tag:donlewismusic.com,2005:/blogs/blog
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2023-10-16T07:54:53-07:00
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tag:donlewismusic.com,2005:Post/6022564
2019-04-22T17:00:00-07:00
2021-10-10T00:27:11-07:00
Say "Yes" to Music!
<p><strong><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></strong></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>Don Lewis’ Passion Inspired Children to Say “YES” to Music!</strong></span></p>
<p><strong><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></strong> <img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/395395/0b3ce8379e42e365240eb4329c37315ad4431f41/original/scan-3.jpeg/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6NTg1eDM3NSJd.jpg" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="375" style="text-align: center;" width="585" /></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Like most innovators, Don Lewis is always thinking ahead and the occasion of his 78<sup>th </sup>birthday last month was no different. </span><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">“I’m reading a book called <em>The Jazz of Physics: The Secret Link Between Music and the Structure of the Universe,</em>by Stephon Alexander,” he said. “The next thing for me is to discover how innately we’re wired for the sensation of vibrations. I’ve always been interested in what resonates with us.”</span><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">Lewis has witnessed firsthand just how powerfully music resonates within us through his educational school assembly program, ‘Say “YES” to Music!’ which he launched in 1987. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span><span style="font-size: medium;">“We have three senses that actually deal with vibrations: hearing, sight, and a visceral feeling,” he explained. In fact, his desire to invoke that visceral feeling in others by electronically replicating traditional musical instruments drove his original passion for developing synthesizers. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span><span style="font-size: medium;">Though the sunsetting of his club career, as highlighted in “</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><em>The Ballad of Don Lewis,</em></span><span style="font-size: medium;">” led him on a professional detour, he never dreamed it would also open doors for him to develop ‘Say “YES” to Music!’ – a program that introduced the joy of music to tens of thousands of children that Lewis would never have reached otherwise. </span></p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/395395/6ba76fe4bb5aae0656b5cf727873ceb80f8c7105/original/scan-2.jpg/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6MjM2eDU0MCJd.jpg" class="size_orig justify_left border_" alt="" height="540" width="236" /></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“Sometimes when you least expect it, special things happen- and this program was no exception,” said Lewis. “It evolved naturally - even though I didn’t realize it.”</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">At the time, he was touring as a demonstrator and concert artist for Yamaha, playing the HX-1, an instrument he calls “a futuristic idea of what an organ-inspired synthesizer might be, and based on the same FM technology Yamaha licensed from Stanford.”</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">With his innate enthusiasm, extraordinary musicianship, and signature red shoes, Lewis swiftly transformed otherwise mundane music store demo concerts into lively, inspiring hours filled with joy and laughter. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Usually the audiences were filled with adults, but on a concert tour in Delaware in 1987, Lewis unexpectedly found himself introducing that ‘visceral feeling’ to a large gathering of high school students. The experience inspired not only the ‘Say “YES” to Music!’ program, but also its name.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">As he tells it, “We were setting up for an evening concert hosted by a local Yamaha dealer in Lewes, Delaware at the Cape Henlopen High School auditorium. The day before, a vice principal heard me setting up and asked if I would perform for some students.” Lewis agreed and ended up playing for 400 of the 1600 students at the school- the maximum number of seats in the auditorium.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">“The kids were just grooving out!” Lewis recalled ecstatically. “At the end of the program, the school asked if I would bring up the subject of “Say No to Drugs,” a nationwide initiative, and so I did. But I also told the students how I remembered being tired of grown people telling me ‘No!’ to everything when I was their age. </span><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;">“So I also asked them: ‘Is there ANYTHING we can say YES to?’ Spontaneously, all 400 kids said: ‘MUSIC!’”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">The story doesn’t end there. A disappointingly small audience of 75 showed up that night for the music dealer’s concert, but Don assured them they shouldn’t worry based on the excitement of the 400 students he had played for earlier. </span><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;">He was right. Shortly after Lewis and the Yamaha entourage moved on to their next gig in Philadelphia, the dealers from Delaware called with exciting news: the store had been mobbed Friday and Saturday with the students’ parents, signing them up for music lessons and purchasing instruments. