Electronic music instruments weren't called synthesizers until the 1950s, but their lineage began in 1919 with Russian inventor Lev Sergeyevich Termen's development of the Etherphone, now known as the Theremin. From that point, synthesizers have undergone a remarkable evolution from prohibitively large mid-century models confined to university laboratories to the development of musical synthesis software that runs on tablet computers and portable media devices. Throughout its history, the ...

Now fully updated, The Hammond Organ: Beauty in the B traces the technological and artistic evolution of the B-3 and other tonewheel organs, as well as the whirling Leslie speakers that catapulted the Hammond sound into history. You'll discover the genius that went into the development of Hammond's tonewheel generator, drawbar harmonics, percussion, scanner vibrato and other innovations, as well as the incredible assistance Don Leslie provided for Hammond by creating his famous ro...

In Recasting Welfare Capitalism, Mark Vail employs a sophisticated and original theoretical approach to compare welfare states and political-economic adjustment in Germany and France. He examines how and why institutional change takes place and what factors characterize economic evolution when moving from times of prosperity to more austere periods and back again. Covering the 1970s to the present, Vail analyzes social and economic reforms, including labor policy, social-insurance, and ant...

How to Make a Noise: Analog Synthesis looks at creating sounds using analog synthesis techniques. Analog synthesis works by taking a sound source and shaping it with a filter. This is a simple but powerful technique which allows you to create the warm, rich, energetic, and commanding sounds, and with some care you will find tones with detail, complexity, and delicacy. You will have heard these techniques used on many recordings and will immediately recognize the sounds they produce. After ...

Frequency modulation synthesis is capable of creating a broad, detailed, highly nuanced range of tones which can be controlled with a fine level of detail. The technique starts with a simple wave—usually a sine wave—which is then modulated by another wave. The interaction between the two (or more) waves creates and shapes the sound over time. FM synthesis offers an infinite range of possibilities and permutations: it is this range of choices which gives the broad array of tonal nuances tha...

Sample-based synthesizers can be used to create the sound of a full orchestra or individual instruments. They can replicate the sound of a full drum kit, delicate vintage gear, and specialist instruments. Samplers allow one musician to play the bagpipes, a shamisen, a lute, and a whole orchestra, all at the push of a button. As well as offering the facility to recreate the sound of real instruments with a high degree of sonic fidelity, sample-based synthesis also allows real sounds to be u...

Why do professional recordings sound "bigger than life"? Are there special microphones and secret techniques? Or is it somehow the magic of the "big studio"?Learn how to improve your tracks (without spending big bucks on gear) with "Pro Techniques For Home Recording". This eBook covers every step in home music production from setup to mixing and mastering. Complete with audio examples.

In How Will Capitalism End?, the acclaimed analyst of contempo�rary politics and economics Wolfgang Streeck argues that the world is on the cusp of enormous change. The marriage between democracy and capitalism, ill-suited partners brought together in the shadow of the Second World War, is unravelling. The regulatory institutions that once restrained the financial sector's excesses have collapsed, and there is no political agency capable of rolling back the liberalization of the m...

The age of party democracy has passed, argues Peter Mair in Ruling the Void. The major parties have become so disconnected from society that they no longer seem capable of sustaining democracy in its present form.First published in 2013, Ruling the Void presciently observed that the widening gap between citizens and their political leaders posed a crisis of legitimacy for the governing class, and was fuelling populist mobilizations against it. Europe's political e...

The European Union is in crisis. Crippled by economic problems, political brinkmanship, and institutional rigidity, the EU faces an increasingly uncertain future.In this compelling essay, leading scholar of European politics, Jan Zielonka argues that although the EU will only survive in modest form - deprived of many real powers - Europe as an integrated entity will grow stronger. Integration, he contends, will continue apace because of European states’ profound economic interdepen...

The aims of and motives for development cooperation have changed significantly in recent times. Besides pursuing short- and longer-term objectives in their own economic, foreign policy and other interests, donors usually have a recognisable and genuine interest in assisting countries in their processes of development.

European welfare states are undergoing profound change, driven by globalization, technical changes, and population ageing. More immediately, the aftermath of the Great Recession and unprecedented levels of immigration have imposed additional pressures. This book examines welfare state transformations across a representative range of European countries and at the EU level, and considers likely new directions in social policy. It reviews the dominant neo-liberal austerity response and discus...