The Future of Music Production

From the early 20th century, people have listened to music using a record player device, i.e. the music is recorded first. Improvements in technology led to the design of the cassette tape, followed by vinyl discs and finally Compact Disc (CD). Modern technology has made it possible to store music in flash memory devices.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Future of Music Production specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Advancements in technology in the music industry have led to a corresponding improvement in technology used for producing music. The switch from traditional to modern technology has led to a debate on whether the quality of music that record players had has been lost. Pundits argue that the music, like all other aspects of our daily life, must keep pace with technology while others argue that this has led to loss of quality that used to be available in analogue music systems. This debate is not likely to be resolved in the near future. It is more important for a producer today to know technology than music Advancements in technology have led man to invent music production techniques that require technical knowhow, a producer must first learn about these techniques in order to be successful. Success here means selling millions of copies of music and coping with cutthroat competition that has characterized today’s music industry. However, in order to determine whether quality in music is lost in using modern technology, we need to compare analogue and digital music production systems that many claim to be the cause of the deterioration in music quality over the years. Analogue vs. Digital Production Tools In analogue systems, the sound waves are cut out into a vinyl surface, to retrieve audio from the record player, a needle off the player vibrates, and the sound enlarged by the speakers. Therefore, the sound produces is associated with the original sound recorded and every sound is generated wholly. In digital systems, the sound is translated into a series of numbers. The lens on a disc player reads the numbers and converts then into sound. The sound produced is not the actual representation of the music (Hatschek, para. 3).Advertising Looking for essay on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Technology vs. Quality As we have seen, modern technology has led to the distortion of music, unfortunately, markets are in demand of music produced using modern technology. In the earlier days, we used to listen to music using record players, but we swapped better sound for expediency for both recording and listening. Technology in music production definitely has its merits. For example, it is possible to rectify any minor error by selecting the bad portion and correcting it. However, if the mistake came from the artist, the producer would not have to repeat the whole record, he could just reco rd over the audio. However, Robert DiFazio, a music producer, explains that this procedure lowers the artists’ capabilities (DiFazio, para. 3). A good producer will want to go over the whole recording process, similar to the analogue era, while a producer who banks on technology will only repair the sections with mistakes. Trends in listening to music have changed over time. In the earlier days, people used to listen not only to music, but also to the percussions and any other accompaniments. It was easy to distinguish the different sounds coming out of a music record, such as the bass guitar or a piano (Ward, para. 4). Today’s generation does not take care of any of these; rather, we dwell so much on technologies such as the vocoder and synthesized sounds at the expense of quality. Therefore, music producers are only responding to the market demands, i.e. market needs dictate how producers make their music, failure of which they will lack a competitive advantage and c ould cease operations. In short, the music market no longer takes into consideration matters of quality in music, and with albums being released every day, nobody really stops to consider other elements of music other than the most audible components. As we have seen, technology is more important than music in today’s music production industry. In fact, producers use technology to make corrections on pieces of music that do not come out as required rather than look at the origin of the fault. DiFazio concludes by saying, â€Å"people don’t care what it sounds like, the average audience doesn’t care what it sounds like. It’s been proved†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (DiFazio, para. 7)Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Future of Music Production specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Effects on music now and in the Future One of the negative sides of technology in music production is the loss of quality. besides, there is the aspect of loss of live music. Knowledge of music demands that a producer be conversant with most musical instruments in use, however, technology has made it possible to produce synthetic beats from computer programs and this has reduced our interaction with live music. Just recently, we made our own music, whether in the church, cultural functions, or in social events, this has disappeared with the rise of the digital technology. I can boldly add, merely 50 years ago, a far superior fraction of the populace played a musical instrument unlike in our day. Works Cited DiFazio, Robert. How Analog and Digital Recording Techniques Influence the Recording Process. 2007. Web. Hatschek, Keith. Are Dynamics dead in popular music? 2009. Web. Ward, Dick. As Technology Advances, Demand for Quality Sound Decreases. 2010. Web. This essay on The Future of Music Production was written and submitted by user Cassidy Z. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Sample Compare and Contrast Essay

Sample Compare and Contrast EssaySample Compare and Contrast Essay is a memorable essay by the presidents of the Thomas More Law Center and the Nelson Mandel Center for Children's Rights. The comparison is between the harms that arise from state intervention into public education and the free-market solutions that are available to the underprivileged. The focus on free-market education is to show how alternative ways of education can achieve results that have not been achieved through the teaching of free-market principles.Both fathers focus on the history of their children and the experience of the parents in the case of Mother Theresa and the minister, who were not able to receive a proper education for their two sons, but later in life were able to do so. The two fathers also point out that they chose to go to school, rather than work, and would not have had any of the advantages enjoyed by the Mandels if they had stayed at home to raise their sons. In short, it was education that put these men in their position and made them capable of providing their children with an education.The excerpt provides some insight into the NCLB educational plan and its impacts on the lives of the Mandels. It highlights the unintended effects of the plan, such as those illustrated in the Equal Access Act, which was designed to provide equity in educational opportunities for students with disabilities. A portion of the new test aligned to the No Child Left Behind plan leads to the belief that less-qualified teachers will be fired, and more qualified teachers will be hired, which could result in less effective educators.The comparison between Mother Theresa and the minister who was a college dropout emphasizes the negative impact that the No Child Left Behind Act has had on higher education. The college dropout, it should be noted, is not actually a dropout. He was never able to receive a degree. But his story illustrates how the law has caused school administrators to seek alter native means of conducting their tests, and the negative effect this has had on the lives of more qualified teachers who wish to teach instead of learn.The essay does not attempt to specifically show why college is the better choice for the Mandels, but it gives readers a good starting point. The authors talk about the sacrifices that were made by the couple, as well as other people who may not have chosen the route of education.But as a student, I find this as good a starting point as any for what might be called my present day education dilemma. When I was growing up, I never considered the fact that the school would be providing me with an education, and what this meant in my life. There was no such thing as an education, just learning the basics of the English language, memorizing facts, and following directions.When I left school to begin working, I often wondered how my daughter's life would have been different had I not done so. Instead of learning what I could through the mo re productive ways of school, what other options were there? The truth is that I was left with a few alternatives, and one was simply working in an office.With this essay, Father Mandel and Mother Theresa show that the system does not necessarily promote education as much as we are led to believe. There are alternatives to the way things are now, and the authors of the essay remind us of the role of education in a person's life.