A Look Into Music Technologies Essays - Music Software,

A Look Into Music Technologies: A LOOK INTO MUSIC TECHNOLOGIES: HOW HAS THE INFORMATIONAL AGE INFLUENCE MUSIC? INTRODUCTION As we enter a new millennia, so will our music. The entire field of music has experienced dramatic changes due to the post- industrial/ informational age. This paper will focus primarily on the expansion of musical research and the development of new tools to aid in learning. The overall reaction details innovations that enhance and expand the depths of music. RESEARCH In the 1970's, the US government underwent a secret project making an underground port of communication. This project created what we now know as the Internet. The term Internet is often used to describe this enormous international network of computers. The word internet literally means, network of networks. In itself, the Internet is comprised of thousands of smaller regional networks scattered throughout the globe. On any given day, it connects roughly 25 million users in over 50 countries. One major importance is that The World Wide Web is accessed through the Internet. The term Internet and World Wide Web are not synonymous, infact confusing as they might seem, they both have different meanings. The Web refers to a body of information- an abstract space of knowledge, whereas the Internet is the actual hardware- the physical components which consist of giant masses of cables, satellites, and computers. Recent technological advances such as T3 lines, fiber optics, ground cables, an d satellites have increased the transfer of information by 347 times. The most common access to the Internet and the World Wide Web is through an Internet Service Provider (ISP). There are both local and national ISP's. The only basic requirements to access ISP's are a computer, modem, and a telephone. Just by clicking a mouse, one can discover a mass amount of treasure from sources like libraries, databases, web sites, and other people. New technology allows musicians to work time efficiently. For example, I was given an assignment where I had to translate and listen to recordings of three German Lieder songs. In the past, my research consisted of a trip to the library. Once I got there, I spent an expendable amount of time looking up any possible translations. Often times, the library did not have any translations. So my only option was to pull out a foreign language dictionary and translate word for word. This tedious process would take me anywhere from thirty minutes to two hours per song. Also, I'd like to mention the fact that I was still required to listen to recordings. If I was lucky, it would cost me a trip to the music library but often times I've experienced lost hours tracking down a certain piece either by physically going to a record store like Blockbuster Music or c alling some music friends to see if they had any recordings. If I weren't pressured for time, I would have never considered the Internet as a precious source of information. When I finished that assignment, I found myself satisfied. I was proud of myself because I did it in less than an hour and I didn't have to drive out to the city to find it. LEARNING TOOLS I've learned that the World Wide Web is a valuable tool. Infact, musicians now have access to many tools such as music notation software, MIDI, and multimedia. These tools provide musicians a wide variety of composing a new array of musical literature and at the same time, a new thinking process. A very handy tool that I'd like to first mention is Finale- a compositional software designed to notate musical scores. Music notation software like Finale, allows musicians to legibly present their work in a professional manner. Finale also allows composers to listen to their compositions, one impressive feature being the addition and subtraction of instrumental voices. The most widely used feature is its transposition abilities. Once a composition is entered into the computer, one simple command can transpose an entire piece in different key in a matter of seconds. Another excellent contraption worth mentioning is MIDI. MIDI stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface. What this contraption offers is electrical generation of sound. This in itself offers a whole new genre of music. MIDI sequencing allows musicians to