Jazz Record Restorer John R.T. Davies Dies - Page 4

There is a period in "popular" music during which band leadership tended to dictate a change in keys employed. During the first quarter of the last century, leadership was dominated by the violin and consequent use of "sharp" keys whereas, with the ascendancy of leadership by brass or reed instruments after 1920, keys employed became predominantly "flat".

Comparison of apparent keys employed throughout a recording session during which recording speed seldom varied significantly will usually serve to show up unlikely keys and suggest an adjacent set. If doubt persists, this may be settled by making a judgement upon the feasibility of a given phrase being mechanically possible for the instrument concerned or, in the case of a reed instrument, the transition from one register to another.

For the most part, therefore, in recordings of musical instruments and a voice, three areas of consideration will almost certainly establish the pitch of the performance. There will, of course, be recordings involving, for instance, voice and guitar only when no reference has been made to any standard pitch as the instrument was tuned: others involving voice and piano when the pianist may or may not have the ability to accompany in unexpected keys. A solo voice recording may have no relationship to any standard pitch and may even vary during the performance in which case reference to another recording of the same voice in known pitch may be the only clue to be followed.

3. CONTENT OF SURFACE NOISE

Wouldn't it be NICE if surface noise were just surface noise - a mere interruption of listening pleasure, devoid of any informational significance? Certainly this viewpoint has been the basis for much experiment aimed at reduction of noise without consideration of the wealth of valuable peripheral information contained within it: minute detail which reveals the taking of a breath, the movement of a finger on a guitar string or the manner in which a brass player breaks from one harmonic to another or that in which a reed player uses his tongue; upper frequency reverberations which tell of environment ... the size and shape of a room... which affect the manner in which a musician plays. Even more important are the upper harmonics which identify not only instruments of differing principle but also those of similar principle (such as trumpet and cornet)... very often, such very individual information will allow separation of a "section" of trumpets from a numerically indeterminate group into a group of separately recognisable voices. Thus it is important to preserve and make use of this information - and to take a closer look at how the ear hears surface noise and what it can do with it.

Article Author: Eric Olsen

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