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Label for 1.0 sound, mono.

Monaural or monophonic sound reproduction (often shortened to mono) is single-channel. Typically there is only one microphone, one loudspeaker, or (in the case of headphones and multiple loudspeakers) channels are fed from a common signal path. In the case of multiple microphones the paths are mixed into a single signal path at some stage.

Monaural sound has been replaced by stereo sound in most entertainment applications. However, it remains the standard for radiotelephone communications, telephone networks, and Audio induction loops for use with hearing aids. A few FM radio stations, particularly of the talk radio variety, choose to broadcast in monaural sound, as a monaural signal has a slight advantage in signal strength over a stereophonic signal of the same power.

History[link]

While some experiments were made with stereophonic recording and reproduction from the early days of the phonograph in the late 19th century, until the second half of the 20th century monaural was the rule for almost all audio recording.

Monaural sound is normal on:

• Phonograph cylinders
• Disc records made before 1958, such as records made for playing at a speed of 78 rpm and earlier 16⅔, 33⅓, and 45 rpm microgroove records.
• AM radio
• Some FM radio stations which broadcast only spoken word or talk radio content in order to maximize their coverage area. Examples of this would be the CBC Radio One stations on the FM dial.
• Subcarrier signals for FM radio, which carry leased content such as background music for businesses or a radio reading service for the blind.

Incompatible standards exist for:

• Later records (monophonic records - which had almost disappeared in the US by the end of 1967 - could be played with a stereo cartridge)
• Reel-to-reel audio tape recording (depending on track alignment)

Compatible monaural and stereophonic standards exist for:

• MiniDisc
• Compact audio cassette
• FM (and in rare circumstances AM radio broadcasting)
• VCR formats
• TV

No monaural standards exist for:

• 8-track tape
• Compact disc

At various times artists have preferred to work in mono, either in recognition of the technical limitations of the equipment of the era or due to a simple preference. This can be seen as analogous to film makers working in black and white - such as John Mellencamp's 2010 album, No Better Than This, recorded in mono just like the mid-20th century blues and folk records it emulated were. Some early recordings such as The Beatles first four albums - Please Please Me, With The Beatles, A Hard Day's Night, and Beatles For Sale - were re-released in the CD era as monophonic in recognition that the source tapes for the earliest recordings were two track, with vocals on one track and instruments on the other (even though this was only true on the first two, while the later pair had been recorded on four-track). This was actually intended to provide flexibility in producing a final mono mix, not to provide a stereo recording, although due to demand this was done anyway and the early material was available on vinyl in either mono or stereo formats. In the 1960s and 1970s, it was common in the pop world that stereophonic versions of mono tracks were generated electronically using filtering techniques to attempt to pick out various instruments and vocals, but these were often considered unsatisfactory due to the artifacts of the conversion process.^{[citation needed]}

Many of Stanley Kubrick and Woody Allen's movies are shot in mono due to their director's preferences.

Monaural LP records were eventually phased out and no longer manufactured after the early 1970s, with a few exceptions. (Decca UK had a few double issues up to the end of 1970 - last one being Tom Jones "I Who Have Nothing" - and in Brazil records were released in both mono and stereo as late as 1972)^{[citation needed]} During the 1960s it was common that albums were released as both monaural LPs and stereo LPs, occasionally with slight differences between the two (again detailed information of The Beatles' recordings provide a good example of the differences). This was because many people owned mono record players which were incapable of playing stereo records, as well as the prevalence of AM radio. Because of the limited quantities pressed and alternate mixes of several tracks, the monaural versions of these albums are often valued more highly than their stereo LP counterparts in record collecting circles today.^{[citation needed]}

On 9 September 2009, The Beatles re-released a remastered box set of their mono output spanning the Please Please Me album to The Beatles (commonly referred to as the "White Album"). The set, simply called The Beatles in Mono, also includes a two-disc summary of the mono singles, B-sides and EP tracks released throughout their career. Also included were 5 tracks originally mixed for a Yellow Submarine EP but never released. Bob Dylan followed suit on October 19, 2010 with The Original Mono Recordings, a box set featuring the mono releases from 1962's Bob Dylan to 1967's John Wesley Harding. In 2011, The Kinks' mono recordings were issued as The Kinks in Mono box set, featuring the releases from the band's 1964 debut album to 1969's Arthur, with a bonus two disc set of non album tracks that were issued as singles or EPs.

See also[link]

• Stereophonic sound
• Binaural recording

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Conrad Yeatis "Sonny" Clark (July 21, 1931 – January 13, 1963) was an American jazz pianist who mainly worked in the hard bop idiom.

