Thanks Edison We Owe You
When he gave it to the world, Thomas Edison saw a number of applications for
his world-changing invention... the phonograph (1877).
In an article published by a widely read newspaper, among the possible uses
he saw for it included:
- letter writing
- dictation without the aid of a stenographer
- phonographic books for blind people
- music-boxes and toys
- clocks that should announce schedules
- language preservation
- and various other educational applications
He wasn't wrong!
It is clear that even the great inventor and visionary himself could not anticipate
the full impact of recorded sound - especially on the world of entertainment.
A variety of songs, stage plays and stand-up comedies were recorded even in
his own lifetime. Music and comedy have always been any audiences’ preferred
choice of having a good time. It is fortunate that some of the earliest recorded
examples of these have been preserved. The wit and humor evident in these conveys
a clear message - people have always loved to laugh.
Play Audio - Happy tho' married
[4]
What is paramount here is that it is only with each new progressive cyles of
technology can we look back and realise the shortcomings of the previous. Listeners
of the day apparently recognised no different between real life sound and the
Edison example.
Milestones Of Music Technology
The Edison milestone could be considered the "big-bang" of the now
very dynamic field of Music Technology which has seen such developments along
the Music
Technology Time Line as:
- 1898: Telegraphone; magnetic wire recording
- 1906: Triode vacuum tube; Thadius Cahill's Telharmonium
(New York City)
- 1922: Optical sound recording (mostly used with cinema)
- 1930s: Light-Tone
Organ (Berlin)
- 1936: Singing
Keyboard, ur-sampler designed for special-effects noises (Hollywood)
- 1955: Hugh LeCaine invents the Special Purpose Tape Recorder (Ottawa)
- 1957-58: Max Matthews does first digital synthesis with the Music I and
Music II programs at Bell Labs
- 1959: Lejaren
Hiller experiments with algorithmic composition on a computer
- 1960-69: Music III-V software synthesis with unit generators; algorithmic
composition programs by Iannis
Xenakis (Stochastic Music Program) and G. M. Koenig (Project 1); Moog
and Buchla synthesizers (Switched-on Bach was released at the end of 1968)
- 1971: Xenakis publishes Formalized
Music
- 1984: Cmix
by Paul Lansky at Princeton University
- Late 1980s: High-quality digital audio work stations for personal computers
- Early 1990s: Digital multitrack systems
Switched-On Bach --ESD 81602
MUSIC THAT CHANGED THE WORLD
The above list if far from exhaustive, yet it is very helpful
for understanding key periods of technological developments within the Music
Technology sphere. Deeper research is certainly encouraged as some of the technological
advances are essential to the understanding of where we are today.
MIDI and Digits of the 80s
Music Technology in the 80s saw some major developments and milestones pioneered
by companies and products such as the Yamaha
DX range, (The DX7 synthesiser was the first truly digital synthesiser and
was released with great commercial success in 1983, selling over 180,000 units.
Yamaha DX7
The DX7 used a type of synthesis Yamaha called "Frequency
Modulation" developed by Professor John Chowning at Stanford University
in the 1970s. [3].
This fuelled the rapid growth of digital products and personal
computers for music production and manipulation, culminating in the famous Atari
music computer built complete with MIDI ports.
It's commonly accepted that the Atari running the sequencing
software application Cubase
(now very widely distributed and used on the PC) by Steinberg,
promoted the creation of dance-based music, and changed the editing and musical
manipulation possibilities forever.
Atari 1040ST
Music Technology had come of age and was no longer reserved
for the big recording studios and the cherished few, but available and more
importantly accessible to the average Joe. MIDI and Sequencing was massive,
and still is!
Now anybody with a musical idea could make and produce music
at home.
1ssss & 0ssss = the 90s
The 90s can be viewed as a transitional decade, from music
recording and music production being mainly a recording studio based activity,
to an activity that also became a home-based activity with an explosion in the
amount of self-operated project studios.
Around the same time the world saw the saturation of the personal
computer (PC) into the majority of workplaces of the developed world, more and
more routine tasks became computerised which has led to a multi-billion dollar
computer industry.
This has had a major influencial hand in the devolpment of
music technology applications which shows no signs of reducing in pace.
Due to such a large computer industry the music technology
industry has been able to borrow the technology developed for other markets
and utlise it for music technology applications.
