I have been pondering this question to myself for sometime, usually in the middle of the night in the midst of a bout of insomnia, in a world where we have access to everything we could possibly dream of….
What is it that we actually want from music technology?
Current DAWs, such as Logic Pro X, Pro Tools, Cubase, Ableton (and so on) do more than anyone in the 60's/70's/80's/90’s could ever of dreamed of, let alone of had access to! We know that many of the greatest albums of all time were recorded and produced on equipment that had less functionality than an app you can now run on an iPhone.
We all know this, so what is your point?
Well, we also know that The Beatles created sonic masterpieces working on a 4-track tape machine, yet any modern DAW gives the user access to an infinite number of tracks, with the ability to move, quantise, correct, adjust by samples, add any effect you could imagine, add an orchestra…..all from the comfort of a Laptop.
But have you or I produced the next Sergeant pepper? Nope!!
We all now have access to amp modellers which can create every single amp, effect, pickup configuration known to man, this is an amazing feat of music technology. The same goes for models of studio hardware, desks, compressors, EQ and of course synths.
This brings me on to the next part of the question, why are we trying to model and recreate the past?
Would it not be more fortuitous to try and develop something new? Would it not be more useful for software developers to develop the new 1176 compressor, pushing the boundaries of the code, rather than trying to emulate the past.
Or is it down to the musicians/creatives who continually try to push the boundaries of the technology we have, to pave the way for the future. Those musicians, composers and sound designers, that aren't bothered that their Line 6 model of a Fender tweed isn't an 'exact' replica, but it is a sound, which they can shape into something new! A share or colour which can be used as part of their sonic palette?
The artists that aren't worried that they don't have every plug-in under the sun at their disposal, but take the tools they have and put move focus into the act of creation.
If we have access to it all, what do we want from music tech? Technology can only ever aid our creation, it can not make us creative. Having too much choice limits progress.
What is it that I want from music tech?
I think I have just answered my question, I think I want less, maybe a simple DAW which is stand alone (away from a computer) running 4 tracks, or perhaps I should use Garageband on an iPad, because it can only handle a few tracks (on my old iPad!)
Will this stop me thinking of what could be and make me actually work within those constraints.
Maybe I just need one amp sound and make it my own, perhaps I should not spend a day going through 999 presets, but make one which is my own (okay I do do that!), but these aren't failings of music technology, they are failings of me and my inability to go with what I have.
But then again, do you remember the days when a synth was a whole collection of knobs, limited to a couple of LFO's, Oscillators and the like? You could spend all day just tweaking, it was a very tactile experience, not looking at a screen with an million options, you would learn each feature inside out and yes you then thought of somethings you would also like, but on the whole you would create art.
Now we have every option under the sun pretty much, and a million that we never thought of, I think this gives us what I call 'creative option overload' or COO for short and maybe it is time to fight back.....but what could music technology do to help us? Less perhaps?
Do we need more options? Do we need simplicity? Do we need something 'new' without constant references to the past?
What do you want from music technology??
My parting thought is as follows....Make the most of what you have, push the boundaries, be experimental, drop off the internet and all the opinions that it brings. Believe in you, believe in your art, that makes it personal, that makes it unique.
Please leave a comment in the post below, or use the #Iwantfrommusictech hashtag to let us know what it is that you want from music technology.
Peace
Neil