DID YOU KNOW? Robbie William's 1998 UK number one hit "Millennium" was copied from the 1967 James Bond theme song "You Only Live Twice." He merely changed the key.
We made it! We've finally reached plug n play status! Actually, the point and click generation never had it so easy. Thanks to not only personal computers but tablets, palm-helds, smartphones, jet packs, and digital apps of every kind therein, we carry our music literally right at our fingertips. A mere touch plays our music on a hoard of digital gadgets and apps.
Devices, gadgets and computers are also playing a larger role in the making and performance of our music. With most instruments converted to digital by now, the beat goes on. We can 'plug and play' directly into these computers and devices for both performance and recording. Like all changes, it takes some getting used to and we're bound to lose something.
It seems that the more we reach for convenience, the more we lose touch. As we progress forward, technology beckons 'in with the new and out with the old.' Things like collecting vinyl albums or concert ticket stubs become a thing of the past while good old fashioned garage jamming innovations are handed over to pre-programmed keyboards, sound loops, and digitally created tones. So where does the music really land in all this? Are the machines taking over our music?
We've put down our pencils to write scores with software. I actually find it more difficult to produce a composition on a computer rather than on pen and paper, certainly more time consuming. I am sure there are others like me who'd rather stick to basics in some areas. I make my sound loops on an instrument and record them after, not with some digital app or device. How about you? I see youngsters poking icons on their smartphone to make beeps and calling it music; preposterous! What's worse is people are becoming addicted to this craze of creation and communication by fingertip. In my opinion, it's making people lazy and oblivious to what's real.
The new millennium brought lots of changes both good and evil concerning music's creation, performance, and listening but hey, it's not all bad news. The wonderful thing is that there are still musicians out there carrying a six-string on their back making real music and sharing it with others. We've still got the church choirs, high school bands and half-time shows, the Friday night gigs, street performers, and the theatre. We march in parades and celebrate a mass of festivals, many musically themed or oriented. Even the military has a vast selection of musical groups. Most every city of any culture has its own symphony orchestra. We hold 'live' concerts. The original musical concept, producing art from heart, somehow survives.
