The world has changed tremendously within the last 100 years. Advancements in technology such as the invention of computers, smartphones, electronic T.V’s and more have changed the way we function as a society. Technological advancements have allowed for music to be created and shared very easily and efficiently.
Music is able to evolve through an artists willingness to go against the grain and bring new ideas forward. This combined with the availability of new music related technology allow artists to create complex high quality sounds. Examining popular genres from different decades can show the prominence of technology in music.
Synth Pop – Although the synthesizer had been invented in 1876, a new wave of pop music that utilized synths became popular in the late 70’s. Synthesizers changed the way music was made as producers were now able to design sounds to their liking with very wide boundaries.
Hip- Hop -Hip- Hop music gained popularity in the late 70’s. The sampler was an integral part of this genre and still is. Products like the Akai MPC allowed for producers to chop up bits of records (predominately soul/motown era songs), and add drums and other sounds to create new music by recycling parts of other music.
Rock, Pop and Rnb- A piece of technology that is often overlooked when speaking of revolutionary musical hardware is the talk box. In short, the talk box allows for an artists to change the harmonic content of their instrument which gives the effect of them “talking through it”. Peter Frampton and Stevie Wonder are two early adopters of this technology. This device was and is still used by a variety of artists.
Music and Technology 