Music has always been strongly influenced by technology. Technology limits yet allows new possible ways of music-making of composers and musicians at the same time. This short article is not a comprehensive guide. Still, it aims to briefly introduce you to how music and technology react with each other in a less broad scope and hopefully arouse your critical thoughts on the issue. Perhaps you would find some of the matters relatable to your life.
Back to the days when music notation had not been invented, musicians and composers were unable to create elaborate music since people could not memorise such sorts of music. But with new inventions of technology such as music notation invented by Gvido d’Arezzo, new forms of music, e.g. Pérotin’s Viderunt Omnes (1198) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9360B1AoPE), could be composed. We can see that technology brought new possibilities for music. At the same time, the limited level of technology, however, restricted the spread of music because music scores could only be hand-written, and it could take months to copy a book of scores. Thus, only wealthy people could have access to such new music.
Centuries later, technological advancements like mature printing technology, recording technology, computers, online/offline applications, etc., allow people to make music and listen to music whenever and wherever they want to. It seems helpful to many because of convenience. Listening to music has gradually become a private thing. People enjoy listening to music alone. Often we see people listen to music on the bus, eating in a restaurant, or walking on the street with their headphones. Technology somehow has created physical burdens between people. There is less chance for people to communicate. The power of traditional music culture is weakened because of the privatisation of music. For example, people used to socialise with each other during the intermissions of concerts in concert halls. Such behaviour not only allows people to expand their connections but also exchange opinions and views on the music played by the performer(s), lightening performances. Music, to me, is a thing that connects people. But sadly, it may not be anymore.
Another example could be, because of recording technology, music nowadays sounds more and more similar. Musicians used to have unique musical senses because they had not much chance of listening to others’ music. Everyone could have different interpretations of the same piece of music. Therefore, musicians could develop a unique musical sense and musicality. People nowadays can easily have access to YouTube, CDs, etc. Undeniably, they can be affected by a specific style of interpretation from recordings and music videos they enjoy subliminally. Even though people do not intend to imitate others’ music, their music could end up sounding similar. In this case, technology may limit new possibilities of music.
Another way that recording technology limits new musical possibilities is that often concerts held in concert halls are recorded, and musicians are becoming less bold to take risks and play music with interpretations that never appear as the audience can listen to their performances over and over again on the internet. They may not like such playing, eventually causing disapproval and demoralisation to performers.
Technology is transforming the means of making music and our experience of listening to music. It is worth investigating the pros and cons brought by technology towards music if we want music to flourish in the future.
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