Has Technology Changed Music for the Better?

While there is no simple answer to this question, arguments can be made that technology has significantly changed music both for the better and worse. I’ve heard numerous musicians from the 1970s talk about how they spent hours perfecting every track of an album. For example, Simon and Garfunkel in the documentary “The Harmony Game” revealed that they spent countless hours honing the echo on the track “Cecilia.”

Fast forward to today, and now you can cram a recording studio on to a low-powered laptop and create a beat in a few seconds. The accessibility of recording software such as Pro Tools and the popularization of pitch-shifting programs such as Auto Tune have made it easy for anyone to emulate the sound of a professional studio with a few clicks of a mouse. In fact, more and more unsigned bands and singers are opting for the do-it-yourself approach, recording their music at home to avoid hefty studio fees and maintain artistic control.

While technology has certainly changed the experience of music and has made creating sounds easier than ever, has it made music better? We’re a long way from when musicians would spend weeks or months piecing together songs, but did the time spent on each individual track create something better, with more lasting power? It’s hard to say; only the test of time will tell.