Biography[link]

Clark was born and raised in Herminie, Pennsylvania, a coal mining town southeast of Pittsburgh. At age 12, he moved to Pittsburgh. When visiting an aunt in California at age 20, Clark decided to stay and began working with saxophonist Wardell Gray. Clark went to San Francisco with Oscar Pettiford and after a couple months, was working with clarinetist Buddy DeFranco in 1953. Clark toured the U.S. and Europe with DeFranco until January 1956, when he joined The Lighthouse All-Stars, led by bassist Howard Rumsey.

Wishing to return to the east coast, Clark served as accompanist for singer Dinah Washington in February 1957 in order to relocate to New York City. In New York, Clark was often requested as a sideman by many musicians, partly because of his rhythmic comping. He frequently recorded for Blue Note Records, playing as a sideman with many hard bop players, including Kenny Burrell, Donald Byrd, Paul Chambers, John Coltrane, Dexter Gordon, Art Farmer, Curtis Fuller, Grant Green, Philly Joe Jones, Clifford Jordan, Jackie McLean, Hank Mobley, Art Taylor, and Wilbur Ware. He also recorded sessions with Charles Mingus, Sonny Rollins, Billie Holiday, Stanley Turrentine, and Lee Morgan.

As a band leader, Clark recorded albums "Dial "S" for Sonny" (1957), "Sonny's Crib" (1957), Sonny Clark Trio (1957), with Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones, and Cool Struttin' (1958). Sonny Clark Trio, with George Duvivier and Max Roach was released in 1960.

Clark died of a heart attack in New York City,^[1] although commentators attribute the early death to Clark's drug and alcohol abuse.^[1][2][3]

Close friend and fellow jazz pianist Bill Evans dedicated the composition "NYC's No Lark" (an anagram of "Sonny Clark") to him after his death, included on Evans' Conversations with Myself (1963). John Zorn, Wayne Horvitz, Ray Drummond, and Bobby Previte recorded an album of Clark's compositions, Voodoo (1985), as The Sonny Clark Memorial Quartet. Zorn also recorded several of Clark's compositions with Bill Frisell and George Lewis on News for Lulu (1988) and More News for Lulu (1992).

Discography[link]

As leader[link]

• Oakland, 1955 (1955), Uptown
• Dial "S" for Sonny (1957), Blue Note
• Sonny's Crib (1957), Blue Note
• Sonny Clark Trio (1957), Blue Note
• Sonny Clark Quintets (1957), Blue Note
• Cool Struttin' (1958), Blue Note
• The Art of The Trio (1958), Blue Note
• Blues in the Night (1958), Blue Note
• My Conception (1959), Blue Note
• Sonny Clark Trio (1960), Time/Bainbridge - with Max Roach, George Duvivier
• Leapin' and Lopin' (1961), Blue Note

Compilations

• Standards (1998), Blue Note

As sideman[link]

With Tina Brooks

• Minor Move (1958)

With Serge Chaloff

• Blue Serge (1956)

With Buddy DeFranco

• In a Mellow Mood (1954)
• Cooking the Blues (1955)
• Autumn Leaves (1956)
• Sweet and Lovely (1956)
• Jazz Tones (1956)

With Lou Donaldson

• Lou Takes Off (1957)

With Curtis Fuller

• Bone & Bari (1957)
• Curtis Fuller Volume 3 (1957)
• Two Bones (1958)

With Dexter Gordon

• Go (1962)
• A Swingin' Affair (1962)

With Bennie Green

• Soul Stirrin' (1958)
• The 45 Session (1958)
• Bennie Green Swings the Blues (1959)

With Grant Green^[4]

• Gooden's Corner (1961*)
• Nigeria (1962*)
• Oleo (1962*)

The albums were recorded in 61-62 on Blue Note, but released later.

• Born to Be Blue (1962)

With Johnny Griffin

• The Congregation (1957)

With John Jenkins

• John Jenkins with Kenny Burrell (1957)

With Clifford Jordan

• Cliff Craft (1957)

With Jackie McLean

• Jackie's Bag (1959)
• A Fickle Sonance (1961)
• Vertigo (1962)
• Tippin' the Scales (1962)

With Hank Mobley

• Poppin' (1957)
• Hank Mobley (1957)
• Curtin Call (1957)

With Lee Morgan

• Candy (1958)

With Ike Quebec

• Easy Living (1962)

With Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse

• Mexican Passport (1956)
• Music for Lighthousekeeping (1956)
• Oboe/Flute (1956)

With Louis Smith

• Smithville (1958)

With Stanley Turrentine

• Jubilee Shout!!! (1962)

With Don Wilkerson

• Preach Brother! (1962)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Sonny Clark -Pittsburgh Music History

Book sources[link]

• Feather, Leonard (2002). Sonny Clark Trio [CD liner notes]. Blue Note Records.
• Palmer, Robert (March 18, 1987). "The Pop Life; Recalling Sonny Clark". The New York Times. Retrieved on September 1, 2007.