousness about it. This is taken to higher limits on the following Pink Panther episode, based on Beethoven's 5th Symphony in C minor
Pink, Plunk, Plink - Pink Panther::
The strange thing about some keys which are flat or sharp is that the listener cannot really tell whether the note C sharp in this particular case is Do or RE that is C or D as C sharp or D flat is in between. This is part of the mystery. Anyway, here the scale starts at C sharp and not only the 3rd in minor, in this case defined by note E, but most keys are black. So this is how poetic it sounds like, this example based on Moonlight Sonata at the original key Beethoven chose for good reason, or did the key chose the music to be composed? Piano and I - Alicia Keys, executive producer Clive Davis:
D major
The D major key, has some grandness, perhaps extravagant feel about it. Does the name, note RE come from REX?
Hallelujah - Handel in D Major:
Gloria - Vivaldi:
Let's dance! While we dance please note also the pedal bass D, the B while a very high violin note plays pedal A at the introduction: Love's Theme - Barry White, in D major:
E flat major
E flat is the closest note to the right of D. The scale of E flat major ,in order to keep intervals the same to any major scale, must have some flat notes which correspond to black keyboard keys. For some reason the atmosphere of this rather rarely used key is different to D major, almost like participating in something very rare and special. Here is Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon & Garfunkel. It became famous thanks to Clive Davis and his team insisting that this is something so special that the radio must play it despite it having a long duration. Needless to say there are many elements that make this song very special, but here we are concerned with key and the first few seconds, even the first chord sets us in the mystic mood:
Next, another great song in E flat major. Again Clive Davis involved in his ARISTA after Columbia records. Time - Alan Parsons. Again Eb major immediately sets the mood. There is also pedal bass Eb for most intro and then chromatic step down bass:
The mystery of E flat major continues, Clocks - Coldplay:
Very good composers or song writers dare to use so difficult keys. In music there are only seven notes. those corresponding to the natural white keyboard notes. And everything is referenced to them. Even the score pentagram notation allows only those 7 notes as dots either between the lines or on top of a line. So in a difficult key such as E flat, notes have the same names, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Si Do, Re, (Mi) or E,F,G,A,B,C,D,(E) but to some note names must be added the name flat in order to keep the frequency ratio analogy same to the C major key. In this particular case we have bE, F, G, bA, bB, C, D, bE. But this is what can make it easier. We can use for example the code 1 3 5 above let's say bass E which is the bass the above songs start with.. We know then we have to play E G B but since all E and B on this key are flat we play bE G bB and it immediately sounds correct but with the mystery E flat major scale hides or offers.
And now, Kiss Me - Sixpence None the Richer in E major, note the pedal bass E and Principle of Least Change in harmony, so characteristic of this song. E #G B E, E #G B #D, E #G B D and so on. Our brain perhaps tries to deceive us that a lot is happening, just one single note is being changed in the full part harmony, and this change is just going down down in steps of the least possible frequency change, just a halt tone or semitone. It sounds fantastic:
D minor
There is some kind of melancholy to D minor.
But Let's dance, Careless Whisper - George Michael in D minor. He composed it inside the classroom:
Also, according to his manager's Simon Napier Bell book and other interview engineer sources on YouTube, George did not like the recording produced and decided to produce it himself. He auditioned some of the best sax players only to find one that could play the whole phrase in the same breath. He had all musicians play in the studio again and again until they were melted, or it song was melted, becoming second nature. The red record button was hit!
