Tag: technology

On the death of the audiophile

Matthew EilarLeave a comment

A couple of thoughts on this NPR article on the disappearance of the audiophile:

  • I’m not sure that I believe in a “golden age” of high-end audio. Music reproduction technology has always trended toward the more convenient and the more personal. Records presented a more convenient and personal way to listen to music than going to hear live music. If iPods were available in the 50’s, they’d have loved them too.
  • For that matter, any record is worse sound quality than live music.
  • iPod is to stereo as transistor radio is to gigantic handheld radio.
  • You can’t discount improvements in recording technology. Regardless of the method of reproduction, recording technology is much more sophisticated and sensitive than in the past. It’s like video: digital is not as good as film (yet), but it’s much better than tape.

Music and Technology

Matthew Eilar37 Comments

A recent New York Times story looks at the efforts of the Borromeo String Quartet* to incorporate more technology into their music making, including playing from full scores displayed on MacBooks controlled by foot pedals. One thing that I thought was really interesting, and was a good example of the give and take that comes with any changes in tradition or practice, was this little discussion of the costs and benefits associated with switching from parts (each musician only has the music for their instrument) to score (all musicians see all four parts):

Having the whole score in front of them is an immense help in playing new works. Complicated passages are immediately comprehensible. There are no long discussions in rehearsal that start, “What do you have there?”

Seeing the score as they play also deepens understanding of composers’ intentions. “The parts are our convenience,” Ms. Motobuchi said. The score “is exactly the direct picture they had in their mind.”

…

Mr. Tong — at 29, the youngest and newest member of the group — resisted the most. He still sounds not completely happy with the situation.

Seeing the music of his colleagues on the page can detract from the magic of chamber-music-making, of communicating through hearing, he said. “When first learning a piece,” Mr. Tong said, “it’s a constant battle to open up the ears. For a long time I felt that the more I was seeing, the less I was hearing.”

I just found out…

Matthew EilarLeave a comment

…that WordPress.com supports embedding Vimeo clips. Wow. That’s good news.

In honor of my discovery, here’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen:

Description of the project is here.

Google Wave “killer app”

Matthew EilarLeave a comment

I don’t want to come down too hard on Google Wave. It’s in alpha release, and the biggest problem with it is that people don’t have accounts. Nevertheless, I haven’t really been checking it because after a flurry of sandbox-like posts, there wasn’t much activity.

I decided to start a Wave with my LOST watching buddies, all of whom are all around the country, and it’s been working out so far. My plan is to set up a wave for every episode this season. My friends on the East coast can use it like a chat room while watching it live, and I can check it after I watch the episode and participate in the post-mortem, even if nobody is still online.

Google Wave "killer app"

Matthew EilarLeave a comment

I don’t want to come down too hard on Google Wave. It’s in alpha release, and the biggest problem with it is that people don’t have accounts. Nevertheless, I haven’t really been checking it because after a flurry of sandbox-like posts, there wasn’t much activity.
I decided to start a Wave with my LOST watching buddies, all of whom are all around the country, and it’s been working out so far. My plan is to set up a wave for every episode this season. My friends on the East coast can use it like a chat room while watching it live, and I can check it after I watch the episode and participate in the post-mortem, even if nobody is still online.