A piece of musical technology that is a streaming platform would be Spotify. Spotify is an easily accessible streaming service that can be downloaded to virtually all platforms. This includes desktop pcs, laptops, phones, gaming consoles, and more. The purpose of Spotify is to make music accessible in virtually any place as long as you have a device to do so. It works to achieve that purpose by making users pay anywhere from $5 to $20 a month to have access to the library of music they offer and download said music to play it anywhere. People use this technology in a way it wasn’t designed for by finding loopholes in the music system and putting literal movies on there and also make new genres on spotify alown. I have experience with this technology as I use Spotify almost daily during my daily routine. I love using it and it is a great form of Technology.

A piece of music that uses this technology that actually originated in Spotify and the depths of underground music would be a song named “Goodbye” by Sewerslvt. Spotify and other streaming services allowed Sewerslvt to have a cult following and eventually explode onto other platforms while still being a cult in a sense. Her music has helped thousands of people around the world, and it started the resurgance of a genre called “breakcore”.

The song that I chose for this assignment is “Hysteria” by Def Leppard. Def Leppard is a band that came about in 1977 who started in England. They are a heavy metal rock group with many popular songs including the one I chose, “Love Bites,” “Rock of Ages,” and “Photograph.” They became popular in the United States in the 80’s. Their first big hit was “Photograph” and their album named “Hysteria” is their most popular album. Ever since around 7th grade, I have come to appreciate songs from older generations. However, I never really listened to this band until this past year. Their music puts me in a better mood and is usually what I listen to while driving. I even went to their concert with my boyfriend this June. The song “Hysteria” has the keys D major and G major and is listed under the genre of Alternative Rock. Unlike their other songs, this one is a more soft texture song since it lacks the heavy instrumentals. There is a guitar melody as well as vocals. It has a tempo of 107 beats per minute and is written in the key of G. A musically interesting moment in the song is when it shifts to just an instrumental moment with different pitches. An interesting fact I found was that Rick Allen, their drummer, said in an interview that this is his favorite song and that it makes him feel comforted. I actually feel the same way listening to this song which is why when I listened to the interview I found it interesting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SluRyO4EA4

The piece of music technology that I chose to write about for this blog post is an instrument. I chose the piano. A piano is an instrument that was invented in 1700 and is “used to play two parts simultaneously.” It is actually classified as being a string instrument as well as a percussion instrument and not every piano has the exact same number of keys. It is versatile and allows for different textures to be produced. By a person pressing down on its keys, a hammer inside of the instrument hits the strings and that is what creates the sounds that make the music. Sound is produced automatically when the keys are pressed which helps achieve the sounds of music. I was not able to find ways that people have used the piano for things other than its intended purpose because I feel like there is not any other way to use this instrument besides to create music with its keyboard. I do not have any personal experience with this instrument but I have always wanted to learn to play the piano but I unfortunately never did. An example of a piece of music that uses piano in it is “Someone Like You” by Adele. The use of the piano in this song helps to maintain the solemn vibe that this song has. And, in this song, the only musical technology being used is just the piano and Adele’s voice. That makes the song more simple and so you focus more on the lyrics of the song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLQl3WQQoQ0

A piece of music technology: The human voice (singing)

What is its purpose: Humans value their voices highly. They serve as our primary means of communication with the outside world, including both our thoughts and our feelings and personalities.

How does it work to achieve that purpose: To produce sound, your vocal cords vibrate. Inside the voice box (larynx), the vocal cords are tiny bands of muscle and other tissues. When the margins of the vocal cords come together, the air from your lungs causes them to vibrate.

Are there any people that use this technology in a way that it wasn’t designed for: In general, the human voice was a form meant to be used as a way of communication; just to speak. So, if it is used in any other way, it would be considered abnormal, but as time went on, humans began to discover the different ways that their voices can be used. For example, singing, ventriloquism, etc. So as forms of voices began to develop, it was widely accepted that voices are something that can have multiple effects on the world. 

Do you have any experience with this technology: I do have experience with this kind of technology. I do sing, but not professionally. I grew up singing as I have a very musical family. It is something that I picked up and enjoy doing. I still get stage fright to perform in front of people, so many don’t know what my singing voice sounds like. I wish to grow in this aspect of myself in the future and better my voice by getting vocal training.  

Song: Lyrical: Mere Dholna | Bhool Bhulaiyaa | Vidya Balan | Shreya Ghoshal, M.G. Sreekumar | Pritam

How did the technology influence the music it helped to produce: The voices that sang this song, had a great role in the effect that it needed to produce in order to portray the correct stance and reflect what was happening in the movie at the same time. Shreya Ghosal is considered one of the best singers in the Bollywood Industry. It’s been said no one can do what she can. You’ll even notice that the singers as well go off in a “Sargam” in the middle of the musical piece. Every beat matched the voices. That takes talent and breath control to do. The song is focused on love with Indian Classical Elements intertwined with it as well. The Indian Classical part, specifically the Sargam, was placed in this song to fit into the role of the “old times” that was shown in the video. This was something that singers and classical dancers frequented at the time. It still is recognized today, but many countries have adapted the western style of music that many of us listen to in this age of time. The fact that both the male and female voices were light and airy, and had the runs at the end, illustrated the mood and vibe that is needed in a song that is about love. Voices can play a very important part in music because voices can imply many different emotions and textures to make a song go to the next level and make the listener feel the intent of the song. If the singers did not perform the way that they did in this song, it wouldn’t have been one of the veterans of Bollywood music.