Blog Question Challenge: Technology Edition

It’s my turn to do the blog question challenge, technology edition! I’ve been tagged by James.

When Did You First Get Interested in Technology?

You have to understand that I consider “technology” as something “more than electricity, binary code, recording, or the Internet. It is the long pattern of humankind observing our surroundings and finding ways to adapt them…” — check out the whole textbook I wrote on this subject! Honestly, as a history nerd, I love exploring how humanity has adapted and reconceptualized our surroundings in all sorts of ways throughout the eons of our existence…

For me right now, these are the two answers that come to mind:

1. I first started learning to read sheet music (a communication technology that’s been around in some fashion since at least the ancient Sumerians 4,000 years ago; or, in our more familiar western form starting in the late 1300s) when I was in third or fourth grade. My music reading was of course strengthened throughout my time singing in choirs starting in fourth grade, picking up my first violin in fifth grade and continuing to play to this day, teaching myself to play piano since I was a kid (whenever I came across one like at my grandparents’ house), playing handbells in church during my teen years… I wouldn’t trade this technology of music notation for anything; it’s been invaluable to me my whole life in helping me understand the nature of sound, acoustics, intervals, how different cultures interpret those sounds through their styles of notation, and how all of this intertwines…
2. At the same time, my first video game console was a Commodore VIC-20 — I LOVED this machine and all the game cartridges I grew up playing on it!!! I must have started playing with it when I was maybe 6 years old… We plugged it into our family television in the living room and used a joystick from the Magnavox Odyssey 2. I can’t tell you the nostalgia I have when recalling the feeling of this in my hands! Some of my most favorite games included the text adventures of Scott Adams, Moon Patrol, Pole Position, Rat Hotel, and soooo many more!

What’s Your Favorite Piece of Technology All-Time?

I can’t choose just one, seriously…but here are my top two…

1. Notation Software: Right now I’m using Dorico, and I LOVE it!! Best software for this purpose I’ve ever used, for sure! But, regardless of the evolving brands over the years, I started out writing my original music by hand, with pencil and paper, when I was 13. Being given my first notation software some years later (a pirated copy of Finale, haha) seriously changed everything! With this tech, I can copy/paste notations, hear a MIDI rendition of what I’m working on and make changes when needed, create professional looking sheet music that can not only be used by musicians but also sold online (believe me, printed music is ALWAYS preferable to handwritten parts…)… There’s just no comparison–but I will say that first learning your craft by hand is an extremely valuable experience that makes you just really appreciate the advanced tech even more.
2. The ability to share music in various physical/digital storage formats: from vinyl to cassettes to CDs to mp3s and other file formats… I won’t say “streaming” however; while it is an impressive and [arguably] inevitable outgrowth of the Internet and the file-sharing craze of the ’90s, I truly believe we can do better for our artists and their fans than what we currently have with this streaming economy. BUT, the ability to store and shape and share music on various mediums is astounding! I’m one of those artists that would prefer to hone and craft and record my work in order to share it around, rather than play it live and have it disappear… So the fact that I can do that, is just thrilling for me!

What’s Your Favorite Piece Of Technology Right Now?

In no particular order…

The mid-century mechanical pegs on my acoustic violin: So my violin is more than 100 years old, but at some point in the mid-1900s, some previous owner had swapped out the normal friction pegs for mechanical pegs (they could have originally been banjo or mandolin pegs…?). I have to carry a screwdriver in my violin case for the rare occasion if a screw loosens and therefore a string starts falling flat, but otherwise these work fantastically well! My strings generally stay in tune even in adverse weather; plus the appearance gives my fiddle a really unique character!

My music recording set-up: My DAW (Logic Pro), my notation software (Dorico), my microphones, my audio interface (EVO 8), even a way cool iPad app called Audio Kit Synth One that creates fabulous digital synth presets… everything I need to make my music come to life and be able to be shared far and wide!

My 6-string electric violin: What else can I say–I adore her! She’s a Dragonfly model from the Electric Violin Lutherie in New York. The sixth string allows me to play almost to the bottom of a cello’s range… You can hear a fabulous example of what she’s capable of on this EP…

Name One New Cool Piece Of Technology We’ll Have in 25 Years!

I mentioned this a bit earlier in this post, but I’m really hoping we find a better system for sharing music that is more freeing for both artists and listeners, where we all can enjoy and share various kinds of niche art for art’s sake, without needing to cater to the billionaire mega-corporations that have always held sway over what gets heard and what is even allowed to make any kind of money (e.g., Spotify’s decision not to pay any track that gets less than 1,000 streams in a year, which affects over half the songs on the platform). Maybe we’ll find an answer in adapted blockchain tech?… Maybe we’ll go back to favoring the collection of physical media? Maybe something blending the two ideas…? I don’t know… But that’s my hope.

Final Thoughts…

I am always and forever blown away that some of humanity’s biggest technological inventions came at first to enhance our ability to make music and art [take the wind-wheel for example: it was first put to use by Heron of Alexandria to power his own hydraulis–which, originally created in the 3rd century BCE by Ctesibius of Alexandria, was the world’s first keyboard instrument and the direct ancestor of the pipe organ; and the world’s first programmable machine was a “robotic flute player” invented by the Banu Musa Brothers in Baghdad in the 9th century (CE).]!!

Get this: The earliest evidence for textiles and sewing needles dates back to 30,000 and 61,000 years ago respectively. The oldest bone flute discovered dates back to at least 60,000-40,000 years ago, depending on who you ask. Basically music-making with complex instruments is at least as old as the beginning of making clothes.

Who Will Participate Next?

I challenge Adam to complete the challenge! Tag, you’re it.