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">Lewis also received a call from the school principal,<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/395395/a88febf955d3990534db3ac363828f754418d04c/original/scan-3-version-2.jpeg/!!/b%3AWyJyZXNpemU6MjkzeDM1MSJd.jpg" class="size_orig justify_right border_" alt="" height="351" width="293" />asking him to return and perform for </span><span style="font-size: medium;">the remaining 1200 students, which he gladly did. Their overwhelming response sparked the idea for the program and ‘Say “YES” to Music!’ was born. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">The program became Lewis’ passion project and if the boxes of student drawings and letters Lewis received over the years is any indication, his passion rubbed off. “This program has changed more lives than I can imagine- entire generations,” he said, clearly still amazed. </span><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;">Lewis continues to advocate for music programs in local school districts. “I feel many of the problems we have in this world are because we’re ignoring our innate nature of wanting to resonate with each other,” he observed. “We’re having the most problems in places where music is minimalized.” In a presentation to a school board, Don stated "The evidence is in. The universe is a living, interactive art form. Math and science are merely the tools we use to understand the art form so why would we omit art from the schools?" </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span><span style="font-size: medium;">Becoming a champion for music education was never on Lewis’ radar, but now it is his legacy- as are the budding musicians and music teachers who pursued their dreams, thanks to the ‘Say “YES” to Music!’ program. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></strong></span></p>
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donlewismusic.com
tag:donlewismusic.com,2005:Post/6022562
2019-01-09T16:00:00-08:00
2021-10-10T00:25:42-07:00
TR-808
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"> <strong>TR-808 The Downbeat of Innovation</strong></span></p>
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<p>By Susan Hayes © All Rights Reserved</p>
<p>Percussion is the back beat, down beat, foundation for and expression of temperament in music. The evolution of Roland’s TR808 has been all that and more- its versatility inspiring new uses for the instrument, as well as a new genre of music. </p>
<p>Don Lewis’s involvement with the TR808 began with Ace Tone’s original version, the FR-2L, known as the iconic “Rhythm Ace,” which he first started using in the late 1960s to add electronic percussion accompaniment to his organ music. </p>
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<p>Without external controls, Don would adjust circuitry manually for every new rhythm pattern for every song, sometimes adding parts and soldering them in place to achieve the sounds he desired. </p>
<p>It was one of those modified rhythm units that brought Don to the attention of Ikutaro Kakahashi, founder of Ace Tone and Roland music companies, at a Hammond Organ concert at the National Association of Music Merchants (“NAMM”) in 1969. </p>
<p>Following the performance, Don recalled “Mr. K” introducing himself, smiling and saying. “This looks like my rhythm unit, but it doesn’t sound like my rhythm unit.”</p>
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<p>Don showed him his modifications, including how he wired the FR-2L through the Hammond organ to the expression pedal which controls volume so he could add accents- a feature the Rhythm Ace didn’t have. </p>
<p>They agreed there had to be a way to make these sound adjustments accessible and programmable for all musicians. That meeting of the minds would form the basis for a lifelong friendship and collaboration which endured for close to 50 years, until Mr. K’s death in 2017. </p>
<h3><strong>Consulting with Roland</strong></h3>
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<p><img src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/56e1e15f27d4bd469e880eb2/t/5c3987d689858359167c0801/1547274203809/3+RHYTHM+UNITS+for+BLOG+%281%29.png?format=500w" class="size_orig justify_right border_" alt="3 RHYTHM UNITS for BLOG (1).png" height="239" width="300" />Throughout the 1970s, Don and Mr. K flew back and forth between San Francisco and Japan to work with Roland’s development teams, with Don providing user feedback to the engineers doing the technical work. </p>
<p>“I was honored they felt my contribution would add value to their products,” Don said of that time. “I felt like I was part of the musical world most musicians don’t have an opportunity to engage in, especially early on in the process.” </p>
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<p>Though Mr. K and Don spent hours exchanging ideas and drawing schematics on napkins about rhythm units and other synthesizers, he was always humbled to meet the engineers who brought the ideas to life, such as Tadao Kikumoto. “It was always exciting to go to Japan and see the new prototypes in ‘breadboard form’ and brainstorm with the engineering team,” said Don. “They are the unsung heroes of the music industry.” </p>
