My teacher said I had to be a part of blog, which I don’t think I’m going to be very good at. I can’t keep diaries and this is probably the first and second to last time that I look at this because I still have to write about someone else’s post and then comment on a comment that that someone posted on my blog. It’s confusing to me but the question I have decided to answer is the third question. The question or questions go like this; How has technology (music or otherwise) impacted your life? How do you as a musician function differently now than you did a year ago? two or three years ago? What do you like, and what do you wish wasn’t there?
Personally technology has been both a hindrance and a blessing. I can keep in contact with my friends and family a lot better than if I had to write everything by hand and then mail the letter. However, I’m also websites like facebook more than I need to be, youtube especially, and that makes it hard for me to do my homework or chores because I get distracted so easily. But at the same time I don’t know how I would live without my ITouch, I’m constantly listening to it and it has basically become a part of me. Although I don’t believe technology has affected me much as a musician or person, it’s just one of those things that’s there for my convenience. I also feel that I haven’t really changed much as a musician, I still feel that I’m the same type of musician that I’ve always been except now I know how to do a wider range of things, like burning CDs, using Finale, LogicExpress and other applications like that. I do, however, wish that people would stop saying that RockBand, and Guitar Hero give you a real life performing experience. They’re games that neither teach you how to play a real instrument or what you really feel when performing in front of a crowd. Yes, performing for people is a lot of fun but there are a whole multitude of other emotions that go into a performance that those games just can’t help you experience such as the nervousness before you play, or the exhilaration when you’re in the middle of playing and you’re just rocking out and playing your best. It also can’t help you experience the hurt you feel when you mess up, the embarrassment that comes with it and the disappointment with yourself because you worked so hard and practiced so much and you have no idea how you could have messed that up. Granted they are fun games, I have played them myself and I really enjoy going head to head with my friends. Another thing that I wish didn’t exist when it came to technology was all the fake instruments that people think they can play or the making of a lot of popular songs these days technological. They do have a cool sound when you use synthesizers and other such tools but at the same, what ever happened to just rocking out on an actual instrument. I have often thought people who use a voice synthesizer are just trying to cover up the fact that they just can’t really sing, but I could be wrong.
April 25th, 2011 at 1:25 pm
I feel that it’s just because I can be distracted pretty easily that I find technology to be such a bother at times. But that’s a shame that your iPod is on the fritz. I, personally, would say that it would be worth it to invest in a more modern one and then fill it up to your hearts content because there’s nothing like tuning people out on those boring road trips when there’s nothing else to do.
April 25th, 2011 at 1:40 pm
I see your view points but I still disagree but I do understand what you mean about “fake” and “real”. However, at the same time, I feel that even though the idea and definition of “real music” changes, at the same time there is still a boundary between actual music that is being played with real instruments and what someone is just creating on some computer. I, personally, can’t look at someone who is using playing a guitar using their iPod and say that they know how to play a real guitar unless they somehow prove me wrong. It’s the same type of thing if someone plays the “organ” on a keyboard but if you put them in front of a real organ they’re completely lost (unless, once again, they can prove me wrong). I guess one could say that I have an old-fashioned sense of what’s music and what isn’t. But that doesn’t mean I’m completely closed minded, I feel that scream-o, no matter how much I dislike it, is a legitimate form of music, of course when you try and play that back in the 50s and 60s, everyone would say that that isn’t music. Overall, this type of subject is strictly opinion based and I don’t believe their is either a right or wrong when trying to decide on what’s “real” or “fake” when discussing music.
Regarding the comment on GuitarHero, I feel those same feelings but at the same time it’s a completely different feeling compared to what I feel after performing on a stage in front of an audience. There are so many more emotions that are going on when I finish a live performance, with what I consider to be real instruments, that I don’t feel after finishing a level or song on GuitarHero. Furthermore, the feelings I feel at the end of GH are feelings that I would describe as game feelings because I’m happy and excited that I missed fewer “notes” and got a higher score, and those types of things I’m not thinking about at all when I finish a real live performance (again, my own opinion of what a real live performance is).