Post date: Jul 02, 2018 2:51:5 AM
How has music technology impacted music education? That's the question Patrice DeVincentis, Professor of Music Technology at Bergen County Community College,
asked the Music Hour audience on Friday, June 8th, 2018, at Freehold Music Center. She asked us to consider that technology includes the invention of the microphone, the use of electricity, and the invention of the multi-track tape recorder. While we all agreed on the benefits of these technologies, she next turned to sound engineering in music education.
Any student with a DAW can produce and arrange music. What is a DAW? It's a digital audio
workstation which consists of a laptop or iPad with software, an amplifier, and a MIDI interface. The software allows the laptop or iPad to work with the interface to convert audio signals into digital ones and send the signals to a monitoring device like headphones or
speakers. This allows the user to manipulate the sound in many different ways. This technology democratizes sound engineering – any music students with these components can generate and edit electronic music. And students who have never learned to read music can create music. And the downside? Well. . . students who have never learned to read music can create music. Are we "dumbing down" the ability to produce music? Or are we opening up the field to students who would otherwise find music inaccessible? So many interesting questions were raised that we all agreed we need to hold another session to discuss this topic further. Patrice DeVincentis is a professional keyboardist, specializing in the production of contemporary music. She has maintained a successful production studio for over 25 years. She has produced 2 albums for Jazzical Records, and has toured with the Wall, Shaman, and other club bands. You can email her at sncsurgery@aol.com, and visit her website at www.sonicsurgery.com.