<p>In 1978, Don was using a newer version, the FR-7L, when performing with the synthesizer system he built, LEO (Live Electronic Orchestra) at the Hungry Tiger in San Francisco. He was also consulting with Roland on the development of the CR-68 and CR-78, which had programmable rhythm, sequencing features and memory for storing patterns. </p>
<p>“I was playing a variety of pop, jazz, gospel and disco music so it was nice not to have to rewire the rhythm unit for each separate song style,” Don recalled. </p>
<p>Yet he still saw potential for improvement and created new programs for his own CR-78 for hand claps, while making suggestions to Roland’s technicians for the next generation of rhythm units, which turned out to be the TR-808. </p>
<p>“When the first TR-808 arrived on my doorstep from Japan, I couldn’t wait to start programming it. And when I added it to LEO everything changed- not just the drum tracks.” </p>
<p>Don began to use the unit not only as a complement to LEO and his other synthesizers, but also discovered how to use it to trigger and synchronize with other instruments. </p>
<p>“I used other signals from the TR-808 to trigger one of LEO’s synthesizer components, the Roland JP-4, creating comping chords and strumming effects,” Don explained. “By holding down the keys, it wouldn’t be one sustained sound, rather it would synchronize notes played.” </p>
<p>In 1983, Roland released the TR909, the first version to use samples. Don was producing commercial music in his studio at the time and found the TR-909 with MIDI added was well-suited to the digital studio sound of the newer versions of the MIDI keyboards he used there. </p>
<p>As commercial interest in the TR-808 began waning, interest in digital music started rising and the TR-909 took off in popularity. Soon thereafter, the TR-808 found a new audience and inspired a new genre of music as the soul of the hip hop culture in New York City. </p>
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<p><strong style="font-size: 1.17em;"><img src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/56e1e15f27d4bd469e880eb2/t/5c3987c0f950b7929a157e99/1547274182655/for+blog+don.jpg?format=500w" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="for blog don.jpg" height="563" width="709" /></strong></p>
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<p><strong style="font-size: 1.17em;">And the Beat Goes On</strong></p>
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<p>“The 808’s electronically-generated sound was one that rap and hip-hop artists identified with: anti-establishment and more aggressive than regular percussive instruments,” said Don. “It had a tone and sound palate that in some cases showed there was a disturbance in the force of life.”</p>
<p>It also brought music to those who couldn’t afford it, for which he was glad. “I heard the price for a used TR808 was then around $100 dollars, making it accessible to musicians with few resources,” Don said. “Music was no longer being taught in the schools and we were in danger of losing an entire generation of music creators.” </p>
<p>Fortunately, that wasn’t the case and Don believes one key reason was the availability of electronic percussion instruments like the TR-808. With its current availability in software form, it is even more accessible to emerging and established musicians of all ages, in all musical genres. </p>
<p>This continuing evolution is gratifying to Don. “The ongoing use of the TR808 proves that even when you don’t have what everyone else has, it doesn’t stop you from creating.” </p>
<p>For more info: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Lewis_(musician)" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Lewis_(musician)</a></p>
<p><em>Susan Hayes is a professional writer, editor and documentary film enthusiast based in Northern California. Her Sundance Film Festival record stands at 13 films in four days. </em> </p>
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<div class="Blog-meta BlogItem-meta">JANUARY 10, 2019</div>
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tag:donlewismusic.com,2005:Post/6022563
2018-07-08T17:00:00-07:00
2023-10-16T07:54:53-07:00
Vocoder
<h1 class="BlogItem-title" data-content-field="title"><span style="font-size: medium;">Don Lewis Takes on the Vocoder</span></h1>
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<div class="sqs-block html-block sqs-block-html" data-block-type="2" id="block-c39112fca3d800246798"><div class="sqs-block-content"><p><em>By Susan Hayes</em></p></div></div>
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<p>It is one thing to be called a pioneer, yet quite another to actually <em>be</em> one.</p>
<p>For Don Lewis, his decades-long contributions to the development of the synthesizer and related technologies like the vocoder qualify him as the real deal. </p>
<p>Starting in the late 1960s, Lewis consulted behind the scenes to drive synthesizer innovation for commercial use by Hammond and Acetone. In coming decades, he contributed to development efforts at ARP, Yamaha and Roland, working directly with electronics engineers in the lab and as a demo artist.</p>
