Jazzy Stardust
Banned
Awards
Technology is Musical Herpes
Didn't mean to put ha....
With technology everything else has improved in entertainment but music. From Movies and the way we experience them, even TV, Video games. But you hear all the time, "Music isn't as good as it use to be" from older generations and even young adults. You rarely hear people say movies use to be better.
People aren't buying albums, they aren't listening to them as a whole. People are more fans of the artist than the music they make. It's all about the live experience now. Artists use to make majority of money from album sales with limited touring. Now it's limited music with a lot of touring, music fans connect more now being there, when before they would connect more with the music then the person. Why is that?
This is explaining why music doesn't sound as good as before, and why people aren't connecting to it as much like before. Even though structurally(mainstream mostly) it's been the same formula since around the late 50's. And it's due to the technological advances.
I'll keep it simple. Each part explains the next to conclude my point. Discussion question at the bottom of the post.
Music is vibrations at a certain pitch interval between each other. Used to create harmony, form, emotional and spiritual expression. With added pressure the instruments will reach a pitch. There's different ways of achieving this.
-Adding pressure to Strings: Guitar, Violin, Piano, etc.
-Adding Pressure with Air: Vocals, Saxophone, Clarinet, etc.
-Adding Pressure with Force: Drums, Marumba, Tambourine, etc.
Through these methods we create electromagnetic waves based off of the intervals in the Major Scale. All music and chords are formed based off of this scale on various variations.( except with most percussion instruments)
Up until the release of the compact disc or CD, music was recorded through a analog receiver. An example of an Analog receiver would be a Microphone. All of the vibrations directed towards it are transmitted directly to a Mixer(for live performances to balance the sound) then speaker, or directly to a speaker (for like speeches or addresses mostly). Cassette tapes, 7" and 10" Vinyls are examples of analog recorded products.
In the studio an Analog recording is received by a Reel to Reel recorder. (Example below)
They have two tape reels, in extremely simple terms. One of the Tape Reels records, the other plays back and rewinds. It captures the sounds directly, prints them on tape and plays them back. Can record up to 36 tracks I've seen(tracks being each part in the song. Like the drums has its own track on the recording, same with vocals, etc.) Then the tape can be mixed with a console and mastered for output, which is usually a separate piece of equipment.
Analog is praised for its warm and and full sounds. Again because it captures and trasmmits the waves directly as is.
The problem with this method is the tape itself and how time consuming the process is. It's difficult to deal with if you have no experience, editing a track is almost impossible unless you know how to cut the tape. Otherwise you just have to record the track over until you get it right. The tape also created a tape delay which causes a slight hum or hiss in the background some don't like and takes skill to reduce. Not to mention on a vinyl recording the sound quality gets worst each time it's played, because of the needle used to play the disc. It's gradual but you'll notice after a few months of use. Or like with a cassette, you have to manually rewind the tape to hear it again.
Digital recording was brought about with the innovation from floppy disk to CD, then used for mp3's, etc. Most music from the early 2000's to now was either recorded digitally or mastered for a digital receiver. An example of a digital recording device would be Pro Tools, or like GarageBand.
Digital recording is taking an Analog frequency and coverting that into numbers the program can understand. The numbers that the program understands, is based off the computer emulating the pitch of a previously programmed octave or tone of an instrument(Plug-ins). It's also usually mixed and mastered with a computer, the big mixing board you see in a lot of photo's of artists in the studio, is plugged into the computer. It's become the standard because the recording stays consistent with each play. Editing a track is soooo much easier, you can basically edit it anyway you want. It's more accessible since it can be used as an MP3(though now analog can be mastered for such). Not to mention when mastered it will sound pretty much the same through any speaker.
With this was the birth of auto-tune. Hipsters and elitists love to bash artists that use it, but digital recording actually asks for it most of the time. Few use it stylistically but almost all use it to get a good recording digitally. Doesn't mean you can't sing, it's the way the program picks it up. Fact is it's a extreme rarity for singers to hit perfect pitch every note. Even Aretha Franklin didn't hit the pitch on every note, Opera singers don't hit perfect pitch every note. The best get as close as possible to the pitch without being too sharp or flat. Since that's the case, during the mix a lot of the time the pitch has to be matched to the number the program can understand and output clearly.
This is mostly to match the frequency of other tracks, if you have everything else with a digital tone the texture is more appealing to the listener if they all blend. It gets dissed for its cold almost lifelessness from music nerds because it lacks the roundness of tone. And the technology still misses a lot of the lower frequencies, tones, and noises that the program can't understand.
As humans we perceive music through analog. In fact our hearing itself is in analog, the Ear Drum is like an analog receiver that picks up analog frequencies. Article on how hearing works from an MIT student,
Due to digital recording, on many levels we don't receive the correct vibrations from tracks. The programs for recording emulate the frequency close, but its a shell of the real thing. This is why albums aren't impacting people in the same way, this is also why live performances strive above records sales now. It's also why most people have to blast the music to feel the bass or anything from it, because the tone is hollow.
Live performances aren't as close to the recording as in the past sound wise. It'll never be exact, But seeing a rapper live, say Drake vs on the album will be sonically different noticeably. His voice will be very distinctly separate from the track and the tone of the system will sound thin. That's why live most rappers use bands, it's sonically more pleasing because the textures match. Bands also sound better live without the frequency being digitized for radio play, out the speaker it's in a direct frequency to the listener, one that is natural to them. Hence a big reason people prefer live more these days.
Not only that but you get even less music quality with streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music. Most artists including myself can tell the difference from the studio recorded version. But it also was stated that you're only getting up to 77% of the actual sound of the song compared to the studio or tracked version.