Interlude - Siouxsie, Morrissay in D minor. When I first heard it on FM radio in Athens, I phoned so many times the radio station to ask the presenter which was this fabulous duet song. It proved very difficult to get hold of him. But finally success:
Lacrimosa - Mozart in D minor:
I like Chopin - Gazebo in D minor. A kid at school played it in the theater on the piano on a concert or something. It sounded unbelievable. It made want to learn to play it too:
Here producer Brian Eno interviews himself and at some point mentions D minors: The Dick Flash interview - Brian Eno:
E flat minor
If you try to play the same song in D minor it sounds in a way so different. E flat minor is a differentr sound world. It is one of the most difficult scales to play or compose with, so many black keyboard keys. So here Against All Odds - Phil Collins in E flat minor - Live Aid, Phil singing on Beyer M88 dynamic microphone:
And now another song out of ordinary, many friends brought their synthesizers at the studio, I Want to Know What Love Is - Foreigner in Eb minor:
Even something done on just a 4 track Tascam cassette recorder sounds not ordinary in E flat minor. Actually it was tracked in D minor or close but varispeed was used to raise the voice, other instruments tp E flat minor. And of course changing their timbre, Tezcatlipoca - Ira, George
Now the classic Woman in Love - Barbra Streisand in E flat minor:
E major
The scale starts with a white keyboard key but has white a few black keyboard keys, E, #F, #G, A, B, #C, #D, E. It sounds warm:
Here is the score, you can see amazing pedal bass E and Principle of Least Change in Music subtle, minimal changes on the right hand creating a great emotional impact and beauty:
In the record production team of the following, Walter Afanasieff (who is a fan of Rachmaninoff), composer James Horner, lyricist Will Jennings, My Heart Will Go On - Celine Dion , chorus modulates to C sharp minor (the relative key of E major having the same sharps, these particular sharps correspond to black keyboard keys), introduction also in C# minor, verse in E major:
Let's dance! It's My Life - No Doubt in E major:
E minor
E minor is in its own tender way about love. Obviously not only E minor about love, but E minor is very characteristic. It is easy to see why by just playing E and G and B on the middle part of a piano.
Prelude in E minor - Chopin, Op.28, No.4 - pianist: Denis Zhdanov
Lady, lady, lady - Joe Esposito in E minor, composed, produced by Gorgio Moroder:
Nights in White Satin - The Moody Blues in E minor:
Metamorfoseis - Marina Sous Peu, Romanos, Mponatsos in E mninor:
A very beautiful key, with perhaps a loving tenderness but sounding darker than E minor. We heard the following so beautiful song at high school, my schoolmate cousin become a great fan. We would DJ with my other schoolmate Yiannis on dance balls. We would put the LP on one of the two rented Technics SL1200 MK2 turntables and we would join the dance floor to dance with a girl.
Produced by Trevor Horn, (he also played the electric bass according to an interview. Arrangement by Ann Dudley. I was thrilled to discover that she played the keyboards on Careless Whisper - George Michael).
The Power of Love _ Frankie Goes to Hollywood in F minor, please note the pedal bass on intro and outro obviously an F:
I think I only know 2 or 3 songs written on this key. The following song I found it while reading Clive Davis' book where producer Lou Adler is mentioned. .
There is also this out of this world pedal F sharp bass at the introduction into first part of verse.
Monday, Monday - The Mamas & The Papas in F sharp major:
F sharp minor:
Similarly to F sharp major it uses many black keyboard notes. It is used I guess by good musicians who can play it and it gives that beautiful surprise to the listener as it is so beautifully uncommon.
Pavane - Gabriel Faure in f sharp minor:
The following I think I heard it for the first time on Easy FM radio station in Athens.
Spending My Time - Roxette in F sharp minor
The following so nicely incorporates step bass that we have previously mentioned, at the chorus and outro..
Chi Mae - Morricone in F sharp minor:
We will repeat this song many times in various hit song ingredient sections including the original version on B minor on this chapter for comparison.
G major
G minor
Shine On You Crazy Diamond - Pink Floyd in G minor:
This is one of the first songs I tried to learn by ear, excited by the beautiful chords. I had my parents LP played many times while trying to play the piano at the same time. Tha S' Agapo means I Will be Loving You.