The tail-end of this decade saw the birth of "wrappers"
or Virtual Studio Technology (VST) whereby third-party software products started
to be developed and utlised in a variety of cross platform applications.
Digital audio had become "the" major player and analogue
could no longer compete commercially due to the law of diminishing returns.
The now "normal" non-destructive editing and manipulation possibilities
associated with digital audio were stuff of dreams.
Early 90s Cubase
The Present
Music Technology over the last ten years has been the most rapid period of
change to date, indeed exponential, with a staggering amount of development
within the PC related fields.
Coupled with the advancement in connectivity (the internet) and lowering costs
of computer hardware and software even the development of music technology applications
such as VST apps have become accessible.
A team of programmers can easily be geographically remote yet
be working on the same program code.
This trend will continue, the age of information is with us,
it is the second age of enlightment, where information is the new commodity.
More and more music technology applications are becoming far
more mainstream as companies look to provide subscription-based services and
keep the customer in the branding loop. Convergance into networked and mobile
devices will be the norm.
Student Mike, A Geographically Remote Recordist
This development is growing by the day, and much of today's
Music Technology is in fact virtual representations of external hardware of
yesterday.
What is paramount in this discussion is the velocity of change
and development since the advent of digital electronics.
Play Audio - Audio BLOG - Rocking
The Country In Kent UK
The Future - shall we predict?
The future of Music Technology is without a doubt about end-user
choice and "options". We will be seeing major developments into how
we interact and control the machines we use for making music as well as increased
functionality and convergence with related technology, the technology itself
will also be "smart" and interact within its environment.
Some potential key points of technological development will
include:
- more integrated digital audio workstations (DAWs), essentially multiple
"tools" within one unit
- sonically transparent digital microphones where the "sound" is
dialled in with software based interfaces
- auto equalized digitally controlled loudspeakers, where the response is
adjusted based on automated fast fourier transfor (FFT) measurments obtained
by generated impulses
- wider use of computer generated musical performance, human replacement,
or artificial intelligence
- MIDI (though still incredibly strong) will eventually be outdated by wireless
protocals (wireless technology predicted to explode)
- controlling interfaces will become more sophisticated and migrate away from
basic keyboards and mice
- commercially released music will provide for increased interactivity allowing
users to tailor the mix stems
- commercial music providers will continue on the subscription-based concept
and away from ownership of a product and encourage the accessibility of music
into a variety of "life-style" products.
- world wide web audio including podcasting and syndicated rss content will
be the method for personalised content fetching
- Development of new musical instruments for performance, for able-bodied
and disabled bodied people
Employment Opportunities
Employment opportunities will be rich for a music technology
specialist who has a rounded background in both fields of music and technology.
The individual will need skills which are more broader, essentially being systems
based rather than small component level based. The individual will have to be
able to adapt very quickly to the changing nature of mobile devices and networks
and be able to bloom in the arena of inter-connectivity. Digital theory and
concepts will be absolutely paramount along with a very strong grasp of computer
architecture and software.
Educating Music Technology
Audio hardware/software companies will actively seek educational
partnerships through sponsorships and promote centres of excellence, along with
becoming educational providers in their own right.
- Music technology education should:
- Be informative, challenging and establish a knowledge base suitable for
a future career in a Music Technology industry
- Give students with a variety of entry qualifications an opportunity to
realise their potential
- Enrich curriculum content and teaching quality through professional and/or
research expertise of staff and industrial links
- Encourage and support students whilst they develop and apply technical
and generic skills that will facilitate life long learning and continuing
professional development
- Produce graduates who can make a significant contribution to their professional
field or business.
ProTools Music Technology Classroom
Summary
In all of the above predictions I feel it to be encouraging
that the majority of us still keep a romantic attachment to the things of the
past and understand that our forefathers have pioneered and created some incredible
art in musical form. Indeed the Fab Four with the legendary producer George
Martin at the technological and musical helm created some records that have,
in my opinion yet to be surpassed in terms of music technology useage for the
conveying of emotional content.
The Beatles
References
Author: Christopher Hambly MA ODE
[1] http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bledison.htm
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology
[3] http://www.obsolete.com/120_years/machines/yamaha/
[4] http://www.a2zcds.com/ Products/Edison_Sound_Recordings_Humorous_Songs_Audio_CD_525.htm
