Jasmine Jones

3 October 2021

MUSIC 256A

Reading Response #2: Tech vs. Life?

This week, I would like to respond to a point brought up in Chapter 2, page 89. In the “One Person, One World” interview section, the following question is posed:

“Will computer-based instruments someday replace traditional instruments?”

Ge’s response is that music technology should be additive, and should not threaten or take away from music and instruments that already exist. Later on it is also expressed that technology and music will most likely evolve hand-in-hand!

While reading this section, I reflected on the fact that it is indeed a common sentiment that technology is evolving to the point of replacing “real music”. I remember watching a short video that claimed almost all of today’s music contains vocal or instrumental enhancements in order to make notes sound perfect. I discussed this with a friend who came to the conclusion that as a result of technology like this, musicians today don’t have the same musicianship or ability as those in the past. I was initially hesitant to accept this worldview, but it sunk in when I was watching a behind-the-scenes video of a singer I really like (don’t judge me), Ariana Grande. I think she’s a terrific vocalist and was watching the making of one of her songs, when I noticed that when she was still speaking into the microphone she just sang into, you could still hear some of the vocal effects she had enabled, like autotune. I felt shocked at first and thought back to the point my friend made, that “real” singers were being replaced by technology. It took me a while to change my thinking and realize that music technology should be thought of as an enhancement to music that already exists, not a hindrance to music. “Real” music is any music we make!

While on this train of thought, I was reminded of our conversation during class that related the quality of technology and life. We think of something low tech like hiking in beautiful mountains as higher quality of life, but typically we associate high tech with low life, with lower happiness and a loss of humanity in dystopian settings, like cyberpunk. Why do we naturally make these associations? Has technology advanced far too fast for our values and humanity to keep up? I think this is the natural origin of fears of technology replacing “the real thing”, and somewhat rightfully so. We’re confronting so many new dilemmas with ethics as it relates to technology and people are scared. This begs the question, what would high tech and high life look like? I haven’t come to a conclusion myself yet, but I wonder, if we design while centering aesthetics, ethics, function, and other principles we’ve discussed, is it achievable?

Despite this fear, I think we’re getting a glimpse of high tech and high life in the present-day. Apps like Ocarina that bring people together are a great example. Another great example lies in the video we watched featuring the Assassin’s Creed game. Exploring the after-life in all its golden hues evokes a strong sense of emotion, the sublime, in the player and me as a viewer. I view both of these examples as enhancements on the beauty that already exists in everyday life, not threats to them. Similarly, to answer the original question, I agree that we should treat the rapidly expanding world of music technology as exploring, not destroying!