Tha S' Agapo - Galani, music by Hatzinasios, lyrics by Kalamitsis, in G minor:
An M' Agapas (If you Love Me) - Tsanaklidou, music: Spanos, lyrics: Karnatsos in G minor:
A rare key again due to so many flat notes which correspond to black keyboard-keys. All A, B, D, E , G are flat. All these are needed so that it can sound with the same frequency ratios as the all white keyboard-key C major i.e. C D E F G A B C or Do Re Mi F Sol La Si Do. But it sounds so differently unique:
Love Dream - Liszt in A flat Major, pianist: Nobuyuki Tsujii:
Michael unfulfilled by his stock market job asked "What Should I Do" to a psychiatrist. The doctor replied: "Give me 35 dollars". Michael gave it and then the psychiatrist wrote a note which said:' You are free to do what you want". That was a catharsis for Michael Maser, he stopped working and started playing more piano. Almost with no money he went to Los Angeles to make a start.
Songwriter Michael Masser unedited interview:
This is a song Michael Maser wrote about loving your self, later on chosen by Whitney Houston and Clive Davis.
The Greatest Love of All - Whitney Houston, music by Masser, lyrics by Creed, in A major:
Endless Love - Dianna Ross & Lionel Richie in B flat major:
Very unusual too as it is difficult to play or compose with at it has many black keyboard keys. It sounds deep and atmospheric.
I heard the on FM radio near Athens, at Varkiza, a city next to the sea and forest. I was magnetized. While I was stuck on the radio with it, my fiance could not wait for it to finish and kept saying we are going out now... This song there and then helped me make the decision to part with this relationship.
Mark F. Angelo is a graduate of the SAE (school of audio engineering) in Athens.
Far From Everything - Mark F. Angelo & Shaya, in B flat minor
B major
I think this must be the more rarely used key.
The Boxer - Simon and Garfunkel
B minor
According to my fiend and piano tuner Albert Ketenzian possibly the most beautiful key. It immediately stands out by its beauty.
Here is the pray to God by composer Rodrigo. His wife was at the hospital in a difficult operation while he was waiting, composing this, praying to God that she is saved.
Concerto D' Aranjuez , 2nd movement - Joaquin Rodrigo in B minor, guitar without orchestra Ana Vidovic.
While Ana guided by the blind composer often subtly changes one note at a time, the Principle of Least Change in Music can be manifested:
This concludes examples of all keys commonly used in western music.
While listening to this last example it becomes apparent that it contains modulation to other keys. It naturally didactic therefore to include some examples of songs where change of key takes place while the song is playing.
The Dorian Scale
It begins like a minor scale but ends in a happy way, the 6th note is one semitone higher creating a happy major chord when bass is the 4th note of the scale. For example D minor consists of natural notes except B which is flat. D Dorian is all natural or white keyboard-keys. Here is how they sound by comparison:
Careless Whisper - George Michael in D minor:
.
Veredis Quo - Daft Punk in D Dorian:
Society's Child - Janis Ian, C Dorian at verse, A Dorian at chorus:
For some strange reason the Dorian mode is not very often used in the country where it originates, but here are 2 rare examples.
M' Anastises Kardia Mou - Voskopoulos, muisic by Mimis Plessas in F Dorian:
The following song is in E minor but the verse is in A Dorian. It then modulates back to E minor at the chorus. We will listen to some other modulation examples (change of key within a composition) after this fresh song by the seaside:
Ela - Despina Vandi, music by Phoebus in E minor:
F major to D minor
This is on F major so naturally intro and outro is on F major. Chorus is on F major too but verse is on the relative key D minor. Relative are keys using same set of notes.
Any better - Puressence in F major:
C major to A minor
Here again we have relative keys. Both C major and A minor use the same set of 7 notes, all white keyboard-keys in this case. A contrast to the previous example is that on this one the minor key is at the chorus. C major is at verse, A minor at chorus, la la la, di, di, da of Piano Man -
Billy Joel on C major. Step Bass is used on this song which is a special case of the Principle of Least Change in Music:
Obviously as it can be heard great pop music composers such as Billy Joel use step bass with many of the bass notes used as passing notes as great classical music composers do. By passing notes we mean that only the passing notes change, not the rest of the harmony or other parts which stay at the same note, again a manifestation of the Principle of Least Change in Music. As a contrast to think or experiment on a piano, changing both bass and chords more than often sounds trivial. Nothing compared to the beginning of Moonlight Sonata - Beethoven, Billy Joel being a great fan of the great master.
