Over the past 100 years, music started to get much more technologically involved. It’s one of the big distinctions between music from the past versus now. As music became technologically dependable (computers and studios), there became more of a demand for bigger and better workspaces.
In the ‘40s, after the creation of magnetic tapes, multitrack recording became standard for all music production. Tracks are used to create the many layers you hear within a song. Since then, studios and engineers had a need for more tracks to record on as technology became more advanced. As time went on, more artists than ever started to make their own music, and there needed to be updates made to most machines and DAW’s (Digital Audio Workspace). For a long time, the options were 16-, 24-, 32-, and 48- track systems. Nowadays, if you ask many artists, you will find that there seem to be unlimited layering capabilities. In reality, it is not infinite, but it feels like a near close with many DAW’s supporting a thousand tracks or more.
Music has changed and adapted just as technology and humanity have. These updates are constantly being put out and music has become much more in-depth and intricate on the technological side of it all. The importance of this truly shows in modern music and the world of mixing and mastering. It has given music production a sandbox-type feeling, where just about anything you can dream can be created. Music is always changing and that will never cease to be the truth, so maximizing capabilities in production is extremely important.
Categories: Technology