Is Music Getting Better?

Bill Llewellyn · From: San Jose, CA

Compared to what was available 40 years ago (that's within the memory of most everyone here), the tools available today for the making, recording, and distribution of music have made a quantum leap. Recording has gone from time-linear analog tape (or direct to disc) to digital with cut-and-paste, time correction, pitch correction, extraordinary special effects, and so forth. Distribution has gone from shellac or vinyl to CD, DVD, MP3, satellite, cable, digital radio, etc. Even the instruments have come along--pedals got added to steel, guitar mechanics are better, amplifier technology has advanced, and on and on.

But....is the resulting music better? I'm not looking for a debate over whether vinyl sounds better than CD, analog tape versus digital, push-pull versus all-pull. I'm asking if the advancements seen on these various fronts have also advanced creativity and made the lion's share of available music more enjoyable to the average soul.

Whaddya think?

------------------
Bill, steelin' since '99 | Steel page | MSA U12 | My music | Steelers' birthdays | Over 50?

John Rosett · From: Missoula, MT

advances in recording technology haven't done anything for the quality of music, in my opinion. where would the likes of ashlee simpson be if it was just microphone to tape? probably flipping burgers somewhere.
of all the recording i've done, the most satisfying has been live, direct to tape without overdubbing.
some of my all time favorite recordings are django, stephane, and the hot club, recorded in the 30's, and the bob wills tiffanny transcriptions, recorded in the 40's. to me, they sound so much more alive and real that the music coming out of the big recording studios today.
john

Kevin Hatton · From: Buffalo, N.Y.

No. The music is getting worse. Whenever I pick up some recordings of Brenda Lee or George Jones and Tammy Wynette the music is so much more pleasantly arragnged and recorded that their is no comparison to the edgy digital computerized noise that is coming out of Nashville today. Much better music in the sixties.

[This message was edited by Kevin Hatton on 19 January 2005 at 09:46 AM.]

Chippy Wood · From: Elgin, Scotland

It gets better when you play it Bill, how about some more?.

------------------
Ron (Chippy) Wood
Emmons D10
Carter SD10

Ray Minich · From: Bradford, Pa. Frozen Tundra

By the sound of what I have to contend with when my 14 yr old daughter is in the truck I'd hafta say a pretty solid NO!, it hasn't gotten any better. But, I think there is a lot more music generated per day today than there was 40 yrs ago. A lot more categories, and a lot more radio channels to be annoyed by...

Then there's that compression issue, a whole 'nother can of worms.

kyle reid · From: Butte,Mt.usa

I have a very elaborate sound system, and my collection of Ray Price, Marty Robbins, Jim Reeves, Patsy Cline & a few others that were recorded over 40 years ago sound great!

David Doggett · Posted 19 Jan 2005 11:30 am

I have a mixed answer. In popular genres, I hear things being played more in tune now, maybe due to the cheap hand-held tuners everyone now has, and to post-recording pitch enhancement. There seem to be more musicians with high technical skills (they can play a lot of complicated stuff really fast) - I think the bar has just gotten higher. Also, the mixes seem to be richer and better recorded. However, some of the simple tunes, accompaniment and mixes of the past have their appeal. More is not necessarily better.

In classical music the technical skills have also gotten very high. Of course there were technical geniuses in the past. But the run of the mill classical musician seems to be better. Maybe because orchestras now recruit from the whole world, rather than just locally. But nobody is writing better than Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and Wagner, or directing better than Toscanini. And nobody is writing better than Hank, or singing better than George and Tammy.

[This message was edited by David Doggett on 19 January 2005 at 11:33 AM.]

Bobby Lee · From: Cloverdale, California, USA

I'm hearing better music in TV soundtracks (which now regularly include pop songs), and I'm finding better music in record stores. Radio doesn't seem to be keeping up with the good stuff, though. There's no shortage of good music being produced.

Geoff Brown · From: Nashvegas

I don't know if the technology makes the music "better", but it makes it easier to produce a finished product.
Maybe the biggest impact with the technology is that it enables more folks to explore their own creativity. With a modest layout of funds, anyone who wants to can produce music in their home that is of very high quality. Certainly good enough to market, which many folks do on their own, thru personal websites, etc. I think that's a good thing.

Tony Prior · From: Charlotte NC

I still appreciate and listen to many of the "Good Old Days" recordings..I even go back to some of them now and then to listen to players "Approach"..