Bass increases in steps of 4 notes. 7ths are prepared and the 3rd added as described on the Bach's manual to his students (General Bass rules pdf).
And mow possibly the best example of harmony chain, beginning at exactly 6:16 of the next video. It can be seen in the violins line implied bass increasing from D to G to C to F to B to E to A ie in steps of perfect 4ths. The altos and sopranos sing in turn the 7th or 3rd intervals with respect to each bass. So that 7ths are prepared (listened in advance) and the 3rd added each time with the new bass note. Just as described on the General Bass Rules - Bach, Niedt.
Confutatis - Mozart, Amadeus Movie Plus Scrolling Music Score:
Varispeed
Recording with tape at a different speed or recording as compared to playback. A small change of speed makes a dramatic change in timbre in consistency with the principle of Least Change in Music. A change of speed corresponding just to a half tone not only changes key by a halftone. The tibre and formants of vocals for example change. You sound younger. I think I knew it, everybody who has turned a record player by hand knows. But I think I read it first time on the book Good Vibrations by Mark Cunningham. The only person I think I know who admits it is Michael B. Tretow, the sound engineer of ABBA. It can be read on his interviews. Other producers I think do it so all examples except ABBA come by my gut feeling without proof. I was not there anyway!
Michael B. Tretow passed away 3 days ago (20 may 2025). Music he recorded so skillfully will be forever with mankind.
Let's compare I Have a Dream - ABBA, studio version with varispeed to live version. The singers and composers are in the league of the best. Varispeed takes best to a higher level. And it is said that it works better with some voices.
I Have a Dream - ABBA in B flat major
I have a Dream - ABBA in A major
Don't Speak - No Doubt in C minor:
Don't Speak - No Doubt, alternative version in B minor:
This includes varispeed with reverberation too.
M Anastises Kardia Mou - Voskopoulos a capella in F minor:
Lower perhaps original recording speed with no reverberation added:
M Anastises Kardia Mou - Voskopoulos a capella in E minor:
CODE
We have melody. The main melody for example sung in a song. It is one note at a time by definition.
Then we have bass, (base), coming from the Hellenic word βασις which means foundation or base [general bass rules = bach - pdf]. This is again one note at the time co existing with main melody. Bass can be a melody in itself. But usually it moves slower and this one note at the time usually lasts longer. And it is usually at low register. So for a given bass note there can be many main melody notes taking place. And this is what code is.
Imagining for example we play bass with left hand and main melody with right hand at the piano, which we usually do anyway. And if for example bass is F and melody is a G then code is F9 for G is 9 notes higher than F.
It is code which creates much of the beauty of music. What particular high note co exists or rather co sounds with what particular bass note. It is the interval that makes the difference. So all ninths belong to the same family, eg F to G as we already mentioned,, D to E, C to D etc.
But although they do have something in common that makes yu say, yes this is a 9th interval, each particular bass created 9th is different, like a different personality of the same species, all cats are not the same!
Here is an example of a song beginning with code F9, No Frontiers - The Corrs - MTV Unpluged:
Here is an example of a song beginning with code C9. Close to You - Carpenters, Caren sings D while bass is C at the word 'birds", same for intro bass is C while the topmost piano note played is D:
Meet the Chords
6th (above bass)
It is 6 notes as the name suggests above bass and with it the 3rd above bass is taken as suggested by Bach, Niedt [ ]. So if bass is F we have F together with A (the 3rd) together with D (the 6th). This particular F6 chord can be heard on a Time For Us - Nino Rota - Ray Conniff at the first appearing of the word "us". Key is G minor which has B flat and E flat. So notes 3rd and 6th above bass F are A natural and D natural. And since bass is F we might had expected by the usual 1 3 5 harminic triad rule to have just an ordinary F A C ie F major chord. But the composer takes us by surprise playing for us F A D which sound like magic. Here again the Principle of Least Change in Music is used as the first chord is G bB D (G minor 3rd). If the composer had then chosen for the least change in bass F the harmony F A C, the right hand would had changed too much with parallel fifths ie from G D to F D which sound not euphonic. So the choice is to keep the D for a least change from G D to F D. ANd by taken the 3rds above bass from G bB D to F A D:
Wasting My Young Years - London Grammar in B flat minor
This belongs to the very rare set of compositions where the first note in the bass is not the tonic (the note that bears the same name). The key is B flat, the first bass would have been B flat and the usual chord would have been (1 3 5) ie B D F and since B and D are flat at this key the chord would have been the usual bB bD F. But on this song bass is chosen to be the 3rd of the chord ie bD with bB bD F or rearranging it bD with bD F bB ie a D6th. So with bass D and 6th and the 3rd we have D F B and since D and B are flat on the B flat minor key we have bD F bB. This creates the mystery in the verse of the song which is resolved by going to bass bB at the chorus:
Here is Bach mimic of London Grammar at Qui Tollis - Mass in B minor. It begins to a great airy, out of this world effect by bass D instead of B and harmony D #F B. So it is D6:
Here is a composition full of 6ths above bass that taught me how 6ths sound like and how they are created. I could not play back on the piano what I could hear. So I got the score and found out! Now I can recognize them and reproduce those strange creatures called 6ths at will.
Private Investigations - Dire Straits in E minor, (the first 6th taking place is the second chord D #F B, ie D6, exactly the same chord as the beginning of Qui Tollis - Bach. Most of the following bass code is 6 as you will hopefully recognize. Playing on the piano helps a lot and the piano itself is a great teacher of music. And I have been blessed to sing this with the Warwick University Chorus conducted by Collin Touchin, a great conductor with a great kindness and sense of humour:
Here the 6th can be heard and seen as the 2nd chord of Requiem - Mozart in D minor. First harmony is bass D with D and F and A (in the right hand if we were to play on the piano) followed by bass F with D and F and A (D6). It is instructive to hear and see how Mozart implements it by minimal approach or even least change. D bass, F and A, then F bass A and D, and then preparing the 7th by sustaining D, changing bass to E and adding the 3rd G as described on the Bach, Niedt manual [ ] creating a great harmony code that moves our mind and touches our heart: (another great sounding 6th can be heard and seen at the beginning of the 3rd bar):
The end of this exemplary example clearly shows the Principle of Least Change in Music creating at the last bars euphonic sounding prepared for the listener's mind chords characterised by intervals such as minor 7th or major 7th, gracefully leading us to the following section on 7th chords.
Major 7th (above bass)
Space Oddity _ David Bowe in C major
9th (above bass)
Notable Specific Chords
If chords would speak here is what they might say:
F major 7th
Hello my name is F major 7th. I consist of bass F and the characteristic note that makes me so different is E which is 7 notes above bass F. So really I am an F together with a E. But this sounds really strange. So you have to add as the great master Bach says in his manual to his students in composition [general bass rules- pdf], the 3rd ie A. So I consist of F A E. And if the 5th is also added F A C E. You can try me at a nice piano by played all 4 or 3 (F A E) notes together or in succession. But I really shine to listeners' perception when the 7th ie the note E is prepared as Bach says. One way to do this is by having an E played in advance as part of the previous chord so that the mind of the listener is prepared. Then I no longer sound dissonant as some might had said. In fact I am one, to put it modestly, of the most beautifully sounding chords in the history of mankind in the right context as just explained.
You can find me for example on 0:37 of The Great Gig in the Sky - Pink Floyd, where Rick plays bass F and A C E, Roger plays bass F, Dave glides up to E, and Nick waits...:
The next chord on the above composition by Pink Floyd and Clare Tory is B flat major 7th. Another very beautiful chord same species as me. But she has a different beauty. It has just been said not all cats are the same.
