Music is one of the most popular art forms in the world. It has been around almost as long as our civilization. It started out in the form of songs, words spoken in a melody. But slowly and surely, musical instruments were developed. They started off as acoustic instruments, but with the advent of electricity in the early 20th century, electronic musical instruments were soon developed.
Today, technology influences not only the instruments we play, but how we make music and how we perceive them. In this article we look these very facts, of how technology has influenced modern music.
Newer Sounds
With the advent of electronic musical instruments, we are now able to produce sounds that we couldn't dream of producing before. And I'm not just talking about the little box that can replicate the sound of an entire orchestra. I'm talking about music and sound that would otherwise be impossible to produce if not for these modern instruments. Digital pianos for instance have been around since the 60s and can produce hundreds of unique sounds. Effects processors help guitars generate everything between heavy metal music and the out of this world tunes of Post-Rock bands.
Easier To Learn
With the internet, we now have a near endless source to learn music from. Maybe we want to learn a new instrument, or maybe we want to learn how to sing. There are tutorials for everything. Doesn't matter if you're a novice musician or a professional, you can always learn something new from the internet. And the best part is, most of these lessons are free. Fun times!
Software Generated Music
One of the most popular advancements in music technology has been the use of machine/software to generate music. Be it for auto tuning your vocals or for creating a sick backing track/beat, computers can do pretty much everything for you these days. Most modern pop stars are criticized for their use of auto-tune and machine generated music. But the truth is, if the artist is creative and talented enough, they can use these machines to create something truly awesome. We already have DJs who can create great music and entertain millions using just a laptop.
Easier To Share/Access
Once again, thanks to the internet, Music is more accessible to the listener and more easier to share for the artist today that it has ever been before. Not only has it become easier to carry our music around with us, following the advent of the iPod and mobile phones, but it has also become easier than ever to find new music. With streaming services such as sound-cloud, Spotify and YouTube, artists can now reach a wide audience rather conveniently. Conversely it has become very easy for listeners to find new artists they might like. Many of today's newer artists found their way to fame via self-promotion in the internet. If you're talented, so can you!
Artificially Generated Music
Undoubtedly the most interesting point in this article. We now have AI systems that can generate music replicating popular artists. An example, recently a fully AI generated song called "Daddy's car" was released. The music was composed to replicate the style of the Beatles. Of course, it's not the best composition yet, but it's only a matter of years before these systems can generate something original and truly magnificent. I've always argued that the future is AI. And it looks as though we may be competing with them in the arts as well. I must say I'm equally curious and terrified of the future.