Rise of the electronic music scene in todays generation - Research Paper Example

?RISE OF THE ELECTRONIC MUSIC SCENE IN TODAY’S GENERATION Introduction Music is a very integral part of human beings. The ability to compose music isactually one of the traits of human beings that distinguish them from other animate creatures (Easton, 2002). Even among the human race, music is perceived differently by different people and used for different purposes, depending on where the music is coming from. What is more peculiar also is the fact that there exist different forms of music even among the same group of persons. As far as the type or form of music that exists among a group of people is concerned, one thing that remains an important factor is that the form of music changes with time and that different generations have different forms of music that springs up among them (Graves, 2002). It is in light of these changes and the association of a kind of music with a specific group of persons that the electronic music could be said to have been born. One interesting thing about electronic music, which seems to the type of music genre in today’s generation, is that this form of music actually seem to transcend beyond cultural backgrounds as there are as many people from different cultural backgrounds of the world that embrace electronic music. Origins of Electronic Music Historians who are biased towards the study of music has it that electronic music was actually born in the late 19th century and early 20th century (Andre, 2003). What this means is that the days before these dates did not have any presence of what we today call electronic music. Indeed, to give a better background to the origin of electronic music, it would be most appropriate to define or explain what an electronic music is. Basically, an electronic music takes its form and description from the instruments that were used in their creation (Bulow, 2007). To this end, mention can be made of the use of the computer as the major instrument behind electronic music. The recording devises involved in the recording of the music also counts a lot when talking about electronic music. It is in this direction that there is so much justification as to the origin of electronic music being the late 19th century and early 20th century because it was around that time, in 1878 that the first playback music recording device known as the phonogram was patented by Thomas Edison (Doniger, 1999). From that time, music that became created with electronic instruments, instead of the electromechanical designs from which they were made. Major factors promoting the rise of Electronic Music Electronic music scene in its self has seen so much rise and advancements from the very first days of its origin when it was created. These changes are due to a number of factors, which can be given timelines right from the onset of the production of the first electronic instrument. For example in the seasons of the 1940s and the 1950s, the Electroacoustic tape music was introduced. This brought about the production of the very first practical audio tape recorder in Berlin (Brophy et al, 2009). It was the development of the audio tape recorder that gave way to the electroacoustic tape music. Then in the 1960s, there was further expansion of electronic music with the advent of computer music and live electronic. Indeed, this was going to be a major break through for the rise and advancement of electronic music as computers were engineered to play recognizable tunes by the use of complex amplification of sounds (Brophy, 2002). Today, the developments have reached sections whereby there have been the production of sequencers and drum machines, MIDI, chip tunes, circuit bending, digital synthesis, among others as part of the expansion of electronic music. To sum it all, electronic music has grown to a stage where it has become more accustomed with today’s generation. Electronic Music as Popular Culture Whether by accident or as a plan, the people of today have become more sophisticated with the genre of music they cherish to listen to. Indeed, the people of today’s generation cannot be blamed much when it comes to the selection of their preferred line of music, most of which seek after quality because of the advancement of technology (Gardner, 1999). With technological advancement, there seem to be a high definition of almost every aspect of human life and music could be no exception. Due to these factors, today’s generation has come to embrace electronic music as a popular and an integral part of their daily lives. Today, electronic music is used in almost all areas of human endeavor and in the conduct of almost all human related rites. Music is found everywhere including in cars, airplanes, bedrooms, offices, elevators, and just every other place that humans exist. As part of the popular culture, designers of various music playing instrument have also succeeded in coming out with sophisticated and portable music devices that can carry music almost every where. Today, the size of a microchip, which has dimension of not more than 2 centimeter square, can load as many as one thousand pieces of music for the carrier. Music has indeed become more of a universal culture. Globalization and the rise of Electronic Music Discussions on the rise of electronic music would almost be incomplete if the subject of globalization is not mentioned. This is because globalization has shot up the popularity of electronic music so much so that there is virtually no corner of this world that electronic music is not found. It is not surprising therefore that some analysts choose to say that electronic music has grown beyond the description of how a piece of music was produced into a genre of music (Selkou, 2002). With globalization, which is led by the use of computers and its sophisticated partner, the internet, music produced in the smallest part of America can reach the smallest part of Asia or Australia in a matter of seconds. This way, what was originally supposed to be the line of music of the American people, has today become a global music genre because of globalization. One other trick that electronic music is doing so well and so fast is the fact that the production of electronic music has become a universal phenomenon. In other words, a person living in Africa would not only have the pleasure of listening to an electronic music from America but also have the honor of using sophisticated electronic devices in composing electronic music even when he wants to make a genre of music popular to his culture. Impact of Electronic Music on Today’s Generation There are several impacts of the rise of electronic music scene on today’s generation that can be pointed out to and discussed. But one of these areas will be selected for deeper scrutiny and this is the area of creation of a music economy for the young men and women of the present generation. Indeed there is no denying the fact that music today forms an industry of its own and that it employs as many talented people as possible and determine the livelihood of these people. With the rise of electronic music, growing into a popular culture, employment is created for sound engineers, musicians, dancers, record owners, and several other people in the music industry (Brophy, 2002). Conclusion Through this paper, much light has been shed on electronic music and its rise in today’s generation. Not only were the factors that increase the popularity and rise of electronic music investigated but the very origins of this genre of music were also looked at. It has indeed been established that electronic music has become part of the present generation because of their love for quality and sophistication (Mougeot et al, 2011). Luckily, all needed factors and components that should make the music industry meet the demand for high quality definition of music are in place. What puts the icing on the cake is the fact that factors of globalization including international trade and the use of the internet makes electronic music travel faster than it was anticipated to do. But that cannot be the stooping point for electronic music. As a matter of fact, there remains so much that can be done in terms of research and development to come out with highly advanced forms of electronic music compositions. As much as possible, the people of the present generation should be challenged to produce a kind of electronic music that can best fit into the taste and demand of the unborn generation. This way, electronic music will not fade as fast as the types of music ahead of it did. CITED WORKS Andre Thomas. Economical Principles and Application. New York: Seekers Printing Press. 2003. Print. Brophy James M. et al., The Conditions of the Working Class in England, Vol. 2, 4th Edition, New York: Norton, 2009. Brophy, James M., Perspectives from the past: primary sources in Western civilizations; Adam Smith, Wealth of nations, 2002. pg. 225-231 Bulow, Jerry. and Roberts John. 2007, “The Industrial Revolution of Great Britain”. The Journal of Political Economics, Vol. 97, No. 5, 123. Doniger, Wendy. Splitting the difference. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 1999. Print. Easton, Bernard. Police Discretion: Modernising Alcohol Excise Duties. Alcohol Advisory Council of New Zealand: Wellington. 2002. Print. Gardner, Bob. and Petit, Seidu. 2006, A Study of the UK Economy’ s Requirements for People with Experience of Working at Sea Cardio: University of Wales. Graves T. 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