A lot of the things we discussed today went over my head because I lack any knowledge of how music works or functions (like most things). As was pointed out in class, things we don’t understand might as well be magic. Ditto on that.

We were given a lot of examples of edited sound, with different aspects manipulated to sound loud in comparison to other things. I could certainly tell a difference between new songs and old songs when shown side by side. But I can’t say I was bothered. Musicians emphasize the parts of the song they want you to hear. If the lyrics and singing want to be louder over the music, so be it. If a trumpet as to be louder or quieter than a drum, okay. Its still the musician (or whatever entity is making the music) making choices about their “art” for the consumer. I don’t mind it.

We learned about Claude Shannon and how he revolutionized how we think about information. Information, he said, requires uncertainty. It can be separated from “meaning.” Meaning is what ever human beings place on information, it isn’t the information itself. He also realized that information could placed in a basic yes/no 1/0 binary. That’s why he is the “Father of Digital Media.”

Finally we were introduced to Garage Band and the endless possibilities of combinations of songs and music. We were presented with the question of whether or not this was a bastardization of song and disrespectful to a culture’s traditions. Is it rude to take a line of southern soul and combine it with ye old Scottish bagpipes? I would give an emphatic no. Musical culture, to me, is naturally free flowing. Culture is not static, it’s evolving. And of course its expected for many, even most, to have nostalgia for the culture they had before. And at least in music (not in other aspects), cultural mixing can be endless. We still have all the classics to listen to. Their existence is not damaged by the existence of new sounds. And to be offended by such a thing shows a hair trigger sensitivity that others shouldn’t be burdened with.