But from where I sit the music of today is much better..the playing, the phrasing, the voicings of all Instruments..and my feeling is..it should be..the artists that we listen to or try to emulate are also drawing off of years gone by and adding it to new territory..

I think our b0b has hit the nail on the head..just cause the radio ain't playin' it does not mean it's not out there..cuz it is...across all venues..

Just because all we hear is Tim McGraw and Kinny..on the airwaves does not even come close in reflecting what music is being recorded out there by so many fine musicians..

There is some awsome Country Music goin' on..as well as other genres as well.

t

chas smith R.I.P. · From: Encino, CA, USA

Donny Hinson · From: Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.

Perfection in most any long-existing artistic medium is very, very difficult to trump.

No, I don't think the "art" of good music has improved much. We can capture and manipulate it easier and faster, but it still comes down to the artistry of the individual performers. Has music improved? Well, how about art...the painted kind? How about sculpture or writing? IMHO, no, there's not much "improvement" in any of them. There's many "perfect" artistic masterpieces already extant, so how can you hope to surpass them, artistically? I personally don't think you can, especially in today's society which is so "now" and quick-money, rush-production oriented. Could someone top Patsy's version of "Crazy" today? Would anyone want to spend the time, money, and effort to try? Probably not! They would merely try to quickly get as close as they can (close enough to make money), and let it go. Except for the "rich indie artists" today (and there's probably very few of them), it's more a business now than it is an artform, and that pretty well precludes the infinite "polishing" necessary to create a real gem.

Nope, music's different today, but not any better than it was 40 years ago.

How do I know?

I was there!

Theresa Galbraith · From: Goodlettsville,Tn. USA

Yes it is!

Mark Metdker · From: North Central Texas, USA

Just as we had Merle, Buck, Ray Price....etc to listen to and emulate as youngsters, the current youth have Big and Rich, Toby Keith, Tim McGraw....etc to listen to and emulate. Music isn't good, or bad, it just is. It is up to the listener to decide if it is something you like or not.

Music is also in constant state of change. A lot of folks here would like it if the evolution of music would have stopped back in the '60's. Don't get me wrong, I like the old stuff. But just as rock has progressed, country has progressed also. I currently play steel in 3 different bands. One of the bands is nearly all original music. Lotsa fun........another band plays more traditional honky tonk country music.....lotsa fun......and still another band plays top 40, newer country.....and guess what, it's lotsa fun too. And I must say the latter band I mentioned is by far the most challenging to play with. The newer country music is much more intricate and complicated to play than the old stuff. You really have to pay attention with the different chord progressions and chord changes. Not like the old days.

Is todays country music good, or bad? It's up to the listener in my opinion.

------------------
Zum U-12 w/True Tone pickup
G&L guitars
Peavey Nashville 112

Band Pics
http://community.webshots.com/album/176544894AuXSmi

[This message was edited by Mark Metdker on 20 January 2005 at 06:09 AM.]

David Mason · From: Cambridge, MD, USA

I sometimes watch "Lost" or "CSI" just for the soundtrack music - it really is cool. As people above mentioned, there's just more colors on the palette for composers to work with. I do also agree that it's hard to top Bach and Beethoven as far as composing skills - Although I loved a few of the first progressive rock bands and fusion bands (oh that first Mahavishnu Orchestra!), I thought that the later bands somehow felt they had to break rules just to be thought of as "serious composers", and some notes just don't sound good together because of human brain wiring. I certainly don't think three-chord rock has been improved because the guitarists have 17 different amp "models" and 92 fuzztones to choose from.

Paul King · From: Gainesville, Texas, USA

While the electronics and equiptment may be better today, I do not feel the music is better. What I hear in country music today, that is when I accidentally run across it, is not my cup of tea. I know there are many people who buy the products but I wonder if it is for the music. I realize there are some who have talent and can sing but the music has me running the other way. I just prefer the older country music which featured Merle Haggard, Conway Twitty, Connie Smith,Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette and some of the other artists from years gone by. I do not play clubs but sometimes I hear better music in the Southern Gospel and Christian Country ranks than I do in country music today. I like what Lloyd Green said about these songs today. When you take the lyrics away it just crumbles away and there is nothing to grab a hold of to play. When you hear some of those old songs like "Cold Cold Heart" those songs have something to them that makes them playable. For now I guess we will just have to put up with what is on the market today. Many musicians like todays music and that is fine, I just prefer the older country.

All times are GMT - 8 Hours	Jump to: