Development of Music Technology - Essay Example

Development of Music technology Introduction Technology can be defined as the utilization of information in the designing, producing, and use of goods and services, in organizing human activities; human beings often create, adapt, and apply the knowledge of tools, as well as methods of organization, among other things, in order to solve certain problems, to enhance their present conditions while achieving certain goals. Technology is as old as humanity itself, but has evolved over the years with innovations coming up day and night to replace the old ones in solving emerging human needs and challenges, thereby greatly transforming human interactions, and societies altogether by helping in the establishment of more advanced economies and leisure class. Technology evolved greatly in the 20th century, due to the rapid accelerations in science, and inventions of new musical instruments, greatly altering the ways in which individuals produce both music and sound. Contemporary music is nothing close to what it used to be in the past since musicians have adapted technology as a creative and production tool (Peters 20); this paper will explore the development of music in the 20th century and the manner in which it has been used as a creative and production tool over the subsequent years. The 20th century as period of change The late 20th century was a period that saw massive changes occur in music industry, due to the emergence of more complex new technology that completely redefined the manner in which individuals produce both music and sound (Gabler 3). Whereas production of music in the mid-20th century was a pretty quick and modest undertaking, only requiring a few individuals, the digital age in the late 20th century became more complicated and technologically demanding, requiring technicians and engineers as well as producers to guide the creative aspects of making music albums. The period is laden with sophisticated technologies for recording and distributing music, in addition to massive innovations in musical forms as well as styles, which gave artists new freedoms to experiment widely, by challenging and defying established rules of music that had greatly defined previous centuries. One of the greatest impacts of technology in the 20th century was the onset of music recording and one of the crucial seminal innovations in audio recording technology was Thomas Edison’s 1872 phonography (Freund). The phonograph allowed people to enjoy sound without the need for a live performance, and the preservation of musical compositions in recordings rather than just on paper alone. This technology was such a great marvel in many homes as people could decide for themselves what songs they wanted to hear, the time as well as the frequency of doing so (Harrington); with the ability to preserve music, new other radical shifts occurred in the music industry. Musicians were no longer the sole sources of music since recording mediated between the artist/musicians and their listeners while the studios increasingly became more of businesses rather than creative places. The impact of technology on the production and creative process of making music was immense, particularly because the new music technology imposed new demands and limits on composers that had previously composed sheet music (Johnson 9); for instance, composers like Igor Stravinsky had to satisfy length requirements for records and technology. Besides that, technology as a creative and production tool has also interfered with the process of making music since it does not leave any room for soft and gentle timbres that were characteristic of the distinctive sounds of natural musical instruments. Nonetheless, the collection, broadcasting, production, engineering, sampling as well as synthesizing and manipulation of sound is now possible with these technological advancements; similarly, the manufacturing, distribution, in addition to retailing of the physical reproductions of the recording has been realized. The stereophonic recording, which replaced monophonic sound in the 1950s with the industry standard stereophonic sound, was yet another key invention in the music industry; the ability to use two audio channels rather than one and to blend them perfectly allowed the producers of music to create the prototype of surround sound. The birth of recording and the recording studio greatly altered the game in the music industry by taking music out of the conventional time dimension to the space dimension allowing individuals to listen to performances repetitively noting details that they had missed before (Eno 127). In this respect, the studio became such a powerful compositional tool with the transformation of craft into art by leveraging on technology as the core aspect of the creative and production process of music. Multi-task recording process by use of tapes took over from single-track recording and thrived greatly with the introduction of cassettes in the 1960s; splicing of sounds from different tapes into one became common while mixing, the most detailed aspect of the recording process also became possible, allowing record producers to set tracks at different levels while adding effects and processors. The next seminal technological breakthrough in the music industry was the invention of compact disks (CDs) as well as personal computers (PCs) in the 1980’s, which greatly transformed the way music was recorded, produced, and distributed (Young 2012). Whereas the CDs had more storage capacity than cassettes, they allowed listeners the ability to skip tracks rather than rewinding or fast-forwarding and the producers as well as engineers alike were now able to make adjustments that are more accurate at any given point on the track thereby enhancing the quality of both mixing and mastering. Similarly, the Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) technology, whose digital language allowed synthesizers and computers to connect with a MIDI controller or sampler, enabled the manipulation of a sample of one or several sounds to produce audio signals at varied tempos and pitches with specific effects and sounds. The MIDI sequencing technology is the foundational idea of computer music notation-software or the digital-workstations, which have enabled millions of people all over the world to make sound and music, thereby leading to the creation of new music genres, new software, as well as new engineering. Besides the digitalization of music production using computer and MIDI synthesizing, many studios have today switched from the conventional analogue mixing consoles, which controlled few channels, to the new digital mixing consoles that meticulously control numerous channels. Finally, the ground breaking digital file is yet another central innovation that has greatly altered the manner in which individuals produce and consume music, with online music streaming and downloading becoming the most popular music technology today. Nonetheless, the arrival of the MP3 made it possible and mush easier for music consumers to put music on computers from the CDs while the CD-ROM