<p>When the synthesizer movement evolved from a desire to replicate musical instruments to replicating voice in the early 1980s, it was only natural for Roland to bring Lewis in on the ground floor as they developed their first vocoder. </p>
<p>The idea really resonated with him. “I was excited. I hold the human voice as the most compelling sound most people can make. As a former church choir director, I knew the powerful impact of hearing multiple voices simultaneously.”</p>
<p>Driving innovation of the vocoder was the commercial success of electronic-enhanced voice box music by high profile performers like Stevie Wonder.</p>
<p>“Stevie Wonder used a voice box tube that you put in your mouth. The other end of the tube went down to a transducer microphone to produce a weird robotic sound. Everyone wanted to figure out how it was done, driving manufacturers to come up with their own versions.” An added benefit was that if you didn’t have enough room for backup singers when performing, you could get the same result with the Vocoder.</p>
<p><strong>Under the Hood, Technologically Speaking</strong></p>
<p>Roland was developing the first polyphonic instrument, the VP330. Once complete, it would play any number of notes you wanted. As chief beta tester for this and all subsequent versions, Lewis tested, critiqued and performed with these instruments at the “breadboard stage,” when engineers were putting together the first prototypes in the lab.</p>
<p>“We were plugging in components, just like building with Legos,” he recalled. </p>
<p>At first, developers didn’t seek to emulate the human voice, but Don kept thinking about the sounds of a choir and encouraged the engineers to think bigger, going so far as to encourage them to include choir-like sounds.</p>
<p>His choral background also qualified him as a subject matter expert when it came to understanding how the human voice physiologically works.</p>
<p>The human singing voice operates by coordinating three elements: vocal chords, the mouth (as filter), and the lungs, which control amplification. An envelope generator in the throat dictates when the mouth/filter opens and closes, allowing for variations in sound.</p>
<p>“People can manipulate their voices, mouths and lungs on demand so the most complicated part of making the vocoder was enabling it to do the same.”</p>
<p>The vocoder operates using three similar yet electronic elements: oscillators (instead of vocal chords), filters and amplification, to create the sound of not just one voice, but a synthetic choir. </p>
<p>Transmitting the sound to the vocoder takes place through a headset mic to 10 – 20 ‘bandpass filters’ which measure the amplitude of the harmonics generated by the user’s voice. A filter analyzes and evaluates the series of frequencies of the human voice and measures amplitude frequency at a rate of 10 – 50 Hz (herz) cycles per second.</p>
<p>The VP330 takes those amplitudes and instead of using the actual pitch of the original voice, it generates selected waveforms over a 49-note keyboard system with 49 oscillators, extending the range four octaves. Pressing an ‘ensemble sound’ button doubles that sound. Sound can also be controlled with a damper pedal to sustain and hold notes like a piano.</p>
<p>In a 1982 article published in the <em>San Francisco Chronicle</em> reviewing one of Lewis’s performances, columnist Joel Selvin said, “Wearing a tiny headset microphone, when Lewis opens his mouth to sing, out come the voices of a dozen young girls. He throws his head and opens his mouth in a giant grin, laughing at the comical sounds emitted by his keyboards.”</p>
<p>“The VP330 was a great start to add choir and string sounds to LEO,” says Lewis. “But when I got the VP550, I’d never been enthralled with anything like it! I could sing on top of it and it made me feel like it extended the power of the human voice.” </p>
<p>The VP550 added strings, reverberation and ‘musical voices’ which use keys to manipulate vocal sounds instead of transposing the voice of the singer. It allowed for octaves out of the range of the human voice too - even as low as a sub-human level to create an unearthly atmosphere.</p>
<p>The VP770 introduced the ‘looper,’ originally called ‘sound check’ on the VP550, in the early 2000s, as well as a female choir, children’s choir, Gregorian choir, jazz scat, duets, trios.</p>
<p>Newer versions also integrated a dimensional beam sensory system called “Dbeam,” which uses an infrared LED sensor to change pitch and expression by raising and lowering your hand over it like an orchestra conductor.</p>
<p>Though research has slowed on the technology, Lewis still uses a vocoder when performing and brought one with LEO for his performance at NAMM’s 30th anniversary of MIDI in 2013. He also still sees potential for development. “The VP550 is still not where I’d like it to be. It’s no longer in development but I want to find some engineers to keep it going.”</p>
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<p><em>Susan Hayes is a professional writer, editor and documentary film enthusiast based in Northern California. Her Sundance Film Festival record stands at 13 films in four days. </em> </p>
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