Better Technology makes for Bigger Listening. Right?
There are humans who accept to music, and afresh there are the audiophiles -- the ones who get angry on by the arduous superior of the sound, who may or may not accept the aforementioned absorption in music as the above group. Afresh again, there are some of us, who sit about in the middle.
I bethink an old chat aback in my bedrock music days. Our band, which went by the amusing name of "Rockingers," not alone had a actual accomplished ensemble of musicians, but we were aswell actual accurate of the superior of complete that accomplished the audience. We frequently acclimated the (then) best complete system, which had 10,000 Watts of austere ability for alfresco shows. A complete engineer, with a berth erected some 200 anxiety away, completed the picture. We would afflict over every individual area of complete that came out of the system, and ensured that we had a absolute complete analysis afore any of the agog army associates were let in.
One day, in the aboriginal eighties, I went to watch a Hindustani classical music concert with a associate who was himself a appropriate Sitar player. I accept it was a Pt. Jasraj concert. After the concert, I remarked on the actuality that if Panditji had the superior of complete that WE acclimated in our bedrock band, the achievement would accept been so abundant better. To which my acquaintance argued, that it wasn't about the sound; it was about the singer!
I articular that while it was accurate it was about the singer, wouldn't it be so abundant bigger if we acclimated advanced complete mixers and speakers? That way, aggregate that came out of Panditji's all-powerful articulate chords would be anxiously reproduced, instead of accepting adulterated by a basal superior complete arrangement with accustomed microphones, as was the case that day. Actuality was a case that technology could advice the music industry to in actuality enhance the experience.
Fast advanced some 20 years, and I was cerebration about the superior of complete and complete systems already again. A music-lover acquaintance brought up the actuality that these days, music didn't complete "warm." While there are abounding abstruse affidavit for this, lets yield the simple ones.
In the antiquarian days, the recording acclimated to be done with all musicians accepting calm and recording at the aforementioned time. Today, that's hardly the case. Anniversary artist comes and annal his area and goes home. The complete architect afresh pieces it calm application circuitous software and recording accessories at his command. What that kills, is the drain that we got if the musicians played over anniversary other, and that takes abroad the "warmth" from the music.
The Hindi blur industry in the 40s and aboriginal fifties acclimated array of artistes -- violins, Cellos, Guitars, Accent section, Brass section, piano, accordions, saxophones, flutes, Sitars and added bang instruments. Yet they had alone 3-4 microphones amid them. So the complete engineers improvised as they went. The accession of the microphone generally bent the "mix" of the music.
The accompanist too was not afar from the musicians in the aboriginal days. The abstracted "singer's box' came alone in the aboriginal 50s. To advice the accompanist get the adroit and tonal notes, a "song violinist" would chase forth with the accompanist and would be the affiliation amid the accompanist and the orchestra. And yet, the music articulate able-bodied counterbalanced and harmonious. Sure the sounds had a lot added hisses and crackles than what we are acclimated to today. But the complete had a assertive fuzziness and, to echo myself, "warmth" that cannot be bifold today.
An archetype afterpiece to home, if I may. The break was a baby agreeable accumulation at a friend's place. We had two complete systems (mixer and amplifier) anniversary of which could handle 4 microphones and so we had to align it so that the instruments' sounds came through one apostle arrangement and the singer's articulation came through the added apostle system. My antecedent acumen was that as in avant-garde day recording, anniversary clue was recorded separately, if I had a articulate complete advancing from a altered system, it shouldn't matter.
To my surprise, the aftereffect was terrible! The singer's voice, advancing from the added complete arrangement and mixer didn't complete like a allotment of the ensemble at all. It was the "bleed" affair at work. If the blended complete comes out of one individual system, there is a assertive baloney that comes from the arrangement because of the alternation of all the sounds -- which makes it complete good.
There is addition affair at plan here. If I am singing in a reside show, whether with a bandage of application the Karaoke system, I am biased about the settings and furnishings accepting activated to my voice. Depending on what the settings are, I acquisition myself throwing my articulation abnormally to accomplish the aftereffect that I am aggravating to achieve. But if I almanac a song, and if the furnishings are activated POST recording, afresh I don't apperceive how I should be throwing my articulation to get the aftereffect that I want. Hence I consistently end up not affection what I accept done in the recorded adaptation of the song, while I am analytic blessed with the reside rendition. Thus, this angle of accepting all the musicians accessible together, and accepting SOME say in the complete that comes out, does help.
The musicians today do not get calm to aftermath "Music" any more. They go to the studio, play their part, and generally don't even get to accept how they fit into the song in its entirety. The artist should afresh be absolved if he does not play with the affection that he is accepted to accept for his craft. Hence, admitting the technology has accustomed the music to be created this way, it has beggared the "soul" from the music.
And this is the complaining of technology over ability in all fields. Anniversary apparatus that was created took the accomplishment of the individual accomplished artisan and fabricated it accessible to many, basal gifted, individuals. Computer Aided Design Systems fabricated it accessible for a getting with no cartoon abilities to be able to draw beeline curve and absolute circles. But even now, the plan of a accurate artisan can never anytime be replicated. Its the slight blemish of the animal accepting that a apparatus cannot carbon and that blemish is what we alarm "warmth."
And so we accept accent machines belting out automatic and altogether repeatable and absolute beats, but they can never alter a accurate accent player. And its these songs that are created in such cold, analytic ways, that leave us feeling, well, cold!
The basal band -- technology is abundant in what it allows us to do. If technology is accomplishing the job of amplifying and recording clearly, its great. But in itself, technology is not about the soul. If technology becomes about application machines to alter a human, such as a boom machine, or synthesizer, its starts accident its agreeableness for me. A absolute sound, a absolute beat, is in essence, soulless. Its the "almost" absolute complete that comes out of the abundant singers like a Lata Mangeshkar or an Asha Bhosle, or from the easily of the Ustad Zakir Hussains of this world, that holds the magic.
Your thoughts on this?
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