drives on computers allowed computer users to share music through ripping, burning, as well as transference of music files. Contemporary music industry Evidently, the massive explosion in music technology has completely altered the landscape of the entire music industry thereby making music more egalitarian and universal since the means of production can easily be accessed by almost anybody with access to a computer. The home has suddenly become a studio with many artists preferring to compose and record at home by investing in solid recording software rather than hiring services of professional studios (Theberge 76); moreover, more recent genres of music such as techno and hip-hop thrive better on digital production. Due to the great impact of the transformation in the audio recording technology that has completely altered music recording and production, the conventional professional roles of producers, studios, computers, as well as other recording equipment have also changed over the century. The potential for creativity in the music making has never been so high as it is now in the digital age with all these incredible music technology, that is easily accessible by individuals; musicians today are leveraging on the power of computers and digital technologies to create music from producing indiscriminate sounds to controlling a refined digital masterpiece. The techno or electronica genre is one of the novel ideas that has emerged out of the broad experimentation and application of digital music technologies as a creative and production tool in the music industry (Mcomber 10). The genre is based on digitally generated and appraised sounds and beats that have been organized in a deliberate repetitive and rhythmic manner; the creative and production process for all the subgenres of techno including ambient, jungle, and trance all involve digital technology, hence the name techno. Techno producers mix together clips of sound known as samples, which they cull from existing sources including CDs, or create from scratch using computer software, after which they burn their creations to CDs for distribution or the MP3 (Clarke 11). Techno artists heavily rely on digital equipment such as computers and the MIDI sequencers as well as drum machines to make their music; the opportunities for techno artists to experiment with sound samples and to produce music that is more complex in nature are great and countless. Case studies: Dead Mouse & The Who One of the greatest musicians that have traditionally pushed the boundaries of the music industry through the exploration and application of technology as a creative and production tool is known as dead mouse, a Canadian progressive-house music producer and performer from Toronto. Dead mouse produces numerous styles under the house genre as well as under the electronic dance music and has always been pushing forwards by utilizing state of the art equipment for his productions; for instance, dead mouse recently unveiled brand new custom touch screen DJ controller/producer software he authored alongside Microsoft. The most profound revolutions simply happen and they are never planned for, plotted, or premeditated (Swed 56); dead mouse did not really set out to be a seminal electronic artist, except that he simply made some music, which eventually happened to revolutionize the music industry and pop culture. Formed in 1964, the Who are an English rock band that are highly regarded for their music prowess, alongside the Beatles and the Rolling Stones; their music, though predominantly rock, has evolved over time in the course of their careers from trad jazz to contemporary pop hits, to R&B and finally to the distinctive rock sound. The Who have pioneered the use of the Marshal Stack and synthesizers thereby becoming major influential acts in the 60s and 70s respectively. The power cord, windmill strum, and guitar smash as well as the Marshal Stack are part of their key contributions to the rock iconography; the band largely experimented with the development of electronics in music technology, especially in terms of voice amplification and instrument enhancement. The possibility of electronic feedback and overdrive in the production and creation of music in the 1960s was responsible for the emergence of the heavy rock genre of the early 70s that was characteristic of musicians such as Jimi Hendrix who greatly influenced the Who is music. Conclusion Overall, the progressive shifts in music technology in the late 20th century through to the early 21st century has been very influential in shaping the ways in which music is made since musicians and producers alike are increasingly leveraging on these technology both as a creative and production tool. The music industry has transformed greatly due to these new music technologies that have continuously allowed musicians more freedom and opportunities to experiment with sound in the creation of new music subgenres and redefining conventional music boundaries and defying all rules of the game. One of the greatest innovations of the 20th century is undoubtedly the MIDI sequencing, which has granted musicians a limitless world of sonic as well as musical capabilities by recreating the real sound of musical instruments. The techno or electric genre of music relies heavily on digital sounds generated through the wide experimentation and application of digital music technologies as a creative and production tool in the music industry. Evidently, contemporary music is nothing close to what it used to be in the past since a majority of musicians and producers are increasingly adapting and applying music technology as creative and production tools; Dead Mouse and the Who are remarkable acts that have been instrumental in the push for technology use in the music industry. Works Cited Clarke, Jennifer. "The effect of digital technology on late 20th century and early 21st century culture" . Graduate School Theses and Dissertations. 2003. Print. Theberge, Paul. “Any Sound You Can Imagine: Making Music/Consuming Technology.” Hanover: N.H University Press. 1997.Print Eno, Brian. “Studio as a Compositional Tool.” Christoph, Warner, Daniel (eds.) Audio Culture: Readings in Modern Music: NY: Continuum: 127-130. 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"Turning points of a century: Pop Music; Putting it on the Record; the Advent of the Phonograph Signaled Sound Waves of the Future." The Washington Post: 1999. Web. Feb. 26, 2014 < http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-624383.html> Mcomber, Martin. Prodigys Liam Howlett: Battling with success pop music: As techno music catches the ear of the mainstream, the songwriter struggles to hang on to the genres longtime faithful.  Los Angeles Times. 1993.Web. Feb. 26, 2014 < http://articles.latimes.com/1993-01-15/entertainment/ca-1379_1_techno-music> Peters, David. Transformations: Technology and the music industry. Teaching Music, 9.3, (2001): 20-25. Johnson, Greg. "Technology Shaking Up Sheet Music Industry." Los Angeles Times: 1993. Web. Feb. 26, 2014 < http://articles.latimes.com/1993-04-18/business/fi-24222_1_sheet-music-stores> Read More