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How Technology Has Changed Music

Whenever you switched on the radio as a kid, you’d have to fiddle with the signal and the aerial to get a clear sound on the songs being played by your favourite radio station. The strength of the signal used to vary from room to room in the house, but thanks to the developing world of technology, music has changed dramatically.

Long gone are the days of cassette tapes and scratchy record players. Audio technology is constantly evolving and as yet, hasn’t reached a peak! There’s always been changes in music, and it’s not just that the popularity of rap and grime music has overtaken traditional bands. We’re going to look at the ways that technology has helped music to evolve over the last few decades, so that you can see why our world is a better place with technology on our side:

  • Production. Music has so much gadgetry involved, from synthesizers that use a high frequency oscillator to DAWs and social media streaming services. The current technology in music has made it much easier for individual musicians to produce their own music, whereas before they would have needed a production company on their side to get it all done. People demand music right now, so waiting for a release date for a physical album has become a thing of the past. Home studios of a professional quality are so much easier to set up than ever before, changing the whole face of production.
  • Profit. Due to the change in the way music is being produced, music production companies are now challenged in how they make their profit. The physical records and CDs you used to see in the shops all the time has upgraded to online streaming, with downloadable music now banking more in sales than ever before.
  • Instruments. There used to be a time where being in a band meant everyone had a role and instrument to use and others would sing along. Now, technology and music programs have made it easier for people to make music from a computer, overlaying instrumentals and beats with vocals. It makes it possible that one person can now play the music of a whole band. For some, this has ruined traditional music, and for others it has allowed them a new way of getting their sound into the world.
  • Correction. One of the most popular reason to own records is to hear the scratches and tiny imperfections in the songs. With the invention of MIDI, there’s no such thing as imperfections. Music and voice can be corrected with the touch of a button, changing someone with the right look and the wrong voice into someone with an angelic singing ability.
  • Sound. The last, and probably biggest change to music has been the ability to create new sounds not heard before. Laying music over beats that couldn’t be reproduced without an orchestra means a whole new world of music is opened up. It’s so much easier to be creative with music, with technology on your side.
Published inGeneralkewl

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