This week we discussed DAWs or Digital Audio Workstations. A DAW is an electronic device or application that allows the user to record, edit, and produce audio files. DAWs come in different configurations or setups, for instance Garage Band is a much simpler and user-friendly version, while LoopMasters can be more difficult to understand. Regardless of the software, all DAWs are used for the production of music, radio, television, multimedia, and any other product in which complex audio recordings are needed. DAWs began to become available in the 1970s, but they were very expensive and very limited. Throughout the late 1980s they became increasingly more available and affordable, until today when building a powerful system like that could be done inexpensively. I have personally never used a DAW, until attempting to begin my final project for this class. I have played around on the Garage Band application, but never anything serious. It is definitely not something you can understand at first glance, but upon taking the time to look through everything the application provides you with, it is fairly manageable. I do not think there is a right or wrong way to use a DAW, as long as you consider certain factors such as compression and which loops sound better together.

http://thegaragebandguide.com

This week we discussed music streaming, taste, and delivery. This is a topic that greatly interests me, given the fact that many of my favorite artists have chosen not to allow their music to be streamed. While many streaming services such as Pandora and Apple Music ensure the artists are paid for their work, Spotify runs a little bit differently. Since they offer a free service in which you can listen to any song you want, with the potential for commercial interruptions, the artists are not paid the way they should be.

http://time.com/3554468/why-taylor-swift-spotify/

I believe that streaming services are very important in today’s society of instant gratification, however there is a better way to conduct them. I am less likely to use Pandora or Apple Music, just because I want to be able to select the song I want to listen to. However, I am also less likely to pay for a streaming service. There really is no happy medium right now. Another interesting aspect of music streaming is Pandora’s music genome. Rather than computers or robots rating the songs they play, there are actual people selecting the music. 25 music analysts “grade” 10,000 songs a month. They assign one to five rankings for as many as 450 genome units per song. They are able to work on about four songs every hour. Pandora used to make the music suggestions based upon the “thumbs up” feature, but is now realizing people use the “thumbs down” and “skip” feature even more. This allows them to follow total listening hours, rather than personal rating of the song. Pandora’s goal is prediction accuracy, in that they want to match the right music to the right listener. This differs from Spotify in that their goal is to introduce the listener to music they do/will enjoy, rather than just giving them the music they want. I believe this is indicative of the type of music culture we experience today. Some people have fallen into a routine and they are comfortable with the music they listen to, while others prefer to be introduced to new artists or songs. This is why both Pandora, Spotify, and even Apple Music can all be successful at the same time.

This week we discussed two different forms of compression. One makes things physically smaller, like an MP3, the other one effects amplitude or volume.

MP3s are products of compressing music, or removing sounds that are unlikely to be heard from recordings. We discussed the book MP3 by Jonathan Sterne in class. It is important to understand the meaning of the MP3 format because it allows you to rethink the roll of digital technology in the 20th century. From research conducted on hearing throughout the 1910s, to the mid-century creation of perceptual coding, to the controversial life of the MP3 throughout the 1990s. Sterne considers the history of compression throughout his book, while addressing the relationship it has with sound, silence, sense, and noise. He also goes on to discuss the important of understanding the governance in today’s media culture. When considering media it is important to remember the formats, standards, and infrastructures, and the fact that content must fit inside them. These components are as as essential to communication as the actual public media we experience

This week we reviewed “Where Dead Voices Gather.” To preface the discussion of the minstrel show, we stated that the act of thinking is the act of placing things in categories. This comes into play because we place both people and music into categories. Specifically, racial categories. There is an expectation and stereotype based upon what white and african american people listen to. The Minstrel Show began to blur those lines throughout the 20s and 30s. Nick Tosches analyzes the Minstrel Man throughout his book, “Where Dead Voices Gather.” Men would dress up in blackface and use a “trick voice” to perform in shows and sing songs, all the while portraying themselves as African American men. Minstrel shows displayed African Americans as dim-witted, lazy, happy-go-lucky people throughout the post civil war era. It was heavily criticized by racial injustice groups for portraying slaves as “happy” people. I believe the minstrel show began to blur the lines between “racially appropriate” music. White rappers or blues musicians thrive on performing and working with music that used to be solely for African Americans. Plenty of white people who do not like African americans themselves, love these types of music. They haven’t even realized that these white musicians are imitating African Americans. The minstrel show began as a parody to pass judgment and make light of the situation that African Americans were in throughout the 20s and 30s, but served a much more important purpose.

I chose to do a digital scavenger hunt regarding the history of country music. I chose this phrase/genre because I grew up listening to country music, going to Nashville to see all of the historical places, as well as attending countless concerts. I thought I knew about country music, but it turns out I only knew a lot about modern country music.

I ran a quick search on ngram and found that the phrase “country music” was used minimally throughout the 1800 and 1900s, but really took off in 1962. It is possible that the continuation of the Cold War or the beginning of the US involvement in the Vietnam War played a part in this,   specifically the latter of the two. I believe the foundation and root of country music is American pride, something that would have been very important at the time of war. Another possibility would be the development and popularity of the radio, something that country music relied on. “Country music, like all great American art forms, has its roots in commerce: that is to say, it took commercial recording companies and radio stations to nurture the country style,” says Richard Carlin author of Country Music: A Biographical Dictionary. I believe this does a nice job of summing up the history of country music; development. As our nation grew, so did the genre. Now that our country has reached the height of social media, technology, and urban development, I believe country music will have to work hard to keep up.

The use of the phrase “country music” peaked in the 1990s and had a stead rise throughout the 2000s. However, since 2002, there has been a slight decline that has continued even into 2015. I believe this is due to the fact that more and more people are becoming less interested in the genre as a whole, due to the many new genres popping up all over the world. Also, globalization has played a huge role in the types of music we listen to in America. Today’s generation has the ability to listen to music from all over the world at the push of a button, something that was not possible in the 1960s.

I took my search to google books and found around a million results regarding the first use of the term “country music.” However, most of these results were either Country Music Greats or the Encyclopedia of Country Music. I was not able to find the exact year the term began being used, but with all of the books written about it I would have to assume that it has a fairly rich history. I also searched country music roots on pro-quest and discovered there was a Back-to-roots movement in the 1920s in which country musicians felt as though the genre was falling away from its home-grown roots. I think this could have something to do with the roaring twenties and the fast paced life many people began living. Additionally, the fact that country music did not really become very popular until the 1960s could also have something to do with that.

This week we discussed further developments within technology, specifically space & time changing. While there are two obvious examples of this occurring; the railroad and the telegraph, there are many other examples that we still see today. This is evidenced by the invention of standard time on November 18, 1883. This date created the time that we live by today, including Daylight Savings. Furthermore, we discussed the fact that technology changes other things than the obvious. This point really helped me connect all of the different points we have been discussing because it helped me understand the effects that the development of technology has on us, even today. The development of the microphone and amplification now allows politicians and public figures to speak in a quiet tone and create a sense of intimacy with the people they are addressing. We watched several presidential addresses, one of which by Ronald Reagan before his final day in office.

I believe the development of amplification allowed him to speak softly and connect with the American people, rather than scream and shout to ensure he was heard. This development has gone on to create the political world that we live in today. Had this not happened, politicians might not make it such a big priority to personally connect with the American people.