Today we learned about the workflow of music production and saw many artists’ unique insights into their workflow. We also witnessed the development of music production workflow from the early days to the present. The evolution of music production workflows is a testament to the advances in sound technology that have shaped the creative processes of artists throughout the ages.

In the infancy of music production that characterized the early to mid-aughts, the workflow was decidedly manual and analog, posing challenges and limitations that contrasted sharply with the streamlined approaches prevalent in the contemporary digital age. What interests me is that as sound technology develops, there are more and more ways to create sounds or use sounds, the most prominent of which are samples and synthesizers.

In the early days of sound sampling, musicians and producers utilized analog tape recorders to capture and manipulate sound. Recorded audio portions are physically cut and spliced to create loops or repeating patterns, and thats is Analog Tape Sampling.

However, when the Mellotron appeared, sound sampling completely became an instrument that could be played. It was used in the 1960s and was an early keyboard instrument that used a series of tape loops to reproduce the sounds of various instruments. Each key triggers a specific tape loop, allowing music producers to simulate the sounds of strings, flutes and choirs.

Early experimental electronic instruments such as the Ondes Martenot and Trautium. They employ basic sampling techniques. These instruments allowed musicians to shape and manipulate recorded sounds through a variety of controls and were an important factor in the emergence of the synthesizer. Early synthesizers primarily used synthesis, manipulating voltages to create sound waves. This analog approach produced a warm tone that became iconic in the context of electronic music.

With the emergence of Moog Synthesizer, it marks a milestone in synthesizers. Its portability, user-friendly interface, and rich sound have led to widespread adoption. Artists like Wendy Carlos and Keith Emerson embraced Moog synthesizers, popularizing them in mainstream music.