If you don't know, now you know.
Didn't mean to put ha....
With technology everything else has improved in entertainment but music. From Movies and the way we experience them, even TV, Video games. But you hear all the time, "Music isn't as good as it use to be" from older generations and even young adults. You rarely hear people say movies use to be better.
People aren't buying albums, they aren't listening to them as a whole. People are more fans of the artist than the music they make. It's all about the live experience now. Artists use to make majority of money from album sales with limited touring. Now it's limited music with a lot of touring, music fans connect more now being there, when before they would connect more with the music then the person. Why is that?
This is explaining why music doesn't sound as good as before, and why people aren't connecting to it as much like before. Even though structurally(mainstream mostly) it's been the same formula since around the late 50's. And it's due to the technological advances.
I'll keep it simple. Each part explains the next to conclude my point. Discussion question at the bottom of the post.
What is music?
Music is vibrations at a certain pitch interval between each other. Used to create harmony, form, emotional and spiritual expression. With added pressure the instruments will reach a pitch. There's different ways of achieving this.
-Adding pressure to Strings: Guitar, Violin, Piano, etc.
-Adding Pressure with Air: Vocals, Saxophone, Clarinet, etc.
-Adding Pressure with Force: Drums, Marumba, Tambourine, etc.
Through these methods we create electromagnetic waves based off of the intervals in the Major Scale. All music and chords are formed based off of this scale on various variations.( except with most percussion instruments)
Analog Recording
Up until the release of the compact disc or CD, music was recorded through a analog receiver. An example of an Analog receiver would be a Microphone. All of the vibrations directed towards it are transmitted directly to a Mixer(for live performances to balance the sound) then speaker, or directly to a speaker (for like speeches or addresses mostly). Cassette tapes, 7" and 10" Vinyls are examples of analog recorded products.
In the studio an Analog recording is received by a Reel to Reel recorder. (Example below)
You must be registered for see images
Analog is praised for its warm and and full sounds. Again because it captures and trasmmits the waves directly as is.
The problem with this method is the tape itself and how time consuming the process is. It's difficult to deal with if you have no experience, editing a track is almost impossible unless you know how to cut the tape. Otherwise you just have to record the track over until you get it right. The tape also created a tape delay which causes a slight hum or hiss in the background some don't like and takes skill to reduce. Not to mention on a vinyl recording the sound quality gets worst each time it's played, because of the needle used to play the disc. It's gradual but you'll notice after a few months of use. Or like with a cassette, you have to manually rewind the tape to hear it again.
Digital Recording
Digital recording was brought about with the innovation from floppy disk to CD, then used for mp3's, etc. Most music from the early 2000's to now was either recorded digitally or mastered for a digital receiver. An example of a digital recording device would be Pro Tools, or like GarageBand.
Digital recording is taking an Analog frequency and coverting that into numbers the program can understand. The numbers that the program understands, is based off the computer emulating the pitch of a previously programmed octave or tone of an instrument(Plug-ins). It's also usually mixed and mastered with a computer, the big mixing board you see in a lot of photo's of artists in the studio, is plugged into the computer. It's become the standard because the recording stays consistent with each play. Editing a track is soooo much easier, you can basically edit it anyway you want. It's more accessible since it can be used as an MP3(though now analog can be mastered for such). Not to mention when mastered it will sound pretty much the same through any speaker.
With this was the birth of auto-tune. Hipsters and elitists love to bash artists that use it, but digital recording actually asks for it most of the time. Few use it stylistically but almost all use it to get a good recording digitally. Doesn't mean you can't sing, it's the way the program picks it up. Fact is it's a extreme rarity for singers to hit perfect pitch every note. Even Aretha Franklin didn't hit the pitch on every note, Opera singers don't hit perfect pitch every note. The best get as close as possible to the pitch without being too sharp or flat. Since that's the case, during the mix a lot of the time the pitch has to be matched to the number the program can understand and output clearly.
This is mostly to match the frequency of other tracks, if you have everything else with a digital tone the texture is more appealing to the listener if they all blend. It gets dissed for its cold almost lifelessness from music nerds because it lacks the roundness of tone. And the technology still misses a lot of the lower frequencies, tones, and noises that the program can't understand.
Conclusion
As humans we perceive music through analog. In fact our hearing itself is in analog, the Ear Drum is like an analog receiver that picks up analog frequencies. Article on how hearing works from an MIT student,
You must be registered for see links
Due to digital recording, on many levels we don't receive the correct vibrations from tracks. The programs for recording emulate the frequency close, but its a shell of the real thing. This is why albums aren't impacting people in the same way, this is also why live performances strive above records sales now. It's also why most people have to blast the music to feel the bass or anything from it, because the tone is hollow.
Live performances aren't as close to the recording as in the past sound wise. It'll never be exact, But seeing a rapper live, say Drake vs on the album will be sonically different noticeably. His voice will be very distinctly separate from the track and the tone of the system will sound thin. That's why live most rappers use bands, it's sonically more pleasing because the textures match. Bands also sound better live without the frequency being digitized for radio play, out the speaker it's in a direct frequency to the listener, one that is natural to them. Hence a big reason people prefer live more these days.
Not only that but you get even less music quality with streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music. Most artists including myself can tell the difference from the studio recorded version. But it also was stated that you're only getting up to 77% of the actual sound of the song compared to the studio or tracked version.
You must be registered for see links
If you don't know, now you know.
So what's your opinion? Do you feel like music impacts a lot of people's lives like it did in the past? Has music gotten better or worse to you?
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