Music

My mom was a classically trained soprano and former music teacher. I remember, at a very young age, Mom complaining that with the advent of radio and mass-produced music, fewer and fewer people were willing to sing and play instruments in front of others. Music had become fetishized.  What had been a very democratic activity had become a commodity. Anyone who produced music that was not of a professional caliber was mocked and marginalized.

Yeah… maybe that’s a bit of an overstatement, but what’s a little exaggeration between friends?

With the proliferation of the internet and social media, there has been a re-democratization of music and the arts.  Anyone with a webcam can make music and distribute it on-line. Suddenly you don’t need to be a professional musician to produce decent quality recordings, and more and more people are sharing their music through these venues.

I love this trend.  I love going on YouTube and listening to covers of popular songs, or to original music performed by someone with a guitar and a webcam. Many of my favorite songs, or my favorite versions of songs are these low-fi on-line recordings by folks who are just having a good time making music.

I want to be part of that community. 🙂