B flat major 7th
Hi I am B flat major 7th, so I consist of Bass bB and D F A. I really enjoy to find myself on Careless Wisper - George Michael when Ann Dudley plays on synth D F A while bass is bB. This song consists of just 4 chords, since only 4 different basses are used. And while these chords repeat I am the 3rd one. For example I find myself enjoying it when Michael first sings the word 'careless", using note A. You can follow me by tapping the beat and count slowly every four beats 1 2 3 4. I am every time at 3, the 3rd chord, but really you may be able to recognize me just by listening. To put it modestly, I am so differently beautiful:
C major 7th
Hi. As you might have already guessed I consist of C E G B.
You can find me in Suite in E minor - Handel at 0:48, where note B is prepared by decaying on the piano, and while B is almost impossible to hear anymore bass C comes together with the 3rd, ie E played by some other part. And to put it modestly I am magic:
But not only classical composers use me. I am right there at a great pop dance song. I occur happily for me and for you at the words, "can't' (1st chord of chorus) and "leave" on We Are the People - Empire of The Sun, what a chord I am to put it modestly, bass goes to C while synth at 1:48 had already prepared listener's brain for me by pre playing B, the 7th note above bass. Just like my boss Bach explains and at other places of the song I am prepared in other ways, can you find out yourself how?
On Beauty, Success and Price to Pay
Making sure that we are happy with what we do and that it is worth the effort. Not exchanging something of less value with something of very high value such as freedom.
Bod Dylan as can be read in Clive Davis' book did not take 1 million dollars so that he can be free to choose when he wants to submit future albums.
Here is Vangelis talking about success. Talk to Al Jazerra - Vangelis:
The Unsung Heroes of The Music Industry
Well it is too obvious to be seen clearly enough.
Without them there would not had been music recording anyway.
It is the molecules (usually air molecules) and electrons.
And the scientists and engineers that work with them. The acoustical engineers and the electronic engineers.
The physicists who discovered the principles.
And the acoustical and electronic engineers who invented.
The microphone, the loudspeaker, disc recording, tape recording, digital archiving, radio, television, moving pictures, the computer, internet, smart mobile phones and the list goes on.
What is sound?
It is the vibration of air molecules that create the sensation of hearing when they bump to our ear drum.
What is a microphone?
An electroacoustic device that converts vibration of air molecules to an analogous vibration
What is a loudspeaker?
An electroacoustic device that converts electron vibration to corresponding air molecule vibration. The cone of the loudspeaker can be felt or even be seen to vibrate hitting air molecules.
Air molecules transfer their vibration to nearby ones by collision, these transfer to the nearby ones, and so on. It is really energy being transferred. So it is a wave, and acoustic wave. It travels at roughly 330 meters per second.
Once air molecule vibration is converted to electron vibration the waves becomes an electromagnetic wave. It is really a light wave, and it travels at the speed (of light) , roughly 300 thousand kilometers per second. This wave travels in cables, or even in air or space. In the same way that the sun sends light to all directions and some part of it arrives to earth.
Electrons in the sun vibrate. An electromagnetic wave travels from the sun to the earth in about 8 minutes and 20 seconds. Once it arrives the electrons in our eyes (we never look at the sun with open eyes, in order to avoid damage) correspondigly vibrate and it is as if electrons at the receiving end get jealous of what the electrons do at the transmitting end and the receiving ones want to do the same.
This is how information is sent from the transmitter antenna to the receiving antenna in radio.
We may not be very far by assumimg that somehow electrons dance to the music, and the receiving ones mimic the dance of the transmitting ones, and music travels in space from place to place.
Here is Nobel price laureate physicist Richard Feynman explaining in his unique non mathematical way:
What is music to bring in the future?
You are to find out.
The future is always less than a second away.
Bibliography
The Soundtrack of My Life - Clive Davis
General Bass Rules - Bach, Niedt
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