The Use of Musical Culture as Socio-technical Culture - Essay Example

Kazim Rizvi 3 December The Use of Musical Culture as Socio-technical Culture: Implication of different mediums of music and the use of mp3 in today’s world Music is something that has completely changed the way people think. It has led to revolutions, understanding and harmony among different groups of people with time and evolution. In comparison with music from the earlier times, today’s music is quite different but is nothing but an amalgamation of the thoughts and ideas that were put into compositions in the yesteryears. Of course with time, a number of changes have also been brought about, not only within the different styles of music, but also in the objects used to play music, make music as well as in the creation of devices by which music can stay with us on the move. In this paper, answers have been attempted at how various mediums of music have with time led to a wider share in different kinds of people, as well as the use and implication of mp3 players in people’s lives in the modern world. James Curtis writes that different mediums of recorded music have led to the creation of different types of implied listeners, in his research note titled Toward a Sociotechnological Interpretation of Popular Music in the Electronic Age. By this interpretation, he means that with the development of the ages in terms of music, varied audiences have begun to crop up because of the advent of new and different styles of music. These different styles are referred to as genres. However, Curtis has made an analogy with reference to literature and states that a particular audience of that listens to a particular type of music, does not remain absolute with reference to that genre. For a period of time, an environment is born, where that particular style of music pleases a certain mass, and with time, that changes as well. This change happens because of the change in innovation with regard to better technology to create music. For example, the shift towards the use of turntables for the purpose of disc jockeying has created a new line of music altogether. This medium lasts for some time within the hold and grasp of a particular set of people, and then evolves into something newer and better to either keep their interests, or appeal to a new audience. If we look into this further it can be understood better. Taking rock music into account, according to Curtis’ research it can be seen that in the earlier days, 45 RPM singles or AM radio was listened to by the poorer section of society that mostly consisted of Southerners. This change in music was brought about because of better aural perception by the people, and it led to the steady decline of rural big bands. With time, this form of music also grew into and gave rise to better styles of rock music and helped people to retrieve notions about sexuality. The FM stereo and albums were listened to by the middle class whites of society. These outlets of listening to music were preceded by attending live concerts and gave rise to a new style of music referred to as disco. This change was brought about because of better equipment available by which music could be edited and listened to at home instead of paying large amounts of money to visit concerts once in a while. Much the same way, the 12 inch 45’s also developed with due course and formed a source of entertainment for the gays and blacks within society. This section has always been looked down upon, and that is why, the music was created because of a feeling of isolation which moved away, and gave rise to the realisation of the people’s rights and freedom. It helped them believe in things that they did, and led to forms of entertainment like formal dancing. All these major music periods began between 1954 to1964. The main reason for the development of these styles is for the comfort of people. Different crises that took place between these periods also gave rise to different kinds of feelings towards the arts which further developed into music. Mediums of music keep changing and evolving in order to make it comfortable for people to listen to. Earlier, the trend was to visit concerts and that was the only place where one could listen. Or, people barely had a choice between the kind of instruments that could be used, or the kind of compositions that were being formed. However, such a change has given rise to a new era altogether. Moving on to the essay presented by Jonathan Sterne, The mp3 as a cultural artefact, as the name of the essay suggests, the mp3 player is truly an artefact in its own. Mp3 has been a source of intellectual property rights for quite some time now because it allows for portable file and resource sharing, especially in terms of audio and video files. There have been a number of cases on the basis of it, and everything thus adds up to its vitality and role in the modern world, today. It comes under a section of Intellectual Property Rights because it basically holds files and documents that are acted upon by people who may form their files on the basis of sharing of their ideologies with others. A number of technological processes have come together and been made easy because of the use of the mp3 as well. Most people make use of the mp3 because it provides ease and is very comfortable to use. The device makes use of a construct within the person’s body so that it can modify the data and the electrical signals coming from it so that it can turn it into proper sound and then enter the person’s ears. This means that these devices need certain body techniques to be able to exist. Thus, its implied listener would be anybody because it itself is modelled in a manner that it can easily help any person listen to sounds and music. It enters a person’s body through sonic waves and sounds and decides for them, what kind of music it is going to emanate for them to hear. So the basic type of listening that is implied by the mp3 is mostly anything that falls between the range of casual listening for a purpose of entertainment. The best part about such a player is that it provides for a completely different aesthetic experience for the listener and over time, has revolutionized the way people listen to music, and also the outlook that they had towards the ease of its portability. Even though it makes life literally easier, it also frowns down upon the limitations of the human ear. According to this device, music can only be heard after the object gives its inputs to the human body and after signals are sent to the brain and only then can sound enter and please the ears. Thus in conclusion, it can be said that mp3 players have changed the way people listen to music and the main type of music that it implies users to listen to is anything that is relaxed, informal and can be transmitted to a person’s body. Therefore, it has helped to bring a massive change in society, in the way that people perceive the device, and thus can be rightfully referred to as a cultural artefact as well because over the years it has also gone through a number of changes and aims to provide better sense of ease of use to the user. Works Cited Curtis, James.M. Toward a Sociotechnological Interpretation of Popular Music in the Electronic Age. Technology and Culture, Vol. 25, No. 1 (Jan., 1984), pp. 91-102 Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press on behalf of the Society for the History of Technology Read More