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Sep 4, 2023
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It Could Be Verse's avatar

Great points. That's exactly the kind of conversation we should be having about all of this...it's not merely good vs. bad, but rather what has happened and what is its significance?

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Sep 4, 2023
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It Could Be Verse's avatar

Great points. Powerful questions. How does the culture of recording affect education and performance? These are exactly the kinds of questions we should be asking. For example...would it be wise -- would it make sense -- for a teacher to say to pupils "I want you to do everything you can NOT to listen to recordings for a month..." What would happen...?

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Sep 5, 2023
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Bern's avatar

Anybody remember the science fiction short story about a musicologist traveling back in time to meet the greatest jazz soloist of all time just before the last concert of his life (after which the musician kills himself)? I just now googled the idea but came up empty...

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Nancy Norbeck's avatar

I don't know this story, but if you find it, I do hope you'll share. It sounds fascinating. The premise reminds me a bit of Isaac Asimov's "The Immortal Bard," though I'm sure the stories are actually very different.

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Bern's avatar

"Willie's Blues" by Robert J. Tilley.

From 1972. Reprinted in many anthologies, including:

https://wildsidepress.com/something-else-sci-fi-and-fantasy-stories-by-robert-j-tilley-paperback/

Took awhile to come up with a series of search terms that got me there.

I have not found the story itself online yet.

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It Could Be Verse's avatar

Right -- so perhaps one impact of ubiquitous recording technology is that it encourages technical virtuosity at the expense of spirit...?

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Dion's avatar

100% agree with this.

A recording isn't music, it's a memory or souvenir of an event, just like a photograph.

Also, due to the nature and process of record preproduction and mic placement, recording, editing, mixing, and mastering, recordings are not inherently different than a Photoshopped picture, and this is especially true when recordings are re-broadcast through radio and streaming, which subjects them to even more post-production compression and audio editing.

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